Chapter 82: The Four-Seas Banquet
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
âThe antidote,â demanded Jing Jiu.
Xiao He knew very well that she shouldnât play any tricks with him.
Reluctantly, she took out a tablet from the belt around her waist with her left hand, handing it to Jing Jiu.
Jing Jiu took the tablet and gave it to Zhao Layue. âWhat is your position in the Old Ones?â he asked.
As Xiao He was a clever girl, she replied without hesitation. âMiddle level, but I have an important position in the organization.â
Jing Jiu was certain that she was the boss of that man in black, judging from her attitude toward the man, but his puzzlement was that her Cultivation state was not as high as that manâs.
âWhy are you so important?â
âBecause I can fool anybodyâŚexcept the two of you.â
âI really donât understand â how you could see through my disguise?â Xiao He asked Jing Jiu sincerely.
âXiao He of Ying City is a hateful and cruel female practitioner, which is one layer of the disguise; in fact, she is a seductive vixen demon, which is another layer of the disguise. After peeling off these two disguises, one discovers that you are actually a frail and naĂŻve young girl. But who would have thought that this part is actually another layer of the disguise?!â
âIf one resists external temptations, how can these disguises fool the transparent Sword Heart?!â declared Zhao Layue after having taken the antidote.
âWho the heck are you?â asked Xiao He, tears welling in her eyes.
âI want you to do me a favor,â said Jing Jiu, not answering her question.
Her slightly shivering eyelashes indicated she was hesitating, but after a brief moment she lifted her head. âWhat favor?â she asked with a trembling voice.
âNext year or even later, you will meet a person, and you must help him with whatever he will ask you to do.â
âIf you can complete this task,â added Jing Jiu, âI will help you leave the Old Ones.â
Upon hearing this, Xiao Heâ eyes brightened, but soon darkened.
She really wanted to leave the Old Ones, but it was such a horrifying place. How could she leave it?
Though she didnât quite know the mysterious background of the Old Ones, she knew full well that a swordsman had no chance pitting himself against them.
âI canât believe you have the ability to do that,â Xiao He said sadly.
âYou have no other choice but to believe me,â said Jing Jiu.
âHow can you make me believe you?â Xiao He asked.
âOf course, I have the ability to make you believe me,â said Jing Jiu.
Having said that, Jing Jiu lifted her left hand.
The silver bracelet that was on Jing Jiuâs wrist transferred quietly to her wrist, which was impossible for her to take it off.
Zhao Layue fixed her gaze on the bracelet.
She had been curious about this bracelet on Jing Jiuâs wrist.
She herself had a similar bracelet that had been with her for many years.
Before coming to Shenmo Peak, she didnât know that the bracelet was the Thoughtless Sword, left for her by Senior Grandmaster Jing Yang.
What about Jing Jiuâs bracelet? Was it also a famous sword?
Why did he put this bracelet on the wrist of this vixen demon who he had just met?
Feeling the chill from her wrist passing through her entire body, Xiao He grew extremely scared.
This bracelet was even more terrifying than the expression in Jing Jiuâs eyes, surpassing her fear of the Old Ones.
She didnât know what this bracelet was, but she had the unmistakable feeling that if she had even the slightest intent to rescind the agreement, this bracelet would cut her in halfânot only cutting her hand in half, but every part of her body, even her soul.
Xiao He was pale. âHow can I find outâŚwho is the person you spoke of?â she asked nervously.
âWhen you see him, you will know.â
Jing Jiu took the jasmine flower tied to her temple and put into his sleeve.
The intimidating sword source in the night sky faded away after Xiao He had left.
The ocean wind made whistling sounds as it blew through the broken temple.
Jing Jiu ambled to the cliff edge, looking at the dark Western Ocean, and fell silent for a long time.
He didnât think of anything, but simply looked at the ocean. They would leave this place behind in a few days, and as far as he could foresee, they wouldnât come back for many years.
Zhao Layue walked up beside him. âWeâve been killing those evildoers in the last two years all because you wanted to attract the attention of the Old Ones?!â she asked.
âYes, because I needed to find them.â
Without turning his head around, Jing Jiu added, âOf course, the last two years were also spent cultivating.â
âYou suspect the Old Ones had something to do with the failure of Senior Grandmaster?â asked Zhao Layue.
âFirst of all, it might not be a failure. Second, itâs still hard to ascertain the relationship yet,â said Jing Jiu.
âWho is the person you said would come and find her?â asked Zhao Layue.
âI hope she never meets him â said Jing Jiu.
âAre we done here?â asked Zhao Layue.
Looking at the Western Ocean under the night sky, Jing Jiu thought of the Old Ones, Liangwang Peak and Liu Shisui. âI still havenât seen that person yet,â said Jing Jiu.
Zhao Layue was surprised. âThe person you wanted to see wasnât her,â she said, âbut Xiwang Sun!â
Yes, the person Jing Jiu wanted to meet was the host of the Four-Seas Banquet, Xiwang Sun.
However, the problem was, to meet this person you had to participate in the Four-Seas Banquet and be a winner in any one of the four tournaments: zither, chess, calligraphy or painting.
Looking far out at the Western Ocean, Jing Jiu suddenly asked, âIs it hard to learn how to play chess?â
The day that the Four-Seas Banquet began, Haizhou hosted a variety of activities. High-class courtesans strolled the streets, there were performances from an acrobatic troupe from Yan County, and of course there was opera singing. The residents of Haizhou came out from their homes, filling the streets. The street vendors were quite pleased; the guards responsible for security, not so much.
The streets belonged to the mortals; the actual Four-Seas Banquet was held in the Lone Mountain outside Haizhou. Since the early hours of the morning, the sky had been illuminated from time to time by sword lights and the glow from precious treasures. The Cultivation practitioners were arriving, and most of them had to take carriages from Haizhou City to get there as their Cultivation states were not high enough to ride the swords.
The warm ocean breeze caressed the green trees on the Lone Mountain. If not for the white clouds in the empty blue sky, it would be unbearably hot today, but the incredible thing was that a patch of white cloud stayed in the same spot all the time. resisting the ocean wind, casting a shadow precisely on the Lone Mountain and bringing cool air to the participants on the mountain.
On the side of the Lone Mountain facing the ocean, a dozen buildings were neatly spread out in a perfect geometrical arrangement.
The practitioners strolled in the midst of the buildings, enjoying the ocean view, talking in low voices and looking up at the white cloud in the sky once in a while.
The patch of cloud was quite thick, looking like a dense white fog. The sword lights and green smoke could be seen vaguely in the cloud, and some flying eaves were visible intermittently.
This was a significant place for the Western Ocean Sword Sectâthe Cloudy Platform.
The important figures of various sects had already been received on the platform. Later on, the guests of the Four-Seas Banquet would also be received there in the cloud. But those who could meet Xiwang Sun in person were only a select few.
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Some of the decks on the buildings on the Lone Mountain were used for viewing the scenery, some for listening to the waves, and some for meditating. A few bigger decks were encircled by white screens fluttering with the ocean wind, where the gentle shouts, praising and cheers of the practitioners could be heard.
Here the main activities of the Four-Seas Banquet were underwayâthe tournaments for zither, chess, calligraphy and painting.
Though they stood far away from the buildings, Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue had still been discovered.
They didnât wrap their heads and faces in gray clothing, but the conical hats on their heads were still very noticeable.
The people of the Pure Heaven Bureau rushed toward them.