SFS 15. Entering the tiger's den again.
15. Entering the tiger's den again.
"Heh...Does Lord Huangzhu think that our cultivation is too low to protect you?"
"..." Gao Zhun rolled his eyes inwardly, wondering what was wrong with Xuan Yuan Huan Yu, who insisted on clinging to such an uncooperative nobody, and hadn't this person already guessed that she was from the Gao family?
"That's not what I meant. Miss Xuanyuan, why force me to do something I don't understand?"
Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Huanyu's face stiffened, and the other seven Xuanyuan clansmen beside her also paused, their expressions complex, a mixture of pity, mockery, and admiration, all conveying the same message: Huangzhu, you have some nerve, daring to say that Xuanyuan Huanyu is making things difficult for others.
However, the seven men were also puzzled. Normally, if they encountered someone as disobedient as Gao Zhun, Xuan Yuan Huan Yu would have already given him a single Emperor's Gaze, and the boy would have been completely subdued. He wouldn't have given the boy a chance to refuse or defy him. Thinking of this, the men's gazes towards Gao Zhun changed again, becoming somewhat inscrutable. After all, the boy was still just a teenager, and their esteemed Lord Xuan Yuan Huan Yu would not possibly be interested in such a callow youth. Therefore, Xuan Yuan Huan Yu's obviously reserved behavior towards the boy was intriguing. There were probably only two possibilities: one was the identity of this person named Huang Zhu; the other was that this person might be indispensable to their tomb exploration. Either way, it was enough to raise their regard for Gao Zhun to an infinite level. Thus, their initial indifference to his departure, and even their desire for him to leave, had changed significantly.
Just as one of the seven was eager to try and persuade Gao Zhun to stay, Xuan Yuan Huan Yu, who had been frozen to the side, regained his composure. Seeing this, the seven dared not overstep their bounds and kept their lips tightly shut.
As for Gao Zhun, she was filled with trepidation. Within moments, she regretted her words. Even if Xuan Yuan Huan Yu had acted as serene as an immortal, it couldn't change the tyrannical nature of the Xuan Yuan family within her. And she, hah, had just contradicted her. "Hope others won't force you to do things..." Excuse me? Is a tyrant who doesn't force others still a tyrant?
Even with her exceptional talent, powerful imperial mind and keen imperial insight, Xuan Yuan Huan Yu was unable to see through Gao Zhun's thoughts at this moment; otherwise, she wouldn't have uttered the following words.
"In that case, I will not force you. Lord Huangzhu, we shall meet in the tomb."
Not only were the other seven members of the Xuanyuan family shocked, but Gao Zhun and A Zhong were as well. Gao Zhun, in particular, asked the other party with her eyes: "Did you take your medicine today?" After receiving a look from the other party that said, "What else do you want?" she felt relieved and whispered to A Zhong, "Let's run while Xuanyuan Huanyu is still quite ill."
Ah Zhong couldn't help but reply, "Master, Miss Xuanyuan isn't sick. Didn't you hear what she said? 'We'll meet in the tomb...'"
Of course she heard it, and without a doubt, what Xuan Yuan Huan Yu said made perfect sense. She was definitely going to explore the tomb too—the tomb of a peerless expert from the Yun family! Who knew how many rare treasures were inside? If there was even the expert's legacy, she remembered that her short-lived father was a descendant of the Gao and Yun families through marriage, so she also had a quarter of the Yun family blood flowing in her veins. She should be able to receive the legacy, giving her a huge advantage among these tomb raiders.
But so what? With such a large group of people from the Xuanyuan family around, it's inevitable that things will be inconvenient. Not to mention that her habits as someone from another world are incompatible with these people, even if that dream realm were to come again, and she still failed to enter the dream, who knows if the Xuanyuan family would capture her as an experimental subject for research?
In short, if we don't leave now, when will we?
Thinking it over, Gao Zhun bowed to Xuan Yuan Huan Yu and said, "Thank you for your understanding, Miss Xuan Yuan. I am a bit indecisive, and I hope you will forgive me. I may enter the ancient tomb after I understand some of the risks, but in order to avoid slowing down everyone's progress, I should take my leave. If I do decide to enter the ancient tomb in the future, I will definitely come to find you. I hope you will not think I am a huge burden at that time."
As he spoke, Gao Zhun gave Ah Zhong a look, and the two of them retreated about three miles along the route they had come from before, and then landed on the ground. Just as Gao Zhun had said, they wanted to observe the situation from the outside for a while.
"Heh...this kid's not bad, he knows there's a risk and wants to wait until someone explores the tomb before making a decision, but he's still a coward." The person who was thinking this was Xuan Yuanhao, whom Mo Nishang had accused of killing hundreds of millions of people in the southern kingdoms. Gao Zhun had gone to find Xuan Yuanhuanyu because of Xuan Yuanhao; she inexplicably wanted to know the truth, but before she could even ask, she had offended him. Later, when she set off to explore the tomb, she saw that Xuan Yuanhuanyu was still with a group of eight, and Xuan Yuanhao was also among them. She simply assumed that Xuan Yuanhao had never done such a thing, or perhaps, even if he had, Xuan Yuanhuanyu didn't care.
