Chapter 852 – The Huntdown Has Arrived
"Is that so? Perhaps something went his way today, and that's why he's in a good mood." Ye Qingyu casually remarked while roughly understanding what the white-robed divine guard meant. He could not help revealing a smile when he recalled Ren Puyang's self-disrespecting look in front of him.
"It's not because something went his way." Xiao Lin shook his head and looked at Ye Qingyu with a somewhat meaningful expression. After a brief pause, he stopped beating around the bush and got straight to the point, "I think he's happy because of you, brother Qingyu. Don't you know, Mr. Ren Puyang has an elegant nickname called [Ironface] in Heaven Connect City. He smiles very little, and would only feel in a better mood when meeting young human talents. Still, he has never smiled as many times as he did today when meeting you. He has to attend to myriad issues every day and is always up to his eyes in work, such that he would not spend more than thirty minutes even when receiving other powerful figures. Only you can stay for such a long time in his office."
Xiao Lin's intent was very obvious. This was an ingenious way of flattering Ye Qingyu and pointing out Ren Puyang's great regard for him.
Ye Qingyu was somewhat astounded and shocked when he heard this.
He had earlier discerned Ren Puyang's regard for him – Ren Puyang himself had even mentioned training him and having high expectations. However, the guard's words gave him a point of comparison, allowing Ye Qingyu to find out that Mr. Ren Puyang's expectations of him were a lot higher than he had initially thought.
"Perhaps he just happened to have some free time today." He laughed.
"Hoho, His Excellency never has free time. I've served him for a hundred years and have never seen him been free for a moment. If not for his painstaking efforts to prop things up in Heaven Connect City, the place of the Human Race in many domains would've gone rotten by now." The guard sighed.
Being Ren Puyang's confidant, he had seen too many people and things while following beside Ren Puyang all these years, and was fully aware of Ren Puyang's pains. As he spoke, he betrayed his own heartache and distress.
Ye Qingyu looked rather surprisedly at Xiao Lin, who he had just gained a much better impression of. After a brief pause, he quipped, "As they say, severe illnesses have to be treated using strong remedies. One should have the heart of a bodhisattva and act like an asura. If something is rotten from its roots, then the roots have to be pulled out."
The latter's eyes lit up.
Although he had heard the ideas and aspirations of several other human talents he met and could tell that every one of them had great ambitions, none of them were in accord with Mr. Ren Puyang. Only Ye Qingyu's ideas were very similar to those of Mr. Ren Puyang in recent years, which were formed over several hundred years of watching the Human Race, experiencing hope and disappointment, and conducting reflection, investigation, and experimentation. Instead, at such a young age, Ye Qingyu already had agreeable ideas. No wonder Mr. Ren Puyang would permit himself to spend so much time with him and smiled so much more than usual.
"These are fine words, Lord Ye Qingyu. It's just that having the heart of a bodhisattva while acting like an asura may result in too much killing, which would eventually incur some disapproval," he could not refrain from adding.
"I'll not be fazed even if opposed by ten million people." Ye Qingyu laughed faintly and spoke no more.
When Xiao Lin saw Ye Qingyu's expression, he knew that the latter was not joking and probably had his own plans already. Therefore, he too laughed and said nothing else.
He had already said what had to be said.
Any more would be unnecessary.
Although Xiao Lin dared not claim to have a complete read on Ren Puyang's thoughts, yet being the most capable bodyguard of this powerful juggernaut, he nevertheless could clearly spot the changes in the expression and tone of the latter, who had all along cherished talents greatly, after this emerging talent of the Human Race named Ye Qingyu appeared in the congress divine temple.
This was why he displayed a very polite attitude toward Ye Qingyu and Yu Xiaoxing and provided them with many reminders while guiding them in participating in the domain grading.
After traversing the path, the two arrived in front of the silver spatial formation splendor at the depths of the portal divine temple.
"Please enter, brother Qingyu."
Under Xiao Lin's guidance, Ye Qingyu walked into the portal formation once more.
…
In the side hall.
It had been a full two hours since the Heaven Wasteland Domain's grading result was announced.
Standing in the doorway of the side hall's back door, Ye Qingyu paused momentarily and swept a cursory glance across, noticing that the side hall remained as bustling and boisterous as before.
In the side hall, there were approximately more than three hundred half-partitioned seats, on every one of which sat a representative from one of various races and domains among the Vast Thousand Domains. Like the most crowded and popular restaurants in Heaven Connect City, this place never had an empty seat, and demand always outstripped supply.
Upon close inspection, Ye Qingyu could see that some old faces had left while many new faces had arrived. For instance, the human sect master who made insulting remarks toward Qin Hui was nowhere in sight.
