Free Web NovelChapter 835: Chapter 89: The True Colors
Jiang Wang paid no attention to Old Zhao’s unstoppable bickering, casually asking, "Are incidents of Sea Beasts going out of control common?"
"Not very. We’ve always just heard about them, damn it, but now two have happened in just the past few days!" Old Zhao was full of expletives, "For fuck’s sake, what kind of luck is this!"
"So which is it, ’damn it’ or ’for fuck’s sake’?" Old Zhao’s friend began to contradict him again, "You’re still safe and sound after two incidents, isn’t that good luck! You son of a bitch, what more do you want?"
Old Zhao didn’t take offense to the swearing, merely scratching his head, "Ah, now that you mention it, it does seem like it!"
Three Cultivators flew in from the horizon, all dressed in blue with a whale spouting water embroidered on their clothing, indicating they were Transcendent Cultivators from the Angry Whale Gang.
"Who are you?"
The leading Cultivator, who appeared to be around thirty with a short beard, was full of aggression.
As he approached, he questioned Jiang Wang, "What brings you to these waters? Do you have a pass token?"
They had seen the Sea Beast fall from afar but had not made out the details of the battle.
And now, on the deck of the small dragon bone boat, everyone looked disheveled, only Jiang Wang appeared calm and composed, so he was the first they questioned.
Jiang Wang did not speak, but glanced at him and then behind him.
Following him were two other Cultivators, a man and a woman, both appearing very young.
"What are you looking at with those thief’s eyes? Our revered Hall Master Li is talking to you!" the young male Cultivator rebuked with dissatisfaction.
Obviously suspecting that Jiang Wang was interested in his fellow sect member.
"Respected immortals of the Angry Whale Gang!" Old Zhao hurriedly spoke up, "Just now, it was this gentleman who pulled us out of danger, saving us commoners from peril!"
Clearly concerned that Jiang Wang might start a conflict with the local power of the Angry Whale Gang on Youxia Island, he helped to explain.
But he would have been better off not mentioning it, as once he did, the Cultivator from the Angry Whale Gang could no longer contain his anger.
Pointing his halberd finger, he directly accused Jiang Wang, "Do you know the value of this Sea Beast? This is our Angry Whale Gang’s Guardian Sea Beast; how dare you kill it? Can you bear the responsibility?"
Old Zhao was eager to speak up, "Immortal, this gentleman was only trying to save..."
"Did I ask you?" the man stared at him fiercely and with a menacing tone, commanded, "Slap yourself!"
Big and burly as he was, Old Zhao fell silent for a moment, then lifted his hand toward his own face.
He too was hot-headed and had been in his fair share of fights while making a living outside. But the entrenched status gap between ordinary people and Transcendent Cultivators was deeply imprinted in the minds of these commoners.
But his palm never struck his face.
Jiang Wang grabbed his wrist.
Jiang Wang’s hands were clean, pale, and well-defined, not as thick as Old Zhao’s arms. Yet with a gentle grip, they were like iron, preventing Old Zhao’s hand from moving.
"Fellow Daoist." Jiang Wang let go and walked in front of Old Zhao, protecting him, while facing the Transcendent Cultivator from the Angry Whale Gang, "Regardless of the value of this Sea Beast, it cannot outweigh a human life. When it lost control and became frenzied, it held no value, only becoming our enemy. Thus, I do not know by what identity or stand you are questioning me."
With Hai Zongming of the Mountain and Sea Sect unexpectedly passing away, others may have heard unclear reports, but the Angry Whale Gang themselves could not be unaware. Yet a new backer had not been found, a time when the strength of Sea Beasts was most needed. Such an error had occurred!
The Cultivators from the Angry Whale Gang had been late to the rescue, not without intention of waiting for the Sea Beast to exhaust its frenzy before they could secure it with ease. It was clear they hadn’t cared about the ordinary people on the dragon bone boat.
"What do you mean by losing control and going mad!" Li Daorong exclaimed angrily, "Our eight-armed Sea Beast was just having a bit of fun. Without understanding the situation, you killed it; can you bear the responsibility? Which sect do you belong to, and who are your elders?"
