Chapter 199: A Drama Featuring Two Phoenixes
The so-called ‘envoy disciples’ were basically outward-facing representatives of Seven Blood Eyes. When nonhumans came to visit Seven Blood Eyes, they would interact with Xu Qing and the Captain, and in turn, that would remind them of how badly the Seazombies had lost face thanks to those two. And thanks to the museum, many nonhumans were coming to visit. As a result, Xu Qing and the Captain were both very busy.
At the moment, Xu Qing stood at the entrance of Harbor 176 awaiting a group of nonhumans as evening deepened.
Thanks to the glow of the setting sun, his unusually attractive face was clearly visible. As the sea breeze blew, his hair drifted like a black waterfall, concealing the coldness and irritation in his eyes.
This was the seventh group of nonhumans that Xu Qing had received after the patriarch had appointed him an envoy disciple half a month ago. He still wasn’t used to it, and in fact, he simply hated this kind of assignment. He didn’t like putting on a show for people, and it made him feel very unsafe. That said, though ‘envoy disciple’ was just a title and nothing more, it did provide him a measure of protection.
It actually dispelled malicious intentions in many. After all... it meant that he was the official face of Seven Blood Eyes. On the other hand, having public duties ensured that if something dangerous did happen, it would be far more dangerous than an ordinary situation.
Xu Qing had heard about the echelon before. Seven Blood Eyes and the Seazombies both had such groups, though they were different. In the past, the echelon referred to the successor apprentices of the peaklords of the seven peaks. Getting into the echelon meant you had a very special status, as the peaklords were picked from within the echelon. They also received greater compensation from the sect. As for Xu Qing, he was the only disciple in the echelon who wasn’t an apprentice of a peaklord.
Chen Erniu got promoted within the echelon.... That means he must be the Eldest Brother of the Seventh Peak.
Xu Qing was certain of that, yet at the same time, felt that the Captain had even bigger secrets. Given that, Xu Qing felt like he didn’t have any options. There was no way he could refuse the patriarch’s assignment.
The sea breeze lifted his hair, brushing against his face and interrupting his train of thought. Looking up, he impatiently murmured, “Why aren’t they here yet?”
“Elder Brother Xu, I heard that the Seastar people all have strange starfish attached to their backs. Normally speaking, they avoid daylight, so considering it’s almost night, I imagine they’ll be here soon.”
Xu Qing wasn’t waiting there alone. There were over thirty disciples standing behind him. The Captain had handled the details. He was a lot more interested in assignments like this.
The Captain was the one who made the assignments for the disciples, and Xu Qing was like his trump card. If a visiting group was made up of mostly female cultivators, the Captain would be sure to have Xu Qing join them. Sure enough, whenever Xu Qing showed up, female nonhuman cultivators who came to visit the nose museum would be very curious about him. Xu Qing had originally refused to cooperate, until he realized that if his missions were focused on female-majority groups, he would actually have fewer missions overall.
The Captain, worrying that Xu Qing would feel out of sorts, had arranged for two fellow disciples he was familiar with to be his assistants.
One of them was the person who had just spoken. Gu Muqing. [1]
Gu Muqing had a soft voice, and her refined, delicate good looks made her seem like a stunning lotus in a vase. She had a faint smile and an immature, energetic air to her. Her orange daoist robe clung to her like the brilliant evening clouds.
Seeing how Gu Muqing was acting, Ding Xue stepped forward and said, “Elder Brother Xu, the Seastar people are really pushing it! I can’t believe they’re late. I guess it doesn’t matter, though. Did I mention I just got accepted by the Seven Sect Coalition? Once the war is over, I’ll go there to study the dao of plants and vegetation. Eventually, I’ll be so important I can force the Seastars to come in person to apologize to you! Elder Brother, I’ve been studying really hard lately. If you want, you can give me a quiz!”
As she finished speaking, she flashed a spirit note and a jade slip. [2]
Ding Xue had a sweet disposition, skin as fair as snow, and dark hair. Beneath her straight nose were dainty, rose-colored lips, slightly parted, like a flirtatious rose. When she spoke, she seemed as innocent as an orchid, her glistening eyes so captivating that one could easily become lost in them. Ding Xue was the second assistant the Captain had arranged for Xu Qing.
The two young women were standing on either side of Xu Qing. Both had their own merits, making them as difficult to compare as plums, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums.
Behind the group of three were over thirty Seven Blood Eyes disciples, including Zhao Zhongheng.
Over the past half month, Zhao Zhongheng had sighed too many times to count, yet he still managed to have a smile on his face. As for the other disciples, they all looked at Xu Qing as if they were staring at a divine being.
During the past half month, Gu Muqing and Ding Xue had seemingly got along, but the truth was that they were diametrically opposed to each other. And it was becoming more obvious.
Right now, Gu Muqing was glaring at Ding Xue.
Ding Xue, not wanting to be outdone, raised her eyebrows and pouted slightly. “Elder Sister Gu, even if the Seastar people have a good excuse, that has nothing to do with us. I wouldn’t care if they kept us waiting, but it really irritates me that they’re keeping Big Bro Xu Qing waiting. Don’t tell me you’re fine with that? Big Bro Xu Qing is so hardworking when it comes to cultivation, but now they’re making him stand around. It’s really outrageous.”
