Qiu Haitang went up and bowed rather reluctantly. “Sect master.”
The cultivators in black were all dressed in casual wear, radiating with murderousness. A single glance at them was enough for one to tell that they were people who had been through struggles of life and death. Their leader was a fierce man in his thirties, who studied the old woman.
“My surname is E, and my name is Feng. You must be sect master You of the Sect of Clouds and Rain. Sure enough, you do have a bit of a bearing, well beyond what a certain little animal can match!” He glanced at Li Qingshan as he spoke. Li Qingshan drank by himself as he thought, These people probably didn’t come specially to deal with me, or they wouldn’t have stayed calm for so long. Let’s see what they want.
“What sect master You? You can just call my granny You. You’ve taken the trouble of traveling a great distance to pay a visit to my Sect of Clouds and Rain, so may I ask just what is the matter?”
E Feng spoke rudely, which irritated granny You slightly, but she remained friendly on the surface; this was because she knew the person standing behind them was E Dan and prince Si Qing to a certain extent.
She had managed to undergo the second heavenly tribulation after quite some difficulty, but she was the weakest kind of Golden Core cultivator out there. Because her beauty had withered away with her age, she was no longer able to make much use out of the arts of charm she was most skilled in. She knew she had no more chance at advancing any further, so why would she be bold enough to offend some of the most powerful people of the Ruyi commandery?
Seeing how Li Qingshan did not talk back, E Feng even thought he had grown fearful. He thought, This little animal is going to die sooner or later anyway, so wasting words on him here really isn’t worth it. Today, I’ll show you that the person you wanted to save won’t be able to escape from our clutches at the end of the day. We’ll slap you across the face viciously before so many people!
“A woman of your Sect of Clouds and Rain has caught our master’s fancy. These are the betrothal gifts, so have her return with us immediately so that she can get married to master. We’ll even have to call her young mistress by then.”
The cultivators in black let out a roar of laughter. As E Feng spoke, he took out a great pile of gold, silver, and jewels, forming a small mountain in the blink of an eye. The resplendence they shone with was dazzling.
Even granny You who had decided to treat them with courtesy could not help but change in expression slightly, while the cultivators of the Clear River prefecture all frowned. These precious jewels and metals might have been priceless to mortals, but they were basically no different from muck to cultivators. They could get as much of it as they wanted to.
In the world of mortals, it was equivalent to offering a pile of scrap to marry their daughter. It was basically a naked insult to the face. Qiu Haitang had publicly turned down E Dan before Li Qingshan insulted him. They were simply unable to accept this, so they came to avenge their master.
As the person in concern, Qiu Haitang said coldly, “I’ve already said that I won’t marry your master. You better take these things and leave!”
“You won’t marry our master?” E Feng shot a glare at her. He had truly inherited E Dan’s legacy with that vicious expression of his. “Granny You, what do you have to say?”
“About this…”
“Our master will become the great general of the Ruyi commandery soon. We’ve already shown your Sect of Clouds and Rain plenty of respect by offering up a betrothal gift in person. Do you really want to disappoint our master?”
E Feng glanced at granny You, completely unfazed by her identity as a Golden Core cultivator. He did not even try to hide his threat.
“How are they cultivators? They’re basically no different from common thugs! With disciples like this, I can already imagine what their master is like. Qingshan, you were right. I’ve been too naive.”
Liu Zhangqing frowned heavily and communicated with Li Qingshan. The school of Confucianism had always placed great focus on etiquette and courtesy. These people were the most unforgivable.
Li Qingshan only smiled. Who said cultivators were supposed to be cultivated and courteous? The demonic cultivators that once ran amok through the nine provinces had done plenty of inhumane things without a shred of conscience.
Cultivation was about seeing your own nature. Nobody was born a virtuous gentleman of great morals. From a certain perspective, people like E Dan could be regarded as staying true to their own nature too.
As for me, I’ll obviously stick with my own nature and completely slaughter these eyesores!
“H- h- how could I dare to do something like that!?” Granny You personally believed she was a resourceful smooth talker, but she could only hold onto her anger when met with such vicious and unruly people. She was absolutely helpless.
“Granny You, the fate of your Sect of Clouds and Rain is completely at our whim. If you can’t give up on this disciple right now, then you’ll lose much more than her in the future. Are you going to agree to it or not?”
E Feng took it a step further, actually pressuring a Golden Core cultivator as a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
He was not entirely strutting around under his master’s influence either. He was at late Foundation Establishment. Although Golden Core was a major realm of cultivation away, granny You had never been skilled with open conflict. She basically devoted her entire life to scheming and plotting, so there had only been a handful of times when she truly fought. Now, not only did her beauty fade with age, but her body had weakened with age as well.
E Feng, on the other hand, was in the prime of his life. Who knew how many times he had fought in arenas, and he was geared with arcane artifacts. If they actually began fighting, he was confident he would not lose to this old coot.
“Sigh, I’ll agree to it then!”
Sure enough, granny You was absolutely spineless. She was becoming more and more afraid of dying. She had made it to Golden Core after so much difficulty, so why would she ever be willing to die just because of E Dan’s fit of rage?
With that, not only did everyone present sigh, but Qiu Haitang even cried out, “Sect master!”
“Haitang, how has my Sect of Clouds and Rain treated you?”
Granny You spoke softly, sounding as kindly as an old grandmother. She basically radiated with kindliness, silently using her arts of charm. At the end of the day, she had not gone through the second heavenly tribulation for nothing. The way she used it was basically flawless and unconscious. Even Qiu Haitang who was skilled in this exact art failed to sense it. Only Li Qingshan’s eyes turned cold.
