“Since you won’t have any regrets even in death, then you can die right now.”
When the fat cultivator was about to kiss Luo Bing, an ice-cold voice reverberated.
The fat and thin cultivators had been completely focused on their impending activities and their vigilance had been overwhelmed by their base instincts, so it wasn’t until they heard another person’s voice that they reacted in terror.
The fat cultivator leapt to his feet, but he didn’t get to see who was talking before he saw a fist coming at him. It was a fist covered in Saint Qi, exuding a vicious force.
He could clearly see the fist getting larger as it approached him, shrouding his entire vision. He wanted to dodge this strike, but couldn’t. It looked like his opponent’s cultivation vastly surpassed his…
*Peng…*
A soft noise echoed out, followed shortly by the fat cultivator’s miserable scream. His fat body had been sent flying through the air, and his head burst open like a watermelon soon after, spurting scarlet and white fluid around.
“Ah!”
When this incident had just begun, the thin cultivator let out a surprised cry, only to see his Brother quickly dying right in front of his eyes. Everything ended before he could respond.
He raised his head and saw that a muscular man had appeared at some point. The muscular man’s body was now drenched in blood, as if he had just come out of a battle. Half of his face was swollen and blood was dripping from it. It was a pretty ghastly sight and ordinary people wouldn’t dare to look straight at him, especially because one of the man’s eyes was completely white, without any pupils or iris. It was quite terrifying to behold!
“Who… Who are you?” When the thin cultivator swept this newcomer with his Divine Sense, his heart couldn’t help clenching because he discovered that he was a Third-Order Origin King.
The thin and fat cultivators were just First-Order Origin Kings, and the enemy’s cultivation was higher than theirs by two Minor Realms. The enemy didn’t look to be in his best state, but he was still able to kill the fat cultivator with a single punch; therefore, the thin cultivator knew he was no match for him.
“I’m the man who will send you to the underworld,” the muscular man snorted coldly and his large body instantly disappeared.
Upon seeing this, the thin cultivator shouted, “Friend, let’s have a civil conversion! We have no grievance or grudge with you, so why are you assaulting us?”
Even though he said so, the thin man had already summoned his defensive artifact, forming a luminous shield around himself.
The muscular man’s voice reverberated behind the thin man’s back, his voice cold and indifferent, like a whisper of a reaper of death, “What else is there to discuss with scum that oppresses people and assaults women? Die!”
As his voice fell, a sabre appeared in his hand. As he imbued his Saint Qi into it, it let out a sonorous roar while the phantom image of a giant tiger’s head appeared above the blade. This tiger phantom opened its maw to devour the thin man.
The thin man turned pale with fright and shouted sharply, “I’ll fight!”
His cultivation was lower than his opponents by two small realms, but if he gave it his all, then he might still have a chance to survive. The fat cultivator had gotten killed by a single punch only because he had been careless back then, and didn’t even get a chance to summon his artifact.
Now, he was protected by his defensive artifact, the thin man was sure he wouldn’t be killed so easily.
But, matters didn’t develop as he expected. As his opponent hacked him with his blade, all his defences were cut down and his body was quickly sliced apart.
“That’s… Impossible!” The thin man stood there in a daze. He took a look at the large wound that went from his shoulder to his belly, then gazed at the muscular man and said in a bitter voice, “Are you a Dao Source Master?”
A while ago, he clearly detected a special power possessed only by those in the Dao Source Realm coming out from this muscular man’s body. Meanwhile, his weapon was also a Dao Source Artifact. This was why he managed to so easily break through his defence and inflict a fatal wound upon him.
“You’ll die shortly, so why are you still so inquisitive?” The muscular man snorted coldly in response.
As his voice fell, the thin man’s blood spurted out like a fountain. His body had been chopped into two halves, and even his internal organs were exposed to the air.
A bloody smell started pervading the air!
Luo Bing laid on the ground with her body shivering and teeth chattering, while her eyes were wide open; however, a moment later she turned her head and began throwing up.
She had always lived like a princess and had never seen such a bloody sight before. She had been greatly shocked by it and couldn’t stomach it.
She didn’t recover until she had thrown up for a while. It felt like she had thrown up everything she had eaten. She turned around her pale face and looked at the muscular man with a grateful look, asking in a trembling voice, “Did they… Did they both die?”
The muscular man looked coldly at her with faint hatred flashing past his sole eye. He didn’t reply and just snorted coldly in response before putting away his sabre.
Shortly after, he walked toward Luo Bing and poked several points on her body.
Luo Bing’s cultivation had been unsealed and Saint Qi started flowing back into her meridians again. The young girl stood up, faltering, and looked in fright at the corpses of the thin and fat cultivators then averted her eyes off them and covered up her small mouth for a moment then started throwing up again.
The muscular man didn’t utter a word and just stood there in silence, observing everything coldly.
After a long while, Luo Bing raised her head and looked at the muscular man, “Thank you, thank you…”
She expressed her heartfelt thanks to him repeatedly.
After all, if the muscular man hadn’t shown up, then a miserable fate awaited her. She had never suffered such danger, and she had been praying for someone to save her at that precarious juncture.
Now, someone had really come to save her. Even though this person had a hideous and frightening look, Luo Bing didn’t find him scary for some unknown reason and she felt safe next to his large and muscular body. She felt that as long as she was under his protection, she would never suffer such dangers again.
This was a feeling she did not get even from her father or Qiu Yu.
The young girl’s heart started beating strongly, and some peculiar feelings started welling up in her heart.
“You… What’s your name?” Luo Bing looked timidly at the man and questioned him in a soft voice.
The muscular man cast a glance at her with his sole eye, as coldly as before.
Upon facing the man’s gaze, Luo Bing couldn’t help but shiver and she quickly lowered her head. She didn’t dare to look at him again.
“Chai Hu!” The muscular man suddenly blurted out his name.
Upon hearing this, Luo Bing was delighted and she raised her head with a smile, “So, it is Brother Chai, I’m Luo Bing, the City Lord’s daughter. Have you ever heard of me?”
After she said so, she was startled by her own actions.
Other than Qiu Yu, she had never called another man so intimately. Yet, in the face of this man, she called him ‘Brother’ so naturally. She felt at ease with him, and after she addressed him as such, she even felt a little delighted and excited, as if she had just done something exceptional.
[What’s wrong with me?] Luo Bing’s confusion was apparent in her pretty eyes.
“I know who you are,” Chai Hu replied calmly, then averted his gaze, as if he didn’t want to scare her with his hideous face.
“That’s a matter of course, even though I rarely go out, as long as you live in Sky Crane City, you must have heard of me.” Luo Bing pursed her lips and revealed a smile, a smile that brightened up the whole world around her.
Luo Bing hesitated for a moment then said, “Brother Chai, I have… gotten lost. Can you send me back home?”
She put on such a delicate act with her face still a little pale because of the terrifying ordeal she had just gone through. No man would be able to refuse her request!
Chai Hu nodded and said, “I can.”
Luo Bing was delighted and she said, “Many thanks.”
“But not today,” Chai Hu added coldly.
Luo Bing’s smile stiffened on her face and she looked in a daze at Chai Hu, then asked, “Brother Chai, what… What do you mean?”
Chai Hu said, “Young Lady Luo, I have to ask for your help with something and you’ll have to take a trip with me.”
Luo Bing was terrified and she couldn’t help but recall the way the previous two men had treated her. Her face, which had just regained some vigour, turned pale again and she shook her head repeatedly as she moved back, calling out in alarm, “You… You also want to do the same thing to me as those two men?”
“Nonsense, I won’t hurt you as long as you cooperate with me,” saying so Chai Hu stretched his hand toward Luo Bing.
“No!” Luo Bing shouted, but Chai Hu’s cultivation was a lot higher than even the previous two men’s, so how could she fight back? She was instantly restrained.
Luo Bing felt like she had just fallen into an ice hole. On this day, she had suffered more ordeals than what she had been through in her whole life. She had just gotten rid of wolves and didn’t expect that she had only made way for a tiger. She beat Chai Hu’s arm repeatedly and scolded, “You’re a bad man, a bad bad man! You’re all bad men!”
Chai Hu was unmoved and he just spoke coldly in response, “If you make another move, then I won’t be polite with you anymore.”
Upon hearing this, Luo Bing’s body stiffened, but she quickly opened her mouth and bit the back of Chai Hu’s hand.
Luo Bing bit him so forcefully and strongly that her mouth quickly was overflowing with blood, and a bloody odour started to reek from it, but she still didn’t let go of him despite this.
Chai Hu was a Third-Order Origin King. Therefore, if he wanted to get rid of Luo Bing, then he would just have to use a little bit of his force, and her teeth would shatter.
But, he didn’t do so for some unknown reason. He just stared at Luo Bing, who kept biting at his hand and swallowing down any blood coming her way. She had done so just to protect herself.
Upon seeing this, a complex gleam flashed past his eye, but Chai Hu quickly let out a sigh and raised his palm before chopping the back of Luo Bing’s neck.
He had a good grasp over his power, so after Luo Bing let out a soft groan, she just fell weakly to the ground. She had already lost consciousness, yet two trails of tears were still streaming down her face.
Soon after, Chai Hu lifted her like a sack and his body flickered, disappearing from where he stood, leaving behind the corpses of the fat and thin cultivators.
…
Inside Heavenly Puppet Workshop.
Yang Kai had just returned leisurely, only to see Ye Jing Han standing at the entrance, looking around anxiously. When she finally spotted Yang Kai, she heaved a sigh of relief and went toward him to ask, “Young Master Yang, where did you go?”
Yang Kai said, “I just took a stroll.”
Then cast a glance at Ye Jing Han and spoke with a smile, “What’s wrong? Were you afraid that I just left without bidding you farewell?”
Ye Jing Han waved her arms in denial, “No, not at all. I just didn’t see you and the others had no inkling as to where you had gone…”
Yang Kai spoke, “You can set your mind at ease, since I have already given you a promise, I won’t go back on my word. I wanted to notify you before leaving, but I noticed that someone else was in your room and didn’t want to disturb you, heh heh!”
Ye Jing Han’s face got flushed and she spat, “Hateful!”
She stomped her foot, then rushed into the inner hall, as if she was running away from him.
The next day, the entire City Lord’s Mansion was decorated with lanterns and colourful banners. Happy voices bubbled about as the whole place bustled with extraordinary liveliness.
Today was the day when the Sky Crane City’s City Lord was going to get married to his new concubine. Guests and visitors streamed in from all directions to give their congratulations, while carriages filled to the brim with congratulatory gifts formed an endless chain ushered in by the City Lord’s Mansion’s subordinates. These gifts were directed to the rear courtyard, where dedicated personnel were present to record, differentiate and store them into appropriate storehouses.
All of the people within the City Lord’s Mansion had smiles plastered on their faces, as though they too were getting married.
At the entrance of the City Lord’s Mansion, handsome male servants and beautiful maidservants welcomed the incoming guests and visitors, their faces beaming with smiles, their actions refined and courteous.
Any guests who arrived here would have the Sect or power they hailed from loudly announced by the master of ceremonies, attracting the gazes of the public. Heading into the City Lord’s Mansion, they would be led by people into the inner hall, where they were arranged into different seating positions based on the status of their identities.
The representatives from the few prominent and powerful nearby Sects were naturally arranged to sit right at the front of the venue while those of lower status were seated further away.
No one dared to raise any issues towards this method of arrangement, as the more capable and powerful one was, the nearer to the front they would be seated. Everyone present knew very well how powerful the various local aristocratic families and Sects were.
The City Lord Mansion had definitely considered this during their planning, so it would naturally not incite unhappiness in others.
Following the members of Thousand Leaves Sect to the venue, Yang Kai started to size up his surroundings with curiosity.
This was the first time he was attending another person’s wedding. Although it was just a marriage with a concubine, this was a matter that would concern the entire lives of two people, which greatly piqued his interest. Looking at the lively festive scenery, he could not help reminiscing about Su Yan, Xia Ning Chang, Shan Qing Luo, and Xue Yue.
Waves of guilt welled up from the depths of his heart. He should have made proper arrangements for such a ceremony, allowing them to enjoy the happiness a woman deserved from her life partner.
Just thinking about this made Yang Kai feel that he owed them a great deal.
Originally, he did not plan to come here; however, after being invited several times by Ye Jing Han, Yang Kai had followed along with the Thousand Leave Sect disciples to avoid her developing wild fears of him leaving without informing her.
Du Xian and the others had also brought along some congratulatory gifts from their Sect. Although they weren’t extremely precious, they were still quite numerous. Therefore, they had carried them via carriage, handing them over to the City Lord’s Mansion subordinates to sort in the rear courtyard.
They were then guided by another subordinate to the inner hall where the ceremony would be held.
The inner hall was exceedingly large, and wasn’t crowded despite having over a hundred dining tables arranged within. When the Thousand Leaves Sect disciples arrived, the inner hall was already bustling with activity, with masters from various families and Sects either dining, drinking, or engaging in merry conversation. A place and event like this was precisely what many great powers used to forge connections, foster a good image, as well as take advantage of the opportunity to widen their social circle.
The subordinate leading the way for Ye Jing Han and the others came to a stop at a dining table situated in the middle area before saying with a faint smile, “Honoured guests, these are your seats. Please wait for a short while as the ceremony is about to begin.”
After saying those words, the person proceeded to leave.
Hearing those words and seeing the person’s subsequent actions, a sliver of anger flashed across Wu Ma’s eyes. Extending his hand, he grabbed a hold of that person’s collar, he growled, “These are our seats? Are you sure of that?”
The location of this dining table wasn’t anywhere near the front of the hall. In fact, it was located nearer to the back of the middle section. Other than Thousand Leaves Sect, the dining tables surrounding this table were occupied by small families and third-class Sects that, at best, had one Dao Source Realm Master assuming command, similar to the few big families of Maplewood City.
Although the Thousand Leaves Sect did not have any Emperor Realm Masters, it still had quite a few Dao Source Realm Masters. No matter what, they couldn’t be seated at this dining table. Even if they weren’t at the front few dining tables, they would still be somewhere close.
This arrangement was a clear sign of contempt and humiliation towards Thousand Leaves Sect.
