Chapter 541: Big Dao Organization
Though people who were accidentally pulled into other planes usually have a slim chance of surviving, there were always some exceptions. There were even cases of managers or plane assistants getting their direction wrong during transmigration and ending up in other people's houses.
At this time, managers naturally have to send the person back, this makes it hard to avoid meeting the manager of the person's plane. When many of these incidents happen, all the managers found it very troublesome. And due to the varying forms of existence of the planes, misunderstandings and fights often occurred.
So slowly, the management who were familiar with each other worked together to form a group, that was the administrative committee. No official person in charge, it was just a committee in name to not invade each other and to inform one another when something was up.
"Back then when Kai Tian accidentally entered my sister's plane, it was also because he had connections to the administrative committee and informed her, that's why my sister let him become an assistant." Shen Ying raised an example and added after some thought, "Things like the plane permit was also something that the committee came up with."
Lonemoon and Yi Qing's faces darkened together as they were instantly reminded of that damn piece of A4 paper, just how casual was this administrative committee!
"Managers are very busy, they don't meet often. By the way, I even got a prize from the association when I was schooling!" With that said, she opened a lighted screen and tapped on it. In the next second, a certificate instantly leaped out of the screen.
It wrote: Certificate
Student Shen Ying:
Received notable results in the learning of assistant skills this year, chosen as the "Outstanding Assistant Trainee", this certificate is specially presented as a form of encouragement!
Plane Management Association Any year any month any day.
There was even a bright red stamp stamped on it.
Lonemoon: "…"
Yi Qing: "…"
This was really a very informal association! Why would a bunch of strong and reputable managers form such a casual association?
"So… this Big Dao Organization might be just like the administrative committee, a casual… ah pui, an association formed by various plane managers?" Lonemoon asked.
"Mm, possibly." Shen Ying replied.
"Since Master is so familiar with the administrative committee, then do we have to join?" Yi Qing asked.
"You can join." Shen Ying frowned. "But my sister is a member too, you two want to enter?"
Both of their expressions changed in tandem and the topic of the conversation instantly reversed.
"Let's talk about this Big Dao Organization!"
"What's up with this fruit too?" Lonemoon looked at the fruit in his hand. "They're inviting us to join this what Big Dao Organization, why would they send this space that resembles a fruit over?" Calling it a space wasn't accurate enough, he could sense the remarkable vitality in this fruit, which means to say that this fruit was a complete big world.
Shen Ying shook her head, unsure too. "Why don't we eat… why don't we go in and take a look?"
"…" You said to eat it earlier, you definitely meant it right?! "I feel that though this ribbon is an invitation, the fruit might be for showing the way." Yi Qing guessed.
"You are saying…" Lonemoon paused for a moment. "The space inside this fruit, might be where the Big Dao Organization is located?"
"Mm." Yi Qing nodded. "And this fruit might not be the actual entity of the space, but just a conjured unit, just like the entrances of mystic realms."
Lonemoon stood for a moment and directly sent a stream of Immortal Qi into it, sure enough, he could not assess the specific situation inside the fruit, it was really a fake fruit! In this case, they had to go take a look, to find out what that so- called Big Dao Organization was. "Then let's go take a look." Besides, it was already written clearly here that it was an invitation, they should not have any ill intentions. Perhaps they might really meet some managers of the other planes.
"Are we really going?" Yi Qing frowned, somehow feeling that there was something odd about this matter. "Since they were able to tie this fruit to the plane tree while we were totally unaware, they might have some other means." Lonemoon said, "Regardless of whether they are friends or foe, we would have to meet them."
"…" Yi Qing was silent for a moment and no longer objected.
"Boss!" Whereas Hong Meng at the side was shocked, looking towards Lonemoon with an aggrieved look. "Are… are you leaving the plane? That's too dangerous!" Their plane had just stabilized, was it alright to just leave it alone?
"We'll be back in no time, it won't take long." Lonemoon glanced at him. "Your divine power has recovered, help Rabbit out more with managing the divine race, and also Fatty's side, give him some help when you're free too."
"But… but what about this plane? Why don't… why don't I go too?"
"What business of yours is there?" Lonemoon rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, I am able to sense it if anything happens. You can scram now!" With that, he opened the plane passage and chased Hong Meng back with kicks and pushes.
"Let's go." After clearing the site, Lonemoon then walked back, just before they set off, he glanced at Shen Ying and added, "Don't get lost again."
"Oh."
With that said, his palm clenched and crushed the fruit in his hand. As expected, a white light instantly covered three of them, in the next second, they disappeared from the Divine Realm.
