Free Web Novel"Why not?" Lu Yibei hesitated for a moment before answering Dragon Xiang, "As long as you don't mind, we would be very happy to accompany you on your expedition."
She was here to find out why the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate had been sealed for a thousand years, trapping tens of thousands of living beings, and the war between the Nanling Commander and the Shaman King was the main reason for that tragic outcome.
If she could observe closely and gather enough information, allowing Shen Baiwei, whose Spirit Mark was unstable, to use her abilities as little as possible, that would be for the best.
It was like buying a third-class ticket to a concert, where it was good enough to just hear the sound and see a figure, but now she was unexpectedly invited to the front-row interactive area. It should be a happy occasion.
Most importantly, she couldn't win a fight and couldn't leave, so could she possibly refuse the Nanling Commander?
If she refused, and he became displeased, he might tie her up and hang her on his horse like a bandit taking a hostage. Then she would have to watch whether she wanted to or not. It was better to be proactive and enjoy it.
"However..." Lu Yibei thought, and before Dragon Xiang could speak, she added expressionlessly, "We can only agree to accompany Prince, but please don't have any expectations of us."
"In short, even if your life is in danger, we will not offer assistance... Although we do have the ability, it is impolite and against the rules for onlookers to point fingers at others' family matters, or even interfere. Don't you agree?"
"Conversely, if you can overcome all obstacles and win every battle, we will only stand by quietly and watch you sever the Shaman King's head."
Although randomly killing one of the three giants would definitely prevent Yumen Pass from becoming what we saw, but... attacking a key NPC during a cutscene? You want to corrupt the save file, don't you? Lu Yibei thought.
After hearing Lu Yibei's words, a look of surprise flashed across Dragon Xiang's face again, and he laughed dumbfounded, "Haha, that's excellent! However, hearing your words, I am even more curious about your origins."
"Such women are truly rare; in the past, I mostly saw them in the Eastern Capital or Chang'an."
Around Yumen Pass, there were even fewer women who dared to directly say "sever the Shaman King's head." Few even dared to utter the words "Shaman King," as if saying them would cause the Shaman King to appear beside them like a soul-reaping demon.
"If Miss Shen doesn't mind..."
Before the Nanling Commander could finish speaking, Lu Yibei suddenly spoke mysteriously, "True Martial Pure Yang, Purple Heaven Resplendent, have you ever heard of it?"
"This..." Dragon Xiang frowned, recalled carefully for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Never heard of it."
Although he said so, he secretly remembered the words "True Martial Pure Yang, Purple Heaven Resplendent," intending to investigate them thoroughly later.
Don't know? That's right! Lu Yibei thought, looking at Dragon Xiang with a proud and slightly disdainful gaze, as if she was proud of her lineage.
Although Da Chunyang Palace's patriarch also lived in the Tang Dynasty, at this time, he had probably just pacified the urban legend around Zhenwu Mountain and built his dojo not long ago. Its scale was probably not much larger than the small Taoist temple Qingji lived in. It would be abnormal if Dragon Xiang had heard of it!
It's like when some great figures were still toiling away in warehouses, garages, or rented rooms, almost no one knew that they would change the era in the future.
Seeing Lu Yibei's gaze, Dragon Xiang was briefly taken aback, then laughed heartily without minding, "No matter, heroes don't ask about their origins! I think the condition Miss Shen just mentioned is acceptable. You two may follow me."
With that, he turned and led the way, walking out of the small courtyard.
"Wait!" Lu Yibei called out softly, looking at his back.
"What else?" Dragon Xiang turned and asked.
"And her!" Lu Yibei pointed to Shen Baiwei in front of the small house behind her and explained, "I agreed to act with you, but my sister hasn't agreed yet!"
"But don't worry, just give me a moment, and I can convince her!"
"Besides, it might be a while before we can return, so we both need to prepare, don't we?"
Dragon Xiang looked at Lu Yibei, then at Shen Baiwei, and smiled, "Miss Shen is right. Then I will wait outside."
With that, he walked straight out of the small courtyard.
Watching Dragon Xiang's figure disappear behind the wooden gate of the small courtyard, Lu Yibei finally breathed a sigh of relief, as if granted a great pardon.
She had finally passed the Nanling Commander's hurdle, although the troublesome way to solve the problem had created new, bigger troubles...
