Chapter 198: No, I’ll Take the Blame!
When he was far enough away that no one could see him, Wu Jianwu shivered. His face went pale, and his eyes flickered with astonishment. Sweat pouring down his forehead, he took a very deep breath.
What happened? Two flames?? That fiendish killer was terrible enough before. Now that he has two life flames, he’d definitely be able to kill me if I ran into him outside the sect!!
Heart pounding, he came to the conclusion that he definitely couldn’t leave the sect for the next few months.
Thanks to my quick wits, I managed to give him a lot of face. I even paid the fine for him. He’s a reasonable person, right? Next time we run into each other he won’t try to kill me. Will he? Ah, what a headache.... No. I’m not going out of my mansion grotto until I have two life flames!
Meanwhile, back outside Dreamsense Mansion, Xu Qing stood in the rain, a strange look on his face.
The Mute was completely taken aback, and Xu Xiaohui looked dumbfounded.
Ling’er blinked suspiciously, and the old innkeeper seemed speechless.
These people were right at the epicenter of the event, and all of them knew that Xu Qing hadn’t said a single thing. He had only taken a ready stance, and then Wu Jianwu had suddenly started spouting all sorts of balderdash. Combined with his laughter and loud voice, it had almost seemed like he was exchanging voice messages with Xu Qing. And apparently it had involved an invitation to dinner.
It was all so convincing that anyone who simply overheard Wu Jianwu would think it was all a real conversation, would come to the conclusion that Wu Jianwu really admired Xu Qing, and would believe that the two of them were good friends who respected each other a lot. Furthermore, it seemed that because Wu Jianwu had refused Xu Qing’s invitation repeatedly, Wu Jianwu had felt obligated to pay the fine for killing an Offpeak disciple.
A loud crunch broke the silence as the Captain got to his feet, munching his apple as he walked over to the window, where he looked down at Xu Qing and blinked a few times. Very impressive acting, Little Jianjian. I admit I’m surprised.
Xu Qing looked up and noticed that the Captain had all four of his limbs intact. An odd look appeared in Xu Qing’s eyes. The Captain had recovered very quickly this time. But considering how quickly he’d regrown his lost limbs, Xu Qing had to guess that he didn’t use a cultivation technique or medicinal pill, but rather some gruish ability.
Meanwhile, Ling’er took advantage of the innkeeper’s shocked state to wriggle out of his grasp, slither out of the window, and approach Xu Qing.
Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed briefly, but then he saw the snake’s eyes, and they seemed familiar, as if they’d met before. Those eyes did not contain any killing intent, but rather, pure happiness.
“Coo. Cooooo.”
Looking very happy, the snake shrank down, becoming much more slender, and turning into a snow white color. Wrapping around Xu Qing’s arm, she looked at him with wide, adorable eyes. [1]
“Coo. Coooooo. Coo.
“Coo coo.”
When the innkeeper saw what was happening, his heart sank, and he was about to start scolding the snake. But then Xu Qing looked up at him with cold eyes.
The innkeeper shivered and thought back to the time Xu Qing had almost killed him. Feeling both grief and indignation, he realized that whenever a girl had to pick between her sweetheart and her father, who had spent so much blood, sweat, and tears raising her, she would usually pick the former. His heart sank further.
No. I won’t compromise. That brat is no good. He’s definitely not the right match for Ling’er. Mind racing, he suddenly raised his voice and said, “Coo. Coooooooo!”
He didn’t dare to speak the language of humans, and instead spoke Ling’er’s language. He had just told her that if she wanted to be with Xu Qing forever, she had to be able to shapechange permanently. And if she wanted to do that, she needed to reach Foundation Establishment. Thus, they needed to go.
Ling’er obviously didn’t want to leave Xu Qing. But after circling around his arm softly once more, she dropped to the ground and raced back to the old innkeeper.
The innkeeper breathed a sigh of relief. Feeling very pleased with himself, he hurried away.
As they left, Xu Qing could hear the sound of cooing echoing in their wake.
“Alright, Deputy Director Xu,” the Captain said from the window. “Enough of that. Come have a few drinks with your boss.” He beckoned at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing thought about it for a moment, then turned and nodded at Xu Xiaohui, indicating that she should leave.
Xu Xiaohui bit her lip. Heart full of gratitude, she dropped to her knees in the rain and kowtowed to Xu Qing, knocking her forehead against the ground. Then she left.
The Mute didn’t leave. He walked over and squatted outside of Dreamsense Mansion in the same spot where Li Zelin had been.
Xu Qing didn’t say anything. In a flash, he shot through the window and into the private dining room, where he took a seat at the table. Back when the Captain had returned, there were certain things he’d wanted to ask about the Captain’s bedraggled state, but hadn’t because of Zhang San’s presence.
“Captain, why did the statue’s nose explode?” he asked, sounding very serious. He felt like he absolutely had to ask this question. If he didn’t, then given the Captain’s suspicious personality, he definitely wouldn’t be able to feel at ease. And of course, Xu Qing wanted the Captain to feel at ease.
“You don’t know?” the Captain said, taking a bite of an apple and grinning at Xu Qing.
Looking surprised, Xu Qing shook his head.
“Come on, my deputy director. Don’t forget that I taught you all your acting skills. We both know exactly why the statue’s nose exploded. You can’t fool me.”
Having finished his apple, the Captain took out a pear and bit into it.
“This time, I’ll take the blame,” the Captain continued, looking very mysterious and solemn. “After all, I am your boss. I won’t even charge you spirit stones for it. I only have two requirements.”
Xu Qing frowned, looking a bit hesitant.
Seeing that, the Captain took out another pear and tossed it to Xu Qing.
