Chapter 2310: Feelings Of Hatred
Staring out at the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin did not want to work on anything for the moment. He just wanted to enjoy some personal time.
"Ah, you’ve returned, Your Highness?" Zhao Ran was delighted to see Lu Yin.
Lu Yin turned to look at Zhao Ran and smiled. "Yes, I"m back."
"I"ll make you some herbal tea!" The seemingly young woman happily ran away.
Lu Yin blinked, instantly regretting visiting his quarters in the Heavens Sect. It took courage to drink any of Zhao Ran"s concoctions.
It was also more difficult to summon the necessary courage unaccompanied. In that case, Lu Yin needed a drinking companion.
With that, Zenith Mountain was brought out, and Lu Yin released Bai Teng.
The man appeared a short ways away from Lu Yin, and he instantly noticed the young man. A cold hatred blossomed in the depths of the sect master’s eyes.
Lu Yin had never revealed his true ident.i.ty to Bai Teng in the Perennial World, and he had instead adopted the ident.i.ty of a powerhouse who had been hired by the Dealcut a.s.sociation to extract the Celestial Frost Sect’s portion of the restriction placed on the members of Star Alliance. If Bai Teng had known Lu Yin’s true ident.i.ty at that time, Lu Yin would have never received the restriction method.
"Do you want revenge for Bai Shaohong?" Lu Yin stared at the man before him as he slowly asked a question.
Bai Teng"s eyes grew even colder. "What are you going to do?"
Lu Yin continued to stare at Bai Teng. "You don"t seem like someone who holds familial affection in high regard."
Bai Teng clenched his fists, but he quickly relaxed his hands again. He was not Lu Yin"s opponent. That was very clear to the man after he had learned about many of the recent developments in the Perennial World, such as the fact that Lu Yin had easily suppressed w.a.n.g Zheng and even killed w.a.n.g Si. Lu Yin’s current strength was clearly terrifying, and Bai Teng refused to do anything unless he was confident in the chances.
Lu Yin turned around as he looked at the other man. "Have a seat. Let’s talk."
Bai Teng stared at Lu Yin for a long moment before finally sitting down at the table across from the young man.
It was at this moment that Zhao Ran returned, and she discovered Bai Teng’s presence. "Ah, a guest! I’ll go prepare another drink."
She then immediately turned and fled.
Bai Teng was still staring at Lu Yin. "Are we in the Forsaken Land?"
"We’re in the Fifth Mainland, our homeland," Lu Yin answered flatly.
"Why did you bring me out?"
"Would you believe me if I said that I was bored and thought of you?" Lu Yin asked.
Bai Teng gave Lu Yin a flat stare. "You’re quite resourceful."
Lu Yin smiled. "I don"t have the backing of your four ruling powers, let alone your daughter."
"What exactly is it that you want?" Bai Teng asked.
"Right now, the last vestiges of civility between me and the four ruling powers have been torn away. I’ve already captured the entire army sent to hunt me down, and with Porgenitor Chen’s power at my disposal, are you really confident about challenging me here?"
Bai Teng retorted coldly, "Bai w.a.n.gyuan, my Celestial Frost Sect’s Progenitor, is also one of the famous masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. You are merely relying on Progenitor Chen’s power, not Progenitor Chen himself. When our ancestor arrives, you have no chance of survival."
Lu Yin nodded. "See? That"s where you come in."
"You plan to use us as hostages?" Bai Teng asked testily.
"Why else would I keep you all as my captives?"
Bai Teng stared at Lu Yin. The sect master really wanted to attack this youth. After all, Bai Teng was well aware that, if it came to a choice between him and Lu Xaioxuan, the Celestial Frost Sect would abandon him without any hesitation. Rather than being used as a hostage to threaten the four ruling powers, Bai Teng felt that taking a risk was the better option. After all, even if Bai Teng made it back to the Perennial World alive, he would never be able to hold his head up again.
After a period of silence, Zhao Ran returned with two cups of herbal tea.
Lu Yin could not help but look over to check the latest beverages, as he was quite curious to see just what Zhao Ran had recently come up with.
Just a glance had Lu Yin’s brows climbing high. How was he supposed to react to this? It was clear that Zhao Ran’s “teas” were getting increasingly absurd. In the past, the teas had merely looked poisonous, but Lu Yin was staring at a full-blown swamp! The tea was bubbling, and there was clearly something swimming in the cup. This was not something that should ever be drunk.
