Chapter 158: eting
dicine Master Wen and the Bunny Heroine crossed the edge of the Demon-Slaying Hall. At that mont, soone hurled a wine cup from afar, aiming right at the Bunny Heroine’s head. But dicine Master Wen swung fiercely and shattered the cup into pieces—oak shards scattered everywhere.
The loud noise drew everyone’s attention in the hall. Suddenly, soone shouted “Great Guardian!”, and the hall imdiately fell silent. Everyone turned their heads toward dicine Master Wen and the Bunny Heroine as they were about to head upstairs. No one dared to act drunk anymore.
dicine Master Wen still wore a hood and mask. Her mysterious attire was not uncommon in Shu Mountain. Had she appeared alone, others might not have recognized her—but the little girl beside her was far too conspicuous.
「Lord Wolf Demoness and Lady Xingyu.」
Soone began to bow their head and greet, and dozens of Demon-Path ssengers followed suit, bowing politely. Even if unwilling, they had to follow the crowd. After all, people might not rember who was the most respectful, but they would certainly rember who gave the least face.
It wasn’t just the Bunny Heroine—they were deeply in awe of dicine Master Wen as well.
Of the more than twenty Demon-Path ssengers that Zhong Ji had brought down the mountain to block their path, nearly four were slain by dicine Master Wen. That number might not seem like much, but Demon-Path ssengers weren’t fools—they knew how to run.
To slay four people under siege by over twenty ssengers ant that dicine Master Wen could kill any one of them in this hall if she wished—even without the authority of the other Three Great Guardians, she was not soone they could afford to offend.
As for the Bunny Heroine, there was no need to even ntion her—a Thunderstorm ssenger who could instantly kill Zhong Ji. Aside from the Three Great Guardians, no one in the entire stronghold could stand before her without trembling.
But there were also eager and flattering looks in the crowd. Suddenly, soone loudly called out:
「Lord Wolf Demoness, we four brothers are very skilled in dealing with Wine-Pool Wolves! If you plan to conquer the Wolf Den Secret Realm, please consider bringing us along!」
「Our Black Wolf Guild is also capable, Lord Wolf Demoness! We’ve cleared the Wolf Den once before!」
「You call it 'cleared' just because you sniffed around Blood Minister’s butt?!」
「Red-Haired Ghost, screw your mother!」
Once they reached the second floor, dicine Master Wen finally explained:
「Great Guardians have many privileges, but only two are truly valuable. One of them is that all rewards obtained from conquering the Wolf Den Secret Realm are exempt from taxes—whether monsters or treasure chests.」
「No wonder everyone wants to please you.」 The Bunny Heroine giggled. 「You’ve made it, big sis~」
「Don’t tease .」 dicine Master Wen smiled bitterly. 「The other benefit is that Great Guardians get a share of many of the stronghold’s profits—Secret Realm yields, dried at sales, and taxes from Eternal Joy City.」
「This Heroine doesn’t need money,」 said the Bunny Heroine.
「What’s yours is yours. This Great Guardian post is half yours,」 dicine Master Wen reached out to pat the Bunny Heroine’s head but missed as she dodged. She snorted and laughed, 「Didn’t your brother say—‘no one offers flattery for nothing, unless they’re scheming’? Why are you handing your money over to ? Are you up to sothing shady? Trying to make your sworn elder sister or sothing?」
「My brother did say—」
「I know, you need your sister-in-law’s permission to form a sworn bond. But didn’t you say your brother got tricked by a wicked woman? Maybe there’ll be no sister-in-law soon.」
「But my brother is such a weirdo, he might drive even the wicked won away.」 The Bunny Heroine sighed.
「True that,」 dicine Master Wen agreed.
Hm?
Yan Qing stared at the Bunny Heroine’s remarks and thought—Was that what I ant?
He clearly wanted to respond ‘Absolutely impossible’. So how did the Bunny Heroine end up saring him instead? And dicine Master Wen, what the hell are you agreeing for? You haven’t even t him and you’re judging? Superficial!
「By the way, why do they call Xingyu, but you’re Wolf Demoness? I clearly gave them my na.」
「Maybe they think your na doesn’t suit you, so they gave you a more fitting nickna—Sword light like stars, a storm of pear blossoms. After all, saying they were defeated by Lady Xingyu sounds better than saying they were beaten by the Bunny Heroine. The latter just sounds too humiliating.」
They made their way to the large hall at the far end of the second floor. Servants bowed and departed.
