Chapter 457: Chapter 23: I Am Xie Yu, and Recently I’ve Taken a Vow of Celibacy
Upon hearing this, Guo Ziyu pondered briefly and then agreed to Yue Jinghua’s suggestion.
"Look at me, I was so focused on talking about Ximing that I completely forgot about something else," Guo Ziyu said with embarrassment, scratching his head, "this time, in addition to looking for Ximing’s whereabouts, I’ve also brought a message from the organization."
Ximing was a high-level assassin of the Assassin Alliance, and even though she was semi-retired now, with the Ancient Hero Treasure about to emerge and the whole of Five Saints Town as well as the Mercenary World deeply mired in it, with various forces silently stirring, the Assassin Alliance naturally would not stand idly by.
The Assassin Alliance had its own means of communication.
Originally, Xie San knew these secret signals, but for Yue Jinghua, who was impersonating Xie San, she was completely clueless.
"Oh, so the Alliance has sent someone too? That’s wonderful," Yue Jinghua couldn’t be more honest. Given the current tumultuous situation in Five Saints Town, she was eager to see more forces joining the fray for the treasure.
"How can you still be so cheerful? Do you know who the Alliance sent here this time?" Guo Ziyu’s face showed a hint of surprise; plainly, Captain Xie had no idea who was coming, "It’s Senior Jade Finger Kill God."
"Jade Finger Kill God, heh heh," Yue Jinghua forced a silly laugh and then her lips twitched; the name sounded all too familiar.
"It’s the Jade Finger Killing God, Evil Jade, who has always been at odds with you, with whom you must fight and not stop until you’re both injured," Ximing had long heard that among all the Shadow Guards and Killing Gods in the Assassin Alliance, the Residual Shadow Guard and the Jade Finger Killing God were especially antagonistic towards each other.
It was said that Xie San and Evil Jade were archenemies.
"Evil Jade, he’s still not dead," truly, upon understanding who was coming, Yue Jinghua’s face underwent a drastic change.
"Of course, it is said that Lord Jade Finger Killing God completed the assassin’s trial three days ago and had just returned to the Alliance when he was immediately dispatched by the elder council. He even made a vow before the elder council that this time he would definitely find the Ancient Hero Treasure, or else he would..." Guo Ziyu stopped speaking, coughing a few times.
"Or else what?" Yue Jinghua’s lips twitched again.
"Or else he’s swearing off women for life," Guo Ziyu rolled her eyes. She was actually quite curious about the legendary youngest Killing God in the family, though she had heard his approach was rather unorthodox.
Yue Jinghua’s stomach cramped; she knew it was the consequence of holding back a burst of laughter, "Looking at it this way, the Xie Family’s line is about to end."
"A-choo," a loud sneeze echoed from an impressively flamboyant carriage.
From the incense burner on the carriage floated the fragrance of nanhai sandalwood.
From the gilt couch, to the marble table, and to the jade toothpicks, exotic fruits, and vintage wines on the table, everything showed that the owner of the carriage was someone who relished in enjoyment.
Despite the bleak mountain scenery on both sides and the rugged mountain path, the master of the carriage was surrounded by beauty and comfort, enjoying himself immensely.
The man in luxurious robes had amorous, peach-shaped eyes that seemed half-closed in a daze.
When a beauty handed a sweet apricot fruit to his mouth, his nose tickled for no reason, prompting him to let out a loud, resonant sneeze.
"My lord, what’s wrong?" Seeing Evil Jade with a puzzled face, rubbing his nose, the beauty quickly leaned closer, her ample bosom immediately dazzling Evil Jade’s eyes.
"My beauty, the scent of the powder on your body makes this prince’s nose itch," Evil Jade was indeed Evil Jade, even if the family had sent him to the Killing God Fortress and the training nearly flayed him, once he regained his freedom, women were still in his embrace, never forgetting to enjoy the moment.
"My lord is teasing me again. We’ve heard that we two sisters are going to Five Saints Town, so why doesn’t my lord tell us what fun things are there in Five Saints Town," the beauty flirted with seductive eyes, though her trained assassin background was a well-kept secret.