“Allow me to explain. It’s that reason. Yeah, I saw it all with my own eyes.” He sighed. “Whatever. Let me explain my two requirements. What’s the first?” Sounding very grave, he continued, “It’s that you can never, ever bring up the story of me disguising myself as Third Princess. That slate is wiped clean! What’s the second? It’s that you still have to pay me the 100,000 spirit stones you owe!! If you agree to those stipulations, then I’ll take the blame for you for the Seazombie incident.”
The Captain inhaled deeply, then bit the pear in half and looked closely at Xu Qing to see his reaction.
Xu Qing sat there quietly for a moment, then shook his head. “Since it was my fault, I’ll just announce it publicly. I’ll tell everyone that I did it. I should be the #1 on the bounty list. I was the mastermind behind the zombie ancestor statue incident. As for you, Captain, you were simply an accomplice.”
Having said that, Xu Qing stood to leave.
All of a sudden, the Captain looked nervous. Obviously he felt proud of being the mastermind, and in his attempt to blackmail Xu Qing, had made a fool of himself in trying to be clever.
Clearing his throat, he chuckled and said, “Ah, look at you. You’re so serious. I was just joking around! I was responsible for everything. I was the mastermind. And there’s nobody who can take that away from me!”
“No, it was me,” Xu Qing said, sounding very serious.
“It wasn’t you. It was me!” The Captain now sounded even more anxious.
“No, it wasn’t. It was me!” Xu Qing stared at the Captain.
Sounding incomparably serious, the Captain said, “Xu Qing, I have to give you some constructive criticism here. I’m stating very plainly that it wasn’t you. Therefore, it wasn’t. It was me!”
Xu Qing suddenly looked uncertain. “It really was you?”
“Of course it was me! I ate Joine’s flesh, then took a bite of the statue. The power of Joine’s flesh erupted, creating a chain reaction within the divine likeness that resulted in the explosion. It was a reaction to the godliness! After I got back, I read through some of the ancient records, and found that both Joine and the Seazombies share some common ancestry. That’s clearly why her aura provoked a reaction from the zombie ancestor statue!”
Xu Qing looked stunned. After some thought, he nodded. But then he looked hesitant, and was about to ask another question, when the Captain rose and laughed heartily.
“Sorry, little Junior Brother, but I have another matter to attend to. I’ll see myself out. Don’t think too much about this. The whole thing really was my fault. Ai. There’s so much to handle at work. I really wish it wasn’t like this.... By the way, it won’t be long now before I’ll get the information I need about that big plan I mentioned. Then I can explain everything.”
The Captain hurried out of the private dining room. Once he was down on the street, he pulled out another apple, took a bite, then sighed.
It seems like it really wasn’t the brat who did it. So, was I actually the one at fault? Hmm. Yeah, I guess it was me.
It seemed reasonable, and the Captain actually felt wonderful about that. After all, as the boss, it made sense that he would be the mastermind.
Back in the private dining room, Xu Qing breathed a sigh of relief. At long last, he felt he could rest at ease.
After all that, I doubt the Captain will suspect me.
Feeling satisfied with how everything ended up, he left Dreamsense Mansion and headed back to his berth. There, he worked on his cultivation and waited in anticipation to hear about the Captain’s big plan.
A month passed.
During that time, the war with the Seazombies reached a critical point.
Countless species were watching, because... after occupying those three fortified islands, there was nothing blocking Seven Blood Eyes’ path to the Seazombies ancestral land. And thus began a general offensive to take the main island!
Meanwhile, Harbor 176’s museum finally opened for business.
Zhang San did a spectacular job of fusing together the two pieces of the nose, to the point where it was almost impossible to tell that they weren’t one unified nose. He had also added two everburning flames to the exhibit.
And the patriarch’s calligraphy hung over it all.
The opening of the museum caused a big stir in the sect. Out on the battlefield, the patriarch and all the other top members of the sect were very supportive. It also caused a commotion among surrounding peoples on the sea, many of whom couldn’t wait to come see the exhibit.
Harbor 176 was soon busier than it had ever been. People poured in from everywhere. And just as Zhang San had said, they didn’t need to worry about guarding the museum. The sect handled that for them. The Gold Core elders who remained behind in the sect had received orders from the patriarch himself to keep the museum safe.
Also, the reward for Xu Qing and Chen Erniu was finally announced by the patriarch.
“Chen Erniu and Xu Qing will serve as envoy disciples of Seven Blood Eyes. Chen Erniu will be promoted within the echelon. And Xu Qing is hereby added to the echelon! They will both be allowed to summon a projection of the sect’s magical treasure three times! Both will be given a destined opportunity for Gold Core, after the war is over! The above items are the first part of the reward. Further aspects of the reward will be discussed after the war!”
The entire sect was abuzz, firstly, because of the mention of the echelon. The other was because of the use of the term ‘envoy disciple.’
Truth be told, no one in Seven Blood Eyes had any idea what an ‘envoy disciple’ was. That was because, up to this point... there had never been any envoy disciples in Seven Blood Eyes.
Soon enough, people came to know what envoy disciples were.
Xu Qing and the Captain were assigned the task of representing the seven peaklords in receiving and entertaining visitors who came to see the zombie ancestor’s nose.
1. I’m fairly certain this is the first time in the story that Ling’er is described as being the color white in her snake form. The fact that a white snake is interested in Xu Qing is interesting/relevant because there’s a famous Chinese story called Legend of the White Snake, centered around a romance between a man named Xu Xian (same surname as Xu Qing) and a snake spirit. It’s not to say that Legend of the White Snake will be mirrored in this story. But it is interesting to ponder whether the author intentionally took inspiration from the legend. Or not. . ☜