Chapter 98: One out of Fifty
The night was as quiet as dead water. The wind was as sharp as the edge of a blade. Xu Qing sliced through the silent night like a saber.
A fight had started, and Xu Qing didn’t care about anything else. The Merfolk cultivators had come after him, and therefore, he would kill them! It didn’t matter if they were associated with Third Highness. Since they had attacked him, he was already prepared to deal with Third Highness if he had to. Worst case scenario... after he killed the Merfolk, he could leave Seven Blood Eyes and go out to sea. He really didn’t want to do that, but since things were already in motion, he would if he had to.
Right now, he pushed forward at top speed, getting closer and closer to the mermaid. Unfortunately, she had a very strong cultivation base, and a lot of talisman treasures. She was also burning her cultivation base in her attempt to escape. As he got closer, she suddenly pulled out three talisman treasures that seemed to function just like flight talismans.
In the blink of an eye, she accelerated with astonishing speed, leaving Xu Qing behind as she shot toward a certain harbor.
Despite getting some distance away from Xu Qing, she wasn’t feeling at ease. From the moment the three attendants had been killed, and her sister grievously wounded, she had been thrown into a state of utter anxiety. Xu Qing’s ruthlessness put her more at fear for her life than she had ever been. What was worse, the coldness in his eyes caused her to tremble to the core of her being.
Up ahead in the harbor, she spotted a familiar dharmaboat, and it was only then that she started to feel less terrified. In fact, hope appeared on her face. She’d stopped wondering why her dharma protectors hadn’t come to her aid, and was only focused on reaching that dharmaboat as quickly as possible. That was where she could find shelter.
You killed my cousin. You killed my family. You got me in this bedraggled state. Xu Qing... I’m going to have Third Highness expel you from Seven Blood Eyes! And then I’ll get my revenge!
The mermaid gritted her teeth, and her eyes turned red as she burned her own blood to get even more speed.
Meanwhile, Xu Qing’s eyes were as cold as ice. He could tell that his target was heading toward Third Highness’ dharmaboat, and in fact, he could already see the luxurious craft off in the distance. It was lit with lamps, and the sound of singing and dancing could be heard from inside. That only caused Xu Qing’s killing intent to grow more intense. Burning the flight talisman for everything it was worth, he sped up. However, that was still too slow.
Moments later, the mermaid’s act of burning her own blood earned her enough speed that she leaped onto Third Highness’ dharmaboat. Staggering as she landed, she shrieked for help.
“Help me, my love!”
Almost instantly, a group of Third Highness’s retainers jumped out to surround her protectively.
At the same time, Third Highness flew out from the cabin and to the mermaid’s side, a look of astonishment on his face. He looked at her bedraggled state, like a begonia pelted by rain in a storm, and his face filled with tenderness.
“Why are you crying, my belle? Who’s been bullying you?” Then he looked at her younger sister, gasping breathlessly. Anger appeared on his face. “How did you end up like this?”
That was when Xu Qing arrived at Third Highness’ dharmaboat. Stepping into the water outside the boat, he looked at Third Highness holding the mermaid.
Gritting her teeth in grief and indignation, she pointed at Xu Qing and said, “It was him, my love! This Xu Qing killed my cousin! My sister and I went to talk things over with him, but the evil villain destroyed her body and killed our attendants. I had to burn my own blood to get here in time. You have to take charge of the situation, my love! Whether for personal reasons or the alliance, we Merfolk aren’t going to let this matter go. And look at the state my sister is in!”
At this time, the younger sister’s eyes opened, and she looked up at Third Highness and let loose a string of curses.
After hearing everything, Third Highness’s eyes looked as cold as ice as he slowly said, “What incredible gall! This is completely outrageous! Do you have a death wish?”
The retainers all started pulsing with deadly and somber auras.
Xu Qing stood there silently, his daoist robe swaying in the sea breeze, and his long hair dancing behind him. He looked at Third Highness, and then he looked at the sea beyond the port. He had made his decision.
Meanwhile, the mermaid breathed a sigh of relief, while simultaneously glaring at Xu Qing with venomous hatred. She already knew exactly how she was going to deal with Xu Qing. In fact, she felt like her younger sister’s earlier suggestion was too tame. She would do ten times worse, and would make sure that Xu Qing regretted ever existing.
“Many thanks, my love. Please, make sure this—”
“You misunderstood, baby,” Third Highness interrupted gently. “I meant that you have a lot of gall.”
Stunned, the mermaid looked up at Third Highness. “My love, you....”
He looked like he always did; loving, compassionate, and tender. His eyes seemed full of love. In fact, she wondered if she’d misheard him, and was about to ask him to repeat what he said. But then, Third Highness reached up like he usually did to stroke her hair, and instead slammed his palm onto the crown of her head.
A pop rang out as a tremor passed through the mermaid. Then her head exploded. Blood sprayed out in a mist, and her headless corpse flopped onto the ground.
Seeing this, Xu Qing’s pupils constricted.
This was unexpected.
Off to the side, the cursing young sister was flabbergasted. Her expression changed from one of weakness and pain into intense shock and disbelief. That was especially the case considering Third Highness looked as tender and loving as he always did, with the exception of the blood on his hands. The younger sister felt like her mind was playing tricks on her. She just couldn’t believe that the person who had held her and her sister so closely in his arms, had just killed her sister. If his facial expression had changed, for instance becoming cold and sinister, it would have been easier to accept. But the fact that his face remained as compassionate as ever caused the younger sister to tremble uncontrollably.
“My love...” she said, her eyes filling with terror.
Wiping his hands clean, Third Highness smiled warmly at the younger sister, then glanced at Xu Qing. “Please forgive my lack of manners, Junior Brother. Can I help you with something?”