Evidently, during the time when Ye Qingyu was away, people were continually brought into the core divine temple from the side hall, while more representatives and leaders from various races entered the congress divine temple and were sent here to wait.
As he observed the bustling crowd of representatives who were awaiting the judgment of their destinies, he, for some unknown reason, suddenly had a very weird feeling – that although the people who can come here are each an extraordinary being of the Vast Thousand Domains, they ultimately can never be freed from the cage…
Accompanied by Xiao Lin, he entered the side hall and walked toward his earlier seat.
While passing by some seats, there would occasionally be a few human compatriots and representatives from friendly foreign races nodding a greeting at him.
He quickly spotted the seats of the Heaven Wasteland diplomatic corps.
At this time, Yu Xiaoxing was already back on her seat, talking to Qin Hui about something. The smile on her face indicated that the empress was in a pretty good mood and vigorous vitality.
A smile involuntarily formed at the corner of his mouth as he walked over.
He was noticed by Yu Xiaoxing.
"Elder brother Ye Qingyu." A brilliance flickered in her eyes at once, and her voice could barely conceal her excitement. Evidently, she had received quite a number of good news when settling the handover procedures earlier.
Nodding, Ye Qingyu was about to say something to Yu Xiaoxing when he saw that Qin Hui and her son, both of whom were also seated, wore rather strange expressions on their faces. They cuddled together with their bodies drawn back, as if they wanted to hide behind the one-meter-tall partition, and revealed a hard-to-disguise look of fear and awe.
Ye Qingyu was taken aback.
Huh?
What's the matter?
Didn't Ren Puyang come over already? Could he have failed to account appropriately to them? Why do they not look any relaxed, and on the contrary, seem even more frightened than before?
Ye Qingyu was bewildered.
"Big brother! The bad guys have arrived!"
Perhaps because Ye Qingyu had mentioned that he knew Tian Ning's grandfather, the little boy trusted him greatly. Upon seeing Ye Qingyu, the boy could not refrain from speaking up, and even waved his pudgy fists as if to muster up his courage. However, his timid expression and unconscious trembling completely betrayed his state of mind.
The bad guys have arrived?
Ye Qingyu seemed to realize what this was about, "Could the people who're hunting down this mother and son have found their way into this congress divine temple?"
When he looked at Qin Hui, he noticed that this young mother, who was originally extremely decisive and resolute, now could not hide the anxiety and tension on her face.
…
She was indeed feeling very anxious at this time.
Having been pursued by the rebels of her sect, watched her husband die in battle and her kin follow him into death, and fled in distress, she and her son smacked of landlubbers tossed into a boundless ocean in the danger-ridden Heaven Connect City, where they could be slaughtered at will.
Doing everything she could to come to the congress divine temple was akin to the final and only piece of driftwood she could grab hold of.
However, after waiting for five or six days in the divine temple and still not hearing anything from that personage, she could not help becoming increasingly despondent and nearly lost the will to persist.
That was until she met Ye Qingyu and Yu Xiaoxing, these two human compatriots.
She had earlier already noticed that this young human named Ye Qingyu was shown a friendly and respectful attitude by many foreign race representatives ever since he entered the side hall, testifying to his extraordinary fame and status,
In particular, when she found out that he knew her father-in-law, her crumbling faith was reignited.
Holding the last glimmer of hope, she handed the jade token to him. At that moment, it was equivalent to placing her and Ning'er's lives in his hands.
After Ye Qingyu went away, a middle-aged human who called himself Mr. Ren Puyang did arrive to find her and her son. She presumed that he was the personage whom her dead husband had mentioned. After arriving, he asked a few questions about what she and her son had encountered. However, what worried and frustrated her was that, after asking these questions, he did not explain how he would help them, and simply told them to wait here for news before he promptly turned and departed.
Wait.
Yes, it seemed like yet another endless wait.
Throughout the entire process, this important person, whom her dead husband had said could help her and Ning'er, did not behave very warmly and did not smile. The expression on his face suggested that he was not too willing to get involved in this matter.
This reality caused Qin Hui's heart to be inundated with disappointment and fall into a bottomless dark abyss.
However, for some unknown reason, her heart was stirred up when Ye Qingyu reappeared in front of her.
Perhaps it was because of his extraordinary yet steady bearing, or because of his confident and firm attitude, but in any case, Qin Hui's nearly-dead heart was offered a faint ray of hope.
Having merely met by chance, it was already too kind of him to have helped her find the personage. If she now requested protection from him, it would be equivalent to pushing this warm-hearted young man toward the rebels of the Ancient Sky Dragon Sect and thereby putting him in harm's way.