Zhao Ran set the two cups of herbal tea before Lu Yin and Bai Teng. "Your Highness, do you like it?"
Lu Yin’s eye twitched, and for a moment, he felt that Bai Teng was an insignificant threat compared to this cup of tea. In fact, the two were nowhere close to being comparable.
As for Bai Teng, who had been considering whether to attack, he became distracted by the cup that had been set down in front of him. His eyes grew wider and wider. What is this?
He reflexively glanced over at Zhao Ran, and then towards Lu Yin. The sect master’s eyes were filled with questions. Was he not intended to be used as a hostage? Then why poison him? Bai Teng’s thoughts were a perfect mirror of what Elder Qing Xing had thought when he had accompanied Lu Yin for tea. Both men believed that they were being served poison, but why was there a matching cup in front of Lu Xiaoxuan?
There were no schemes or plots in Zhao Ran’s heart, and she simply blinked as she stared at Lu Yin with high expectations.
Lu Yin looked across the table and stared at Bai Teng. "Let’s have a drink, Sect Master Bai."
Bai Teng stared back at Lu Yin. "You don"t want me as your hostage any longer?"
"You were just thinking about attacking me, which proves that you aren’t certain that you qualify to be treated as a hostage. This makes me quite curious, given how impressive your daughter is." Lu Yin gazed at Bai Teng with great interest. He did not mind hearing an explanation, as he was more than willing to listen to Bai Teng"s story.
The moment Bai Xian"er was mentioned, Bai Teng"s expression grew darker, and he grew contemptuous. "Impressive daughter? So what?"
He stared at Lu Yin. "There are people who naturally don’t possess a spec of humanity to them! That girl has felt nothing for her family ever since she was a child, but she’s good at keeping it hidden. She knows how to act like she respects me as her father, and she knows how to be filial and respectful towards teachers and elders. However, I know full well that she has never once felt even the slightest hint of respect for any other human, and that includes even you, Lu Xiaoxuan."
Lu Yin"s eyes flickered.
Bai Teng continued, "You truly believed that she loved you back then, but you were completely wrong. She doesn’t possess any emotions at all, so she can’t fall in love with anyone. You are too naive, and your Lu family was no different. Even the Celestial Frost Sect is too naive when it comes to her. She"s different from normal people, and she can’t even be considered human at all."
"Would it be too much for me to say that it sounds like your daughter has hurt you?" Bai Teng’s reaction was incredibly surprising. While Lu Yin absolutely hated Bai Xian"er, he had not expected to discover that Bai Teng might possibly hate the woman even more than Lu Yin.
Bai Teng closed his eyes. "She and I might as well be from two different worlds. I can’t truly be considered her father, nor she my daughter."
Lu Yin had actually brought Bai Teng out instead of anyone else because he had hoped to learn more about Bai Xian"er from the sect master. But upon hearing Bai Teng’s vehemence, it seemed that it would be impossible for Lu Yin to reach his goal. Bai Teng felt only one emotion when it came to Bai Xian’er: hatred. There was no room for any other emotions.
"I seem to recall that you previously threatened me with your daughter, telling me that Bai Xian"er could find me with a book and avenge you. So that was a lie?" Lu Yin asked casually.
Bai Teng replied, "It wasn’t a lie. Alive, I mean nothing to her, but she will absolutely avenge me if I die. That opportunity makes me more valuable to her dead than alive."
"Why do you hate her so much?"
Bai Teng fell completely silent. He stared at the cup of tea before him and refused to give any answer at all.
"Regardless of how bad your relationship with Bai Xian"er might be, the Celestial Frost Sect doesn"t seem to know about it. Using you as a hostage should let me save several more of the surviving va.s.sals of my Lu family," Lu Yin commented.
Bai Teng sneered. "Possibly."
He no longer had any intention of trying to attack. Lu Yin had already noticed Bai Teng’s intentions, which meant that any attack he launched would be pointless.
Lu Yin proceeded to chat with Bai Teng for a while, but he was unable to learn anything more about Bai Xian"er.
Bai Teng hated Bai Xian"er, and this inexplicable hatred roused Lu Yin’s curiosity, but the man also hated Lu Yin for killing his only son.
Bai Teng was publicly proud of Bai Xian"er, but he secretly hated the woman. Bai Shaohong had been the only person whom Bai Teng had truly cared for, which meant that Bai Shaohong"s death had become a trauma that Bai Teng would never be able to overcome. No matter how much the man might hate Bai Xian’er, he would never allow Lu Yin to gain any advantage through himself.