Frightened by Wu Ma, that servant fell into a panic, “This lowly one is only in charge of guiding our honoured guests to their respective dining tables. This lowly one doesn’t know anything other than that! Please spare my life, sir, please spare my life!”
“Release him, Wu Ma!” Du Xian frowned deeply before giving an order with an indifferent tone.
“But, Senior Brother…” Wu Ma seemed to have something to say, but upon seeing the look Du Xian was giving him, he quickly swept his eyes around and discovered that quite a few people in the hall were staring at him with wide eyes. Clearly, his actions had already attracted the attention of these people.
“Since we’re already here, just let it go!” Du Xian said in a soft voice.
Hearing Du Xian’s words, Wu Ma clenched his teeth before releasing the servant’s collar in regret, a look of unwillingness present in his eyes.
The other Thousand Leaves Sect disciples proceed to quietly sit down, though ugly expressions filled their faces.
Wu Ma growled under his breath, “Senior Brother, Senior Sister, they’re clearly trying to humiliate us… how can we endure this?”
Du Xian looked at him and replied, “So, what are you going to do if you can’t endure it? Are you going to smash this place and kill that old fart?”
Wu Ma mumbled, “That isn’t what I meant… However, there were so many people who saw them arranging such a far seating location for us. This is no doubt a deliberate attempt to embarrass us in front of them.”
Ye Jing Han interjected, “What can we do? In the end, this is their territory, it won’t bring us any advantage if we start an argument here.”
Du Xian snorted coldly, “Luo Jin has planned this to make sure that we have no choice but to swallow these grievances. Just remember the humiliation we have suffered today and make sure to pay them back ten-fold next time around.”
An extremely angry look surfaced on Wu Ma’s face, but nevertheless, he knew that he had no way of changing the situation before them. Despite that, the strange gazes and hushed whispers coming from the surrounding cultivators made him feel as though they were mocking him, making him feel exceedingly uncomfortable, as though he was sitting on pins and needles.
Right at this moment, Du Xuan gave Ye Jing Han a stealthy tap on her shoulder before whispering in her ear, “There’s a person that has been watching you ever since you stepped into this place.”
“Who?” A look of doubt appeared on Ye Jing Han’s face as she scanned around. Soon though, she discovered Qiu Yu seated at the frontmost table, and indeed, his eyes were shining like luminous torches as he continued to stare at her.
She hastily made a spitting action, “Don’t talk nonsense. As if he’s looking at me.”
Du Xian let out a laugh in response, “Who else would he be looking at but you! How can that little bastard Qiu Yu resist Junior Sister Ye’er outstanding beauty and charm?”
Ye Jing Han blushed in embarrassment as she replied in a displeased tone, “Your words are getting more and more improper. You’re the Eldest Senior Brother, so you have to make sure you’re a proper role model for others to follow!”
Du Xian couldn’t help but flash an embarrassed chuckle.
Despite commenting on his behaviour, Ye Jing Han’s face was brimming with sweetness. How would she not know that Du Xian was feeling jealous?
Wu Ma suddenly interjected, “That bastard’s actually sending someone over here!”
Du Xian and Ye Jing Han turned their heads to look and immediately saw the old man who always stood by Qiu Yu’s side was currently moving in their direction at an unhurried pace.
A frown appeared on Du Xian’s face. “What is that little brat planning on doing?”
Ye Jing Han snorted, “Don’t worry about him. We’ll head back to our Sect right after this ceremony ends. I don’t plan on remaining in this place any longer than I need to.”
As she said those words, that old man arrived before their dining table. Cupping his hands slightly, “Sorry to disturb you all.”
Despite being a Senior, he was showing this much courtesy to them, so maintaining a polite demeanour, Du Xian also cupped his fist and replied, “You’re too polite, Senior Li.” He paused for an instant, before asking, “May I know what Senior Li is here for?”
The old man surnamed Li replied in an indifferent tone, “I’ve come on the order of my Young Lord to invite someone over.”
Hearing his words, Du Xian could not help but to shoot a look at Ye Jing Han.
This caused her to reply in annoyance, “Go back and tell your Young Lord that I don’t have any interest!”
A weird expression appeared on the old man’s face as he looked at Ye Jing Han, before smiling faintly, “Young Lady Ye is thinking too much. The one my Young Lord wishes to invite is this Little Brother.”
As he said those words, he raised his hand and pointed towards Yang Kai.
“Ah…” Ye Jing Han’s face turned red with embarrassment from the fuss she kicked up before saying in an awkward tone, “Why… does he want to invite him?”
Stunned looks were also present on the faces of Du Xian and the others, as all of them had made the same assumptions as Ye Jing Han, that this old man had come over here to invite her. After all, Qiu Yu had always shown interest in Ye Jing Han. Who would have thought that such an unforeseen change would occur, causing Ye Jing Han to feel embarrassed for putting herself in such an awkward spot.
The old man continued indifferently, “My Young Lord did not say anything, so this old man doesn’t know the reason. The only thing the Young Master instructed was for this old man to bring this Little Brother over.”
After hearing his explanation, everyone turned their eyes towards Yang Kai.
Upon looking over, they could not stop the corners of their mouths from twitching.
Unknown to everyone, Yang Kai had at some point brought the spirit fruit platter that had been set down on the dining table and placed it right in front of himself. Grabbing one spirit fruit in each hand, he proceeded to gorge himself heartily with an exceedingly satisfied look on his face. Furthermore, there were a few fruit cores present on the dining table. No one knew when he had started to eat, but he had actually managed to eat half of all the spirit fruits that had been on the platter.
The smile he had, coupled with his table manners as he wolfed down those spirit fruits, made him seem just like the reincarnation of a hungry ghost that had starved for several hundred years, leaving the Thousand Leaves Sect disciples utterly dumbstruck.
What’s more, the old man’s sudden visit to this dining table had caused quite a few people to look over out of curiosity. Upon seeing the way Yang Kai ate, they could not help but shake their heads and sigh, revealing looks of contempt in their eyes as they secretly assumed that he was some country bumpkin that had never seen the outside world before, causing him to react so greatly to a mere spirit fruit platter.
The Thousand Leaves Sect disciples felt a deep sense of discomfort.
“Young Master Yang!” Her face turning as red as a glowing oven, Ye Jing Han gave Yang Kai a light prod, indicating that he should restrain himself a little.
Turning his head around, Yang Kai’s mouth was currently stuffed with the pulp of some unknown fruit which he was eating with great relish. Smacking his lips in satisfaction, he waved the fruit platter in his hand before Ye Jing Han and said, “Do you want one? Take it if you want it.”
Ye Jing Han’s face twitched in response, while the redness of her face grew even more intense.
Despite that, Yang Kai appeared to not notice the current situation around him, as he offered the fruit platter to the other Thousand Leaves Sect disciples, “Don’t be courteous. They taste really good. Furthermore, eating them will aid in one’s cultivation. These spirit fruits should have been harvested recently, as they are really fresh and delicious.”
The few Thousand Leaves Sect disciples didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. They did not know about Yang Kai’s background, nor did they know exactly why Ye Jing Han had brought him along with her. Seeing such unsightly behaviour from him, all of them proceeded to turn their heads away, appearing as though they did not recognize him at all.
“Ahem…” Du Xiao gave a slight cough, “Young Master Yang, this Senior Li has a matter to discuss with you.”
“Senior Li?” Yang Kai asked. “What Senior Li?”
“We meet again, Little Brother.” The veins on the old man’s forehead bulged as Yang Kai had treated him as air, despite him already standing here for quite a while. Being a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Master, flames of anger naturally started burning in his heart.
Only then did Yang Kai raise his head, looking at the old man and smiling, “So it’s you. Aren’t you supposed to be with Qiu Yu? What did you run all the way over here for?”
“My Young Master has invited Little Brother over to discuss some matters.” Suppressing the displeasure in his heart, the old man replied with a deep voice.
“Not interested!” Yang Kai immediately rejected the invitation without any consideration at all.
Shock filled the entire hall as his words rang out.
The surrounding cultivators who were enjoying the show all had their eyes wide open as they stared dumbly at Yang Kai. He didn’t appear to be from Thousand Leaves Sect, but just how powerful of a background must he have for him to dare to reject Qiu Yu’s invitation like that? The bustling and lively inner hall was suddenly filled with a moment of silence.
The old man had similarly not expected that Yang Kai would actually refuse in such a straightforward manner. In the next instant, his old face sank as he quickly said, “Little Brother, seeing that you’re still young, the strength of your ears might not be sufficient, so this old master will repeat…”
Yang Kai gave a meaningful grin and cut him off, “I’m not going even if you repeat it a hundred times. Can’t you see that I’m busy?”
After saying those words, he picked up another spirit fruit and shoved it into his mouth.
The old man’s expression sunk even deeper, “You’d best think carefully before answering again, Little Brother.”
Yang Kai raised his eyebrow and replied in defiance, “What’s wrong? Are you threatening me? This is City Lord’s concubine marriage ceremony! If you dare to create trouble, do you think I won’t dare to report you to the City Lord and make him kick you out?”
He raised his voice quite a bit while replying, causing even more guests who were seated further away to look over in curiosity.
Cold sweat immediately appeared on the old man’s forehead as waves of embarrassment and shame surged in his heart. Although he didn’t fear Luo Jin much, if he was to do something forcefully like oppressing the weak in front of so many people’s eyes, it would damage the honour and reputation of Sky Illumination Palace.
Continuing to munch on spirit fruits, Yang Kai squeezed his words through his fruit-filled mouth, “Big Brother, you’re already not young, and yet you still frequently provoke people’s anger. Are you planning on living like a dog for the rest of your life?”
*Pu…*
Upon hearing his reply, Ye Jing Han immediately spat out the mouthful of water she was about to drink to cover up the elation she had felt just a moment ago.
“You…” The old man grew agitated with anger.
Yang Kai snorted, “Don’t ‘you’ me, ah!? If Qiu Yu wants to talk to me, tell him to come here in person. You’ve got to get your facts right here, it’s him that wants to find this Young Master, not the other way around!”
After saying those words, a look of disdain appeared on his face as he mumbled, “He really has a problem! Heaven knows where his insufferable ego came from!”
Then, he proceeded to engage in a battle with the fruit platter once again.
“You’re very good, little brat! This old master will remember you!” The old man was filled with unbearable anger. After hearing Yang Kai’s response, he flung his sleeves and left in fury. No matter what, he was still a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Master, and was recognised for his worth by the Sky Illumination Palace’s Palace Master. Yet today, he had been rebuked and humiliated by this youth in front of everyone! If not for his apprehension towards blowing this matter up, he would have already taken action to teach Yang Kai a lesson.
However, he would remember today’s embarrassment in his heart. He would wait till the end of this ceremony before teaching Yang Kai a good lesson.
After the old man had left, Wu Ma’s eyes shone like torches as he looked at Yang Kai. With a face brimming with excitement, he exclaimed, “Brother Yang, I really like you a lot!”
A cold shiver ran through Yang Kai’s entire body, his face turning somewhat pale as he stared at Wu Ma, gulping down his saliva, he hastily replied, “I’m only interested in women!”
Embarrassment and helplessness instantly appeared on Wu Ma’s face, “I don’t mean like that, Brother Yang! I’m just saying that… the way you’ve handled this matter truly makes people feel satisfied!”
Ever since coming into the city yesterday, Wu Ma’s stomach was filled to the brim with grievances; however, watching the earlier matter unfold had left his heart feeling satisfied. The Thousand Leaves Sect disciples were carrying many grievances but were incapable of handling matters in such a satisfying manner as Yang Kai had just done, leaving them with no other choice but to endure the humiliation in silence, but Yang Kai didn’t have any such apprehensions and just did whatever he pleased.
Although Du Xian also had a look of satisfaction present on his face, his heart was now filled with worry; after all, with Yang Kai embarrassing the old man in front of everyone, he did not know whether Sky Illumination Palace was going to let this matter slide or not. Furthermore, with Sky Illumination Palace and Sky Crane City colluding with one another, just the chance that the two parties would take action against the Thousand Leaves Sect disciples on their way back would be a huge trouble for his Thousand Leaves Sect to deal with.
Just as he was immersed in his worries, he felt a pair of soft hands encasing his large hand. Du Xian raised his head and saw Ye Jing Han looking at him with a smile on her beautiful face, “Don’t worry, Senior Brother. Young Master Yang… has his reasons behind his actions.”
Du Xian’s expression changed. Although he did not know why Ye Jing Had had this level of confidence towards Yang Kai, he had been infected by her belief, causing him to nod lightly as his heart started to relax.
On the other side, the old man had returned to Qiu Yu’s side, before whispering in the latter’s ear for a moment.
Raising his head to look towards the direction of Yang Kai, a frown proceeded to appear on Qiu Yu’s face. After remaining silent for a while, he slowly stood up.
He was actually going to walk over.
The expressions of the Thousand Leaves Sect disciples changed drastically, looking as if they were about to face their greatest enemies. Yang Kai was the only exception, as he continued to munch on spirit fruits, causing clear crunching noises to echo.
After a short while, Qiu Yu, accompanied by two old men, arrived before the table where the Thousand Leaves Sect disciples sat.
Du Xian immediately stood up and growled, “Brother Qiu, this is the place where the City Lord will wed his concubine, and the ceremony is about to start. Are you planning on creating a disturbance for the City Lord?”
Qiu Yu looked at him and replied, “Rest assured. I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m here just to say a few words to Brother Yang!”
“Just a few words?” Du Xian frowned, as he really wasn’t able to comprehend the reason behind Qiu Yu personally coming over to their table just to talk with Yang Kai. After all, based on yesterday’s events, these two people clearly didn’t know each other beforehand, so how could any grudge or grievance form between them?
Qiu Yu patted Du Xian’s shoulder to indicate for him to sit down. Walking over to Yang Kai’s side, he shot a look at the Thousand Leaves Sect disciple who was seated beside the latter.
The Thousand Leaves Sect disciple frowned, but nevertheless still vacated his seat.
Qiu Yu tapped his folding fan against his arm, closing it up. Sitting down beside Yang Kai, he proceeded to speak, “Brother Yang, right?”
Yang Kai replied without raising his head, “Brother Qiu, I see that the spot between your eyebrows has turned dark, your pupils look distracted, your lips and tongue look charred, your spirit is dispersing, and there’s a dark red shade on your face. I’m afraid that you’re about to face impending death.”
