Lou s.h.i.+"er and Holy Princess made eye contact. They saw determination in each other"s eyes. Lou s.h.i.+"er put on a colder expression and said with an att.i.tude, "Soul searching? Patriarch Ling, are you implying that we have Brother Feidu killed?""I am not implying anything!"
Ling Hong waved his hand. "It"s just anyone is out from Tomb of King Luna is suspicious. Do not take this personally. My son has died a miserable death. I am sorry, s.h.i.+"er and Jing Ya, but this is to claim justice for my son."
"Hmm!"
Lou s.h.i.+"er snorted. "What if we don"t accept your apology? Patriarch Ling, are you going to have us executed? Disciples from Pavilion of Misty Drizzle are not cowards. A gentleman prefers death to humiliation!"
For the first time since they came out, Holy Princess said her piece. "Jingya has always been respectful to you from the Cabinet of Cloud. But I would rather die than suffering the humiliation of having my soul searched!"
"What~"
The onlookers here raised a hue and cry. They never expected to witness something with such thrill here. Was a battle going to break out among Cabinet of Cloud, Pavilion of Misty Drizzle, and Palace of Snow Mountain? That would be the headline in the Divinity.
Ling Hong was hopping mad. Having lost his son, he was completely depressed. He would have killed Lou s.h.i.+"er and Holy Princess if not for their special ident.i.ty.
A patriarch from Cabinet of Cloud noticed that the situation was spinning out of control. "s.h.i.+"er, Jingya, Brother Hong has just lost his son. Can you be more understanding? Cabinet of Cloud has always been in good terms with Pavilion of Misty Drizzle and Palace of Snow Mountain and you both know Feidu. You should actually have helped us find the murderer. Didn"t you learn from your families that the disciples from 72 sects should help each other out here?" the patriarch said.
"Ha, ha!"
Lou s.h.i.+"er snorted. "Helping each other is necessary, but that does not include searching souls at will. Otherwise, we will no longer enjoy privacy. This is humiliation. My grandpa once told me that disciples from Pavilion of Misty Drizzle should die before we allow others to humiliate us!"
Holy Princess added, "Patriarch Ling Gang, why would we kill Young Master Lingdu when there is no ill feeling amongst us? Say we did, we would have asked our families to resolve the matter instead of fighting him privately. We both understand the rules agreed by the sects. Core disciples cannot be killed. We are educated about this often. I am sorry but we cannot accept soul searching. I can take an almighty oath that Ling Feidu was not killed by us. If I lie, I will die a tragic death."
Ling Gang and the other patriarchs looked at each other. They seemed to be convinced. After all, the almighty oath was not a joke, but the most serious of all sorts of oaths. Many powerful warriors that violated such oaths had died a miserable death.
Lou s.h.i.+"er shrugged. "I can take an almighty oath as well. I did not kill Ling Feidu."
Ling Gang turned to Ling Hong who did not get over his depression. He said in a cold voice, "I don"t care if you are the murderer or not. But you cannot leave. All of you must stay. You will be let go after we get to the bottom of the truth."
"Well?"
Lou s.h.i.+"er pulled a long face. He was reluctant to accept this. He crushed a red jade talisman and pointed his saber at Ling Hong, "You from Cabinet of Cloud, you have gone too far. Do you really think that we from Pavilion of Misty Drizzle can be bullied? Disciples of Pavilion of Misty Drizzle, listen up, come with me and we will kill anyone in our way. I don"t think the Cabinet of Cloud have the guts to fight us."
"Um…"
Disciples of Pavilion of Misty Drizzle were taken aback. What was Lou s.h.i.+"er doing? Ling Feidu had died, so Ling Hong was in a bad mood. Was Lou s.h.i.+"er courting death?
Holy Princess understood that Lou s.h.i.+"er was creating chances for Lu Li. After all, it everything stayed in order, Lu Li would be noticed once he came out.
