Shrouding the Heavens

Chapter 558: Chapter 562 Commandery Princess and Maid

Ye Fan wrapped his left arm around her slender waist, his right hand pressed against her crystal-clear, fair, and beautiful neck, radiating brilliance. With just a slight motion, a perfect head would fall.

At this moment, even the sound of falling leaves could be heard. The world was very quiet, with everyone staring at them, the atmosphere taut with tension.

Commandery Princess Qi had just displayed an Unrivaled Holy Technique, amazing the world with her otherworldly prowess. Who would dare claim they could compete with her? Yet, she had been defeated, thoroughly, and was now captured.

“You…”

Commandery Princess Qi’s face was flushed, her immortal body trembling with anger, but she couldn’t speak. With her Three Thousand Small Worlds, who could contend against her? She was invincible in the Southern Mountains, yet she had lost to an unknown minor Lord. She was both annoyed and infuriated.

“You lost. Are you willing to accept the bet and its consequences?” Ye Fan held her captive. They were so close that her fragrance was detectable, her hair brushing against his nose, tickling.

Commandery Princess Qi could be described as a calamity to men. She naturally possessed a tender body, jade-like skin, and stunning beauty. Her Jade Hairpin, with long tassels, was adorned with pearls and gold, shimmering with brilliance. A single smile from her could bring chaos to the world.

This jade-like body trembled with anger, her ivory-like skin glistening, her fragrant scent intoxicating, as potent as orchid or musk. She wanted to struggle but feared her beautiful head would fall.

“You’d better not move recklessly, or I’m afraid I might accidentally hurt you!” Ye Fan’s words were calm but carried a deterrent force, making her freeze.

“What do you want?” Commandery Princess Qi asked.

“Accept the bet and concede defeat. We had an agreement beforehand,” Ye Fan smiled.

GASP!

In the distance, the spectators were all in an uproar. This minor Lord was truly bold. Did he really intend to make Commandery Princess Qi his spiritual beast? Let alone the Chili Pepper Army, even others from the Southern Mountains wouldn’t agree; this woman had significant connections there.

“According to the agreement, I don’t seem to have promised anything, right? I only said that if you lost, you’d be my Dragon Horse. I didn’t agree to the latter half of the conditions,” Qi Huoshui argued, and she had a point.

“There’s no such easy bargain. Since you acknowledged the agreement, whether you explicitly stated the latter condition or not, the effect is the same.” Ye Fan smiled, tracing a finger across her snow-white neck, making it shimmer.

“Don’t move recklessly!” Qi Huoshui fumed. Never in her life had she been held hostage, standing so close to a man. Her dark brows arched; she wanted to bite someone.

“Don’t act rashly! Quickly release the Commandery Princess!” Far away, Qi Huoshui’s servants were dumbfounded. Their master had been captured, leaving them anxious yet powerless.

“You all are quite noisy.” Ye Fan glanced at them indifferently.

“What will it take for you to release Commandery Princess Qi?” A man, looking quite imposing, walked out from the Qi Shi Mansion.

“It’s best to forgive where you can. Victory has been decided. You should release the Commandery Princess,” another person stepped forward to speak.

“If I had lost just now, what would the outcome be?” Ye Fan smiled.

“This…” Everyone was speechless. Knowing Qi Lajiao’s personality, she would definitely have made him her Dragon Horse and would not have let him go.

“There you have it. Accept the bet and concede defeat. From today onwards, she is mine,” Ye Fan’s words caused a sensation.

This minor Lord was far too bold! Daring to take someone like Qi Huoshui—wasn’t he afraid of inviting a major disaster? This was no ordinary Commandery Princess; she was the Bright Pearl of the Southern Mountains, with an intimidatingly powerful background.

“You… release me! I didn’t promise you anything! I never said what would happen if I lost!” Qi Huoshui argued stubbornly, refusing to admit to any such terms.

“Your tricks are useless.” Ye Fan ignored her, sealed her body, and flew towards Lu City with her.

