“How are you able to speak? I sealed off…..” The cultivator who had bound and sealed Dong Li spoke up in surprise. But before he could finish speaking, Ning Cheng kicked him away. Even the other cultivator standing next to him went flying under Ning Cheng’s kick.
“Dong Li go upstairs and bring Lu Yu. You both will be leaving with me.” Ning Cheng said after kicking away the two cultivators who had sealed Dong Li.
Dong Li quickly sobered up and realised that someone wanted to help him. Despite the nagging feeling at the back of his head, he repeatedly thanked Ning Cheng, “Many thanks senior, many thanks.”
Although he spoke the words of thanks repeatedly, he moved even more quickly, and in just the time it took for him to complete two more sentences, he rushed into the restaurant.
The male cultivator wearing the brocaded robe, who had just come out of the tavern, looked at Ning Cheng with a frown but did not dare stop Dong Li. The two cultivators who had sealed Dong Li were both Heaven’s Mandate cultivators, yet this person had easily blown them away with just a single kick. Was this person a Heaven Seated expert?
No matter if Ning Cheng was a Heaven Seated expert, he did not dare to oppose Ning Cheng, at least not right now.
Seeing Ning Cheng’s actions, Chasing Bull then strolled towards the male cultivator with the brocaded robe, stretched out its hoof and rubbed it over the cultivator’s dress, “Kid, you have some good clothes. At least it makes you look like a person instead of a dog.”
The male cultivator wearing the brocaded robe didn’t dare to contradict the words of Chasing Bull but secretly set out several messages.
In just a few minutes, Dong Li helped Lu Yu out. By this time, Lu Yu had already changed to a clean dress, but the scars around her neck still looked glaring.
“This Lu Yu thanks senior for the life-saving grace.” Lu Yu acted in a more composed way compared to Dong Li and immediately thanked Ning Cheng after coming out.
Ning Cheng waved his hand, “No need to mention it. You both will come with me. When I leave the Second Revenant Star, I can take you both away.”
Ning Cheng understood that the person who could occupy such a large area and build such a luxurious merchant house in this spot definitely would have an extraordinary background around these parts. If he left after saving Dong Li and Lu Yu, these two would fall into the hands of others once again. As for finding justice for Lu Yu, or getting revenge for her, Ning Cheng didn’t even consider it. Too many similar things happening everywhere. As such, he would not get himself involved unless someone tried to go for the people close to him.
Lu Yu spoke with a grateful voice, “Many thanks, senior. But we two juniors and Senior don’t seem to know each other.”
Ning Cheng understood what Lu Yu worried about; the two had been hiding here for many years in relative obscurity, which instilled a habit of caution in both of them. Without knowing the identity of the person who ‘saved’ them, it might prove dangerous and unsafe for them to follow him.
After understanding Lu Yu’s thoughts, Ning Cheng only gave a simple explanation, “You don’t have to worry; I saved you because of Xuan Yu. I know Xuan Yu, and I know why you’re here. So I decided to help you two in passing.”
Lu Yu was not a little girl who did not know much about the world. She had already experienced many things. Therefore, hearing Ning Cheng’s dull tone and seeing his expression, coupled with him knowing Xuan Yu, she quickly put things together and understood the problem. However, she only pursed her lips and didn’t explain.
Chasing Bull loved to talk. Not only did it like to speak, but it also liked doing a lot many things like gossip. Since Ning Cheng didn’t state the reason clearly, it couldn’t bear the tension in the air anymore and spoke up, “You two have no experience at all. Just looking at the luxury of this restaurant, you should have already known that you wouldn’t be able to handle it. The two of you were only asking for death trying to look for trouble in such a restaurant.”
In Lu Yu’s view, Chasing Bull was a companion beast, but since it could follow their saviour openly, it showed that it had a not-so-ordinary status. Moreover, even the combined imposing aura of the couple could not match up to this companion beast’s aura.
Despite having Celestial Bridge cultivation, she quickly understood that she had to treat this beast as a senior. Therefore, she replied with a respectful tone, “Senior Spirit Beast[1], this area originally belonged to Dong Li and me. We used to have a store here, but because of the appearance of the Ancient Shadow Temple, people from Ji Clan quickly took over this place. Ji Clan has also taken over and demolished most of the shops and stores here without providing any compensation. To build this building, no one knows how many innocent people have died under Ji Clan’s hands.”
