The crescent moon sank a little further. Their clash had only lasted a few moments, yet the amount of danger Li Qingshan had faced ranked towards the top among all the battles he had been in. He had not used his full strength, but the Shadow Queen was clearly holding back too.
If they continued fighting, Li Qingshan personally believed he would not be her opponent. Serving as a punching bag had never been in his character, but he would still be forced to evade her temporarily. However, if he did that, his plans in the south would be greatly affected.
Now that the Great Banyan Tree King was stepping forward and intervening in the situation, that was obviously for the best. As a result, he arrived before the great banyan tree and maintained his distance from the Shadow Queen. She had revealed herself, but she was still a blur as if she could meld into the darkness at any time. It was even more impossible to make out her countenance.
Li Qingshan did not disperse his demonic armour either, temporarily folding up the phoenix wings that draped beside him like two comets. He would never place all of his hopes on someone else no matter when it was. He would always prepare for the worst.
“Please allow me to intervene!”
The Great Banyan Tree King said “please”, but he left no room for negotiation in his tone. His cloud-like canopy swayed gently in the night breeze, producing a rustle. It allowed them to truly feel the dignity and prestige that this Daemon King of the Mist province possessed.
“Please go on!” Ye Weiyang fiddled around with the shadow dagger in her hand, glancing at Li Qingshan from the side.
“Weiyang, you said you wanted to see whether he’s qualified, so I let you test him. What do you think now?” The Great Banyan Tree King asked.
“He’s qualified enough.” Even Ye Weiyang was forced to admit that. He was so powerful that his strength had basically surpassed her expectations.
“Then take a seat and have a talk!” the Great Banyan Tree King said. Two aerial roots draped down, forming two seats. A wooden plank rose up between the two seats, carrying a simple, wooden teapot and a few tea cups.
“There’s no need for the talk. He dares to threaten me with the Shadow palace. He must die tonight.” Ye Weiyang did not take the seat. She respected the Great Banyan Tree King, but she still had her pride as the Shadow Queen.
“Then try it!” Li Qingshan smiled and revealed his fangs. He was not some kindhearted fellow either.
“If you really fight to the death, then wouldn’t all my efforts to be a good person all be in vain? If you trust me, then sit down!” the Great Banyan Tree King said.
He was not some peacemaker who stuck his nose in everything. His intervention was to protect the interests of both parties.
With that, there was nothing more that Ye Weiyang could say in response, so she took her seat. Li Qingshan sat down in front of her too; they gazed and guarded against one another.
“Qingshan, this intervention has to do with the success and failure of many of your matters in the south. You cannot continue acting on your emotions. I’m willing to defuse your troubles of today. Weiyang, we’ve known each other for a very long time, so you can say I understand your strength. This intervention has to do with your future and the Shadow palace’s. You cannot continue holding disdain. I’ll be defusing your troubles of tomorrow.”
The Great Banyan Tree King spoke calmly and grandly. He was considering for both of them, which filled both of them with admiration.
From how solemnly the Great Banyan Tree King spoke, Ye Weiyang could not help but re-evaluate the Li Qingshan before her. He’s just in his thirties, yet he already possesses such strength, and it seems like he hasn’t even unleashed it all. That’s truly terrifying. If he had another thirty years, his name might really ring through the world. The girl called Xiao An possesses talent no less than his. The so-called troubles of tomorrow the tree king mentioned aren’t a lie.
“If you have no objections, then please show your faces to express your sincerity,” said the Great Banyan Tree King.
Li Qingshan extended his hand and picked up the tea pot, pouring a cup for himself. The vicious-looking armour on his hand disintegrated, and the armour dispersed inch by inch. He took a sip of tea and gazed at his reflection in the teacup. Using demonification to mask his identity as Northmoon sure was a good idea.
Xiao An took the tea pot from him and poured a cup for the Shadow Queen, making an inviting gesture. She gave off a sense of peace within her composure. Li Qingshan had to maintain his forceful appearance and not back down, so she expressed sincerity for his sake, prompting on this negotiation.
They were enemies, but Ye Weiyang could not help but admire her charm. However, it became even more difficult for her to tell what their relationship was. Were they siblings? Lovers? None of it seemed to match.
She accepted the tea cup and nodded towards Xiao An. Holding the tea cup, she drank carefully. She was extremely elegant, worlds apart from the viciousness and craftiness she demonstrated when she carried out an assasination. Compared to human kings, night roamers could be considered as an even more ancient clan of nobles. They once reigned over one of the seven divine kingdoms.
A pair of large, deep-blue eyes peered through the blurry darkness as if it peeled away the mist and revealed her true form.
Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. The greatest assassin of the Mist province actually had an innocent babyface. Combined with her petite figure, she seemed like a young girl. She differed quite a lot from his imaginations.
Of course, she was definitely much older than she seemed on the surface.
“What’re you looking at?”
Yei Weiyang crossed her legs and placed her right arm on the table, leaning against it. She grabbed the tea cup with her left hand and drank it all as she said coldly. However, her voice was no longer as obscure and gloomy as before. It had become rather sweet and soft, so she no longer seemed as dignified.
Although the enemy had turned into a cute girl in a split second, Li Qingshan did not lower his guard. The Shadow Queen was still the Shadow Queen. He stared at her firmly at the same time, which left Ye Weiyang very unhappy.
The Great Banyan Tree King sighed inside. They all said that angry people basically had the same rationality as children. He would not bother with the job of coaxing children.
