Li Nianfan discussed the visit with Little Daji out of courtesy. It was not like she would ever reject her master’s requests.
As expected, she gave her never-changing reply softly. “As you wish, master.”
The trio bid farewell to the Empath Sect and went back to Xia Dynasty for a rest.
In a world without smartphones, the only entertainment left for Li Nianfan before turning in for the night was reading. He liked to read ‘Safe Travels’ before sleeping because it helped him get a good night’s sleep and helped to keep him in a good mood.
While he was reading, at the place where the battle took place, a graceful black shadow slowly emerged from the night — she was the Left Messenger of the late Ministry.
As usual, she was wearing a demon mask but it was easy to tell she was not in a good mood by the aura she gave off. There was also a sense of confusion in the air.
Immediately after she appeared, the void beside her twisted and out stepped a one-eyed old man with a wrinkled face wearing a gray-green top-hat.
The old man’s face was green in color and looked like Ghost Fire underneath the night sky. It was uncomfortable to look at him. There was also a deep scar on where his left eye should be, permanently blinding him.
A deep booming voice came out of the old man’s mouth. “What’s the matter? Didn’t you say the Empath Sect group has been captured? Where are they now?”
“Something else happened!” said the Left Messenger coldly. She gave a pause before continuing. “The Area of Gods involves too many forces and there are hidden powerful people everywhere. Maybe the Ministry has been targeted. My trap was foolproof but if I had known things would turn out this way, I would have come myself.”
“It’s not a big deal. They’re just some small fries and unworthy of you to handle it yourself,” said the green old man nonchalantly.
“Although I admit it was out of impulsiveness to create a problem from Area of Gods, I never expected to handle it so easily,” said the Left Messenger with resentment.
Although she only laid out the trap for the Empath Sect group to pass some time, it still made her furious when things did not turn out the way she wanted. There was also the matter of reaping a big reward if her plan was to be successful.
The destruction of the mortal’s Luck, the dismembering of the Empath Sect, and the capture of a few Chaos Daluo Golden Immortal for the Ministry’s experiment — all these were like killing a bird with three stones.
But alas, the birds were still alive and well. Although the same could not be said for the black-robed. At the thought of this, the Left Messenger became demotivated.
“This is not a good sign. How is your plan going? You should not be careless,” she said gravely.
“Don’t worry, everything is going according to plan,” said the old man with a small smile, making his wrinkled face look more sinister. “The appearance of the Area of Gods has caused many demons to voluntarily gather together making it to capture them in one go. The trap for the Demon City is quietly being unfolded.
“There’s another important matter. The Dog who took out three of our high-level members is most probably from the Dog Mountain.”
The Left Messenger’s face changed imperceptibly. “And you plan to take revenge?”
“Of course.” His surviving eye shone brightly while giggling sinisterly.
The Left Messenger’s eyebrows knitted together and her body started to turn cold. “Stop giggling like that. It gives me the hibbie jibbies.”
Far from where all this was happening, the Empath Sect members were gathered together. Although they were all badly injured, it did not stop them from holding a meeting. Their eyes shone brightly with high motivation.
The experience of the past few days have certainly changed their perspective on the world.
“I still can’t believe we were able to meet an expert. It all feels like a dream,” said Qin Zhongshan with mixed feelings. He let out a small sigh before continuing. “We all owe him our lives.”
“I agree! First he helped Chuyue recover her memories, saved me next and then saved all of our lives. The best part was when he treated us to Chaos Spiritual Fruit and Chaos Enlightenment Tea! I have no idea how I can ever repay him,” said Shi Ye, getting more and more ashamed, realizing just how much he owed the expert.
The rest of the group was ashamed too. The expert had done so much for them and all they had given him was a Double Flying Stone. Not to mention he was able to fully unleash the stone’s potential. Compared to when it was in the sect’s hand, the stone could be deemed useless.
Big Elder let out a long sigh. “We’re as good as rubbish. The thought of someone like him being so kind to people like us makes me want to cry with gratitude.”
“The days I spent with him still feel like a dream to me,” said Qin Yun calmly. “All this just proves what a kind person he is. Let’s do something to repay him.”
Qin Zhongshan quickly nodded in agreement. “You’ve taken the words out of my mouth. It’s just that… How can we repay him?”
At this, the group went silent. Their brows knitted in deep concentration.
Powerful figures like the expert want for nothing — even the water he drank were from Chaos Spiritual Water. Not to mention his cultivation was probably so deep as to be bottomless. What could people like the Empath Sect group do to repay him?
