Li Qingshan curled his lips. He had almost been fooled by her. What seeking freedom? She was clearly just indolent, seeking an even more extravagant life. When he wanted to ask about the Nine-tailed Fox Empress and the Ten Daemon Kings, she had already changed the topic, returning to how cute she was; this was the reason why the Nine-tailed Fox Empress had chosen her, inviting her to the Dragon province. Xuanyue forbade Li Qingshan from interrupting her.
She continued until she became sick of it. “It’s quite late now. Time to sleep!” She pulled out a huge cat’s basket that was filled with a thick layer of crane down. She curled up inside it comfortably.
Li Qingshan said, “It’s still daytime!”
Xuanyue waved her hand and extinguished the pearl. “Daytime is for sleeping. We’ll set off at night.”
Li Qingshan looked at her sleeping figure. Her long lashes layered upon one another, and her delicate nose was slightly raised from her face. Her lips were closed. Curled up, she seemed even smaller and more petite, lacking her usual rudeness and capriciousness. She seemed so delicate, rousing an urge to protect her.
He shook his head violently. Now was not the time to appreciate beauty. She was not someone who needed his protection, nor was she someone he could pursue. From a certain perspective, she could even be regarded as an enemy. How could he be captivated by her? He needed to raise his guard!
Li Qingshan let out a sigh of relief and made eye contact with Xiao An. He felt that everything he went through today was far too weird. He glanced at the girl in the cat’s basket before making his way over to a corner of the cave to meditate, continuing his cultivation of the Spirit Turtle’s Method of Sea Suppression. Xiao An also sat down beside him to meditate.
Xuanyue tossed and turned in the basket and said suddenly, “Big Blacko, sing me a song.”
“I don’t know how to!” Li Qingshan replied firmly.
“Then what’s the point of keeping you around!?” Xuanyue opened her eyes.
“Then let me go!”
“Forget it, I’ll teach you.”
Li Qingshan facepalmed, but before he could reply, Xuanyue began singing all by herself. “Little kitty, good kitty, go to sleep…”
The gentle singing filled the cave. Although it was extremely pleasant, Li Qingshan curled his lips. This was clearly a lullaby to coax children, so he thought the Dark Queen was probably some cat lover who treated a cat as her child. However, when she sang it, it was extremely beautiful, with a gentle, soothing feeling.
When Xiao An heard it, the blood-red flames in his eye sockets pulsed as his heart surged. Yet, there just seemed to be something blocking him, preventing him from understanding where this feeling came from.
“I’m done singing! It’s your turn!”
“I haven’t remembered it. Sing it again!” Li Qingshan thought to himself, I’m a man who stands over ten feet tall for heaven’s sake. I’m supposed to give off a violent, masculine impression, so how can I sing something like that?
“It’s so simple, yet you can’t remeowmber it?”
Li Qingshan said, “I’m a country bumpkin of a daemon. I’m dumb and stupid, so of course I won’t understand. I can’t remember anything.”
Xuanyue sang it again with no other choice, but it was just the same as before. Li Qingshan still could not remember it. Xuanyue wanted to throw a tantrum, but after a moment of inspiration, she held a spiritual pill with her two fingers and smiled. “If you sing, there’ll be spiritual pills to eat!”
“Little kitty, good kitty, go to sleep!” Li Qingshan immediately sang at the top of his lungs. Why wouldn’t he sing if there were benefits? He was just selling his artistic talent, not his body. Just like what the great leader had said before, the workers were the most glorious. However, his voice was deep, heavy, and hoarse, like resonating metal. Coupled with how he was singing at the top of his lungs, the lullaby ended up sounding like rock-and-roll.
“Stop singing! You’re so noisy!” Xuanyue tossed the spiritual pill into Li Qingshan’s mouth.
