Ch. 76 – Disengagement
T/N: Thank you to Cydney for the generous Kofi donation! Enjoy the extra chapters!
How could Yinglong come to North Sea City? Hao Chen wondered as he walked.
He approached a temple gate and saw that there was no path forward, so he turned around and started walking back.
And why would Yinglong seek out Xue Ren, a human? What was he plotting?
Before he knew it, he had reached the end of the path. There was only a thick wall before him, so Hao Chen changed direction again.
Could it be about Jianmu? Xue Ren was from Lingxiao Sword Sect, and Jianmu originated with the sect leader of Lingxiao Sword Sect one hundred years ago. Perhaps a clue to Jianmu still remained within the sect.
If that was the case, it made sense for Yinglong to seek out Xue Ren.
No, wait. Hao Chen changed direction again and suddenly realized that his first two questions might be one in the same. Yinglong had come to North Sea City just for Xue Ren, and if he wanted Xue Ren’s help, there was a 99% chance it had to do with Jianmu.
This was a bit messy. Hao Chen knocked the handle of his fan against his forehead. Although no branch nor leaf of Jianmu had been seen thus far, the towering tree that should have burned to ashes long ago seemed to have sprouted back to life.
Like a resurrected ghost, the shadow of the tree grew beyond his sight, increasing its area to encompass increasingly powerful people.
If it was a mess, he would start from the source.
The source was obviously Ling Yun’s dream from one hundred years before. This human had planted Jianmu to try to ascend to the heavens. But in the end, not only had he failed, he also brought a great disaster down upon the world.
Yinglong severed Jianmu in the Eastern Sea. This was also the first time Yinglong had appeared in relation to Jianmu.
Yinglong’s reason for chopping down the tree was unknown. Was the general belief true, that this cold and arrogant god wouldn’t allow mortals to ascend to the heavens? He cared nothing for the casualties that resulted from that one swing of his sword. Human lives were like those of ants – why should a god pay them any attention?
Or perhaps Yinglong had some other reason for chopping down Jianmu?
There was no way to tell.
The answer could likely only be gleaned by questioning Yinglong himself, but regrettably, no one dared to try.
People would rather swallow their anger than question the murderer who took the lives of their relatives, friends, and mentors, instead pushing all of the blame onto Ling Yun, who had done nothing wrong.
Although it had been Ling Yun alone who planted Jianmu, the final decision to ascend to the heavens had been made collectively. They had all vied to be the first to climb it, but after the disaster, this group of people never dared to mention it again. They simply blamed Ling Yun for drawing Yinglong out, and labeled him an eternal sinner in order to avoid Yinglong’s wrath.
Had Ling Yun not died in that fire, this group of people likely would have sacrificed this sinner to appease Yinglong.
Such speculation was not outrageous. There was a high probability that it would have happened. After living for so many years, Hao Chen had developed more than just thick skin. He had seen much of the darkness and filth in the world, so most of the time, he preferred to keep himself out of it rather than meddle in the affairs of others.
He only needed to protect his North Sea. The fates of those in the outside world had nothing to do with him.
Yet he, who should have had no involvement with the Jianmu incident, actually became involved due to an unforeseen coincidence.
Needless to say – the thief who came to steal water for Jianmu from the North Sea. The thief had been very cautious, and hadn’t been discovered even after sneaking into the heart of the North Sea. His bad luck was that as a land-based human, he didn’t understand the characteristics of marine species very well, and although he cut off most of the limbs of the octopus he forced to help him steal the water, the octopus still lived.
Not only did it not die, but the octopus monster escaped to report to Prime Minister Turtle. This triggered a large-scale manhunt in the North Sea, which woke up the soundly sleeping Hao Chen.
And Hao Chen’s decision to descend to the mortal realm to hunt down the thief himself was the ultimate coincidence. It had been a spur of the moment decision that no one would have been able to predict.
Therefore, among the three forces currently involved in the Jianmu matter, his North Sea was actually involved by happenstance.
But the other two parties were not so unexpected.
On Yinglong’s side, there was the man in the black robes. He was wearing a mask, but Proprietor Crab and the others had already reported the matter to Prime Minister Turtle and were waiting for the octopus to come and see if the black-robed man resembled the thief.
