Book 17, Indigo Prefecture – Chapter 59, Suspicion
Although life within the gorge was peaceful, Linley’s heart was not at peace. He had continually been paying attention to Elder Blue and the others. These Elders all had chosen to sacrifice their most powerful divine clones for the sake of one last act of defiance. After hearing of their accomplishments in battle, Linley’s blood couldn’t help but boil, while at the same time, he felt rather saddened.
“Power. The problem, in the end, is still that our power is inferior to theirs!” Linley stood in front of his room, staring towards the sky, sighing in his heart.
From the Yulan continent to the Infernal Realm, Linley had experienced many things. Naturally, he understood that honor and glory wasn’t something which others would ‘give’ you; it was something you had to fight for and obtain for yourself by relying on your own power! The Four Divine Beasts clan was much weaker than before now, but they still wanted to have as much glory as they had in the past? This was nothing but a dream!
When you had power, others naturally would revere you.
For example, Beirut. He alone was enough to strike terror into the hearts of the eight great clans. A single order from Beirut resulted in the eight great clans not daring to make a single incursion into the Skyrite Mountains!
The Four Divine Beasts clan was in dire straits. Linley, in his heart, wanted to help his clan, but his current level of power was a good deal weaker than Patriarch Gislason. How was he supposed to help the clan? The final conclusion of all that pondering was...Linley still wasn’t strong enough.
“How long will it take for me to train to Lord Beirut’s level?” Linley’s heart was filled with desire...but then he shook his head and laughed.
Beirut and Dunnington could both be said as having reached the very peak of Highgod power. To reach the same level as Beirut was too hard!
“Once I train to the Highgod level, my power should begin to approach the Patriarch’s.” Linley was rather eager. Once he became a Highgod, although his body would still be physically weaker than the Patriarch’s, Linley had his Blackstone Prison.
If a Highgod Linley was to use the Blackstone Prison, the power of the technique would be very close to the level of the technique used by Purgatory Commander Reisgem. Only then would the true power of the Blackstone Prison be put on display!
Linley turned to look towards a nearby area. Bebe was lying on the grass.
“Bebe, what are you doing?” Linley laughed.
“Sky watching.” Bebe lay there, not moving at all. His gaze was focused on the skies. Through the mist, he could see the winding Dragon Avenue.
Bebe would often lie there and stare dumbly at one place, or perhaps at his straw hat. Occasionally, he would go out and have fun with others, but given how well Linley knew Bebe, he understood how Bebe was truly feeling. As more time passed...
Bebe longed for Nisse all the more.
“Bebe.” Linley walked over, sitting on the grass as well, laughing as he looked at Bebe. “Are you thinking about Ninny?”
Bebe was slightly startled, but he still nodded lightly. “Right. I...kind of can’t keep myself from thinking of her. Whenever I’m not focusing on something, I’ll begin to think random, foolish thoughts, at which point I’ll often think of her. However, what’s the point of thinking? Ninny thinks I am dead.”
“Bebe, in a little while, once you become a Highgod, or perhaps once I become a Highgod...let’s make a trip to the Jadefloat Continent.” Linley said.
“Whoah!” Bebe immediately sat up, turning to stare at Linley in shock.
“What, you don’t want to go?” Linley laughed.
Bebe had a rather awkward look on his face. “Boss, this is a rather complicated subject. I...do somewhat want to see her. But think about how her elder brother Salomon treated you. Treated us. If Phusro hadn’t shown us mercy, you and Delia would most likely be dead.”
Linley and Delia truly had nearly died, back then.
If they truly had died, Salomon would indeed have been the instigator and cause of their deaths.
“Whenever I think of Salomon, my belly fills with rage.” A savage light flashed in Bebe’s eyes, but then he said resignedly, “Tell me, if I go see Ninny, if I see Salomon, what should I do?”
Linley couldn’t help but laugh. So this was what sticking in Bebe’s craw, eh?
“No matter what, Bebe, in the end, Delia and I are still alive. In addition, the person you like is Nisse, not her elder brother. Just ignore her elder brother.” Linley urged.
“Ignore? Do you think I’ll be able to ignore him just because you said so?” Bebe pursed his lips resignedly.
