Chapter 1204: 18.42 First Grey Star - The Tower of G.o.d
Ye Jieye and Mo Xuejing walk hand in hand home, leaving Mo Yuhan feeling relieved to see a scene he had seen years earlier. He was stunned when Lu Ming rested on his shoulder; both of them, along with the other hunters, were covered in blood from monsters and beasts as well as some premium ingredients.
Mo Yuhan was so exhausted that he nearly fell to the ground with the fool who had the audacity to use him as a leaning pole.
He brushed Lu Ming"s arm and glared at him. "Don"t lean on me. My legs already feel weak from fatigue!" Complained to Mo Yuhan.
Lu Ming started stretching his stiff back and retorted. "I"m tired too. Stop looking like a fool. Let"s also go back. Our points will be tallied accordingly by the Hunter Hall."
Fearing that Ye Jieye would beat him up, Mo Yuhan was reluctant to leave, but Lu Ming pulled him along and they went to the villa where Su Jin and Ji Yoonjun were waiting for them.
As for Heavenly Guardian Mu, he truly intended to follow his grandson home, but Ye Jieye"s recent scene caught even him off guard; the aura he emitted was strong enough to affect a Heavenly Guardian such as himself. As for Doctor Guang, he was unable to leave the hospital tent until Hunter Hall sent in some doctors to replace him.
Heavenly Guardian Xian and Heavenly Guardian Mu met at Doctor Sen"s modest clinic after the Hunter Hall took control of everything. Despite the clinic"s small size, the materials used to build it are impervious to destruction, even from the weight of a Behemoth Carabao.
Heavenly Guardian Xian was already hugging a barrel of wine beside him and drinking quite heartily; as for Heavenly Guardian Mu and Doctor Sen, they only held a single cup in their hands. The three of them were celebrating their successful resolution of the Beast Stampede and stopping the destruction of the Somatic Town.
After all, once the town is destroyed, the gates that seal out the Tornado Mountain Range will be gone, and all the beasts will be able to cause rampant destruction in the human lands.
Doctor Sen warned his partner, "You are drinking too much. Do you want me to give you a bitter sobering soup afterward? Hm~"
"Come on. We just solved a crisis. Let me drink more this time," Xian Wu said.
As for Mu Zang, he was still thinking about the scene caused by his grandson; though he did not know what kind of ability that is, to cause that much fear, it can be said that something is extremely dangerous. Even he failed to react naturally and fearlessly, like how Mo Xuejing approached his grandson without any hesitation.
Doctor Sen can only shake his head in helplessness, but he did not stop this drunkard from enjoying his wine. Xian Wu was laughing boisterously at the scene.
Mu Zang mumbles, "Those two never changed."
"Are you talking about your grandson and his wife? Actually, I"ve been wanting to ask what happened between the two of them. Aren"t they supposed to be dead? I think at least one of them is supposed to be dead," Doctor Sen said.
Mu Zang lifted his head and gave Doctor Sen a scowl. He had always detested people who cursed his family dead, no matter how mild the words were. He had lost his grandson and his spouse in the Ruins of Time, and it was because of this that he and Lu w.a.n.gle could never get along. He nearly lost his entire family in that ruin, and Lu w.a.n.gle keeps him from going there to rescue them.
Doctor Sen raised a hand as he said, "Sorry, I am not cursing your grandson. But we all know what kind of sacrifice he made to get that Lotus of Life in that danger zone. As for his other half, he is already supposed to be a corpse already. Just what did you and Xinyue do?"
The other two were not prepared for this, and the tense atmosphere in the clinic increased as silence fell. Heavenly Guardian Xian took hold of Doctor Sen"s arm and shook his head, gesturing to him to stop asking questions. Mu Zang appeared to be about to lose control over his emotions.
Heavenly Guardian Xian Wu said, "Don"t mind Sen, Xiao Zang. You know him; he is unexpectedly chattier than he looks. Just ignore him next time."
