Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Lei Huo didn’t have a chance to unleash his anger.
Afterward, the elders had already received news of his return from the youngsters.
Shortly after, he appeared in another house and was surrounded by several old men with wrinkled faces. Sitting up above was one of the Thunder Barbarians who looked extremely dignified.
“Lei Huo, I didn’t expect you to still be alive! You said that you were captured? What happened? Who did it?” one of the elders asked in a deep voice.
Although the elders had plenty of wrinkles on their faces, they still looked pretty fierce. Green veins were still bulging from exposed sections of their skin that weren’t covered by the animal hides that they were wearing.
“They are called the herdsmen!” Lei Huo described his experiences throughout the entire journey to the elders.
“What are these herdsmen? I have heard of the Heaven Seekers, Wind Chasers, and the Void race, but where did these herdsmen come from? Why have we never heard of them? What means did they use to capture you?”
“No matter where they come from, we must capture them and seek revenge!”
“That’s right! They actually dared to capture people from the Thunder Barbarians. If we find them, we must not let them go!”
“That Gu Ling also got captured by the herdsmen? She actually came back alive!”
“Human race? The abandoned race? I haven’t heard about the humans in a long time. They were said to be weak, treacherous, mean, and a race of betrayers.”
“With Gu Ling and Gu Zhen, the Ba Pi race now have two talented people.”
“So what if they have two talents? I see that Lei Huo has just unlocked the [Thunder Flow] technique, so his strength should be comparable to Gu Zhen’s. As for Gu Ling, she has always been weaker than Lei Huo. Even though she’s still alive, her abilities must be far behind his.”
The burly man sitting up above looked as if his soul had left his body and returned. After some time, he seemed to suddenly think of something and immediately pulled out a book made from animal hide from below a wooden plank.
“Indeed, there are really herdsmen in the mountains!” He flipped through the book and suddenly burst out laughing. “I remember where I have seen them before.”
He then frowned and added, “Herdsmen… Taking orders to monitor the abandoned people? Strange abilities… Belonging to the Six Heavens?”
“Just these few words?”
“The abandoned people retreated into the barren land and will not return for thousands of years…”
“Is this the book handed down to chiefs from generation to generation? Who are the Six Heavens? Where are they returning to? What does it say?” the elders asked immediately.
“I don’t know. The next page has been torn off…” The chief of the Thunder Barbarians rubbed his head and gave a bitter smile.
“Who has the audacity to tear something from our tribe’s treasure?”
“It was already missing when it was handed to me, so I’m not sure which chief tore it off! However, one thing is certain. These herdsmen were probably monitoring those abandoned people and those people seem to have something to do with us. I remember when I took over the position of chief that the old man briefed me about…” That burly man crossed his arms and racked his brains, but still couldn’t remember the details that he had been briefed about.
“Send down orders to report immediately if they see those herdsmen. Since they dared to provoke us, we must not let them off.”
…
Inside the largest house of the Ba Pi race’s village, a woman with six arms sat and listened to Gu Ling’s story.
After listening, she commented softly,” I didn’t expect you to encounter all of this and also meet those abandoned people… You said that they have an extremely powerful weapon, right?”
“Even though I did not see it, I saw the state of the destroyed land after it was used. There was no grass within a radius of about one kilometer, and everything was reduced to ashes.”
“Those abandoned people have actually gotten ambitious again… No matter what, they seem to have completely forgotten about what happened back then… This time, however, I’m afraid they might have discovered something…”
“Back then?”
“You don’t need to know about it. You may leave…” The six-armed woman waved her hand.
After Gu Ling left, the woman murmured softly, “I don’t know if we will return to the legendary motherland one day! If those abandoned people have really returned, maybe we’ll have a chance to go there! In that case, I should hope that they come back.”
…
Under the protection of the imperial bodyguards, Ren Baqian arrived at a location near Jing Street. He looked at the “Homecoming Pub” in front of him and waved his hand, saying, “Wait for me outside.”
There was a row of iron crotch guards outside the pub. He wondered how that testicle-kicking monster ended up in cahoots with the transvestite.
One was responsible for kicking nuts, and the other was responsible for selling iron crotch guards…
Ren Baqian felt that Li Fu was simply shameful for a top expert.
“Lady boss, there is a customer here! Come and serve him!” Ren Baqian shouted as he entered the pub.
“Well! A distinguished guest today! Isn’t this Zhao Prince Consort? How am I supposed to receive you? Why have you lost so much weight though?” Ning Caichen’s body swayed as she came out to receive her guest. She was dressed in a purple robe. Her hair was bunned up like a Great Xia lady and adorned with a little pink flower. Her eyes were glistening and looked extremely flirtatious.
It had been a long time since he last saw her, and she was still a transvestite who looked more feminine than a woman. Furthermore, she seemed to have improved since the last time.
However, Ren Baqian’s face turned black after hearing what she said. Why did he lose so much weight? It was hard for him to explain!
