Li Qingshan moved underground with the group. The twisting and turning path seemed endless. They sometimes moved east and sometimes west. The only constant direction was downwards as they entered even greater depths.
After dealing with the issue of cultivation, he no longer had to think too much about it anymore, so he moved all of his attention back to his mirror image.
Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo led the group at the very front. When they came across any forks in the road, they would make a choice without the slightest hesitation. The caves were quiet. No one in the group spoke. There was not even the sound of footsteps. They all seemed to have become illusionary shadows.
Night roamers are basically natural-born assassins. I wonder just what environment made them like this. Li Qingshan praised secretly. In particular, Ye Liusu was basically floating. Combined with her terrifying other ability, it was very possible for him to die by her blade even though he was much stronger than her if he was caught off-guard.
They turned into a new cavern. Ye Liubo gazed at the emotionless Ye Liusu, who only cared about advancing forward, and frowned slightly. She lowered her head, and her expression became conflicted as if she was facing a dilemma. Suddenly, she slowed down and arrived at the back of the group. She grabbed Li Qingshan’s hand.
“There’s something I want to speak to you about.”
Just as Li Qingshan became puzzled by her actions, Ye Liubo told him that through the pulses of her aura. She also knew a little about the method that daemons used to communicate with one another.
“Ah!” Ye Liubo cried out. She was pulled into Li Qingshan’s arms, and the two of them stopped.
Ye Liusu looked back with a frown. The group stopped. The expressions of the night roamers differed. The men were obviously furious, while the women were rather envious.
“You go first. We have some matters to attend to.” Li Qingshan lowered his head and gently sniffed Ye Liubo’s neck. Her face blushed slightly.
“Be sure to catch up.” Ye Liusu’s gaze swept past their faces before she continued forwards with the group.
“They’re gone now. What do you want to tell me?”
Before he had even finished speaking, Ye Liubo wrapped herself around him like a snake. She kissed his lips and stuck out her tongue. Li Qingshan was slightly surprised, but he refused to back down, so they actually began kissing in a place like this.
A while later, Ye Liubo still showed no intentions of stopping. Li Qingshan’s lust was roused, so he forcefully pushed her away and pursed his lips. “You can tell me now.”
“Can I trust you?” Ye Liubo’s face was filled with mixed emotion, but it was not the bashfulness of a girl in love.
“Looks like all you can trust is me now.” Li Qingshan obviously did not believe that Ye Liubo had just become infatuated over him. From how she behaved, she clearly had something important to say.
“I can tell you something of great importance to you, so important that it can save your life. However, you need to promise me two things.”
“That doesn’t sound very fair.”
“The first thing is please don’t harm my elder sister!”
“Why do you think I’ll harm her?”
“You’ll harm her once I tell you this.”
“And why are you telling me that?”
“If I don’t tell you, she’ll harm herself.”
“I refuse,” Li Qingshan laid out his hands and shrugged.
“Why?”
“What you’re trying to say is that she has come up with a lousy idea in an attempt to harm me. But to be honest, I’m not afraid at all.” To quite a large extent, Li Qingshan’s mirror clone was for scouting ahead. It would be fine even if a clone or two was killed. Once he understood the situation underground, what would be stopping him from avenging his clones?
“There’s something else. You have no right to make a deal with me.” Li Qingshan’s face coldened.
“Then I’ll beg you, alright? I can become your servant. I’ll serve you. I can even tell you about the situation underground.” Ye Liubo felt very powerless. She knew he was right. Even Ye Liusu was completely helpless against him, so just what could she do with her strength?
If it were not for the fact that his personality was not as violent as regular daemons, probably even great king Ye Liusu would not be able to maintain her sense of pride right now. Many of the times, the feeling he gave her was more human than anything else. It was exactly because of this that she was bold enough to negotiate with him. And, from the probing earlier, she had confirmed he was interested in women. With that being the case, she felt like her chances at success had increased by quite a lot.
This was not a joke. Rarely did Daemon Generals underground suddenly change their sense of beauty after transforming, taking a liking to creatures that walked on two legs. They would still treat them as food that could walk around.
“You’ve finally said what I want to hear.” Li Qingshan smiled. What he wanted to know about the most right now was the situation of the night roamers and the situation of Spider Queen Lolth. As long as he could gain a grasp over the bigger picture, just what significance would Ye Liusu’s measly scheme towards his mirror image hold?
“Then you’re agreeing?” Ye Liubo beamed.
“Can a servant place demands on her master?” Li Qingshan said sternly.
“You!”
“Though, the master can consider the servant’s feelings.” Li Qingshan rubbed her face with a smile. “Tell me, or I’ll consider turning down your allegiance.”
“My sister wants to kill you…”
Ye Liubo was helpless. In the end, she still chose to believe him. He could have used more violent methods to interrogate her, or he could have insulted Ye Liusu viciously, but he did not.
“That’s not surprising. It’s almost written across her face.” Li Qingshan curled his lip.
“…by drawing you into the territory of the enemy.” However, Ye Liubo’s next words finally surprised Li Qingshan.
