Chapter 534: Imperial Uncle, Share the Same Boat and Help Each Other
The cabin room was quiet, with a bright Spirit Stone Lantern standing above a desk piled with Sect Scrolls and Jade Slips.
Brother Liang, dressed in the sect uniform of a Hundred Lotus sect elder, held a brand new Jade Slip in his hand, his expression grave as if troubled by something. After pondering for a long while, he inscribed with his Spiritual Sense onto the Jade Slip:
— Liang An, I have followed Fairy Pei and Young Master Xiao through countless battles, eradicating demons and achieving immortality. No need to worry. I wonder, how is Tong Zilan lately? Are there any troubles in the Hundred Lotus Sect? Is Ating obedient?
Reaching this point, Brother Liang suddenly stopped his Spiritual Sense, sighed, and tossed the Jade Slip aside:
“Not good, not good… alas—”
He took out a scroll painting from his Storage Bag, carefully unrolled it, and peered at it in the light of the lantern.
Before long, the girl’s beauty in the painting melted the usual icy facade of his face, revealing a hint of redness.
Brother Liang’s lips unconsciously curved upward. He reached out a fingertip to gently touch the face of the woman in the painting, chuckling softly:
“Heh heh…”
But in the next moment, two knocks on the door shattered the smile on his face.
Brother Liang, with the speed of a thief stealing a bell, quickly rolled up the painting, stowed it in his Storage Bag, put on an ice-cold expression, and casually picked up a scroll from the side, unfurling it and placing it before him.
“Enter.”
Creak—
The door half-opened, and Ye Anping entered carrying half a steaming Roasted chicken. Seeing Brother Liang sitting alone at the desk handling scrolls, he felt a bit apologetic.
After the victory at Moonfall Gorge, there was a mountain of post-battle affairs to handle.
Previously, Xiao Yunluo and Pei Lianxue would help him share some of the burden, but these past three days, all the matters concerning the seven Immortal Ships of the Xuan Xing Sect had been dumped on him.
When Ye Anping used Xiao Yunluo’s books to fuel the fire for Feng Yu Die’s Roasted chicken, he heard Feng Yu Die mention it and decided to bring half a chicken for his diligent elder brother, Liang.
However, upon seeing Ye Anping carrying the Roasted chicken into the room, Brother Liang’s expression immediately turned a bit ashen.
Before Ye Anping could speak, Brother Liang retorted with a crooked mouth:
“What? Sixth Brother, after you’ve doted on your four wives, you’re here to dote on me now?”
?
Ye Anping could tell that Brother Liang was filled with resentment at the moment. He smiled awkwardly, then used Spiritual Energy to bring a stool and sat down on the other side of the desk, placing the Roasted chicken in his hand:
“Brother Liang, Sixth Brother is thinking of you, aren’t I? I even roasted half a chicken specifically for you. This was slowly roasted over a low flame using books my wife treasured for many years as fuel… Try it?”
?
Brother Liang didn’t understand what he was saying. He shot him a glare:
“No reason for politeness unless there’s a scheme…”
“Sixth Brother is not a villain…” Ye Anping laughed. “I genuinely just thought Big Brother has been working hard lately and wanted to reward you.”
Brother Liang snorted coldly, looked at the half Roasted chicken, and huffed:
“Heh, you think half a Roasted chicken can appease me?”
“How could that be? Brother Liang took a lot of kickbacks following my Junior Sister and Yunluo. Sixth Brother guarantees he won’t report Brother Liang to the Xuan Xing Sect’s Storage Department…”
… …
Hum hum hum…
Brother Liang’s eyelids twitched as if he had a seizure, but he merely shook his head slightly, admitting defeat. He cupped his chin in his hands and looked at Ye Anping:
“Sixth Brother…”
“Hm?”
“I’ve asked before, and I want to ask again… where do you get so much information from?”
Actually, when Ye Anping first left the Xuan Xing Sect with Feng Yu Die, he had given him a Jade Slip.
The Jade Slip contained many names of locations and Demonic cultivators in the Eastern Domain, so that when Brother Liang followed the Xuan Xing Sect into the Eastern Domain, he could act as an advisor beside Pei Lianxue and Xiao Yunluo, helping them avoid strange places in the Eastern Domain.
