Chapter 115 - In Everything I Do, I, Li Sansi…
Chapter 115: In Everything I Do, I, Li Sansi…
There were water ripples on the surface of the Beiluo Lake.
Nie Shuang’s thin upper body was shirtless as he stood on the lakefront with his legs in the water, staring at the lonely boat disappearing on the lake.
His father was heading south toward the Daoists to rescue his mother.
It was unknown whether this trip of his would be successful or not.
A family reunion was something that Nie Shuang had looked forward to for a long time. From the time he could remember, his mother was no longer by his side.
In his mind, there was only the blurry image of his mother’s back, but he had never seen his mother’s face clearly before.
“Father, you must succeed.”
Nie Shuang clenched his fists tightly.
All of a sudden…
A figure appeared behind Nie Shuang.
Nie Shuang turned around and realized that it was Jing Yue, who was carrying a sword box.
“Uncle Jing,” Nie Shuang said.
On Beiluo Lake Island, Nie Shuang was unexpectedly the closest to Jing Yue.
Jing Yue was very talkative and would often even go as far as to teach Nie Shuang some knowledge on cultivation.
“Don’t worry. Your father will surely make it. After all, he is a disciple of White Jade City,” Jing Yue said with a smile as he stroked Nie Shuang’s head.
Nie Shuang smiled as he nodded his head.
“Do well in your cultivation. Don’t be like your useless father. He wasted so many years before he could finally go and bring your mother back. If he can’t even protect the woman he loves, what kind of man is he?” Jing Yue said.
“My father… isn’t useless!”
Nie Shuang’s face reddened.
Jing Yue waved his hand. “Do well in your cultivation, and once you’re able to feel the Spirit Qi, I’ll give you a sword. How’s that sound?”
Nie Shuang’s eyes brightened.
“It’s a deal!”
Jing Yue nodded with a smile.
After that, Nie Shuang turned around with vigor and ran to the bottom of the giant chrysanthemum to practice his cultivation techniques.
Placing his hands behind his back, Jing Yue looked toward the glistening surface of the lake as the smile on his face gradually grew sad.
“Lil Jing! Run!”
“Run! The farther you go, the better. Get out of the village. Get away from the swords of these barbarians. You must live on!”
Jing Yue closed his eyes as many scattered images appeared in front of him.
He could no longer remember the faces of the crying people in those images.
He could only remember the exasperated shouts of “run” and “live on.”
“Father, Mother… I will surely live well.” Jing Yue murmured softly as he looked at the glistening lake surface.
******
North County, Buzhou Peak.
Once again, Li Sansi had arrived at the foot of the mountain on his ox.
He secured the black ox to a nearby tree and then patted the full wine flask attached to his waist.
Li Sansi had traveled over ten miles to the best restaurant in the nearest town to buy the Green Bamboo Leaf Liquor, as he believed that Zhu Long would surely like it.
After interacting with the young girl Zhu Long on Buzhou Peak for a few days, Li Sansi had discovered that Zhu Long could not be any more innocent. She was like a piece of unstained white jade, pure and pristine.
He could not help but want to take care of her.
The only bad thing about the girl was that her alcohol intake was a little too much.
After cultivating at Buzhou Peak for the past few days, Li Sansi could feel that his cultivation powers had increased, and this was something that pleasantly surprised him.
As expected, the fastest way to achieve cultivation progress was to do it at a heavenly abode.
The capacity of his Qi Core was originally 16 wisps of Spirit Qi. After cultivating at Buzhou Peak, it had already filled up to eight wisps.
He climbed up onto Buzhou Peak.
The bluestone was still there, and it had been thoroughly cleaned. Even the leaves that had fallen on it had been cleanly swept off it.
A smile appeared on Li Sansi’s face.
Beside the bluestone, a young girl with closed eyes was sitting by the edge of the cliff, swinging her little feet.
Li Sansi hopped onto the bluestone and lifted his Daoist robe, passing the wineskin to Zhu Long.
“Lil Zhu, have a taste of this light yet strong wine, the Green Bamboo Leaf Liquor.”
Zhu Long’s long eyelashes fluttered as she took the wine.
“Drink slowly. Wine should be drunk slowly for one to enjoy its taste,” Li Sansi reminded.
