Chapter 61: Calm before the Storm
Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon
Early the next day, Wen Chong eagerly brought Qin Yun to tour the manor.
"Brother Qin, my father had gone through great efforts to obtain this manor. Two of the five large manors by the eastern lakeside belong to my Wen family. We bought the surrounding three through great difficulty. The walls have been demolished to form a massive manor. Part of the lake is located within the manor. In all of Grand Dominance County, such a manor would probably be ranked in the top three." Wen Chong said. Qin Yun was astonished when he saw it. He knew that the county governor would not skim on it but still, he was surprised.
Such a manor was not something that could be bought with money alone. The wealthy owners of the other manors might not put it up for sale easily. Power was needed.
Only the county governor could accomplish it in a matter of days.
Qin Yun also knew why…
For the county governor to do this, it was partly to show his gratitude for helping retrieve the spirit fruit and giving him his promotion through the slaying of Water God. Another reason was that he was trying to build up close ties with him. After all, a manor was quite a permanent residence. As long as he lived in it, he would remember that the manor had been given by County Governor Wen. It was much better to give something that could make one recall their friendship easily than other treasures.
"Brother Wen, help me thank the county governor," said Qin Yun.
"Haha, as long as you are satisfied." Wen Chong laughed as well.
That day, the Qin family came to look at the manor and were very satisfied.
Previously, Qin Manor had been considered too small. Qin An had moved out after his marriage, firstly for the convenience of his business, and secondly, due to the small size of the manor. There were too many inconveniences.
…
Qin Yun's family quickly began moving house.
His mother, Changlan, was walking within the manor as she brushed her fingers across the peeling corridor walls. She was all too familiar with the corridor. She could walk through it with her eyes closed.
The servants were moving vases and other artifacts.
Changlan immediately pointed at an old table and other items inside the room and said, "Bring them. Take these as well."
"Mother, there's no need to bring this old table along." Qin Yun walked over and could not help but say, "It's already so old and broken."
"What do you know? You would eat at this table after you finished your sword practice when you were young. How can it be thrown away wantonly?" Changlan was nearly fifty years old. As she grew older, she could not part with many of the old furniture.
Qin Yun was rendered helpless.
Many of the old items could not be used but they were still brought along.
"Brother, let Mother bring whatever she wants. Also, there are many things in there that were used when you were a youth! Items used by an immortal like you cannot be wantonly thrown away. Mother might not want it, but I would want it." Qin An said with a laugh. "Do you believe that I would be able to sell any of these items at a high price if I were to auction them? I could say that it's a weapon rack that my second brother used back when he practiced his swordsmanship."
Qin Yun was taken aback and could not help but say, "Brother, you really live up to being a businessman."
There were many servants and with the county governor sending men to help in the relocation, chests of items were constantly moved to the new residence. In a day, the relocation was completed.
Serious matters like moving to a bigger place naturally needed a banquet to be held. The Qin family began preparations and decided to hold it three days later.
*****
Cloud Lake. On Nine Mountain Island.
In an opulent hall.
A black-robed man coagulated his figure in a seat of honor as he looked down.
"Master." Azure Ox respectfully bowed. "I have already investigated the cultivators that had killed Junior Brother Water God."
"Who are they?" Nine Mountain Island Lord asked.
Azure Ox said, "According to information obtained from the humans' imperial government, it was a Divine Firmament Chapter sect mission undertaken by a disciple by the name of Yi Xiao. With treasures bestowed by the sect, she was aided by a local cultivator of Grand Dominance County, Qin Yun. The two of them are cultivators that have not reached the Connate realm. Junior Brother Water God had thought nothing of them but eventually perished under their hands."
"Divine Firmament Chapter?" Nine Mountain Island Lord's pupils constricted. He grunted. "I knew it. With Water Ape's carefulness, it's not that easy for the humans to kill him. So it's because the Divine Firmament Chapter was scheming in the background! It sure is willing to risk the possibility of a disciple dying. They actually succeeded despite the risk."
"By the way, is there anything special about the background of these two cultivators?" Nine Mountain Island directly asked. "It's not like it's the first or second time the humans have plotted against Water Ape. Why did it succeed this time?"
Azure Ox replied reverentially, "Master, Divine Firmament Chapter's disciple Yi Xiao is only nineteen years old. She's also a member of the Kunlun Prefecture's Yi family.
