Stranger Danger

“Have you heard? The Dragonmount Duke’s son is dead!”

“Who hasn’t heard about it? The Dragonmount Duke himself commanded that his son’s killer were to be captured dead or alive. The entire jianghu is talking about it.”

“Tsk tsk… assuming the portrait is correct, Joyless Ye looks like a young lad, and yet he dares to kill the Dragonmount Duke’s son? It’s no wonder they say that newborn calves are not afraid of tigers!”

“If you ask me, Joyless Ye did the jianghu a service. Xiang Weilong is a tyrannical, innocent-slaughtering villain who has committed every misdeed imaginable under the sun. A man like him is better off dead than alive.”

“Shh! Are you suicidal? Keep your voice down! Members of the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance are crawling all over the place! If they heard you, you’re going to regret it!”

“Hmph! Like I’m scared of them. If they didn’t want people to talk about it, then they shouldn’t have allowed Xiang Weilong to do whatever he wanted in the first place, no? Besides, all they have is numbers. It’s been three days since the search began, and they haven’t even so much as caught a whiff of Joyless Ye. You can practically feel the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance losing face by the second.”

“Hehe… that is true. According to my sources, even the Stargazer and Moon-Moving Grandma of the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance, two Great Truemen and experts in astrology, divination and forecast, had decided to involve themselves in the matter. However, even they were unable to find a trace of Joyless Ye.”

“What do you think would happen if Joyless Ye somehow manages to escape?”

“What else? If I was the Dragonmount Duke, and my world famous Seventy Two Water Land Alliance was unable to catch even an independent wanderer, then I would crawl into a hole and hide there.”

“Sigh… that’s a possibility that only exists in one’s dream though. The Dragonmount Duke is a top elite on the Earth Champions Ranking, and the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance is spread across the entire Yannan. Forget a nobody with no backer to call to their name, even a bigshot from the major clans or sects may not be able to escape his wrath.”

“A real shame, indeed. But I need to correct you about something. Joyless Ye may be nobody in the past, but that is no longer the case. He is the man who slew Duanmu Longhua and destroyed Goddess City, and now the killer of Xiang Weilong, Nefarious Codger and Tyrant Bow. They are all famous warriors on the Earth Champions Ranking, and his strength cannot be underestimated. These days, they’re calling him the Chaos Demon Ape.”

“Chaos Demon Ape? Why’s that?”

“You don’t know? I heard that Joyless Ye practices a martial art called the ‘Chaos Demon Ape Body Tempering Sutra’, and he has already forged the Chaos Demon Ape Body. According to the survivors of the Goddess Festival, Joyless Ye could apparently rip apart the goddesses with his bare hands and punch a hole in the city walls like nothing after transforming into the Chaos Demon Ape. Even if we assume that the rumors are exaggerated, there is no need to doubt his demonic might since the three goddesses and Duanmu Longhua are dead. That is why people start calling him the Chaos Demon Ape.”

“I am sure Joyless Ye would be named the next time the Earth Champions Ranking is updated. Not only that, I’m sure he’ll be ranked quite high. When the time comes, he will transform from a nobody to a rising star that shines above everyone’s head.”

“A damn shame he might not live until then.”

“I know. Truly, fate is a cruel and relentless mistress… anyway, enough talk. Let’s drink.”

“Let’s.”

……

“Chaos Demon Ape, hmm? It’s quite an impressive moniker, don’t you think?”

At the upper floors of the Jade Pendant Restaurant, Feng Qingyou teased Ye Qing while listening to the customers’ discussions.

“I won’t deny that, but if there’s one thing I don’t like about it, it’s that it makes me sound like a terrible villain.”

Ye Qing drank a cup of wine before saying lazily, “Personally, I think Qing Emperor Junior is a better moniker for me. It sounds both impressive and cultured.”

“I disagree. For one, Chaos Demon Ape is a good name, and two, Qing Emperor Junior implies that you are beneath the Qing Emperor. You don’t want that, do you?” said Feng Qingyou smilingly while tugging at the thick clothes she was wearing.

“Just because I’m the junior now doesn’t mean I’ll remain the junior in the future.” Ye Qing chuckled while glancing at Feng Qingyou’s thick attire. A hint of worry flashed in his eyes.

