As the ship left the area shrouded in dark clouds, the sky outside was pale but not yet bright. On this morning before sunrise, the pale white light at the horizon was like a glimmer of hopeful light anticipated in life.
In the distant sea city, the brilliance belonging to the darkness was gradually fading.
Approaching the distribution centre of the sea city, there were already many boats coming and going nearby. The three martial brothers kept their eyes vigilantly watching in all directions, while inside, the ripples of Iron Miaoqing getting married continued to stir, an indescribable state of mind.
Suddenly, a flower boat appeared among the passing vessels, which was quite rare, as flower boats rarely went far from the coast.
Someone was directing from the bow, and the flower boat headed straight for the two ferry boats here. The person directing at the bow was none other than Pang Chengqiu, who had brought someone along with him, the proprietress of the Jinghong Hall, Gu Qingzhao. Her features were like a painting, her charm still lingering, and she gently waved a round fan in her hand.
On the two storey cabin, quite a few experts from the Jinghong Hall were standing up and down.
As the large and small boats drew near and could clearly see the people on board, those on the smaller boats stood up one after another. The hostage they were holding was not released, and instead, the act of holding them hostage became even more tense.
The large and small boats stopped, facing each other in a standoff on the sea.
Standing at the bow, Gu Qingzhao focused her gaze on examining Qingya. Seeing that he was still not dead, she glanced at the hostage Long Xingyun, and then her eyes fell on Yin Shanhe.
Having rushed all the way here, she had already heard the specific details from Pang Chengqiu, knowing that Long Xingyun had failed to murder the Tanhua, but was instead kidnapped by the Tanhua himself.
Looking again at the hostage Qingya before her, she was puzzled. Both parties who had joined forces to harm the Tanhua held an absolute advantage in both strength and numbers. How could they all be dealt with and end up in such a miserable state? It would be a huge joke if told to others.
Of course, she was not too surprised. In her mind, this Tanhua, Yu Qing, indeed had the halo of the Number One Scholar in the World. Previously, even Wang Xuetang and the others had been dealt with by the Tanhua. The fact that these people here had fallen could only make her secretly marvel once again. This is acceptable, truly worthy of being the Number One Scholar in the World!
In her own view, it was only because she was getting old. If she could be thirty years younger, she would definitely chase after this Tanhua.
Seeing Gu Qingzhao arrive with people, Qingya secretly breathed a sigh of relief to some extent.
Eventually, Gu Qingzhao’s gaze met with Yu Qing’s. Yu Qing grinned, and Gu Qingzhao’s attention was immediately drawn to the little moustache curling at the corner of his mouth. She muttered in her heart for not the first time, how ugly!
Everything else was fine, but starting from Yu Qing’s moustache, she truly felt that the Tanhua’s aesthetic sense was really not up to much.
Feigning calm, Gu Qingzhao waved her round fan, smiled, and spoke first, “Tanhua, you summoned me urgently from so far away, for what matter?”
Yu Qing was just about to speak, when unexpectedly Long Xingyun spoke before him, “Proprietress, this villain is here. He summoned you, so he must have a treacherous plot. You must be careful.”
As soon as these words were spoken, Yin Shanhe once again wore a speechless expression, almost predicting what would happen next.
However, to his surprise, Yu Qing did not rush to act this time. He looked at Long Xingyun as if he were a rare treasure, making Long Xingyun feel rather creeped out.
The next moment, Yu Qing still did not indulge his bad habits. He waved his hand, and slap! A resounding slap landed right on his mouth.
This time he struck rather hard, directly causing blood to spurt from Long Xingyun’s mouth and nose, nearly knocking him unconscious.
This scene secretly shocked Gu Qingzhao. She thought to herself that this Tanhua had immense audacity to openly humiliate the Young Master of the Chilan Pavilion. She immediately looked at Yin Shanhe’s reaction, only to find that Yin Shanhe turned a blind eye and showed no reaction at all.
Yu Qing again “respected” Yin Shanhe as usual, “Senior Shanhe, I was forced into this. I said it, if he does not offend me, I will not offend him.”
The corners of Yin Shanhe’s mouth twitched slightly, but he still remained silent and gave no reaction.
