Taking a deep breath to calm down, Zhuo Fanâs gaze went cold.
He Xiaofeng waved him off with scorn, âGo tell the Demonic Emperor to stop and change his aide, or the first replacement might just be his, ha-ha-haâŚâ
âSaint, are you trying to get me fired?â
âNo, I just dislike mavericks.â
âThen you shouldnât complain when I overstep.â
He Xiaofeng taunted, âYouâre threatening me now? Ha-ha, with what?â
Zhuo Fan smirked, âOh, I donât know, Qingcheng?â
He Xiaofeng laughed harder, âHer? Save it. No girl can ever affect me. Actually, Iâm going to threaten you with her. Your defiant nature wouldâve gotten you killed by now, even if you were one of the Eight Emperors. Youâre only breathing because I donât want her to know. Once I take her to the Sacred Mountains, you best watch out, ha-ha-ha!â
Chu Qingcheng was furious.
[This was his plan all along. And I almost trusted him!]
Zhuo Fan looked back with a smile, âSaint sir, youâre too scornful of me. As a puny cultivator, I didnât get into the Demonic Emperorâs good graces by luck alone. You think Iâm like you, gambling with a girlâs feelings? Too risky.â
âWell, do you have anything else?â
âOf courseâŚâ Zhuo Fan snickered, âThe reason why you must have Chu Qingcheng.â
He Xiaofeng shook and grew heavy. The Enchanting Empress panicked, âZhuo Fan, you canât spout nonsense. Lord Saint came from the Sacred Mountains for the first time. He passed by the Ruby Cloud Sect, found Qingcheng stunning, and was drawn to her. A gentleman and a lady would make for a great couple, thatâs why he wanted to take her.â
âYeah, itâs that simple!â He Xiaofeng added.
Zhuo Fan beamed, âLetâs be honest here, since thereâs only three of us. Thatâs an excuse for everyone else, to hide the truth and a terrible secret about Qingchengâs history.â
âHistory?â The two cried out, with He Xiaofeng looking hateful, âW-what do you know?â
âI know something, but enough, he-heâŚâ
Zhuo Fan gave a sneaky smile, âA hundred years ago, the sky changed, an omen of great significance. It happened to be Qingchengâs birth nearby Ruby Cloud Sect. The Enchanting Empress went over at once and knew the girl was special, covered in a prismatic glow, taking her for a disciple. Since it was too important, she silenced everyone that knew anything about her, including her parents.â
Chu Qingcheng held her mouth, unable to believe her ears. The Enchanting Empress grew dark, cursing, âZhuo Fan, stop vilifying!â
âEnchanting Empress, why so nervous? Allow me to finish first.â
Zhuo Fan continued, âThe Enchanting Empress sneaked Qingcheng into the sect to raise her, telling only her backer, the 6th Sacred Mountainâs lord. The lord knew taking the girl would draw unneeded attention. So he set it up for his son to marry her a hundred years later. That would get the girl on the mountain with none the wiser. A perfect match between a gentleman and a lady, no, ha-ha-haâŚâ
He Xiaofengâs face twitched and barked, âRubbish! Why would we do this to Qingcheng?â
âBecause you found an ancient and scary record. That she is related to a Sovereign path!â Zhuo Fan shouted.
He Xiaofeng pointed at him in shock, âH-how do you know that?â
âThe Sacred Mountains arenât the only ones with ancient records.â
âNo, impossible! We only found bits and pieces in our ancient records, yet your Luo clan under the Demonic Emperor hasâŚâ
The Enchanting Empressâ sharp voice stopped him, but it was too late.
Zhuo Fan taunted, âWhat did I tell you? The Sacred Mountainsâ entitled princelings have nothing to them other than their huge backers. That sentence proves everything! Try denying it now!â
âYou bastard! You goaded me!â He Xiaofeng was outraged and filled with bloodthirst, âChu Qingcheng canât protect you anymore, you know too much!â
Zhuo Fan didnât care he was about to attack, âMy man-child of a prince, this is your fault. Knowing things doesnât mean death. Try anything and tomorrow, all of the Sacred Domain will hear about this. Everyone will be fighting over Chu Qingcheng. What worth would the 6th Sacred Mountain be then? Did you forget about the rest of the mountains? Ha-ha-ha, a bunch of decrepit old fools stuck at peak Sainthood will be sure to go crazy at the mere hope of reaching the Sovereign Stage.â
He Xiaofeng shuddered, glaring at Zhuo Fan with loathing.
The Enchanting Empress was grave, though amazed at the same time.
She cowered before the Saints like all the other Eight Emperors, but this kid went and toyed with him.
But having leverage on a Saint could burn him to ashes at some point.
[Heâs playing with his life.]
It would keep him safe for now, but disaster would come in the end. The 6th Sacred Mountain would not forget this, destroying him and the Luo clan to hide this secret.
The Enchanting Empress continued, âIâve been cautious to not let anything leak when I did it. How did you find out?â
The Enchanting Empress just admitted to everything. Chu Qingcheng was about to cry in shock, but Li Jingtian held her mouth, with faint sobs sounding as tears streamed down.
Her master killed her parents.
âYou werenât too careful. Someone played dead and escaped. Qingcheng asked me to help her find her history, so I did.â Zhuo Fan smirked.
He had not the slightest clue, just guesswork. But this proved enough for the two to buy it and admit to everything. Now he could go after Qingchengâs sect without issues.
The Enchanting Empress frowned, âNo, I made sure nobody escaped! Thereâs no way that happened!â
âAre you sure? Why else would he know so much?â
He Xiaofeng cursed, âWhat do you want to keep silent?â
Zhuo Fan shrugged, âIâll tell you when I figure it out. But, I hope nothing bad will happen to the Luo clan and the Demonic Emperor due to the Sacred Mountainsâ decision.â
Zhuo Fan left then, laughing just before exiting.
[Youâre nothing but an idiot Saint! Youâre not even close to challenging me!]
He Xiaofeng crushed the table, âIâm the young lord of the 6th Sacred Mountain, yet I canât even touch that blasted bug!â
âThis kid is truly frightening.â
The Enchanting Empress sighed, waiting for He Xiaofeng to calm down before smiling, âHeâs only clever, while beneath you in every other way.â
He Xiaofengâs face twitched, with blood leaking from his mouth.
[Curses, he is nothing compared to me at all! Is that how you intend to flatter meâŚ]
âMaster! This is bad!â
A disciple burst in, âMaster, our sisters have suffered an attack and fifty people are unconscious!â
âFifty people unconscious without any sign of who did it? They must be incredible. Search the sect!â
The disciple rushed out, just as another entered, âMaster, senior aunt Mei was found unconscious and junior sister Qingcheng is missing!â
He Xiaofeng roared, âChu Qingcheng is my sweetheart, raised for a hundred years for me alone! I wonât have this! I will slaughter any that had a part in this!â
He Xiaofeng vanished before anyone could stop himâŚ
Silavin: Happy Chinese New Year everyone!