If so, it was very likely that they were the same person.
Then he must have come to the North Sea to steal the water under Yinglong’s orders…..but why?
Sunlight, water, and soil were the three key elements required for Jianmu to sprout and grow, but Yinglong’s purpose should clearly be to destroy Jianmu. It was he who had cut down Jianmu one hundred years ago. Even if he was pursuing Jianmu now, his goal should still be its complete destruction. Why would he steal water to nourish Jianmu’s growth?
He couldn’t figure it out for the time being, nor could he be sure that the black-robed man at Yinglong’s side and the water thief were the same person. So he set the matter aside temporarily and waited for Prime Minister Turtle and company to identify the person.
The last party involved in the matter of Jianmu was one lone person – Feng Ye.
One hundred years after Jianmu was reduced to ashes, everything was buried in the dust. People no longer spoke of the incident, because it happened so long ago that it was almost ancient history. One hundred years was very short for Hao Chen – simply the length of a nap. But for a human being, half their life, or even their whole life might pass during this length of time.
But this buried past had been dug up by someone, for some unknown reason. Yinglong and Feng Ye had once again begun to pursue Jianmu. Perhaps they had sensed something that nobody else had noticed, and were therefore investigating Jianmu’s whereabouts.
If Yinglong wanted to completely destroy Jianmu, then what was Feng Ye’s goal? Who was he? Did he know that Yinglong was involved in all of this?
Probably not. If he knew that pursuing Jianmu would put him in opposition to Yinglong, he likely wouldn’t continue. After all, Yinglong’s reputation was well-known in the heavenly realm. There were only a few gods who dared to face him directly, and Feng Ye was not one of them.
Speaking of which, he needed to warn Feng Ye not to investigate any further. For the moment, Yinglong was probably unaware that someone else was after Jianmu. Otherwise, given Yinglong’s ruthless character, how could he allow another to covet something he had set his sights on?
This matter needed to be dealt with quickly. After all, Yinglong had already appeared in North Sea City and may still be there now. Feng Ye was still completely unaware. He had to warn him at once.
With this in mind, Hao Chen took another turn.
He paced the halls as he thought, spinning like a top, from east to west and from west to east, without stopping for a single moment.
And as he spun, his three crab subordinates didn’t dare remain idle. Although they themselves were not lost in thought, they followed in their Lord’s wake and marched in line behind him.
But Hao Chen’s turns were completely irregular, and his steps would change whenever a question popped up in his mind. Crabs were not very good at making turns, and after following Hao Chen for quite a while, they finally grew dizzy.
When Hao Chen turned the last corner, the crabs crashed into each other in a chain reaction, starting with Crab Eighteen in the back.
“Ouch!”
“Ouch!”
“Ouch!”
There were three consecutive crashes, rising and falling like waves.
Hao Chen glanced back at the crabs sprawled on the floor and couldn’t help but gripe to himself that his people were so unreliable.
Whether subordinates could be relied upon was mostly the responsibility of their leader, but Hao Chen had no talent for introspection.
But he suddenly remembered something when he was disturbed by this group of crabs. He had to warn Feng Ye, but he couldn’t do so directly.
After all, he was still in disguise, and he shouldn’t be aware that Yinglong had appeared in North Sea City.
He needed to employ a subtler method. Hao Chen quickly came up with an idea, and just as he was about to give the order, the crabs helped each other off the floor and spoke first.
With Proprietor Crab as their spokesman, they asked for recognition from Hao Chen: “Honored Lord, since Eighteen discovered something important, shouldn’t he be rewarded according to his merits?”
The three crabs blew bubbles together as they looked at Hao Chen expectantly.
But Hao Chen sneered internally. He wouldn’t have remembered this matter if the crabs hadn’t brought it up.
He smiled and said: “Great achievements should naturally be rewarded, but…..” He shifted his gaze to Crab Eighteen. “You were so close to Yinglong, but he didn’t notice you?”
“Well……” Crab Eighteen nervously blew bubbles, and couldn’t help but glance at his cousin.
Proprietor Crab was also very anxious. He made eye contact with Crab Eighteen, trying to tacitly make up an excuse.