Afterwards, Yu Qing held Long Xingyun tightly. He dipped his finger in the fresh blood oozing from Long Xingyun’s mouth and nose, then adjusted to an angle where no one else could see. Using his finger as a brush, he repeatedly dipped the blood and wrote a line of words on the back of Long Xingyun’s clothes, “To save Qingya, have your godmother come to see me.”
After finishing writing, he grabbed the clothes and tore off a large piece with a swish. He crumpled it into a ball, channelled his energy, and threw it towards Gu Qingzhao, who was standing on the large boat.
Gu Qingzhao caught it in one hand, somewhat puzzled, and was just about to slowly shake it open to see what it was.
Seeing Pang Chengqiu also leaning in to look, Yu Qing immediately reminded him, “Proprietress, I think it is better to keep it private. It is more appropriate for you to look at it alone.”
Hearing this, Pang Chengqiu was stunned and had to pull his head back.
Gu Qingzhao and Yu Qing exchanged glances. Seeing Yu Qing nod in indication, she looked left and right, then slowly turned her body sideways. Using the round fan in her hand to half cover herself, she spread out the torn cloth to examine it.
Qingya was just wondering what was written on the torn cloth, when he saw Gu Qingzhao’s face change drastically. It was as if she had seen something extremely shocking. The just spread cloth was quickly crumpled up, and she even directly channelled her energy to shatter the cloth into powder.
Actually, Yu Qing was also closely observing her reaction upon seeing the content written on the cloth. Seeing this, he became even more certain in his heart.
Meanwhile, Gu Qingzhao had suddenly turned her head and glared at Qingya, saying coldly, “Qingya, what kind of nonsense did you tell him?”
Qingya was intimidated by her reaction and said in confusion, “Did I say anything? I did not say anything.”
His face showed a bewildered sense of grievance.
Those who were unaware, including Yin Shanhe, seeing this, were all somewhat curious as to what exactly Yu Qing had written on the torn cloth to cause such a huge reaction from this woman.
Gu Qingzhao hesitated to speak, but some topics simply could not be discussed in public. She could only glare coldly at Yu Qing and say in a deep voice, “What are you trying to do?”
Yu Qing said, “What I intend to do is written clearly. I shall trouble you with this.”
With a cold face, Gu Qingzhao’s eyes flickered for a moment before she asked, “Could this not be said after landing on shore? Must you make me rush back and forth in such a hurry?”
Yu Qing replied, “It is more appropriate to communicate some matters before landing on shore. I promised Senior Shanhe that I would release Young Master Long when we land.”
The ignorant bystanders could not understand the hidden meaning in these words, but Gu Qingzhao understood it at once. This fellow was putting on such a show simply to let Yin Shanhe see it, or rather, to let the merfolk of the sea tribe ferrying them see it as well.
Anyone who saw the previous scene would definitely be curious about what exactly was written on that cloth to make her so nervous. No perfect explanation relying solely on her own words would be enough.
It concerned her background, as well as Yin Shanhe’s background. Once certain things were dragged into it, it would become very complicated. But at the end of the day, this Tanhua was afraid of dying. He was afraid of retaliation because of the matter with Qingya, and was reminding her that if something happened to him, they would not be comfortable either, and might face intense scrutiny from the Qianliu Mountain.
She spoke no more, immediately turned her head and body, and shouted, “Turn around, go back!”
Under her command, the flower boat immediately turned around.
Qingya also shouted immediately, “Gu Qingzhao, what do you mean?”
Gu Qingzhao, with her back turned and her mind heavy with thoughts, simply ignored him.
Pang Chengqiu, standing to the side, was also shocked. “Proprietress, are you just going to leave Master Qing behind like this?”
Gu Qingzhao turned her head and glanced at the miserable Qingya. Her attention was clearly no longer on him. She only gave a faint reply, “You stay and keep him company. We will discuss the rest later.”
“…”
Pang Chengqiu was rendered speechless for a moment, but eventually cupped his hands to accept the order. He flashed upwards and landed back on the ferry boat that Yin Shanhe and the others were on.
The turned around flower boat was clearly moving faster than when it arrived, speeding away from the scene at full speed. It could truly be said that it came in a hurry and left in a hurry.
Coming with such a massive display of force, only to run away after a few words upon meeting? Some people present were indeed very surprised, not knowing what the trick was.
The two small boats also moved forward once again.
Qingya had already fixed his gaze on Yu Qing, his face full of suspicion as he asked, “Tanhua, what exactly did you write on that torn cloth?”
