Liu Li watched the scar on Zuo Jingyun’s left shoulder where the flesh was connected to the metal arm pitifully. She wanted to touch it, but she did not have enough courage. She asked in a low voice, “Then, how did you survive in the end, Sister Yun?”
“Wei Longtao saved me.”
Indescribable brilliance suddenly beamed out of Zuo Jingyun’s face, and even her voice was more refreshing than before. “He is a real hero and a real Cultivator. Many people in Starlight today were saved by him. They have all been united by his charisma and his dominating strength.
“Before Wei Longtao, ‘Starlight’ had lost its significance as a real organization although it was still catching its last breath. The descendants of the Cultivators in the past such were merely dodging the pursuit of the Immortal Cultivators with the ‘earthly dragons’ or launching suicidal attacks at the Immortal Cultivators with our hot blood, consumed by the fury of revenge. We could not hurt the Immortal Cultivators at all.
“Starlight at that time was a tray of loose sand where everybody minded their own business. We were ghosts and homeless dogs wandering below the ground.
“Wei Longtao’s arrival completely changed everything. He was both the most excellent master of maneuvering and modification for the earthly dragons and a strong, fearless warrior. He drove one earthly dragon against dozens of ‘Sandworm-type’ penetrators on the Immortal Cultivators’ side countless times and accomplished dazzling, unbelievable results every single time, retreating in one piece after blowing up countless penetrators of the Immortal Cultivators and saving a large batch of descendants of the Cultivators. He is the greatest legend of the underground world in the recent hundred years!
“After earning their reputation below the ground and scaring the Immortal Cultivators, he reorganized the disorderly, hopeless descendants of the Cultivators and established new rules and goals for Starlight. He told the confused, desperate, angry, or despondent people what the word ‘Cultivator’ really meant.
“What was most unexpected was that he even figured out a way to reach out to the Starlight that was active in the space, allowing the two branches of the organization to reunite. He even excavated important intelligence on the global sword network.
“It was with his arduous effort that we were able to concentrate all our forces to perform an ultimate counterattack. For hundreds of years, we have been hiding and fleeing in panic below the ground, living in fear every day. Such a cutthroat attack that will likely destroy the City in the Sky is something that we did not dare dream of in the past!
“So, if you ask me what it means to be a Cultivator, I don’t think that I can give you an answer. But I can bring the two of you to Wei Longtao if we have the opportunity so that he can explain it to you in person. Don’t be intimidated by his eyes that are bigger than lamps. He looks rather ferocious, but he is actually quite friendly.”
“So, I am not the only one who thinks that Commander Wei Longtao’s eyes are like lamps!” Han Te blurted out.
Everybody laughed.
Biting her lips, Liu Li said, “That explains a lot. With the leadership of such a great hero like Commander Wei, we will certainly be able to shoot down Manjusaka!”
Zuo Jingyun glanced at the Fist King. With a complicated expression, she said gloomily, “Perhaps you will think that our plan is a bit rash, bordering on daydreaming, but we do not have a choice.
“In fact, the Immortal Cultivators’ searches and sieges in the underground world of the Land of Sins were much weaker more than a hundred years ago. There were even decades when they bothered little about what was going on below the ground. Something happened among them, which gave us an opportunity for a brief development.
“However, in the recent decades, Manjusaka has been supervised by a new leader named Wuying Lan. This is a very tough guy. He has been building up the forces of the sky every day like magic tricks, and the sieges over the underground world are intensifying on a daily basis.
“Even though such a smart and brave expert like Wei Longtao has been leading us to deal with the Immortal Cultivators headed by Wuying Lan, our strength is being diminished every day like a person whose blood is being let out. If we do not perform a counterattack right now, we will die.
“Now that we have reached out to the Cultivators in space and discovered the control center of the global sword network, the legendary ‘temple of Cultivators’, this is certainly the best opportunity we have right now. If we do not take our chances while we still can, we will not even have the strength to fight a desperate counterattack in the future even if we want to!
“Of course, the difficulties and dangers of this mission have been well considered. Everybody is prepared to die a hero’s death. We are scared of neither death nor failure. Even if we fail this time, I believe that everything we’ve been doing will spread into the sea of stars like burning dandelions and into the hearts of countless people. One day, new Cultivators will be born and accomplish what we failed to, overthrowing the evil tyranny of the Immortal Cultivators!”
Han Te and Liu Li were deeply fascinated. They looked at Zuo Jingyun even more admiringly.
Zuo Jingyun smiled, somewhat embarrassed. She pinched Liu Li’s cheeks softly and said, “I seem to be bluffing about us. In fact, we might not be so influential, but we have been hiding below the ground for hundreds of years like turtles, mining and scavenging in the dust or fleeing in panic every day. If we are going to live such a life for another hundreds of years, what kind of Cultivators will we be qualified as?”