The Jade Pendant Restaurant was the best restaurant in Dragonmount City. It boasted nine floors and an array that ensured that the room temperature was always as warm as spring. However, Feng Qingyou’s mind was wounded from the recent battle, so she was a lot more sensitive toward temperature than usual. Although the temperature was mildly warm, she had wrapped herself in layer upon layer of fabric to ward away the cold.

Dragonmount City earned its name because it was directly tied to the Dragonmount Duke. It was the central headquarters of the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance.

Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou had entered the city yesterday, and no, of course they hadn’t come to the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance’s central headquarter to commit suicide. They were here for business.

One, Dragonmount City was one of the most prosperous cities in Yannan. The Seventy Two Water Land Alliance’s forces were scattered throughout Yan and involved both the orthodoxy and the unorthodoxy, the the Three Religions (Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism) and Nine Schools (Confucians, Daoists, Yin-Yang, Legalists, Logicians, Mohists, Political Strategists, Eclectics, Agriculturists), the Four Classes (scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants) and more. Since Dragonmount City was their central headquarters, it was even busier and prosperous as a matter of course. One could even go as far as to say that it was the treasure under the heavens or the jewel of the four seas.

The items necessary to treat Feng Qingyou’s mental injuries—the Finger Ring Metal, Lightning Struck Wood, Endlessly Durable Water, Thousand Frost Fire, and Dustless Earth—were rare no matter the region. Collecting them would not be easy. Thankfully, a trade center such as Dragonmount City was the fastest and easiest way to gather them.

This logic was supported by the Annon Sutra itself. It informed him that three of the five items they were looking for could be found within Dragonmount City.

Two, they were here to deal with Chen Cang. It was against etiquette to not reciprocate. Since Chen Cang had so kindly given him two gifts, it was only right that he reciprocated the favor. He couldn’t help that he was such a polite and cultured man.

As for whether the Dragonmount Duke would discover their presence, he wasn’t actually too worried about it. Sometimes, the most dangerous place was the safest.

The idiom was hardly uncommon, but the simpler the logic, the easier it was for someone to neglect it. This was what people called a blind spot.

Of course, Ye Qing was aware that a blind spot could be a double-edged sword. If applied properly, then it could save the user and repel their enemies. If not, then it would just be suicide.

Besides bravado, there was a reason he was confident enough to waltz right through the enemy’s front gate, of course.

Chen Cang was well-prepared for the day he turned into a wanted person. The bastard had shared most of the information he knew with the Dragonmount Duke and even given away a portrait of his appearance. It was why his face was currently plastered on nearly every alley across countless cities. Hell, nearly every member of the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance owned a portrait of his handsome face.

However, one of the most critical skills of a jianghu warrior was the ability to disguise oneself. Forget changing one’s face, one could not call themselves a jianghu warrior if they could not at least fake their height, body shape, or gender. As for the experts of this craft, their disguises weren’t even limited to humans anymore. They could transform into plants, animals, and even insects if they so wished.

Of course, neither he nor Feng Qingyou possessed the skill to disguise themselves as an insect. However, they could change their face, body shape and height. Once they changed their aura as well, no one could identify them.

Most importantly, he was protected from divination by the Annon Sutra, and Feng Qingyou had her own ways of thwarting such methods. This cut off any hope of the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance to find them in the short term, and why they dared to visit the Dragonmount City.

That wasn’t all. Once they carried out a certain plan, they would become safer than ever before.

“That, I can believe.” Feng Qingyou replied with a smile.

“Thank you.” Ye Qing chuckled again. “As thanks, allow me to treat you to a show.”

“A show?” Feng Qingyou furrowed her brow slightly. “What show?”

“You will learn very soon.” Ye Qing purposely kept her in suspense. “I promise it will be great.”

“I look forward to it.” Feng Qingyou did not press him for an answer. She smiled again, though her expression was tinged with a hint of fatigue.

The duo stopped talking after that. Ye Qing was looking outside the window as if he was waiting for something, while Feng Qingyou was leaning against the window frame and taking a small nap.

This was another sequelae of mental damage. The warrior was narcoleptic and weaker than usual.

“It’s begun.”

Suddenly, the corners of Ye Qing’s lips curled into a devious smirk.