Yu Qing glanced at this fellow who secretly cursed him as the dog Tanhua and said, “You will naturally know later.”
Long Xingyun chimed in again, “What else could he do? He naturally harbours evil intentions.”
Yu Qing was truly convinced by this guy. “Young Master Long, if you keep being so full of backbone, do you believe that when we land on shore later, I will strip you naked and put you on public display, so everyone can properly admire the bone structure of the Young Master of the Chilan Pavilion?”
As soon as these words were spoken, Long Xingyun was greatly shocked. “You dare!”
Yin Shanhe finally spoke up. “A Shiheng, do not go too far.”
Hearing this, Nan Zhu could not help but smile at the corners of his mouth. Even the shocked and uncertain Qingya could not help but grin. The speaker had no hidden meaning, but the listener took it to heart, feeling as if Yin Shanhe was implying that slapping Long Xingyun’s face was not even considered going too far.
Yu Qing, however, complained there, “Senior Shanhe, I have truly never seen such a person. I really do not want to slap his face again, but I have to find a way to shut him up, right?” He turned back to the furious Long Xingyun and said, “Young Master Long, later you can choose whether to shut your mouth or want to get stripped naked for everyone to see. It is up to you.”
Long Xingyun looked as if he hated him so much his teeth itched, but the effect was obvious. He indeed did not dare to talk back to Yu Qing again.
Yu Qing turned his head and said to Pang Chengqiu, “I suppose you also do not wish the public of the sea city to see Master Qing in such a miserable state. I trouble you to make another trip and prepare a carriage on the shore. This should not be difficult for you to achieve, right?”
Pang Chengqiu, with a straight face, looked at Qingya for his meaning. Seeing Qingya nod slightly, he said nothing more, flew up again, and headed straight for the coast.
Actually, the two ferry boats were already not far from the coast. As they drew near, Pang Chengqiu had already prepared the carriage on the shore and slightly cleared the area. At the same time, he flew over and threw out cloaks and things similar to bedsheets, wanting to maintain Qingya’s dignity and not wanting his appearance to be seen by others.
Dawn broke across the horizon, and the prosperity and liveliness by the coast remained as before. Abandoning the boats and landing on the shore was imminent, and it was also time for the three martial brothers to fulfil their promise.
The boats stopped not far from the shore.
Yu Qing had no intention of breaking his word. There was no way he could afford the consequences of completely tearing up their relationship. However, upon parting with Long Xingyun, he had some words to give him. “Young Master, I have offended you along the way. I know you want to take revenge on me. Actually, I really wanted to kill you to eliminate future troubles, but alas, although you have no ability, you have a capable mother. Actually, you are also very clear in your heart. You indeed have no ability. You are just a piece of trash relying on your mother for protection. Away from the power of the Chilan Pavilion, you are nothing, not even qualified to put on an act. If you are not clear about this, you can secretly ask others in the cultivation world and see if you are not a useless piece of trash mocked by everyone. No matter how much more I say, there is nothing I can do. I do not have as good a background as you, and I dare not provoke the Chilan Pavilion. I can only let you go, let you go back to complain, and let you find a backer before coming back to pluck up your courage for revenge. Sigh, meeting such an unweaned and clingy little man is truly a headache. Consider me unlucky.”
Qingya, standing to the side, could not help but laugh upon hearing this.
Yin Shanhe watched with cold eyes and said nothing.
Long Xingyun’s face was so gloomy it could drip water. He originally did not want to speak, afraid of being stripped naked and put on public display, but at this moment he could not help but reply, “Why say so many useless things? You are just afraid I will deal with you, wanting to use goading tactics to provoke me into single combat.”
Yu Qing looked him up and down, finding that although this fellow had a personality, he was not entirely stupid, so he nodded and said, “You can think that if you want. If you dare to come find me for single combat, I will respect you as a man. As long as you dare to fight me alone, I will accept the challenge at any time. If you can defeat me with your own personal strength, I will be completely convinced, let you dispose of me as you see fit, and die without resentment. The question is, do you dare?”
Long Xingyun gritted his teeth and said, “Fine, you wait!”
Yu Qing said resolutely, “Good, it is a deal!”
Having finished speaking, he casually pushed, sending Long Xingyun flying away, while the three martial brothers simultaneously held onto Qingya as a hostage and flew onto the shore.