Chapter 118: The Response

Inside the Returning Sea Pavilion, the Red Forest Woman stole a glance aside and said, “Looks like we’ll have to fight this old man after all.”

Jiuxi laughed. “Perfect. At least we won’t have to kill him during the day.”

The two exchanged a smile, then suddenly increased the force in their hands. With two crisp cracks, Jin Tianzuo’s two golden spiritual-energy swords shattered. At once, the Red Forest Woman and Jiuxi launched themselves at him in unspoken accord.

Jin Tianzuo gave a great shout. “Good! Let this old man see what makes you youngsters think you have the right to establish yourselves on the Linglong Continent!”

He filled both hands with spiritual energy and thrust them upward. Each palm received one attacker’s blow. A deafening roar erupted throughout the Returning Sea Pavilion, and Jin Tianzuo’s feet involuntarily retreated several steps.

The old man, however, was exceedingly stubborn. He forcibly circulated his spiritual energy once more, and his black-gold aura exploded again. With a thunderous boom, he held his ground, locking the two women in midair.

Jiuxi and the Red Forest Woman exchanged a glance. At the same moment, they struck Jin Tianzuo’s palms with one hand each. Their other hands swiftly formed several spiritual seals, and in an instant, numerous spiritual-energy swords of different colors appeared in the air, shrieking toward Jin Tianzuo.

The old man’s golden beard whipped through the air. With a bang, a golden spirit shield covered in spikes formed before his chest.

Jiuxi and the Red Forest Woman were secretly astonished. As expected of an unparalleled expert of the Falling Leaves Sect.

But at that very moment, an unexpected change occurred.

Guihai Rongan, who had already been pronounced “dead,” suddenly rose to his feet. Blood was still dripping from his stomach, yet he had not actually died. He had been feigning death all along. He knew that if he did not pretend to be dead, the hand clasped around his neck would twist it apart in an instant. Then he would have suffered far more than a mere hole through his belly.

By taking advantage of the Red Forest Woman and Jiuxi’s carelessness, he had narrowly escaped disaster.

When Jin Tianzuo saw Guihai Rongan standing, the old man immediately realized the miracle before him, and his confidence soared. He shouted, “Young Master, hurry to the Returning Sea Hall! That is the safest place!”

Then his hands moved violently. Instead of releasing spiritual energy, he transformed it into a powerful suction force.

At first, Jiuxi and the Red Forest Woman assumed the old man was playing some trick to deceive them and make them lower their guard. But then they suddenly heard footsteps behind them and instantly became alert.

The Red Forest Woman cast Jiuxi a meaningful glance and increased the strength of her attack. Jiuxi stole a pleased glance over her shoulder and, sure enough, saw Guihai Rongan staggering away as he fled.

He spat bitterly, “Not dead, are you?”

He tried to withdraw his hands, but Jin Tianzuo held them fast with his suction force.

Meanwhile, before the Repository of Ten Thousand Spears, Mo Bai still wore a smile. Across from him, Guihai Xin was so furious that even his beard had begun to fly wildly.

“Brat, you deserve to die!”

Mo Bai replied, “Old City Lord Guihai, I cannot die just yet.”

“Why?” Guihai Xin roared.

“Because I have not yet answered your question, Old City Lord. At the very least, if I am going to die, you should let me die with satisfaction. Otherwise, I will have done all these things and still be unable to explain them. Wouldn’t that be terribly anticlimactic?”

Guihai Xin could barely contain his fury. The Repository of Ten Thousand Spears had been destroyed—what patience did he have left for anything else? He wanted nothing more than to reach out and strike Mo Bai down into the deepest layer of hell.

He was just about to attack when an almost imperceptible stream of spiritual energy stopped him.

Guihai Xin froze, then saw Young Master Qing wave his hand.

“I would rather like to hear how Brother Mo Bai answers City Lord Guihai’s question.”

“Oh? Besides eating steamed buns, does Young Master possess such refined interests?” Mo Bai could hardly have forgotten this young man.

Young Master Qing smiled faintly. “I am Shangguan Qing. Though I enjoy fine food, I also possess a particular fondness for certain unusual people.”

“Oh? So I am an unusual person. But what exactly is this particular fondness of yours? I hope it is not something I could never accept. I may appear somewhat romantic, but in truth I am an extremely traditional man.”

Mo Bai had no idea why he felt compelled to tease Young Master Qing.

Shangguan Qing laughed helplessly. “I thought I might have chosen my words poorly, but after hearing that remark from Brother Mo Bai, I can confirm that you truly are an unusual person. And I certainly do not possess the sort of interest you imagine. Ha ha.”

“Then I am relieved. Since Young Master wishes to hear, I see no harm in explaining. In any case, there is still some time before breakfast.”

“I am all ears.”

Shangguan Qing was becoming increasingly interested in this man several years his senior. For a moment, he seemed to have forgotten both his identity and the reason he had come here.

Perhaps the person at Ink Jade Ridge would have burst out laughing upon witnessing this scene. It was indeed an extraordinary sight.

“First, let me explain how we found the Repository of Ten Thousand Spears. It is actually quite simple. As the saying goes, no wall is without a crack. Since Returning Sea City had long been preparing to deal with the Yihua Sect, and the Yihua Sect has tens of thousands of disciples, how could it possibly remain unaware of Returning Sea City’s plans?

“Returning Sea City’s greatest reliance is the Ten Thousand Spears Formation. Naturally, the Yihua Sect’s people began investigating the Repository of Ten Thousand Spears long ago. So today, I merely followed the directions given by the Red Forest Woman and found this place with ease.”

Mo Bai spoke without the slightest hesitation.

“Second, there is the matter of the mechanisms. A cautious man like Old City Lord Guihai would never entrust the Repository of Ten Thousand Spears solely to human guards. That would hardly be foolproof, so mechanisms were essential.

“As for how I managed to damage those mechanisms and make them turn around and destroy the Repository of Ten Thousand Spears, that is even simpler. Mechanisms are designed by people, and they are lifeless things. Anything created by people can be altered by people. As luck would have it, I happen to know a little about that sort of technique.”

At this point, Mo Bai glanced again at the old man’s face. Guihai Xin was so furious that it had turned green.

The mechanisms he had designed had cost him an enormous amount of effort and money. Yet this brat had dismissed them with just a few casual words.

Mo Bai continued, “The final matter concerns my brother, Wu Luohua.”

At the mention of this, Mo Bai’s expression became extraordinarily solemn.

“How could I have changed my course so readily without first being certain that he had reached safety?”