Chapter 416: Conspiracy and Innocence
The sh.o.r.e of Goldshard Lake, Consort Qingyan’s residence.
Qingyan elegantly entered her study. Today, she was wearing a formal dress of the Pan-human Alliance, the skirt reaching all the way to the ground. When working, she was careful not to lose any of her elegance. Paired with her city-toppling beauty, she could leave anyone intoxicated. If not for the small wings on her back, which had yet to degenerate completely, she could have been taken for a human woman of the Alliance.
“Father,” Qingyan lightly called.
Qingliu, who was reading a book, looked up and smiled at his daughter. “Little Yan, you are truly beautiful today, not at all losing to the woman described in this book.”
After having her attendants withdraw, Qingyan went up to her father’s side and asked, “Father, you’re reading novels from the Pan-human Alliance? If some loose lips start spreading rumors, someone may start criticizing you again.”
Qingliu replied, “Little girl, are you really one to be saying this? Are you not wearing a formal dress from the Pan-human Alliance?”
Qingyan covered her mouth and giggled. Even in this minor action, she seemed extremely similar to a human.
As the saying went, no one would live under the same roof if they were not family. This father-daughter pair enjoyed the same things, yearning for human life and delighting in elegance and art while hating the crudity of the insectoid culture.
They were both clearly in a good mood today. In truth, whenever Uti exploded in rage, this father-daughter pair would always secretly celebrate. However, as they were deep in the royal palace, they must be very cautious with this kind of celebration. At most, they would share a cup of tea and eat some snacks made by their human chefs.
“I heard that Uti had smashed another table today,” said Qingliu.
Qingyan nodded. “Someone said that the Guild’s Sacred Warrior Leaderboard has become a death list, which made Uti very unhappy. Afterward, it was learned that a warrior on the ranking called Miseeta took his family to the distant Nelan System. It’s nominally for travel, but everyone knows that it’s to avoid trouble. This has stirred up much discussion among the common insectoids, with many saying that the elite warriors of the Sacred Guild are no longer trustworthy. If they’re fleeing out of fear for their lives, how can they protect the common insectoids?
“Uti was so angry that he dispatched a fleet to capture Miseeta, and it seems that he wants to punish him. In short, the Sacred Guild has been thrown into discord by the human warrior, its prestige much lower than before.”
Qingliu slapped his thigh. “Wonderful, wonderful!
“The Sacred Guild is an elite warrior organization that Uti has been supporting all this time. Together with the military headed by Tanini, they serve as Uti’s right and left arms. With the Sacred Guild losing all of its dignity, Uti is only left with a big embarra.s.sment.”.
Qingyan sipped her tea and softly asked, “Is that human warrior really so formidable that even Hezar wasn’t able to hold him off?”
Qingliu replied, “That human may not be as strong as they say. Those claims of one-hit kills are probably just exaggerations. Think about it; Duabi and High Priest Ryun’s disciple have been chasing that human for a month, but there’s been no sign of progress. If Duabi didn’t make out this person to be extremely formidable, he wouldn’t be able to explain himself to Uti.”
Qingyan smiled. “Father is right. Only by making out the enemy to be incomparably powerful can Duabi temporarily avoid disaster, but I’m truly curious. That single human has made the entire race jittery, and even Uti has thrown a tantrum three times. Just what sort of human is he?”
She looked into the distance with an expectant gaze.
Qingliu replied, “From what I know, that human should have a cultivation that places him in the top ten of the insectoid race. He must have gone through a bitter battle to kill Hezar, far more difficult than claimed. I heard that High Priest Ryun’s human disciple had already grasped a method to track down the human, so he probably won’t be so lucky next time.”
Qingyan was taken aback, her expression turning nervous as she asked, “Doesn’t it mean that he’s in a very dangerous situation right now?”
Qingliu nodded. “Very dangerous. That old monster Ryun’s disciple can’t be lacking in cultivation. If they get into a fight, there’s certain to be a vicious battle.”
“Can those under us get in touch with him before Duabi? It’ll be an enormous pity if a human like that dies so easily.”
Qingliu shot Qingyan a strange look. “Daughter, have you taken a liking to that human?”
Qingyan blushed, which made her appear even more enchanting. “It’s all father’s fault for buying me so many books from the Pan-human Alliance, making me unable at times to tell whether I’m an insectoid or a human. Heroes are admired and adored in those human novels, and it’s only natural for this daughter of yours to be influenced by them.”
Qingliu laughed. “You’re blaming your father for you getting romantic feelings?” His face then turned stern as he gently said, “Daughter, I’ve done an injustice on you in the last few years, making you accompany that scoundrel Uti.”
The father and daughter fell silent. After a pause, Qingliu said, “At present, Uti’s left arm, Tanini, is leading an army against the Pan-human Alliance. Meanwhile, his right arm, the Sacred Guild, has had its reputation badly damaged. This is our best chance. Now, it all depends on whether Halleh can catch up to and convince that human warrior to join our plan or not before Duabi gets to him. Time, location, and manpower are all under our control. All we’re lacking is an a.s.sa.s.sin with a clean background. Once we find this a.s.sa.s.sin, we’ll have a chance to remove Uti.”
Qingyan was taken aback. “Father, you had Uncle Hal personally go?”
Qingliu replied, “Besides him, I couldn’t think of anyone else to take on this heavy responsibility.”
