“Grandaunt, are we just going to hang around here? Are we not going to assist First Brother?”
Ming Suwen gently plucked one of the wild flowers by the boulder in the desolate forest at random intervals. “We won’t be of any help. We’ll be more useful if we don’t go there.”
Tianfeng Xuanyuan deployed a tactical nod – showing he understood when he actually didn’t – then turned to Sima Huai. Contrary to Ming Suwen’s leisurely temperament, Sima Huai had knitted brows. Tianfeng Xuanyuan might’ve been pure, but he wasn’t completely ignorant to the affection between his grandaunt and first brother. It was atypical for Sima Huai to do the worrying instead of Ming Suwen if Ming Feizhen was in a troubled fix.
“Where you of to?” Ming Suwen broke Tianfeng Xuanyuan’s thinking tracks with her voice whilst stopping Xia’er with her hand.
Xia’er poked her tongue. “I’m worried about my brother.”
“Stay where you are,” Ming Suwen instructed.
“Oh…” Xia’er scuttled back to Lian Zhuiyue’s side. Annoyed with him meditating on the ground, she seized him by the ear. “Hey, how can you find the motivation to train when First Brother might be in trouble.”
With his signature straight face, Lian Zhuiyue answered, “Grandaunt’s orders.”
“Does it kill you to show some concern for your brother?!”
“Sister, should the situation to a certain point, Grandaunt will have new orders for us. You don’t need to fret like this.”
“That’s not entirely correct,” Ming Suwen refuted, studying a leaf from various angles prior to plucking it. “It’s precisely because the situation is bad enough that we have to be here instead of accompanying him.”
“Grandaunt, are you serious?” Sima Huai questioned. “First Brother… can’t suppress the violence?”
Ming Suwen riveted in a place for a second, then held the leaf up to the sun. “… Yeah. I predict he will lose control, and stopping him won’t serve any use.”
Ever since Ming Feizhen gained the Fengpeng’s powers, Mount Daluo’s greatest concern was him losing control as, if he lost control, then they weren’t just facing a perilous monster but also their beloved family member.
“What should we do…? What should we do…?” Sima Huai mumbled.
“Exactly what we should. Do what you can.”
“And what we can d-”
“Our guest has arrived.” Using two fingers as tongs, Ming Suwen plucked the last petal, then hurled it as a dart. The sound off the leaf finding its target was identical to metal hitting metal. “You showed up pretty much when I estimated. Thought you’d come after us.” Ming Suwen rose to her feet and turned to the face the direction she shot her petal. “You’ve kept me waiting.”
A tall woman in shiny armour stepped out from the dense forest.
***
“Bring the eight out.”
Hong Jiu went off to fetch the eight people Ming Feizhen referred to. Not a soul, the four diplomatic envoys in particular, dared to make a sound, lest they missed the moment Ming Feizhen revealed the nature of his intent.
Qingqiu’s envoy pinned his gaze to Hong Jiu’s back, worried he would be caught off guard if he looked away. Watch and watch, he suddenly cried, “Your Majesty!” and bolted into the crowd to cling to the legs of an individual Hong Jiu came back with. “Your Majesty! Am I dreaming?! I am so glad to see you safe and sound, Your Majesty!”
Qingqiu’s Queen was easy to recognise under her wind coat owing to her feminine appearance. She pulled off her hood, then pulled her vassal up. Although tired, she was her usual self. “Sorry for making you all worry.”
“Qingqiu’s Queen…”
“There’s more.” Hong Jiu grinned. “All four sacred beasts are here.”
The three other envoys confirmed their rulers were fine – and cried as though it was the only way to prove their fealty. It took them a while to remember thousands of people were watching them.
Chiyi’s diplomatic envoy inquired, “Your Majesty, what happened? The rumours say you all died, so…”
Chiyi’s King crossed his arms and glared at Ming Feizhen. “It’s just collaboration. Shaman Faith’s Shaman Monarch wants to get rid of someone, but he needs our strength.”
Qingqiu’s Queen expanded, “Indeed. Under normal circumstances, our armies cannot enter Wanyu. If we die, however… we will form an alliance to settle the score with the culprit.”
They weren’t trusted with the duties of a diplomatic envoy without reason; they didn’t need to hear the name to figure out who the specific individual was.
Despite the thousands of pairs of eyes on him, Gewu casually looked back at the four “revived” monarchs. “Long-time no see. It is great to see you are all well.” He subsequently said to Ming Feizhen, “Your Majesty, this is not what we initially agreed on.”
“Says the one who had his men give me grief on the first day I left.”
Gewu nodded: “Fair game. Fair game. A man who does not avenge a grudge is not a man. It sounds like you started planning your lynch plan prior to reaching Sanggongmo. You leveraged Shaman Monarch’s name to borrow the might of monarchs to destroy Shaman Monarch Palace. All the children on this mountain call you their monarch, yet you have no blood or tears. Orthodox sects, hehe, how about hypocrite sects?”
“You can ponder that in your own time. Now, will you choose surrender?” Hard to believe Ming Feizhen had the upper hand when his expression was stiff.
