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Translator: Fate
Translation Checker: Silavin
The atmosphere was stern and heavy in the manor of the Swallow Clan. Everyone was warily standing, not daring to even let out a sound from their breaths.
As the Bone Ancestor arrived, he behaved unusually reverently with the young man beside him. As such, those of the Swallow Clan were thoroughly stunned as their minds rang. Had they not seen it for themselves, they wouldn’t have believed what just happened.
As a matter of fact, the Bone Ancestor was a ruthless man who was in control of one Great Domain, and no forces in the entirety of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains would dare to offend him.
Once, a True Daoist intended to split the ownership of Great Bone Domain in half, only to be murdered by the Bone Ancestor with a palm as his blood splattered in the air.
Such an individual with unparalleled cultivation must not be measured by ordinary means.
Nonetheless, now, the fact that he came to Crimson South City solely to escort a young man was truly unexpected. That could only indicate that the identity of the young man must be boundlessly terrifying and would haunt anyone that dared imagine it. As such, those of the Swallow Clan were feeling goosebumps all over.
“So, that’s why…” Ni Shang, the woman in black, was the prodigy of the Bone Clan who had become a True Daoist with fathomless cultivation might millions of years ago.
After listening to the Bone Ancestor, she quickly regained her senses and composure. After taking a deep look at Gu Changge, she figured out his identity. Essentially, there was only one person who could draw such respect and awe from the Bone Ancestor.
Though, she never expected that Gu Changge himself would personally visit Crimson South City.
“Greetings, Young Master Gu.” Immediately, she took a graceful bow, though her face remained cold and emotionless.
Gu Changge responded with a smile and a nod, seemingly indifferent towards her.
“You may drop the courtesy. I saw you were looking for the escaped survivors. How is it going?” Gu Changge casually asked.
Although there was quite a distance between Great Bone Domain and Westwin Domain as many territories were in between them, given the strengths of Gu Changge and the Bone Ancestor, it wouldn’t take a long time for them to travel between the two Domains.
In fact, the Bone Ancestor told Gu Changge about Ni Shang on their way to Crimson South City.
Ni Shang was a cultivator with the greatest of Talents. In fact, the Bone Ancestor had not encountered someone so blessed for countless years. It would be only a matter of time until she eventually surpassed him. Therefore, he had entrusted certain parts of the Bone Clan’s history to Ni Shang before sharing to the rest.
Earlier, Gu Changge was fascinated when he saw Ni Shang investigating the Family of Protectors.
“We have gotten some leads, Young Master Gu. I made deductions based on the bloodline I collected from the family in the past and ultimately arrived at Crimson South City. I am certain that the remnants are now in Crimson South City. Though, the area remains too wide to determine in which corner they are currently hiding in,” Ni Shang answered honestly, and her speech was professional and clean.
Gu Changge then slightly nodded. With a casual look, he replied, “Is that so? Since they are in Crimson South City, that makes things easier. If you are still unable to find them, you may try annihilating the city.”
“Yes, Young Master Gu.”
Hearing that, Ni Shang and the Bone Ancestor didn’t have any noticeable reaction. After all, to them, massacring an entire city was nothing major as they could finish it in a second given their strength.
However, seeing how Gu Changge effortlessly decided Crimson South City’s fate, as if he was mindlessly stepping on a bug, the people of the Swallow Clan were absolutely terrified. Their dread-filled faces blanched as their bodies uncontrollably shook.
“But of course, only do that when push comes to shove. Surely I don’t strike anyone as a killer of innocents, do I?” Gu Changge scanned across the fearful faces of the people of the Swallow Clan and smilingly stated.
Despite his words, the people of the Swallow Clan couldn’t help but remain shivering, and their souls were basically frozen. They wouldn’t even dare to guess Gu Changge’s identity.
“Rest assured, Young Master Gu. This old one is the Ancestor of Crimson South City, and my words carry remarkable weight in this city. Should you intend to look for a person, all you need to do is ask for it and this old one will have men scouring for them no matter how deep they hide.” The Ancestor of the Swallow Clan vigorously suppressed his fear and spoke with a shaking voice.
The rest of the Swallow Clan hastily nodded in response, signalling their agreement as they were worried that they would be dragged into the disaster. Otherwise, they would be devastated by remorse when Crimson South City was destroyed by Gu Changge before the Upper Realm Army’s attack could even reach here.
“With your assurance, I am assured.” Gu Changge breezily chuckled. [Well, under such circumstances, I doubt that the Family of Protectors would be able to hide for long.]
Followingly, Ni Shang reported every single detail she had found during her days of investigations to Gu Changge.
“Splendid work. Were you responsible for the annihilation of the family at that time as well?”
After listening to the report, Gu Changge shot Ni Shang a gaze of appreciation. Be it strength or capabilities, she easily disgraced the many prodigal damsels that walked the streets.