Han Te waved his fists and declared solemnly, “Sister Yun, you do have a point. Then, let’s fight side by side with you and shoot down Manjusaka together?”
“You?” Zuo Jingyun was amused. Looking at the Fist King, she remarked, “We were only thinking to recruit some bandits who were caught in a dead end to build up our forces. After all, we thought that everybody involved in the chaos of Liberty City was an atrocious bandit who had also been pushed into desperation by the Immortal Cultivators. Even if they were indeed killed in our mission, that would not be the worst outcome for them, right?
“But I did not expect that the Fist King would grow interested in your spiritual puppets and even bring you with him. As a result, you have been involved in the perilous mission that you do not deserve at all.”
Pouting her lips, Liu Li said, “Please don’t say that, Sister Yun. If you hadn’t shown up in time to rescue us, we would’ve been swallowed by the disgusting giant lizards!”
“In that case,” Zuo Jingyun said, “I cannot watch you be killed for nothing. Let me think how I should deal with you…”
“There’s no need to think about it. We will stay by Sister Yun’s side on Cloud Penetrator, your earthly dragon!” Han Te bulged his eyes, full of expectation. “This is the Land of Sins. No place is absolutely safe until Manjusaka is blown up! We swear that we will obey your words and never add to your trouble. So, please bring us with you. I want to see Manjusaka falling from the sky with my own eyes!”
“Yes. We will certainly be of great help!” Liu Li also clung to Zuo Jingyun’s clothes and begged. “Let us stay on your train, Sister Yun!”
Zuo Jingyun obviously did not have much experience with kids. Frowning and thinking for a long time, she hesitated. “Well, just get some rest. Let’s talk about it tomorrow. We’ll see what Commander Wei thinks.”
She put Liu Li aside softly and was about to turn around and leave.
Han Te, however, suddenly put on a weird expression and asked abruptly, “Right. Sister Yun, how did you decide to recruit new blood from Liberty City? Was it Commander Wei who came up with the idea?”
“Yes. We would not have done it. After all, if a lot of disobedient guys of unknown backgrounds join our team in a hurry, they will bring forth many unstable factors, which can be even more severe than the inadequacy of personnel.” Zuo Jingyun looked at Han Te suspiciously. “However, since it was Commander Wei’s proposal, there must be deeper meanings to his plan that we cannot understand just yet.
“But it doesn’t matter whether or not we understand it. Commander Wei is never wrong. Before, he proposed many suggestions that sounded even more ridiculous, but the suggestions achieved amazing results every time. It shouldn’t be an exception this time.
“Why do you ask, my young friend?”
“Nothing important.” Han Te scratched his hair rather unnaturally. “I’m just asking because I suddenly thought of the question. Also, about the branch of Starlight in space… How did you reach out to it exactly? Have you seen the Cultivators from space in person? What do they look like?”
“Sort of… Yes.” Zuo Jingyun nodded, somewhat hesitantly. “For safety reasons, Commander Wei has always been talking to the Cultivators in space singlehandedly. The less we know, the better. After all, the Immortal Cultivators have too much technology that can force the critical intelligence from us.
“However, Commander Wei has brought us a lot of video files and promotional pamphlets. I think that it means I have sort of seen the fellow Cultivators from space, haven’t I? Except for being slimmer and lighter, they do not look very different from us. You can stop your random thoughts, kid!”
Han Te stuck out his tongue and then yawned so hard that he almost squeezed out his tears.
“I have disrupted your rest for too long. I believe that there will be a long time before the two of you can digest and absorb everything that you’ve been through over the past few days.”
Zuo Jingyun smiled and grabbed the chains at the entrance of the cave, disappearing in the abyss of the mine.
The Fist King looked at Han Te and then at Li Yao. He walked to the entrance of the cave and said casually while observing the situation outside, “Why did you make Han Te ask the question? What are you suspicious of?”
“Huh?”
The two little fellows bulged their cheeks and eyeballs again and stared at Li Yao in confusion.
Pondering for a moment, Li Yao said, “Can I trust you, Fist King?”
“Of course not. You know that I am just a puppet, an artificial intelligence, that does not have any concept of morals or integrity. Everything I do is based on the guideline and for the purpose of getting stronger. As long as it is favorable for my ultimate goal, I will not hesitate to betray and even kill the three of you at all. So, how on earth can you trust me?”
The Fist King furrowed his metal eyebrow and looked at Li Yao in obvious bewilderment.
“I am really puzzled how your logical circuits are devised. You appear shrewd one moment and then silly the next. How can you not come to such a simple conclusion?”
