Chapter 216 - The Dragon Clan Moves Out!
Edited by RED
“What, you’re suspecting that there’s something going on between me and them? My sexual orientation is as normal as it gets. Qingqing is the one and only for me,” Luo Tianming chuckled.
“Whatever, just don’t get yourself involved with them,” Xu Qi said, lying in the pool of mud as the rainwater fell on his face. He slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then stood up and walked over to Xu Pingfan’s grave.
“You don’t intend on erecting a gravestone?” Luo Tianming asked as he came to Xu Qi’s side. With a flip of his palm, a rectangular stone slab appeared and he offered it to Xu Qi.
Xu Qi was surprised at seeing the slab of stone. It was actually a polished gravestone. It was obviously polished not long ago, as seen from the marks at the corner of the slab. He could see traces of sword slashes.
“Thanks,” Xu Qi said, accepting the rectangular stone slab. He placed it in front of Xu Pingfan’s grave and pushed it into the earth.
Everyone had thought Xu Qi would be inscribing the gravestone next. Unexpectedly, he summoned his Five Elements Wings and flew off after erecting the gravestone.
They exchanged glances with one another, every one of them showing confused looks. He’s not inscribing the stone? What is Young Master thinking?
“Let’s head back. That guy has probably left us here and returned on his own,” Luo Tianming said casually, and flew off in the direction of Rivulet City.
Rain battered down on the empty gravestone and slowly slid down, flowing into the earth. It seemed like the deceased was speaking about their unwillingness to part from the world.
For some unknown reasons, the temperature continued declining as the rain continued. Even these cultivating experts from the Xu Clan could feel the chill, and had to put on another layer of clothes.
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The rain on the roof gathered into strings of water, flowing off the structure, and the rain slowly accumulated in the courtyard, forming a huge puddle. Xu Qi stood by the entrance of the main hall, watching the ripples forming on the water surface, his inner heart surprisingly tranquil and empty.
After Black Tortoise returned to the Xu Clan, he had been busy healing Xu Xiaomei and never showed himself. Not only that, he forbade anyone from interrupting him.
Even Xu Qi had taken the time to check on Black Tortoise on several occasions after he returned from burying Xu Pingfan, but he wasn’t allowed to enter the room, either.
All Black Tortoise said to Xu Qi was to wait and sent him back, leaving Xu Qi unable to help.
Xu Pingfan’s death and Xu Xiaomei’s injury made Xu Qi reflect on his decision from before. He was unsure if the path he chose was right. He had no ambitions of conquering the world, and only desired self-preservation. In the end, he still met with troubles constantly.
The most important point was that even his wife and daughter had gone missing, and his only clue was that they were among the seven top schools.
The courtyard before him had not seen peace in over a decade, and had experienced several huge battles. When Xu Pingfan was still alive, he would get others to repair the damage immediately, but this time, after the black-clothed men’s ambush, not even the debris was cleared away.
Wen Xiang came to Xu Qi with light steps. She stood by his side, looking out at the courtyard as the rain fell and asked, “Are you alright, Qi’er?”
“Aunt, I think I made the wrong decision,” Xu Qi confessed, mocking himself.
“It’s only human to err. Even the saints are not without mistakes, not to mention us ordinary humans. Moreover, rights and wrongs are not definite answers. If you look at your circumstances from another perspective, perhaps you’ll realize that you weren’t very wrong, or even made the right choice,” Wen Xiang noted calmly, looking at the puddles of water accumulating in the courtyard, as if her past was reflected in them.
“In all these years, I’ve planned and arranged things carefully in all aspects to live in peace, with no intention of offending others. But thinking back about it, our Xu Clan was never at peace. The seven top schools even came to us on several occasions, and almost destroyed our Xu Clan on each of those occasions. Not only that, even I almost lost my life,” Xu Qi said, recalling the happenings over the years.
“Shu’er and our daughter were abducted, the innocent Brother Daniu had lost his life, and the Woodblue Village was massacred. This time, Uncle Mang, too, had lost his life, and Xiaomei was severely injured. Even right now, in front of me, the Xu Clan is in ruins. Everything was beyond my imagination. My plans are but a joke,” Xu Qi continued mocking himself, shaking his head helplessly.
“Qi’er, no one is able to have full control of the events in their lives. Even the unparalleled experts won’t have everything go their way. The good thing is, we’re still here. Think on the bright side,” Wen Xiang consoled. She patted Xu Qi’s shoulder twice gently and turned to leave.
“We’re still here,” Xu Qi repeated. Wen Xiang’s final words lingered in his mind as he came to a sudden realization.
The dead may be gone, but those who are still around are just as important. The orphans who grew up by my side, and those little fellows scattered around the world are still around.
Xu Qi flew over to the puddle of water and looked up to the sky, watching the raindrops fall, his mood suddenly much brighter.
He hadn’t taken life seriously ever since he arrived in this world. He wasn’t exceptionally strong, and had to rely on Black Tortoise and Xu Xiaomei to help him every time to escape danger.
