Chapter 240 The Prophecy
The second Guo Qinyan stepped into the formation, she found everything she saw was in a swirl and felt her body much lighter. After a few seconds, when the objects around her returned to normal, she glanced about only to find that she was already standing in the midst of thick woods.
“Your Highness.”
“Qing Yan…”
Crowds in the vicinity closed upon her, who turned out to be the Junior Chief of the Moon-shooting Tribe and the others that had been transported there earlier.
Plainly, the man with the silver smiley-ghost mask had not lied to her. He truly had transported them out of the city of Chang’an.
The place was surrounded by mountains which looked dark at night. And the howls and roars of beasts could be heard indistinctly. From the look of the environment, that place was at least dozens of miles away from Chang’an, so they had kind of reached the wild.
“Your Highness, that man… didn’t make things difficult for you, did he?” asked the pasture Army Advisor concernedly.
The Junior Chief of the Moon-shooting Tribe also turned to Guo Qinyan.
Even though the man wearing the silver smiley-ghost mask had saved their lives, they all had a curious feeling that he wasn’t very reliable. He was bizarre in his ways and spoke in an unconventional fas.h.i.+on. It seemed that he was operating somewhere between good and evil, rendering the others unable to ascertain his true colors.
“I’m fine. That sen…” Guo Qinyan naturally would not want to disclose the matter that she had learned the completed mental cultivation method of the Heart Heavenly Shot under that circ.u.mstance, in case a few in the crowd had a loose tongue. Luckily, before she uttered the word ‘senior’, that incredibly young face behind the silver mask suddenly surfaced in her mind. Therefore, she modified her answer and said, “He just asked me about something concerning Uncle Guo.”
“That senior seems truly the sworn brother of the Great Jebe. What a pity! I was overwhelmed by tonight’s plight and forgot to ask him how was the Great Jebe doing,” said the Junior Chief of the Moon-shooting Tribe emotionally.
Back then, the Great Jebe was a hero, a legend, a myth in the pasture. But sadly…
Well, after so many years, the pasture man still remembered the hero that truly belonged to the herdsmen in the pastures.
“Uncle Guo is doing very well,” Guo Qinyan said, “Let’s waste no time and return to the pasture. If the old man called Green Spider is correct, the pasture is probably already in chaos. Since our Moon-shooting Tribe has been monitored, we have to be on our guard.”
Upon hearing her words, they had a meeting to discuss the precautions they could take.
Fortunately, the pasture Army Advisor was a careful schemer. Although his plan failed, it was because of the striking strength gap between them and the opponents in Chang’an. In that scenario, he had no way to turn the tides despite his intelligence. But in the current situation, he and the others were already out of Chang’an. All they needed to do was to travel day and night along the route designated before. In half a month, they would be back in the vast pasture.
“I’m really wondering how Brother Guo is holding up?” The Junior Chief of the Moon-shooting Tribe waved at the distant city of Chang’an with concern.
At the time when the battle broke out, to prevent Guo Zhihui—the young master of the Western Qin Branch of World Chamber of Commerce—from being dragged to the struggle, the Junior Chief of the Moon-shooting Tribe jumped out of the number seven pavilion unexpectedly and knocked him unconscious, then handed him to the guards of the World Chamber of Commerce.
That journey to Chang’an did mean a lot for the Junior Chief of the Moon-shooting Tribe.
It was the first time for him to leave the pasture and witness the prosperity of the Western Qin Empire.
“Compared with the other two of the three empires on the Divine Land, the Western Qin Empire is not a land of milk and honey, due to the fact that it’s in the barren northwest. But exactly on account of this reason, its people and landscape are more upright and magnificent than the North Song and the South Chu. They have towering city walls, splendid architecture, numerous traveling merchants, abundant cloth, china, tea leaves, gold, and silver… This place is hundreds of times more richly endowed than the pasture. As for the North Song and the South Chu, which are even more prosperous than the Western Qin Empire, I wonder what kind of view they have?
“Anyway, the pasture has to change.
