Chapter 664, Grievous news
At the break of dawn, when the sun was hanging in the sky, Ye Qingyu and Tang San returned to the streets of the city, heading toward the Ye residence.
At the entrance of the Ye residence.
“Hey, hey, hey, hey... if it hadn't been for me, you wouldn't have been able to slip out so easily.” The drunken Old Fish leaned against a stone pillar in front of the door, revealing a crafty smile.
“You old thing... belch... if it hadn't been for me, you think you would find it so soon...” The chubby silly dog was lying on his back on the steps, with a pretendingto-be-mysterious look on his face, “But, hehe... how do you know what's in there?”
“Guess what... hiccup...” Old Fish raised his brows, laughing sinisterly.
What kind of trouble had these two caused...
Ye Qingyu let out a helpless sigh, before he asked Tang San to call a few servants to support the dog and man into the house.
After the lunch feast.
Ye Qingyu enforced strong defense formations around the Ye residence, then briefly explained to Tang San about the matters of the city. He also said farewell to Aunt Lan and Little Grass and finally left the Ye residence with Luo Yi and the others.
The aristocrats and officials of the city who had come to say farewell filled the whole street. City Lord Qing Ying and the four military leaders stood at the front of the crowd.
Ye Qingyu stood in front of the door and simply said a few words of goodbye, before leading Luo Yi and the others into a stream of light, and streaked out of the city and across the sky.
The crowd in Deer City all looked in awe, their eyes fixated on the sky.
On the hills outside the city.
The majestic black palace slowly ascended, before disappearing at the end of the Northern horizon.
The next stop, was Youyan Pass.
……
After approximately one hour.
The Light Palace, which had entered into the depths of Deer Mountain Range, all of a sudden slowed to a halt.
Blanketed in snow and ice, the icy cold north wind blowing, and an endless stretch of glacial snowy cliffs, there was an extremely magnificent and vast world in front. It was as if it gave people a sense of inexplicable desolation and emptiness.
The ice crystals that swept by the along with the strong icy wind were like sharp blades and daggers, shooting toward the Light Palace. But it all dissipated and vaporized within forty meters of the Divine Palace.
Ye Qingyu stood on the steps of the palace, overlooking the layer of ice between the snowy mountains, lost in thought.
That was where the bodies of the sentinels were buried.
If these sentries had not risked their life to protect him, he would have been killed already.
He had transported back the corpses of several sentinels to their homeland one by one after his return from Youyan Pass. But mysteriously and inexorably, Ye Qingyu still felt that the sentinels, who represented the dignity and glory of the soldiers, their souls were still silently guarding this stretch of snowy and icy land.
He did not say a word for a long while.
It was like a memory, also like grieving.
The past events in the icehouse were still vivid in his mind.
Ye Qingyu's eyes gave birth to a hint of imperceptible sorrow, but more of respect and admiration.
In the evening.
The Light Palace speeded all the way to the Northern border, and in the blink of an eye had already entered the territory of Youyan Pass.
In the distance.
Thick storm clouds frantically accumulated towards the motionless mountains.
The layers of wind and snow that formed a constantly tumbling snowstorm were like a hurricane, violently sweeping the surroundings.
The extremely cold land on the edge of the Northern border of the Snow Empire, was covered in a boundless expanse of silver and white. Several avalanche-like quicksand were surging down from the mountains and rivers, setting off icy fog into the sky. Like a frozen city, Youyan Pass was silently and calmly standing guard in the Northern frontier, letting the extremely difficult environment, avalanche, and storm to cause devastation, while it was still towering majestically, exuding an imposing manner being impenetrable to attacks.
Wu!
Several patrolling snow dragon chariots were roaming around in the blizzard when they suddenly sounded the bugle at the same time. All of a sudden the boundary that shrouded the ice city above opened up with a gap.
Ye Qingyu maneuvered the Light Palace through the gap in the boundary, entering the city.
Dozens of patrolling airships were uniformly going forward together, speeding towards both sides of the Light Palace. Among them, a comparatively larger black battleship was like a giant boat in the sea, cutting through the thick rolling grey clouds that were like ocean waves, and firmly halting in front of the Light Palace.
On the airship.
“Welcome, Palace Lord Ye!” several familiar voices rang at the same time.
Clad in black iron armour, a slightly smiling Lu Zhaoge led the crowd of soldiers and bowed in the direction of Ye Qingyu.
Behind him, with smiling expression on their faces, bodies bent at the waist, and similarly dressed in cold light armour, were Ye Congyun and the military advisor—— [Painting Saint] Liu Yuqing.
There were also several other commanders of the military council pavilion, as well as high ranking military officers and generals of various battalions.
“Everyone, long time no see,” Ye Qingyu, with a faint smile, nodded slightly.
The Youyan Pass Lord Lu Zhaoge and [Painting Saint] Liu Yuqing were still looking the same as before. The only one with obvious changes to his appearance was Lu Zhaoge's disciple, Ye Congyun.
Opposite, Ye Qingyu looked somewhat emotional.
It could be said that it was Ye Qingyu that made him. If Ye Qingyu had not promoted him and saved him, he most likely would have been dead.
During this more than one year of time, under the guidance of a master, he had been diligently practicing day and night, for fear that he would disappoint Ye Qingyu who had given him a new lease in life and taught him.
