In particular, when it came to the ordinary people of the Divine Venom Dynasty, Attendant Yi was someone who held their lives in his hands. This was not simply because of the man’s strength and position, but also because of the man’s greed for wealth. He treated the entire street as his business, and he acted as the general manager.
On top of that, even without Attendant Yi present, the emperor’s daughter Qing Longlong was also in the shop, which left the shop owner trembling.
“Attendant Yi, who authorized you to speak to Alliance Leader Lu in such a manner?” Qing Longlong rudely scolded Attendant Yi the moment she entered the building.
Attendant Yi maintained his smile as he slowly bowed to the princess. “This old slave greets Your Highness.”?ree???n??vel.c??
Qing Longlong stared at Attendant Yi with a look of disgust on her face. “Father asked you to come greet Alliance Leader Lu and the others; what were you just doing?”
Attendant Yi smiled. “This old slave simply saw the power of the alliance leader, and I was so impressed that I could not stop myself from voicing my admiration. There was nothing more to it than that.”
He then turned and bowed to Lu Yin. “I beg that the alliance leader will not hold this against me.”
Lu Yin gave a tiny smile.
Attendant Yi kept the same smile as ever, and it was both irritating and disturbing to see.
“Honestly, given the fact that you’re a member of the Divine Venom Dynasty, I can’t blame you even if I wanted to. The only thing I can say is that your master is too kind and doesn’t wish to discipline his slaves.” Lu Yin replied indifferently.
The smile disappeared from Attendant Yi’s face, and his eyes moved upwards to stare Lu Yin. “It appears that Alliance Leader Lu has some bit of skill.”
Lu Yin smiled. “You just asked that I wouldn’t hold your words against you, so I’ll train you on behalf of your master. This is a gift for Emperor Qing’s recent breakthrough.”
Lu Yin then swept out a hand that landed on Attendant Yi. The man was blown away by the slap, and he crashed into the street outside the shop.
Everyone was startled, as no one had expected Lu Yin to act so brazenly without showing any sort of respect for anyone.
Qing Li’s brows rose high, and it was clear that he had also been taken aback by Lu Yin’s actions.
The people who followed Attendant Yi rushed into the store to attack Lu Yin, only to be stopped by Qing Longlong who simply ordered, “Get out.”
Attendant Yi quickly stood back up, but already half of his face had become swollen. He also stopped his guards from taking any action. “Step back. Her Highness and the king are both present; how can you forget your place?”
The various guards quickly pulled back.
Attendant Yi glared at Lu Yin with hatred, and a deep cold appeared in the man’s eyes. He had not expected Lu Yin or anyone else to have the audacity to strike him within the Divine Venom Dynasty, and he had been caught off guard by Lu Yin’s attack. However, there was nothing that Attendant Yi could even do about it with Lu Yin’s status. “This old slave misspoke just now; has the alliance leader relieved his anger?”
Lu Yin lazily replied, “Tell Emperor Qing that this was my congratulatory gift for him. I hope he finds it to his liking.”
The disturbing smile returned to Attendant Yi’s face. “Understood. This old slave will take his leave.”
He then left without even acknowledging Qing Li or Qing Longlong.
Everyone could see the burning resentment within the man’s eyes.
Qing Longlong turned to face Lu Yin with a complicated expression and a bitter smile. “Why did Alliance Leader Lu do that?”
Lu Yin frowned. “I don’t like the look of him.”
He was being perfectly honest. However, in all of Venom King City, the only person who qualified to treat Attendant Yi with such rudeness was Qing Shaohuang himself. Lu Yin had the status to act the same, not even Qing Li would dare treat the chief attendant so rudely. This was mostly because Attendant Yi was notoriously vengeful.
Despite Qing Longlong’s comment, she had felt quite a bit of pleasure from watching Lu Yin slapping Attendant Yi. Even though the chief attendant would be polite to the princess, it was also quite obvious that he did not have even the slightest bit of respect for her, and he would often prevent her from seeing Qing Shaohuang. Qing Li was the same, but no one could say anything about Attendant Yi’s behavior.
Lu Yin’s fearlessness and boldness had been perfectly revealed by his actions. He did not care at all about Attendant Yi, nor about Emperor Qing Shaohuang either. Their relationship as friends or enemies had already been determined.