Qiu Yu gawked in response, before opening the corner of his mouth slightly to sneer, “So Brother Yang’s also adept at face reading, and proficient in the art of divination?”
Yang Kai tilted his head to look at him, “Not really. However, there’s a strand of Death Qi winding around your body, and it is indicating that great danger will surely befall you today.”
“What a joke,” Qiu Yu sneered, “Today is the City Lord’s concubine marriage ceremony. With such jubilation filling the air, how could an omen of great danger appear?”
“It’s up to you to believe it or not.” Yang Kai spat in disdain.
A slight frown appeared on Qiu Yu’s face, “Then from Brother Yang’s point of view, what should I do to dispel this ill omen?”
“Tidy up your things and leave here without delay,” Yang Kai replied casually, “Do you really need me to teach you something as simple as that?”
Qiu Yu was struck by a wave of speechlessness as he shook his head, “Enough with this nonsense. This Young Master has come over here to ask Brother Yang a question.”
“What?”
Qiu Yu proceeded to open his mouth, though no sounds rang out. Clearly, he was using a sound-transmitting Secret Technique to communicate.
This piqued the curiosity of Du Xian and Ye Jing Han, as they did not know exactly what question Qiu Yu had raised to Yang Kai.
After their scrutiny, Yang Kai revealed a crafty smile after listening to Qiu Yu’s words, before replying, “Never came back? You’re in deep trouble, Brother Qiu!”
“Can’t you speak a little softer?’ Qiu Yu growled between his clenched teeth at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai nodded, “Sure, sure.”
After saying those words, he transmitted, “That little girl by the name of Luo Bing didn’t return after following you out yesterday? Are you sure about that?”
Qiu Yu nodded, “I went out yesterday night to find her; however, her personal maidservant did not see her come back. Today, I went out again to find her, but there’s still no trace of her…”
Yang Kai smiled, “Does the City Lord know about this matter?”
Qiu Yu replied, “Do you think the City Lord knows about it? He has fourteen concubines, yet has no other children other than that daughter of his. Every other day, he would treat her like a treasure. If he knew that Luo Bing was missing, the entire Sky Crane City would be turned upside down by now. How would you and I be able to sit here in peace then?”
“Since she’s missing, shouldn’t you go and find her? Why are you here asking me this?” Yang Kai asked with a puzzled look on his face.
“That’s because Luo Bing had followed behind you after you left that store yesterday,” Qiu Yu replied.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, “Brother Qiu, your words seem to indicate that I’ve done something improper to Young Lady Luo Bing.”
“Naturally, it would be great if that wasn’t the case. I only hope that she’s able to return safely by today if possible. If that happens, the issue can be forgotten without any further incident; however, if she loses even a single hair, this Young Master will definitely let the person who injured her enjoy the taste of torture,” As Qiu Yu said those words, a chilling intent gleamed within his eyes.
Yang Kai sneered in response, “Brother Qiu is threatening the wrong person. After leaving that store yesterday, I immediately headed for Heavenly Puppet Workshop, and I did not see Young Lady Luo Bing at all. You can verify this fact with the people of Heavenly Puppet Workshop, as well as the Thousand Leaves Sect disciples here. This is my first time here, and I don’t have any grudge or grievance with Sky Crane City, so why would I find trouble with Young Lady Luo Bing?”
“Is that true?” Qiu Yu focused his gaze.
Yang Kai snorted, “If someone really provokes me, I’ll personally take action and let them understand the consequences of doing so. Do you think that I’ll do something as despicable as kidnapping their daughter?”
Qiu Yu’s gaze wavered, “Good, I believe you. Although our conversation has been short, this Young Master can understand that with Brother Yang’s straightforward character, you would of course not do something as despicable as that. Nevertheless, Brother Yang, if you receive any news of Luo Bing, this Qiu would be grateful if you can pass on the information.”
“No problem.” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“Farewell!” Cupping his hands, Qiu Yu proceeded to stand.
However, before he could leave, Yang Kai pressed him right back into his seat.
“Does Brother Yang still have other matters to talk about?” Qiu Yu asked with a frown.
“It isn’t a serious matter, just a small request for Brother Qiu,” Yang Kai gave a meaningful grin, his smile brimming with sinister and devious intent. This caused Qiu Yu’s heart to jump, while a feeling of unease welled up inside him.
“What request…” Qiu Yu whispered.
Yang Kai followed up, “Is it possible for Brother Qiu to help us change seats?”
Qiu Yu asked with some doubt, “Change seats?”
“Indeed!” Yang Kai nodded his head and replied with a faint smile, “The light here is bad and I really don’t like it, so I was hoping to change to another place with better illumination.”
The corners of Qiu Yu’s mouth twitched in response, while beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead. Extending his hand, he wiped them off, “Where… would you like to move to?”
Yang Kai extended his hand and pointed, “I feel that it’s pretty good over there. That table also just so happens to be empty.”
Qiu Yu’s face immediately sunk, “Do you know which person that seat is for?”
Yang Kai smiled and replied, “A seat is a seat, right?”
“No, no, this matter absolutely cannot be done,” Qiu Yu hastily waved his hands in response.
Yang Kai’s face immediately turned chilly, “How can you be like that, Brother Qiu? I’ve immediately accepted the matter you’ve entrusted to me. Now, when I ask you for a small request, you continue to throw out all sorts of excuses. Aren’t you too lacking in the spirit of loyalty?”
Qiu Yu’s eyes snapped wide open as he thought, [What spirit of loyalty is there between us?] Furthermore, Yang Kai just replied casually to the earlier matter! Was there even a shred of sincerity in Yang Kai’s reply at all?
Qiu Yu sighed, “You’re placing me in a difficult spot, Brother Yang.”
Yang Kai smiled and replied, “Don’t speak as though I’m an outsider, okay? It’ll only take you a little bit of effort to accomplish this matter. Furthermore, it’s not as if I’m asking you to take off your clothes and run around naked, right? Be more straightforward, okay? So, is it possible to change it or not?”
Qiu Yu’s face twitched as he stared at Yang Kai, “Changing it or not, what difference does it make?”
Giving a chuckle, Yang Kai patted on Qiu Yu’s shoulder, while conveniently wiping off the fruit juice on Qiu Yu’s clothes, “If we can change seats, we’ll become good friends. You’re happy, I’m happy, everyone’s happy. If it’s not possible, this Young Master will have no choice but to look for the City Lord to have a good chat, asking him about the whereabouts of his precious daughter…”
“Enough!” An icy expression flashed across Qiu Yu’s face as he smacked Yang Kai’s hand away. Staring at the Yang Kai, he growled between his clenched teeth, “Are you threatening me?!”
“Am I?” Yang Kai blinked, “You’re misunderstanding me, Brother Qiu. I’m just negotiating with you, that’s all.”
Qiu Yu replied in extreme anger, “I should have known not to ask you about Luo Bing’s whereabouts, you despicable person!”
Yang Kai grinned, “Young man, it’s not good to flare up so easily! It’s damaging to your body!”
Qiu Yu shot a glare at Yang Kai that lasted for a long while before he finally turned around and left. Arriving by the side of a man that had the makings of a steward, Qiu Yu whispered a few words into his ears.
Upon hearing those words, a slight frown appeared on the steward’s face, as if he had been placed in a difficult position. Nevertheless, he shot a few looks at the location where the Thousand Leaves Sect disciples were seated before shaking his head slightly.
However, no one knew what Qiu Yu said next, as the steward seemed to agree to his request while keeping the ugly expression on his face.
After an instant, the steward arrived before the Thousand Leaves Sect disciples, cupped his hands and said, “Honoured guests, due to the many matters that needed to be dealt with today, our subordinates seemed to have been somewhat negligent and issued you all the wrong seats. Please follow this old man to your correct seats and forgive us for our negligence in this matter.”
Du Xian and Ye Jing Han gawked in response to his words, as they did not know what the hell this steward was talking about.
On the contrary, Yang Kai grinned meaningfully and cupped his hands towards the steward, “Many thanks!”
After giving his thanks, he shot a look at Ye Jing Han and the others.
Although everyone was baffled by the development of events, they still proceeded to stand up. Under the guidance of the steward, they headed towards the empty table at the foremost position in the inner hall, before taking their seats at the new table.
After making sure everything was fine, the steward left.
It was only then that Ye Jing Han turned around, looked at Yang Kai, and asked, “Young Master Yang, what exactly did you say to Qiu Yu?”
She knew that with Thousand Leaves Sect’s current level of strength, as well as their relationship with Sky Crane City, it was impossible for them to receive such a level of treatment. The only plausible explanation was the secret exchange Yang Kai had with Qiu Yu.
After all, once he left, Qiu Yu went to find that steward to immediately get their seats changed.
Du Xian and the others also had inquisitive looks on their faces as they stared at Yang Kai, waiting in anticipation for his reply.
Yang Kai broke out a smile, “It’s nothing much. I simply told Brother Qiu that we felt like old friends the moment we met and he felt that the City Lord’s Mansion was too negligent in their treatment of you all, so he took the initiative to raise the request to get your seats changed.”
Obviously, no one was going to buy that.
Ye Jing Han snapped, “As if I’m going to believe that!”
Yang Kai simply replied innocently, “Brother Qiu’s a pretty good person.”
The series of abnormal activities had caught the eyes of quite a few guests, as they quietly felt shock in response to the outcome; after all, everyone had some level of understanding towards the relationship between Thousand Leaves Sect and Sky Crane City. As such, it was unavoidable that even a small matter like the sudden changing of seats to the foremost dining table would cause suspicion and doubt to surface in people’s hearts. People started to secretly guess that Thousand Leaves Sect and Sky Crane City had set their grievances aside. If that was really the case, they might have to re-evaluate whether or not they should patch up their relationship with Thousand Leaves Sect as well.
The atmosphere within the inner hall turned weird in an instant.
The Thousand Leaves Sect disciples were also unable to sit in peace as they were constantly sensing peculiar gazes being shot at them, causing discomfort to run through their whole bodies.
As time gradually went by, the empty seats in the inner hall were gradually filled by the incoming guests, slowly restoring the lively bustling atmosphere originally present.
All of a sudden, someone announced in a loud voice, “The City Lord had arrived!”
Right as those words rang out, the entire inner hall turned silent, as everyone turned their eyes in the same direction.
The first thing they saw was a man dressed in large red robes. Striding over, a joyous smile was plastered on his face as he proceeded to cup hands towards everyone around him.
“Sir City Lord!”
“It has been a while! City Lord, your bearing has grown even more graceful!”
“Congratulations to Sir City Lord for marrying a beautiful lady! You’re the role model for my generation!”
“On this joyous occasion, I wish Sir City Lord good health, a prosperous journey in your Martial Dao, an endless chain of heirs, and a family lasting through eternity!”
…
Congratulatory words from guests streamed in from all directions, smiles plastered on all of their faces as they did their utmost to flatter the City Lord.
The man dressed in elegant red robes also continued to exchange greetings with them, the smile on his face appearing exceedingly carefree and filled with delight.
“Is that Luo Jin?” Yang Kai stared with his eyes wide open as he whispered towards Ye Jing Han.
With a gloomy expression on her face, Ye Jing Han nodded, “That’s the man himself!”
Yang Kai’s mouth twitched, “If you didn’t confirm it, I would have assumed he was Luo Jin’s father…”
This was the first time Yang Kai had seen the Sky Crane City’s City Lord. Originally, from his knowledge that this fellow had fifteen concubines, Yang Kai assumed that the City Lord would definitely be maintaining a youthful appearance, brimming with energy and vigour. Even with a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, he definitely wouldn’t have an old and withered appearance.
However, the man he saw today was elderly looking with white hair that grew sparsely from his head. Although he possessed an impressive cultivation, his vitality appeared superficial. Clearly, he had already passed the prime of his life, with no hope of ever reaching the Emperor Realm.
The loose red robes he wore further emphasized his age.
“Whoever this lady is, she must be truly blind!” Wu Ma couldn’t stop himself from shaking his head, as he felt mournful for the lady who was going to get married to Luo Jin today.
“Shut up! Don’t let your words get you into trouble!” Du Xuan shot a fierce glare at Wu Ma and whispered, “Did any of Luo Jin’s concubines willingly get married to him? As if you don’t know about that!”
Wu Ma snorted, “It’s due to his evil ways of oppressing people and seizing women that led to him having no offspring. One will always receive the seed of karma that they sow! The Heavenly Way is just!”
“And you’re still talking!?”
Wu Ma pursed his lip, “Okay, okay. I’ll shut up.”
The entire venue was bustling with liveliness, filled with a festive atmosphere.
This lasted for quite a while before a loud voice rang out, “The auspicious hour has arrived!”
In an instant, the sound of wind instruments rang out in all directions, accompanied by gongs and drums that shook the Heavens; it seemed as though they wanted to blow off the roof of this inner hall.
Luo Jin’s face radiated with a reddish glow as he tied his robes and looked towards the outside of the hall with a smile on his face.
Festive music started to play from the outside. As the music played on, the concubine escort group gradually appeared before everyone’s eyes, with a female matchmaker walking in the front. Gyrating her tub-like waist, a nauseatingly sweet smile hung on her face. Present by her side was a bridal sedan carried by four people as she slowly headed towards the inner hall, all while doing her utmost to display the result of her abilities.
The bridal boy and girl followed behind the bridal sedan, sprinkling flower petals from the baskets held in their hands.
Flower petals trailed behind the bridal sedan, causing the fragrance of flowers to perfuse throughout the air.
Following behind the flower petal sprinkling boy and girl were two columns of little boys and girls who held lanterns in their hands. The lanterns they held had various auspicious words like “May you live a long and happy life together” and “May your marriage last long”.
The procession took the time one would take to drink a cup of tea to travel several dozen metres, before the bridal sedan finally arrived at the entrance of the inner hall.
“Lower the sedan!” A loud voice rang out, before the bridal sedan proceeded to lower steadily.
The matchmaker went forward, pushed aside the drapes, and extended a hand into the sedan. In the next moment, a white and soft hand peeked out from within.
Just the sight of this hand was enough to cause the eyes of quite a few men to light up.