The two pushed open the door. Inside was a spacious eting room. A rectangular stone table stood in the center, piled high with scrolls. Wolf pelts covered the floor, and white wolf heads adorned the walls. Wolf bone artifacts filled every corner of the room—clearly, the local aesthetics were heavily influenced by the local Secret Realm.
「Quite the grand setup,」 said Blood Minister coolly by the window. 「You actually made us wait a whole hour.」
This eting should have started in the afternoon, but Yan Qing had to run Rat Monk’s account to challenge the Second-Stage Secret Realm. He played for three hours straight, no ti to bother with them, and just sent a notice before going AFK. That account was currently his most important source of inco—even if he had kidney stones, he couldn’t stop.
「After triggering Thunderstorm, one does need ti to recuperate—especially after repeated use,」 said Boreuo gently. 「Is Lady Xingyu’s health well?」
「It’s Bunny Heroine... never mind.」 The Bunny Heroine pointed at Beiyou. 「Is he painting?」
Beiyou was indeed in the eting room but paid them no attention. Fully absorbed in his sketch on the long table, he held a brush in each hand, another in his mouth, his clothes stained in every color imaginable, and his long hair equally rainbow-hued.
「Almost done,」 Boreuo glanced at the paper and said. 「This is actually his studio. He spends most of his ti here, so we co here for discussions too—though we have to wait for him to finish painting.」
Just as Boreuo said, Beiyou finished a few more strokes, then stopped and stamped a large red seal onto the paper. The Bunny Heroine and dicine Master Wen stepped closer—and saw a vivid depiction of a giant wolf feasting on a corpse, gutting it open with glee.
The Shadow Wolf. Even though they hadn’t entered the Wolf Den to encounter this demon yet, Yan Qing and dicine Master Wen recognized it instantly. Ominous, savage, elusive. Beiyou’s painting perfectly captured its traits—vivid and brimming with ferocity. Especially the way it devoured the corpse—teeth, blood, organs—every detail lifelike, as if the painter had witnessed it devour a man up close.
At the bottom right of the painting was engraved the seal: 『Know Beiyou, Face South』.
「Do you want it?」 Beiyou suddenly asked. 「Free of charge.」
The Bunny Heroine and dicine Master Wen imdiately shook their heads. Beiyou sighed in disappointnt and rolled up the painting.
「The reason we called you here is naturally to discuss the opportunity we previously ntioned,」 said Boreuo. 「But I suppose you’ve already guessed—Shu Mountain’s most well-known opportunity is none other than the Foundation legacy left behind by the great Demon-Path cultivator, Si Wuxie.」
「This legacy is hidden in the Fourth-Stage Secret Realm: Forest of Corpses. According to Shu Mountain’s rules, only Great Guardians are qualified to lead explorations there.」
Of course, ‘rules’ were just an excuse. The Three Great Guardians were the law of Shu Mountain. Who else made the rules but them? Boreuo’s statent was, in fact, a promise: Great Guardians could enter the Forest of Corpses—so dicine Master Wen and her companion were eligible to share and even contend for the Foundation inheritance.
That’s one big pie, Yan Qing thought.
But he was also deeply curious—the Three Great Guardians actually valued the Bunny Heroine so highly, enough to be willing to share the Foundation inheritance?
「Enough small talk,」 dicine Master Wen said bluntly. 「You said you needed our help—what exactly do you need?」
「According to notes left by predecessors, the Forest of Corpses is divided into Forehall, Midcourt, and Rear Grove. At present, we are still unable to breach the demon blockade in the Forehall,」 explained Boreuo. 「Si Wuxie’s legacy has existed for over a century. Countless ssengers have tried to conquer it—but all failed to pass the Forehall.」
「Not until Boreuo ca to Shu Mountain did we see a glimr of hope,」 Beiyou added. 「Because he is a Thunderstorm ssenger. Thunderstorm ssengers are key to breaking through the Forehall—but Boreuo alone is not enough. We have waited for years—for the second Thunderstorm ssenger.」
「Now, you are here.」 Beiyou extended his hands toward dicine Master Wen and the Bunny Heroine:
「Two powerful users of Thunderstorm, gathered in Shu Mountain—perhaps this is fate.」
「Si Wuxie’s Foundation legacy shall be unlocked by the five of us together!」
Reviews
All reviews (0)