Linley suddenly turned to stare towards the skies. A patrol warrior was flying towards him, and as he saw Linley on the ground below, he immediately landed next to Linley. Bowing, he said, “Elder Linley. There’s a woman at the borders of the mountains. She says that she is your friend. Her name is Nisse, and she wants to see you!”
Linley was stunned.
“Nisse?” Bebe immediately stood up, his eyes huge and round. He hurriedly said, “You said that woman is named Nisse, right?” “Right.” The patrol warrior was rather annoyed.
“Tell me, what is she like? Anything special about her?” Bebe said.
The patrol warrior paused momentarily. Describe a woman? This was rather hard. But then, the patrol warrior noticed the straw hat which Bebe was holding. His eyes lit up, and he hurriedly said, “Right. That woman was also wearing a hat on her head that looked identical to yours.”
Bebe was so excited, his face instantly turned red.
Linley felt both extremely shocked and delighted as well. How did Nisse end up coming over here?
“Boss!” Bebe hurriedly turned to look towards Linley. “Quick, slap me twice. See if I’m in a dream or not!” Bebe’s mind was completely numb right now, and he felt as though his body was light and airy, as though he wasn’t completely in touch with reality.
Linley acted quite simply. “WHAP!” He landed a palm blow on Bebe’s shoulder, knocking him straight to the ground.
“Haha, I’m not dreaming, I’m not dreaming.” Bebe instantly crawled back up.
Linley, seeing that Bebe was so excited that he was beginning to tremble, sighed to himself. It had been many years since Bebe had been excited to the point of going crazy.
The outside activities drew Delia out from the room as well. As she walked out, she said, “What just happened?”
“Nisse came. Bebe and I are going to go welcome her.” Linley laughed, then he grabbed Bebe and immediately flew into the air.
“Nisse came?”
Delia was slightly shocked, but moments later, she recovered. “Ninny actually came all the way from the Jadefloat Continent?”
The base of the Skyrite Mountains. Nisse was constantly staring into the depths of the mountains, her heart filled with worry. “What if Bebe doesn’t want to meet me? Will Bebe and Linley still be angry at what had happened in the volcano range that time?”
Worried. Panicked.
Nisse knew that her elder brother had wrongly accused Linley, and even wanted to cause the deaths of Linley and the others.
“Haha, Nisse!” A clear voice rang out.
Nisse couldn’t help but turn her head to look, and as she did, she saw two familiar figures fly towards her, shoulder-to-shoulder. Bebe, like her, wore a straw hat on his head. When Bebe saw Nisse, his eyes immediately lit up, and he was so excited that his speed instantly rose to a new level.
“Swoosh!”
“Bebe!” Nisse excitedly flew over as well.
But just as he drew near her, Bebe’s body suddenly trembled and his speed lessened. But Nisse ignored everything, rushing straight over to Bebe, clutching him in her arms. “Wuuuu...wuuuuu...I thought you wouldn’t want to meet me...wuuuu....” As she spoke, she actually began to cry.
Bebe opened his mouth a few times. In the end, his first words were...“Where is your elder brother?”
Hearing this, Linley didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. Bebe actually asked such an awkward question?
Nisse’s body trembled, and she released Bebe. She stared into Bebe’s eyes, as though she wanted to learn something from them. “My brother is still in the Jadefloat Continent.” Bebe seemed to have realized something, and in a low voice, he said, “This time...you came here by yourself? From the Jadefloat Continent?”
“Right!” Nisse nodded lightly.
“I almost...I almost...almost never would have been able to see you again.” As she spoke, tears once more began to appear in her eyes.
Hearing this, Linley couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath. Nisse was just a God. From Coldcalm Prefecture of the Jadefloat Continent to Indigo Prefecture of the Bloodridge Continent required passing through the Starmist Sea. One could imagine what a difficult journey this was, but Nisse had actually come by herself.
“You...” Bebe was completely stunned.
He had thought that Salomon had escorted Nisse here. The uncomfortable feeling that had been present in Bebe’s heart instantly vanished.
“You...did you want to die?!” Bebe instantly took Nisse into his arms.
Nisse was crying so hard that both her eyes had turned red. But her face was filled with a beautiful, overjoyed smile. Linley just stood there to the side, beaming as he watched. He felt very happy for the two of them, that they were able to have a reunion like this.