And now, his close ones had died for his sake. He had to change,
“Qian Yin, Qian Yun, Nightwatchers, and Constellation Guards, where are you?!” Xu Qi shouted suddenly.
In just a few breaths’ time, Qian Yin, Qian Yun, the Twelve Constellation Guards, and even the Nightwatchers, who had yet to recover from their injuries, appeared before him, standing in a straight, orderly row. They didn’t seem to mind that the rain was seeping into their clothes.
“We’ve been together for over a decade. I don’t wish for the same thing that happened to Uncle Mang to happen to you, too. No matter what happens in the future, remember that your lives are top priority,” Xu Qi said deliberately, looking at the eighteen of them.
They looked at one another after hearing that, unsure of what to say.
“Prepare yourselves from now on. Do what you’re supposed to, be it recovering from your injuries or gathering information. All eighteen of you will leave in ten days to deal with the seven top schools. We can’t waste the reputation of the Dragon Clan!” Xu Qi said and walked into the main hall, leaving them no chance to say a word.
They took some time to recover from the shock. They turned towards Xu Qi and half knelt on the ground, answering “Yes!” in unison, reigniting their passion.
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In the following days, no one saw Xu Qi around in the Xu Clan, or knew where he had went. However, everyone seemed to have made an unspoken pact, not asking about him.
On the sixth day of Xu Qi’s disappearance, Black Tortoise appeared before the others, exhausted, and sat down quietly on a chair in the main hall. He sat there for four days straight, with no one daring to interrupt him.
On the tenth day, Xu Qi appeared. His right arm had fully recovered, and he looked a little fatigued. However, his gaze was as spirited as ever, and gave off a faint sense of excitement.
Black Tortoise slowly stood up after Xu Qi appeared and loosened himself up. To a Divine Beast like himself, it was no big deal for him to sit motionless for four days without consuming any food or water. It wouldn’t matter to him even if he did so for a year.
“Xiaomei is fine now, but I discovered something amiss from the energy residue in her body,” Black Tortoise said.
“Oh? What is it?” Xu Qi asked, his brow furrowed. Fortunately, he had heard that Xu Xiaomei was already in the clear, and didn’t worry too much about it.
“That day, Xiaomei was injured by Bu Wanggui to such an extent by his palm strike. However, while I was healing her injuries, I discovered that she was struck with not only a palm strike, but three!” Black Tortoise revealed.
“Three palm-strikes? But I only saw Bu Wanggui sending out a single palm. Was my cultivation level so low that I couldn’t even perceive how many palms he struck out?” Xu Qi doubted.
“You’re right; Xiaomei was only struck once by Bu Wanggui. The other two palm strikes were struck by someone else. The two palm strikes had struck Xiaomei’s vitals, obviously aiming to kill her. However, we were both right there that day, and we actually didn’t realize what actually happened. Isn’t this a little too scary?” Black Tortoise said.
Xu Qi couldn’t help but feel his back drenched in cold sweat at hearing this. His scalp numbed. Someone actually struck Xiaomei twice in such a situation then, and yet none of them had realized it. This was too strange!
“This is only my conjecture. We’ll have to ask Xiaomei what actually happened when she wakes up to find out,” Black Tortoise said, shaking his head helplessly. He didn’t notice the presence of another person that day, either. Could they have encountered a ghost?
Xu Qi recalled what happened that day. There were indeed no other people that day who could have struck Xiaomei. He felt helpless about it.
The eighteen of them who had prepared for the past ten days appeared outside the main hall, awaiting his orders.
Xu Qi brought them to the secret room. Only the nineteen of them were there, with no one else following them.
After some time, the group came out of the secret room. Qian Yin, Qian Yun, the Nightwatchers, and Twelve Constellation Guards were all expressionless. They clasped their fists at Black Tortoise and left the Xu Clan, their destinations unknown.
“Let’s go take a look a Xiaomei,” Xu Qi said to Black Tortoise and took the lead, heading into the inner court.
Black Tortoise was uninterested in the departure of the others. If Xu Qi wanted to tell him about it, he would do so naturally, without him having to ask.
They came to Xiaomei’s room. Xu Qi pushed the door open and entered. He found Xu Xiaomei sitting on her bed in meditation, her entire body enveloped in a layer of golden energy.
“Why does it seem like Xiaomei’s cultivation has gotten stronger?” Xu Qi transmitted his thoughts to Black Tortoise, unwilling to interrupt her.
“Xiaomei’s was heavily injured this time, especially from the two unexpected palm strikes. They almost claimed her life. However, the Five-clawed Golden Dragon’s inner core she consumed activated by itself in the crucial moment and saved her life. As her life hung between life and death, she was enlightened in some matters, resulting in her increase in cultivation. This is something normal,” Black Tortoise explained.
Hearing this, Xu Qi nodded and continued standing there quietly.
When the golden radiance faded, Xu Xiaomei took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. Her face was a healthy pink, and didn’t seem like she had just recovered from a serious injury.
Black Tortoise smiled and left the room tactfully, while Xu Qi found a spot to sit down.
The two sat in the room without saying a word, only looking at each other.
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