Keyboard Immortal-Chapter 2542: Condition

Yumen Beiqing had never thought that there would be such a twist in the situation. She had gone back in time to change some important events in history in hopes of changing the fate of the ten suns being shot down. \And yet, she realized that no matter what she did, every major event along the way had still happened.

She had already fallen into despair when she stumbled upon the legendary Yi, but then the latter actually died here. For a moment, she'd felt hope. Even when Zu An vowed to avenge Yi and she began feeling a tinge of unease, she'd still remained optimistic on the whole.

Yet this Chang clan’s chieftain had just proposed for Zu An to become Yi, making her feel goosebumps. In truth, she had been confused as to why she had seen Zu An as Yi in history when he clearly wasn’t Yi, but now, the answer was finally apparent to her.

It turned out that she hadn’t changed anything at all. Remembering everything she had done along the way gave her a profound sense of helplessness.

Zu An was flabbergasted too. “This won’t do...”

The old chieftain gestured for his clansmen to wait on the spot before leading Zu An and the others elsewhere. As soon as they were out of the sight of the Chang clansmen, the chieftain dropped to his knees in front of Zu An.

“What are you doing, chieftain?! Please, get up!” Zu An was bewildered.

The Mermaid Queen also rushed forward to pull the old chieftain to her feet. The latter had treated her well while she was in the Chang clan.

“I’ll kneel here forever if you refuse to accept my request!” The old chieftain looked at Zu An with a stubborn expression.

Zu An was silent. He didn’t like how the latter was threatening him here, so he waved his hand and supported the chieftain back up with gentle but firm force.

The chieftain was shocked to realize that Zu An was so unfathomably powerful. He wasn't the Chang clan’s chieftain for no reason. If he refused to get up, most people wouldn’t be able to move him. “Do you find my actions laughable?” he asked. Seeing through Zu An’s thoughts, he sighed. “I didn’t want to do this either, but I guess I have no choice but to be honest with you now. It’s not that we old fogeys obstinately want Chang’e to marry someone she doesn’t love, but this matter concerns an old prophecy. Our Chang clan’s greatest priest once prophesied that our clan would one day encounter a crisis that might spell the end of our clan. Only the matrimony of a saintess named Chang’e and a Youqiong clan hero named Yi could resolve this disaster.”

Zu An frowned, replying, “That’s pure superstition. How can a clan’s rise and fall be tied to a single individual? And for the man and the woman to be so specifically named at that!”

“You can’t say that!” The chieftain anxiously waved his hand. “He’s our Chang clan’s greatest priest. His prophecies have always been accurate. We were initially skeptical too. How can someone from a long time ago know that we'd have a clanswoman named Chang’e, and the Youqiong clan would coincidentally have a clansman named Yi in the same generation?”

A hint of fear appeared on the chieftain’s face as he continued, “But fifteen years ago, a clanswoman of ours returned severely injured. Before she died, she gave birth to a child, and not knowing about the prophecy, she named her child Chang’e.”

He sighed. “Do you know how shocked we elders were when we first heard the name? We initially shrugged it off as a coincidence, though we sent someone to the Youqiong clan to check on things. Little did we expect there to truly be a young man named Yi on their side too. Furthermore, he carried a token similar to Chang’e’s. A Youqiong clan elder said that his father had betrothed him to another woman, and the other token was with his future fiancée.”

Noticing the old chieftain’s gaze, the Mermaid Queen reached for her waist token, which resembled the Deep Sea Harp. “This...”

The old chieftain scoured the crystallized grounds where Yi had died and found a token in it. This token was identical to the one the Mermaid Queen carried; the two complemented each other! The Mermaid Queen instinctively grabbed it and put them together.

They were a perfect fit!

She suddenly fell into a daze. It was said that she'd had this token in her mouth when she was born, and it was later discovered to be a special artifact—it could transform into the Deep Sea Harp. Thanks to that, she was viewed as the unquestionable successor of the Mermaid Queen.

When they called her their Saintess, she'd thought that the Chang clan had gotten the wrong person, but it appeared now that she had some ties with Chang’e after all.

Zu An took the two tokens. Individually, they were Deep Sea Harps, but when put together, they formed a complete round moon. It reminded him of the legends surrounding Chang’e and the moon, and his eyes widened.

The chieftain continued, “When I heard about Yi’s death, I fell into despair. I couldn’t watch the Chang clan being destroyed like that, which is why I came up with this ploy.” Noticing Zu An’s silence, he turned to the Mermaid Queen and asked, “Chang’e, has our clan treated you well over the years?”

“Yes, the clan has treated me well.” The Mermaid Queen pursed her lips. From her residence and environment, which had been arranged down to the fine details, she could tell that Chang’e had to have been pampered like a princess.

“Since that’s the case, I humbly ask you to save our clan in view of that!” The chieftain began to kneel to her and kowtow.

The horrified Mermaid Queen quickly supported him back up. She then walked over to Zu An’s side and whispered, “Big brother Zu, what do we do now?”

Zu An spent a moment in thought before replying, “Let me ask a few more questions.” He turned to the old chieftain and said, “It’s not that easy to impersonate someone. A few people in your Chang clan have already met Brother Yi, and his own clan can’t possibly mistake him for me.”

He could use his Myriad Transformations to assume Yi’s appearance, but he didn’t want to marry the Mermaid Queen in the form of another man.

The old chieftain was overjoyed to hear Zu An’s tone softening. “Don’t worry. Not many in the Chang clan know his true identity, and I have my ways to curb them. As for the Youqiong clan, Yi’s remaining kin died while he was on his way to our Chang clan. He was the only one left in the Youqiong clan. There’s no one to expose you.

“But I heard that in order to become qualified for Chang’e. Yi has made a resounding name for himself over the years. There are many in the world who recognize him,” Zu An said. Considering how Yi had even triumphed over Celestial Gu, the chances were that his reputation had spread far and wide.

The old chieftain replied, “I have been keeping an eye on Yi over the years. Most of his battles were just small squabbles; the more reputable powers don’t know him. Besides, your physique and disposition resemble his. With a bit of disguise, you should be able to fool most people.” Once again, he bowed to Zu An and said, “I implore you to save our clan in view of your ties with Chang’e and Yi.”

Zu An found those words weird. Does marrying Yi’s fiancée count as helping him?

He quickly expelled that thought from his mind. This is the Mermaid Queen, not Yi’s fiancée Chang’e.

Sensing Zu An’s hesitation, the old chieftain added, “Don’t you want to know who Yi’s murderer is? I found a clue about that.”

“Oh?” Zu An quickly asked about it, only to be met with the old chieftain’s enigmatic smile. Clearly, the latter would only talk if he accepted his conditions. In the end, he nodded and said, “I’ll accept your terms.”

The old chieftain was overjoyed. He quickly called his clansmen over. “Come, escort the Saintess and our son-in-law back!”

The Chang clansmen danced in joy, delivering their own earnest blessings. Many of their younger clansmen looked at Zu An with envy. All of them were fond of the beautiful Chang’e.

Zu An took this opportunity to ask the old chieftain about the murderer. The old chieftain slyly blinked and said, “I’ll tell you after you get married.”

Zu An was speechless.