“Haha, the two of you have been holding each other for some time now. Do you want to continue to allow all those patrol warriors to watch this little drama?” A while later, Linley finally spoke with a smirk. “Come. Let’s go back first.”
Only now did Nisse and Bebe come to their senses.
Their reunion after a thousand years...they had both been so excited that they hadn’t noticed the passage of time.
Time flowed on. Nisse and Bebe, having reunited, naturally wouldn’t separate again. Bebe changed, once more becoming full of jokes and laughter, and spent every day with a delighted smile on his face. He was so happy he could die.
But although life for Linley and Bebe was comfortable, the eight great clans were frustrated.
Within the main hall of the Boleyn clan.
Four Patriarchs as well as four Deathgod Golem ‘clones’ of four other Patriarchs were gathered together. This meeting of the eight great Patriarchs had just begun.
“In the past few decades, the Four Divine Beasts clan has actually turtle up and refuse to come out. No matter how our clans’ forces challenge and provoke them, they don’t respond at all. What’s going on? Can it be that the Four Divine Beasts clan is admitting defeat?” A deep voice rumbled out.
“Impossible.” A hoarse voice rang out. “Everyone should still remember how savage and insane those Four Divine Beasts clansmen were, thirty years prior to this. It won’t be so easy to make them turtle up and submit.”
“Patriarch Boleyn, that’s not necessarily the case.” A devilish voice rang out.
“Nether Serpent. In the past countless years, have the Four Divine Beasts clan ever submitted? Don’t think so simplistically.” Patriarch Boleyn’s hoarse voice rang out once more.
The Four Divine Beasts clan had always been arrogant, prideful, and unyielding. They had never submitted. This was the impression that the Four Divine Beasts clan had always given others, throughout the countless years. Because the arrogance of the Four Divine Beasts clan had already been deeply engraved into everyone’s hearts, within a short period of time, there were quite a few members of the eight great clans who were unable to believe that the Four Divine Beasts clan would lower their heads and submit.
“As I see it, the Four Divine Beasts clan must be plotting something.” A forceful, unyielding voice rang out. “Their recent reactions have been too bizarre. Everyone, it is best to be careful.”
“Plot. What sort of plot could they have?” A high-pitched voice rang out.
“Enough, everyone.” A gentle voice rang out. “For now, it doesn’t matter whether or not the Four Divine Beasts clan has surrendered, or if they are plotting something. Let’s wait a while and take a good look. After a century, we will know for sure...if they have submitted, or if they are plotting something.”
“Right. I concur.” Patriarch Boleyn said as well.
“I concur.”
The hiding of the Four Divine Beasts clan, for a short period of time, caused the eight great clans to feel suspicious. However, once the Four Divine Beasts clan remained in hiding for a longer period of time, the eight great clans would be completely certain as to what the situation was, at which point, they had other options at hand.
The Skyrite Mountains. Within the gorge.
Today, the gorge was filled with the sounds of celebration and laughter. The surviving Elders of the clan, as well as the four clan leaders, and even many former Elders who had lost their most powerful divine clones had all gathered here on this day.
Because today...
Was the day of Bebe and Nisse’s wedding. Even Beirut, Carolina, and Phusro had hurried over. Today, Bebe was dressed in a very sharp manner, and for once, he was very humbly and courteously greeting every single guest who came.
“Getting married is exhausting.” Bebe secretly grumbled to the nearby Linley.
Linley couldn’t help but laugh. Suddenly, he noticed that Beirut was walking over. “Your grandfather is coming.”
“Haha...” Beirut weighed Bebe with his gaze, nodding in satisfaction. “You look proper today. But Linley, you and Bebe really are something. Bebe and Nisse have been together for a few decades now, but you didn’t even tell me. You only notified me after arranging the wedding.”
Linley could only chuckle.
Nisse had indeed been within the gorge for decades. Originally, Nisse and Bebe weren’t even planning a wedding, but...just a few months ago, Nisse suddenly discovered that she was pregnant!
Bebe and Nisse were both stunned. Having a child while not married? They frantically discussed this matter, then they came to a decision...they had to get married right away!
The two of them immediately wanted to notify everyone. However, Beirut was simply too far away, which was why they had decided to get married half a year later!
Today was the day of the wedding, but Nisse was already quite a few months pregnant and had a big belly. Each time Linley thought of this, he couldn’t help but want to laugh.