Zhu Long nodded, and with a gurgling mouthful… not a drop of wine was left in the wineskin.
Li Sansi was rendered speechless.
However, he was already used to it, so he laughed and retrieved the long flute from his waist and sat down on the bluestone. Then he started playing a beautiful melody.
The girl swung her legs as she listened to the tunes of the flute.
Below Buzhou Peak.
Suddenly, the thundering sounds of horses’ hooves could be heard.
“According to the descriptions given by those villagers, this must be a Dragon Raising Site… Those who occupy the Dragon Raising Site will get the Immortal encounter!” An ironclad sergeant stated.
“Send a message to the mayor and inform him that we have discovered a Dragon Raising Site in North County!” The ironclad sergeant shouted.
A soldier received the order and quickly disappeared away on his galloping horse.
The ironclad sergeant took a glance at the black ox that was secured to a tree and narrowed his eyes. With a wave of his hand, a group of soldiers dismounted their horses and headed toward the top of Buzhou Peak.
There was the lingering sound of a flute.
The ironclad sergeant was dumbfounded as he led tens of armored horsemen up Buzhou Peak. Someone was playing the flute in such a desolate mountain?
The artistic mood was rather distant, though it sounded awful…
Under the sunlight at Buzhou Peak, a Daoist priest sat on a bluestone as he leisurely blew on his long flute.
And beside the Daoist priest, a long snake was coiled around the bluestone. Its head was the scaly face of a young girl, suspended above the priest’s head. The body of the snake was even swaying along lightly to the tunes of the flute.
What a strange dragon!
The ironclad sergeant was stunned!
Screams of fear rang across Buzhou Peak when the other soldiers saw the snake.
Li Sansi stopped playing his long flute and looked over to where the screams came from.
“Daoist No. 1, Li Sansi?!”
The ironclad sergeant recognized Li Sansi—who was a real hero in the border areas. He alone, with his ox and a wooden sword, broke through military forces.
However, compared to Li Sansi, these people were more interested in the dragon beside him.
When they saw the dragon, they finally understood that this was a real Dragon Raising Site!
A place with an Immortal encounter!
Li Sansi frowned because after looking at the ironclad sergeant and the soldiers, he realized that their eyes, filled with greed and joy, were fixed on Zhu Long.
A sigh escaped his lips.
He hopped down from the bluestone, ready to have a talk with the soldiers.
“Quick! It’s going to escape into the Dragon Raising Site!”
“Capture it!”
“Let’s get it!”
The soldiers saw that the long snakelike dragon was about to escape back into the dark cave in Buzhou Peak.
They brandished their weapons one after another and shouted as they charged forward.
Li Sansi’s brows were more furrowed now. When he turned his head back, he could see Zhu Long running toward the cave in a panic.
“Wait… Stop it.”
Li Sansi raised his wooden sword as he snarled.
A soldier was struck by his wooden sword and sent flying a few miles away.
“Li Sansi, I respect you as a hero, so hurry and go. In no time, the mayor’s large army will be arriving… You won’t be able to defend this Immortal encounter!” The ironclad sergeant said to Li Sansi.
“I, Li Sansi, am not doing this for the Immortal encounter. I just can’t stand all of you bullying a young lady,” Li Sansi said plainly.
“Leave, or… Die.”
The soldiers were stunned, and then their faces hardened.
“Li Sansi, you must be crazy! There is no young lady. You must have been enchanted by this demon dragon!”
The soldiers charged toward him.
Li Sansi sighed.
He had once said that his sword would only be wielded against military forces, but now, he had no choice but to wield it against the soldiers of Great Zhou.
In the black cave, a pair of black and white eyes watched on.
It was a bloodbath on Buzhou Peak.
After a long time, the cries of battle on the mountain peak had ceased, and it became silent once again.
The Daoist priest’s azure robe had been stained with blood. He leaned on his wooden sword as he turned back to look at the dark cave and smiled.
******
“There is a Dragon Raising Site at Buzhou Peak?”
When Tantai Xuan received the news, his eyes brightened in an instant.
“Great!”
“Well done. As expected, there is a Dragon Raising Site in my North County too!”