Hearing Lu Yu addressing it as ‘Senior Spirit Beast’, Chasing Bull spoke up with pride, “Well, you do have a good vision, I’ll give you that. But if that’s the case, then why are you still alive?”
It knew that the title ‘Spirit Beast’ was just an honorific title for a companion beast. Even if someone looked at the entire starry sky, no one could say if it actually contained any spirit beasts. Besides, even if it did have spirit beasts, how could a spirit beast become someone else’s companion beast? Regardless, the reason why Chasing Bull felt pride well up inside it was that it indeed was a real spirit beast.
“It’s my fault. Yu’er and I had set up a temporary business outside the Ancient Shadow Temple, which allowed us to make some money. However, as more and more people started pouring into this place, Yu’er became worried. So we decided to leave. But before leaving, I just wanted to look at our old shop once more, the shop that we had built from the ground up. I didn’t expect that they would capture us here for no reason. If not for Senior….”
Dong Li left the words trailing, but Ning Cheng understood that if he had not intervened, Dong Li and Lu Yu would have most likely died here today.
Lu Yu added more, “Most likely, someone in the store recognised me and wanted to take me back to Orchid Borough Celestial River King. But it doesn’t feel right. I’ve been away from Orchid Borough Celestial River for so many years, so it’s reasonable to say that even if they released a warrant for me back then, no one should have recognised me from it today.”
Ning Cheng sighed; he knew and understood a bit more than what Lu Yu knew about the things going on right now. If not guessed incorrectly, Orchid Borough Celestial River King most likely had not yet found Xuan Yu. He must have released a wanted poster for her. Most likely, someone confused Lu Yu and Xuan Yu, as they practically looked the same, and wanted to catch her for the reward.
Since Xuan Yu was still out in the open, it also meant that Jing Wuming was alive.
Seeing Ning Cheng not speaking, Lu Yu spoke up with some worry. “Senior, the people who you taught a lesson a few moments ago, are people from Ji Clan. Even this merchant house belongs to Ji Clan. Since senior saved Dong Li and me from this place, I’m afraid, I’m afraid……”
Chasing Bull gave a snort, “What’s there to be afraid of? Even if this Ji Clan doesn’t come, there would be no need for my master to take any action; this old bull will take care of them with just a stomp.”
Dong Li carefully spoke up, “Ji Yangyao is the Named Descendant Celestial River’s Celestial River King. I heard that he is an expert in the Life and Death Realm. Moreover, the Celestial Lord of the Named Descendant Celestial River’s Second Revenant Star is Ji Yaozhi, who has just advanced to the Heaven Seated Realm. Moreover, Ji Hongliu is the owner of this merchant house. She is Celestial River King Ji Yangyao’s granddaughter. Senior …”
“Humph, this Ji Clan isn’t even worthy of being a piece of shit. When we went to Levelled Heart Emperor Mountain, even Levelled Heart Heavenly Emperor had to stand respectfully in front of this old bull.” Chasing Bull started to brag.
Dong Li and Lu Yu rarely ventured out and lived in seclusion in this place, but that did not mean they knew nothing about the world outside. They had at least heard of Heavenly Emperor Chuan Xinlou of the Levelled Heart Emperor Mountain. Therefore, when they heard Chasing Bull say that they not only had been to the Levelled Heart Emperor Mountain, but even Heavenly Emperor Chuan Xinlou had to talk to them respectfully, both of them felt secretly frightened. They couldn’t figure out if what Chasing Bull said was true or false.
When Chasing Bull saw the frightened look on Dong Li and Lu Yu’s faces, it spoke up with even more pride, “Master, why don’t we buy this piece of land from Ji Clan and then move our Cheng Ruolan Artefact-crafting Store here from Culmination Starland?”
Ning Cheng didn’t bother to deal with Chasing Bull’s motor mouth. Instead, his spiritual consciousness swept out to scan the area.
“Cheng Ruolan Artefact-crafting Store?” This time, both Dong Li and Lu Yu spoke up in surprise.
Ning Cheng subconsciously looked at Dong Li and Lu Yu and couldn’t figure out why they had spoken up in surprise on hearing about his artefact-crafting store, especially since it wasn’t even in business or famous.