That jade white hand was perfect and devoid of blemishes, her skin as pure as snow. Just the sight of her delicate skin was enough to make people become lost in wild and fanciful thoughts, that the owner of that jade white hand would definitely be exceedingly beautiful and enchanting. However, this person just so happened to be Luo Jin’s future fifteenth concubine, causing people to wring their hands and lament in envy and jealousy.
This was followed up by an elegant red embroidered shoe. Landing on the red carpet at the front of the door, a dazzlingly beautiful figure was imprinted in the eyes of everyone present.
The new bride wore a phoenix coronet with a red veil covering her face. Brilliant phoenixes in flight were embroidered on her gown, while the gem-laden phoenix coronet and red veil obscured the face that made people become lost in wild and fanciful thoughts.
At this moment, countless people were cursing out in their hearts.
This couldn’t be helped, as the phoenix coronet and red veil that the new bride wore over her head unexpectedly had the ability to block off the intrusion of Divine Sense! It was impressively an extraordinary artifact!
All of the cultivators who had secretly sent out their Divine Sense to take a peek at the face of this new bride were blocked by an invisible barrier, leaving them utterly incapable of uncovering what her face really looked like.
Seemingly aware of the ideas the crowd would have, Luo Jin shot a gaze towards his left and right as a silent warming, before giving a satisfied faint smile in response.
Right at this moment, Yang Kai’s mouth twitched fiercely.
Unlike the others present, if he had forcefully sent his Divine Sense out, he might be able to break through the artifact’s barrier and catch a glimpse of the bride’s true appearance; however, with this being a marriage ceremony, doing so would definitely attract attention and would cause unnecessary trouble for him.
Therefore, after his first attempt, he did not try it again, choosing to quietly spectate the ceremony.
At this moment, under the guidance and assistance from the matchmaker, the new bride took step after step towards the inner hall.
Although her face could not be seen, the outline of her figure faintly visible beneath her bridal gown had revealed her stunning body line, one that was brimming with grace and elegance.
Yang Kai continued to size this woman up, before a frown suddenly appeared on his face, as though he felt that something wasn’t quite right. Nevertheless, he wasn’t able to identify exactly what gave him this feeling.
More importantly, the heart palpitations and jitters he had felt yesterday had surfaced abruptly once again, causing his frown to deepen.
He turned his head around to look at Ye Jing Han and the others, only to see not a single reaction from them.
However, the spectacle happening before them seemed to have caused some kind of desire to surge out from the depths of Ye Jing Han’s heart. Looking at the new bride taking step after step forward, a look of anticipation gleamed across her beautiful eyes, as though she was imagining the day when she would be able to wear that phoenix coronet and red veil, and get married to her beloved.
She sneaked a look at Du Xian, while her small face turned slightly flushed.
Not long after, the procession group finally arrived at the head of the inner hall. Handing the new bride’s hand to Luo Jin, the matchmaker said with a smile, “Sir, I’ll hand the new bride to you. Make sure to take good care of her, okay?”
With a hearty chuckle, Luo Jin replied, “I definitely won’t let her be shamed.”
The matchmaker replied, “The new bride is so blessed! Why is my life so unfortunate, to never meet a male like Sir!?”
The people in the inner hall burst into laughter, instantly raising the atmosphere within.
In the inner hall, Luo Jin held his new bride’s hand, and with a faint smile, turned around and walked towards the interior of the hall.
At this moment, a white-haired old man seated on the left of Yang Kai and the others suddenly stood up, smiled faintly while walking towards the couple, before coming to a stand in front of them.
The woodwind instruments, gongs and drums stopped playing, and the entire atmosphere turned solemn and serious.
With a faint smile, the old man said, “It is this old master’s great honour to be able to be a witness for our City Lord’s marriage.”
After a pause, he continued, “On this fine and beautiful day, the two of you will be wed in a blissful marriage. I hope that you two will love each other, and be harmonious for hundreds of years, with mutual respect for the marriage you two will form. Do you two agree?”
Luo Jin smiled, “This Luo agrees!”
The old man nodded, before turning to look at the new bride, “What about you?”
The faint tremble shook through the body of the new bride, before a beautiful voice rang out from beneath the phoenix coronet, “I…”
Right as her voice rang out, Yang Kai’s expression suddenly changed, while the feeling of unease present in the depths of his heart grew increasingly intense! He was absolutely certain that he had heard this voice somewhere before!
Before he could hear more of her voice in order to determine just who it was, a delicate shout suddenly rang out within the inner hall, “I object!”
The instant those words rang out, shock filled the entire hall.
Everyone proceeded to turn to look at where the voice originated from, secretly thinking about which utterly fearless person actually dared to embarrass the City Lord in front of the countless Masters present.
Rage flashed across Luo Jin’s face as he turned around and roared, “Who dares!”
His expression had turned so malevolent that it had warped and distorted his face. Today was the day of his marriage with his concubine, so it never occurred to him that someone would actually wreck the celebratory ceremony, causing him to be unable to control the thick murderous intent surging out from his heart.
His eyes radiated with a chilling glow as he shot a look at where that voice had originated from and snorted coldly, “What’s wrong? You have the guts to spoil this King’s good mood, yet have no guts to stand up and admit it?”
Some guests seated on the sides immediately shouted, “Obediently stand up and apologise to the City Lord! You might be able to keep your life if you do so! If you dare to remain stubborn, this day next year will be your death anniversary!”
Luo Jin added, “Today is an auspicious day for this King, so this King does not wish to take another’s life. If you stand up obediently, this King will not make things difficult for you!”
Right as those words rang out, a person suddenly stood up within the crowd.
This person was covered from head to toe in a black robe, causing people to be unable to see their real appearance. Nevertheless, from their figure, it was clearly a lady under those robes.
“Capture her!” Seeing the culprit stand up, Luo Jing waved his hand fiercely in response.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
In an instant, a few of the City Lord’s Mansion’s guards rushed out towards that person.
The lady continued to stand there, appearing not one bit flustered at all. Right as the guards were about to capture her, she abruptly removed the black shawl above her head, revealing her face for all to see.
As this scene unfolded, everyone’s eyes suddenly snapped wide open as dumbstruck and tongue-tied expressions appeared on their faces.
“Huh?”
“This…”
“Eldest Young Lady?”
Originally, those City Lord Mansion’s guards who were rushing over with raging auras radiating from their bodies, were all prepared to capture this girl and bring her to a secret location to give her a good taste of torture; however, right as they saw her true appearance, all of their expressions changed drastically as they dispelled their auras mid-air, causing them to drop down clumsily onto the ground, dumbstruck.
That was because they discovered that the person who had disrupted the marriage ceremony at such a critical moment wasn’t some stranger, but the City Lord’s Eldest Young Lady, Luo Bing!
Qiu Yu leapt out from his seat, a stunned look on his face as he looked over towards Luo Bing. He never expected that Luo Bing would actually be in this inner hall, moreover, disrupt the City Lord’s marriage ceremony.
Yesterday, when he and Luo Bing had gone their separate ways, she was doing just fine. Therefore, he was utterly incapable of understanding why Luo Bing would do something like this after just a single night by herself.
For a moment, deathly silence filled the entire inner hall, as everyone shot strange looks at Luo Bing, all them confused over what kind of disturbance she was planning on causing.
“Bing’er!” Luo Jin’s body shook as he stared at Luo Bing with his eyes wide open, “Why are you…”
Before he completed his question, he appeared to have suddenly discovered something and sharply asked, “Who has bullied you?”
He noticed that his precious daughter’s eyes were red and swollen, a clear indication that she had been crying for a very long period of time. Furthermore, her voice had turned hoarse, resulting in him not recognizing her voice earlier.
He instinctively assumed that Luo Bing had been bullied by someone.
Qiu Yu quietly gulped down his saliva, for fear of Luo Bing saying his name, as he believed that it was somehow his fault.
“No one bullied me.” Luo Bing pursed her lips before replying.
“Really?” Luo Jin’s eyes narrowed as he asked in a solemn voice.
“Really!” Luo Bing shook her head, remaining silent for a moment before continuing, “Father, this daughter has something to request of you.”
Luo Jin gave a sigh, “Let’s talk about this later. Go back to your room first and rest.” A wave of anger and frustration surged about in the depths of his heart, as he blamed Luo Bing for not recognizing the current situation and spoiling his authority and face before so many powerful people. At this moment, the only thought he had was to hurry up and get this ceremony over and done with, before having a good talk with Luo Bing about this matter.
Nevertheless, he didn’t expect Luo Bing to not listen obediently to his words. Shaking her head, she replied, “No, I need to make this request right now, if not it’ll be too late by then.”
“Bing’er!” A look of anger flashed across Luo Jin’s face as he growled out in a deep voice.
Luo Bing’s body instinctually shivered, frightened. Nevertheless, her eyes were filled with an extremely resolute gleam, as she continued to look back at a father with a pleading gaze.
Seeing her like that, Luo Jin immediately knew that he would definitely be unable to change her mind, leaving him no choice but to sigh, before letting out a laugh towards the surrounding guests, “I apologise to everyone. This King has spoiled his little daughter too much, resulting in this wilful behaviour. I hope that this won’t spoil everyone’s mood.”
Upon hearing his words, everyone could not help but to relax their facial expressions, as they had already known about how much the City Lord doted on Luo Bing. However, they didn’t know that it would be to the extent where she would actually dare to create such trouble during a major event like his wedding.
Everyone showed their acceptance, giving looks as though they cared greatly for Luo Jin’s face.
It was only then that Luo Jin looked towards Luo Bing, “Speak, what do you want from your father? To actually choose such a time to put forth your request… if it’s something outrageous, let see how I’ll deal with you when this is over!” Although he said those threatening words, a smile was present on his face. Clearly, he did not have any intent to threaten her, and this was just a show of love towards her.
Genial laughter rang out from the guests, as they praised the City Lord for his fatherly love.
Luo Bing bit her lip, before extending her finger to point towards Luo Jin’s side, “Your daughter begs of you to let her go!”
Right as her words rang out, the atmosphere within the inner hall, which had just regained a bit of its earlier festive air, sunk into a weird silence once again, as quite a few guests had their mouths hanging wide open, not daring to believe what they had just heard. Furthermore, the few people who immediately knew that the marriage ceremony might have encountered some difficulties instantly felt restless, as they quietly checked the expression on Luo Jin’s face.
In that instant, the smile on Luo Jin’s face turned stiff, before slowly fading away, being replaced by an expression so cold and gloomy it seemed as though a blizzard had arrived, before the smile within his eyes gradually turned into fury.
It took a while before Luo Jin finally spoke, “Go and take a rest, Bing’er! I think you’re too tired!”
Originally, he had assumed that his daughter had disagreed with his marriage in an attempt to coerce him to accept some difficult request that she wanted to make of him. He had thereby prepared himself sufficiently for this; however, what she wanted now was something that he had utterly not considered, as Luo Bing was completely in opposition to his marriage to his new concubine.
How could Luo Jin agree to that? No matter how much he spoiled Luo Bing, he would not just let his would-be bride go in front of everyone’s eyes! If he were to do that, how would he have the face to continue living on? What would happen to his reputation? If this were to happen, he might no longer be able to rule Sky Crane City and continue being the City Lord.
“Please promise me that, Father!” Luo Bing pleaded.
“Impudence!” Luo Jin roared before shooting a furious and regretful glare at Luo Bing, “It looks like I’ve spoiled you too much in the past, and let you get away with anything! Now scram off to your room! You’re not allowed to take a single step out of your room unless I give you the permission to do so!”
“Father…” Luo Bing started to cry, “It is not her choice to get married. How can you force people to do something like that! Just let her go, please…”
*Siii…*
Successive hisses from people sucking in mouthfuls of cold air rang out within the inner hall.
It was an open secret that not a single one of Luo Jin’s concubines had voluntarily chosen to get married to him, and everyone had kept that knowledge locked up in the recesses of their minds; no one was willing to bring it to light. However, it would be a totally different story if this information was revealed in the presence of everyone.
Yet, it was utterly unexpected that Luo Bing would be the one who revealed it!
Upon hearing what Luo Bing had said, all of the cultivators in the inner hall felt their hearts fiercely clench; it felt as if a massive storm was brewing, causing them to feel uneasy and restless.
“Just let her go. I’ll make sure to always stay by your side, be filial to you and listen to your words. I’ll no longer go and cause any more trouble, and I’ll definitely be on my best behavior,” Luo Bing continued to plead through her tears.
Luo Jin’s face continued to warp and distort, turning incomparably ashen before he roared out, “What nonsense are you talking about!?”
Luo Bing replied, “I’m not talking nonsense. I know who she is, and also know why she is being forced to marry you. Just let her go, please father…”
Luo Jin roared back in anger, “What the hell are you all looking at!? The Young Lady has clearly lost her mind! Hurry up and bring her away to get proper care!”
Hearing his command, the few City Lord Mansion’s guards, who hadn’t known what to do, started to take action and lunged towards Luo Bing.
However, right at that instant, a person who had been seated beside Luo Bing suddenly stood up, immediately proceeding to grab her throat, and shot a steely-eyed glare towards the people around him while giving a cold snort, “If anyone dares to approach, I’ll snap her neck!”
The faces of the few City Lord’s Mansion cultivators rushing over immediately turned pale with shock before they froze once again in a fluster.
The other guests who were here to celebrate the marriage ceremony had their eyeballs almost pop out of their sockets once again, as never in their wildest dreams did they expect such a series of shocking events to occur here today.
“It’s him!” A wrinkle appeared on Yang Kai’s forehead as he looked towards the one-eyed, sturdily built male who had grabbed onto Luo Bing’s throat, while a sliver of a pensive look flashed across his face.
He could recall bumping into this man in the restaurant yesterday. That fellow seemed to go by the name of Chai Hu, and it was precisely due to this man starting a conflict with a group of people that ended up in a fight, which had caused Yang Kai to leave the restaurant early.
However, he never expected that this fellow would actually intrude into this marriage ceremony, and even dared to seize the City Lord’s daughter by the neck in front of everyone!
Nevertheless… this person was only a Third-Order Origin King. Even though he had Luo Bing’s neck in his grasp, his fate appeared to be bleak.
After considering all of these details, Yang Kai shot another look at the new bride standing beside Luo Jin. Ever since seeing this new bride, he was being nagged by a strange feeling. Furthermore, right at this moment when he had looked over to her, he saw her tender body shake, as though she was struggling with something.