He heaved a sigh and looked around. There was a wooden vase on every table with a bouquet of fresh flowers. The whole pub was filled with a floral scent.
He had to admit that Ning Caichen had truly become more feminine.
“Your Highness, do you want to go inside and let me serve you?” She sat across from Ren Baqian and flirted through her eyes, making him immediately shudder with disgust.
“That’s enough!” Ren Baqian waved his hand. “Looking at you, life seems pretty good, yeah?”
“What do you think?” Ning Caichen’s eyes turned red. “Now that I have hidden my identity, I can’t return home or acknowledge my family. Do you think that I’m leading a good life, Your Highness?”
Ren Baqian was shocked and asked, “You want to return to Great Xia?”
After some thought, this actually seemed pretty normal. Even though she became like this, it was normal for her to want to go back and visit her family. Unfortunately, she couldn’t do so.
Little did he expect that Ning Caichen would suddenly roll her eyes and say, “What for? That group of old people is always criticizing and ordering me around. Now that I have the freedom of the whole wide world and the identity of a woman, I’m so much happier than before. Why do I have to go back and tolerate their nonsense? Furthermore, if I really do go back, those people would be fuming mad!”
Ren Baqian didn’t understand the situation of the Ning family, but he believed her last sentence. If she really returned home with this demonic look, her ancestors would probably rise from their graves.
“Do you really have no intention of going back?” he asked with a smile.
“I naturally won’t go back. Besides, even if I wanted to, I can’t. I’m planning to get married and raise a kid with my husband for the rest of my life, but who would dare marry me when I look like this?” Ning Caichen felt aggrieved.
“Since this is the case, do you think you can help me with something? However, you will be situated far away from Great Xia and even Dayao. You won’t be able to return, and you will be completely cut off from your past self. As for the benefits, I can make you a real woman…”
Before Ren Baqian could even finish his sentence, Ning Caichen slammed the table and stood up.
“Are you for real, Zhao Prince Consort?” She couldn’t hold back her excitement and began rolling on the ground while mumbling to herself, “How is this possible? How is this possible? How can this be done? Are you lying to me, Your Highness?”
“Listen to me!” Ren Baqian gestured and asked her to calm down. “It’s impossible for you to bear children, but it can turn every other aspect of you into a woman. You’ll be able to do whatever a woman does and enjoy whatever a woman enjoys! In a nutshell, you’ll be able to turn into a real woman, apart from being able to have children.”
“Are you really not lying to me, Your Highness?” Ning Caichen’s face alternated between doubt and excitement. How could this be achieved?
“Why do I have to lie to you? Since I’m asking you for a favor, I’ll naturally be able to give you what you want. Otherwise, how would I have peace of mind about the things I expect you to do? However, there is a price you have to pay. You can no longer return to this world. Of course, if you perform well, I can help you collect some materials for the Sword Nurturing Pool and lengthen your lifespan to be similar to that of an ordinary person.”
Before Ren Baqian could ask if she was willing to do it, she quickly responded, “Yes, I agree. Naturally!”
It was as if she was worried that he would go back on his word.
“Don’t regret it later,” he replied faintly.
“Never! You don’t know what it feels like to have a body that is neither male nor female, Your Highness! As long as it can make me a true woman, I’ll never regret it, no matter what it is!”
Ren Baqian looked at Ning Caichen and thought that Earth might be a better place for her.
Just so that he could gain full control, she wouldn’t be able to return to this world afterward. He had no other choice.
As far as strength was concerned, she had a spirit sword, she wasn’t weak at all, and she was even stronger than ordinary Earth Wheel experts.
Ning Caichen was a pretty wise person as well.
All Ren Baqian had to do was simply take her to Thailand.
“Prepare yourself. You’ll have no need for anything here. Come to the palace at night and I’ll arrange for someone to bring you in.”
“Your Highness, where will you be sending me? What do I have to do?” Ning Caichen finally asked. She hadn’t even questioned him about her responsibilities and had immediately agreed to it. This showed how important the three day tour in Thailand was to her.
She continued, “It’s far away from Great Xia and Dayao and doesn’t sound like the Chen Nation from your tone. What place is it?”
“You don’t need to know too much at the moment. I can tell you that your task won’t be difficult. Besides, life there is so much more comfortable than it is here.” Ren Baqian smiled, stood up, and left. “Bring along your spirit sword. It’s called Green Pearl, right?”
“I understand.”
Now that he had chosen the right candidate, this matter was settled. Next would be to find a “relative” for the empress. It would be a bit too ridiculous if none of her relatives turned up for the wedding.
Ren Baqian could forget about those b*stards like Hong Wu and Tong Zhenye. They were all good-for-nothings. As long as one of them was present, the entire wedding would get screwed up.
In fact, there were only a few suitable candidates like Xin Zhe, Lin Qiaole, Qing Yuan, and Hong Luan.
Currently, there was also Ning Caichen.
Even though the empress wouldn’t have an elder from her family present at the wedding, they would still be able to barely go through the motions.