——————
Lonemoon had thought that since the so-called Big Dao Organization was a place built by managers, it would be large and luxurious, yet with a flash of white light, they were brought to a crowded street. There were people walking back and forth all around, it was very lively, there were even numerous stalls set up on both sides, selling food and toys, even daily necessities.It looked like a mortal street, totally unlike the office of some administrative association.
How could this be? What happened to showing the way, did the fruit expire?
"Master! Father Niu!" Yi Qing's expression changed as he said with some bewilderedness, "The divine power in my body… has disappeared!"
"What?" Lonemoon was shocked and subconsciously felt for his own, sure enough, it was empty in his body. Don't mention divine power, there wasn't even a trace of Immortal Qi. He tried again with a different divine power, there was still no reaction. "How could this be?"
"Probably because we are outside of the plane." Shen Ying voiced out. The two faltered become coming to a realization. True, that fruit did not belong to their plane in the first place, this place also looked like a mortal realm, it was very normal to not have Immortal and Spirit Qi.
But since that Big Dao Organization initiated an invitation, what did they mean by sending them to this mortal world now? Regretting midway? Wanting to trap them here? Though this place restricted cultivators, but they were managers, if they wanted to return, they could open the Plane Gate anytime.
"Let's look around before anything else!" Lonemoon looked at the sky and decided. Perhaps because there was something special about that fruit, they did not alert anyone when they appeared out of the blue on the street, as if they had always been here.
Chapter 542: Encountering An Illegal Inn
The few of them had wanted to head out of the city for a look, but realized that the city gates were already closed, it even seemed like there was some restrictive array set up around the city, they could not fly out directly. "Let's find a place to settle down in before anything else!"
Lonemoon then turned walked towards an inn by the side with the master and disciple duo.
"Are you both having a meal or staying in?" The innkeeper immediately greeted eagerly.
"We're staying in." Lonemoon, turning back to glance at Shen Ying, he then added, "And eating. Prepare three premium rooms for us, just send the food up to our rooms."
"Three rooms?" Wasn't there two of them? The innkeeper faltered and lifted his head to glance at them, then he spotted Shen Ying in the middle. Not bothered by it, he said even more enthusiastically, "Three premium rooms, that's a total of 30 pennies for a night, this way, please." With that, he called for a waiter to bring them towards the rear hall. Lonemoon followed right away, whereas the master and disciple paused in their steps upon hearing that, tugging at their parent in front, they could not help but ask worriedly, "Father Niu, this is the mortal realm, do we have money?" Now that their spells didn't work, even spirit stone and immortal stones couldn't be used.
"Of course!" Lonemoon gave him an eye-roll for him to figure out himself, when did he ever have a lack of money, then explained, "Don't we still have leftover money that we dug from the poor soul the previous time. "
"Oh~~~~" Both of them let out a dirt-poor style sigh and raised both their thumbs at him!
Reliable!
Making use of the walk, Lonemoon employed his business instincts and asked the waiter about information of the city. It turned out that where they were at right now was called Wu Ling City, the only town within a radius of a thousand miles, there also weren't any government officials and the like here. The person in charge was a City Lord with the surname Han. And there were indeed no cultivators here. Immortals were even more, a legend, the waiter directly called it gimmicks used to fool people.
He then asked whether there'd been any odd happenings and what not recently, the waiter also shook his head, replying that he was unaware. Seems like this was a very ordinary mortal city. The more Lonemoon asked, the more confused he got, totally not knowing what that so-called Big Dao Organization was trying to do by leading them here? Amongst the people in the city, no one looked like a Manager.
Seeing that the sky was already dark, they could only settle down for now.
"This place is weird and there are no cultivators, it's better that we survey the surroundings while it's dark." Lonemoon suggested. "That Big Dao Organization definitely has a motive for sending us to such a place."
He turned towards Yi Qing. "Chef, you go check out the Eastern region, I'll go to the West, as for Shen Ying…" He paused for a moment. "You stay behind here and sleep." In case you get lost! "Alright."
"Don't run around again, we might not be able to find you here." After all it was another plane.
"Don't worry, all is good!" Pats her chest.
What to do when he's now even more worried upon hearing her say that? Lonemoon glanced at her uneasily for a moment before standing up, intending to head out. Yet he suddenly sensed a set of light footsteps from outside the door, seeming to be stepping lightly intentionally as the person walked towards the left.
"Someone entered the room next door." Yi Qing's brows knitted together. Both the rooms next door were rooms that they had booked, the one on the left was his. They only came to Master's room together because Father Niu had things to instruct them about.
Spells couldn't be used here, it was extremely inconvenient as they did not know who the person was. Lonemoon also found it a little odd, just as he was about to step out to take a look, Chef held him back. "He's here."
Sure enough, the footsteps moved out of the room next door and headed to their side, it was extremely light, as if the person was walking on tiptoes. A second later a figure appeared on the window, lowered his body, following a soft pop, a small hole was made on the window paper, a thin bamboo tube slipped in, then clouds of white smoke.