Qingyan added, “Halleh is third on the Sacred Warrior Leaderboard, so there’s naturally nothing wrong with his cultivation, but that human warrior won’t be that easy to deal with. Purely from his actions, we can see that he’s a very ruthless fellow with big plans. Halleh may lose to him in terms of shrewdness.”
Qingliu nonchalantly replied, “We share the same goal, so I’m sure that that human warrior will be smart enough to stand on our side. Other than working with us, his only choice is to try and kill Uti single-handedly, which is absurd. All that must be considered is how to establish trust between us. Daughter, there’s no need to overthink things. Even if we can’t use him, there are other candidates.”
Qingyan slightly frowned. “What did High Priest Ryun say?”
Qingliu answered, “He is a high insectoid and does not involve himself in internal matters of the race, unless it is absolutely necessary. He doesn’t care who sits on the throne and won’t become angry just because Uti dies. His only consideration is that human disciple of his. Apparently, the girl has an extremely high cultivation and is very enigmatic. It is extremely important that we recruit that human warrior before they can find him. Of course, your father already has an idea on what to do.”
Qingyan lowered her head, her elegant hand propping up her chin. “Uti seems to have many misgivings about Duabi and High Priest Ryun’s disciple, sending Yadan to their side. Before Yadan left, Uti called him and told him something. If my guess is right, that’s probably an a.s.sa.s.sin that Uti planted. Mingjing isn’t part of our race, and Duabi has recently fallen out of favor. Yadan may have been sent to clean up the situation if things get out of control.”
Qingliu was baffled by this, muttering to himself, “There’s even something like that?
“Forget it. We just need to believe in Halleh. He has enough experience to adapt to the situation.”
…
As Qingyan and Qingliu conspired on the sh.o.r.es of Goldshard Lake, far off in another part of s.p.a.ce, Autumn Cicada and Xiaoyu received the latest reports on Xia Fei’s situation in the insectoid territory.
Pod did not believe that Avril was dead, so every few days, he would send videos and data back to the Alliance. Not just Autumn Cicada, even everyone in the Alliance knew of what Xia Fei had been up to in the insectoid territory.
To the distressed Pan-human Alliance, Xia Fei’s series of battles against the insectoids was awe-inspiring, enough for them to throw themselves with even greater fervor into the war. It also became a habit every few days for them to watch Xia Fei’s new videos. Each day, everyone looked forward to watching Xia Fei kill more and more insectoids, and he had yet to disappoint.
When the video of Xia Fei killing Hezar came out, the entire Alliance erupted with pa.s.sion!
Even an ordinary person could see that Hezar was no weakling. Even in the Alliance, he could be considered a powerful figure, but Xia Fei and Furball had used the cruelest method to take his head and then display it on the highest mountain. This was even more exciting than the big movies with the latest visual effects!
There was no need to explain why Xia Fei’s prestige in the Alliance had risen to an unprecedented level, even on par with the Silver-haired Marshall Tai! It was just that Xia Fei himself knew nothing about it.
It was the same jadeite capital s.h.i.+p, the same transcendentally beautiful face. Autumn Cicada sat on her sofa, her body curled up into a ball, like a kitten, as she pondered something.
To her, what was most shocking was not who Xia Fei killed but rather the man who sat in his room alone with a cigarette in hand, softly muttering Avril’s name.
Autumn Cicada truly did not get it. What in the world was love? Why would someone become so sad because of love, take so many lives to offer up to something that had already been lost?
Xiaoyu softly pushed open the door and came to Autumn Cicada’s side.
“Sit,” Autumn Cicada softly said.
Xiaoyu squeezed herself into a corner of the sofa. “Lady Autumn Cicada, did you need me for something?”
Autumn Cicada made an innocent smile. “I find it very strange. Why is that person from your home planet killing so many people for that girlfriend of his? When people die, they are dead, yes? No matter what Xia Fei does, he won’t be able to bring that girl back, right?”
Xiaoyu frowned. How could she answer Autumn Cicada’s extremely innocent question? She and Autumn Cicada were both ignorant girls. The only difference was that Xiaoyu had come to this place with only women when she was twelve, so she knew a little about this thing called love.
Meanwhile, Autumn Cicada was born here. If Xiaoyu’s innocence was like a white sheet of paper, Autumn Cicada’s was like the purest air. There was simply nothing in her head.
“I also don’t understand this as well. Perhaps Big brother Xia Fei feels that Avril is watching him from heaven, so he’s decided to do such things,” Xiaoyu said.
“Heaven? What place is that?”
“It’s a legendary place where humans are said to go when they die.”
“There’s a place like that?”
“Maybe,” Xiaoyu tilted her head and said.
Autumn Cicada asked, “Then, when I die, will I go to heaven?”
This silly conversation between the two girls would have anyone between laughter and tears. After talking for a long time, they still were unable to determine the relations.h.i.+p between heaven and love. On the contrary, they left the conversation even more confused.
“For some reason, I find myself envious of that girl Avril. Do you think Xia Fei will be sad if I die?” Autumn Cicada asked, her eyes bright.
Xiaoyu frowned as she replied, “Probably not. Big bro Xia Fei does not know you, my lady.”
Autumn Cicada looked as if she had been enlightened, muttering to herself, “True, that really is a problem.”
Even Xiaoyu could not help but laugh at this. Autumn Cicada was so innocent and simple that she was cute.
At this moment, a violet lantern in the room lit up.
“Mother has a mission? Let us go and see,” Autumn Cicada said.