Chapter 1237: Hong Yujiao
Li Qiye gave a nod and continued to look at the hazy mountain range in silence.
This Giant Dragon Mountain Range stretched for ten million miles like a dragon lying on the ocean. It was completely engulfed in mist and fog; a dragon with a visible head yet indiscernible tail. This made the whole area even more mysterious. 1
Unwittingly, his vision of the mountains turned a bit hazy during this long observation. Who knows if it was his eyes becoming blurry or the mountain range itself losing definition?
He became absent-minded for a long time. Some unwanted memories resurfaced and his heart jumped as if it was being clutched by something.
Zhang Baitu quietly sat there and didn't say anything after noticing Li Qiye's intense stare.
"Young Noble." Eventually, Li Qiye's expression became very strange, prompting him to ask: "Are you alright?"
Li Qiye was startled and regained his wits. He gently sighed and lightly replied: "It's nothing. It is only that the mountain range is too incredible. A few things from there are truly unforgettable."
Zhang Baitu misunderstood him and scratched his head while agreeing: "Right, this mountain range has always been incredibly enchanting. It is extremely mysterious, so it invokes curiosity from just about anyone. They all want to know if the Giant Dragon Kingdom truly exists or not…"
"… But no one has ever been able to verify this. According to legend, unless they were granted permission from the kingdom, no one would be able to get in there. There have been many attempts to enter it, but none were publicly successful. Do you want to go there for a look too?" He thought that Li Qiye wanted to enter the mountain range, but Li Qiye was actually thinking about something else.
"Maybe." Li Qiye only smiled and casually asked: "How is the Jian Clan right now?"
"Are you referring to the Jian Clan from Rainbow City?" Despite being a nobody, Zhang Baitu still knew a few things about Rainbow City due to how close it was.
"Yes." Li Qiye nodded. His mind was a little unfocused.
"The Jian Clan is still doing very well in Rainbow City. Everyone says that they are the number one clan there." Zhang Baitu told Li Qiye everything he knew: "I heard they are very close with the human race. Some also say that they are related to the Giant Dragon Kingdom. It is a relatively low-key clan, but we all know just how powerful they are. The Jian Clanmaster has lived for several thousand years, but he is still as vigorous as ever."
Li Qiye remained impassive after hearing this, but he was sighing on the inside. The brat from the Jian Clan was still alive. Unfortunately, he didn't want to face it…
The Heaven Spirit World was not a place that he wanted to visit either. There were many memories that he preferred to be forgotten.
During his silence, a woman wearing a tight green outfit arrived outside the inn. Her curvy figure contrasted her cold and determined demeanor. This was Hong Yujiao who met Li Qiye back at Dongting Lake.
Zhang Baitu was surprised to see her. Meanwhile, she immediately came over when she saw him and cupped her fists: "Senior Brother Zhang, long time no see."
Although Zhang Baitu was not a disciple of the lake, in accordance with their ancestors' hierarchy, Hong Yujiao still needed to call him senior brother.
"Ah, Sister Hong, long time no see. Your cultivation has increased yet again." Zhang Baitu smiled wryly and turned away with the intention of blocking Li Qiye from her view. He didn't want her to see Li Qiye.
He was not worried for Li Qiye but rather Hong Yujiao's safety because he could faintly guess why she came to this place.
It was of no use because she had spotted Li Qiye and spoke with a hint of surprise: "It's you?"
Li Qiye was still contemplating while looking at the mountain range, so he didn't hear her.
She didn't like his attitude, but this was not Dongting Lake. She didn't want to make it difficult for him since she came for Zhang Baitu.
As for Zhang Baitu, he lamented in his mind. He knew that this was unavoidable and only wished for Hong Yujiao to mind her words.
"Brother, I was entrusted by my father to ask you about a few things." She sat down and looked at him in a serious manner.
Her father was the current Dongting Lakemaster, Hong Tianzhu.
"About what?" He asked quickly, despite knowing full well what she wanted to talk about. This was the matter he didn't want her to mention the most.
She said: "I heard some news about people from the Ironscale School coming to cause trouble for you."
True to his expectations, he tried to divert the subject: "Oh, about that? It's over now. They wanted to buy my Hundred-Saints Hall, but how could I sell the ancestors' home? So I said no."
She softly said: "What happened on the island then? Brother, this is no small matter." This was not an attempt to blame or interrogate him, she needed to know the truth of this big event.
Out of nowhere, a divine aura suppressed the entire Demon Dragon Sea. Next, news of the destruction of the Ironscale School spread. A bit later, Dongting Lake found out that the corpses of the Ironscale Schoolmaster and more than one hundred of his followers were hanging at the Hundred-Saints Hall. How could the lake not be startled by this?
Of course, they didn't connect the aura that destroyed the Ironscale School with the hall. However, it was still a big deal when those corpses were located on that island. After all, their lake was a prime suspect to these deaths.