Behind them, over a hundred people were dumbfounded. They had come to watch the battle, all assuming this minor Lord was in for a huge loss. They never expected him to capture Qi Huoshui and so brazenly abduct her.

“Stop!”

“Release the Commandery Princess!”

Many people stepped forward to block Ye Fan. If they allowed him to take away the Bright Pearl of the Southern Mountains like this, these Flower Protectors might as well bash their heads against a wall. Each of them wore a cold sneer.

“What, do you all want to bet with me too?” Ye Fan glanced at them, his hand stroking her swan-like beautiful neck. Once his hand fell, it would mean the separation of her head from her body.

“Don’t act rashly! We will offer you ample compensation, as long as you release the Commandery Princess!” one of them shouted.

“Fine, no problem. Go prepare dozens of jars of Dragon Marrow and bring them to Lu City to ransom her,” Ye Fan said, then shot off like a beam of clear light.

“You… stop!”

A group chased after him. How could they possibly let him off? They were truly afraid he would act irrationally. The Commandery Princess’s fame was too great; her beauty enchanted the world. Letting this exceptional Lord take her away made everyone uneasy.

“City Lord, you’ve returned…” In Lu City, the soldiers were alarmed. Seeing so many people chasing their Lord from behind, all flying through the air, made their hair stand on end.

“Go, set up the large iron pot and start boiling water!” This was the first order Ye Fan gave upon his return.

“Ye Zhetian… what do you intend to do?” Qi Huoshui was startled.

“To slay the spiritual beast and feast on its meat,” Ye Fan casually replied.

“I’ll fight you to the death!” Commandery Princess Qi fumed, but unfortunately, she couldn’t move an inch.

“You, surnamed Ye, don’t act recklessly! I’ll send you a real spiritual beast. Just release the Commandery Princess!” someone from behind yelled without restraint.

“Are you saying Commandery Princess Qi is equivalent to a spiritual beast?” Ye Fan asked.

“That’s not what I meant! If you want to eat a spiritual beast, I’ll send one over. You absolutely must not act recklessly!”

“I doubt any are as tender and delicious as Qi Huoshui,” Ye Fan laughed.

“You’re the calamity!” Commandery Princess Qi snapped, her pearly teeth flashing.

The crowd behind felt dizzy. Although they knew Ye Fan was jesting and not serious, it was hard not to feel jittery. He truly wasn’t treating Commandery Princess Qi like the Bright Pearl of the Southern Mountains.

“Seal the city!”

The second thing Ye Fan did upon returning to the city was activate the Ancient City’s Array Patterns. Laws intertwined, forming a light curtain that sealed the entire city below.

Over a dozen people surged forward to attack the city, but none could enter. Two were nearly split in half by the sword aura that erupted from the city wall, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

Such a small city possessed Array Patterns set by a Saint Master Level individual—it was truly strange and mysterious. They were not Ye Fan; without the ‘Word’ Technique, they couldn’t breach the defenses and nearly injured themselves.

“You are provoking my dignity as a Lord by causing trouble in my territory. Don’t blame me for being impolite.” Ye Fan moved a chair to the city wall and sat down, smiling as he watched them.

“Release the Commandery Princess!”

“Can’t you say something else? She’s my captive right now. If you want her back, prepare dozens of jars of Dragon Marrow.”

“Are you trying to rob us?! A single jar of Dragon Marrow is nearly impossible to find in this world, let alone dozens!” Those people gritted their teeth.

“Brother, help me smash the city gate open, and you’ll be heavily rewarded,” one person said, approaching the barbarian clad in Beast Skin to ask for help.

The disheveled, indifferent young man who could kill a King Body with a single slap, the little child of about nine, and this barbarian wielding the Wolf-toothed Stick—it was impossible not to notice them.

Ye Fan had seen them long ago. He estimated inwardly that they were likely prodigies with heaven-defying abilities.

“I don’t know you, and I have no quarrel with him,” the barbarian said honestly, scratching his head. He turned to leave, wielding his Wolf-toothed Stick. “I’m going back.”

