“Liubo, you’ve actually betrayed the Spider Shadow clan. Do you know the consequences? Do you really trust this daemon so much?” Ye Liusu pointed at Li Qingshan and questioned loudly.
“He’s more trustworthy than the group of old coots! I’d rather die than go back and suffer the insult from those bastards.” Ye Liubo raised her head stubbornly. “I won’t let you die for them either. Sister, why don’t you follow sir Northmoon with me? That way, we won’t have to put up with those old women anymore.”
“Shut up, you traitor! So much for all these years of care from me. You’re an ingrate!”
“I’ll be nice to whoever treats me nicely, which is why I can’t let you die. You’re thick in the skull!”
Both of their chests heaved with intense emotion. Li Qingshan, who had caused all of this, stood to one side with his arms across like he was an outsider. He spoke to break the stalemate,
“Ye Liusu, do you know what Liubo said before she told me the plan?”
When Ye Liusu heard how Ye Liubo had prioritised her safety even at the risk of her own life, her heart trembled, and her anger subsided. She became helpless.
“I only spared you in consideration for Liubo’s feelings. Stop being so stubborn. Actually, it’s perfectly fine even if I slaughter you all here!”
Murderousness surged, and the atmosphere in the cavern immediately froze. Only Ye Liubo smiled.
Through Ye Liubo’s introduction, Li Qingshan had already grasped some of the principles underground. Otherfolk were still not daemons after all. In Spider Queen Lolth’s eyes, a Ye Liusu was nowhere near as important as a strong Daemon General. Even if there was no direct evidence, she would never permit a night roamer to kill him.
In his eyes, the Spider Queen was clearly making use of her authority to scheme, to divide the night roamers so that they turned against one another, wasting away their own strength on one another and preventing them from developing or strengthening.
“I will never betray the clan. This will all be up to the matriarch to decide. I hope you can protect her well.” Before absolute strength, all Ye Liusu could do was bow her head. She was not afraid of sacrificing herself, but she was reluctant to make a pointless sacrifice.
After correcting their path, the group set off once more. Soon after they had left, two black shadows appeared where they had just stopped, whispering among themselves.
“They seem like Ye Liusu and her sister. The voices can’t be wrong.”
“Why would they appear here?”
“Don’t know. Let’s go back and report this to the matriarch. We must make them remain here forever.”
“Yes!”
The loud, emotional dispute between the sisters was like gongs in the quiet night. It had reached an extremely distant place through the web-like caves. The group had already approached the territory of other clans, so they immediately drew over patrolling guards.
A black figure returned in the direction it had come from, while the other merged into the darkness and pursued the group.
Li Qingshan was striding ahead when he suddenly felt that something was amiss. He stopped, and his eyes lit up.
Clang! He drew the ice blade and swung it towards a wall.
Before the blade had even struck anything, it lit up with blinding, golden light. The darkness receded like the tide, and the black figure by the wall stood out clearly.
With a howl, blood spurted across the wall, and a male night roamer fell to the ground. He cried out, “Who are you?” Subsequently, there was another howl.
“Oh no, it’s the Bat Shadow clan!” Ye Liubo lunged over and finished him off.
“Don’t tell me you can’t sense it?” Li Qingshan looked at Ye Liusu. The cultivation of this male night roamer had only reached Ye Liubo’s level.
“Liubo, lead the way and go. I don’t want to be used by someone else.” If his main body was present, he would not mind killing a few people and then comprehending the tiger demon, but this mirror clone only possessed thirty percent of Li Qingshan’s strength. If he fought, he would end up making a fool of himself.
“Alright!” Ye Liubo took off first, and the group immediately hurried off behind her, immediately displaying who was slower or faster with the tailing members in the group. Li Qingshan and Ye Liubo were obviously at the very front.
“My sister hasn’t come.” “Forget about her.”
As soon as Ye Liubo had stopped, Li Qingshan scooped her up and took off with even greater speed.
“But…”
“No buts. She’s asking for it.”
“Sister, come!” Under Li Qingshan’s solemn gaze, Ye Liubo did not dare to act up. All she could do was call out towards her.
Ye Liusu stared at the darkness ahead. She could sense a series of auras hidden extremely well, rapidly approaching her. Her eyes were already filled with determination, but she suddenly heard Ye Liubo’s calls at this moment. She let out a sigh before turning around and drifting off.
“Find a different path! Hide!” Ye Liusu brushed past the guards. The quick-witted ones searched for other caves immediately.
The guard who had fallen to the very back had slower reactions. Just as he was panicking, he suddenly stopped and was reduced to several pieces silently.
In the end, only the three of them kept pace with one another. The caves were deep and gloomy, twisting and turning like the guts of a monster as it rapidly receded around them.
Most of the time, Li Qingshan ran on the walls. He could constantly adjust his position to how the cave extended, but the tailing shadow still grew closer and closer.
Ye Liusu was puzzled. Why was he much slower compared to when she fought him earlier?
Suddenly, the familiar sound of water appeared. The rumbling indicated a waterfall!