“Wait, you said the enemy? Who can still be her enemy in the underground world?” As someone who had been awarded her own territory by the Spider Queen, even other daemons could not just kill her.
“Night roamers from other clans, obviously.”
As it turned out, the night roamers underground were not united. Instead, they were split into a few major clans. Spider Queen Lolth forbade open conflict, but she did advocate for chaos and hidden conflict. Coupled with them contending for their interests and resources, the conflicts between the clans were extremely intense.
They could do anything to one another, including assassination, poisoning, or laying traps. As long as no direct evidence was left behind, they could do whatever they wanted. And, these useless failures who left behind evidence would all become sacrifices to the Spider Queen after being judged.
It was possible to imagine just what kind of “welcome” Ye Liusu would receive when she returned underground, entering the territory of other clans. And, in order to silence them, Li Qingshan would definitely be hunted down for being a witness.
“This idea is as stupid as it can get.” Li Qingshan shook his head. This Ye Liusu sure was vicious. She was actually willing to drag herself down with him. Did she really think this would be enough to deal with him?
“My sister has no other choice either. In order to obtain this piece of territory, our Spider Shadow clan has already become the target for attack for many large clans. We’ve sustained very large losses. If she then draws in an enemy like you, it’ll probably be enough to destroy the entire clan. With this idea, even if it’s useless against you, it can still heavily injure those clans.”
If Li Qingshan managed to escape, then the clans would definitely be guilty of killing a leader of a territory and attacking a Daemon General. If he did die, he would definitely drag a lot of people down with him, and the Spider Shadow clan could send someone else to manage this piece of territory.
After thinking through all of this, Li Qingshan really began to admire Ye Liusu. “What an impressive spirit of sacrifice. Liubo, you’re much worse compared to her.”
“I’m only too anxious to see the Spider Shadow clan destroyed and all the night roamers killed. What’s it got to do with us anyway?” Ye Liubo sneered. She was actually filled with hatred towards her own clan. Only then did she look at Li Qingshan eagerly, grabbing his hand and calling out, “Master!”
Li Qingshan’s heart numbed from that. It was impossible for regular people to replicate this seductive feeling. If it were not in consideration for Han Qiongzhi, he probably would have been tempted to do something.
“In consideration for your feelings and loyalty, I’m not going to kill your sister, given that she doesn’t end up killing herself. Actually, she has some use for me.”
Ye Liubo was delighted, but she felt rather strange inside. Originally, she wanted her sister to capture him so that she could toy around with him, but now, she had become his servant instead.
Though, he seemed even more charming now. What attracted her was no longer just that perfect face. With his strength, he would definitely become an important figure who could move around underground freely. Serving him would be much better than being ordered around by the clan. Thinking about it in such a manner, she found that she had made quite a good choice.
In the underground world, the strong preyed on the weak. A handsome or pretty appearance would only turn someone into a toy. Only with great strength could you win everyone over, ruling over all. Strength itself was a form of charm.
“Though, I am curious about the other thing.”
“I want you to protect me.”
“Who wants to harm you?”
“There will definitely be very severe punishments awaiting us after losing the territory. There are just too many people waiting to add insult to injury in the Spider Shadow clan,” Ye Liubo said in resentment but also rather proudly. Now that she was under the protection of a powerful Daemon General, there was nothing the matriarch could do to her!
“Don’t worry. Your master will protect his servant.”
“Thank you, master.” Ye Liubo’s hearted warmed up, and she smiled sweetly.
Ye Liusu was currently leading the group of night roamers. They had stopped in the cavern to rest, but she felt slightly uneasy.
At this moment, the two of them returned. Ye Liubo clung onto Li Qingshan’s arm intimately as she smiled gently.
“That’ll do.” Li Qingshan shook off Ye Liubo.
Ye Liubo glanced at him in discontent and said to Ye Liusu, “Big sister, I’ve already told your plan to sir Northmoon.”
Ye Liusu’s heart shuddered. What she worried about the most had happened. She roared, “Liubo!” However, Li Qingshan grabbed her hand as she tried to draw her dagger.
Ye Liubo glanced back without backing down. “Big sister, even if you want to make a sacrifice, you need to ask us first.” As soon as she stated Ye Liusu’s plan, the guards were immediately thrown into an uproar.
“I was saying there was something wrong with the path.” “Ma’am Liusu, is that true?”
They were not ready to sacrifice themselves for the clan, unlike her. It was not like they would be punished for losing the territory anyway. At most, they would just be dragged into the matter slightly.
Ye Liusu said nothing, as if she was admitting to it with her silence.
“From today onwards, I will be leaving the Spider Shadow clan to be sir Northmoon’s servant!”
At this moment, Ye Liubo’s statement caused quite a ripple. This was equivalent to betraying the clan and completely placing her life in Li Qingshan’s hands. If Li Qingshan refused to protect her, there was no way for her to continue living underground.
Li Qingshan smiled. This was probably the legendary aura of a king. If he really did possess the power of a king, was he supposed to be worried about a lack of followers? As long as he possessed sufficient “power”, there was no need for him to worry about a lot of matters.
