Chapter 845 - Mr. Ren's Friend
"Your Excellency... are you from the Ancient Sky Dragon Sect?" Ye Qingyu asked.
Hearing this, the woman looked immensely shocked and terrified.
Without hesitation, she pulled Ning'er into her arms, with her eyes betraying her fear and tension. She then lightly stepped back while saying, "No no no, you... you're mistaken. We don't know any Ancient Sky Dragon Sect..."
Only she and her son managed to escape when an upheaval occurred in their sect. Along the way, they were constantly pursued and thus had to conceal their identities as they went through untold sufferings. They practically did not speak to anyone else and only arrived here with great difficulty. Hence, the woman was naturally startled to be recognized by Ye Qingyu without knowing if he was a friend or a foe.
Ye Qingyu could sense her trepidation.
He explained laughingly, "Your Excellency, don't get me wrong, I'm not an enemy of the Ancient Sky Dragon Sect. Some time ago, on the Fierce Beast Peak of Taowu Mountain Range, I met the Ancient Sky Dragon Sect master, Tian Huayu, who later perished in the 18th district of the Black Demon Abyss. Before his death, I saw on him the same totem as the one engraved on your waist jade token, and that's why I asked."
"Elder Brother, you saw Grandpa?" As expected of a child's temperament, Ning'er could not help asking when he heard YeQingyu, "What do you mean he perished? Papa and Mama said he went sightseeing and would not be back for a long time. He loved me most, and I miss him..."
As they say, a child speaks whatever is on his mind.
The young mother had thought about restraining her son but chose not to after some hesitation. She was nofool, and had noted earlier that many important persons and experts greeted and cottoned up to the duo when they appeared, and thus had naturally guessed that their statuses were extraordinary.
Moreover, Yu Xiaoxing's provision of food to Ning'er showed that she should not be a bad person, and being a human as well afforded the young mother a greater degree of trust in her.
"That's right. Grandpa went to a faraway place to sightsee. He said he misses Ning'er a lot and will come back when Ning'er's all grown up." Ye Qingyu sighed inwardly as he stood up and gently caressed the little boy's head, before smiling to the young mother, saying, "Why not we talk for a while? Though I only met Master Tian once, we can be considered old friends already. You seem to have run into some kind of trouble. Perhaps you can tell me about it, and I'll see what I can do."
The young mother eventually nodded and acknowledged after some hesitation, and walked up to the half-separated seats of the duo.
"Thank you so much for your assistance. Qin Hui is deeply grateful." Since the woman had already sat down, she dropped her guard and appeared a lot calmer than before. Nevertheless, she tightly held on to her son as she looked at Ye Qingyu and said, "Your Honor, you said you saw my father in the Black Demon Abyss?"
Ye Qingyu nodded and said, "So it turns out that you're Master Tian's daughter-in-law, and this must be his grandchild... I wonder why you two are here today, and look..."
"Look so embarrassing?" Qin Hui laughed bitterly. "It is a long story. After my father's death in the Black Demon Abyss, there was internal strife in the Ancient Sky Dragon Sect..."
After the Ancient Sky Dragon Sect master's death in the 18th district of the Black Demon Abyss, the already-declining sect was left without a leader. When internal strife broke out as people contended for leadership, several elders joined hands and conducted a purge. The rightful successor, Tian Yunlong, was plotted against, forcing him to flee together with his wife and son, but he eventually died fighting halfway, together with many disciples who remained loyal to the old master and also died while protecting Qin Hui and her son.
Before his death, Tian Yunlong handed a jade token to his wife.
It was an item handed down by a former sect master. As the story went, several hundred years ago, this master was exploring an ancient ruins when he unwittingly rescued a human in distress. Owing a favor to the Ancient Sky Dragon Sect, this human told him that if he ever needed help, he could come to the Alliance of Domains' Heaven Connect City and find this human in the central divine temple using this token.
At first, the former sect master did not value this jade token much.
Later on, however, as the human he rescued rapidly grew in power and became increasingly famous, the former sect master realized how valuable this jade token was, such that it could be said to concern the future of the sect. Hence, he preserved it carefully and told no one else about it, while resolving not to use it trivially. After all, as a one-time favor, it should be kept until the sect encountered a life-and-death crisis, when it could certainly bring the sect back to life.
Before venturing to the Black Demon Abyss, the old master probably knew of the danger, and so handed the jade token to his son while only vaguely explaining its use. Later on, Tian Yunlong handed it to his wife, hoping that she could use it to stay alive.