For example, the “Hundred Herbs Cave,” about twelve hundred Li into the Eastern Domain after passing Donghuang City, contained a mutated Fierce Spirit Grass that used cultivators as their breeding ground. Elder Qiu of the Spirit Beast Sect, weighing two hundred jin, took about ten disciples there. Upon their return, they were all skin and bones…
In fact, Pei Lianxue and Xiao Yunluo had initially planned to go there. It was only because Ye Anping’s Jade Slip mentioned it was best not to go that he helped them plan a new route. This allowed them to slaughter their way through with almost no effort…
Ye Anping raised his eyebrows slightly, then smiled and raised his index finger:
“How can heavenly secrets be revealed?”
“Heh…”
Brother Liang shook his head slightly, thinking that he had indeed chosen the right sworn brother. Following Ye Anping for so many years, he had truly prospered…
— It was not in vain that Second Brother and the others died.
Ye Anping shrugged slightly. He suddenly noticed a corner of a red jade Jade Slip peeking out from under the scrolls on the desk, and his eyebrows immediately rose:
“Hoh…”
“Hm?”
Brother Liang followed his gaze and seemed flustered, quickly trying to hide the red jade Jade Slip further under the scrolls.
The color of a Jade Slip could indicate many things. Red jade Jade Slips were generally used for exchanging letters between men and women with complicated relationships. This was also how the pseudonym of Tong Zilan’s close attendant came about.
Ye Anping’s eyebrows rose slightly:
“Did Elder Tong send it?”
Brother Liang’s expression was blank: “…If you have something to say, say it. If not, take your Roasted chicken and leave. I still have matters to attend to.”
“Yes, yes, yes…”
Ye Anping smiled and shrugged, not having any intention of prying into his elder brother’s gossip with Tong Zilan. His expression immediately turned serious, and he asked solemnly:
“Where are the Immortal Sects of the Three Domains now?”
Brother Liang glanced sideways at the Eastern Domain map hanging on the wall and took out three daggers from his sleeve, sticking them into three locations on the map, saying:
“The Southern Domain, led by Yun Tianchong, crossed the lower reaches of the Blood River five days ago into Changmo Valley and should now have occupied Changmo City, leaving only thirteen thousand Li to the Tian Mo Sect.
“Led by the Xuan Xing Sect, Elder Lei is two thousand five hundred Li north of our current location. Yesterday, they sent a Jade Slip saying they had eliminated the remnants of evil spirits that had previously escaped from the Gu Poison Sect and were currently stationed in Zhanxian City.
“As for the Hantian Kingdom in the Northern Region, entering from Wushan, where the upper reaches of the Blood River in the Eastern Domain intersect with the Northern Region, and then directly into the Ghost Spirit Sect. It is said that Sun Juehu fought the Seven Fiends of the Ghost Tomb for about a month, resulting in the annihilation of all Ghost Spirit Sect disciples, but the Seven Fiends of the Ghost Tomb themselves escaped. I have received no news of their current whereabouts…”
Ye Anping silently looked at the Eastern Domain map and pondered for a while:
“There’s no need to worry about the Seven Fiends of the Ghost Tomb. He already has old injuries, and facing a body cultivator like Sun Juehu, even if he escaped, he’s probably half dead. He’s likely hiding in some mountain recuperating now. We can search for him slowly after dealing with the Tian Mo Sect… Alas—”
“So, what are you going to do now? A Nascent Soul cultivator eliminating Void Realm cultivators?”
“Brother Liang thinks too highly of me.” Ye Anping shook his head helplessly. “King against King, General against General, Soldiers against Soldiers. At most, I can only be considered a general… I am a subordinate of the Xuan Xing Sect’s Dan Yue Shang Xian.”
“Oh?” Brother Liang raised his eyebrows slightly. “I thought my Sixth Brother was aiming for the Saint Emperor’s throne, wanting to unify the Four Domains and declare himself king or emperor. Big Brother was even hoping to be enfeoffed as an Immortal Marquis… a pity.”
“Stop flattering me. I know my own limits…”
Ye Anping lowered his eyes and was silent for a moment, then suddenly remembered the phrase he often used as a child, smiling:
“I am just a cannon fodder from a third-rate sect…”
Brother Liang shot him a glare and replied in a cold tone:
“Cannon fodder? Cannon King.”
?
Ye Anping was slightly stunned, his eyes twitched slightly, and he waved his hand, bringing the topic back:
“Brother Liang, I will go to the Tian Mo Sect in a few days. You, my Junior Sister, and Yunluo will directly rendezvous with Elder Lei, and then we will surround and attack the Tian Mo Sect.”
“A frontal assault?”