Currently, he had already reached a cultivation base of seventy Spirit springs.
At last he had lived up to his elder brother's trust...
Ye Qingyu gazed at the calm, strong, and greatly improved Yu Congyun. His lips was curving in a relieved smile.
“We already received news when Lord Ye passed through the Deer mountains. Tea has already been prepared in the Pass Lord's residence to welcome Lord Ye,” [Painting Saint] Liu Yuqing said with a cupped fist salute.
The black battleship slowly began to move, leading the way towards the Pass Lord’s residence.
In the Light Palace.
“Is that the Youyan Pass overlord you're talking about?” Old Fish cast a sidelong glance at him from narrowed eyes, nudging Little Nine who was pretending to snore with his elbow.
“Yes, there is nothing delicious in his residence, only a pile of military books, but in Youyan Pass... Hey hey...” Silly dog suddenly flipped over and sat up, revealing a long, crafty smile.
Immediately, the man and dog suddenly transformed into two wisps of mist under the nose of Gao Qiu and the others, disappearing from where they were all of a sudden.
Gao Qiu and the others stared at Ye Qingyu blankly, and for a moment did not know what to report.
Without turning back his head, Ye Qingyu shook his head gently.
“Go with them.”
All four soldiers had not yet moved their bodies, but Ye Qingyu's voice was already ringing clearly in their ears.
Below.
Familiar streets, noodle shops and restaurants, as well as the repaired White Horse Tower came into view.
There were a lot more patrols than before...
He found that on almost every two streets there was a squad of heavily armoured soldiers patrolling back and forth.
If Deer City was the hometown of Ye Qingyu, then Youyan Pass was the real place where Ye Qingyu’s strength really began to develop.
The scenes back then resurfaced in his mind, including him coming to Youyan Pass as a Patrolling Sword Envoy, until the Demon Court got into difficulties, and how he assisted the Pass Lord Lu to reorganize the sect forces, as well as the hot-blooded generals and soldiers who had once fought together.
The times have changed. The current Lord of the Light Palace Ye Qingyu had returned to Youyan Pass. Even though his status and identity had changed, he was still full of gratitude and nostalgia for the snowy mountain city.
At this moment——
“This is?”
Ye Qingyu's face was crossed with astonishment, which was quickly followed by a thoughtful expression.
After ten minutes.
Pass Lord's meeting hall.
Liu Yuqing had personally brewed tea for everyone. A burst of refreshing tea fragrance unique to an icy land gave off a sense of comfort.
“Why don't I see Liu Zongyuan and Liu Suifeng?” Ye Qingyu, clasping the blood-coloured teacup, glanced around.
All the generals in the hall were taken aback.
For a moment, everyone, including Lu Zhaoge, had a somewhat strange and hesitant expression. 一
“What's going on?” Ye Qingyu, sensing something was wrong, questioned further.
“The incident happened too suddenly, so it was too late to report to the imperial court of the Snow Empire...” Lu Zhaoge sighed slightly, his brows knitted together, and a hint of sadness sprang to his eyes. “An hour ago, some of the most powerful demon experts attacked the Pass Lord’s residence, the demons launched a sneak attack at General Liu Zongyuan and was killed on the spot...”
“What?!” Ye Qingyu was so shocked that the teacup in his hand was instantly crushed into powder, “Brother Zongyuan died in battle?!”
He could not believe what he had heard.
Liu Zongyuan had died in battle?
His good brother who he had fought alongside with in Youyan Pass against the Demon Court several times, and who always remained calm in front of the Demon Race? The person who had bravely killed the high ranking generals, was fearless in the White Horse Tower, and unhesitatingly stood by his side, had died?
“Yes...” Ye Congyun's eyes brimmed with sorrow. “Also commander Liu Suifeng of the front line battalion also suffered serious injuries during the battle, his right arm was severed off by a divine weapon of the demon clan.”
In a trance, Ye Qingyu's eyes flashed with disbelief when he heard this.
His mind surfaced with the image of a polite and kind fatty. The commander who had slaughtered near millions of demons, and was known as the [Snow Empire Human Butcher], and was also called the God of Death, had his arm severed off? And also in the headquarters of the Youyan military?
“All this, what is going on?” Ye Qingyu drew a deep breath and calmed the anger and impatience that surged in his heart.
He could not imagine what kind of disturbance had suddenly erupted in the Pass Lord's residence the night before, and how the demon clan enemies could easily kill the great Youyan generals.
[Painting Saint], who had been silently brewing tea all this time, suddenly drew a deep breath, and slowly opened his mouth, “An hour ago, all of a sudden, several demon clan experts attacked Pass Lord Lu. He led several commanders and generals to fight back, and it was only after hundreds of rounds of battle that they only just fought off the demon clan. But during the battle, General Liu Zongyuan was severely injured by a hidden weapon, and collapsed on the spot, while Liu Siufeng's right arm was severed off and was seriously wounded.”
Ye Qingyu didn't know what to say.
“Actually... there's also Zhang San.....He had also died in the battle last night...” Lu Zhaoge stared at the rising steam from the cup of hot tea in deep thought, heaved a long sigh, and added.
“This...” Ye Qingyu was completely shocked and didn't know how to react.
How could something like this happen?