Bai Teng could clearly see Lu Yin"s motivation in speaking with him; the youth wanted to learn more about Bai Xian"er. Thus, Bai Teng deliberately said nothing.
"Your Highness, your tea is getting cold," Zhao Ran said through pursed lips while eagerly staring at Lu Yin. She put a great deal of thought and effort into preparing her teas.
Lu Yin gulped as he looked down at the tea on the table in front of himself. "Have a drink, Sect Master Bai."
Bai Teng stared at Lu Yin, raised his cup, and then swallowed the entire contents in one go. At this point in time, Bai Teng was aware that Lu Yin fully controlled his life or death.
Lu Yin let out a breath as he grabbed his own teacup and carefully took a sip. It was both cool and sweet as it ran down his throat. There was a softness to the taste, which made it the first time Lu Yin had sampled any tea with a soft taste. It was both novel and delicious in taste. "Very nice."
Zhao Ran was thrilled at the response. "If you would like more, I’ll go make some more right away!"
As Lu Yin smiled and watched Zhao Ran run away, he found that he could not help himself from taking another sip of the tea. "It really is very good."
Bai Teng frowned. "It isn’t poison?"
Lu Yin laughed. "Of course not! Why would I drink it myself if it were? Sect Master Bai, head on back for now and consider your own value. I"m not opposed to negotiations, and as long as you provide something of sufficient value, I have no true objection to letting you go.
"That’s because you can never pose a threat to me!" As Lu Yin finished speaking, his eyes grew hard as he fixed a cold stare at Bai Teng.
The sect master’s eyes flickered with hatred as Lu Yin sent him back into Zenith Mountain.
Lu Yin then released Long Xi, Elder Qing Xing, Wen Diyi, Liu Hao, and w.a.n.g Dashuai from Zenith Mountain, as there was no longer any reason to keep them held prisoner. All of them could be set free, though everyone else needed to remain imprisoned.
As for Sapling, it came out along with everyone else.
As soon as the people appeared, Sapling instantly shot towards Lu Yin.
Lu Yin hugged Sapling while laughing.
Everyone else looked around.
Long Xi and Elder Qing Xing were not surprised by their surroundings, as they had been occasionally released from Zenith Mountain. However, this was Wen Diyi and Liu Hao’s first time out of Zenith Mountain. They had been held captive for decades, and they glanced at each other with bitter expressions.
"I’m sorry, but things weren’t stable before, so I couldn’t let you go. You’re now free," Lu Yin told everyone while holding onto Sapling.
w.a.n.g Dashuai let out a sigh of relief upon learning that he was free. He had expected to remain a prisoner for a very long time.
Wen Diyi asked, "How are things in the Perennial World?"
Lu Yin shared a brief summary of recent events.
Wen Diyi was quite surprised. "You not only visited Virtue Archives, but you also became one of the instructors?"
Lu Yin nodded. "However, Virtue Archives is no longer what it once was. You need to prepare yourself for the changes that have taken place."
Wen Diyi just shrugged. "We’ve been expecting that to happen ever since the Lu family was exiled. This isn’t any surprise."
"Even if you’re releasing us now, where can we even go?" Liu Hao muttered to himself. None of them had any knowledge of the Fifth Mainland.
Lu Yin looked over. "For you, I’d suggest that you go visit the Sword Sect. It was founded by your Liu family here, and they have the Thirteen Swords."
Long ago, the Sword Sect had promised to help Lu Yin drive the Astral Beast Domain out of the Outerverse and past Ironblood Weave. There had been an agreement that Lu Yin would give the sect Liu Hao, but surprisingly, the Sword Sect had never dared to remind Lu Yin of the agreement even after he procrastinated.
Liu Hao looked towards the Innerverse for a moment before leaving.
Lu Yin looked over at Wen Diyi next. "The Wen family will always welcome you."
Wen Diyi nodded. "The war between you and the four ruling powers should soon erupt, and while I understand that my status doesn’t qualify me to have any opinion on this matter, I hope to see that the Aeternals are not the ones ultimately reaping the benefits. Even if you add in the strength of my Virtue Archives along with the Liu and Nong families, it still might not be enough to stand up to the four ruling powers."
Lu Yin answered quietly, "That’s your perception of things, but not mine."
Wen Diyi had no choice but to turn and leave.