"It"s okay. It"s even a secret. After all, you already know that the whole family was locked in the Ruins of Time. In order to at least let Xiao Jie go outside the Ruins of Time, my husband had to expend half of his lifespan just to bring Xiao Jie out of there. But he can only bring out his soul," Mu Zang said.
Doctor Sen said, "Only his soul? Impossible; that child had a body of his own!"
"Indeed, but that body is something I and w.a.n.gle created. It"s the same situation as Mo Xuejing. That is also not his real body," Mu Zang said.
Heavenly Guardian Xian asked, "You two went there, didn"t you? The Tower of G.o.d."
"That"s the only way to create a body that"s not different from the original," Mu Zang said.
Xian Wu asked, "What did you give up to get what you wanted?"
Without responding, Mu Zang withdrew the scarf that had always hung around his neck; Ye Jieye had never once witnessed him take it off, not even in his sleep.
When the scarf was unwrapped, Heavenly Guardian Xian Wu and Doctor Sen were taken aback by what they saw: a sophisticated device that was positioned right in Mu Zang"s throat; it was made of a thin material that would remain undetectable as long as it was covered, but it could only be used by those who were born deaf.
"I gave away my voice," Mu Zang said.
As he is a sound element user, and his voice is the most important part of his body, losing it would prevent him from ever reaching his peak strength, no matter what he did; his power would also decrease slightly, but he would never care because he gained a body that was nearly identical to his original one in exchange for his voice.
Heavenly Guardian Xian Wu asked, "Did Lao Lu also give up something?"
"No. What he wanted is much more than mine. He wanted to revive his other half, but the tower said a life must be exchanged for another. w.a.n.gle wanted to give up his, but the tower didn"t accept it," Mu Zang said.
Doctor Sen asked, "Why? Isn"t it a life for a life? Why can Lu w.a.n.gle"s life be enough?"
"Only afterwards did we realize that the thing that lives in that tower was never a G.o.d. It was a devil," Mu Zang said as he hit the table with his hand, showing how much anger he has in his heart.
BAM!
Heavenly Guardian Xian Wu turned serious and asked, "What do you mean?"
"When we are escaping that time, it says that human"s negative emotions are truly delicious. He feeds on negativity. Whether it"s greed, envy, hatred, or fear, he likes to eat it. The reason he didn"t fulfill Lu w.a.n.gle"s wish is because he is selfless. If he instead asked if another human"s life would suffice, that thing would definitely fulfill Lu w.a.n.gle"s wish.
Unfortunately, Lu w.a.n.gle might be annoying, but he is extremely serious when it comes to this kind of thing. He is a hero type who is willing to sacrifice his life for the good of many. What that devil wanted is a selfish heart," Heavenly Guardian Mu Zang said.
Doctor Sen said, "That tower is dangerous. We should close it if it is not sealed so no one can easily go in."
"Lu w.a.n.gle said not to tell the ma.s.s about this tower. He also placed the highest authority for entering. But who knows how many have truly gone there?" Mu Zang said. "Moreover, it seems that even if you got your wish fulfilled, there would be a negative effect. My grandson"s aura before, you felt it, right? That seems to be so dangerous, and I never knew he had that kind of ability."
"Should we ask your grandson about it? That ability of his, even I felt the threat it possessed," Heavenly Guardian Xian Wu said.
Doctor Sen said, "But I don"t think that young man is approachable."
"He would ignore you, so don"t try it. I will ask him; if he tells me, I will tell you as well, but don"t force him. No one can stop him if he uses that weird ability of his," Heavenly Guardian Mu Zang said.
---
Meanwhile, at the villa...
Now, with Jingxia and Anxia, who had been missing their parents terribly, Mo Xuejing was playing happily with them; they had been so excited since coming home that they had played until they fell asleep on Mo Xuejing"s lap; Ye Jieye had prepared some steak for the adults and hamburgers for the kids; premium beef made from a legendary-grade ingredient like the Behemoth Carabao is a delicacy that can only be bought at a high price.