“Yes, though unfortunately, some managed to escape.” Seemingly humble, Ni Shang nodded, though she wasn’t as reverent as the Bone Ancestor towards Gu Changge.
“It is no big deal. Since they managed to escape, they will eventually expose their own tracks.” Gu Changge smiled, unbothered by her minor mistake. [If the annihilation back then wasn’t flawed, how could my dear leek, Xiao Yang have been born?]
Upon the sight, the Bone Ancestor’s smile grew even wider. If Ni Shang managed to gain Gu Changge’s respect and liking, it would naturally be advantageous to him as well.
[It seems this old one’s years of cultivating Ni Shang has not gone in vain…] He pondered in his mind.
Given Gu Changge’s identity, he must have seen every prodigal damsel the world had to offer, so it would be impossible to impress him merely by one’s appearance. Therefore, only one’s capabilities could do the trick. [Judging by the situation, Ni Shang’s accomplishment seemed to satisfy him.]
“Then I shall tend to the investigations according to the notes on the jade tablets.”
Ni Shang noticed her Ancestor’s gaze that was signalling her to perform impeccably in front of Gu Changge. Thus, after wondering for a while, she proposed her idea, intending to take the opportunity to find the remnants of the Family of Protectors.
“There is actually no need for that. Aren’t you in possession of some of their blood?”
Nevertheless, after hearing about the idea, Gu Changge shook his head as a strange sensation surged in his eyes.
Apparently, he had another plan. Judging by Ni Shang’s current result, it was safe to assume that she was now in possession of not just bloodline but Blood Essence from someone in the Family of Protectors, which allowed her to make such a precise deduction of their whereabouts.
“Indeed, I had collected quite an amount of their Blood Essence, as I intended to look into the secrets of their bloodline. However, all these years, my effort has been to no avail. Hence I took the opportunity to burn a few drops of it, and I eventually ended up in Crimson South City.” Ni Shang was dazed for a moment before answering the question.
“No problem. All is well.” Gu Changge nodded.
In his hands, he was holding the Chaos Purple Scripture, which worked as an inexplicable wonder in making deductions and predictions. With the Blood Essence of the Family of Protectors, he could use the Chaos Purple Scripture to deduce their fates and traces.
With that, Ni Shang extracted a few drops of crystalline, glistening Blood Essence from a sealed jade jar.
With a swing of an arm, Gu Changge swiftly burned the drops of Blood Essence to activate the Chaos Purple Scripture.
At once, a zoom of light flashed across the ambiguous surface of the scripture, followed by a surge of pictures. At the same time, traces of Karmic Threads that only Gu Changge could see flashed across the air and speedily disappeared.
Very soon, grand, ancient palaces could be seen in the Chaos Purple Scripture. Exuberant energy was wafting around the palaces’ massive red doors.
In front of the manor, a giant ‘Luo(洛)’ word came to life amid an unusual aura.
Nevertheless, the occurrence appeared only for a second before vanishing into nothingness.
“‘Luo? How many Luo’s are there in Crimson South City?”
After seeing the vision, Gu Changge withdrew the Chaos Purple Scripture as he grew enthralled.
Meanwhile, Ni Shang and the Bone Ancestor were still stunned by the enigmaticness of Gu Changge’s treasure.
Hearing that, Ni Shang, as though she remembered something, replied, “There was someone named Luo in the jade tablet. It was quite memorable.”
“Oh, what’s their name then?” Gu Changge gently furrowed his brows.
If he was right, then the remnant of the Family of Protectors he was looking for must be this ‘Luo’ person. Though, he was still clueless what relationship this particular remnant might share with the Fortuitous One he was searching for.
“Luo Ying,” Ni Shang stated.
Accordingly, she called for the Young Master of the Swallow Clan, Yan Ming, over since he was the one who informed her of the matter.
Yan Ming, the Young Master of the Swallow Clan, was a muscular, heroic-looking young man, and he was also one of the most excellent young prodigies in Crimson South City.
Although he was also afraid of Gu Changge and the other unexpected guests, he managed to compose himself, answering, “Luo Ying is the adoptive daughter of the Luo Clan. It was said that twenty years ago, they found her in the wild. Seeing how miserable she was as she had no one to depend on, they felt sympathetic for her and decided to take her in.”
“Luo Ying and I once attended the same academy, so I am aware of how powerful her Talents are. What she displays in the public eye is merely the tip of an iceberg,” Yan Ming noted frankly, not daring to omit any detail.
Once upon a time, he even trained together with Luo Ying, making them Senior and Junior. Inevitably, he, too, had borne admiration towards Luo Ying. Alas, after he was rejected, his passion for her gradually burnt out.
