Chapter 243: Setting

“Aiyo, Little Brother Zheng, at a time like this, you still have the leisure to joke around? I’m worried to death here! This old man hasn’t lived nearly long enough yet.

“I still have countless poems and essays drafted in my belly that I haven’t written down. And plenty of fresh beauties have arrived in the Eight Great Alleys of Water Street in the capital. This old man hasn’t even had the chance to sample them!”

“But I thought I made it up pretty well.”

The surname Helian. Blood that could genuinely close the gate. Betrayal. Collusion with the Situ Clan. Put those major elements together, add a little imagination, and the story was simple, clear, and perfectly coherent.

“The urgent matter is how we’re supposed to get out! How are we getting out of here?”

It was obvious that Yao Zizhan was genuinely anxious.

Gesang’s involvement had been outside his expectations from the beginning, and it had continued affecting matters all the way until now. In fact, if Gesang had never appeared, Yao Zizhan could have found this place himself, and Zheng Fan would never have had anything to do with it.

“Alas. If only we’d left someone guarding the entrance.”

As Yao Zizhan spoke regretfully, he cast Zheng Fan a somewhat resentful glance.

He remembered very clearly that after the gate opened, Zheng Fan had been the one to say, “A family should stay neat and complete.”

Well.

Now they truly were neat and complete.

“Master Yao, what are you panicking for? The troops of the State of Dacheng probably haven’t arrived.”

“They haven’t?”

“If they had, why would Gesang close the gate? They could simply block us in here. What waves could we possibly stir up then?”

A hundred armored soldiers, together with enough bows and crossbows, would be more than sufficient to settle the matter in terrain this narrow.

This place was practically designed for catching turtles in a jar.

“Oh? You mean Gesang came here alone?”

“He might still have a few trusted subordinates who survived the fire on Geda Mountain. But since he closed the gate and immediately left, he obviously came here by himself.”

“Then what does he intend to do?”

“Master Yao, I’ve noticed that whenever you’re faced with a life-or-death situation, you always become extremely flustered.”

“I’m a scholar. A scholar! Before the battle, my spirit soars to the heavens; during the battle, I panic and lose my head; after the battle, I tremble with fear. What’s wrong with that?”

Yao Zizhan said it with complete confidence.

That was precisely why, when the Yan army invaded the State of Qian, he had been perfectly content to hide in the rear and amuse himself every day.

At that moment, the Blind Man spoke.

“Master Yao, barring any accidents, we shouldn’t be in any danger right now. At least, not temporarily.

“If Gesang could betray Geda Mountain and betray the Helian Clan, then naturally he can betray the Situ Clan as well.”

“You mean he wants to swallow this treasure vault for himself?”

Yao Zizhan finally understood.

“That should be it. Wealth moves the heart. And faced with an enormous fortune, how many people in this world can truly resist its attraction?

“Besides, Gesang doesn’t know that less than ten percent of the gold and silver in this treasure vault remains.

“In his understanding, the treasure here is enough for him to make a comeback—no. More accurately, enough for him to restore the Helian Clan to its former glory.”

Zheng Fan simply sat down and picked up where the Blind Man left off.

“This Gesang really is quite a figure.”

His personal strength was considerable. His Grade should be roughly on par with Hero Chen’s. He did not look particularly old either, still firmly in his prime. There might even be room for him to advance further in the future.

At the very least, there was currently no sign of declining qi and blood in him.

But Hero Chen was stupid.

Gesang, on the other hand, even knew how to drive the tiger to devour the wolf. His mind was clearly far sharper.

He had the makings of a formidable warlord.

If nothing unexpected happened, and if this treasure vault had actually been filled to capacity, then if he truly inherited it, he might genuinely have been able to establish a powerful force of his own within the Tianduan Mountains.

“Little Brother Zheng, we’re the ones trapped to death in here right now. This old man deeply admires your composure and breadth of mind in the face of danger.

“But Little Brother Zheng, could we perhaps think of a solution?

“There may indeed be plenty of gold and silver here, but what use are those things to us now?

“Being trapped for a day or two is one thing. But if this drags on, what are we supposed to eat and drink?”

Fan Li suddenly spoke.

“Aren’t you people still here?”

“…”

Yao Zizhan.

Zheng Fan looked toward Hero Chen.

“Hero, help me kill someone.”

“Who?” Hero Chen asked.

“Gesang. That Helian Gesang.”

“All right.”

Yao Zizhan stared at Zheng Fan and Hero Chen as though he were looking at two idiots.

“Master Yao, I need you to promise me something as well.”

“You can get us out?”

“I can.”

Zheng Fan answered with absolute certainty.

“Fine. This old man agrees. Tell me, what is it?”

“Shengle City plans to open a school. Master Yao must teach at my school for three months.”

Yao Zizhan immediately asked, “Good wine and good food?”

“As much as you want.”

“Singing girls and dancing girls?”

“Take your pick.”

“Deal.”

“Master Yao is refreshingly straightforward.”

With that, Zheng Fan turned toward the Demon Kings standing behind him and said, “Gesang has already left this place, but he shouldn’t have gone far yet.

“He thinks he can trap us here until we die.

“He’s dreaming.

“Once the bronze gate opens again, I want all of you—whatever the cost—to hunt down Gesang!”

A’Ming, the Blind Man, Xue San, and Fan Li all dropped to one knee together.

In unison, they declared, “Your subordinates obey!”