“Alliance Leader Lu, we’ll head out first. We will see you at the banquet,” Balsam politely bade farewell to Lu Yin.
Mr. You also left, though he did not speak a single word more to Lu Yin.
Before Wen Sansi left, he whispered, “You shouldn’t have come.”
Qing Li separated from Lu Yin as well, as Qing Longlong had taken over the responsibility of entertaining Lu Yin. The two were of similar age, and so it was more suitable for the two to interact.
One by one, everyone else left, until finally, only Lu Yin, Qing Longlong, and the shop owner remained in the shop.
The shop owner was still prostrated on the ground with his head as low as he could force it. He did not dare raise his head the slightest bit, though he had still caught the slightest glimpse of Attendant Yi being slapped out of the shop. The young alliance leader was truly a ruthless man, but fortunately, the shop owner had done nothing to offend Lu Yin.
Qing Longlong said, “Alliance Leader Lu-“
However, before she could say anything more, Lu Yin raised a hand to stop her. “We’re peers, so there’s no need to speak like that. I’ll see you outside.”
Are we that familiar with each other? Qing Longlong wanted to ask this question, but refrained. “Alright, Brother Lu. Let me show you somewhere you can rest.”
Lu Yin nodded and followed Qing Longlong out of the shop.
Such a small shop had just been the center of the entire Divine Venom Dynasty. For the next while, the shop owner would absolutely not have even a moment of peace. Every word and each tiny detail of what had happened in his shop would be pulled from him.
Qing Shaohuang had arranged an entire residence as Lu Yin’s quarters for his stay. It was in Venom King City, but it was a house that almost no one knew of. It was a place for Qing Shaohuang to use when he needed some peace.
After hearing Qing Longlong’s introduction of the place, Lu Yin asked, “Your father, the emperor, can’t be hoping that I’ll be creating less chaos in the future, could he?”
Qing Longlong smiled. “Brother Lu, you’re overthinking. My imperial father has no such intentions. It’s simply that this palace is rather remote, but also has quite a pleasant environment, so there will be few people to disturb you. I’ll take care of any arrangements for you.”
Lu Yin nodded. Neither of the two was in any hurry to arrive at Lu Yin’s guest quarters, so they just wandered about the streets of Venom King City.
Venom King City was a very lively place, and everywhere the hustle and bustle of a busy city could be seen, as well as the occasional fight. Each conflict would see people bringing out all kinds of poisons. If cultivators were not taken into account, then Venom King City would give the impression of being an ancient imperial city that was inhabited by ordinary humans.
“Attendant Yi is highly trusted by your father?” Lu Yin asked.
Qing Longlong nodded. “He’s served my imperial father since he was very young, and he’s continued to work hard for many years.”
“He’s still not dead?” Lu Yin was surprised at this. Qing Shaohuang was far from weak, and he had even invited people from all parts of the Human Domain to celebrate a recent breakthrough. The emperor should be an expert with a power level of at least 800,000, so how was it that Attendant Yi had managed to keep up with Qing Shaohuang?
“That is something incredibly unique about Attendant Yi; in order to stay alive, he periodically uses a poisonous ice,” Qing Longlong said. Though her tone of voice sounded quite casual, her words were heavy.
Qing Shaohuang was an emperor, and as such, there was no shortage of people willing to serve him, and yet he would rather be attended by Attendant Yi. This was a friendship that was no longer an ordinary master-servant relationship. It was no wonder that even Qing Li and Qing Longlong were so polite towards Attendant Yi. If looked at from a certain perspective, Lu Yin had slapped Qing Shaohuang himself.
Qing Longlong was unconcerned, but she did look over to check Lu Yin’s reaction. However, she noticed that his complexion and coloring had not changed even the slightest bit; did he truly not care?
After thinking for a moment, Qing Longlong realized that both the Sword Sect and the Daynight clan had been stronger than the Divine Venom Dynasty. The Divine Venom Dynasty’s uniqueness lay in its location and the surrounding environment. Without such things, the Divine Venom Dynasty might not even be able to compare to the Wen family.
Lu Yin had led the Great Eastern Alliance to destroy the Daynight clan, suppress the Sword Sect, and harass the Wen family. Naturally, such a person would not care about the Divine Venom Dynasty, let alone someone like Attendant Yi.