“Otherwise, sooner or later, it will be gobbled up by the three empires.”
Tie Muzhen, the Junior Chief of the Moon-shooting Tribe and one of the best talents in the pasture, made such a mental note to himself.
“I have to escape! I must go back!”
The old man called Green Spider was swiftly moving in the darkness.
From a fully pierced, bowl-sized hole in his abdomen, green blood was gus.h.i.+ng out. When it dropped to the earth, more pits appeared due to the corrosive effect.
He recalled the astonis.h.i.+ng scene when the man with the silver smiley-ghost mask drew power from the bright moonlight and fired the arrow. It made him s.h.i.+ver from deep inside. If it weren’t for the spider crust granted by the tarantula king, which took most of the force the arrow brought over and saved his life, he would have already turned into a corpse.
“The Magic Moon Shot has reappeared in the martial circle!
“The Heart Heavenly Shot has descended to the mortal world once more!”
“The archery skill of that masked man was apparently taught by the Great Jebe. As such a man has appeared in Chang’an, a huge sensation will certainly be triggered, even though it’s not on the pasture.
“I must go back and report this to the Spider Shrine!”
“Once upon a time, a prophecy bandied about in the pasture. I remember it said that when the Magic Moon Shot reappeared and was combined with the Gold Sun Magic Bow, a man will overturn all the shrines and temples, and unite all the pasture tribes, to become the one and only supreme dominator. Such a prospect is unacceptable even for the Wolf Temple!
“I must nip this prophecy in the bud!”
At Liufang Street, the Musical House…
The place was a mess.
The famous prost.i.tutes from all the brothels were shuddering in fear. They had all bolted the doors and windows in case there were any more intruders.
Thankfully, the turmoil only started nearly at the end of the auction, just after the Top Beauty Compet.i.tion. At that time, most of the prost.i.tutes had returned to their places. That was why those delicate beauties were basically spared from that terrible fight.
The bodies lying on the street, in nine cases out of ten, were the brothel’s clients.
Considering that those distinguished guests sitting at the distinguished area had guards to protect them, and they had not been the target of that commotion, they had long been evacuated from the scene.
As to the top distinguished area on the highest floor, almost all the rooms had already been emptied.
Only Room No.18 was still lit by a lamp, because Shangguan Yuting and Xin’er were still waiting in silence.
Xin’er was deeply perturbed. She had yet to recover from the shock caused by the previous wild hollers, and the sound of confrontations from the outside.
By contrast, Shangguan Yuting was totally peaceful and composed. She was quietly practicing the simplified version of the Xiantian Skill to nurture her qi.
Hours pa.s.sed by.
The ruthless yells heard from outside had gradually faded away.
Footsteps were heard from the corridor.
Xin’er rejoiced and screamed, “Young Master is back!” As she said, she scuttled to open the door.
Shangguan Yuting’s eyes sprang open. She looked outside through the closed door and said, “Manager Liu is here for what matter?”
“To check on Miss Hua, to see if she is okay. The distinguished guest in Room No.1 is worried about Miss Hua’s safety. So, he sent me here to invite Miss Hua to his Room No.1, lest the rogues from the pasture hurt her.” The voice of Liu Chenglong, the manager of the Musical House flew in clearly.
‘It’s not Young Master Mu out there?’
Xin’er was quite taken aback and hastily came to a halt on her way to open the door.
“Thanks for Manager Liu’s kindness. But I want to stay here and wait for my Young Master to come back,” said Shangguan Yuting aloofly.
“Miss Hua has not redeemed your freedom yet. At the moment, you’re still a member of our Musical House. Do you think my words are already ineffective to you?” Liu Chenglong’s voice contained a note of undisguised menace. He continued, “Miss Hua, you need to think this through. Li Mu doesn’t have the ability to protect you.”
“Manager Liu, please go away. From tonight on, there is no Hua Xiangrong in the world but only Shangguan Yuting. I am no longer a member of your Musical House.” Shangguan Yuting cut to the chase.