Seeing Ning Cheng looking at their surprised faces, Lu Yu quickly replied, “Senior, back when we still had our store here, there was also a store with the name ‘Cheng Ruolan’ opposite to us. But it was called Cheng Ruolan Restaurant.”
“Did you say there was a restaurant named Cheng Ruolan here? What was the name of the owner?” Ning Cheng quickly forgot that Lu Yu was still a female cultivator. He reached out and grabbed Lu Yu by her shoulder, as if afraid that she would disappear the next moment.
“The owner’s name was Helian Mingzhe. He ran the restaurant with his granddaughter, Helian Dai…..”
Only hearing half of Lu Yu’s words, Ning Cheng let go of her in disappointment. Within this vast starry sky, it was not surprising to have stores with the same names. Even so, he decided to look into the whereabouts of this Helian Mingzhe.
“They also had a helper by the name of Ning Ruolan. In fact, the restaurant changed its name to Cheng Ruolan because of Ning Ruolan.”
Hearing Lu Yu’s words, Ning Cheng felt stunned. After staying still for a few moments, he asked with a trembling voice, “Do you know where Ning Ruolan is? Where is she?”
“Senior….” Lu Yu felt something amiss and called out in an unsure tone.
Ning Cheng then took in a deep breath and then spoke to Lu Yu and Dong Li with cupped fists, “I’m called Ning Cheng and am Ning Ruolan’s elder brother. I came here to search for Ruolan. Please, can you tell me Ruolan’s whereabouts?”
Lu Yu and Dong Li stood there with their mouths open in surprise and couldn’t speak for a while. Ruolan’s cultivation was as low as it could get in these parts, so how could she have such a powerful elder brother? This…
“Hurry up and speak, don’t stand as a mute.” Chasing Bull saw Lu Yu and Dong Li going into a daze and spoke up in dissatisfaction.
Lu Yu quickly came back to her senses and spoke up, “Cheng Ruolan Restaurant, like our store, was forcibly taken away by Ji Clan….”
Ning Cheng, feeling panic rising in him, interrupted Lu Yu’s words, “Is Ruolan all right?”
After a moment of silence, Lu Yu replied with an uncertain tone, “I’m not too sure about it. A few months ago, I saw Helian Dai in front of the Ancient Shadow Temple; she seemed to have opened a temporary store there. Since Helian Dai looked alright, then Ruolan should also be fine.”
Ning Cheng, feeling anxious, quickly spoke up, “Hurry up and take me to this Ancient Shadow Temple where you saw Helian Dai last time.”
“Yes, senior.” Lu Yu and Dong Li quickly led the way.
At this time, Ning Cheng had no intention to settle accounts with Ji Clan. He had to find Ruolan first before having a talk with them. If he could not find Ruolan, or if something happened to her, he would completely uproot this Ji Clan for occupying his sister’s Cheng Ruolan Restaurant.
So what if this clan had a Celestial River King? He just killed a Sacred Master of the Everlasting Sacred Shrine. He even had plans to go to Endless Void Docks and trample it to dust. Why would he care about a mere Celestial River King?
Moreover, he felt sure that Striking Order Heavenly Emperor would not hold him accountable for killing Named Descendant Celestial River’s Celestial River King. Even if Striking Order Heavenly King wanted to hold him responsible, he was not afraid of it.
……
The Ancient Shadow Temple was not far from the east gate of the Covered Snow City. As Ning Cheng followed Lu Yu through the eastern part of the city, it only took half an hour before they reached the peripheral area outside the entrance to the Ancient Shadow Temple.
At this moment, the perennial snow covering the area had already melted away due to the interference from various array formations surrounding the temporary buildings, makeshift markets, and temporary abodes scattered all around. Shadows kept flashing by, and the air rang with crashing and booming sounds.
Lu Yu quickly brought Ning Cheng to the place where she saw Helian Dai. She pointed to a newly established merchant house and said, “At that time, this merchant house was not here. Helian Dai had opened up a temporary shop in that location. But from the looks of it, someone seems to have driven away Helian Dai from here.”
[1] Demonic beast classification: Ordinary animals/beasts, Ferocious Beasts, Spiritual Beasts, Spirit/Divine Beasts. I chose to keep it as ‘Spirit’ as opposed to ‘Divine’ to keep it consistent with the naming convention I used for other classifications and names that used the same character for ‘spirit’.