“It has to be this way. The outcome of this battle depends solely on Yu Yan and Dan Yue Shang Xian. In other words, no matter how many Demonic cultivators the disciples of the Immortal Families kill, it will be futile. The Tian Mo Sect is Yu Yan’s home ground. If Dan Yue Shang Xian is defeated, then all remaining Immortal cultivators will be like fish on a chopping block before him.”
“Heh…” Brother Liang sneered. “Then why not just let Dan Yue Shang Xian go out and fight Yu Yan one-on-one, to save the disciples of the Immortal Families from casualties?”
“Foundation Establishment cultivators lay down their lives to pave the way for their core formation cultivators, and Core Formation cultivators also lay down their lives to pave the way for Nascent Soul cultivators. The victory and defeat are always determined by the Void Realm cultivators at the top… We small cultivators are chess pieces in the hands of Void Realm cultivators, but Void Realm cultivators are, in turn, pawns in the hands of Heaven’s Dao and Demonic Dao.”
Brother Liang couldn’t help but frown upon hearing this.
Seeing this, Ye Anping said no more. He had said all that needed to be said. He stood up, picked up the Roasted chicken, and said:
“My Junior Sister will likely wake up soon. I should go back.”
However, as Ye Anping took two steps towards the door with the Roasted chicken, Brother Liang suddenly called out to him again:
“Sixth Brother.”
“Hm?”
“Put down the Roasted chicken.”
Ye Anping was stunned for a moment, a mischievous grin on his face, and he raised his eyebrows:
“…Didn’t you not want it?”
“Heh, how could Big Brother refuse Sixth Brother’s kindness?”
Ye Anping could only smile and walk back, placing the half Roasted chicken on the desk. Then, he left the room, went up to the Immortal Ship’s deck, and flew back to the Immortal Ship where his Junior Sister and Xiao Yunluo were on his Flying Sword.
Fearing that his Junior Sister might wake up and find him gone and start looking everywhere, he landed on the Immortal Ship’s deck and ran straight into the cabin, like a husband returning home late at night. He tiptoed to the door of his Junior Sister’s room, gently pushed it open a crack, and squeezed in sideways.
However…
As soon as he entered the room, Ye Anping was stunned at the door by the two people on the bed.
Xiao Yunluo, with snot and tears streaming down her face, was clinging to his Junior Sister’s embrace, as if complaining to her. Her dragon horns were poking directly into Pei Lianxue’s face.
“Wuwuwu… Lianxue, Anping… Anping… he won’t let me have my way, and he burned the books I’ve treasured for years…”
Ye Anping’s mind momentarily went blank. He looked at Xiao Yunluo’s red-rimmed eyes, then at his Junior Sister’s expressionless face, with two dimples rubbed into her cheeks by the dragon horns. He opened and closed his mouth, but couldn’t utter a single word.
After a long while, Pei Lianxue gently patted the back of Xiao Yunluo’s head and asked with a frown:
“Senior Brother…”
“Mm…”
“Why are you bullying Yunluo?”
“I…” Ye Anping took a deep breath and walked to the bedside, reaching out to stroke Xiao Yunluo’s head. “I just wanted her to read fewer vulgar books…”
However, before he could finish speaking, Pei Lianxue grabbed Ye Anping’s wrist, turned, and pushed him down onto the bed.
“Yunluo, I’m pinning down my Senior Brother! You come…”
“???”
Ye Anping’s head was filled with question marks. If it weren’t fundamentally impossible, he would have suspected that Xiao Yunluo had brainwashed his Junior Sister. He then turned his head to look at Xiao Yunluo, who had been crying with red eyes just moments ago.
However, Xiao Yunluo seemed to have conspired with Pei Lianxue beforehand. In an instant, she stripped her clothes to the edge of her feet and leaped onto the bed with a small hop.
“Anping… Lianxue just agreed, Anping, don’t blame me! Aow—slurp…”
Ye Anping took a deep breath and couldn’t help but clamp his legs together.
“Hiss—”
Pei Lianxue looked back, pursed her lips, and continued:
“Senior Brother, I think Yunluo has a point…”
“What point?”
“Your Yang Energy is so abundant, I can’t handle it alone, so two of us would be better…”
Ye Anping immediately took a deep breath and shouted:
“Yunluo, what did you say to my Junior Sister… Woo—”
However, before he could finish speaking, his mouth was sealed by Pei Lianxue’s lips…
Ultimately, it is difficult for one person to withstand the surging waves, but two people can navigate the storm together…
… …