Lonemoon: "…"
Yi Qing: "…"
Shen Ying: "…"
Was this… poisoning?
What amazing luck was this, they'd actually encountered an illegal inn? After seeing so many demons, ghosts and monsters, this was the trio's first time seeing such pure and unpretentious tricks of killing someone.
They suddenly had the urge to not expose him and cooperate with his show.
Lonemoon sighed, still unable to hold back in the end, he pushed open the door and looked at the figure who was lying on the window sill, blowing smoke into the room with all his might. "Is it fun?"
That person was startled by this person who suddenly appeared, without paying much attention, he choked and inhaled a mouthful of smoke. He instantly launched into a convulsive cough, then his eyes rolled back as he passed out with a thud.
Father Niu who did not do anything: "…"
Stepping forward to take a look, it was as expected, the water who led the way for them earlier. With such mental quality, just where did he find the courage to open an illegal inn. Yi Qing also walked out, glancing at the person on the ground, his expression darkened. "What do we do with this person?"
"How would I know? I have no experience with such matters too." Lonemoon also looked helpless. "I'd just walked out and he choked himself and passed out."
Yi Qing thought for a moment before taking two steps forward, his hands habitually moving to conjure a spell, but he remembered that there was no Spirit Qi here to use spells. Hence, he curled his finger in and hit the most painful acupuncture point on the person.
"Ah!!!" The next second, the waiter cried out loud and sat up like a fake corpse. Rubbing where he was hit, he lifted his head to look at the two people, a trace of confusion flashed through his eyes as he sobered up immediately. "You… You two!" He crawled backwards in a panic, while calling out, "Wang Er, Zhu Si… they…"
"Why are you howling?" Before he'd finished, two more people came running up, broadswords in hand, seeming like they'd been waiting downstairs for a long time. "We told you to be gentler in your actions!" "It's… it's not, they didn't fall asleep, they're awake! Awake!" The waiter frantically pointed in their direction, still wearing a flustered expression.
Those two people then looked over, immediately charging over with ferocious looks after pausing for a moment. "We'll send them on their way all the same." With that said, they raised their swords in their hands and struck.
This strike was very ordinary, nothing technical about it, it was just a regular hack. Being a long time since he last saw such ordinary moves, even Lonemoon found it entrancing as he instinctively moved to grab the blade, but accidentally used too much force. With a crack, that sharp blade was crushed by him.
The person holding the sword paled, looking at his broken sword with disbelief. Coming to the realization that their plan had backfired, he turned and tried to run. Lonemoon did not say anything more and knocked him out directly. On the other side, Chef had also settled the other ruffian.
The waiter who'd just came too earlier was rather sensible. He fell to his knees with a thud. "Heroes, have mercy! I won't dare to do it again, never again!" With that, he started to kowtow.
Chapter 543: Guest From The Sea
"Speak, how many more of you are there in this inn?" Lonemoon questioned directly.
"No… No more!" The waiter replied while shivering. "There are only three of us in total here, I was forced by the two of them too!"
Lonemoon naturally did not believe that and was about to question further when they suddenly heard a scream. It sounded like a lady's voice. Lonemoon glanced at Chef. "It's coming from downstairs!" He was about to head down, when he instructed, "Bring Shen Ying along."
With that said, he went downstairs with the waiter in tow. The door to a room downstairs was wide open, there was a girl seated on the ground, facing towards the interior of the room with a terrified expression. Seeing him walk over, she screamed again and crawled backwards while shrinking away. "Don't… don't kill me!"
Lonemoon ignored her and directly walked into the room for a look. He then realized that the bed was covered in blood. An elderly person laid on it, no longer breathing with slash wounds all over her body. There was even a bundle that had been ransacked scattered open on the floor.
He instantly understood what those two people with the swords had been doing downstairs. Lifting his hand, he threw the waiter over. "You lot did this!"
"No… it's them! They killed her… I only drugged her, it has nothing to do with me!" The waiter hurriedly argued. Lonemoon was too lazy to listen on and knocked him out before looking towards the young girl on the ground.
She seemed to be frightened out of her wits, her gaze towards Lonemoon became increasingly guarded and terrified. Until Chef walked in with Shen Ying, did she seem to come back to her senses. Perhaps because they had the same gender, she crawled towards Shen Ying and held onto the corner of her sleeve tightly, her expression looking like she was still badly shaken.
"Eh?" Shen Ying faltered for a moment. "What's the matter?" Yi Qing asked.
"Someone was killed." Lonemoon replied, glancing at the girl on the ground. "She probably knows the person in the room, let's go out to talk!"