Tantai Xuan paced around the large tent.
All over the world, six out of the eight Dragon Raising Sites had now appeared.
The young emperor’s residence in the capital city, Beiluo Lake in Beiluo City, the Big Marsh in South County, Catching Stars Peak at the Daoist School, Dongyan River in West County, the Fissure Gorge in Dongyang County…
Of these six locations, none of them was in North County, and this was making Tantai Xuan go crazy.
Had he, Tantai Xuan, offended the Immortals?
Why were the Immortals so biased against him and his North County?!
Was he destined to have no chance with the Immortal encounter?
At the Secret Realm of the Hidden Dragon Ridge, he had already suffered a huge loss. And now yet again he was not destined to have Dragon Raising Sites?
Fortunately, today, he had finally received news that a Dragon Raising Site had appeared in North County.
“Buzhou Peak is already near the Tianhai Gates…”
“Ready 30,000 troops and depart for Buzhou Peak!”
Tantai Xuan’s red robes flowed as his orders resounded in the tent.
The troops galloped away on their horses, the horses’ hooves thundering across the ground.
******
At the foot of Buzhou Peak.
When Tantai Xuan and his troops finally arrived, scouts were already there, kneeling on the ground and trembling in fear.
“Mayor, Daoist No. 1 Li Sansi is at Buzhou Peak. He’s gone crazy. He’s been bewitched by the demon dragon and has waged war against us!”
Tantai Xuan’s eyes narrowed.
However, he did not retreat. He waved his hand and signaled for the 30,000 soldiers to follow him to climb up Buzhou Peak.
At the mountain summit…
Li Sansi’s azure robe was stained with blood as he wielded his wooden sword. He was having mixed feelings.
He turned around and looked at the black cave. Zhu Long had not emerged from within the cave ever since the soldiers started attacking.
At this moment, Li Sansi had also come to an understanding. Perhaps, the young girl Zhu Long… was really a monster like what the soldiers were saying.
But… so what if she was a monster?
After interacting with her for a few days, Zhu Long’s innocence had touched his heart. Li Sansi—who had seen much of the evils of the mortal world—was not only quite envious of the innocence she possessed but also felt bad for Zhu Long.
In his subconscious, it was like the young girl Zhu Long had overlapped with his little sister, Li Sansui.
He knew that he had been bewitched by her, but what about it?
All along, in everything he did, he, Li Sansi, only wished for a clear conscience.
As he sat on the bluestone, Li Sansi exhaled slowly, working the Spirit Qi in his Qi Core.
Below the mountain, the armored horsemen galloped toward Buzhou Peak.
The clanking sound of their armors was never-ending.
However, Li Sansi only smiled, knocking his wooden sword against the bluestone to get rid of the blood on it.
******
Beiluo Lake Island.
Lu Fan sat in his wheelchair with one hand supporting his chin and the other hand pinching a chess piece.
A gentle lake breeze blew by, ruffling his hair bun.
Suddenly, his vision shifted and landed on the Spirit Pressure Chessboard.
At the top of the White Jade City pavilion, there was the faint sign of dark clouds arriving in the clear skies.
The wind blew at the lake surface.
The fishes in the lake were all swimming wildly to the water surface.
A suppressing pressure had pervaded the whole island.
On the island, Lv Mudui, who was enjoying tea opposite of Lv Dongxuan, felt a quiver in his heart. He looked toward the surface of the lake and saw that the waters had formed into a whirlpool.
A small yellow jiao dragon was beating its wings, the lake waters hovering around it.
At the top of the pavilion…
There was a change in Lu Fan’s eyes as they became more profound and distant.
Many jumping lines gathered on the Spirit Pressure Chessboard to reflect the situations at the eight Dragon Raising Sites.
The strong ones outside the Dragon Raising Sites were represented by a red dot on the Spirit Pressure Chessboard.
Lu Fan stroked the chess pieces.
The ends of his lips curled up lightly.
Moments later, he picked up a chess piece with his index and middle fingers and set it down slowly.
When the chess piece landed on the chessboard, he gave it a gentle push.
As the conspirator, he had complete control over how the game would go.
With the rejuvenation of Spirit Qi, the second game…
Commenced.