The cave was cut off by a roaring, underground river. The river was wide and turbulent, rather similar to the Clear river. If he had not seen it in person, he would have never believed such a vast river could exist underground.
The river was cut off by a huge cavern, falling several hundred meters in a sheer drop. It rumbled deafeningly before continuing onwards. If he had not seen it in person, he would have never believed a waterfall with such a sheer drop could exist underground.
Ye Liubo beamed. “We’re here! Once we cross the waterfall, we’ll be in the territory of the Spider Shadow clan.”
Clang!
When she finished talking, Li Qingshan swung his blade again, clashing with a dagger in the darkness. Sparks flew.
“What strength! What is this light? Why can it neutralise my Night Roaming?”
The black shadow drifted backwards as the crook of his right thumb shattered. He was stunned. The blinding sunlight filled him with suspicion too.
“Let’s go!” Li Qingshan leapt into the lake. From the flash of sunlight earlier, he saw two other shadows approaching him. Going with the flow, he had been taken far away from the cave in the blink of an eye, tossed out by the river and falling into the endless darkness with the waterfall.
Li Qingshan extended his right hand. Daemon qi pulsed, and the great waterfall that had surged for thousands of years was immediately severed. Like a roaring dragon, it suddenly poured back into the cave.
The black shadows were just about to pursue when the flood arrived. They halted and used their Night Roaming, disappearing into the darkness. However, the light arrived before the water, causing their disappearing figures to twist. They were pushed back by the water.
This was not a regular flow. Instead, it had been imbued with Li Qingshan’s daemon qi, so it possessed startling power.
Ye Liusu widened her eyes. In the underground world, a clash between night roamers was primarily about lurking danger. It was a battle between assassins. She had never seen such a grand attack.
Ye Liubo became even more shocked when she saw this in Li Qingshan’s arms. It seemed like she was the one who had launched this attack. Looking at his perfect, handsome face again, she became completely engrossed.
“Here!”
They reached the bottom of the waterfall very soon. Ye Liusu turned into a cave on the side, while in the underground river, a flow lifted up Li Qingshan. He followed her from closely behind.
Boom! Thousands of litres of water slammed down viciously like a clap of thunder. The entire cavern shook slightly. The raging waterfall had never flowed so violently before, but before long, it all turned back to normal.
A few black figures appeared at the top of the waterfall, watching them vanish into the cave. They turned around and left.
“Was that a Daemon General?”
“That’s strange. Why didn’t he give off any aura?”
“Report this to the matriarch immediately. Ye Liusu has returned. We can’t let her return to her territory!”
After moving through the darkness for a while, a few dim specks of light suddenly appeared in Li Qingshan’s vision.
A few extremely well-hidden auras circled around, but when they sensed Ye Liubo, they receded silently.
“Welcome to Blacklustre city!” Ye Liubo kissed Li Qingshan’s face and climbed out of his arms. As she extended her right arm, a black city appeared before Li Qingshan.
This was a huge cavern of quite a rare size. It was almost the size of Qingyang city, but it was probably a hundred times more prosperous.
Black stone buildings and towers reached towards the dark ceiling at various heights, filling the entire cavern in an unbroken chain, extending to and merging as one with the sloped walls. As a matter of fact, even the walls had been excavated and sculpted, forming structures similar to caves.
There were even signs of excavation on the huge stalactites on the ceiling. Every single structure had a smooth, distinct outline, covered in patterns and inscriptions like black pieces of art.
Specks of light rained down from the dark ceiling, forming a majestic map of stars. It could not rival the actual night sky, but it did give off the glory of the creations of civilisation.
After travelling for so long in the deserted, dark caves, Li Qingshan even felt a hint of intimacy after suddenly seeing so many structures that indicated civilisation. He was rather surprised by how cultured the night roamers were.
At the centre of the city was a black castle. It differed from the style of structures humans built. It was solemn and dignified, noble and refined. It displayed the ingenuity of Night Roaming folk craftsmen.
“Let’s go get some rest there and wait for the matriarch to summon us. Someone has already gone to report this to her.” Ye Liubo slowed down and made her way towards the castle.
“Why don’t we go straight to Cobweb city instead?” Ye Liubo’s suggestion earned another sharp glance from Ye Liusu.
“Isn’t your matriarch here?” Li Qingshan was puzzled.
“The matriarch is in Cobweb city,” Ye Liubo grabbed Li Qingshan’s arm and said gently.
Every clan had a main city, but all the matriarchs would stay in Cobweb city, which was also the Spider Queen’s headquarters.
Figures flickered on the streets, bustling around just like humans. However, it was strangely quiet. Even the steps of the children were silent, and their faces were filled with a certain coldness and calmness that contrasted against their age.
“Your highness.” Seeing the sisters, they all bowed in great respect.
Among the night roamers, a hierarchy was clearly defined. The siblings were the “daughters” of the matriarch, so if regular night roamers disrespected them, they would face extremely severe punishment.
Only when they walked past did the people whisper among themselves,
“Why have high princess Liusu and princess Liubo returned?” “Has something happened to their territory?” “That Daemon General is so handsome. If he could spend a night with me, I’d even be willing to cut my life by a decade short.”