Chai Hu placed one hand against Luo Bing’s slender throat, and the other on her back. Saint Qi surged out from his body, as though he was prepared to take action at any moment.
The City Lord Mansion guards looked at one another, looks of indignation and frustration on their faces. Their Eldest Young Lady was now being held hostage, leaving them wary of making any reckless moves that might provoke Chai Hu into injuring Luo Bing. If that were to happen, they wouldn’t be far from their deathbeds.
Brimming with anxiety, they looked towards Luo Jin, waiting for his instructions to proceed.
What greeted them were Luo Jin’s narrowed eyes, as he inconspicuously shot them a look. Understanding his intentions intuitively, the guards silently spread out, surrounding Chai Hu on all sides to prevent him from escaping.
The guests that were seated at the same dining table as Chai Hu and Luo Bing had long scattered the instant Chai Hu had stood up to seize Luo Bing.
“Old Dog Luo Jin! If you still care about your daughter’s life, let them know their place!” Chai Hu’s sole eye gleamed with a malevolent lustre as he shot a vigilant look at his surroundings while growling towards Luo Jin.
Luo Jing snorted coldly in response. He raised a clenched fist to signal to the guards to calm down before looking towards Chai Hu, “This King seems to have seen you somewhere!”
With a sneer, Chai Hu replied in a ridiculing tone, “This one is just a nameless member of the younger generation, so Sir City Lord naturally wouldn’t remember me.”
Luo Jin continued, “Regardless of any grudge or grievances between this King and you, my daughter is completely unrelated to them. Let her go, and this King will promise to have a good talk with you.”
Chai Hu burst into a hearty chuckle, “Talk? What’s there to talk with a despicable and shameless person like you? Do you think I’m a three-year-old child?”
Luo Jin responded, “From the looks of it, you’ve been holding a grudge against this King for a long time. Those words that Bing’er was saying earlier, was it all a result of your coercion?”
Hearing his words, looks of understanding flashed across the faces of the surrounding guests. So, this was why Luo Bing would set her father up in such an embarrassing situation! She was being threatened by someone! If that was the case, it would explain why Luo Bing seemed to be incapable of grasping the larger picture here.
“Think what you want!” Chai Hu snorted coldly, showing no intention to provide an explanation.
“I’m not being forced by him…” Right at that moment, Luo Bing suddenly spoke out, “Father, I meant what I said. Please let that lady go! What wrong did she do?”
Luo Jin’s face sank abruptly upon those words ringing out.
Spectacular expressions also appeared on the faces of the surrounding guests, as they were utterly confused about exactly what was happening right before their eyes! Luo Bing had been seized by that one-eyed man, with her life resting in his hands, and yet, she was siding with him?
Luo Jin took a deep breath and quickly assured, “Bing’er, don’t be afraid. Your father will rescue you.” After saying those words, he looked back at Chai Hu. “Your Excellency, you truly don’t fear the Heavens, to dare to intrude upon this marriage ceremony and capture this King’s beloved daughter. Exactly what do you want?”
Chai Hu sneered, “Why do you need to ask this when you know the answer, Sir City Lord? Although other people might not understand why I’ve come here, how could you not know?”
Luo Jin frowned and narrowed his eyes, “Why not just state it clearly, Your Excellency? If it’s possible, why would this King not accept? As long as my daughter is safe and sound, this King is willing to give anything in return!”
He replied in a righteous and solemn manner, causing the surrounding guests to applaud and praise his character.
Someone immediately said to Chai Hu, “Friend, aren’t you being too impulsive and reckless with your actions? Sir City Lord has always loved the common people as his own children, has been diligent in his civic duties, and is praised by the public. Young Lady Luo Bing is innocent, pure, and kind-hearted. Can’t you just talk this out? Do you really have to embarrass everyone like this? Just hear me out. Let Young Lady Luo Bing go, and City Lord Sir will not be difficult with you.”
“That’s right, just let Young Lady Luo go. Everything can be discussed.”
“Hurry up and let her go! If Sir City Lord doesn’t want to punish you, all of us will give you a good beating instead!”
A ruckus surged up in the surroundings, as some people proceeded to give advice with kind words, while others used malicious tones towards Chai Hu. In an instant, Chai Hu seemed to grow anxious, causing him to grip Luo Bing with slightly more force, making Luo Bing’s face to turn pale as her breathing became more difficult.
“All of you shut up!” Chai Hu let out a furious roar. At this moment, it was as if he was in a prison, enemies surrounding him on all sides, his already taut state of mind grew increasingly distraught with anxiety from all the shouting directed at him.
“If anyone says another word, I’ll immediately choke her to death! I mean what I say!” Chai Hu opened his sole eye wide as he let out a violent roar.
Seeing this, how would any of the guests dare to continue speaking? All of them proceeded to shut their mouths, afraid that they might provoke this fellow who had lost his mind to injure Luo Bing.
Luo Jin’s face sank even further as he growled, “Speak! Exactly what do you want this King to do!”
Turning his head, Chai Hu shot a furious glare at Luo Jin, “Release the person beside you!”
“Who are you talking about?” Luo Jin asked despite perfectly knowing the answer.
Chai Hu roared in reply, “If you dare to act so shamelessly again, I’ll immediately take your daughter’s life!”
Luo Jin’s expression changed slightly, “Is your Excellency doing this… to steal my bride?”
Chai Hu sneered, “She isn’t marrying you out of her own will, so how could I be stealing her? I’m just here to save her life!”
Luo Jin replied, “How would you know if she’s willing or not when you didn’t even ask her?”
Chai Hu shot back, “How would she be willing to marry you? Stop daydreaming!”
Luo Jin laughed out before replying, “Are you misunderstanding something? Although this King doesn’t recognise you, I can tell that you and my humble wife… should be friends, right? This King really admires how far you would stick your neck out for your friend. How about this… you can ask my humble wife if she is willingly marrying this King or not. If she isn’t, this King will immediately release her, and not force her against her will. How about that?”
Chai Hu’s expression flickered and changed. He seemed as if he didn’t dare to believe his own ears, causing him to ask in a suspicious tone, “Is that true?”
Luo Jin smiled, “With all of the guests present, how would this King dare to lie before everyone’s eyes?” After a slight pause, he continued, “Or, are you saying that you’ve come here to disrupt and stain this King’s reputation? If that’s the case… this King will definitely not let you off lightly.”
Someone added, “That’s right! We’re willing to bear witness for the City Lord!”
“Little brat, you aren’t here purely for the sake of causing trouble, right? If that’s the case, you really are too despicable.”
Chai Hu’s face turned gloomy as he no longer responded to the shouts coming from his surroundings. After remaining silent for a while, he nodded his head, “Fine, I’ll believe you this once.”
After saying those words, he turned his head towards the new bride and quickly shouted, “Fifth Sister, you should have heard what the City Lord had just said. Tell me, are you doing this on your own will or… did he threaten you! Rest assured, if he really forced you into this, your Fourth Brother will make sure to rescue you, even if he must risk his life to do so!”
“This King can’t thank Your Excellency for the effort you’re putting in for my humble wife!” Luo Jin gave a faint smile, appearing calm and undisturbed.
“Shut your mouth!” Chai Hu growled.
Luo Jin smiled but did not reply.
The new bride, who had not moved an inch as she stood by Luo Jin’s side, even staying still throughout Chai Hu’s disturbance, had now become the focal point of everyone’s eyes. Everyone turned to look at her, wanting to know what kind of answer she would give.
Right in front of everyone’s eyes, the body of the new bride shook slightly for a while, before a pleasant-sounding voice rang out from beneath the red veil, “I… am willing!”
“What!” Chai Hu’s body shook as he was instantly dumbstruck, utterly not expecting that he would receive such an answer from her.
However, that voice was without a doubt his Fifth Sister, and it was not something just anyone could imitate.
For a moment, he was somewhat incapable of accepting this result.
Luo Jin looked at him, “Your Excellency should understand by now, right? This King and my humble wife felt like kindred souls since we met, and we fell in love at our first meeting. If not, this King would not marry her.”
“Big Brother Chai…” Luo Bing turned her head around and looked blankly at Chai Hu, somewhat unable to understand why the series of events were not like what Chai Hu had described them to be. After all, Chai Hu had told her that the new bride had been forced to marry her father. However, the new bride had just told her a completely different answer to his words.
“Impossible! That’s absolutely impossible!” Chai Hu shouted out loudly.
Luo Jin’s expression turned dark before roaring out, “This King has already given face to Your Excellency. For the sake of Your Excellency’s friendship with my humble wife, I won’t cause difficulties for you. I hope that you’ll do what’s best for yourself!”
“That’s right. Don’t continue being an annoying troublemaker, friend. If not, you’ll not be giving everyone face.”
“That’s right. Let Young Lady Luo Bing off. I believe in City Lord Sir’s magnanimity. He will not cause difficulties for you. Let everyone sit down and celebrate with wine. Won’t that be better?”
“Stop before you go too far, little brat! If you wish to die, this old master doesn’t mind granting your wish!”
A noisy cacophony of voices rang out from the surrounding guests, with their impression of Chai Hu dropping to the very bottom.
“That’s impossible.” Chai Hi continued to mumble. “It’s impossible for Fifth Sister to be willing to get married to you. She’s definitely being forced by you to do so!” Saying that, he seemed to have thought of something, causing him to roar out, “It’s definitely because of Big Brother and Second Brother right!?”
“Exactly what the hell are you talking about, you brat!” Blank looks appeared on the faces of the surrounding people.
Chuckling heartily towards the sky, Chai Hu’s laughter rumbled out like thunder, sounding exceedingly carefree, as though he had managed to come to a realisation and untied the knot in his heart. After quite a while, he snapped his head towards Luo Jin and growled, “You really are sinister, you old dog, to actually use Big Brother, Second Brother, and Third Brother as hostages to force Fifth Sister to marry you! If you don’t want the blood of your daughter to flow in this place, you better listen obediently to what I say!”
Luo Jin growled deeply in anger, “You dare to go back on your word?”
Chai Hu sneered, “What’s the point of talking about trustworthiness when talking with a despicably vile person like you? Regardless of anything, I’ll take Fifth Sister away today! If anyone dares to obstruct me, I’ll kill her!” Saying those words, he increased his grip on her throat by a fair bit.
Luo Bing gasped in shock.
Luo Jin’s face lost colour in shock as he hastily said, “Wait!”
“Are you going to let her go!?” Chai Hu shouted.
A deeply profound look appeared on Luo Jin’s face, as though an imminent storm was coming, with the atmosphere within the inner hall growing exceedingly stifling. After gritting his teeth for quite a while, he said, “Since you’re that overly suspicious, I’ll let my humble wife give you a clear reply!”
After saying that, he looked at the new bride beside him.
Upon hearing that, Chai Hu’s face lit up and he shouted, “Come over here, Fifth Sister.”
After hesitating for an instant, the new bride took step after step towards Chai Hu.
“That little brat’s is about to be out of luck!” All of a sudden, Yang Kai, who had been watching from the side with a detached point of view, suddenly mumbled out softly.
Everyone from the Thousand Leaves Sect was having a blast of a time watching the good show unfold before their eyes, being filled with jubilation regardless of the outcome from the disturbance Chai Hu had caused today. After all, no matter the outcome, it had already done damage to Luo Jin’s reputation. After today, this matter would be widely talked about in teahouses and restaurants, and people who were unclear about the inside story would still come to know that Luo Jin was someone vile enough to oppress men and seize women.
Hearing what Yang Kai had said, the members of the Thousand Leaves Sect looked at him in doubt, blank looks on their faces.
With a grin, Yang Kai whispered, “From the confident attitude the City Lord is giving off, how would he not have made any preparations?”
Du Xian’s face changed slightly, as though he had thought about something, before whispering, “What Young Master Yang means is that he is prepared to…”
Yang Kai shook his head, before indicating they should quietly watch the spectacle.
Over there, the phoenix coronet shook slightly as the red-veiled bride walked towards Chai Hu. Looking at her, a shade of happiness appeared in his sole eye as he opened his mouth to say, “Come and stand here to help me hold the fort, and force that old dog to let Big Brother and the others go. After that, we can escape from here and never return to this damned Sky Crane City.”
The new bride didn’t say a single word back as she obediently walked and stood by Chai Hu’s side.
“After creating such a huge disturbance today in my City Lord’s Mansion, and damaging this King’s face, do you think… you can escape, Your Excellency?” A ridiculing expression appeared on Luo Jin’s face as he snorted coldly in response.
“Everything can be achieved with effort!” Chai Hu sneered in reply.
Luo Jin gave an ambiguous laugh and said, “This King feels… that it’s best that you remain here!”
Chai Hu’s expression instantly changed. Just as he was able to say something, he suddenly felt a chilling intent hurtling towards his back. In the next instant, a palm was pressed against his back and a burst of power surged into his body, sending him flying with a jolt.
Flying through the air, his eye snapped wide open in absolute shock as he turned his head around. Upon looking at the owner of the palm, misery and despair flooded his lone eye.
*Peng…*
Landing on the ground, Chai Hu smashed into tables and chairs, yet he quickly climbed back up. However, it seemed as though he had suffered quite a serious blow from that attack, causing him to immediately spurt out a mouthful of blood upon standing up.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
The Masters from the City Lord’s Mansion lunged over at the same time, with a few palms pressing simultaneously on Chai Hu’s body. Power surged out of their palms, though nothing exploded forth from them.
After all, this was the City Lord’s great wedding ceremony, so it was truly inappropriate to let blood be spilt here. If not, Chai Hu would have died on the spot.
After being suppressed, Chai Hu staggered backwards, seemingly about to lose his balance. With a face filled with pain and sorrow, he looked towards the new bride, blood flowing out of his mouth as he said in grief, “Fifth Sister… why…”
Shockingly, it was the new bride, whom he wanted to save, that had unleashed a sneak attack and landed a serious blow on him. Even now, he couldn’t believe that what had happened was real.
Everything had happened in a split second. Not only did it shock Chai Hu, but it had also left all of the surrounding guests with their mouths agape, dumbfounded looks appearing on their faces. The only exception was Luo Jin, who seemed to have anticipated it, a faint smile hanging on his face.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai stood up and shot a burning gaze at the new bride, while a myriad of emotions flashed across his eyes.