Holy Princess was contemplating as well. If it were not for Lu Li, she would have died already, or, at the very least, she would be trapped in the Tomb of King Luna for a thousand years. That time was precious for a lady. If she were trapped here for one thousand years, when she came out, she would have aged.
She bit her teeth and made up her mind. She took out the twig and said, "Disciples from Palace of Snow Mountain, let"s get out! Let"s see if the from Cabinet of Cloud have the courage to kill us. We are ladies but we are not weaker than men! Let"s go!"
"Don"t you dare. Are you courting death?"
Ling Hong was burning up. He enjoyed a high status in the Cabinet of Cloud. Right now, having just lost his son, he was filled with anger and killing intent. How could Lou s.h.i.+"er and Holy Princess challenge him in times like this? The anger he had been trying to press down was on the verge of breaking out.
"Let"s go!"
Lou s.h.i.+"er took the lead and left. He was determined. Since the other disciples from Pavilion of Misty Drizzle had always been following the lead of Lou s.h.i.+"er, they had to go with him.
Holy Princess led her fellow disciples out as well, pressing forward to the disciples of Cabinet of Cloud.
"Hiss, hiss~"
The onlookers raised a cry and hue. If the three sects were to fight against each other, then they would be here to witness something that could rarely happen in a thousand years. What they saw today could be talked about for years.
Ling Gang and many others were surprised. Their eyes spoke of anger and agitation. Ling Gang would look at Ling Hong every now and then. If Ling Hong could not control himself and killed Lou s.h.i.+"er and Holy Princess, then that could lead to war.
Lou s.h.i.+"er and the others were stepping forward. The saber in his hand was glowing, and his armor had emerged. He was resolute. Under his influence, disciples from Pavilion of Misty Drizzle took out their weapons as well, ready to engage.
Holy Princess kept a cold expression. Though she did not seem as intimidating as Lou s.h.i.+"er, she was determined, nonetheless. She walked side by side with Lou s.h.i.+"er. She stared at Ling Hong with her crystal-clear eyes, much like a stubborn kid.
On the other hand, the warriors from Cabinet of Cloud were on needles. They did not step back and had readied their weapons. However, they were inferior in momentum.
If they were to kill Lou s.h.i.+"er and Holy Princess in front of so many people, then they would have practically declared war against the two sects. Cabinet of Cloud was strong. That being said, if Pavilion of Misty Drizzle and Palace of Snow Mountain were to gang up on Cabinet of Cloud together, it would be destroyed.
Ling Hong knew this. But the thing was, he could not find a graceful way out!
He had just lost his son and now he was forced to compromise by the two young people? How could he ever establish his authority in the Divinity? Besides, the dignity of Cabinet of Cloud would be undermined as well.
A dark cyan glow rose in Ling Hong"s hands. Lou s.h.i.+"er was coming closer. At the moment, Ling Hong was struggling within. He could contain Lou s.h.i.+"er and Holy Princess in an instant. However, he could kill someone in the process and what if he could not take control of the situation…
"Buzzing~"
At the moment, s.p.a.ce above the valley began to tremble. A pair of eyes emerged in the sky. Some strong and powerful energy appeared that made everyone in the valley suffocated.
When the pair of eyes appeared, Lou s.h.i.+"er crushed another piece of jade talisman. He knew this was the best time for Lu Li to sneak out. If he could not, then he would never be able to escape.
"s.h.i.+"er, what is it?"
Everyone heard an old voice. Lou s.h.i.+"er cupped his fists toward the pair of eyes and said, "Grandpa, Patriarch Ling regards me as a suspect in his son"s murder. He wants to search our souls and imprison us. I am about to lead our team and break out."
"Grandpa?"
Many people remembered this man"s name—Lou s.h.i.+"er"s grandpa, Lou Tianxing, Master of Hall of Warfare of Pavilion of Misty Drizzle and the most ferocious warrior in Pavilion of Misty Drizzle!
That old voice began to speak again, and the words sent everyone into shock. "Ling Hong, your son died, and you want to take it out on my grandson? I will go up to Mountain of Cloud and demolish your residence myself. Believe me."