Stranger Danger

“That’s not very… proper, is it?” Pedant Earth hesitated not because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t dare.

“We are friends, aren’t we? What’s there to worry about?” Ye Qing laughed before countering, “Unless you think that I don’t deserve to become friends with you two?”

“Of course not!” Pedant Earth replied in a hurry.

“Then it doesn’t matter if you address me as Joyless now, does it?” Ye Qing looked at Shangguan Hongjin. “What do you say, Miss Shangguan?”

As expected, Shangguan Hongjin declared with the wave of the hand, “You said we’re friends, but why are you still calling me miss? Just call me Shangguan, Hongjin, or even big sis if you feel like it!”

“Hahaha! As you wish, Shangguan.” Ye Qing smiled. “What about you, Pedant—no, Earth?”

“If you insist, then this old fool shall pull himself up high.” Pedant Earth broke into a bright smile as well.

“Good!” Ye Qing laughed before handing over two items to Shangguan Hongjin and Pedant Earth. “Here. Take these.”

“This is…!” Shangguan Hongjin and Pedant Earth were shocked. It was because Ye Qing had given them Defeated and the Holy Son of Maitreya’s Nature’s Shells. The two items they were coveting—“To Slay Autumn Water” and the second volume of the “Book of Lu Ban”—were also stored inside the Nature’s Shells.

Pedant Earth was shaking his head profusely as well. Although he was extremely interested in the “Book of Lu Ban” and the treasures within the Nature’s Shell, he ultimately chose to reject the gift.

“So what? You saved my life. This is the least I could do to repay the favor.”

Ye Qing smiled. “Now that I’m a Grandmaster, none of these items are really useful to me anymore. They would only gather dust inside their Nature’s Shells if I keep them.”

“Also, you haven’t forgotten where we are, have you? I’m sure that these treasures would prove useful for your survival.”

Again, he was telling the truth. There were plenty of good stuff in Defeated and the Holy Son of Maitreya’s Nature’s Shells, but they also weren’t useful to him anymore.

It was a different story for Shangguan Hongjin and Pedant Earth though. The treasures would drastically improve their chances of surviving this place.

Not wanting to drag this out, Ye Qing pushed the Nature’s Shells into their hands and said, “It’s settled then. Go catch some rest while I speak with Giggle.”

He disappeared in a blur of speed after saying that, giving them no chance to respond.

After Ye Qing was gone, Shangguan Hongjin and Pedant Earth exchanged a bitter smile with each other. Then, they put away the Nature’s Shells and began recuperating as Ye Qing had told them to.

……

At the top of a peak not far away from the edge of the basin, Ye Qing met up with Giggle and the headless Sage once more.

The headless Sage was sitting crosslegged on the ground and seemingly admiring the blood moon in the sky. As for Giggle, the little Stranger was sitting quietly on his shoulder. From a distance, they looked like a beautiful, tranquil painting.

When Ye Qing got close, he realized that the headless Sae was rotting.The resentment and obsession that kept him alive were almost completely gone as well.

It was clear that the headless Sage was minutes, maybe even seconds away from death.

Giggle was wearing a bright smile on its face, but its sad, lonely eyes revealed what it was really thinking.

Giggle noticed Ye Qing, of course. It looked up at him and shot him a pure, bright smile that resembled the blue sky.

The headless Sage rose to his feet and faced toward Ye Qing. Giggle leaped onto his palm when he raised it to his shoulder. After caressing the little guy’s head for a bit, he slowly handed it to Ye Qing.

Ye Qing took Giggle and promised solemnly, “Do not worry, senior. I will take good care of him.”

For the last time, the headless Sage caressed Giggle’s head lovingly before turning his back on them. Then, he arced backward as if he was looking at the blood moon.

The headless sage’s body began rotting at an accelerated rate. A few breaths later, when a gentle breeze blew past him, he abruptly scattered into dust and disappeared into the wind.

The wind came, and the wind left.

He was gone.

“Oooooo…”

Giggle finally couldn’t hold back its sorrow any longer and weeped. Its voice was full of mourning and sorrow.

“Don’t be sad. You were able to accompany senior in his last moments, I am sure he no longer has any regrets left in this world. You should be happy for him.”

Ye Qing petted its head gently before recalling something. “Ah, shit, senior’s head is still out there somewhere, isn’t it? Don’t worry. I’ll find it and give him the peace he deserves.”

“Ooooo…”

Giggle bowed its head and bumped against Ye Qing’s palm, whining mournfully.

“Senior may be gone, but you still have me. From now on, I will walk with you.”

Ye Qing kept Giggle company and spoke to it for a very, very long time. It wasn’t until the blood moon had disappeared into distant mountains that he finally descended the hill.

By the time Ye Qing returned to the basin, it was already broad daylight. Mountain Tunneling King, Mrs. Basket, Shangguan Hongjin and Pedant Earth had already awakened.

“Young master.”

“Young master.”

“Joyless!”

All four warriors greeted him when they saw him.

“Are you all okay now?” Ye Qing asked.

“Thank you for your concern, young master. We are fine now,” Mountain Tunneling King and Mrs. Basket replied with a salute.

“Same here. We’re more or less recovered,” Shangguan Hongjin also replied, Pedant Earth nodding his agreement at the side.

It turned out that Defeated and the Holy Son of Maitreya stored a ton of valuable medicine inside the Nature’s Shell, and their injuries weren’t that serious to begin with. After a little over half a night of rest and recuperation, they weren’t just back to full strength. They were quite a bit stronger than they were before.

“Alright! Let us be off!” Ye Qing declared.

“To where, exactly?” Shangguan Hongjin voiced her puzzlement. They had never planned where to go after reaching the basin after all.

“To the Dark Overlord’s inheritance, of course!” Ye Qing replied.

“The Dark Overlord? Is this place really where he left behind his inheritance?” Shangguan Hongjin exclaimed in shock.

Pedant Earth, Mountain Tunneling King and Mrs. Basket were staring at him with wide eyes as well.

“Yes and no. The Dark Overlord was here, but this is not where he stored his inheritance.”

Ye Qing began walking in a certain direction while providing an explanation, “To be more accurate, this is a pocket world the Dark Overlord Li Hentian had created back in the day. It is called the Demonbearer Abode.”

“‘Bearer’ refers to the Oathbearer we encountered prior to entering this place, and ‘Demon’ refers to Li Hentian himself. The Demonbearer Abode was where he secluded himself to during his later years.”

And how did he know about this? It was because the headless Sage had also imparted to him some of the knowledge and memories regarding this place when he gave him his energy and martial intent earlier.

Li Hentian, the Dark Overlord was an unparalleled genius whose power was rivaled by no one. For thirty years, he had lived as pleased despite the dangers and darkness of the jianghu.

However, that wasn’t to say he wasn’t affected. After thirty years of total dominance, he grew tired of the eternal pursuit for fame and glory and believed that he had seen everything the world had to offer. So, he created a pocket world on top of the Oathbearer he had raised since it was a baby and set off to the world beyond with his beloved companion.

That was how the Demonbearer Abode came to be.

A few breaths of silence later, Pedant Earth voiced his question, “If what you say is true, then what happened? How did the Dark Overlord’s abode turn out like this?”

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