“You ungrateful b.i.t.c.h! How dare you ignore the laws of our empire and say such remarks! Guards, knock this door off and take that b.i.t.c.h out!” Liu Chenglong’s enraged voice reverberated in the room.
Instantly, four experts hired by the Musical House rushed towards Room No.18.
There was an old man standing behind Liu Chenglong, who was slim and sage-like, who had white hair and a healthy complexion, like a child’s. Just then, he was grasping a completely dark red wand. The old man said, “If what Mr. Liu said is true, then, obviously, this woman has practiced a certain hex art, or she herself is an evil spirit. She must have taken Hua Xiangrong’s soul by that art or her evil power. That’s why she suddenly gained that kind of warlock magic and cultivation.”
“Senior Immortal, do you have any idea how to tackle this?” inquired Liu Chenglong.
In fact, the real backup that heartened Liu Chenglong to go there and openly threaten Hua Xiangrong, even though he had witnessed her impressive warlock cultivation, was not the four experts the Musical House hired, but that warlock in the Natural Realm t.i.tled ‘Flame Elder’.
As they spoke, loud bangs sounded.
It turned out that the four experts working for the Musical House bounced off when they had barely sprinted to the door.
The instant they touched the door, an odd, white protective cover sprang out and s.h.i.+elded the entire Room No.18.
“Humph, how can a little Wind s.h.i.+eld stop me!” Flame Elder laughed with contempt and yelled, “Let my Five Fireb.a.l.l.s bring you down!” As he raised a hand, the top of that dark red wand sparkled. Next, five fist-sized fireb.a.l.l.s whooshed out one after another. He then added, “You’re showing off your little Wind s.h.i.+eld before the expert!”
A smile of confidence spread across his face.
But something startling occurred before his voice died away.
Sizzle-sizzle-sizzle!
The noise sounded like fire sparkles splas.h.i.+ng into icy-cold water. The five fireb.a.l.l.s all clashed with the strange white protective s.h.i.+eld. However, like a drop of water falling into the sea, they disappeared without a trace when they came into contact with the s.h.i.+eld. They didn’t even stir up a ripple.
Flame Elder’s confident smile immediately froze.
“I never would have guessed this darn woman does have some smart tricks. Well, it’s nothing. My Blaze Blast can definitely crack it!” He chanted a hex and flicked his wand. At once, a jet of magma as scarlet as the underground fire streaked out from nowhere. It took the shape of a broadsword and hacked at Room No.18.
“Well, I’m positive that this time, this darn s.h.i.+eld will crack!” The a.s.sured smile reappeared on the face of Flame Elder.
However—
Sizzle!
Like sparkles splattered into a river, the broadsword composed of the scarlet magma also vanished the moment it hit the white protective s.h.i.+eld.
Seeing this, the corner of Liu Chenglong’s mouth twitched.
Flame Elder, on the other hand, flared up and bellowed, “Thanks to the merciful G.o.d, I had hoped to show you some mercy. But given the current situation… The land of Hades, the h.e.l.l of bursting flames, the demon of the darkness, answer my summons…” He began chanting an incantation. Horrifying energy fluctuations started surging inside him and that red wand in his hand. The air quickly became burning hot.
He waved and pointed with his wand and a crimson vortex emerged.
From inside the vortex, devils’ dim roars were heard.
It seemed that something dreadful was trying to break free from the vortex.
“Elder, please leave. You’re making so many noises that Xin’er is frightened.” Hua Xiangrong’s perfectly unfl.u.s.tered voice fluttered out.
A jet of white moonlight abruptly penetrated through the door and immersed itself in the crimson vortex. Then, an ear-splitting howl of pain sounded from the vortex, as if the creature inside it had been maimed. In the blink of an eye, the crimson vortex had fallen apart.
Liu Chenglong, who then looked as if he had just chewed up a dead mouse, turned back to stare at Flame Elder.
The corner of the latter’s twitched uncontrollably. He looked rather awkward, as though he had had a stroke or had just seen a ghost.