Chapter 1993: Marriage
“The four overlords are currently the Secret Path Master Chi Fuzi, Yin Yang Path Master Fang Zhonghe, Freedom Path Master Hua Feihua, and World School Master Chen Taogong. Comparatively, these forces are a bit stronger in the Holy Sect,” Fatty Hu explained.
Zu An asked in puzzlement, “Wasn’t the World Sect severely hurt? And there’s also the Secret and Freedom Paths, but don’t they avoid involvement in worldly matters? Why are they still so strong?” He didn’t believe that what Yan Xuehen told him was wrong.
Fatty Hu was stunned. He couldn"t help but give Zu An a look, saying, “You actually know quite a bit about our Holy Sect.”
“Of course. I had to ask around if I wanted to join the Holy Sect. But what I know was pieced together, so I reckon that quite a bit of it is wrong,” Zu An hurriedly said.
Fatty Hu was relieved to hear that. He said, “It’s not that you’re wrong. The great disaster we had a hundred years ago did indeed greatly damage the World School. They"re far from as strong as they were at their peak, but they"re still one of the three schools and have always been strong in the Holy Sect. A starving camel is still bigger than a horse.
“As for the Secret Path and Freedom Path, they"ve indeed never been that strong, but they weren"t involved in the great disaster and managed to preserve some of their strength. The reason why the Holy Sect has been able to escape the court’s tracking all this time is because of the great concealment formation the Secret Path’s Chi Fuzi created.”
“Furthermore, you"re already one of us, so I’ll let you in on a secret,” Fatty Hu said, then moved closer to him and whispered, “This small town is a small world created by the Freedom Path’s Hua Feihua. There"s a layer of disconnection from the world that prevents them from finding out where our Holy Sect’s general headquarters are.”
“Incredible!” Zu An replied with a nod. He had actually already noticed the peculiarities with this world earlier, and that was part of the reason why he had decided to be extra careful.
Hua Feihua’s skill seemed a bit similar to Yu Yanluo’s World Painting. The entire town was like a drawing. However, his cultivation was much higher than Yu Yanluo’s had been. This small town was clearly being used as a firewall, too. If something strange happened, there would be enough time to deal with it. At worst, they’d just destroy this entire world and it wouldn’t be too hard to draw an entirely new small town.
Fatty Hu gave Zu An a glance. He had been waiting for this newcomer to cry out in astonishment, but he hadn’t expected this. Even though Zu An had expressed his amazement, why did it feel a bit half-hearted? He could only continue, “The Secret Path and Freedom Path aren’t especially strong, but with these two great masters overseeing them, they naturally have a spot among the leaders.”
Zu An took the chance to ask, “Then what about the Heavenly Devil School? Why don’t they have a position among the overlords?”
“The Heavenly Devil School already has Sect Master Yun, so of course she doesn’t have to fight over these overlord positions. Furthermore, even though Sect Master Yun has several martial peers who have decent cultivations, they"re still weaker than the other overlords,” Fatty Hu replied.
When he heard him call Yun Jianyue the sect master, Zu An sighed in relief. He said, “I heard that Sect Master Yun has a disciple named Qiu Honglei, and that she was the sect’s saintess...”
Fatty Hu patted his shoulder and said, “I was just wondering why a kid like you was so interested in our Holy Sect! So it turns out you came for the saintess.”
Zu An pretended to be embarra.s.sed and said, “I caught a glance of the saintess in the past, and it was hard for me to forget her ever since.”
“You and everyone else,” Fatty Hu said with a chuckle. “Just how many men in our Holy Sect don’t like the saintess?
“I advise you to give up. You have too many strong compet.i.tors in the sect whom you can’t win against. Rather, it might just bring you big trouble.” He secretly pointed at another counter and said, “Look, after their first meeting, Freedom Path’s Li Feiqing over there vowed he wouldn’t marry anyone but the saintess.”
Zu An had a weird expression. The man Fatty Hu was pointing at was precisely the one who had just rejected him at the Freedom Path’s counter.
“Don’t look down on Li Feiqing just because he looks lazy; he"s a direct disciple of the Freedom Path Master. He"s one of the best among the Holy Sect’s younger generation," Fatty Hu explained. “After he met the saintess, he yearned for her day and night. He even drew the saintess’ appearance on his own clothes so he could be with her day and night.”
“d.a.m.n pervert!” Zu An exclaimed. His mood was now a bit ruined. Even though it was a drawing, he just felt a bit strange thinking of that guy wearing it.