“Monster Qi?” A frown appeared on Ye Jing Han’s face, as she covered her mouth and whispered, “This new bride’s actually a person of the Monster Race?”
Just now, despite it being incomparably short, the instant the new bride took action, the strength she displayed was completely different from a human’s Source Qi, as there was a pure Monster Yuan Qi aura present within.
Although cultivators of the human race could cultivate Secret Arts or Secret Techniques from the Monster Race, and allow the energies of their bodies to grow similar to that of Monster Qi, it would absolutely not be as pure as what the new bride had unleashed. From the looks of it, this new bride was unexpectedly not a human, but a member of the Monster Race.
Although there were Monster Races present within the Star Boundary, it was extremely rare for them to move about within human-populated cities. Furthermore, other than the extremely small percentage that would do so, they would also do their utmost to conceal their movements; after all, due to the difference in race, it was unavoidable for humans to have negative feelings towards those of the Monster Race.
There were quite a few people other than Ye Jing Han who had discovered this, causing them to shoot curious looks towards the new bride.
Furthermore, from the energy fluctuations radiating from the new bride when she had taken action, she was impressively a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator.
“What’s the matter, Young Master Yang?” Noticing that something was amiss with Yang Kai, Du Xian hastily asked out of concern.
However, Yang Kai paid no attention to him, continuing to lock his eyes right at the new bride, his body trembling slightly, as though he had discovered something incredible.
“Take him away and make sure to look after him properly! After the ceremony, this King will have a good talk with him!” Luo Jin waved his hand and gave his orders.
Nodding their heads, the few City Lord Mansion guards proceeded to take action and seal Chai Hu’s cultivation, before detaining him.
“No!” No one expected for a high pitched shout to ring out at that moment before everyone saw Luo Bing, who had just escaped from the deadly grasp of Chai Hu, rush straight towards him. Unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks at the few guards, she exerted all her might to push them away, proceeding to spread her arms and stand before Chai Hu, before shaking her head continuously, “Don’t come over!”
Her stance of wanting to protect Chai Hu left all of the guests in shock once again, as they were utterly incapable of understanding exactly what she was thinking. After all, Chai Hu had just used her life to threaten everyone, so shouldn’t she be fleeing as far away from Chai Hu as possible after extricating herself? Why did she jump right back into the net?
“What are you doing, Bing’er!” Luo Jin roared with great fury. He had grown quite angry with his daughter today, as she had already gone against him multiple times. Furthermore, she was now trying to protect the person that had caused a disturbance at his marriage ceremony! How could he not be angry?
“Father, Big Brother Chai saved me yesterday, so he’s my saviour! Please don’t make things difficult for him.” Luo Bing sobbed and pleaded.
Luo Jin’s eyes narrowed, “Saviour?”
Luo Bing replied, “That’s right. Yesterday, I was facing a life and death situation, and it was Big Brother Chai who saved me…”
“Yesterday?” A frown appeared on Luo Jin’s face as he said in a cold voice, “Didn’t you go out with Young Master Qiu yesterday? How did this person end up saving you?”
Luo Bing shook her head and answered, “I’ll tell you about the whole matter in detail later, so can you not make things difficult for him, and let him go, alright?”
The face of Qiu Yu, who had been listening on the side, instantly turned pale, and with a flash, appeared right before Luo Bing. Extending his hand, he grabbed hold of her arm, “Don’t cause a fuss anymore, Little Sister Bing. Didn’t Sir City Lord say that he would not hurt him? Just be a darling and be obedient, alright?”
However, Luo Bing shook her head, “Then you should let him go right now!”
A flash of impatience flickered across Luo Jin’s eyes as he spoke towards Qiu Yu, “Young Master Qiu, my little girl is being immature. Please take her away to rest.”
Qiu Yu nodded, “Yes sir!”
After saying that, he extended his hand out to give Luo Bing a pat on her body, causing her to immediately collapse limply. Although she was still conscious, she was incapable of moving. Carrying her by her waist, Qiu Yu proceeded to head towards the back of the inner hall.
After being struck by the new bride, Chai Hu seemed to have lost his soul, as he did not respond to the series of events that had just happened before him. At this moment, his sole eye turned red as he growled, “Fifth Sister, tell me, exactly why are you doing this! Could it be that you really are willingly getting married to this old dog?”
Luo Jin sneered, “This King has already given you enough face. If you can’t appreciate this King’s kindness, don’t blame this King for being discourteous towards you.”
A guest by the side shouted out, “City Lord, there’s no need for you to be overly kind to him! This person is guilty without a doubt!”
“That’s right! The City Lord and the new bride are bound by love, and will be blessed for hundreds of years. They are a Heaven-blessed pair, created by the earth, and not something that can be destroyed easily by a despicable, vile person like you.”
“I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it!” Chai Hu roared with all his might.
“Stubborn-headed fool!” Luo Jin snorted coldly before speaking in a deep voice. “Then go and stand by the side and observe in detail whether my humble wife is willing to marry this King or not!”
After saying those words, Luo Jin turned his head and scanned his surroundings, before speaking out with a gloomy look on his face, “Any friend who does not accept this union, please step forward, and this King will give you a satisfactory answer.”
Having his marriage ceremony disrupted by people had caused damage to his face. Therefore, for the sake of regaining it, he had said those words with a face brimming with murderous intent.
Who dared to step up and go against him yet again?
“You must be joking, right, City Lord? There are bound to be a few people in this world that can’t appreciate other people’s kindness. Don’t take offence to that, sir.”
“That’s right, it’s not worth it to spoil one’s mood over people like this. Let’s continue, let’s continue!”
Only after hearing these responses did Luo Jin’s complexion turn slightly for the better as he snorted coldly, “Today is a day of celebrations, so this King isn’t willing to make a big fuss about it. If there’s anyone that still objects, you can just speak forthrightly.”
He surveyed his surroundings, with everyone around putting up apologetic smiles in response.
“I…” A person’s voice suddenly rang out, causing the nervous atmosphere, which was gradually easing away, to reappear once again. There were even quite a few people that sucked in a breath of cold air, as they looked towards the direction where the voice came from, quietly thinking that there really were people who were not afraid to die in this world, to actually dare to object at such a moment.
Luo Jin’s expression also turned fierce, anger gushing forth as he turned a gaze filled to the brim with murderous intent towards the direction of the voice.
He looked over, only to see a youth standing at the table nearest to the front, grinning. Raising his hand, the youth said, “I… have just a very small request, and I hope City Lord Sir won’t get angry over it.”
“It’s a member of Thousand Leaves Sect!”
“It’s actually a disciple of Thousand Leaves Sect! He isn’t choosing to do so now just to add insult to injury, right?”
“That’s a very unfamiliar face. Is he really a member of Thousand Leaves Sect?”
“How could he not be? Don’t you see him sitting together with Ye Jing Han and Du Xian?”
“This will be interesting.”
Hushed whispers proceeded to ring out. When the guests noticed that the person who had just spoken out was seated together with the disciples of Thousand Leaves Sects, they immediately knew that today’s matter would get even more complicated than before. After all, Chai Hu had only represented himself, had failed in snatching the bride away, and had even gotten injured while making a fool of himself. However, if Thousand Leaves Sect was to get involved, the whole issue might end up with a confrontation between the two great forces if it was not settled properly. If that were to happen, it would become a major issue that would affect everyone who lived within ten thousand kilometres of this place.
Upon hearing that voice, Qin Yu, who had carried the immobilised Luo Bing to the entrance of the inner hall, instantly came to a halt and turned around. Right as he saw who had just spoken out, his expression immediately changed, “How can it be that little bastard! He’s really too audacious!”
“Young Master… Young Master Yang…” Ye Jing Han was caught off guard as she stared blankly at Yang Kai, who had stood up, covering her mouth as she blurted out in shock, utterly confused as to why Yang Kai had the nerve to speak out after that shocking series of events.
“What are you doing, Young Master Yang?” Du Xian’s expression had also changed, as he immediately realized the severity of the current situation. Although they knew that Young Master Yang was not a disciple of their Thousand Leaves Sect, others did not know about this. Since they were all sitting at the same table, other people would definitely assume that they were together. Yang Kai standing up at this moment to object to the marriage would definitely cause others to assume that this was the stance that Thousand Leaves Sect was taking.
Once this misunderstanding developed, they might not be able to leave Sky Crane City anymore.
In an instant, beads of cold sweat surfaced on Du Xian’s forehead.
“It’s just a personal matter! It’s purely a private affair!” Sending a faint smile towards the two, Yang Kai proceeded to raise his head to look towards Luo Jin.
Clearly, Luo Jin was also utterly confused by Yang Kai’s words. After staring at the latter for a while, he asked, “Is Your Excellency also from Thousand Leaves Sect? How come this King has never greeted you before?”
What made Luo Jin even more confused was that the group of people from Thousand Leaves Sect were actually seated at the frontmost table. What exactly was happening here?
“Would you believe it if I were to say that I’m not from Thousand Leaves Sect?”
Pained looks appeared on the faces of Ye Jing Han and Du Xian as they wiped away the beads of cold sweat that appeared continuously on their foreheads, nervousness and unease radiating from their entire beings.
Taking this in, Luo Jin gave a slight frown before quickly saying, “So, how do I address Your Excellency?”
Although Yang Kai only had a Second-Order Dao Source cultivation, which was a Minor Realm lower than his, he could make out that Yang Kai’s was still quite young. Having such a cultivation while being at that age forced Luo Jin to have no choice but to not treat Yang Kai lightly. Therefore, just to be safe, Luo Jin felt that it was better for him to probe Yang Kai before taking any hasty action.
“Yang Kai!” When he gave his reply, Yang Kai did not look at Luo Jin. Instead, he continued to stare at the new bride, looking for her reaction, before speaking in a clear voice. “High Heaven Sect’s… Yang Kai!”
“High Heaven Sect? What Sect is that?”
“Is there such a Sect in our Southern Territory? How have I never heard of it before?”
“Perhaps it’s a Sect from some distant place. There are so many Sects under the Heavens, so it isn’t a mystery for us to have never heard of one before.”
Hushed whispers echoed from the surrounding guests, with even Ye Jing Han and the others wrinkling their foreheads in pensive thought. Not a single person here had heard of this High Heaven Sect before, so it was unavoidable for them to be filled with curiosity.
After hearing the way Yang Kai had introduced himself, a fierce tremor shook through the new bride’s body, appearing as though her state of mind had suffered some kind of shock.
Seeing this, Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, as he felt with increasing certainty that his guess was correct.
Earlier, at the instant when the new bride had taken action against Chai Hu, Yang Kai had felt that the energy fluctuations radiating from her seemed somewhat familiar, as though it came from someone that he knew. Now, her reaction had reinforced this feeling in his heart.
Obviously having never heard of a Sect like High Heaven Sect before, a frown appeared on Luo Jin’s face, “So, Little Brother Yang, what objection do you have against this King’s marriage ceremony? How about telling this King?”
With a grin, Yang Kai replied, “Truthfully speaking, it isn’t anything like an objection; rather, this one is just quite curious about this new bride’s appearance… Sir City Lord, would it be alright if you could let this new bride remove her veil so we can see her gorgeous countenance?”
Right as his words rang out, weird looks appeared on everyone’s face as they looked at Yang Kai, wondering in their hearts about which new bride would remove their veil before entering the bridal room. On their day of marriage, the veils worn by the girls would only be removed by the grooms after entering the bridal rooms. This had always been the tradition, and breaking this would bring misfortune to the couple.
If the new bride’s face was to be revealed to everyone on the day of marriage, what purpose would the red veil have any more?
Despite such thoughts present in everyone’s heart, in all honesty, all of them were definitely curious about the new bride’s appearance, and wanted to take a glimpse of her face. However, not a single one of them had the courage to actually ask for it. Therefore, Yang Kai’s words had caused silent anticipation to well up in everyone’s heart.
Luo Jin’s eyes were solemn as he continued to stare at Yang Kai, remaining silent for a long time before giving a laugh, “You really are humorous, Little Brother Yang. You definitely are trying to make a joke just now to defuse the overly nervous atmosphere, right? This Old Master appreciates Little Brother’s thoughts!”
After saying those words, he cupped his hands slightly to show his understanding, though his eyes were brimming with a threatening stance, probably indicating to Yang Kai that he would suffer if he didn’t stop obstructing the process of the marriage ceremony.
However, right as he ended his speech, Yang Kai smiled and replied, “You’re misunderstanding me, Sir City Lord. This one did not just make a joke, I truly wish to see how the new bride looks!”
The smile on Luo Jin’s face instantly disappeared, replaced by a look of deep profundity.
Appearing to not notice it, Yang Kai continued, “Everyone knows that the City Lord is blessed with good fortune, having fourteen beautiful concubines with different styles of beauty, being able to enjoy the blessed fortunes of having those beauties all around him. Yet, no one knows exactly how those City Lord Madams look, as all of them wear black veils whenever they head outside. Guards would be there to part the roads, leaving people with no way to see their true faces; however, I think that everyone here definitely thinks that these City Lord Madams are absolute beauties, as only then would be able to match up to Sir City Lord’s majestic and awe-inspiring prestige.”
Hearing his words, Luo Jin laughed. “You’re too polite, Little Brother!”
Inwardly, he thought that this little brat was not trying to find trouble, but had done so for the sake of flattery. If that was the case, there was no harm for him to cooperate a bit.
“Now, there’s already going to be another City Lord Madam, you can’t conceal her yet again and stir people’s appetite, right?” Yang Kai winked at Luo Jin, “There isn’t any harm in letting us get a feast for our eyes, when all of the guests from all directions have gathered today, right? It will also help accomplish this wish of mine. If that is possible, we would also be able to soak in the good fortune that surrounds Sir City Lord. Who knows if this might cause an endless stream of fortune, and bless us with a wonderful life. Isn’t that right, everyone?”
Although the guests quietly listened and didn’t participate in the conversation, looks of anticipation appeared on the faces of quite a few people, as though they really wished to see exactly how this new bride looked.
With a smile, Luo Jin replied, “Little Brother, this Luo and my Madams share the same heart, and are matches made in Heaven. If you really wish to get lucky with women, this King seriously recommends you to visit our city’s Thousand Revelries House! You will definitely be able to obtain whatever you wish for, as there are many beautiful and lovable ladies there!”