Eventually, over a hundred people retreated, leaving only about a dozen who remained stubborn. Ye Fan directly fetched his Great Bow and began shooting.

“Damn it, he shot my Four-Unlike to death!”

“You, surnamed Ye, return my White Tiger!”

The dozen or so people were enraged. The arrows Ye Fan loosed, with their feathers, weighed as much as ten thousand jun and could pierce through mountains, let alone their mounts. Three strange and powerful beasts fell in response.

What was worse, Ye Fan dashed out of the city, grabbed the three colossal strange and powerful beasts, set up a large iron pot on the city wall, and began to stew the meat.

“This Lord is really something—starting to eat spiritual beasts again!” These people were frantic but helpless; they simply couldn’t get in.

After two days, the dozen or so people found that eight of their mounts had been taken by that outrageous Lord and stewed in the big pot. This left them fuming with rage.

Only when Ye Fan knocked out three of them and carried them into the city did the others retreat, their faces pale, utterly defeated and without a tear left to shed.

In Qi Shi Mansion, more than half of the people now knew about this incident and were marveling. How much courage did it take for a nearby Lord to capture the Bright Pearl of the Southern Mountains?

“Aren’t there a few prodigies in the Southern Mountains? Why hasn’t anyone rescued her?”

“The prodigies of the Southern Mountains are still in seclusion and unaware of the news. There will surely be a great upheaval when they emerge.”

「Lu City」

Ye Fan smiled as he invited a group of soldiers for drinks and meat. The aromatic bone broth from the spiritual beasts simmered in a large pot nearby.

Qi Huoshui almost fainted. This barbarian must have eaten her Dragon Horse in the same way! Her gums throbbed with pain, but she had no options; even she had been captured.

“Huoshui, come pour the wine. Serve as my Maid for a month here, and you’ll naturally be free to go,” Ye Fan said, swirling the wine jug.

“Dream on!” Commandery Princess Qi was furious, yet she possessed a unique allure that captivated the Heart Spirit.

Beside her, the soldiers’ eyes were practically glued to her. One said, “Sir, isn’t the City Lord Mansion still missing a mistress? This one would be a good match.”

“Yes, she pairs well with the Lord,” a group of soldiers, their eyes hazy with drink, spoke without reservation.

“You, surnamed Ye, you’d better let me go! I’ll give you plenty of benefits,” Qi Huoshui said, starting to feel a little scared.

“Actually, I’m quite interested in your Three Thousand Small Worlds. How about you teach me?” Ye Fan chuckled.

“That’s impossible!” Commandery Princess Qi sternly refused. Even if it killed her, she would never reveal such a mysterious art.

“Then there’s no other way. You can only be my Maid for a month. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee what might happen.” Ye Fan sealed her cultivation base and ordered her to serve tea and water.

“Let me go, and I’ll tell you the secret of an Immortal Mansion,” Commandery Princess Qi said.

“If there really were such an Immortal Burial Land, would you have left it for me? Wouldn’t you have gone yourself?” Ye Fan chuckled lightly.

“This Immortal Mansion was only recently speculated about, and no one has entered yet. Now, all the great powers are striving for it. Qi Shi Mansion’s outstanding disciples have a chance to seek their Immortal Fate there. Release me, and you’ll gain such eligibility,” Commandery Princess Qi stated.

Ye Fan shook his head. “There’s no real benefit. Going there might lead to one’s demise.”

“You don’t understand what kind of opportunity this is! Perhaps ancient scriptures or even Extreme Dao Holy Weapons will emerge. It’s connected to the secrets of the Immortal Realm!” Qi Huoshui’s eyes glimmered with an unusual light, her voice almost a dreamy whisper, captivating the Heart Spirit.

“Oh, really?” Ye Fan walked over and lifted her chin, almost teasingly. “Why do I feel like you’re tricking me, trying to lead me into a deathtrap?”

Qi Huoshui opened her mouth to bite. Missing, she turned her head away and said, “Believe it or not, this is an excellent chance to explore the secrets of the Immortal Realm.”