After half an hour of walking down the busiest street in Venom King City, Qing Longlong stopped in front of a very upscale restaurant.
It was the tallest building on the entire street, and it also covered a large area in every direction. There were two rows of servers waiting at the door.
“Brother Lu, I want to introduce you to someone,” Qing Longlong said with a smile.
Lu Yin nodded. “Alright.”
Lu Yin was greeted by an unexpected scene upon entering the restaurant, as the atmosphere was completely different from the outside. While the outside was grand, the inside was simple and homey.
Lu Yin followed Qing Longlong up to the top floor, where two beautiful maids bowed to greet the princess. Due to the style of clothing, Lu Yin was almost able to catch a peak at snowy white chests, and he quickly averted his eyes.
“Brother Lu, please.” Qing Longlong found this reaction quite amusing; who would believe that the dignified leader of the Great Eastern Alliance would have such a side to him?
Lu Yin entered a private dining room and saw a woman in a frilly black coat and a delicate mask who stood up and bowed as Lu Yin entered. “This humble one is Yuan Miaomiao. I greet Alliance Leader Lu.”
Even though the woman was clad completely in black and wore a mask, it was still not enough to conceal her beauty. Lu Yin was able to clearly see an attractive mouth, as well as eyes that were as bright as stars.
“Yuan Taishi’s granddaughter?” Lu Yin was surprised by the woman’s name.
Yuan Miaomiao bowed a second time. “I didn’t expect Alliance Leader Lu to know of this small one.”
Lu Yin looked over at Qing Longlong, who said, “Miaomiao and I are best friends, and she asked me to help her meet you.”
Lu Yin was rather perplexed. Yuan Taishi had been advocating for Venom Flowzone to remain completely uninvolved with matters regarding the outside world, yet Qing Shaohuang was in favor of working with the Sword Sect and the other Innerverse forces to find a means of containing the Great Eastern Alliance’s spread. The two held different opinions, but they were not actually enemies. They were both part of the Divine Venom Dynasty that was dealing with the Great Eastern Alliance. Given the current circumstances, it did not make any sense for Qing Longlong to set up a meeting between Yuan Miaomiao and Lu Yin. What was the reason for this?
“Longlong doesn’t have any intentions, so please don’t read into this, Alliance Leader Lu. She just wasn’t able to refuse this one’s request to bring Alliance Leader Lu here,” Yuan Miaomiao spoke up. Her voice was soft and relaxing.
Lu Yin sat down. “Is there something that Miss Miaomiao wants to say?”
Qing Longlong looked at her friend, and Yuan Miaomiao looked back at the princess. “Go away, and don’t try to listen in.”
Qing Longlong pursed her lips, but still nodded and walked out.
Lu Yin stared at Yuan Miaomiao with heightened interest. “You two have a truly unusual relationship. She’s the Divine Venom Dynasty’s eldest princess, and yet she’s willing to go against her father to help you meet me without even asking why. I’m quite curious.”
Yuan Miaomiao replied with a small smile, “That’s how our friendship is. From childhood to now, I’ve spent more time with Longlong than even my own parents, grandfather, and other family members. Longlong’s also spent more time with me than His Majesty. We found each other, and we feel that our friendship is more valuable than our families.”
This was the first time Lu Yin had heard of such a relationship. “Alright then, why did you want to see me?”
Yuan Miaomiao stood back up and very solemnly bowed to Lu Yin.
Lu Yin did not say anything. Given his status, let alone Yuan Miaomiao, even if Yuan Taishi bowed to him, it would not be anything improper. He was deserving of such signs of respect.
“This one wishes to ask Alliance Leader Lu to leave Venom Flowzone,” Yuan Miaomiao solemnly stated.
The room remained silent for a bit. Yuan Miaomiao continued to bow without ever rising back up.
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. “What does Yuan Taishi intend?”
Yuan Miaomiao’s tone was serious, “The Divine Venom Dynasty should not interfere in the external affairs. This has always been my grandfather’s belief. The people here are very prosperous and we have no wars. As soon as we interfere in outside conflicts, our future is impossible to predict. It’s not worth the risk.”
Lu Yin smiled. “Just because I’m here, why are you so certain that the Divine Venom Dynasty will get involved in outside conflicts? What is the Divine Venom Dynasty going to do to me? Or rather, is Qing Shaohuang planning to do something to me?”