Now that Gu Changge was questioning about Luo Ying, Yan Ming didn’t dare to hide anything from him. At such a moment, he wouldn’t dare to treat the fate of his own clan and the living beings of Crimson South City as though they were a joke.
[Twenty years ago… Suffering alone… Adoptive daughter…] After hearing him out, Gu Changge sank into thoughts. He was now almost certain that Luo Ying was one of those that managed to escape and survived back then.
[But if this Luo Ying is working alone, why was the Ancestor of the Bone Clan inflicted with a backlash when he was trying to read the fate of the Family? There must be more than this.]
“The Luo Clan has been hosting a marriage banquet these few days. Luo Feng, the idiotic Young Master of the Luo Clan, is about to marry Luo Ying, the adoptive daughter.”
Very soon, Yan Ming brought up another matter, and his voice bore unconcealable envy. The goddess he once loved was now about to marry an absolute idiot.
To be fair, almost all of the younger generation in Crimson South City was sharing the same complicated feelings of jealousy and envy as him.
[Idiotic Young Master?] Upon those words, Gu Changge’s eyes grew even stranger.
[It seems a unique situation is happening to this idiotic Young Master of the Luo Clan. Rascals, idiots, and scums tend to be hiding some sort of mighty identity, and it would take a certain opportunity to trigger the awakening of such identities or memories. And the wedding may just be that very opportunity.]
Although Gu Changge had never seen the Young Master of the Luo Clan with his own eyes, he figured that things shouldn’t be far from his guess [He might just be the new Fortuitous One, who would be the very last hope of Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains. Idiotic Young Master, huh? How interesting.]
“Since Luo Ying and you were once Junior and Senior, do you have any other opinion about her, seeing that she’s about to marry a fool?” Gu Changge revealed a subtle smile and fascinatedly asked the strictly deferential Yan Ming who was standing in front of him.
Now that he figured out that Luo Feng was most likely the new Fortuitous One, things would sail much more smoothly.
Nonetheless, before looking into the matter, Gu Changge decided to find out whether Luo Feng was pretending to be a fool or that he was genuinely a fool, as well as whether he was hiding some plans under his facade. That way, Gu Changge could prevent startling his enemies. Besides, he had the time to do so.
Indubitably, before that, Gu Changge figured that he could also take advantage of this Young Master of the Crimson South City.
Hearing that, Yan Ming was taken aback for a moment as he was confused about why Gu Changge would say such words to him.
Regardless, not daring to hide anything, he immediately replied, “In all honesty, when I heard that Junior Luo Ying was engaged to an idiot, I felt angry and unfair, envious and jealous. But, as the Young Master of Crimson South City, controlling the internal affairs of the Luo Clan is out of my power, so I am to refrain from interfering…”
“Since you bear reluctance, I shall give you an opportunity. During the wedding tomorrow, why don’t you take the bride away?” Gu Changge said with a faint, alluring smile.
Yan Ming was visibly dumbfounded as he could hardly keep up with what just happened. Of course, he thought about seizing the bride, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it given his identity and position.
Nevertheless, now that Gu Changge was in front of him, he dared not to reject the idea, so he could only push through the embarrassment and accepted it. “Thank you for the opportunity, Young Master Gu.”
Despite that, he couldn’t help but feel thrilled.
The Bone Ancestor and Ni Shang were also surprised by the fact that Gu Changge allowed Yan Ming to ruin the wedding. [Is the Luo Clan perhaps hiding some sort of dirty secrets?]
“Worry not, I shall go with you. Your name shall not be marred. Speaking of which, why don’t you pick a woman from your clan to compensate the Young Master of the Luo Clan tomorrow? After all, that should prove sufficient for a complete fool. I doubt the Luo Clan would be brave enough to reject it. They may even feel grateful.”
Gu Changge leisurely spoke with a faint smile on his face. He didn’t seem to feel bad about his decision. [A foolish act of marriage for a foolish Young Master deserves to be foiled by a villain so that the shameful encounter can reawaken his memories.
“Understood. Thank you, Young Master Gu.” Yan Ming sternly nodded.
As he was no fool, he understood Gu Changge’s insinuation—Luo Ying must be hiding some sort of identity, which had yet to be exposed even to this day. On the other hand, as the Young Master of Crimson South City, his sole use to Gu Changge was to test Luo Ying.
Essentially, he didn’t believe Gu Changge would actually let him truly seize Luo Ying.
…
In a flash, the next day arrived.
It was still a merry day In the Luo Clan Residence. Celebratory lanterns were lit as the strikes of gongs and drums thundered in the sky, welcoming the arrival of guests that would soon fill the grand hall.
As a medium-sized family in Crimson South City, the Luo Clan bore remarkable influence over thousands of kilometres around it, and the guests who were invited to the wedding banquet were all eminent figures of Crimson South City. Even Luo Ying’s Master, when she was cultivating in Thousand Dao Academy, attended the banquet.