Li Qingshan sniggered. He swallowed the pill and continued to meditate and practise. He did not know the name of the pill, but every single one of them felt like they were able to remould his body completely. The effects were unbelievable. To ordinary people or even cultivators, these pills were probably extremely rare treasures. Now that he could get them from just yelling at the top of his lungs, it was basically a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Xuanyue lost all interest in sleeping from the ruckus he made. She asked curiously, “Just what is up with your appearance? Let me guess. Your meowther was a tiger and your father was an ox?”
Li Qingshan did not answer. It just sounded like cursing him no matter how he tried to interpret it, but thinking about it, she was an animal as well, so he endured it.
“Then your father is the tiger and your meowther is the ox?”
Li Qingshan reluctantly answered with a ‘yep’.
Xuanyue said, “It’s just like what I said. It’s no wonder you can transform when you’re so weak. So your parents are both daemons as well. They should be rather powerful daemons too. Oh right, where did they go?”
Li Qingshan answered calmly, “They’re dead.” However, he was thinking of the parents of his current life.
Xuanyue fell silent for a while. “I’m sorry.” After another moment of silence, she said, “Me too.”
Li Qingshan looked over in surprise. Xuanyue said, “Sleep!” With that, she turned her back to him and no longer spoke.
Li Qingshan sighed gently and suddenly began singing softly, “Little kitty, good kitty, go to sleep…”
Xuanyue’s cat ears perked up, and Xiao An listened quietly as well. For that moment, there were no other sounds in the cave.
Over fifty kilometers away, an old man with a sword on his back descended from the sky, landing on the Dragon’s Gate mountain. He looked at the ruins and frowned.
His peppered hair was tied up into a bun, and he possessed a neatly-trimmed beard. He had a pair of shining eyes, but their brilliance was hidden away, concealing his vitality.
His appearance was actually rather similar to the Soaring Dragon Swordsman consecrated in the Dragon’s Gate sect, but he had stopped being the penniless swordsman of the jianghu a long time ago. Instead, he was the Soaring Dragon Elder of the Sword Collection palace.
He closed his eyes to sense the surroundings, and his frown grew deeper. The Peachwood Prayer Sword he left behind had actually failed to kill the enemy?
The Peachwood Prayer Sword was a secret technique of the Sword Collection sect. It required a peachwood sword to be offered incense and candles constantly, without missing a single day. Over days and years, it would gather a tremendous amount of power of thoughts and belief. It would be unstoppable once used.
The Soaring Dragon Elder decided to put this matter aside for now. The Dragon’s Gate sect was only a legacy he had left behind out of pure coincidence when he roamed the world of mortals back then. In the blink of an eye, a century had passed already, and he did not care too much about it either. He could just deal with the important matters first and then find that person and end his life with a stroke of his sword.
Just when he was about to set off, his eyes suddenly narrowed. He gazed over swiftly and saw a white figure descend from the sky.
Gu Yanying smiled. “Soaring Dragon Elder, long time no see.” However, she was not smiling inside at all. The Sword Collection palace had actually sent out a Golden Core elder. The matter truly was a little troublesome. The two queens of the Green province, the Dark Queen and the Light Queen, had become complete enemies now, and the Light Queen originated from the Sword Collection palace. Whenever they would get the opportunity, they would never let the other have it easy.
The Soaring Dragon Elder said, “So it’s commander Gu. Why have you come to such a remote place?” He was also wary. Out of the various White Hawk commanders of the Green province, she was the most difficult to deal with, and she had a close friendship with that ghost woman, the Dark Queen. However, her backing just happened to be powerful as well, so he could not afford to simply fall out with her.
Gu Yanying said, “I’ve come to handle a small matter under the Dark Queen’s request, but I never thought I’d come across the Soaring Dragon Elder. I’d like to invite you to a drink.” She made up her mind with a single thought. As long as she could keep this old man busy, she would just let that cat escape to the Dragon province. Over all these years, the cat had already made more than enough trouble for her. She really did not want to see her again.
However, out of consideration for the Dark Queen’s feeling, she could not help but sigh heavily again. Once that happened, she could only get her father to negotiate with the Nine-tailed Fox Empress.