"Oh?" Xuan Yuan Huan Yu withdrew her gaze from the direction Gao Zhun and the other had left, and gave Xuan Yuan Hao a faint look. The latter felt a surge of panic, but after the former said "oh" and then said nothing more, she led the seven of them toward the entrance to the tomb that she had already scouted down below. In an instant, the heart that had been hanging in suspense for many days seemed to return to its place. He also thought to himself with a self-deprecating smile about what he had been so worried about these past few days. Perhaps Xuan Yuan Huan Yu had not believed Mo Ni Chang's words at all, or perhaps this woman who did not care about anything outside of power did not care about that matter either.
Either way, it's a good thing for him.
On the other side, as soon as Gao Zhun and Ah Zhong landed, they were surrounded by people who had been lying in ambush. When Gao Zhun saw the leader, he almost couldn't catch his breath and was about to die.
"Mo Nishang..." Gao Zhun rolled her eyes so hard they almost reached the back of her head. Was the heavens playing a cruel trick on her? In Yongcheng, besides the Yun family, there were two other top bosses. They had just sent one away and another one had already been brought in. Was the heavens trying to make her more entertained because she was bored lately?
Mo Nishang winked at the person surrounded by her subordinates and said in a coquettish voice, "Oh ho, it's you, young man. It's been so long, and you still recognize me?"
"I have never forgotten that fleeting glimpse of the Giant Spirit Platform that day." Since she had just escaped one danger only to fall into another, she had no choice but to obediently comply and give her name to avoid further questioning.
"Huang Zhu?" Mo Nishang waved her hand, and the demons surrounding Gao Zhun automatically made way for their princess. In any case, given their numerical advantage, what did one early-stage Golden Core cultivator plus another peak-stage Golden Core cultivator matter? If those two were really so ignorant, they would just kill them on the spot.
Mo Ni Chang was no longer wearing her black gown today, but instead dressed in fiery red men's clothing. However, her hair ornaments and chest area still resembled those of a woman, making it impossible to look away from her face and chest. Indeed, this witch's beauty was bewitching, a stark contrast to Xuan Yuan Huan Yu. However, if it were Xuan Yuan Huan Yu with the Emperor's True Eye...
Someone had already begun to silently compare the similarities between Xuan Yuan Huan Yu, who had opened his Emperor's True Eye, and the red-clad beauty before him, without even noticing that one of the people he was silently comparing had already come to stand in front of her. Mo Ni Chang was a few centimeters taller than Gao Zhun, and at this moment, she looked down at Gao Zhun's eyes, which were slightly empty due to his distraction, and breathed softly: "What an inattentive little fellow."
In fact, when Mo Nishang walked towards Gao Zhun, Ah Zhong, who was standing guard to the side, had already sent a telepathic message to his master to wake him up. At this moment, her empty eyes were actually an act. She just didn't expect the other party to get so close and even release the seductive technique that had made her dizzy that day at close range. She was clearly just an insignificant little person, so why did these bosses have to lower themselves to make trouble for her?
"The name is nice, but it's a pseudonym." In fact, Mo Nishang, who had just released her charm, withdrew it. There was no need for her to take such a child seriously. She then slightly increased the distance between them and continued, "The surname Huang is not considered a major surname among your righteous sects. It seems you don't know that all those who possess the teleportation array to Yongcheng are from large families and powerful forces. Otherwise, they wouldn't have chosen such a name."
"How could Your Highness, Fifth Princess, know that I, Huang, don't come from a powerful force? Perhaps a first-grade or even a super-grade sect?" Gao Zhun refused to believe it. First, Xuan Yuan Huan Yu, who seemed to have seen her before, knew she was from the Gao family, and that wasn't enough. Now, Mo Ni Chang has come along, and she wants to guess her origins? She's not that easy to guess…
"Compared to the strictly governed clans, the diverse and powerful forces are even more of a focus of our demon race's observation. I have a list of who they sent to Yongcheng, and my men located everyone on that list back at the Giant Spirit Platform..." Mo Ni Chang paused, glancing at Gao Zhun and A Zhong before continuing, "However, regarding you, Gao Zhun, and your servant A Zhong—his registered name on the first day of residence was Gao Yun Zhong, right? We've been completely baffled by your origins from the beginning. We've already ruled out powerful forces, so the only remaining option is the large clans. So, Lord Huang Zhu, would you like to hear my analysis further?"
Gao Zhun narrowed his eyes at Mo Nishang's obviously provocative behavior and replied, "Since the Fifth Princess has the leisure for this, and Ah Zhong and I are not in a hurry, it wouldn't hurt to listen."