Right as his words rang out, hearty chuckles rang out from the surrounding guests, as they bowed over from the humour in what Luo Jin had just said.
Nevertheless, some people were able to catch the hidden meaning behind Luo Jin’s words. What he was trying to say was that his Madams were not ladies you could pay for services like in a brothel. If the guests really were too bored of life and dared to continue causing trouble, it would be equivalent to humiliating him. Therefore, don’t blame him for becoming angry as a result.
“Good! The auspicious hour is about to arrive! Let the ceremony continue!” With a wave, Luo Jin prepared to end this farce that had caused his impatience to bubble forth.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai took a step forward and quickly said, “What if I really want to take a look at the new bride?”
Turning his head around, Luo Jin shot a cold look at Yang Kai and said in an emotionless voice, “It’s best that you go back and take a seat, Little Brother!”
“Young Master Yang… what are you doing?” Ye Jing Han was on the brink of going mad as she was utterly clueless as to why Yang Kai would continue to provoke Luo Jin time and time again at such a critical juncture. She could clearly see Luo Jin’s impatience and anger, and was well aware that if this situation continued, there would be no way for them to pull back any more.
“Young Master Yang, please come back,” Du Xian urged.
Turning his head towards them, Yang Kai replied in an indifferent tone, “This is my personal affair. If you all are afraid of being implicated by me, leave right now; however, do not criticize or give orders to me.”
A frown appeared on Du Xian’s face, though he did not continue to urge the latter.
On the contrary, a flustered look appeared on Ye Jing Han’s face as she waved her hands, “That was not my intention, but…”
Before waiting for her to finish her sentence, Yang Kai had already left from his seat, taking step after step towards the new bride. Moving at an unhurried pace, with a carefree look on his face, he looked at Luo Jin and said, “Sir City Lord, if this one isn’t able to see the true face of your new bride, I might not be able to sleep well at night. Sir City Lord, please let me fulfil my wish.”
“Have you gone crazy, you brat?” Hugging on to Luo Bing, Qiu Yu stood dumbly at his original position, a burning look in his eyes. He was utterly incapable of understanding why Yang Kai would cause such a ruckus; after all, from their earlier meeting, he could tell that Yang Kai was not some brainless troublemaker.
At this moment, the eye of Chai Hu, who was originally filled with despair as he was being suppressed by the City Lord Mansion guards, suddenly lit up as he shot a burning gaze at Yang Kai, as though he had managed to grasp onto a life-saving stalk in his despair. Struggling about, he shouted, “Little Brother, help me take her away! She’s just having a momentary confusion! You have to take her away!”
“Impudence!” Luo Jin roared out as he sent a furious and imposing glare at Yang Kai, “Little brat, I see that you’re purposefully trying to start a fight, huh.”
Continuing to walk towards the new bride, Yang Kai shook his head and replied, “You misunderstand me. I just wish to take a look at the new bride, that’s all. If you don’t agree, I’ll just have to do it myself.”
Luo Jin shouted out angrily, “Capture him!”
As his command rang out, a dozen cultivators suddenly leapt out from all directions, lunging aggressively towards Yang Kai. There were two Second-Order Dao Source Realm Masters among their ranks, one on the left and one on the right, both of them entering an attacking stance.
Seeing a fight about to break out before their eyes, the faces of the surrounding guests changed as they proceeded to retreat in fear of getting involved. There were even more people that looked towards Yang Kai with pitying expressions appearing on their faces, as they silently felt that the latter had lost his mind to actually cause such disturbance during the City Lord’s marriage ceremony. Wasn’t this equivalent to courting death?
In the blink of an eye, the dozen cultivators appeared before Yang Kai. Taking the lead, the two Second-Order Dao Source Realm Masters unleashed their attacks in a ruthless fashion. In an instant, Source Qi burst forth within the inner hall as energy fluctuations surged out.
In the next moment, a flurry of bangs rang out, followed by successive miserable howls, as all of the City Lord Mansion’s guards that lunged at Yang Kai were sent flying backwards. Smashing heavily against the surrounding walls, causing the entire inner hall to be filled with holes.
“What?”
“What happened?”
“Am I seeing things? My eyes have no problems, right?”
Astonished shouts rang out as the surrounding guests were utterly incapable of believing what they had just witnessed. There were even people who started to rub their eyes in an attempt to clear their vision, but were nevertheless unable to change the result that had appeared before their eyes.
The dozen cultivators, including the two Second-Order Dao Source Realm Masters, had all been sent flying in a single instant.
It was impossible for something like that to have happened for no reason. Therefore, the only explanation was that they had all been sent flying by Yang Kai.
However, no one had seen exactly how Yang Kai had taken action; the only thing they caught was a faint glimpse of Yang Kai’s figure turning blurry.
Only the exceedingly small handful of Third-Order Dao Source Realm Masters present narrowed their eyes and revealed solemn expressions on their faces as they realised how extraordinary Yang Kai was.
This was the same for Luo Jin. Originally, he had assumed that Yang Kai was just a little brat that had yet to grasp the immensity of the Heavens and Earth. However, he never expected that Yang Kai would have concealed his strength like this. In an instant, Luo Jin realised that he was facing serious trouble.
After knocking those dozen City Lord Mansion guards back, Yang Kai continued to wear a calm and relaxed expression on his face, as though nothing had happened as he continued to walk towards the new bride.
“What are you all staring at?!” Realising that the situation was worsening, Luo Jin roared out a command.
In the next instant, even more masters from the City Lord’s Mansion flew out and hurtled towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai made an abrupt stop, turned his head towards his surroundings, a cold gaze gleaming within his eyes before he spoke in a grim tone, “If anyone dares to come over again, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
As his words rang out, looks of hesitation appeared on the faces of many of the cultivators lunging towards him, in fear of losing their lives here; however, with Luo Jin glaring at them, they had no choice but to clench their teeth and summon their artifacts and use their Secret Techniques to attack Yang Kai.
In an instant, multi-coloured lights enveloped the place where Yang Kai stood, as surging energies intersected and collided together. Intense explosions rang out, shaking the entire inner hall to the point where it appeared to teeter on the brink of collapse.
Everyone’s eyes snapped wide open as they looked towards where the various energies were surging out from, wanting to know how Yang Kai would deal with this danger. Nevertheless, they were greatly disappointed that Yang Kai actually didn’t escape, and not a single trace of movement could be seen within.
“Young Master Yang!” Ye Jing Han’s expression changed drastically as she shouted out in shock.
Faced with such ferocious attacks, it was utterly impossible for Yang Kai, with his Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, to block all of them. Therefore, she believed that Yang Kai would definitely be in a disastrous situation.
On the other side, Luo Jin gave a sneer, while a ridiculing look appeared on his face.
After a short while, the energy storm dissipated, revealing a gigantic hole where Yang Kai once stood. However, not a single trace of Yang Kai was present.
“Where is he? Where did he go?”
“Is he dead? Could he have been turned into dust?”
“It’s possible. That little brat was a walking joke, all bark and no bite!”
“With so many cultivators from the City Lord’s Mansion taking action, even a Third-Order Dao Source Realm would be killed without a doubt. How could that inexperienced little brat defend against those attacks? He has definitely died without the chance of being buried.”
With such a sight before them, everyone couldn’t help themselves from discussing the current situation, with some feeling pity for Yang Kai dying before reaching his prime, and others mocking him for overestimating his own strength. The greater majority of the people immediately proceeded to flatter and laud Luo Jin to the best of their abilities.
A faint smile hung on Luo Jin’s face, though a faint feeling that something was amiss started to grow within his heart, causing unease to radiate through his entire being.
Chai Hu’s face had turned ashen, and it took him quite a while to recover from the shock he had experienced.
On the other table, Du Xian’s face had turned deathly pale as he continued to gulp down his saliva, also taking quite a while to recover from his shock. After a long while, he finally snapped awake from his absent-mindedness before whispering, “We should hurry up and leave; if not, it’ll be too late for us.”
Now that Yang Kai had died, although there weren’t any connections between Yang Kai and their Thousand Leave Sect, he had been sitting together with them around the same table earlier. Therefore, it was unavoidable for people to have some misunderstandings about their relationship, especially Luo Jin. No one could tell whether he would take this chance to make things difficult for Thousand Leaves Sects by forcing them to stay behind.
If Luo Jin really chose to do so, with what just transpired, he wouldn’t suffer any repercussions.
Considering all of this, Du Xian started to get flustered, causing him to grab Ye Jing Han in haste, wanting to sneak away while everyone was still distracted by the earlier events.
How could he have thought that Ye Jing Han wouldn’t budge an inch though as she continued to sweep her beautiful eyes around the nearby void.
“What are you doing, Ye’er?” Du Xian was filled with anxiousness.
Ye Jing Han replied, “Young Master Yang hasn’t died. It’s impossible for him to have died that easily.”
Not knowing where she was getting this confidence from, Du Xian clenched his teeth and whispered, “His body has already turned into nothingness! What are you still looking for!”
Ye Jing Han replied, “I’m well aware of Young Master Yang’s abilities, so I know, how could he possibly die just like that?”
Yang Kai had agreed to follow her back to Thousand Leaves Sect to repair their World-Crossing Space Array. This involved the very future of Thousand Leaves Sect, so how could Ye Jing Han not care about him? Before she had personally seen Yang Kai’s corpse, she absolutely refused to believe Yang Kai had died.
“So what if he’s formidable? Two fists can’t block four strikes, Ye’er!” Du Xian attempted to persuade her.
“I believe in him!” Ye Jing Han said as she bit her lip, continuing to search among the void. All of a sudden, she seemed to have discovered something, as she stared firmly in a certain direction, gasping in shock as she quickly covered her mouth with her hands.
A stunned look appeared on Du Xian’s face, before he looked towards the direction she was staring at, only to see a cultivator from the City Lord’s Mansion. This person was one of the two Second-Order Dao Source Realm Masters that had participated in the bombardment of attacks against Yang Kai.
Right at this instant, an illusionary phantom-like form appeared behind this person’s back, gradually solidifying into the appearance of Yang Kai.
“This….” Du Xian’s eyeballs were practically popping out of their sockets as he said in a trembling voice, “He’s really… not dead?”
A wave of palpitations rocked the depths of his heart; just how strong would one have to be to be able to escape from that bombardment of attacks without anyone noticing? Not only was Yang Kai still alive, but he was also completely uninjured! In fact, there wasn’t even any damage to his robes.
A large number of Divine Senses intersected within the inner hall, as the few Third-Order Dao Source Realm Masters hadn’t lowered their vigilance at all from the start. As such, the moment Yang Kai reappeared, he had been detected by them and their gazes all shot over towards him.
Upon seeing Yang Kai’s figure, Luo Jin’s expression drastically changed as he roared out, “Boy, what do you think you’re doing!?”
Standing behind the Second-Order Dao Source Realm Master, Yang Kai sent a malevolent smile towards Luo Jin. Extending his hand out in front of himself, he palmed, causing faintly visible Space Principle fluctuations to ripple, before they disappeared quietly.
As he acted, he finally replied, “As I said earlier, don’t blame me for being impolite towards anyone who dares take action against me!”
As his words rang out, an inexplicable shiver racked through Luo Jin’s body as an extreme feeling of unease surfaced within his heart.
Right at this moment, the Second-Order Dao Source Realm Master who stood in front of Yang Kai suddenly collapsed forward. Before his body made contact with the ground, blood spurted out from his neck as his head flew high into the air.
Astonished cries rang out from all directions, as countless people looked at Yang Kai with extreme dread while they retreated back to increase the distance between them and him.
The person who had just died was a well-known master in Sky Crane City, serving as one of Luo Jin’s arms, helping him in the management of Sky Crane City, one of the Vice City Lords.
However, such a Master had actually been killed by Yang Kai just like that! From the blank look in his eyes, that person seemed to be fully unaware of what had happened, even at the point of death!
Shock filled everyone’s hearts and minds. Exactly how strong was this youth to be able to kill a Second-Order Dao Source Realm without any sign of attacking at all? To the point that the person killed didn’t even sense his impending death!
Looking towards Luo Jin, Yang Kai said in an emotionless tone, “I truly apologise for letting blood be spilt at Sir City Lord’s wedding. I hope that there will be no one else that wants to obstruct me!”
After saying those words, he continued to make his way towards the new bride, who had remained at her original location since the beginning.
As he walked by, everyone subconsciously moved aside and gave way, letting him pass. Despite the extremely ugly looks on their faces, even those cultivators from the City Lord’s Mansion proceeded to retreat, not a single one of them daring to stand up and bar Yang Kai’s way.
With a deeply profound look on his face, Luo Jin stared Yang Kai’s figure while thick murderous intent flashed within his eyes.
The disturbance caused by this youth named Yang Kai during his wedding ceremony was bound to cause serious damage to his reputation and dignity. If he wasn’t able to regain his face, how would he be able to raise his head high in Sky Crane City in the future?
However, even with the few Second-Order Dao Source Realm Masters taking action together, it was still insufficient to deal with Yang Kai, so there was no choice left but to take action personally to deal with him.
As that thought settled in his mind, Luo Jin shot an inconspicuous glance towards a certain location within the crowd of guests.
On the other hand, Yang Kai had already walked all the way before the new bride. With a slightly complicated and nervous look on his face, he extended his hand towards the red veil covering the new bride’s face while apologising, “Forgive me!”
The eyes of all of the surrounding guests snapped wide open. On one hand, they wished to know how this situation would develop, and on the other hand, they felt curious about the actual appearance of this new bride.
Yang Kai had caused this entire debacle for the sake of seeing what this new bride looked like. In fact, he didn’t care about offending the City Lord’s Mansion and killing a Vice City Lord to do so. This development of events caused interest to grow even in the people who were originally uninterested in the appearance of the new bride.
At this moment, everyone’s eyes were wide open, with deathly silence filling the inner hall to the point that one could hear a pin drop if it was to occur. Seemingly everyone had held their breath, waiting to bear witness to that critical instant that was about to happen.
Just when Yang Kai’s hand was about to grab hold of that red veil, the new bride suddenly extended her jade white hand out and grabbed ahold of his arm. At the same time, Monster Qi surged out from her tender body and she sent her palm hurtling viciously towards Yang Kai’s chest. Energy fluctuations gushed out from her palm, a clear indication of the powerful force behind this attack.