Qiu Haitang lowered her head. “The kindness that the Sect of Clouds and Rain has shown me is as lofty as mountains and as deep as seas. If it were not for the Sect of Clouds and Rain, I would have sunken into the fiery pits of brothels long ago, with my youth sapped and my beauty withered away. I might be dead already.”
Granny You said, “Right now, you’re not doing this for me, but for the entire sect. Your cultivation has come to a standstill because you don’t have a dual cultivation partner to balance out yin and yang. If you are married to great general E, you will have endless resources, and your cultivation will definitely progress drastically. I’m only temporarily occupying the position of sect master right now. The Sect of Clouds and Rain will still be returned to you in the future.”
“I- I- I-” Qiu Haitang faltered as her expression changed again and again, clearly in great mental conflict.
The surroundings fell quiet. Even a pin drop could be heard. No one said anything. The Sect of Clouds and Rain was not a part of the academy, so they did not have many ties with them. And, this was an internal matter of the Sect of Clouds and Rain. Since even their sect master had already said something like that, were they supposed to oppose a Golden Core cultivator? Not to mention that there was an imposing figure like E Dan behind all of this.
Qiu Haitang cast her gaze towards Hua Chengzan instinctively. She said she had already let go of him, but he had still been the man she had been infatuated with for all these years after all. Hua Chengzan straightened himself out and faltered a few times. He glanced at Hua Chengzan before still choosing to lower his head in the end, avoiding her gaze.
If he were alone, then even if it would cost his life, he would still stand on Qiu Haitang’s side. However, he was not alone. He represented the entire Hua family. If he offended E Dan, it was very likely to bring unimaginable disaster to the Hua family. By then, his younger sister and even his parents would be dragged in.
If he did this for the sake of a single woman, that would be far too selfish of him. Although he enjoyed the authority and resources brought on by his family, it also came with responsibilities and duties. However, he could not help but ask himself what he would do if Gu Yanying faced the same situation. There was no other answer. He would definitely stand forward without any regard.
Qiu Haitang was dejected and extremely disappointed. She had truly given her heart to the wrong person after all! Her master had been right. Throughout the ages, those who possessed the Aspect of Peach Blossom Beauty were all women who suffered from love-sickness, and they were fated to never have their love reciprocated, dying in melancholy. She was simply unable to escape this curse.
“You can stop with the ‘I- I- I-’. Come with us!” E Dan looked at Li Qingshan complacently. “How’s that? The woman you risked your life to save is still going to end up being fucked by our master. Hahahaha!”
Li Qingshan laughed as well. He laughed louder and louder, shaking up the surroundings and reaching high into the sky.
Bang! Bang! The cups, bowls, and plates all exploded. The weaker Qi Practitioners all covered their ears.
Qiu Haitang instead felt her mind clear up. Her face was moist; she had been coursing with tears before she knew it. She understood she had fallen for granny You’s arts of charm and anger filled her.
“Sect master You, you’re a senior, yet you use something like this against a junior to ingratiate yourself with an outsider. Don’t you feel any shame at all? Today, even if I have to die, I’ll never agree to it. If E Dan insists on marrying me, all he’ll marry is a corpse!”
“Age without morality only makes you a pest. The ancient sages really haven’t been trying to deceive me!” Li Qingshan’s laughter vanished, and his expression turned cold.
TL: “Age without morality only makes you a pest” comes from the Analects of Confucius. He is the ancient sage Li Qingshan is referring to.
“Here’s not a place for you to make trouble!”
Granny You was furious. She extended her hand that resembled a rat’s claws and grabbed Qiu Haitang by the shoulder. She glanced at Li Qingshan, but she refused to burst out with anger. E Dan stood behind E Feng, while Gu Yanying stood behind Li Qingshan. She had to be careful; she was afraid of offending either one of them, so she poured all of her anger at Qiu Haitang.
Qiu Haitang was unable to put up a fight at all. She immediately felt her body soften as she became bitter with anger inside. She felt like there was no one in the world that could help her anymore. Even if Li Qingshan was willing to risk his life for her, how could he contend against a Golden Core cultivator?
A figure suddenly appeared in her head. That person was so powerful and arrogant. If he were here, then even if E Dan paid a visit in person, they would not be bold enough to do whatever they pleased!
“My heart already belongs to someone. If you dare to use any more force against me, he’ll never spare you!”
E Feng said, “Heh, I’d like to see just who will never spare my master.”
Qiu Haitang said firmly, “Northmoon!”
“What North- You mean that wretched daemon, Northmoon? You’re colluding with wretched daemons! Do you know the crimes you’ve committed?”
E Feng suddenly paused, remembering who Northmoon was. He was the number one enemy of prince Si Qing in the Ruyi commandery. He had learnt many things about him through the various pieces of information. Although he had never seen him in person, he had a deep impression of his horrifying strength. He had basically heavily injured all the Daemon Commanders in the Ruyi commandery alone. What kind of strength was that?
As a result, while he said the second half like he was unconcerned, he could not help but stifle his voice a lot. He became much less imposing.
“Now don’t you be pigheaded!”
However, granny You could not help but loosen the hand she grabbed Qiu Haitaing’s shoulder by. Although she did not believe Qiu Haitang’s words, it would be bad just in case she was telling the truth. Northmoon would come knocking and what was she supposed to do by then?
The word “Northmoon” seemed to possess wondrous magic, making everyone’s expressions change. Surprise, fear, worry, and unease was written across all of their faces.
Even the Lake of Dragons and Snakes had been refined by Northmoon, so the disciples of the academy’s impression of him went without saying. Some Qi Practitioners could not help but glance around as if Northmoon would suddenly leap out of the darkness.
