Chapter 869: The Truth Behind It All
After Jiang Qin and Old Jiang said that, Han Fei remarked, “That doesn’t sound right! How can we enter it without gathering the 99 Sea Tokens?”
Old Jiang laughed. “Who told you that the Sea Tokens are the key?”
Han Fei was stunned for a moment. “But even if the Sea Tokens aren’t the key, they must be related to the Sea Quelling Painting, right? Didn’t the Sea Quelling Painting fall apart into 99 Sea Tokens?”
“Huh?”
Old Jiang stared at Han Fei. “Who told you that there are 99 Sea Tokens, or that the Sea Quelling Painting fell apart and became Sea Tokens?”
Han Fei meant to say that it was Old Han, but judging from the situation, Old Jiang didn’t seem to know Old Han!
Han Fei instantly laughed and lied. “It was the Clam Girl. The Clam Girl told me.”
“Ha!”
Old Jiang rolled his eyes at Han Fei. “If she knew the truth, she wouldn’t have been stuck in the Sea of Pearls. Fine. I’ll tell you the truth, but you must keep it a secret. The Sea Tokens are indeed the key, but not one to the underground city or the Bone Yard.”
Han Fei was confused. “Then what’s the key for?”
Old Jiang laughed. “You really don’t know the answer? The key to open the Sea Quelling Painting, of course.”
Han Fei didn’t know what to say. “Isn’t the Sea Quelling Painting equal to the Sea Tokens? Does it have to be opened?”
Old Jiang sneered. “Not exactly. The Sea Tokens are part of the Sea Quelling Painting and what makes it complete. So, it’s not outrageous to call the Sea Tokens a key.”
Han Fei: “…”
Taking a deep breath, Han Fei finally asked, “Are you saying that anyone can go to the underground city, but they need all the Sea Tokens in order to activate the Sea Quelling Painting? That’s too hard. I have only two Sea Tokens. Who knows where the rest of the Sea Tokens are!”
Jiang Qin shook her head.
“Firstly, the Undersea Chimneys might not be entrances. It’s just a guess.
“Secondly, the Sea Tokens might be catalysts. When the first Sea Token is in position, the other Sea Tokens will be attracted to it.
“Thirdly, has it occurred to you that the underground city is where the Spirit Awakening Fluid comes from? Do you want someone else to go there first?”
Han Fei shook his head. “It’s best to keep the good stuff to myself… Ha!”
Jiang Qin nodded. “Exactly. From any perspective, the first to enter the underground city and touch the Sea Quelling Painting will receive unimaginable benefits. This is just our guess, but since the news of the Sea Quelling Painting is out, it may be a sign that the Sea Quelling Painting will emerge again.”
“Chiliu! Ah~”
Old Jiang finished off the wine in his cup. “Everything in this world is predestined. It’s impossible to know your destiny through the signs. If you make preparations in advance, you will benefit a lot from it. Also, the Sea Quelling Painting involves secrets about Sea Establishment. Many experts are behind the compet.i.tion, and you’re like their chess pieces that may turn the board upside down.”
Han Fei’s expression slightly changed. “Chess pieces?”
Old Jiang chuckled. “That may be a heartless way of saying it… Let me put it this way. There are no kings in the Thousand Star City. It will mean a lot if someone becomes a king, especially to the major families in the city. So, they’re betting on the chess pieces in their hands, hoping that they can get the secret in the painting.”
“Hiss!”
Han Fei remembered what Old Han said. Earlier, Han Fei said that he couldn’t defend the Sea Quelling Painting against so many top experts at all, but Old Han said that it was fine.
So, Old Han was one of the players, and he was a chess piece.
Han Fei instantly felt bad. No son would feel good if his father manipulated him like a chess piece, no matter the objective.
Han Fei looked at Tang Ge and Jiang Qin and asked, “Old man, I have two Sea Tokens right now. Should I give one of them away?”
Old Jiang replied unhurriedly, “It’s up to you, but you’d better not. n.o.body can tell for sure if it’s a coincidence that you acquired two Sea Tokens. Someone must’ve placed a huge bet on you. Why would you pa.s.s your fortune to someone else?”
Han Fei laughed. “You’re talking as if it’s impossible to become a king without the Sea Quelling Painting.”
Then, Han Fei looked at Tang Ge. Before Han Fei could talk, Tang Ge rose and grinned. “I won’t take it. I can’t steal your fortune.”