In fact, after finding out, they disposed of those bodies. Zhang Baitu didn't dare to let Li Qiye know since he was afraid that Li Qiye would become angry and make his way in to destroy the lake.
"Well…" Zhang Baitu didn't know how to respond. He was not someone who was good at lying, so he coughed and said: "Well, the responsibility does not fall on us. It was the Ironscale School forcing a sale."
Li Qiye withdrew his gaze and slowly said: "Why make such a big deal out of something so trivial like destroying an Ironscale School?"
Zhang Baitu was alarmed. He was not worried about himself, he was afraid that Hong Yujiao would provoke Li Qiye. His shallow cultivation did not blind his vision, he knew that Hong Yujiao had learned the arts of her father, but she was nothing before Li Qiye. She would be crushed by just one of his fingers.
Hong Yujiao's expression changed as she looked at Li Qiye with a stern look and asked: "May I have your name?"
Zhang Baitu wanted to say something, but he refrained from doing so. Li Qiye looked back at her and smiled: "My name doesn't matter. I just want to say that your Dongting Lake is becoming worse with each successive generation, losing sight of the grand picture just for petty gains in power."
He laughed and continued: "Look at your lake now. Unlike your ancestors who protected the vitality of the human race, you're now just a bunch of cowards hiding in the city. All of their glory has been thrown away by your generation."
"Today, you have even forgotten about the souls of your ancestors as well as your spiritual totem. I'm curious, how many years has it been since the last time your lake went to worship the Hundred-Saints Hall? Has it been fifty or a hundred generations? I'm afraid that your lake has even forgotten who the ones enshrined in the hall are." With that, he sighed and didn't want to look at her anymore.
She couldn't answer due to lacking knowledge about this matter. She only knew that some ancestors from the lake speculated that the Hundred-Saints Hall might be storing some treasures.
"We descendants are not qualified to comment on the matter of our ancestors." Eventually, she answered: "I just want to ask you, did you kill the Ironscale Schoolmaster's group?"
This was the thing she was most concerned about. After all, the schoolmaster and elders of a sea demon lineage had died very close to Dongting Lake, and even their sect was destroyed. Once this news spread, their lake would become the prime suspect.
Of course, she understood that Zhang Baitu couldn't kill that group, so the only possibility was this person sitting in front of her.
"I understand your lake's intention." Li Qiye smiled: "It needs to find a murderer in order to wash away this suspicion."
This idiom was used before and is slightly modified here. It means magnificent/unfathomable. ↩Chapter 1238: Scolding
She maintained her calm despite his accusation and lowered her tone: "This is a serious matter, so our Dongting Lake will get to the very bottom of it."
"Get to the bottom of it?" Li Qiye couldn't help but laugh: "When the Ironscale School bullied Zhang Baitu, when they tried to force him to sell the Hundred-Saints Hall, where was your lake then? And now, during the aftermath, your lake is trying to steer clear of anything to do with this event. Quite interesting…"
"Well…" Zhang Baitu softly spoke: "Young Noble, this really isn't the lake's fault. I didn't tell them at all."
Li Qiye smiled and waved his sleeve: "You don't have to speak up for them, I know full well what is going on. You don't have to tell me that the lake has disposed of the bodies either."
"I…" Zhang Baitu was scared. He didn't expect Li Qiye to predict it this fast, so he had no response.
Hong Yujiao answered instead: "Brother Zhang is not at fault, this was the lake's decision and it has nothing to do with him."
After hearing this, Li Qiye slowly turned towards Hong Yujiao and smiled: "This is more like it, spoken like a family."
She took a deep breath and stared at him: "With all due respect, this is not a joke, I hope you can clarify this matter or the sea demons in this region will put this on Dongting Lake. At that time, the lake will be isolated from the rest of the world."
"Isolated from the world?" Li Qiye laughed: "This kind of thing will never happen. Kill thirty to fifty of someone's men and they will swear to never share this sky with you again. But if you kill a billion of them, they will obediently tuck their tails between their legs. Those who are unconvinced will have their bones litter the ground!"
His eyes turned cold at this point: "I am not someone who agrees with using force to bully the weak, and I will not condone any immoral acts from my followers. However, those who dare to provoke me or harm my followers, regardless of whether they are strong or weak, will be killed before talking about who was right and wrong! Only when you use blood to talk will others understand where your bottom line is. Otherwise, people will think that you are an easy target, and they will bully you while thinking that the humans in the Heaven Spirit World are mere ants."
"It is a pity that your group did not inherit the hot blood of your ancestors or their willingness to kill!" He continued on with indifference: "Your lake is willing to sacrifice Zhang Baitu to separate itself from this situation, maybe you would even give up the Hundred-Saints Hall altogether. As long as the interests of your lake are untouched, everything can be negotiated."
Zhang Baitu trembled after hearing the line about killing all those who opposed you and answering with blood. It truly touched his heart.
"We do not have those intentions." Despite being unable to refute all of Li Qiye's accusations, Hong Yujiao still said: "We don't want to turn Brother Zhang into a shield, our goal is to find out the truth so that others won't misconstrue the situation."
