Covering the Sky: I Prove the Great Dao Through the Gate of Immortality

I'm currently reading Chapter 251, Shi Qingfeng, and I'm completely engrossed in it.

The Stone Emperor sighed once more, and then wrote down the edict of the Human Emperor.

The brushstrokes are sharp as knives, each character carrying immense weight. Every stroke carries the pent-up frustration and decisiveness of years. The ink spreads across the rice paper, as if the darkness concealed for so many years is finally about to emerge.

"Investigate to the end."

He wrote these four characters with such force that the strokes almost pierced through the back of the paper.

"All those involved in this matter, whether commoners or kings, shall be executed."

He put down his pen after writing the last two words.

Every word in the edict was like a drawn sword, pointing at those who had committed crimes over the years but remained at large.

Whether ordinary people or royalty.

This means that no one can escape. Even those high-ranking kings and nobles, even those relatives who are related to him, as long as they are involved in what happened back then, as long as they have that child's blood on their hands, they will die.

The Stone Emperor looked at the edict and remained silent for a long time.

He knew what this edict would cause. The kings and nobles would be terrified, the families would be shaken, and the entire Shi Kingdom would be thrown into turmoil. There would be resistance, there would be struggle, there would be desperate madness.

But he doesn't regret it.

Night had completely fallen outside the window, and the palace was brightly lit, casting a long shadow of his. Standing by the window, looking at that shadow, he suddenly realized that he had been living too tiringly all these years.

We are burdened by the pursuit of balance, by the overall situation, and by those concerns that shouldn't exist in the first place.

Now, someone has torn everything apart for him.

That person told him in the most direct way that some things were rotten and needed to be cleaned up.

He picked up the imperial seal and pressed it firmly onto the edict.

The bright red inkpad fell onto the paper, like a drop of blood.

It's like a period.

This marks the end of those years.

This also marks the beginning of a new chapter.

The imperial edict was issued immediately and sent by fast horses to every corner of the capital. Those who were still asleep were unaware that when the sun rose tomorrow, their fate would be completely rewritten.

The stone emperor remained standing by the window.

He gazed into the distance, towards the direction of the second ancestral land, towards the direction where the child was.

"Hopefully, it's not too late."

The Emperor's edict was issued from the palace, shining brightly throughout the capital.

The light pierced the night, illuminating every street and every mansion. Runes flowed within the light, bearing the mark of the Emperor and an unyielding majesty. Wherever the decree reached, everyone knelt, not daring to raise their heads.

That is the will of the Human Emperor.

That is the law of the Stone Kingdom.

Now, this decree will unleash a storm that will sweep through the corners where filth and corruption have festered for years.

The Stone Emperor stood by the window, quietly watching this scene.

Looking at the light illuminating every corner of the capital, looking at the kneeling figures, looking at the calm of those who are about to be investigated and punished, unaware of what is happening.

His face was expressionless.

But deep down, I felt a complex mix of emotions that I couldn't quite explain.

Those events, from the Martial King's Mansion to the Rain King's Mansion and then to the Second Ancestral Land, truly tarnished the prestige of the Stone Kingdom. He was the Human Emperor, the master of this land, and it was impossible for him to feel comfortable watching these things unfold one after another.

But he knew it in his heart.

Things have come to this point not because of the god, nor because of the child.

That deity was merely there to collect debts. Those debts were incurred by the Stone Clan themselves, and were the seeds sown by the Martial King's Mansion.

That child was even more innocent. He was stripped of his supreme bone and abandoned in the wilderness. If he hadn't been rescued, he would have long since turned into dust.

They are not the ones who made the mistake.

They were victims from beginning to end.

Shi Huang closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

In all those years, did those victims ever receive the justice they deserved?

No.

When Shi Ziling and his wife left in resentment, nothing happened. When the baby's bones were dug out, nothing happened. Those who spoke up for the child but were imprisoned, nothing happened either.

Justice has been consistently absent.

Now, someone has come to collect it for them.

Although the deity's methods were ruthless and had tarnished the reputation of the Stone Kingdom, the Stone Emperor knew in his heart that he had no right to blame him.

Because he himself is one of those who allow justice to be absent.

He opened his eyes and looked at the imperial edict that was still shining in the night sky.

The light fell on his face, revealing a bitter smile.

