Realms In The Firmament

The girl in cyan smiled softly, “No need to hurry. We came to the Kingdom of Chen to study the local customs and to observe the political scenario of this country. Of course, the most important thing is to see how the battle between the princes progresses.”

“That is what we are here for.”

“We are from the Kingdom of Lan-Feng. If we want to become the supremacy in this land, we need to be concerned about these important aspects.”

The girl in cyan spoke blandly and turned around the corner.

As she rounded the corner, an ’oh’ sound leaked out from her mouth out of surprise. The three of them had run into the unconscious body of Ye Xiao.

“This guy…” The girl in cyan’s expression changed and a serious glint appeared in her eyes, “This guy... Isn’t he the guy from the auction, the owner of the supreme dan beads?”

The middle-aged woman walked over and identified Ye Xiao, “Yes. This average-size, strong body and that square jaw. He is definitely that guy named Feng!”

The girl in cyan was agitated. She looked around and spoke anxiously, “He must have been assaulted…” She then reached her hand out to touch Ye Xiao’s neck and said, “He is still alive. He is breathing…”

She stood up and immediately started issuing orders, “Aunt Hua, go get a carriage. Don’t be discovered. Bring this guy to our house in the Kingdom of Chen. This guy… If I am right, he will be very useful in the future.”

The middle-aged woman quickly left to find a carriage.

Meanwhile, the girl in cyan lifted her foot and kicked Ye Xiao’s body thrice. -Pah Pah Pah!- She had sealed Ye Xiao’s three major acupoints. Now, regardless of whether Ye Xiao wakes up or not, he would be unable to perform any martial arts in the near future.

She then reached out her hand and put a dan bead into his mouth before taking a black napkin from her bag and covering his head with it. She said, “Mr. Zhao, please carry him on your back. And be careful. Don’t let anyone see his face.”

“Yes, my lady.” That Mr. Zhao obeyed and bent down before lifting Ye Xiao and placing him on his back.

The girl in cyan reached out her hand once again to quickly search Ye Xiao’s body. Leaving her hand inside Ye Xiao’s clothes, she stood there, shocked and confused.

She said, “Apart from some notes, there is nothing left on him… It seems that this supreme dan bead owner was robbed… In spite of carrying a bunch of precious items, he still flaunted his wealth, so it is reasonable that someone would rob him. But why didn’t the ones who robbed him take these notes which are worth a small fortune? Do they not like money… Why?!”

“Or maybe… are the robbers not from the mortal world?”

“If so, who could it be?”

“Could there be an unknown force behind this?”

“This is really surprising and beyond comprehension…”

As she was collecting her thoughts, she felt her palm heat up. She realized that it was the heat coming from Ye Xiao’s body.

The girl in cyan suddenly drew her hand back like she had suddenly received an electric shock. Her face was veiled and hence, her expression could not be seen; but her neck had visibly turned red.

Realizing what she did, she cursed herself: “What is wrong with me? Why was I so absent-minded? I actually kept my hand inside a man’s clothes for such a long time…”

While she was lost in thought, she realized, “Hmmm. This guys smell is not the kind that I dislike. It smells like a purified body, which has divorced the filth of the mortal world…”

“Since he has a purified body, he must be a supreme cultivator… So the one who robbed him must be at a much higher level to take this guy down without leaving a single mark on his body…”

“Therefore, the robber must at least have the strength of level six of the Grade of Diyuan… To find out an accurate estimate, we will have to wait for this guy to wake up and then confirm his cultivation level…”

By now, Mr. Zhao had walked out of the alley carrying Ye Xiao, whose head was still covered by the black napkin.

Not far from them, a carriage came into sight.

The middle-aged woman was walking besides the carriage.

The girl in cyan grabbed Ye Xiao and got in the carriage without any hesitation and the middle-aged woman followed her in after her.

Mr. Zhao didn’t follow after them. Instead, he threw a piece of gold to the coachman and said, “I will take the carriage.”

He jumped on the coach without saying another word and picked up the whip. He yelled and lashed the horse and the carriage steadily moved ahead .

He sat on the front, dangling his legs with a dim light in his eyes. He looked exactly like a coachman with years of experience driving a carriage.