Unfortunately, Hao Chen saw through them. He smiled and said: “I’ve heard that your crab clan has three treasures, and one of them seems to be a Cloaking Shell. It can block all detection methods, and even I wouldn’t be able to find the one hiding within it.”
“Could it be that you didn’t intend to obey my orders at all, and gave the Cloaking Shell to your cousin, allowing Crab Eighteen to escape while you made up a tale about his body sinking into the sea to fool me? But you unexpectedly ran into Yinglong, and came back to ask for credit, isn’t that right?” Although Hao Chen was still smiling, his voice grew more and more dangerous.
The three crabs were sweating profusely. Although they didn’t have sweat glands, it was no exaggeration to use this description.
Because everything their Lord said was true!
Their Honored Lord was worthy of his title. Although he seemed unreliable most of the time, and could even call a tortoise a turtle, once he got serious, nothing could be hidden from him.
After all, how could a great god be a fool?
Under normal circumstances, Hao Chen would have just brushed the crabs off and moved past this. He had been comfortable for so long, and couldn’t be bothered to think too much. He would eat and sleep, sleep and eat, and flirt with a beauty in his free time, living a very happy life.
But the appearance of Yinglong broke him completely out of his lazy state. Most creatures had a certain territorial awareness, and smaller creatures entering or leaving their territory wouldn’t draw their attention. But with a predator of equal strength, even if it didn’t enter one’s territory, just lingering near the boundary would agitate the territory’s owner.
Yinglong was a predator of equal strength, and the other party was not just lingering near the boundary – he had already stepped into the territory of the North Sea.
And he hadn’t given the Lord of the North Sea any notice at all. This alone was enough to start a war.
But Hao Chen didn’t want to start a war. He didn’t advocate for peace out of cowardice, but the casualties of war with Yinglong were unpredictable, and Yinglong had nothing holding him back. If he were to recklessly engage in a fight in his North Sea, even if he ultimately emerged victorious, what would be the point if his North Sea was completely devoid of life?
Plus, Yinglong had no intention of starting a war at the moment. Had he not seen this image, Hao Chen would have had no idea that Yinglong had appeared in North Sea City. This suggested that the other party had been very careful to conceal himself, and was pursuing Jianmu in secret. He had only been discovered by accident.
He could avoid a dispute by pretending not to have seen him. After all, from beginning to end, Hao Chen and the North Sea were only involved in this matter by happenstance. It wasn’t too late to withdraw now.
Of course, before withdrawing, he would have to take Feng Ye with him. Although their relationship had not made any substantial progress, Hao Chen already considered Feng Ye to be half a North Sea citizen in his heart.
So when Hao Chen watched the three crabs trembling, about to burst into tears and confess their sins to him, he reached out in time to stop them. Without pursuing the matter further, he simply said: “Forget about it. Now, you three help me with something.”
“Do you know the person who has been accompanying me?” Hao Chen asked them.
Crab Eighteen and Old Crab Nine had both met Feng Ye, and nodded in tandem.
“Go find him, and then…..” Hao Chen gave his orders in a low voice.
After receiving their instructions, the three crabs left.
Hao Chen stood there and watched the crabs depart, his expression still somewhat solemn.
Logically speaking, if he withdrew in time, the Jianmu matter would have nothing to do with him. He had also sent his people to warn Feng Ye in a roundabout way, but…..
It was one thing to tell him, but whether Feng Ye would listen was a different matter.
If Feng Ye didn’t listen and continued on his quest, he would eventually run into Yinglong, who was also pursuing Jianmu.
At that time……would Hao Chen take action?
In other words, would he fight against Yinglong – whom he didn’t want to come to blows with – for Feng Ye’s sake?
Hao Chen couldn’t come up with an answer for the moment. If he didn’t carry the burden of the North Sea, he would be free from worries just like Yinglong. Then he could naturally do as he pleased. Since Feng Ye was the person he had set his sights on, what did it matter if he faced Yinglong? The God of War was powerful, but Hao Chen was not to be trifled with. Without a real fight, who could know which of them was stronger?
But he had an unshakable responsibility upon his shoulders, and he couldn’t act so impulsively and recklessly.
“Ai.” After thinking about it, Hao Chen just let out a sigh. He was in big trouble.
Perhaps he shouldn’t have woken up a month ago.
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Neon Dragonfly Translations 