The fireflies’ journey came to an abrupt end when a draft blew them onto the dark water surface. Nobody would’ve expected there to be a black ship under the lake two and a half kilometres north of Whale God Island. Obviously, there were no winds underwater, yet the ship was able to move. Schools of fish would scramble to get away as soon as they noticed it approaching their direction.
When several fireflies entered the ship, the elder meditating opened his eyes. “It’s about time.” His voice fossilised the fireflies and dimmed their glow.
The only darkness in the luminous interior was him, a man shrouded in darkness. He spread open his arms and let himself fall back onto the mattress, laughing at the ceiling. While the elder sitting on the timber floor didn’t care for the interior’s décor and furniture, Mr. An adulated, “Hahahaha, it’s been so long since I’ve had the chance to ride Boundless Voyager. Demon Realm’s inventions never cease to amaze me. I never get bored of them.”
They never had any qualms about people finding them since they were all elites who were veterans at hiding their tracks, and they always carried tools considered magic to the uninformed. This Water Wave ship could travel to the bottom of a river and transport fifty people in its biggest model. In a naval war, they’d be catching their opponents by surprise.
Focusing on the school of fish outside, Mr. An lamented, “If I was born with these machines, I’d probably be in love with researching them all day. It’s a nice carefree life if you ask me.”
“Visit the castration room, and you’ll be allowed to join Demon Realm.”
“Good idea. If I ever feel like it, I’ll copy Zhong Ning. I might even be able to hook up with a cute chamberlain when I visit.”
“Hand it over.”
“What?”
“The monarch’s sword. I’m pretty sure I heard it named Purple Forbidden Enclosure Dragon Slayer. Given you arrived late, you must’ve had enough fun. It’s time you let this old one see it, isn’t it?”
“Wow, magnificent hearing, Poison King. You must have concocted a new supplement.” Mr. An gave Poison King a thumbs up.
Since Mr. An was dressed in thin and light clothing, there was nowhere to conceal such a large sword. As such, Poison King concluded his “comrade” had hidden it somewhere else. “Where’s the sword? Where did you hide it?”
“The sword? Lost it.”
“Lost it?”
Chilling on the soft mattress, Mr. An supinated his hands. Poison King still detested his chortle as always. There was no means of discerning how honest Mr. An was given his nature and track record. Poison King leaned toward Mr. An telling the truth this time based on experienced, nevertheless.
“Is this the right occasion for jokes?”
Poison King tore Mr. An’s black mask off, revealing A-Ji’s face, the very same face that Mr. An tore off to reveal the black mask. In spite of Poison King’s insight, experience and discerning eyes, he was never able to see through any of Mr. An’s masks. During their time together, Poison King had seen Mr. An pose as more than twenty different people, each sporting original appearances and profiles.
Mr. An had never shown subordination to the head of their organisation even in the leader’s presence; Mr. An was always the enigma to everyone. Nobody knew what his real appearance or identity really were.
“Where is the sword? Don’t tell me you’re hiding for some lame reason, like hogging the credit.”
Poison King started churning up qi as he took another step, but he immediately yanked his foot back when he felt a breeze only a sword could generate come toward his neck. Poison King didn’t see the strike or his attacker at all until the latter stopped, revealing his silver dragon mask.
“Hahaha, Longdan, don’t be rude to elders now.”
Longdan stepped aside, going back into hiding his presence. Had Poison King not watched Longdan retreat, he would never have known the latter was there.
“Poison King, relax. I mean it when I said I lost it. I’m not playing around.”
“Ten years of work all gone overnight, yet you’re laughing about it? How did you lose it? Retrieve it.”
“Well, I encountered someone who fights well. He called it quits after a few exchanges.”
“And you quit because of that?”
“He started walking off when I had yet to make up my mind, only to spin around and try to behead me. I barely responded in time since he caught me off guard; all I could do was evade. Had I not used my secret technique, I probably wouldn’t be here right now.”
“… Someone can survive against you in a duel? Is he even human?”
“Ask Longdan. He’s scrapped with him more than I have.” Mr. An propped himself up. “There are some things that will have to wait until we see our leader… Let’s go. Back to Yellow Spring.”
Glossary
Yellow Spring – You should be familiar with this name if you’ve consumed other wuxia, traditional xianxia and mythology series or gufeng music. For clarity sake, Yellow Spring is not Yellow River. Yellow Spring is the underworld.
