Book 4: Near Blood - 124: Reunion 2
Qi Weiyan laughed, “It’s been ten years already, but you haven’t changed at all. You’re still just as beautiful as before. Have you married yet?”
Yue Longsha blushed. “What need is there to hurry?”
“If you don’t hurry, you’re going to get old.”
Yue Longsha said, “We’re all cultivators. Ten years is like a single day; as long as we have our cultivation base, we can live for thousands of years. Why fear getting older?”
“You say that, but doesn’t it get lonely?”
Yue Longsha lowered her head and didn’t say anything.
When Qi Weiyan saw her expression, she understood a little bit and said, “There are some people where waiting alone will do no good.”
Yue Longsha answered quietly, “I know.”
“Know what?” Just as they were talking, another voice spoke to them.
The people in the room all glanced in the direction of the voice. It was Ji Hanyan and Jiang Xishui who had come in together. Before, Jiang Xishui was always walking behind Ji Hanyan and had never had the authority to walk besides her. Now, however, he was standing with her, and his ceremonial attitude was gone as well. Ji Hanyan’s attitude towards him had changed greatly, and it seemed that Su Chen’s advice was truly effective.
Pi Yuanhong guffawed when he saw them and said, “So the adulterous couple is finally close to completing a good thing!”
His words were coarse, and he didn’t say a single polite thing when he opened his mouth. Ji Hanyan’s expression sank, and she was about to attack when Jiang Xishui held her back and said, “Let me.”
A streak of water shot towards Pi Yuanhong.
Pi Yuanhong yelled, “Come at me!” and unleashed a ferocious punch. Unexpectedly, the streak of water transformed into water arrows and pierced towards Pi Yuanhong from all different directions. If it were an opponent, Pi Yuanhong would have ignored the arrows and gone on the offensive, but since they were just friends sparring with each other, there was no point in going so all-out. All he could do was try to defend himself. His fighting style was no match for Jiang Xishui’s, and in but an instant he was completely soaked.
Pi Yuanhong still wanted to attack, but Ji Hanyan gestured, and the water on him immediately turned into ice, completely sealing his body inside
“Damn!” Pi Yuanhong cursed. He was just about break free as strength surged to his arms when Jiang Xishui cast more water onto him. Even though this water seemed soft, it had a peculiar strength about it, and Pi Yuanhong suddenly felt like the energy in his body had no proper outlet. An instant later, Ji Hanyan turned the water into ice again, this time even sealing his head inside.
“Let’s see if you can blabber anymore,” Ji Hanyan harrumphed.
“Beautifully done!” Applause once again sounded out from outside. A few more people stepped into the room, with He Yuandong at the lead - the number one from the Goldwater Ruins expedition. Behind him were He Niliu, Jiang Hanfeng, Ma Xuan, Wei Yang, and a few others. They had all been picked up on the way over.
He Yuandong said, “I didn’t expect to be greeted by a spectacle as soon as I cam! Not bad, not bad. Old Pi, that mouth of yours has always been cheap. It’s good you learned a lesson. Seems like Sister Hanyan is more powerful!”
Jiang Hanfeng leapt in front of Pi Yuanhong and waved his hand as he chuckled, “Eighth Senior Brother, it must feel pretty good to be encased in ice, huh?”
Pi Yuanhong rolled his eyes but couldn’t say anything.
Even though Ji Hanyan’s ice was bitingly cold, the truly annoying thing was still Jiang Xishui’s water. It had the unique property of quickly dissipating any built-up strength, making it impossible for Pi Yuanhong to utilize his powerful physique to break out.
Because Jiang Xishui hadn’t gone on the Goldwater Expedition, Pi Yuanhong didn’t know how powerful Jiang Xishui was. All he head heard was the rumor that he was the descendant of the Demonic King Luo You, but he didn’t know if it was true or not. Now, however, it was obvious that the rumor was true. Only Luo You’s bloodline could have defeated him so easily, and Jiang Xishui had done it without revealing his talent, making it seem like it was Ji Hanyan’s strength that had accomplished it.
However, Ji Hanyan had no intention of accepting Jiang Xishui’s goodwill. She said coldly, “I don’t have the ability to seal him off so easily. Jiang Xishui’s Luo You suppressed Old Pi’s power, which is the reason I was able to gain the upper hand.”