The feast was made of high-grade ingredients, enough for a single family to live a wealthy life as long as these ingredients were sold. There are also DemiG.o.d-grade diamond potatoes made into fries and mashed potatoes, as well as hash brown potatoes. There is also a mushroom soup made from a G.o.d-grade oyster mushroom, which Ye Jieye caught more of on their way back.
There is also a sweet potato salad as a side dish and a Lava apple pie and Fierce Grapes sherbet as desserts.
However, these high-grade ingredients are just like regular ingredients in the Mo Xuejing and Ye Xiajie household; it is common for the family"s dining table to have a few legendary-grade ingredients or a G.o.d-grade ingredient among the daily dishes served.
This kind of feast is a once-a-year celebration for guests such as Mo Yuhan, Lu Ming, and Su Jin, who happily relished the cooking of a G.o.d-cla.s.s chef like Ye Jieye; Ji Yoonjun and Su Jin learned a lot from observing from the sidelines; Mo Xuejing a.s.sists with the preparation of the ingredients and the washing of the vegetables; the two are so endearing that the two chefs who were observing from the side felt choked by the copious amounts of dog food coming from this couple.
Seeing the brats asleep, Ye Jieye helped his wife carry Ye Jingxia while he carried the toddler Anxia. Tonight"s dinner was a unique one. As they ascend, Ye Jieye runs into Lu Shang and Leica.
Ye Jieye said, "There are guest rooms. You guys split it among yourselves. Tomorrow we will take our leave. Also reward the kid that protected the children while we are away." He placed his right arm over Mo Xuejing"s waist while carrying the sleeping Ye Jingxia on his left.
"Good night, everyone!" Mo Xuejing said with baby Anxia in his embrace, and he was escorted away by Ye Jieye to their room.
After the two masters took their leave, the rest of them gathered in the living room. They are eating the leftover apple pies, and after all, Ye Jieye produced a lot. Lu Shang and Leica joined them in the living room.
The two bosses forgot Lu Shang and Leica, so they had to go back to the town together. After the beast stampede had stopped, they escorted the injured and lost hunters into the mountain ranges, getting so covered in dirt and dust that they had to take two baths when they got back to the villa—one in the morning before they ate, and another at night after working out.
Lu Shang said, "The Beast Stampede is unexpected, but you guys did good. Since we helped Ming upgrade his strength, the next one is Mo Yuhan. Cousin and his partner were planning to go to Aurora Glaciers next. You decide whether you are coming or not."
"I"ll go. I will definitely go!" Mo Yuhan said.
Lu Ming said, "Big brother, we can go too, but... we want to go to the Death Forest first."
"We can go there first, but we need Lord Ye"s permission for it. That danger zone had been gifted to him by his grandfather, Heavenly Guardian Mu. We cannot enter the core region without his permission," Leica said.
"The Death Forest has a new owner!?" Su Jin exclaimed.
Su Jin was taken aback. After all, Ye Jieye is too young, and the Death Forest is a perilous area that is meant to be guarded by a Heavenly Guardian; he needs to have unquestionable strength in order to acquire ownership of such a terrible territory.
Lu Ming said, "Xiao Jin, if it"s Big Brother Ye, then it"s not impossible. You should have seen him send away that beast stampede. As soon as Big Brother emitted a black and purple aura, they all ran away. Hahaha~"
"How about you, Ji Yoonjun? Are you coming too?" Lu Shang said.
Ji Yoonjun nods his head. "It would take a few months for my cafe to be rebuilt. I"ll go with you to look for new ingredients."
"That"s great! Xiao Jun, you can join our group," Su Jin said with a smile. After being Lu Ming"s lover, he had already put everything from his previous life into the past. He can see that his friend is not a bit interested in Lu Ming.
Ji Yoonjun returned a smile and said, "I can protect myself, you know."
"Eh, you"re joking, right?" Su Jin didn"t know that his friend can fight and that arrows are all deadly.