He could truly look like a dragon or a tiger if he wanted to be one.

Such skill was truly amazing.

Even when the carriage had gone far away, the coachman had still remained standing on that spot with a dreamy look on his face.

“Is there really someone who wishes to exchange an old carriage for a big piece of shiny gold? This piece of gold must be worth at least thirty carriages like mine! I really have made my fortune today. Pies are falling from the sky today!”

The coachman finally awoke from his stupor once the carriage went out of his sight. He put the gold into his pocket joyfully and headed home.

“Right. I should go buy another carriage. There is still a lot more I can do with this money. I can buy some new clothes for my wife. It is so sad that she has been with me for so many years and has never experienced any good days… I can also buy some decent food for my son and daughter. Oh, and new clothes for each of them. Oh, it is time to let the kids go to school…

The rest of the money, I shall not use it rashly. And I need to earn more money as soon as possible… I should give the kids bright futures, not like mine - working as a coachman…”

He had seen a wonderful vision in his mind while he was thinking about it… He just couldn’t help smiling…

…

Ye Xiao’s body was twitching. Although he was unconscious at the moment, his body still twitched. It seemed like his Jing and Mai would explode at any moment…

His mind and his spiritual consciousness seemed to explode. His entire body was experiencing an excruciating pain.

His face showed a frown but his mouth remained tightly shut and he made no sounds at all.

The girl in cyan laid him on the seat in the carriage and saw his Jing and Mai sticking out and sinking back, weirdly pulsating. It looked like earthworms were wriggling within his body. She knew that he was suffering from an unimaginable amount of pain every passing moment. She couldn’t help but sigh.

“What malicious thing did the robber do to him? Such an inhumane method… He has been unconscious for such a long time and the pain is still bothering him… I have tried several methods, but I still can’t find any solution for this… And I can’t find any clue about such a technique.”

“What kind of martial arts could make people suffer like this?”

“The robber is really unscrupulous. He not only robbed him, but also attacked him in such a vicious fashion. It would be better to just kill him now than make him go through such horrible pain. It really makes people bristle with anger!” The middle-aged woman was also filled with indignation.

They had seen a lot of murders and they too had a lot of blood on their hands.

However, it was the first time in their lives that they had witnessed such a malicious technique.

It was apparently making him beg for death…

What kind of deep hatred could drive people to do such a malicious thing!

“However, no wonder this guy is the owner of the supreme dan. He really has some tough bones.” The girl in cyan smiled and said, “Forget ordinary people, even an expert cultivator, when suffering from such extreme pain while unconscious, would at least scream out in agony. But this guy has never made a single sound. That is especially commendable.”

There was a sense of appreciation in her tone. She sighed, “A man with such will… Is there anything in the world he can’t accomplish? He wouldn’t have been able to make the legendary supreme dan beads if he didn’t have such strong will. I believe, now more than ever, that the supreme dan of the auction is from this guy!”

The carriage was moving steadily along the road. They were nearing the southern gate of Chen-Xing City. After a tiring journey, they arrived at the gate of a big house and the carriage finally stopped.

Mr. Zhao made a gesture causing the door to open. - ‘Tik Tak Tik Tak’ -The entire carriage passed through the door.

The door was closed again immediately.

…

Ye Xiao was still insensible to the changing environment. He felt like he was drifting on the choppy sea and the rogue waves were hitting him one after another. He could have sunk and died at any moment.

Ye Xiao knew that he could do nothing more but hold onto his sense of self with all his effort. He gnashed his teeth and endured the pain to the best of his capabilities. He ignored everything that was happening outside of his subconsciousness.

He didn’t even know that he had already been captured by someone else like a meat on the chopping block.

When the strong quivering was finally over, Ye Xiao’s body had undergone over 70 bouts of intense sweating. If not for the girl in cyan taking care of him because of his status as ‘owner of the supreme dan’, he would have become a skeleton due to dehydration. That was no joking matter!

It was to say, that the girl in cyan had unwittingly become the savior of the mythical supreme cultivator - the Xiao Monarch!

Of course, neither the savior nor the one who was saved had any idea about it yet!