“Careful!” Chai Hu suddenly shouted out, as he had suffered a huge loss precisely due to a sneak attack from the new bride. If he had not had a hostage in his hands, how could he be easily captured?
Ye Jing Han had also cried out in shock upon seeing this.
With ample power behind this palm strike, Yang Kai was apprehensive to block it for fear of injuring the new bride. Therefore, he allowed the jade white hand to smash against his chest. He was immediately sent flying backwards as though he was struck by lightning, with blood flowing out from the corner of his mouth, as his organs shifted from the shock.
Right at this instant, Luo Jin had somehow managed to appear behind Yang Kai. Summoning a jade sceptre-like artifact in his hand, he proceeded to smash it fiercely towards Yang Kai, all while laughing malevolently, “Let this King send you on your way!”
As his words rang out, the jade sceptre had already made contact with Yang Kai’s body. Blossoming with intense radiance, it let out an extremely strange power. In the next instant, a black hole appeared in the air that proceeded to devour Yang Kai’s body.
In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai’s entire body was torn into bits.
Achieving his goal with one strike, Luo Jin laughed heartily, “This is the end for anyone who dares to go against this King!”
The surrounding guests kept their mouths shut out of fear. Staring at the jade scepter in Luo Jin’s hand, looks of dread appeared on their faces, as though they were staring at an extremely powerful artifact.
However, in the next instant, Luo Jin’s smile froze as he suddenly discovered that there was not a single drop of blood flowing out from the pieces of Yang Kai’s body. On the contrary, they started to distort before his very eyes, before dissipating away like puffs of smoke.
“Just an afterimage!?” Luo Jin’s face changed drastically, as never in his wildest dreams did he expect to fail in his sneak attack.
“So, you’re the one behind all this!” All of sudden, Yang Kai’s voice rang out from within the crowd of people, causing the colour to drain from the faces of the nearby guests who retreated. Upon turning their heads around, they noticed Yang Kai extending his hand to grab the neck of a middle-aged man, a sneer present on his face.
The crowd seemed to not recognize this middle-aged man. Nevertheless, they could not help but reveal looks of pity on their faces upon seeing the misfortune that had befallen him, despite not knowing what he had done to be targeted by Yang Kai.
This middle-aged man had a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, which was considered to be pretty good; however, after personally witnessing Yang Kai kill a Vice City Lord in front of everyone, how could he dare to resist? The only reaction he could make was to tremble as he looked at Yang Kai in terror and shout, “We can talk this over, Little Brother, right! What is this all about?”
Increasing his grip ever so slightly, Yang Kai squeezed the man’s neck till cracking sounds echoed before sneering, “Stop acting and tell me exactly what you are using to control the new bride!”
Right as those words rang out, the middle-aged man’s face changed drastically, though he tried his best to conceal it, “You… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You know very clearly what I’m talking about! I’ll give you ten breaths to obediently dispel whatever Secret Technique you’re using, or you’ll never dispel anything else ever again!”
The middle-aged man became flustered as he shot a pleading gaze at Luo Jin.
As the despair-filled Chai Hu heard Yang Kai’s remark, he seemed to have come to some sort of realisation. Struggling to climb up, he looked towards Yang Kai, “This friend, what do you mean…”
Yang Kai faintly smiled as he looked at Chai Hu in pity. Instead of replying, he asked, “Are you feeling hurt and filled with despair? The person that you’ve risked your life to save actually attacked you instead. Doesn’t feel good, does it?”
Chai Hu’s face turned ashen as he locked his eyes firmly on Yang Kai.
Yang Kai continued, “She didn’t attack you of her own free will.”
Chai Hu gasped in shock, before speaking through clenched teeth, “Are you saying… that she’s being controlled by someone?” As he spoke those words, he shot a hate-filled glare at the middle-aged man grasped by Yang Kai, murderous intent surging without restraint on his face as he growled, “Is it him?”
With a hearty laugh, Yang Kai replied, “You finally understand.”
The hatred-filled look on Chai Hu’s face worsened, “I should have understood earlier! I should have understood all along! How could it be possible for Fifth Sister to sneak attack me!? Dammit! I should have understood! Why am I so stupid!? Chai Hu, you’re the dumbest person alive!”
He shouted out loudly, filled with guilt and self-blame.
“Big Brother Chai…” Luo Bing’s face was streaked with tears, and seemed to be in shock as she rushed up and pushed away the City Lord Mansion guards who were restraining Chai Hu. She proceeded to extend her hands and stood protectively before him like a mother hen and shouted, “Hurry up and go, Big Brother Chai! I’ll hold them back!”
She didn’t know exactly why she did such a thing. Before the incident yesterday that resulted in her meeting Chai Hu, she was the princess of the City Lord’s Mansion and had experienced the privilege of being protected and being free of worry as she lived in happiness. However, after yesterday’s experience, she seemed to feel that she had grown much more mature. After seeing the self-rebuke, sadness and despair that Chai Hu had shown earlier, she felt her heart inexplicably starting to hurt. This resulted in her body moving on its own, and not thinking about the smaller details.
“Bing’er!” Luo Jin erupted in fury, his eyes shooting out flames of anger as he stared viciously at his daughter. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect his ever-so obedient daughter to go against him time and time again while under public scrutiny, to the point of defending the perpetrator that had caused a disturbance at his own marriage ceremony! He felt as though the sky had started to revolve around the earth, as intense flames of anger roared furiously in the depths of his heart.
“Father, please let Big Brother Chai go! I’m begging you! He’s my saviour! You can’t hurt him!” Luo Bing knelt down on the ground, tears spilling out from her eyes as she pleaded earnestly.
A complicated expression surfaced within Chai Hu’s sole eye as he stared blankly at the frail and delicate figure kneeling before him, a swirl of confusing emotions churning in his heart.
A range of expressions also appeared on the faces of the surrounding guests, as a deep veneration and respect surfaced in their hearts as they concentrated their gazes on the crying Luo Bing.
“You’re a good person, Junior Sister Bing,” Yang Kai gave a hearty chuckle as he gave a big thumbs up towards Luo Bing. He had a totally new respect for her, “Rest assured, your Big Brother Chai definitely won’t be injured further today! This Yang guarantees that with his life!”
Hearing his words, Luo Bing’s eyes lit up as she turned to look at Yang Kai, “Really? Can you really guarantee it?”
Yang Kai replied in a solemn voice, “I give you my word!”
Rubbing the tears from the corners of her eyes, Luo Bing exclaimed in elation, “Thank you. Thank you! Hurry up and take him away. Big Brother Chai’s cultivation has been sealed by them, so he can’t leave on his own. You’re so formidable, so you definitely can bring him and leave.”
Yang Kai shook his head slowly, “I can’t do that. I’ve yet to complete my matters here. I’ll naturally bring him away from here after I’m done.” After a slight pause, he gave a faint smile, “Naturally, if Junior Sister Bing wishes to leave together, you can come along with us.”
“Me?” Luo Bing gawked at his words before she turned to look at her father, then back at Chai Hu behind her. Giving a melancholic smile, she replied, “I cannot do that, I must stay by my father’s side.”
Luo Jin closed his eyes and replied in a deep tone, one that was filled with pain, “Bing’er, if you don’t return to your room right now, and continue spouting nonsense here, your father will no longer consider you his daughter!”
He had enough of this! He felt that he had spoiled Luo Bing too much in the past, which resulted in her damaging his dignity in such a manner today. The pain he felt from her actions had far eclipsed the fury he felt towards Yang Kai and Chai Hu for disrupting his marriage ceremony.
Luo Bing’s tender body shook, tears pooling in her eyes as she looked pitifully at her father before the tears splashed onto the ground like broken strings of pearls. Luo Jin had never treated her this strictly and had never said such ruthless words to her before. This led to her reaching an unbearable point as she collapsed onto the ground.
“As for you two…” Although Luo Jin was frustrated with the nonsense his daughter had done, he didn’t have the heart to continue looking at her after noticing the sorry figure she was cutting right now. Instead, he tossed all of his anger towards Yang Kai. Turning his head to look at him, he roared out in vicious anger, “None of you will be leaving today! Start the array!”
As his voice rang out, a humming noise suddenly rang out from the City Lord’s Mansion, before a powerful surge of energy erupted from within. In the next instant, the entire exterior of the City Lord’s Mansion was surrounded by a light barrier. Clearly, a Spirit Array had been activated, sealing the entire City Lord’s Mansion.
“Just how I like it!” Yang Kai replied with a hearty laugh, “Before the matter has been settled, no one is allowed to leave this place.”
“This little brat’s mad! He’s really gone mad!”
“He actually dares to defy the City Lord’s Mansion by himself! Where is he finding the courage to do so? From the looks of it, he wants to settle this right here and right now.”
“What’s the point of caring so much? Just watch and enjoy the show.”
A flurry of discussion rang out, with the surrounding guests already retreating far away following the series of unusual events playing out. This resulted in a large empty space within the inner hall, with Yang Kai and the middle-aged man grasped in his hand left within.
“Speak! What method did you use to control the new bride? I’m not patient at all. If you aren’t able to give me a satisfactory answer, I’ll kill you immediately…” Source Qi gushed out from Yang Kai’s palm as he shot a cold and emotionless look at the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man was only a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, which was lower than Yang Kai by a Minor Realm. Upon Yang Kai’s declaration, this man’s expression changed drastically as sweat poured out from his forehead, speaking in a trembling voice, “Little Brother, you… you’re misunderstanding something…”
Before he could finish his reply, Yang Kai suddenly raised his hand, before making a slight chopping action.
*Pu…*
A soft sound rang out as the man witnessed his arm flying out from his body before exploding in a cloud of blood mist in the air. In the next instant, a fountain of blood gushed out from the stump.
“Ahh! My arm!” The middle-aged man shrieked in misery as the intense pain set in, his face warping madly.
“This is just a small warning to you. If you don’t give me a satisfactory answer to my next question, it’ll be your head that flies off!” Yang Kai’s eyes gleamed with a chilling glint as he said in an exceedingly cold voice. “I don’t really care what method you used to control the new bride. After all, if you die… the new bride should be released, right?”
A shiver ran down the middle-aged man’s body as terror and dread filled his face. As he cried out in pain, he shot multiple looks towards Luo Jin, only to see the latter shake his head.
Clenching his teeth, he shouted out, “It’s… it’s useless to kill me! If I die, the new bride will die without a doubt!”
As his words rang out, the surrounding guests instantly clamoured in shock, while Luo Jin’s face sank and turned incomparably ashen.
Although the middle-aged man did not directly reveal any information with his reply, his words were already enough to answer some questions. If the new bride did not agree to this marriage, why would Luo Jin need to let this man control her? If she was truly willing, there was simply no need for any of this.
In other words, the new bride was truly being forced to get married to Luo Jin against her will.
Upon hearing the middle-aged man’s words, Chai Hu’s sole eye erupted with an astonishing splendour, before laughing foolishly, as though he had managed to clear the knot in his heart.
Seeing the happiness Chai Hu exuded, Luo Bing could not help but smile, which painted a desolately beautiful image when paired with her tear-stricken face.
“You’re trying to deceive me?” Yang Kai snorted coldly before speaking in a sinister tone, “Do you know the price you’ll pay for lying?”
“I’m not lying to you!” The middle-aged man shouted loudly, “Everything I say is the truth.”
Yang Kai stared coldly at him, though he was not able to sense the slightest sign of a lie in the man’s eyes. Nodding his head, he said, “Good, since that’s the case, dispel that Secret Technique of yours.”
Upon hearing that, a look of difficulty surfaced on the man’s face as he shook his head continuously.
“Do you wish to die?” Yang Kai roared.
The middle-aged man replied, “As long as I don’t dispel it, you won’t dare to kill me! If I do dispel it, I’ll definitely die!”
The crowd immediately realised what he meant as soon as he said those words.
If he did not dispel the Secret Technique, Yang Kai would act cautiously lest the new bride gets injured, and thus naturally wouldn’t take his life. However, if the man were to dispel the Secret Technique, regardless of whether Yang Kai backed out of his promise or not, Luo Jin would absolutely not let him go.
With Luo Jin already losing all of his face today, how could he be willing to take things lying down if the middle-aged man did something that he didn’t want? Although he could pardon Luo Bing, and could not do anything to Yang Kai, he would definitely grind the middle-aged man into a paste.
Yang Kai raised his eyebrows, “You’re quite sharp!”
The middle-aged man gave a miserable smile, “I’m being forced by circumstances, so I hope little brother won’t feel offended!”
“Then tell me exactly what Secret Technique you used?” Yang Kai asked once again.
The middle-aged man looked sheepishly at Luo Jin, only to spot the latter’s cold and gloomy expression, causing him to turn his gaze away in haste.
“Looks like you’ve steeled your heart to not cooperate with me, huh? That’s alright. I won’t take your life, but I can cut off your four limbs!” Yang Kai gave a deep, cold smile, raising his hand.
“Wait!” The middle-aged man’s face turned pale in fright. Maybe due to his loss of blood, he replied with a loud shout.
“Do you have anything else to say?” Yang Kai asked in a stern voice.
The middle-aged man hesitated for quite a while before speaking between his clenched teeth, “It’s not a Secret Technique…”
“Not a Secret Technique?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows, “Then what method did you use to control the new bride?”
The middle-aged man wailed, “I can’t say! Please let me go, Little Brother! That’s all I can tell you! This one still has Elders and descendants to take care of in my family, and they all live in Sky Crane City. Please be magnanimous, Little Brother…”
Yang Kai stared coldly at him, though he knew that nothing good would result in him forcing the middle-aged man again. Therefore, he threw this man hatefully towards the Thousand Leaves Sect’s people and shouted, “Sister Ye, help me look after him. If he dares to pull any stunts, kill him!”
“Good!” Upon hearing his words, Ye Jing Han snapped out of her daze and hastily caught the flying middle-aged man, before keeping him suppressed by her side.
After this, Yang Kai turned around and returned to the side of the new bride.
This time around, the new bride did not take action against him, simply standing still like a statue. As Yang Kai drew close, her breathing started to quicken, as if she was getting excited, to the point where her tender body started to tremble.