“I’ve already explained the advantages and disadvantages! It’s time for you to talk!”
“If you leave right now, I’ll treat it like nothing has happened at all,” Li Qingshan looked down and said flatly.
“For the sake of the tree king, I can spare you. I’ll be taking all the night roamers here away with me,” Ye Weiyang placed down her tea cup and said firmly.
“Don’t even think about it.” Li Qingshan’s voice was just as flat as before, but he refused to budge from his position…
“Then there’s nothing for us to negotiate. They’re my clansmen. I’m not going to let them wander about outside in depravity and serve humans. Even if I have to mobilise the entire Shadow palace, I’ll bring them back. No matter what troubles await us, my Shadow palace can withstand them.”
Ye Weiyang leaned forward and stared at Li Qingshan with her large, deep-blue eyes. She radiated with murderousness that attacked every single pore.
“They’ve followed me for many years. I’m not going to sell them out just for a moment of ease and comfort!” Li Qingshan slammed the table and met her eyes. He refused to back down.
Honestly speaking, as his strength rapidly increased, these night roamers no longer possessed any actual value to him, but just his relationship with Ye Liubo and Ye Liusu was enough to stop him from casually handing them over.
This reply left Ye Weiyang rather surprised. She sneered again. “I originally thought you still had some backbone, not as hypocritical as other humans, but I didn’t think you’d actually say something so shameless!”
In the past, she had saved many clansmen before, so she could completely imagine what kind of oppression night roamers faced under the rule of a member of a foreign race. The peace and happiness on the surface did not change the reality that they were slaves, that they were playthings he could order around as he pleased.
“Whether I’m shameless or not is not for you to decide. They live here in great peace and contentment, yet you want to take them away because of a single statement. Have you even asked whether they’re willing to or not?” Li Qingshan asked.
“Alright, then I’ll cut to the chase. Let’s make a bet. If they’re willing to leave with me, you’re not going to stop them!” Ye Weiyang’s lips curled slightly. She had been waiting for him to say that!
“And what if they refuse?” Li Qingshan asked.
“Whatever you want!” Ye Weiyang said. Who was willing to let another race oppress them instead of sticking with their own people? Neither their feelings nor their interests would ever want something like that.
“Liusu, Liubo, Liuxing, get over here! Oh right, you too, Ghost the third!” Li Qingshan said.
The three sisters had been paying attention to what was going on here the entire time, so they arrived beside them in the blink of an eye. They bowed. “Greetings, my king, as well as ma’am Shadow Queen.”
Ghost Shadow gradually appeared too. He directly dropped down to one knee and said nothing.
He originally wanted to flee, but when he remembered it was absolutely impossible to escape from the Shadow Queen’s grasp, he simply accepted his fate. Back then, he had only managed to escape from the Shadow palace purely because of the Shadow Queen’s mercy. It was equivalent to giving him a holiday. As it seemed now, even the longest of holidays would still come to an end. When he remembered the life in the Shadow palace, he could not help but feel pained. He was unable to say anything at all.
Ye Weiyang did not even glance at Ghost Shadow either, studying the three siblings instead. They were all of the same race, but the females were still more reliable at the end of the day. In particular, Ye Liusu, who was clearly their leader, managed to maintain her composure, coming off as neither meek nor arrogant. She left the Shadow Queen most satisfied.
In the Shadow palace, there were many seniors much stronger than her, but her bearing was very rare. Together with the fact that she had never been a part of the Shadow palace and had never received any careful guidance, the Shadow Queen valued her even more.
“You’ve all heard the conversation earlier. If you have any thoughts, you’re welcome to speak freely. As long as I’m here, no one can force you into doing anything ever again.”
Ye Weiyang said gently like she was caring for children, which prompted Li Qingshan to say, “You’ve followed me for many years. I personally believe I’ve never let you down. Even now, I refuse to force you into doing anything. I do believe Ghost the third has told you plenty about what kind of place the Shadow palace is and what kind of person the Shadow Queen is. We all must part one day, so if you want to return to your clansmen, I won’t blame you.”
Ye Weiyang glanced at Li Qingshan in surprise. He did not try to thwart her attempts, even responding like this instead. Was this some kind of scheme?
Li Qingshan responded to her with a smile, making him seem even more broad-minded.
“Master, I’ll never leave you!” Ye Liubo immediately arrived by Li Qingshan’s side, her eyes filled with love and admiration.
Ye Weiyang frowned. Sure enough, this was a trick. She never thought this despicable brat would use love to blind them, but she did not care about night roamers blinded by love anyway. She had managed to tell long ago that Ye Liubo’s talent was not outstanding. It was already quite an achievement for her to cultivate to this step. It was virtually impossible for her to climb any higher. The one that determined the direction of these night roamers was still Ye Liusu.
Ye Liusu sank into her thoughts. Ye Liuxing looked at her silently, waiting for her to make the decision.
Quite a while later, Ye Liusu said, “Ma’am Shadow Queen, I’m willing to join the Shadow palace and follow your lead!”
“Alright!” Ye Weiyang was overjoyed. She glanced at Li Qingshan. “What else do you have to say?”
Li Qingshan understood that Ye Liusu always placed the clan before anything else, so he was not surprised at all by her decision. However, he was still a little disappointed inside. “If that’s the case…”
Suddenly, Ye Liusu smiled at him and added, “But not now!”