Li Daorong, one of the three Hall Masters of the Angry Whale Gang and a Cultivator of the Inner Mansion Realm, was the Guardian of the eight-armed Sea Beast, holding a restrictive control flag for it. The flag was divided into a mother flag, which he held, and the child flag implanted in the Sea Beast’s sea of consciousness.
Today, upon suddenly losing the connection with the mother flag in his hand, he came searching in alarm. With the mother flag in his possession and a deep understanding of the eight-armed Sea Beast’s habits and vulnerabilities, he was confident he could subdue it.
But he had also brought two Ascending Dragon Realm Cultivators as reinforcements, intended to quell the situation as quickly as possible.
However, they arrived slightly too late, and the eight-armed Sea Beast had already been put to death.
For the already terrified Angry Whale Gang, this was no doubt adding insult to injury. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
How could he explain this to the gang leader?
His harsh rebuke of Jiang Wang at this moment was also to cover up the responsibility for the sea beast losing control.
If this person was so rude, Jiang Wang certainly would not show him any kindness in return.
His face turned cold immediately, "This whole ship’s passengers, as well as the damage it has caused along the way, can prove that your Angry Whale Gang’s sea beast is out of control. You fail to control it and still try to blame me?"
He stood with his hand on his sword, a sharp edge emerging, "You ask of my origins? I am Jiang Wang, a man from Green Sheep Town in Daqi, with a Fourth Grade Green Badge! Do you have any advice for me?"
Li Daorong choked up at once.
He had assumed that even if the other party was powerful, what good origins could someone mingling with these ordinary people have? Youxia Island was the Angry Whale Gang’s territory; outsiders had to coil up like dragons and crouch down like tigers.
Apart from a few major powers, who else could conflict with the Angry Whale Gang on Youxia Island?
He could never have expected that this young man in front of him was a Grade-4 official from Qi Country, with a title to his name.
And the name Jiang Wang, it seemed familiar. It seemed like someone with some renown, he just couldn’t recall at the moment.
He was already somewhat panicked inside, but still stiffened his neck and said, "So what if you are a person from Qi? A Qi official has the right to strike out recklessly, regardless of the truth? You must know, this is the Near Sea Archipelago! It’s the territory of sea people!"
This man completely disregarded the truth and distorted right and wrong. He painted Jiang Wang, who rescued people with his sword, as a Qi country thug who bullied others with his power. He even attempted to use the "greater good" of the sea people to suppress Jiang Wang, the outsider.
He had a very clear scheme in mind.
Was it difficult for the Angry Whale Gang to slander someone in the sea territories of Youxia Island?
But at this moment.
A man stood out.
An ordinary man.
A man who braved the wind and rain, who earned his living with his own two hands,
Old Zhao strode beside Jiang Wang, his weather-beaten face flushed from dark to red: "I can testify!"
He shouted with great and surprising courage: "It was your Angry Whale Gang’s sea beast that went out of control and wild. Lord Jiang drew his sword to fight it in order to save us, the useless civilians. What wrong has he done? This has nothing to do with whether we are from Qi or sea people! I am a sea person, and I would say the same before anyone!"
Old Zhao’s friend finally wiped clean the filth from the corner of his mouth, promptly adding his voice, "I am also a sea person! If we are talking about truth and justice, this is truth and justice!"
Then more people started to stand up.
"I can also testify!"
"I can confirm it too!"
"Just now as I was in the water waiting to die, where were you sea people’s big shots? It was Lord Jiang who saved me!"
"If not for him, I wouldn’t have made it back!"
The whole dragon bone vessel, with twenty-six passengers and three sailors, saw twenty-nine people stand up. Not one shrank back, not one remained silent.
What is the sentiment of the people?
This is the sentiment of the people.
"Why say more!" Jiang Wang said with a bright smile, standing boldly in front of everyone, arms apart and hands spread to both sides.
Not only was he protecting the people aboard the ship behind him, but he also faced the Cultivator from the Angry Whale Gang with nothing to hide.
His bearing was carefree, confident, and lofty, "You want to let me know? Then come forth! Li surnamed, the three of you might as well attack together, just right to enlighten me, what is the Near Sea Archipelago and who are the cultivators of the Near Sea Archipelago!"