The more they thought about it the more anxious they became. They clutched their chest at the realization of just how useless they were. There must be something they could do for the expert, no matter how small it was.
After a while, an idea struck Qin Chuyue and she shouted, “The Ghastly Ghost King”
She became animated and her eyes shot out bright sparkles. “Father, do you remember what the expert said about the Resentful Spirit when we visited him? Do you remember what he asked?” she asked hurriedly.
The group was momentarily stunned. They tried to think back to what the question was.
“The expert asked us how did the Resentful Spirit came about…” muttered Qin Zhongshan with his brows knitted together.
Suddenly his whole body shook and his beard swayed violently as if he had discovered a new land. “I remember! I remember!” he said excitedly. “How did the Resentful Spirit come about! This is only a superficial question. We could change the question to — What is the source of the Resentful Spirit!
“And coming from the expert, there must be a reason for the question! He wanted to know whether it was possible to stop the Resentful Spirit at the source!”
Both Big Elder and Shi Ye gasped with realization. Their mood lightened up instantly.
“Of course! Of course!”
“Marvelous! What sounded like a simple question turned out to be guidance from the expert. It was actually a veiled order. Good thing we were able to figure it out. If not, the expert would surely be very disappointed.”
“It’s all thanks to Chuyue, my lovely daughter! You’re as smart as your old man!,” said Qin Zhongshan and then he laughed heartily. “Things should be easier from now since we know what the expert ordered. I hereby announce our main mission from now on would be to keep an eye on the Ghastly Ghost King!”
Both Shi Ye and Big Elder were filled with the same excitement. “We will defeat the Ghastly Ghost King no matter what!”
The next day, Li Nianfan was playing Chinese chess with Daji in the courtyard when the door suddenly opened and in walked Fire Phoenix followed by an animated Yao Mengji and Qin Manyun.
They were not supposed to stay for long in Xia Dynasty after the crisis was contained. However, they had changed their mind since the expert decided to stay. Even if they could not listen to the expert’s lecture, it was an honor to them as long as they could stay in close proximity to him. They were prepared to drop everything and attend to the expert’s order anytime, anyday.
They would not make the mistake of leaving the place as long as the expert was still there. Although they knew the chances were slim the expert would ever ask them to do anything, it was to their delight when they were summoned to his place today. They were so giddy with excitement to the point of bursting.
“Greetings Mr. Li and Lady Daji,” said them both at the same time.
“Good morning, Mr. Yao, Lady Mengyun,” said Li Nianfan. He had fond feelings for these two old friends of his. It was not long ago that Yao Menji went through all the tribulations and came to say her last goodbye to him. He was glad to see she had become an immortal now. Not to mention, Qin Manyu was not far behind with him about to start the process of becoming an immortal.
Li Nianfan was the one who had witnessed all their growth and him growing alongside them. It was no surprise he saw them as family.
“I’m sorry to ask you both to come so early in the morning,” said Li Nianfan with an apologetic smile.
“Oh no. It’s no problem at all. We were bored out of our minds. Is there anything you’ve wanted us to do?” said Yao Mengji.
“The three of us rarely go out so we’re not familiar with Area of the Gods. We plan to visit Little Fox but we’re not sure where she is now. Do you know?”
“Of course.” Yao Mengji sighed with the relief he was able to help out the expert on this. “Little Fox is the crowned Demon King. At the start of the Area of Gods’ development, all the isolated areas started to connect together with the Heavenly Palace at its centre. The area Little Fox is in is called Demon City.”
“Demon City? As in a city where all the demons are living?” asked Li Nianfan with awe.
Yao Mengji nodded. “Yes, Little Fox ordered all the demons to build the city to be her headquarter.”
At this Li Nianfan could not help but smile. “She’s quite the troublemaker, isn’t she?” He raised his eyes to look at Yao Mengji again. “If you’re free, would you mind showing us the way? If not, a map would do.”
Both Yao Menji and Qin Manyun’s hearts jumped up and down at the thought of being able to go on a journey with the expert. They felt unbelievably honored and could not contain their excitement. This was akin to them being the ‘chosen one’.
Even a fool would know out of the two choices, which one was the correct one.
“Yes, of course, we’ll be more than happy to show you the way. Truth to be told, we were planning on going to the Demon City ourselves. What a coincidence, right?” said Yao Menji without skipping a beat.