Her Master was in the Sacred Emperor Realm. Even in Crimson South City, her Master was an invincible, domineering figure that none dared to disrespect.
For her Master’s sake, many forces came to the Luo Clan Residence to participate in her and Luo Feng’s wedding banquet.
Many guests were gathered in the grand hall. Luo Feng’s parents and family members were on the primary seats, tending to guests with gleeful smiles.
Although it was a turbulent time as the Upper Realm was warring against Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, the raging flames of the war had yet to reach Crimson South City.
To the relatively small forces that they were, they wouldn’t bear any relevance to the great war, as their strength could hardly contribute to it.
“Congratulations! Luo Feng is definitely fortunate to have Lady Luo Ying.”
“Luo Ying isn’t just powerful in terms of Talents, but she is beautiful and smart as well. Her future is certainly endless. How envy-evoking!”
The many guests gave their compliments after presenting their congratulatory gifts.
Many eyes were fixated on the centre of the grand hall. The gazes of the young ones were especially resentful and jealous.
At that moment, a tall, slender woman donning a red veil and a Phoenix Crown Robe was quietly sitting in the centre of the grand hall. Although her face couldn’t be perceived, the guests could already see what stunning beauty was shrouded within.
Unquestionably, the woman was one of the main leads of the wedding banquet—Luo Ying.
At the same time, an invigorating, clean-looking young man sat beside her. He was also wearing a big, red wedding robe. Nevertheless, instead of looking forward, he was sillily giggling. Occasionally, his drool would even fall off the corner of his lips.
Seeing that, a maid standing by the side immediately grabbed a clean handkerchief and helped him wipe the saliva off.
Although the sight could be unpleasant or revolting even, the guests in the grand hall seemed to have been used to it, so they weren’t so weirded out by it.
Though, they were more sympathetic towards Luo Ying. From now on, she would be bound to the idiot. As such, many were left sighing in disappointment as it was apparently more depressing than the death of a pure damsel.
“Thank you for your attendance, dear guests. I would never have expected that so many of you would come to my son’s banquet of eternal happiness.”
The leader of the Luo Clan, the father of the wedding’s protagonist, Luo Feng, laughingly spoke as he made a thankful hand gesture towards his guests. He seemed especially respectful towards the silver-haired old woman on the other side.
Although he was Luo Ying’s adoptive father, the silver-haired old woman was a Sacred Emperor Realm expert of Thousand Dao Academy, so he felt obliged to pay respect to her.
“Though, Ying’er, I am truly sorry for you…” The leader of the Luo Clan couldn’t help but feel remorseful for Luo Ying. If she didn’t marry Luo Feng, she might be a limitlessly influential woman in the future. She might even break through to the Sacred Realm and reach the Sacred Emperor Realm.
Upon those words, a charming voice came from underneath the red veil.
“Don’t be sorry, Uncle. You have raised me for over twenty years. I have watched Luo Feng grow up since he was only a boy, so how could I bear seeing him suffer?” Luo Ying gently spoke in a tender tone, as though she wasn’t affected by the marriage.
Thereupon, the leader of the Luo Clan let out a delighted chortle. He couldn’t be any happier to have Luo Ying as his daughter-in-law.
“If Feng’er’s sickness can ever be cured, nothing would please me more…”
He then heaved a sigh as he helplessly glanced at the drooling Luo Feng.
It was indeed a strange sickness. In spite of all the doctors he had hired, no one could ever discover the root of such a sickness. As time went by, all he could do was to leave it as it was.
“Huh? Was it just me?”
However, he suddenly blurted. As if he was stupefied, he took a careful look at Luo Feng. For a moment there, it was as though he noticed a twitch in Luo Feng’s eyes, as though Luo Feng wasn’t dozing off like he always had.
Alas, after he took another look, Luo Feng seemed to remain in his usual delirious, unconscious look.
As such, the leader of the Luo Clan couldn’t help but wonder if his eyes deceived him. He felt that Luo Feng was somehow different, but he wasn’t certain about the thought.
“Master, Yan Ming has come to the banquet.”
Right at that moment, a servant hastily dashed into the grand hall and reported.
“The City’s Young Master?”
At once, a notable commotion was stirred up in the grand hall as the guests were all shocked.
The Swallow Clan was the greatest force in all of Crimson Souty City, and its Young Master, Yan Ming, was a respected figure. Even the Luo Clan, given their position, was never able to invite him over.
Yet, at such a moment, he decided to attend the banquet out of nowhere. Although the crowd was baffled, that didn’t stop them from getting up and welcoming the unexpected, important guess. After all, he was the Young Master of Crimson South City. Given his identity, no one could ever come in contact with him during usual times.
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