The sight left a thoughtful look in Yao Zizhan’s eyes.

In truth, he had been observing these four subordinates throughout the journey.

Anyone could see how carefree and unrestrained they were.

Capable people naturally possessed their own pride.

Yet whenever they faced this City Defender of Yan, they were extraordinarily respectful.

Zheng Fan said to A’Ming, “Borrow some more blood from Miss Su.”

A’Ming stood and walked over to Miss Su.

She was still unconscious.

The wound from earlier had only just stopped bleeding, but when A’Ming squeezed her hand, fresh blood began flowing once more.

Then A’Ming picked Miss Su up, carried her to the bronze gate, and set her down.

He pressed her bleeding palm against the bronze gate.

The gate was immensely thick, impossible to break through with human strength.

But since the gate could open and close, there naturally had to be seams.

The gap between the bottom of the bronze gate and the ground was extremely narrow.

But blood could flow through it.

Or seep through it.

The Blind Man’s mental power could not penetrate such a thick bronze gate, so he could not use his mental power to control the blood and guide it onto the bronze mirror outside.

The Blind Man could not do it.

But someone else could.

Because it had no physical body.

It was nothing more than a soul.

Zheng Fan reached into his robes and took out the Demon Child.

Slowly, he said, “You know what to do, right?”

Perhaps the Demon Child also understood that if he refused to give his father face while the man was putting on airs like this, Zheng Fan would be left in an extremely awkward position.

Just as an intelligent woman knew she could roar like a tigress at home but should still preserve her man’s dignity outside, this time, the Demon Child came out obediently.

Strands of black qi began spilling from the stone, gradually condensing into the phantom of a small child.

The child hung his head.

His arms rested at his sides.

His body swayed faintly.

He seemed to be desperately suppressing something.

Yet even so, the murderous aura of hatred and resentment continued pouring from him without end.

“Behave.”

Zheng Fan lowered his head and spoke softly to the Demon Child.

The Demon Child raised his head.

There was not the slightest trace of life in those hollow eye sockets.

But the corner of his mouth curved into a mocking smile.

Zheng Fan disliked that smile very much.

For one thing, normal parents did not like seeing their children learn to swear constantly and look completely ill-bred.

For another, every time the Demon Child possessed Zheng Fan’s body, he loved pulling his mouth into exactly that kind of grin.

As a result, whenever Zheng Fan woke afterward, his cheeks always hurt like hell.

Still, most of the Demon Child’s contempt and mockery was directed toward Demon Kings like the Blind Man and the others.

It was as though he were silently saying:

You bunch of… trash.

“Heh.”

A’Ming chuckled.

Xue San glared furiously at the Demon Child.

The Blind Man remained unmoved.

Fan Li rubbed his chest.

Hero Chen remained calm as ever.

But those familiar with him understood that Hero Chen’s calm was not the sort of composure that remained unchanged even if Mount Tai collapsed before him.

His brain was simply missing a certain nerve.

Yao Zizhan, on the other hand when he saw the Demon Child, when he saw such an infant suddenly appear before him his mouth dropped wide open in terror.

When the Demon Child turned his gaze toward him, Yao Zizhan instinctively cried out, “This… this is…”

The Demon Child opened his mouth.

His mouth grew wider.

Wider.

And wider then suddenly lunged toward Yao Zizhan and bit down!

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

Yao Zizhan clutched his head with both hands and screamed miserably.

After a while, he cautiously moved his arms away.

He discovered that he was completely unharmed.

The infant was still standing in the same place.

Clearly, the Demon Child had merely been joking.

After all, getting the chance to come out once was not easy.

Not easy at all.

Zheng Fan tacitly allowed the Demon Child this brief moment of freedom.

Even if you raised a dog, you could not keep it locked inside the house forever. You still had to take it outside occasionally so it could relieve itself.

Let alone a child.

At that moment, the Blind Man suddenly spoke.

“Master.”

“Hmm?”

The Demon Child abruptly turned toward the Blind Man.

He seemed extremely displeased that after he had come out, someone still dared speak to his father.

But the Demon Child’s eye sockets were empty, and the Blind Man was blind, so the two of them were effectively immune to each other’s “death glare.”

“Master, please urge the Demon Child to open the gate as quickly as possible. Otherwise, if we delay too long, unexpected complications may arise.”

“Geh… hehehe…”

The Demon Child’s sinister laughter drifted through the cavern.

He hated being treated like a mere tool.

Although he was even more of a tool than A’Ming.

“Why?” Zheng Fan asked.

“Because the Demon Child has now left the seal within that stone, while at the same time he isn’t possessing Master’s body.

“That means he is currently wandering the world in his original state.

“In the past, the Demon Child wasn’t strong enough. He was little more than a wandering soul, so it didn’t matter.

“But now… according to the Demon Child’s setting, if he wanders outside in this state for too long, he may trigger heavenly lightning.

“If that happens, the Demon Child could very well be blasted until his soul scatters completely.”

“What idiot came up with such a braindead setting?”

Zheng Fan blurted out instinctively.

Hearing that, the Blind Man looked as though he wanted to say something, but stopped himself.

Xue San began desperately holding back laughter.

A’Ming raised his head.

Zheng Fan immediately understood.

He hurriedly waved his hands.

“Uh. No need to answer that question.”

At that moment, Fan Li grinned and eagerly answered as though claiming credit, “It was you, Master, you fucking idiot.”

[End of Chapter 243]