"Member of the Yi family?" Nine Mountain Island Lord frowned slightly.
That was a massive juggernaut.
The Kunlun Prefecture's Yi family… Just the influence that one family had was enough to leave the imperial government and demons in fear.
"As for Qin Yun, he's rather mysterious." Azure Ox frowned. "After all my investigations, I can confirm that Qin Yun is a sword immortal. At fifteen, he was the number one person of the Grand Dominance County's younger generation. However, he did not enter any of the sects in the Jiang Prefecture. Instead, he left his family to roam the world… for six years. I found out that he had stayed in the northern borders for three years and had killed hundreds of demons on the battlefields. As for which sect he is from? That's unknown. However, since he's a sword immortal, there aren't that many sects possible."
"Sword immortal?" Nine Mountain Island Lord grunted.
Sword immortals usually had the most kills. Against fiendish demons, sword immortals would always be leading the charge.
"By the way, when Junior Brother White Tiger lost his arm previously, it was cleaved off by that sword immortal. Back then, he had jointly dealt with Junior Brother White Tiger with that Yi Xiao as well." Azure Ox said.
"Get White Tiger here." Nine Mountain Island ordered.
A subordinate immediately passed the orders.
As White Tiger had been in the vicinity recuperating, with his injuries nearly recovered, he immediately went to meet his master upon being commanded.
"White Tiger, how strong are Qin Yun and Yi Xiao?" Nine Mountain Island Lord asked.
White Tiger was taken aback before he honestly said, "That Qin Yun only relied on a powerful flying sword Dharma treasure before he could match me. If not for it, I could have split him apart with a single hand! As for that female cultivator, Yi Xiao, she was barely able to cast Divine Lightning Spells… In terms of strength, she's probably weaker than Qin Yun."
"They managed to kill Water Ape with that bit of strength? It looks like the Divine Firmament Chapter had given her pretty good items." Nine Mountain Island Lord sneered. He waved his hand and said, "Alright, you may leave."
"Yes." White Tiger obediently retreated.
There was only Nine Mountain Island Lord and Azure Ox, as well as two demons that guarded the entrance to the hall.
Nine Mountain Island Lord said with a deep tone, "Azure Ox."
"Master." Azure Ox replied politely.
"You also know that my cultivation requires the blood of children's hearts. It has always been gathered for me by your junior brother, Water Ape." Nine Mountain Island Lord's eyes suffused a sanguine luster. "Now that he is dead, it's fine if we lose face. However, the blood of the children would be problematic… I know that Water Ape was very ambitious. He had always been negotiating with me. I have estimated the amount of blood he gives me every year from the children he captures from Grand Dominance County. He probably still has a large quantity of the blood hidden on him."
Azure Ox nodded. "With his character, he will definitely hide a lot of it. He will definitely not produce it without receiving sufficient benefits."
Nine Mountain Island Lord might favor his disciple on the surface but it was because he had no choice.
He needed his disciple to give him large quantities of blood from the hearts of children.
"Now that he is dead, the blood that he has accumulated must be in the hands of Yi Xiao and Qin Yun." Nine Mountain Island Lord said, "It's possible that to them, it's only blood. They probably can't tell how precious it is. Furthermore, Yi Xiao is a woman from a large family clan. She will probably abhor such blood, so it's very likely to be given to Qin Yun."
"Yes." Azure Ox responded subserviently.
"Azure Ox, I always feel assured when you are the one helming a task." Nine Mountain Island Lord ordered, "Feel free to use the demonic slaves I have. There is only one request. You are to bring back the blood of the hearts."
"Is the Yi family member to be killed too?" Azure Ox could not help but ask.
"Yes!" Nine Mountain Island Lord grunted.
"But the temper of the Yi family's patriarch…" Azure Ox said worriedly.
Nine Mountain Island Lord scoffed. "Humans and demons have been battling for ages. A large family clan like the Kunlun Prefecture's Yi family has numerous children and grandchildren. If a junior were to die, would the Yi family patriarch really want to fight a war with my Cloudfiend Mountain?"
"Of course!" Nine Mountain Island Lord hesitated before saying, "Kill that Qin Yun first. If the blood cannot be found on him, then kill Yi Xiao to obtain it."
"I got it." Azure Ox said respectfully.