Emperor’s Domination

A bald monk with unique ordination markings on his head appeared. A string of large and round buddhist beads hung by his neck as he stood there with his palms placed together. His amiable smiling face would fool others into thinking that he was an accomplished monk.

Li Qiye looked at the monk before him and shook his head to say: “Monk Dazhi.” 1

Monk Dazhi met his gaze and performed a buddhist chant before saying: “Amitabha, Benefactor Li, it seems that we are connected by fate. I didn’t expect to see you here in the far Nether Border.”

“Stop!” Li Qiye waved his hand and said: “I don’t like monks. You came here and ruined my fun. I was going to make mincemeat out of that brat, but you scared him away.”

Monk Dazhi didn’t care about Li Qiye’s distaste for him and smiled: “How could it be hard for Benefactor Li to take care of him? As the saying goes, a monk might be able to flee, but the temple cannot. If you really don’t want to spare him, then just directly rush into the Nightwalker Sect, annihilate it, and massacre his entire tribe!” 2

Qiurong Wanxue was taken aback by the monk’s words. The Nightwalker Sect was a great power, yet this monk was talking about annihilating it — way too arrogant.

Li Qiye glanced at him and responded: “Are you trying to trick me? Monk, don’t use me as a tool, or else I’ll break your temple and pull out all your hair.”

“Amitabha, amitabha. Benefactor Li’s hostile tendencies are through the roof. You should purify yourself.” Monk Dazhi placed his hands together and put on the appearance of a wise monk.

Li Qiye shrugged then narrowed his eyes at the monk: “So you want to enlighten me? I was waiting for someone to come and teach me the way. Why don’t you try?”

Monk Dazhi jumped from fear and quickly took several heavy steps back before motioning with his hands: “Joking, I was just joking. This little monk is but one who starts the fire for cooking and bathing. How could my trivial buddhist knowledge be enough to enlighten a god like Benefactor Li?”

“It is good that you are aware of this. Remember, you owe me one since you scared my prey away.” Li Qiye nonchalantly gazed at the monk and said.

“Oh… Then let me go and catch Ye Sha for you.” Monk Dazhi immediately said.

Li Qiye shook his head and said: “It is too late, one has to pay attention to the process while hunting. Even if you bring him back now, the enjoyment is already gone. In short, you just owe me a favor, understand?”

Monk Dazhi frowned and wryly smiled: “This is Benefactor Li forcing me into a hole. You are making it difficult for me on purpose.”

“You’re wrong, this is because you tried to be cool earlier. It has nothing to do with me. If you didn’t try to be cool, then nothing would have happened.” Li Qiye leisurely smiled.

Monk Dazhi tapped his own head in resignation. However, the monk was also an optimist. A bit later, he noticed Qiurong Wanxue standing next to Li Qiye and revealed a mischievous smile.

“Amitabha.” The monk chanted and smilingly said: “How is Benefactor Li’s progress with the little girl from the Soaring Remembrance Village?”

“What does it have to do with you?” Li Qiye glanced at him with one eye and asked: “You are a monk so why are you asking about mundane matters?”

“Hahaha, Benefactor Li, it is because I care for you.” He smiled and added: “You should know that the little girl is famous for being difficult in the southern Distant Cloud. If she becomes furious, then everyone will get a headache due to her wrath. You, as her fiance, ran here to the Nether Border all alone with another lady… If the little girl finds out, then you won’t have an easy time.”

Qiurong Wanxue blushed and understood that this monk was not a proper monk at all!

“Oh? You’re threatening me?” Li Qiye glared at him and inquired.

This was met with a composed countenance as Monk Dazhi replied: “Benefactor Li, as the saying goes, a bribe is required to keep someone’s mouth shut, am I right? I’m afraid my mouth is a bit loose, unless I get a little something that is.”

Li Qiye smiled and leisurely retorted: “When it comes to sealing one’s mouth, I know the best way. In this world, to keep something a secret, do you know what the best method is? … Dead people do not talk, so it is meaningless how much they know.”

“What is going on?” Qiurong Wanxue became quite annoyed. They were speaking as if she had a shady relationship with Li Qiye. Clearly, the two of them had nothing going on at all.

Monk Dazhi was startled by Li Qiye, so he took several steps back again and forced a dry smile: “Amitabha, amitabha. Benefactor Li is too serious, I was just kidding.”