"Misconstrue?" Li Qiye laughed sarcastically and said: "So what if they misunderstand? The Ironscale School and outsiders are nothing. Who needs them to understand things clearly? So what if they don't? You can't even protect the spirits of your ancestors and have even forgotten their creed, yet you care about the misunderstandings of outsiders? The damned geezers at Dongting Lake have lost their minds!"
"Sir, I hope you can be more careful with your words. Dongting Lake has our own principles, and we shall do what we must." She didn't back down in response: "We are grateful for you saving Brother Zhang, but if you keep on insulting Dongting Lake, don't blame me for no longer being polite!"
"Sister—" Zhang Baitu jumped up from his chair and dragged her away: "Sister, you now understand the situation so go back and report this to the sect master." He winked at her.
He didn't want to see a fight between the two of them since her fate would be the same as the ones from the Ironscale School — instantly crushed by Li Qiye!
"Baitu—" Li Qiye waved his sleeve and said: "There's no need to be so sneaky around me. If I wanted to kill her, she wouldn't have been able to talk in front of me. The same goes for Dongting Lake; if I wanted to trouble them, I wouldn't be sitting here right now."
Zhang Baitu awkwardly let go of her and wryly smiled: "Young Noble, she isn't trying to annoy you. She is only nervous about protecting Dongting Lake."
"If I was annoyed with her, I wouldn't have let her speak." Li Qiye glared at him. The old man coughed and didn't say anything else.
Li Qiye shifted his attention towards the girl and said: "I'm the killer, your lake can go ahead and reveal it if you want to be rid of suspicion. Tell those brainless geezers to stop being short-sighted all day long and fixated on trivial matters. They have forgotten who their ancestors are and their own surnames for a few benefits!"
"You…" She glared at him. After all, he was directly scolding her elders. No one could swallow such anger.
"Sister, go already, the master is waiting for your news." Zhang Baitu dragged her away and motioned for her to quickly leave.
She managed to restrain herself and coldly looked at Li Qiye: "I won't interfere with your disrespectful behavior, but if you insult Dongting Lake again, I will definitely deal with you."
Li Qiye ignored her and focused on his drinks.
She eventually left, brewing with indignation. If it wasn't for Zhang Baitu pulling her back, she would have definitely fought this arrogant person!
Zhang Baitu was in a difficult position after she left. He rubbed his palms and smiled: "Young Noble, Sister Hong is a very good person. The only thing is that she can be very straightforward at times."
Even though their ancestors had grievances, this generation got along with each other. This was especially true for Hong Yujiao and himself. They were quite close, so he couldn't watch her go to her death. Li Qiye only smiled and didn't say anything.
After a long time, Li Qiye looked at the faint mountain range one last time and decided to pay the bill. He looked over at Zhang Baitu and said: "Come, we'll go to Rainbow City."
The two of them left the inn to go to the ferry. Everyone had to use this particular type of fish as transportation before they could reach Rainbow City.
Once they got to the ferry, the sky suddenly turned dark. A gigantic ship descended from the sky, its size too immense to describe. Half of its hull was still hidden in the clouds, so no one could see it fully.
This gigantic warship appearing at Rainbow Island attracted a lot of attention.
Many people saw the conch insignia on the warship and became quite surprised. Someone asked: "Is that the Roaring Conch?"
An old man slowly answered: "No, this isn't it. It might be the ship of a big character from there though."
Another person speculated after seeing the ship: "Is it the Seashield Prince then?"
The insignia of the Roaring Conch left many spectators shocked. This was a famous lineage throughout the entire Heaven Spirit World, not just limited to the Dragon Demon Sea. They had two sea gods that possessed the Trident for a very long time. According to the tales, the moment their conch blared, all of the sea demons in the world would answer its call.
A smaller ship flew out of the big warship. In fact, this smaller vessel was still quite sizable. It just seemed tiny in comparison to its huge friend.
The warship didn't stop after the second one came out. It slowly rose to the sky and disappeared towards the horizon, towards an unknown destination.
The smaller one landed. Many saw a woman standing at the bow. She basked in the wind with her hair fluttering about.
Her pretty eyes and nose were more than enough to describe her as beautiful. Her fair white skin had a hint of rouge. Such a beauty would command attention wherever she went. Her waist was especially slender; it was as if a gust of wind could make it dance.
Despite her delicate appearance, she exuded a terrifying aura befitting of a God-Monarch! Halos emerged from her body. Each of them seemed to be part of their own world while carrying infinite power.
Many were frightened to see this force. After all, she was an incredibly young God-Monarch.
"Wow, a God-Monarch…" Zhang Baitu was in awe and felt quite envious after seeing the God-Monarch's halos.
He had cultivated for a lifetime, yet his cultivation was completely negligible. However, this young lady ahead was already a horrifying God-Monarch. How could people not be stunned into admiration before this scene?