Gu Muqing took a deep breath. She was a quiet person who valued elegance, but over the past half month, she had nearly lost her temper on several occasions. She just didn’t have a way with words like Ding Xue. Every time Ding Xue made a scene like this, Gu Muqing inwardly cursed her whorish, slutty ways.
“Ding Xue, why are you always calling me Elder Sister? I’m only seventeen years old. Might I ask how old you are?”
Ding Xue’s eyes turned red, and she bowed her head. “I’m sorry, Elder Sister,” she said quietly. “I... I’m just not good with words. If I said something to offend you, Elder Sister, it was purely an accident. I’m just really worried about Big Bro Xu Qing.”
Veins bulged on Gu Muqing’s forehead, and she struggled to control her breathing.
Meanwhile, the disciples behind them could hear everything they were saying, and many of them were now looking at Ding Xue with deep admiration. As always, Ding Xue came out on top.
Xu Qing glanced curiously at Ding Xue, then Gu Muqing. Then he ignored them. His time spent with them recently had been very strange, and he’d come to the conclusion that they just didn’t get along when on assignments together. He was about to say something when, all of a sudden, a deep rumbling sound could be heard from out at sea.
Looking out into the evening, Xu Qing saw that there were now waves rolling out across the previously tranquil water. As the rumbling sounds grew larger, he spotted a huge, pitch black, star-shaped battleship about 3,000 meters away. Actually, it was a procession, as there were six more battleships of the same type behind the first one. As they emanated shocking pressure in all directions, the seven huge eyes on the mountain peaks glittered with red light, as if inspecting them.
Xu Qing’s expression didn’t change. As long as the spell formation was active in the sect, it would keep things safe. Beyond that, about half a month ago, Sixth Peaklord had returned to the sect to rest and recuperate. With Sixth Peaklord on duty, Xu Qing felt a lot more at ease.
As the seven star-shaped battleships got closer, Xu Qing was able to make out cultivators standing on them. It seemed that each ship had about thirty of them.
The Seastar people looked like humans, with the only difference being that they had blue hair and blue eyes. They also had the strange starfish-like growths on their backs that Gu Muqing had just mentioned.
Altogether, they were coming to Seven Blood Eyes with over two hundred people, and female cultivators made up about seventy percent of that group. As for the three women who led the group, they had terrifying fluctuations that reminded Xu Qing of the three-headed six-armed Seazombie he’d encountered.
The three leaders were middle-aged, and standing in front of them was a beautiful young woman who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen. She had blue hair, wore a beautiful gown, and had unusually pale skin. When she scanned the shore, she barely looked at Gu Muqing and Ding Xue, and instead focused on Xu Qing. She was, in fact, a Seastar princess.
“Honored Seastar guests, welcome to Seven Blood Eyes,” Xu Qing said formally, clasping his hands in greeting.
“You’re Xu Qing?” the Seastar princess said with a smile, eyeing him curiously.
“Yes, ma’am,” Xu Qing replied with a nod. “The hour is late. Tomorrow I’ll take you to see the Seazombie’s holy item.” With that, he turned to the disciples behind him to issue orders. “Take our Seastar friends to their accommodations.”
“Hold on a moment,” the princess said. “Elder Brother Xu Qing, we Seastars absolutely detest the Seazombies. I very much admire you for what you did, so I’d like to give you a gift. Please accept it.”
She gave a meaningful look to her attendants behind her, who took out a conch shell and presented it to Xu Qing.
Xu Qing looked at the young woman.
“Elder Brother Xu Qing, this is a special magical device my people created. Blow the conch shell, and you’ll receive a blessing from us. Also, it can summon all nearby soft-bodied animals from the Forbidden Sea.” With that, she clasped hands and bowed slightly. Meanwhile, all of the other Seastar people were debarking, and most of them were looking at Xu Qing.
Ding Xue frowned slightly, and didn’t seem very pleased. And though Gu Muqing didn’t show it, she also wasn’t very happy.
Ding Xue could guess what all those female Seastars were thinking when they looked at Xu QIng, so she was just about to open her mouth and say something when, all of a sudden, another rumbling sound pierced the evening silence. Figures appeared, flying through the air from the interior of the harbor. The Seastar people all seemed to go on guard, and the three middle-aged women’s eyes glittered.
Xu Qing looked in that direction, and immediately realized that it was the Captain and Second Highness. [3]
The Captain was in such a hurry that, when he arrived, he didn’t even greet the Seastars. Instead, he just looked at Xu Qing and said, “The patriarch just sent word that Eastnether Isle is sending a visitor!”
“Eastnether Isle?” Xu Qing said in surprise.
Off to the side, Ding Xue’s expression flickered, and the three Gold Core Seastars looked visibly surprised.
Sounding very serious, the Captain explained, “The islemaster of Eastnether Isle is an old woman named Guru Eastnether. After the patriarch achieved his breakthrough, his cultivation base reached the same level as hers.... But the visitor isn’t Guru Eastnether. It’s her granddaughter. And she has a violent personality.... You need to be careful.”
Even as the words left his mouth, a huge wave suddenly rose up, rushing toward the harbor with crushing might.
1. We last saw Gu Muqing in chapter 164. She was introduced by name in chapter 94, though appeared in chapters before that. ☜
2. I doubt any of us have forgotten Ding Xue’s last appearance starting in chapter 166. ☜
3. Although we’ve heard a lot about Second Highness from Huang Yan, the last time she appeared ‘on screen’ was in chapter 73. ☜