"The most amusing place in Five Saints Town is naturally the mixed-gender hot springs, bathing in the warm springs with beauties," Xie Yu gestured and pulled the two beauties beside him into his embrace.
Just as various factions rushed towards Five Saints Town, someone found Zong Shaoqing and others who had been holding their forces back.
"Divine Son," Ximing, in a long robe, knelt before Zong Shaoqing, "Are you truly certain that the Dragon Transformation Pond can cleanse her half-demon beast bloodline and turn her into a true human being or a Holy Beast?"
For Chaos Beasts, given the right conditions, they had a fifty percent chance of becoming human or a Holy Beast.
Either outcome would be far better than the current situation of the Chaos Mantis—neither human nor beast.
Over the past month, although Ximing maintained a forced smile in front of Guo Ziyu, as soon as night fell, he would recall that day when he saw the Chaos Mantis, and the extreme loathing for this world and for him, its uncle, that showed in its eyes.
As Guo Ziyu grew increasingly impatient searching for Ximing’s whereabouts, Ximing had taken the initiative to seek out Zong Shaoqing.
A few days ago, he had learned from Song Mu that Zong Shaoqing’s purpose for seeking the Ancient Hero Treasure was to find the Dragon Transformation Pond, capable of purifying the half-Saint Beasts of the Divine Court.
The Divine Court’s experiments on half-Saint Beasts had never stopped over the years.
Before meeting the Divine Son, Ximing felt some trepidation, but after seeing Divine Son himself, the lingering unease in Ximing’s heart was completely dispelled.
This man, known as the most outstanding Divine Son of the Divine Court in nearly a thousand years, was as gentle and refined as jade, emanating an aura that won people’s sincere admiration—like a spring breeze or the warm sun in winter.
As a Divine Son of the Divine Court, Zong Shaoqing, like his master Zong Lian, had not expressed any opinion about this matter.
Inside the Divine Court, the establishment of a terrifyingly powerful Chaos Beast Army was beneficial to enhancing the Divine Court’s strength, but how these Chaos Beasts came to be was a secret only known to the core members of the Divine Court.
In the past few months, there had been several uprisings within the Chaos Beast Army, and not even the Core Judgement Officers of the Divine Court could control them.
"Regarding the Chaos Mantis, I’ve also heard about it from Song Mu. Whether the Dragon Transformation Pond can cleanse the bloodthirst and malevolence from the Chaos Beasts is still an unknown," Zong Shaoqing had never expressed an opinion on the experiments and cultivation of half-Saint Beasts by Third Elder, Sixth Elder, and Sha Yan, "But Ximing, for a niece you’ve never met, you gave up the opportunity to leave the Divine Court. Do you think it’s worth it?"
Zong Shaoqing did not inquire about who helped Ximing leave Five Saints Town.
"I owe her that. I made an oath in front of her mother’s grave—my own sister—that even if there was only a glimmer of hope, I would make her a normal person. Divine Son, Ximing knows that you and the Great Elder are among the few neutrals in the Divine Court, and you will indeed find that sliver of hope for Ximing. During this process, Ximing is willing to put his life back into your hands," Ximing knelt on the ground and kowtowed with utmost devotion.
Zong Shaoqing remained silent, and seeing this, Song Mu knew the Divine Son did not wish to speak further, so he pulled Ximing up and retreated with him.
Listening to the fading footsteps behind him, Zong Shaoqing shook his head with a sigh and stood desolately in the courtyard.
"Everyone says I am benevolently divine, Ximing, oh Ximing, do you know what the Great Elder’s last words to me were?"
Zong Shaoqing could not help but recall the scene among the snowy peaks of Zhusen Mountain.
The elder in white stood in the void, his voice echoing like a divine decree from the heavens, still ringing in the ears: "My child, if we cannot purify the Chaos Beasts’ bloodlines, then dispose of everyone who is aware of it."
Opening his hands and looking at his fingers, Zong Shaoqing seemed to already foresee the not-too-distant future, where blood would bloom between his fingers like camellias.