After recounting everything in detail, Qin Hui took out the jade token.
"This is the jade token. The final hope of the Ancient Sky Dragon Sect is attached to it." With that, she handed it to Ye Qingyu.
The latter was taken aback.
He never thought that she would actually trust him enough to show him the jade token.
After a brief hesitation, he received the jade token and could not help taking another look at Qin Hui.
"This woman is no simple person."
As Ye Qingyu and Yu Xiaoxing exchanged glances, they saw similar ideas in each other's eyes, and understood why Qin Hui had handed the jade token over.
She, too, inwardly let out a sigh of relief when Ye Qingyu accepted the jade token.
At this stage, she displayed her boldness and decisiveness as the former young madam of the Ancient Sky Dragon Sect. Since she had already explained everything, there was no longer anything to hide. Her decision to disclose the entire secret was not because she completely trusted the duo, but because she chose to take a gamble.
That was the only thing she could do given her current circumstances.
It had been five or six days since the mother and son arrived in the side hall. In order to come here, she sold everything valuable she had, and it would be no exaggeration to say that she was completely broke. Although she had the jade token, there was still no sight of that person, whose status was so high that only he recognized the token, whereas others did not understand its meaning despite having seen it.
As the saying goes, the King of Hell's minions are more vicious than himself.
This was indeed the relevant principle.
Such a situation caused Qin Hui to realize that waiting here was not a good idea.
There was a chance that, despite possessing the jade token, she would be kicked out by the divine guards before she had seen the person, rendering her previous efforts completely futile. Moreover, the rebels of the Ancient Sky Dragon Sect had already chased their way into the city, meaning that time was short for the mother and son.
Hence, her only choice was to gamble.
She also believed that Ye Qingyu's acceptance of the jade token after listening to her explanation in full meant that he was willing to take care of this matter in order to help her and her son. Although she did not recognize who these young and noble-spirited man and woman were, she could tell that they were of high status based on their temperament and bearing, as well as the way that others curried favor with them, and so she was fairly certain that they could be of help to her.
This was Qin Hui's entire plan.
After carefully looking at the jade token, Ye Qingyu suddenly felt it to be rather familiar. He thus conducted an even more serious examination, after which a faint smile emerged on his face. This was because he possessed a similar jade token, except that his was several grades above Qin Hui's, whether in terms of exquisite craftsmanship or material used.
"What's the name of this jade token's owner?"
Ye Qingyu already had a name on his mind, but he asked nevertheless.
Without hesitation, Qin Hui replied, "My husband didn't say it clearly before he died. All I know is that the surname is Ren."
Ye Qingyu became more certain when he heard this.
"Alright, I understand what you mean. Rest assured that I'll hand this jade token to that Mr. Ren. The two of you may wait here."
Hearing this, Qin Hui became overjoyed at once. "Your Honor, do you mean that you know this Mr. Ren?"
Ye Qingyu smiled, "If I'm not wrong, I do know him."
"Elder brother, are you really able to help Mama?" Tian Ning raised his head and asked expectantly, with his innocent eyes containing delight.
Ye Qingyu gently patted his head, " Yes, don't worry."
He had already decided to lend a hand to the Ancient Sky Dragon Sect regarding this matter.
This was first because the old master of the Ancient Sky Dragon Sect had, before death, asked him for a favor which he agreed to at that time. Secondly, the Ancient Sky Dragon Sect had a glorious history and was once the mainstay of the Human Race. It would hence be bad for the Human Race if such a sect was to fall into chaos.
Moreover, this pair of mother and son was truly pitiful.
As the conversation went on, a divine guard came over.
"Your Honors, it's your turn. Please follow me," he politely said.
Ye Qingyu and Yu Xiaoxing were reinvigorated when they heard this.
Is it really the Heaven Wasteland Domain's turn?
Ye Qingyu stood up and pointed towards the mother and son as he said to the guard, "These two people are not only my but also Mr. Ren's friends. I wonder if it's fine for them to sit here while waiting?"
Hearing this, the guard looked somewhat surprised, for he knew that someone of Ye Qingyu's status would not lie. He had seen Qin Hui and her son several times already but had never imagined that they were Mr. Ren's friends. He thus realized that he had been negligent earlier.
"That's certainly no problem. Your Honor, rest assured that I'll take good care of your friends." Knowing Mr. Ren's status and capability, the guard switched to a respectful tone.
"Many thanks."
The duo followed the guard to the portal of the central divine temple.
The moment which would decide the destiny of the Heaven Wasteland Domain had finally arrived.