We are now investigating, we are now settling accounts, and we are now demanding justice for that child.

Is it too late?

he does not know.

All he knew was that some things had to be done by someone.

Even if it's late, we have to do it.

Shi Huang suddenly felt very tired.

The weariness wasn't physical exhaustion, but a deep-seated weariness. He stood by the window, gazing at the imperial edict that still shone in the night sky, at the kneeling figures, and at the capital city he had protected for so many years.

Those who commit wrongdoings go unpunished.

He was only punished recently.

No, it's not punishment, it's retribution. It's the debt that the deity came to collect, the fire that the child lit, and all of this finally being exposed to the sunlight.

And what has he, the emperor, accomplished over the years?

But you never know when or where an idiot will suddenly appear and drag him down.

Those fools thought they were working for the benefit of their family, consolidating their power, and that everything they were doing was right. They dug up a child's bones, ruined a family's future, yet they were still smug, thinking they had climbed the social ladder.

The results of it?

The result was that they themselves died, the Wu King's Mansion was destroyed, and the Shi Kingdom lost two prodigies and its chance to reach the pinnacle.

And it will also implicate him, the emperor, who is now standing here, writing an edict to investigate to the end and clean up the mess they left behind.

Shi Huang closed his eyes, a bitter smile appearing on his lips.

He remembered the Fire Emperor's words, the god's gaze, and the fire the child had lit.

Those people, those fools, have they ever thought about what the consequences of their actions would be?

They won't think about it.

They only care about immediate gains and their own losses. They think they can get away with it forever and that they can use their power to cover up everything.

But they were wrong.

Big mistakes.

……

The village of Shicun was in an uproar.

The moment the news spread, everyone dropped what they were doing and rushed to the village entrance. The men who were fishing in the lake threw down their nets, the women who were gathering herbs in the mountains picked up their baskets, and the children who were chasing and playing ran off in a long, chaotic procession.

They are all waiting.

Waiting for those two people who are coming.

Li Chenzhou's figure came into view first. He walked calmly, his pace unhurried. He held two small children in his arms, and an old man with a wooden cane followed behind him.

"Here it comes!"

One of the children, with sharp eyes, was the first to shout it out.

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Li Chenzhou stopped and put the two children down. As soon as the little one landed, he grabbed Shi Qingfeng's hand and ran towards the crowd.

"This is my brother!"

He shouted loudly, his clear and resonant voice echoing at the village entrance.

"His name is Shi Qingfeng! He'll be living here from now on!"

The crowd fell silent for a moment.

All eyes were on the thin, small child. He was shorter than the little one, heartbreakingly thin, pale-faced, and wearing a faded old shirt. He had a limp, and his body leaned slightly as he stood there.

But those eyes, though timid, also held an undisguised expectation.

"Good boy."

A woman was the first to step forward. She knelt down and carefully examined Shi Qingfeng, her eyes gradually reddening.

"This child has suffered so much."

She reached out and gently stroked Shi Qingfeng's face. Her hand was rough and calloused, but when it touched Shi Qingfeng's face, it felt as warm as the spring sunshine.

Shi Qingfeng was stunned.

He hadn't been touched like this in a very, very long time. The servants' hands would only push him away, and their indifferent gazes would only sweep over him; no one had ever looked at him with such eyes.

There was heartache, affection, and endless tenderness in his eyes.

"It will be better from now on."

The woman spoke softly, tears welling up in her eyes.

"This will be your home from now on."

Several more women gathered around. They chattered amongst themselves, their voices noisy yet warm.

"This child is too thin; he needs to be properly nourished."

"I still have a few cans of good animal milk stored away; I'll take them to him later."

"We need to make some new clothes; these are all tattered."

"You need to see a doctor about your foot injury; we can't delay any longer."

Shi Qingfeng was surrounded by these voices, feeling lost and helpless. He had never been cared for by so many people before, and had never heard so many warm words. He subconsciously looked at the little one, his eyes pleading for help.

The little one smiled and nodded vigorously at him.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid," he said. "They are all good people, very kind."

The men also gathered around. They weren't as talkative as the women; they just silently watched the thin child, their eyes filled with complex emotions.

There was heartache, anger, and also an indescribable sense of relief.

The child survived, came to Stone Village, and became one of them.

A burly man stepped forward, squatted down, and looked at Shi Qingfeng.