Xu Qing’s hair stood on end as he looked at the smiling, tender Third Highness, and then the corpse on the deck of the boat, and then the terrified head of the younger sister, who had obviously been poisoned, and wouldn’t live long.
Xu Qing had never encountered anyone like this before. Third Highness’s words and actions truly had him trembling with fear. There was no way he could ever have predicted this outcome, and had actually been in the middle of planning his escape from Seven Blood Eyes. After quietly looking at Third Highness’s genial smile, Xu Qing clasped hands and bowed. Then, heart full of vigilance, he left.
Some distance away, he looked back and saw Third Highness standing there on the boat. Looking at him, Xu Qing couldn’t help but recall the image of him gently killing that young mermaid.
Obviously, Third Highness was an extremely dangerous person!
***
After watching Xu Qing disappear into the distance, the smiling Third Highness looked over at the younger sister’s head. Eyes full of tender warmth, he said, “You and your sister were wonderful, baby. I couldn’t have accomplished Master’s mission without you. Plus, I was able to do a favor to the little fiendish killer from Sealizard Island. Not bad. Not bad at all. I like you even more now.”
In response to his warm words, the younger sister’s expression became one of absolute terror. Then, she opened her mouth to speak. Before she could, Third Highness lifted his foot and stomped it down. The head exploded.
Looking regretful, he said, “Ai. Now I’ll only be able to relish your tenderness in my memories.”
The surrounding retainers kept their heads bowed, and not daring to even look at Third Highness, started cleaning the gore off the deck. Before long, the deck looked as good as new. Then one of the retainers produced a crystal bottle which he handed reverently to Third Highness.
“Third Highness,” he said. “We caught the Merfolk dharma protectors red-handed. We have them captive now.”
“Very good,” Third Highness said with a smile. “Go to the Merfolk and explain that I can help them cover up the incident of the dharmaboat blueprints stolen from Seven Blood Eyes. However, in exchange, I want an ancient teardrop from the Merfolk royal clan. Have it sent over here immediately.”
Having said that, he took the bottle and took a drink of the nutritional tonic within. After handing it back to the retainer, he walked out into the air, then shot in the direction of the Seventh Peak.
It didn’t take him long to reach the summit. There in a grand hall was Master Seventh, sitting in front of a Go board, deep in thought. Across the board from him was the same servant from before. [1]
Looking up solemnly at the servant, he said, “You played the wrong move!”
The servant looked down at the board, picked up one of the pieces, and then put it down in a different spot.
“Are you seriously trying to take back your move?” Master Seventh snapped. “Don’t you know that taking back a move counts as losing? You just lost!” Swiping his hand across the board and scattering the pieces, he looked over at Third Highness.
“Well met, Master,” Third Highness said. His tone of voice was completely different than moments before. He sounded very respectful as he kowtowed.
“What’s going on?” Master Seventh asked coolly.
“Master, I got to the bottom of the Merfolk situation. Things didn’t go exactly as planned, but in the end, it all worked out.
“They really were here at the behest of the Seazombies, trying to steal dharmaboat blueprints from the Seventh Peak. We caught them red-handed. I also confirmed that, in order to curry favor with the Seazombies, the Merfolk secretly built a Corpse Tower to offer as blood tribute.
“The proof is here on this jade slip. It also contains a list of four names, those being sect honor guards who are on the payroll of the Merfolk Isles.” With that, Third Highness offered a jade slip forward with both hands.
Master Seventh made a grasping gesture, and the jade slip flew over to him. After looking at the list of names, his face turned cold. However, he didn’t say anything.
Next, Third Highness trembled slightly as he lowered his voice and said, “There’s something I need to apologize for. That Merfolk prince killed some commoner children. He was working together with his two older cousins. I didn’t realize what was going on, and for that, I accept any punishment you give me, Master.”
Master Seventh actually looked somewhat relieved. “You broke the rules, therefore, confine yourself to the Bone-Scorching Cavern for seven days.”
Upon hearing the words ‘Bone-Scorching Cavern,’ Third Highness shivered. Bowing his head, he voiced his affirmation then departed.
Watching his apprentice leave, Master Seventh stood and looked down the mountain toward the port. It seemed he was focusing on Harbor 79.
A moment later, he shifted his gaze to the open sea.
Off to the side, his servant quietly said, “The Merfolk aren’t idiots. It seems unlikely that they would brazenly attempt to steal our dharmaboat blueprints....”
“Third Sib is greedy for profit,” Master Seventh said, “and I know he’s not above playing games. But he wouldn’t dare to fabricate evidence of a Corpse Tower. The Merfolk... have been getting close with the Seazombies, who are the sworn enemies of Seven Blood Eyes. The Merfolk have some wild ambitions, that much is obvious. It seems all the financial aid we sent them, and all the disciples that died for their sake... mean nothing. In that case, we’re going to take back what we're owed. Principal and interest.” [2]
Master Seventh’s eyes glittered coldly as he looked out at the open sea.
1. If you’re ever reading a xianxia, wuxia, or xuanhuan novel, and the translation says that the characters are “playing chess,” it’s highly likely (but not necessarily guaranteed) that they are playing the game of Go. If you want to learn more about the game, which is very fun to play incidentally, just google it. In a word, it involves placing black and white pieces down onto the board to “control territory.” Here’s a picture of what it looks like when it’s played in an ancient Chinese setting. ☜
2. The Chinese term I’m translating as “Third Sib” is a common form of address used to rank children (or apprentices in a situation like this). The Big Sib would be the oldest child, Second Sib would be second oldest, and so-on. Or in an apprentice relationship, the Big Sib would be the senior-ranking apprentice. ☜