Jiang Xishui smiled bitterly and didn’t say anything. Even though Ji Hanyan’s attitude towards him had changed, their relationship was not yet to the point that he was hoping it would reach.
Hopefully there would be an opportunity for him this time to show off and win Ji Hanyan’s heart.
Iron Cliff very quickly realized Yue Longsha’s ability to transmit information and Su Chen’s ability to build long-lasting relationships with people.
After He Yuandong and the others, Cloud Leopard, Wu Xiao, Zhao Xin, Jin Ling’er, Du Qing, Sun Jizu, Ji Ruoyu, and a whole bunch of others also arrived.
Wang Doushan was the last one to arrive.
By the time he came, the sky was already dark. They had agreed on the afternoon, but he had only gotten there late at night.
If it weren’t for the fact everyone knew his personality, they might have assumed that he wasn’t coming at all.
“Damn fatty, you’re late again!” Du Qing said as she grabbed Wang Doushan by the ear.
“Aiya, aiya, that’s not my fault! I was running the whole way here. I was supposed to get here this morning by my estimation, so I left myself an extra half a day, but I don’t know why I was still late,” Wang Doushan said, looking like he was about to cry.
“By your estimation? Next time try leaving three days earlier and use that as your estimation,” everyone said together.
“Since the fatty is here as well, then anyone else who isn’t here probably won’t be coming,” Yue Longsha said.
“Who else did you notify?” Qi Weiyan asked.
“I basically notified everyone else from the Goldwater Ruins Expedition. Wang Xuan’an was badly wounded last year and is still recovering, so he won’t be able to make it. The Shen twins, though......” Yue Longsha didn’t continue.
The Shen twins were very powerful, but they were naturally a bit selfish. They had indicated when Yue Longsha had notified them that they probably wouldn’t come. Of the rest, some had indicated that they had urgent business they had to attend to, while others had agreed in the moment but hadn’t appeared yet. Perhaps they had encountered an unforeseen predicament or difficulty, or perhaps they were just dealing with the situation for the moment.
There were all kinds of people on the continent. Not everyone could be completely loyal; actually, having this many people was already enough to be satisfied with.
Everyone tactfully refrained from saying anything else.
“Aiya, we’re finally here! I’m beat.”
At this moment, however, another voice spoke. A cute face appeared in the doorway following the delicate voice.
It was Han Linxia.
This young maiden looked the same as back then. Her figure was saucy and her appearance was very cute. However, her cheeks were incredibly rosy, as if she had been hurrying to this place for a while. Beside her were two more people - Zhou Juanjia and Tang Ming, who were now husband and wife.
“You guys......” Everyone stared blankly.
How were there people who were even slower than Wang Doushan.
“We ran into some trouble on the way here, which cost us some time,” Tang Ming said indifferently.
“Did something happen?” He Yuandong asked.
“It’s nothing, really. We just went to go grab something that will probably be useful for our next operation,” Tang Ming said as he pulled out an item.
It was a heart.
A heart that was still beating.
Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
It beat again and again, seemingly resonating with the hearts of everyone else present.
“The Eternal Heart of a Dark Fear Demon!” Iron Cliff yelled as he stared intently at Tang Ming. “You went to the Mourning Heart Valley?”
Tang Ming smiled slightly. “The rendezvous point was here, which means our target destination is the Limestone Mountain Range. If we want to pass through the Danger Crater, this Eternal Heart is absolutely necessary, so I took a detour to grab it. Oh, if you don’t want it I’ll take it back.”
How could Iron Cliff not want it?
The Eternal Heart was one of the materials he needed to complete Su Chen’s mission. He hadn’t expected, however, that Tang Ming would hand it over to him before the plan even was under way.
“Many thanks, Prince Tang!” Iron Cliff said joyfully.
“Psh. You’re the same as always! All you think about is stealing the limelight,” someone said disdainfully, having seen through Tang Ming’s act.
“Don’t be so stubborn. We’ve got a long road ahead of us,” someone said.
“That’s right. Since everyone is here, then we can begin to make our plans.”
“What is there to plan for? Aren’t we just going to fight our way through the Limestone Mountain Range and receive the Heavenly Might Army? That sounds easy enough to me.”
“Easy my ass!” everyone yelled simultaneously as they began to guffaw.
At this moment, Iron Cliff felt a warmth in his chest as he gazed at this group of people.