"Good boy."

He spoke in a gruff voice, like muffled thunder.

"If anyone bullies you in the future, tell your uncle, and your uncle will fight back for you."

Shi Qingfeng stared blankly at him, suddenly feeling a lump in her throat.

He lowered his head and nodded forcefully.

The old man stood by, leaning on his wooden cane, watching this scene, his eyes welling up with tears. He had lived a whole life, witnessing too much indifference, too much scheming, too much of the coldness and warmth of human relationships. But he never expected to find such warmth in this remote wilderness, in this unassuming little village.

They had already heard about the life this thin, limping child had led. But what moved them even more was that he had suffered in place of the little one all those years. Those cold stares, those harsh words, those lonely days and nights—those were the little one's burdens, yet they fell upon him.

A woman's eyes reddened, and she held onto Shi Qingfeng's hand for a long time. A man silently patted his shoulder, his rough hand lingering on his thin shoulder for a long time. The children surrounded him, chattering away, as if trying to make up for all the liveliness they had missed for him over the years.

Surrounded by these people, Shi Qingfeng felt somewhat at a loss. He had never been cared for by so many people before, nor had he ever heard so many warm words. But he also realized that they were calling him "Little One."

He lowered his head and spoke softly.

"My name is Shi Qingfeng."

There was a moment of silence.

"Qingfeng is a name I chose myself," he said, his voice soft but clear. "I used to live under the name Shi Hao. Now that I've come to Shi Village, I don't have to pretend to be someone else anymore. I want to use my own name."

People felt a mix of emotions upon hearing this.

This child named himself "Qingfeng" (meaning "gentle breeze"). He longed to be as free and light as the wind. Those years he was trapped in a dilapidated manor, surrounded by a group of wicked servants, unable to run or jump, forced to sit alone in a daze. Now he was finally free, finally able to be like the wind.

The little one, standing to the side, suddenly spoke up after hearing this.

"How about you call yourself Shi Hao? I'll change my name."

Shi Qingfeng raised his head and looked at him.

"I grew up in Shicun, and everyone calls me Little Dot," Little Dot said earnestly. "I'm not that familiar with whether my name is Shi Hao or something else. But you're different. You've been carrying this name for so long; it should have been yours."

He spoke very sincerely, and there was not a trace of reluctance in his big, dark eyes.

"If you want it, you can have it. I'll change my name; anyway, Little One is still me."

Shi Qingfeng stared at him blankly for a long time.

Then he shook his head.

"No."

His voice was soft, yet carried a rare firmness.

That's your name.

"Those people captured me and made me live under your name so they could erase you. If I use your name now, wouldn't they have succeeded in what they were doing?"

The little one was stunned.

The people around were also stunned.

The words spoken by this small, thin child, only a few years old, silenced everyone.

Shi Qingfeng looked at the little one, a very faint smile appearing on his tender face.

"My name is Shi Qingfeng. Your name is Shi Hao. We are two people, brothers. It's not one replacing the other, nor is it one taking the place of the other."

He paused, then continued.

"That's better."

The little one looked at him and suddenly smiled.

That smile was big and bright, like sunshine.

"Okay!" he said. "Your name is Qingfeng, and mine is Shihao. We're brothers!"

He reached out and took Shi Qingfeng's hand.

Shi Qingfeng also smiled, a faint smile, but one that was deeper than before.

Li Chenzhou stood not far away, watching the two small figures and their hands clasped together.

The old man stood to the side, leaning on his wooden cane, his eyes slightly red.

"This child..." the old man's voice choked with emotion, "is a good child."

Li Chenzhou nodded.

He is indeed a good child.

Those hardships did not twist him, and that darkness did not make him lose his kindness. He still maintained the purity of his heart and still knew what was right and what was wrong.

Such a child deserves a bright future.

The children had started making a ruckus again, pulling Shi Qingfeng to see where they usually played. Shi Qingfeng was dragged along, his leg limping, but he always had that faint smile on his face.

The little one ran beside him, close to him, and occasionally whispered something to him.

The sunlight shone on the two small figures, casting long shadows.

The two shadows were very close together, as if they had never been separated.

I highly recommend "Covering the Sky: I Prove the Great Dao Through the Gate of Eternal Life"! Go straight to the exciting parts.