After adjusting her state slightly, Lu Yibei looked at Shen Baiwei, leaned closer, and said expressionlessly, "I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"
After waiting for a moment and seeing Shen Baiwei remain silent, she continued, "The good news is that the Nanling Commander will no longer bother us."
"And the bad news?" Shen Baiwei subconsciously asked.
"The bad news is, we might have to go on the expedition with him."
Shen Baiwei, "???"
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Dragon Xiang left the courtyard of the simple hut and returned to the winding alley, stepping on the thin layer of sand covering the ground. He had walked less than twenty meters when Hong Bian, who had emerged from a corner, blocked his path.
He looked like a petty thief trying to rob someone.
"How is the situation? Have you educated those two Misses? Are they willing to be good?" Hong Bian asked somewhat eagerly.
Dragon Xiang looked at Hong Bian, rubbed his nose, and said seriously, "The situation is more complicated than imagined."
"Complicated?" Hong Bian frowned, "They are unwilling to cooperate?"
"They are very cooperative, it's just..." Dragon Xiang hesitated, as if feeling guilty about something. He met Hong Bian's gaze, then quickly looked away.
"Just what?" Hong Bian said, "Did you perhaps realize that their cooperation is merely a pretense, not genuine?"
"Not so!" Dragon Xiang shook his head and sighed silently, "From my observation, that talkative Miss Shen is not an evildoer at all. She has her own strong opinions and a spirit that rivals men. She probably won't do anything detrimental to Yumen Pass, it's just..."
Hong Bian greatly trusted Dragon Xiang's judgment. After hearing the first half of his sentence, his mind had already settled halfway, but upon hearing "just," it became anxious again.
"It's just that I impulsively invited them to join me on the expedition just now."
Saying that, Dragon Xiang then recounted Shen Baiwei's true intentions, which he had probed from her.
"Joining the expedition? That's good, that's..." Halfway through his sentence, Hong Bian came to his senses, his expression immediately changed, and he exclaimed in surprise, "No! Absolutely not!"
As he spoke, his expression changed as if he was walking down the street, saw a house on fire, was enjoying the spectacle, and then suddenly realized it was his own house burning.
However, this was not Hong Bian making a fuss over nothing.
He had already sensed a similar trait in the two Miss Shen to that of the Shaman King—a power that could bring chaos and destruction to this world.
On the battlefield, the situation changes in an instant. Allowing two such dangerous individuals to be by Dragon Xiang's side, if they were to act at a critical moment, could plunge the entire Yumen Pass, and even this world, into eternal damnation.
How could he not be flustered?
"Alright, alright!" Dragon Xiang patted Hong Bian's shoulder, comforting him, "I know what you're worried about, but..."
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Halfway through his sentence, he paused slightly, narrowed his eyes, and his entire demeanor instantly shifted from somewhat cynical to sharp, like a finely honed sword, causing one's heart to tremble slightly.
"However, with me here, even if they truly intend to scheme, it would be a path to their own demise."
"What's more..." Dragon Xiang spread his hands, "When I invited them, I wasn't completely without considering the consequences. Didn't I say before? If they harbor ill intentions, I will properly educate them."
"Although they only want to be bystanders now, after they see what that bastard Que Pi Jia has done, they might change their minds and stand with us, right?"
You want to watch? Then watch well! After seeing the tragic state of devastation, it will be easy to distinguish good from evil based on your reactions... Dragon Xiang thought.
Hong Bian looked at Dragon Xiang thoughtfully, his brows tightly furrowed. He had seen Dragon Xiang like this before, when Dragon Xiang first mentioned Xia Lianqing to him.
At that time, Dragon Xiang knew that Xia Lianqing was a spy, yet he disregarded Hong Bian's dissuasion. Not only did he not immediately arrest Xia Lianqing, but he continued to maintain contact with her, and even... even developed to the point of sleeping in the same bed.
"Ah--!" After a moment of contemplation, Hong Bian sighed deeply, "You are always like this, fond of doing risky things." frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Just like when you saved me back then... Hong Bian added in his heart.
Disregarding risks, at a time when the war was precarious, bringing a person of unknown origin, emitting strange Spiritual Energy fluctuations, from the desolate Gobi Desert back to the Longxiang Army Camp was an extremely dangerous act.
Not to mention, behind this person, there could be a large number of pursuers arriving at any time.