“Hehe.” Gewu walked off to the iron throne Ming Feizhen sat on before and ran his hands over it. “Shaman Monarch’s throne belongs solely to Shaman Monarch. Wow.” He sat down on the throne, then locked eyes with Ming Feizhen, relishing the thrill.
“Great Spirit Shaman,” interjected Qingqiu’s Queen, “we did not choose to work with His Majesty Shaman Monarch with the purpose of interfering in your faith’s affairs. We allied with him for we have had enough of you exploiting us and causing tragedies for decades. We will let it go if you relinquish your seat. Else, we will have to take matters into our own hands.”
“Esteemed Kings and Queen, please… allow this old one to say a word.” Gewu glanced over to Ming Feizhen. “He is not a Xiacang Anxi resident or Shaman Monarch. He is a spy of the Central Plain’s imperial court. He is posing as Shaman Monarch to leverage Shaman Monarch Palace in his bid for control over Xiacang Anxi. If you do not believe this old one, you can try conversing with him in Xiacang Anxi. He will not be able to hold any semblance of a conversation. During his time blackmailing us, he has taken our fengqi shenmu for his own ends.”
Needless to say, monarchs, troops and spectators all had their mouths agape. Meanwhile, Ming Feizhen gave the impression that he was bored out of his skin. The four monarchs never questioned Shaman Monarch’s authenticity; all they cared about was breaking out of Shaman Monarch Palace’s clutches.
“It is nothing major, nevertheless,” Gewu continued. “He is but an imposter. This old one knows a man guilty of far more heinous crimes. He has displaced multiple sovereigns, drugged people to manipulate them, blackmailed them, coerced them, and assassinated them and more. He doesn’t contribute anything and earns his living from followers who donate large sums to him. Not only is he swathed in luxury but also enjoys the worship of everyone. He would not exchange what he has for a state. Suffice to say, he’s always been supporting the monarchs of said states.
“As a more recent example, Baimu’s Queen over here lost her father to my machinations and then had to hand the reins over to her subordinate for ten years. Why are the royal families or people’s problems my problems? This one has always wondered, wouldn’t it be better if you were all this old one’s vassals? What’s with those looks? Did you think this old one was joking?”
Ah Neath’s rage was close to boiling over, but she controlled herself. In contrast, Ming Feizhen finally reacted. “You scared silly?”
“Your Majesty, why not invite your friends out? Why snoop around?”
Ming Feizhen’s eyes quickly executed a visual audit of the crowd. Shen Yiren wasn’t hard to spot, and the others behind her were right in view.
“It is an honour to have Luo Clan’s Heavenly Swordsman and Beijiang’s Evil Eminence grace us with their esteemed presence.” Gewu locked onto the two Divine Realm adepts.
Ming Feizhen started questioning if Gewu was sane anymore. Unless Gewu still had an ace up his sleeve, he was asking to be sundered in the worst way possible.
Suddenly, Ming Feizhen suffered a twinge in his head. A shearing and scorching sensation coursed from his head the rest of his body, while his consciousness short-circuited. “… What have you done?” he used Voice Transmission to ask.
Replying via the same means, Gewu answered, “Curious? Using blood and fengqi shenmu to provoke your beastbrain didn’t work, did it?”
“…”
“If I’m not wrong, perhaps the beast’s consciousness doesn’t exist within you. To assume Mount Daluo has no means of resolving the conundrum would be underestimating them. Besides, would you have not bothered finding a way to suppress it given you’ve survived until now? I never considered awaking the Fengpeng in you my undertaking. Agitating you in various ways was just the entrée.” Gewu’s speech pace gradually picked up. “The Fengpeng’s consciousness must’ve been deleted long ago. Nonetheless, being able to erase it doesn’t mean you can also banish the energy’s aggression, as well.
“They aren’t called evil beasts because they’re born malevolent. My experiment subjects went mad after consuming just a tiny bit of blood, but it’s erroneous to attribute their madness to them inheriting the beasts’ consciousness. It’s the beasts’ aggression contaminating their bodies and actions. If a natural organism can be contaminated, are you somehow an exception?”
Ming Feizhen’s splitting headache started to saturate his body.
“I gambled on that probability. The pill you consumed was made from dragon blood’s essence. I can’t believe you threw it back without any reluctance.”
Ming Feizhen’s headache gradually eased all of a sudden.
“Thanks to your overconfidence, you saved me a lot of hassles.”
Gewu’s voice, as with everyone else’s, perceptively came from farther and farther away to Ming Feizhen.
Gewu got to his feet, then swept his gaze over the crowd. “I am honoured to have tamed Mount Daluo’s demon for my-”
The great guya Moyan Luohou downed before made a beeline for Gewu, set on finishing him in one palm strike. Gewu tugged up a corner of his lips and ordered, “Smite him.”
Ming Feizhen uncorked a palm strike of his own, blowing the guya into fragments of his former self.
“Hahahaha.” With Ming Feizhen, red eyes staring down at everyone, standing by his side, Gewu rhetorically asked, “Hahaha, how… exhilarating! By the way, where was I? Hmm… Ah, right. What if I were to rule Nanjiang?”