Tang Ge was no fool. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that Han Fei had gathered two Sea Tokens. It meant that Han Fei was a man with great fortune.
Also, for Tang Ge, although he wanted to become strong, he didn’t want to take away his brother’s fortune.
Besides, Old Jiang had mentioned that the experts were placing bets. If someone had bet on him, he would’ve acquired a Sea Token. Since he didn’t have any, n.o.body could’ve bet on him yet.
Old Jiang waved his hands. “It’s beneficial if you don’t give them away! Those who don’t have a Sea Token might get killed if you give one to them.”
Han Fei felt like his blood was freezing. “Is it really so serious?”
Old Jiang said unhurriedly, “Who knows? But those who don’t have a Sea Token can still go to the underground city. There are infinite fortunes in the underground city, some might be even bigger than the Sea Quelling Painting. In any case, you should all increase your strength, but don’t become a Law Enforcer.”
Han Fei asked, “Law Enforcers can’t go there?”
Jiang Qin said, “Don’t become a Law Enforcer hastily… It will be hard to change your course if you walk on the wrong path. It may even affect your path in the future. Also, it’s said that the Sea Quelling Painting is related to the path, so don’t become a Law Enforcer until you get the painting.”
Old Jiang laughed. “Did you really think that n.o.body at the Empyrean Waterfall could become a Law Enforcer?”
Han Fei’s eyelids twitched. “Ah!”
Han Fei knew that everybody at the Empyrean Waterfall was very strong. They expected Jiuyin Ling to become a Law Enforcer because she had decided her path a long time ago.
But the other people weren’t the same. Those who didn’t become a Law Enforcer might have not decided their path yet.
Thinking about that, Han Fei looked at Old Jiang and asked, “Old man, are you on the wrong path?”
“Pu!”
Old Jiang spat out the peanuts he was chewing and snapped, “Why do you think my path is wrong? It isn’t! I told you not to become Law Enforcers because you might be more clear about what you want while you find out the secrets of the Sea Quelling Painting!”
Han Fei was greatly relieved. “That explains a lot. I thought you were both wrong.”
Old Jiang: “…”
Jiang Qin smiled. “You’re not entirely wrong. Every Law Enforcer has selected a path for themselves, so the Sea Quelling Painting won’t be very useful to them. They’ll only bet on the Hidden Fishers and won’t partic.i.p.ate in the compet.i.tion. Whoever competes for the painting above the Hidden Fisher level will be killed.”
Old Jiang hummed and said, “Someone did that before. Han Guanshu, the commander of the Scattered Stars Island in the past, looted the painting. He even killed a lot of people, but he was outnumbered and crushed by his enemies. There’s no telling if he really died.”
“Pu… Cough, cough…”
Han Fei spurted out his wine, as Old Han didn’t mention anything about that!
The other three people looked at Han Fei in surprise, wondering why he got so excited.
Han Fei quickly explained, “Oh, I simply remembered the Thug Academy. Old man, did the Thug Academy fight for the painting and lose too?”
Old Jiang snorted. “Sort of! But the Thug Academy never sees eye to eye with the people in the Thousand Star City. It wasn’t a surprise.”
“Got it, got it.”
Han Fei finally realized why the Thug Academy was destroyed. The experts were playing a chess game, yet the Thug Academy intended to kill the players and swallow the fortune. Of course it was crushed.
Also, why did Old Han fight for the Sea Quelling Painting? Was he not a Law Enforcer yet?
That was hardly unlikely. He would’ve been killed easily if he weren’t a Law Enforcer, and he wouldn’t have had a chance to meddle.
Whatever the reason was, Old Han had definitely prepared a sophisticated scheme. If Han Fei hadn’t gathered all the leads, he wouldn’t have known that he was a chess piece that someone placed a heavy bet on.
Tang Ge, on the other hand, frowned as if he were thinking hard.
After the dinner, Han Fei left the plantation with Tang Ge.
After they came out of the Twisted Jungle, Tang Ge suddenly asked, “Han Fei, is there something that you never told me?”
After a stun, Han Fei grinned and said, “Yes. It’s not because I don’t want to tell you, but because I cannot say it to you yet. Revealing the information may influence our destiny. You’ll know it sooner or later. I’ll tell you everything when the Sea Quelling Painting incident is over.”
Tang Ge smiled. “Then I probably know what it’s about. Okay, you can go back! I’ll meet Mu Ling. Since we have to improve our strength, I’ll run more errands with the Scattered Stars First Unit.”
Han Fei nodded. “Okay!”