“Yeah, I feel that he"s a bit of a weirdo too. He really was driven mad back then and chased the saintess crazily, but the saintess didn’t seem to care about him at all. She does greet him with a smile, but in reality, there’s something like a thousand mile chasm between them. That idiot playboy has no idea though,” Fatty Hu said, actually sounding quite happy about the situation.
Zu An thought back to when he first met Honglei and couldn"t help but sneer inwardly. She"s already so skilled with the Heavenly Devil Technique, and her ability to raise boys as pets is top-notch too. That Li kid probably has no idea that he"s already become a simp at her beck and call.
“But later, he then encountered White Jade Sect’s Fairy Chu. When he returned, he completely changed, frequently sitting alone at the mountaintop while muttering to himself ‘I want fish, but bear paw tastes great too; just which one should I choose’ and things like that,” Fatty Hu said while snickering.
“He’s dreaming of peaches!”
“Peaches?”
“He’s d.a.m.ned delusional!”
“Haha, that’s true,” Fatty Hu said, patting his shoulder. “Brother Lu, we really are becoming more and more agreeable the more we chat. I didn’t like that Li guy much to begin with; he always looks down on others just because he’s a little handsome. Does he really think that both Saintess Qiu and Fairy Chu would like him?
“There was a time when he drew both the saintess, as well as Fairy Chu on his clothes; one in front, and one in back. Now that was quite the sight in the Holy Sect! Many people went to the Freedom Path to see it for themselves, but the Freedom Path Master couldn"t take it anymore and forced him to change clothes. That matter concluded just like that.
“But after that, the guy never seemed to have fully recovered. He always seemed to be in low spirits.”
“Silly people get their panties in a bunch,” Zu An commented with a sneer.
“You’re not wrong.” Fatty Hu felt quite a bit of sympathy and said, “By the way, apart from Li Feiqing, the Yin Yang Path’s Fang Long has also longed for the saintess for a long time. There have even been rumors that the Yin Yang Path and Sect Master Yun have arranged a marriage between the two of them.”
“Marriage?” Zu An’s brows shot up. He asked, “And where is this Fang Long from?”
“He’s the senior disciple of the Yin Yang Path Master himself, the senior brother of that Fang Biao from earlier. Hm? Fang Biao was there just a moment ago, so where did he go?” Fatty Hu stuck out his neck to look at the Yin Yang Path’s counter.
Zu An naturally knew that Fang Biao had gone after Zhang Zitong. He asked, “Why is it that the other factions’ disciples don’t share a surname with their master, but the Yin Yang Path does just that?”
Fatty Hu replied with a laugh, “Did you forget what the Yin Yang Path does all day? Don’t they research bedroom arts? The Yin Yang Path Master has countless women, so he naturally has many heirs. His three direct disciples Fang Long, Fang Hu, and Fang Biao are all sons he"s recognized. Who knows how many illegitimate children there are in the Yin Yang Path who haven’t received his recognition!”[1]
Zu An was speechless. He had thought that he was a bit of a playboy, but compared to many people in this world, he was as pure as a little white flower!
“But of course, what I said earlier might just be a guess that many people made after seeing how close the Yin Yang Path and Heavenly Devil School are. It’s really hard to imagine someone like the saintess liking Fang Long. To be honest, the saintess would more likely favor that brat Li Feiqing over a b.a.s.t.a.r.d like Fang Long who toys with women with drugs,” Fatty Hu said in indignation.
“There’s no way she’d like either one of them,” Zu An said indifferently.
Fatty Hu nodded and remarked, “There’s a rumor that when the saintess wandered around the world, she seemed to have fallen in love with a man outside the sect, but I have no idea if it’s true. I really wonder just what kind of man it was for the saintess to admire him wholeheartedly...”
Zu An straightened up when he heard that, saying, “I feel like the saintess might just like someone like me.”
Fatty Hu rolled his eyes and almost laughed out loud. He replied, “Bro, you’re pretty good at telling jokes, aren’t you?” But he didn’t really treat it as a big deal.
Zu An took the chance to ask, “I wonder, is there a way to meet the saintess?”
“That might be a bit hard. Ever since the saintess returned, she seems to have been cultivating in seclusion the entire time. It’s even been a long time since I last saw her,” Fatty Hu said, shaking his head.
“Seclusion?” Zu An asked with a frown. “Then what about Sect Master Yun? When was the last time you saw her?”
Fatty Hu was stunned. He said, “Now that you mention it, it’s been a long time since I last saw her too.”
1. Long = dragon, Hu = tiger, Biao = tiger stripes, tiger cub ?