Li Qiye waved his hand and said: “Okay, you meat-and-wine fiend, stop pretending to be a respected monk in front of me. Even if you tell that girl, it is useless. It is normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines. Plus, there is no woman that I cannot handle.” 3

Qiurong Wanxue glared at him. This young man not only had a big tone against his enemies, he was also quite boastful about this kind of matter.

“Amazing, truly amazing!” Monk Dazhi gave him a thumbs up and admiringly praised. He then rubbed his hands in a lowly manner and said: “Hahaha, Benefactor Li, no, Brother Li, can you teach this little brother a thing or two? I respect your wife-handling skills very much. My respect for you is like the unrelenting torrent of the three rivers…”

Monk Dazhi unleashed a wave of praises towards Li Qiye.

This sudden change made Qiurong Wanxue speechless. What does a monk want to learn wife-handling skills for?

Li Qiye laughed at him and asked: “So? You don’t want to be a monk anymore and suddenly want to return to a secular lifestyle?”

Monk Dazhi was a little embarrassed as he replied: “I won’t hide it from you, Brother Li. I am only a monk due to necessity.”

“So you are a fake monk.” Li Qiye laughed and added: “It is one thing to be a meat-and-wine monk, but you are actually a fake one!”

Li Qiye then squinted his eyes and continued: “Wife-handling skills? Techniques? Very well, I shall teach you. Just directly push her onto a bed, then all will be well.”

“Pervert!” Qiurong Wanxue angrily exclaimed while blushing. This little guy really dared to say just about anything.

“Well…” Monk Dazhi also choked while giving a wry smile.

Li Qiye shook his head then smilingly asked: “Nevermind, each household has their own troubles; you have to take care of it yourself. However, Fake Monk, why did you run to the Nether Border?”

“The same reason as Brother Li.” Monk Dazhi replied: “After the lost mythical island disappeared, a piece of news suddenly erupted in the Distant Cloud. A few people in the Nether Border saw a gigantic hand stretching out from the Prime Ominous Grave, so many great powers came running over here. Now, many old men calculated that the grave will open in this generation, so a lot of people came here to add to the fun. This is the same with me.”

Li Qiye was not too surprised about this news. Paper cannot wrap fire, so Qiurong Wanxue’s group were not the only ones who saw the gigantic hand. The eclipse, the disappearance of the island, and the gigantic hand were quite easy to link together.

However, Li Qiye speculated further than others and was one step ahead.

Li Qiye looked at the monk and said: “So you came to Necropolis to find the key as well?”

The monk shook his head and answered: “It is not easy to obtain the key. The key is a great creation! To me, it doesn’t matter who obtains the key because anyone can enter the Prime Ominous Grave after it is opened. The only thing that matters is that the key owner will open the grave right after they obtain it.”

“Well put.” Li Qiye smiled. However, he must obtain the key because, to him, the key was not simply just a method to open the grave.

The monk then continued: “However, I heard about a certain something. There is an auction at Midtown called the Coffin-tapping Imp auction. I wonder if you are interested in going together?”

Li Qiye’s heart started to beat faster. He became serious and asked for confirmation: “The Coffin-tapping Imp?” He remembered a particular existence that had not appeared for a long time. He even thought that this existence was dead.

“Very well, I’m free anyway so I might as well go and see.” If it was truly the Coffin-tapping Imp, then it was worth a trip.

The group then proceeded towards Midtown. However, they didn’t make it very far before a red cloud floating in the horizon flew towards them at an extremely swift speed.

Monk Dazhi became shocked when he saw this red cloud and quickly told Li Qiye: “Brother Li, something suddenly came up. I gotta go.” With that, he escaped so fast that it seemed as if a plague was approaching.

A fierce voice came from the horizon: “Jian Xuan, I will capture you even if you run to the corners of the world!” The red cloud in the horizon was actually a girl in a red outfit. With an extreme speed, she quickly chased after Monk Dazhi.

Monk Dazhi didn’t dare to linger even a bit longer and disappeared in the distance in just the blink of an eye. He looked like a mouse that had just seen a cat.

“So it turns out that he is afraid of his wife.” Li Qiye smiled and said after watching the fleeing monk. He also understood why the monk asked him for some wife-handling techniques.

1. Dazhi = Grand Wisdom.

2. This is the common phrase I was talking about last chapter.

3. I could have used polygamy instead of three wives and four concubines; which version do you guys like better? Closer to the raw or more transliteration?