Seeing Hong Bian's tightly furrowed brows relax, Dragon Xiang knew that he had understood his intention. He raised his hand and patted his shoulder, saying, "Can you do me a favor? Get me two sets of Long Xiang Army armor and lead two horses over."
Hong Bian, "..."
Throughout Yumen Pass, the only one who could make this generation's Saint Monk lose his composure repeatedly like this, and even order him around like a stable boy, was probably the dear Prince.
"Oh, and one more thing!" Hong Bian was about to leave when Dragon Xiang suddenly called out to him again.
"What is it?"
"Have you ever heard of 'True Martial Pure Yang, Purple Heaven Resplendent'? Do you know its origin?" Dragon Xiang asked seriously, "That was said by that Miss Shen, and it seems related to her lineage."
Hong Bian thought for a moment, then shook his head, "Never heard of it."
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On the other side, in the simple hut.
Although Shen Baiwei had been observing the Disaster and Dragon Xiang's every move from a distance, perhaps due to the influence of Dragon Xiang's terrifying Spiritual Energy fluctuations, she did not hear their complete conversation clearly.
It was fragmented, not enough to piece together the full picture in a short time.
When Lu Yibei came to her, explained the whole story, and told her to prepare to go on the expedition with the Nanling Commander, she felt completely out of sorts.
"I knew it! I knew it!" Shen Baiwei glared fiercely at Lu Yibei, her chest heaving violently, unable to utter the rest of her words for a long time.
She had suspected before that the Disaster had been quiet for so long, perhaps brewing something bad, preparing for a big move.
But what she didn't expect was that the Disaster would play such a big game, too big to accept...
That was the Lord of the God Kingdom, the Nanling Commander, arguably one of the most important figures behind the entire Yumen Pass incident!
And good news, bad news! This was like a Doctor telling a patient's family, "I regret to inform you that the surgery failed, but the good news is, today the second coffin is half price."
"Don't look at me like that..." Lu Yibei said expressionlessly, "This is their territory, and they've come knocking. Do you think we have any room to refuse?"
"To refuse that Prince, one must have a power that can contend with him, and the only power I can think of that can contend with him right now is the Shaman King... Should we go seek refuge with the Shaman King?"
"I think that guy probably won't be as easy to get along with as Prince. If you go to him, he might just capture you, wash you clean, strip you naked, and throw you to the soldiers as a reward."
Although Lu Yibei was trying to persuade her with good intentions, what Shen Baiwei heard, as if automatically activating the "marketing account out of context mode," startled her.
What?! She still wants to contact the Shaman King?
That's terrifying!
Shen Baiwei knew she wasn't calm right now, but she really couldn't control her emotions.
In fact, she had always been a very calm person before, until she met the Disaster...
The Disaster seemed to possess some kind of maddening magic.
Seeing that normal methods couldn't persuade Shen Baiwei, Lu Yibei pondered for a moment and decided to try a simple and crude approach.
"Fine! Since you don't want to come with me, I'll go by myself."
"However, you know me; I like to meddle in other people's business. If I see something I don't like, and no one stops me, I might just I couldn't help it.."
"Shen Baiwei, although I don't want to cause harm to your body due to a momentary impulse, circumstances compel me... Oh, never mind, more words are useless. I'm leaving. Miss Shen, take care!"
With that, Lu Yibei turned and walked out the door.
Shen Baiwei initially thought this was just the Disaster's provocation, but watching the Disaster's figure disappear behind the dilapidated small wooden door, she was stunned for a moment before realizing that the Disaster seemed to have really left. Coming to her senses, she bit her lip hard and then hurried out in pursuit.
"......"
Upon careful thought, what the Disaster said made sense!
The Nanling Commander personally invited them, so they truly had no room to refuse. Moreover, if they really just watched from the sidelines, it wouldn't have too much impact on the past...
But if I don't go and supervise, and let the Disaster run wild, then that would be a huge problem...
Shen Baiwei thought, and her steps quickened involuntarily.
However...
Stepping out the door, passing through the winding, narrow alley outside the small thatched house, and just reaching the main street, she froze in place.
She saw the Disaster and Dragon Xiang, each leading a fine horse, squatting on the stone steps by the street. From a distance, they saw her figure appear and began to whisper.
"Look, I told you she'd follow! I know her too well!" Lu Yibei said expressionlessly.
Dragon Xiang nodded, praising, "Miss Shen is a brilliant strategist!"
Shen Baiwei, "..."
For a moment, she felt as if she saw two dogs.