Yi Qing nodded, evidently also smelling the thick stench of blood in the room. Looking at the girl who was still holding on to Shen Ying tightly, he explained, "We're also guests staying in the inn, we won't hurt you."
The girl was dazed for a moment, before she regained some sense and followed them out, still pale with fear.
The few of them sat down on the chairs in the yard, the girl grabbed the teacup before her tightly, finally recovered but her hands continued to tremble. After a moment, she glanced at them with gratefulness. "Thank you… for saving me!" She'd also understood that they weren't evil people and she'd escaped harm.
"No worries, it's a small matter." Lonemoon frowned, he'd originally found it interesting but his mood was a little heavy now that someone had been killed. "You also a guest staying in this inn."
"Yes…" She nodded, sipping a mouthful of tea that was almost completely spilled from her trembling before explaining, "I was from Southern City and came with Grandmother Wang from the same village to find my family. I only found out after coming here that my family had already moved away, we were intending to spend a night here before setting off on our return journey. I didn't expect that in just one night, Grandmother Wang…" Tears started to fall as she spoke.
Lonemoon's expression darkened, he'd never thought that this inn was devoted to cheating foreigners.
"Th… Those few culprits…" The girl seemed to be suddenly reminded of something as she shivered again.
"Don't worry." Lonemoon replied. "They won't wake up before dawn. That waiter said it was only three of them in this inn, they shouldn't have any other accomplice." She then heaved a sigh of relief, turning to glance in the direction of the room, she immediately turned back in fright, asking with some hesitation. "This is a murder, are you all planning to notify the local government?"
"Notify the government?" Lonemoon faltered before remembering that they had to inform the authorities when such things happened in the mortal realm. "You are right, we do have to. Only we're not too familiar with this place, I don't know where to report it."
"Of course you have to report it to the City Lord's Abode." The girl glanced at him with slight astonishment, as if surprised that he did not know something this simple. She stood up and pointed in the direction of the East, saying, "The City Lord's Abode is in the Eastern region, there's still time before the curfew, we ought to go quickly,
Lonemoon thought for a moment before standing up and saying, "I'll go alone." Then turned back to look at Chef, instructing, "Keep an eye on Shen Ying."
"Mm." Chef nodded. He then turned and walked out.
Whereas that girl was taken aback for a moment and glanced at the three of them back and forth. Shouldn't he be keeping an eye on those unconscious culprits? Why was he keeping an eye on this lady?
***
Father Niu left for more than four hours, Shen Ying got hungry as she waited. Chef was bored of idling around and went into the kitchen to make supper.
All at once, it was only Shen Ying and the girl who survived. It was instantly quieter in the yard, only left with the sound of a certain person crunching on fruits and occasional clatters of cooking utensils in the kitchen.
"Want one?" Shen Ying handed a fruit out.
The girl faltered and hesitated for a moment before taking it. "Thank you." Perhaps because of the fright from earlier, there was still a trace of terror in her eyes as she asked carefully, "May I know how to address you?"
"Shen Ying."
"So it's Miss Shen, my name is Fang Fang."
"Mm."
"May I ask what you and your companions are in Wu Ling City for?"
"I don't know."
"Huh?" Fang Fang was stunned, what was I don't know? She paused for a moment, but was nonchalant about it and continued to make some casual conversation. Seeing that Shen Ying was focused on eating her fruit, she felt too awkward to ask anything else. Things turned cold at once. She instantly felt restless and said after some thought. "It is cold tonight, why don't… I go brew a pot of tea."
"Sure," Shen Ying answered while nodding.
She then stood up and walked towards the front yard.
Shen Ying was the only person left in the big yard, Chef wasn't done with the supper and she was slightly bored from waiting. On top of that, this city was built beside a river and connected to the sea, the other side of this yard was a riverside view, and a breeze would blow occasionally, faintly bringing a sharp whisper, as if someone was singing softly.
Shen Ying was stunned for a moment and instinctively looked back, a figure had dubiously appeared on the rocks by the river. It was a man with dark green hair, his features were beautiful, wearing nothing on the top, but his bottom half was a huge fish's tail. He was seated on a rock beside the river, singing in a low voice while throwing charming smiles at her.
Shen Ying only took a glance, then turned back and continued to nibble on her fruit. The man faltered for a moment, as if surprised by her reaction. Following that, he opened his mouth and sang even louder than before, his voice touched one's heart and made one lose their reason like an enchanting song.
Shen Ying fell into a momentary daze and turned back to dart a look at him before continuing to eat her fruit.
Chapter 544: Seizing The Merman
The man was slightly irritated, frowning as his hands fisted by his side, as if recalling something, he pulled out a luminous pearl and threw it towards her, the pearl rolled beneath the feet of a certain person.
Shen Ying bowed her head and gave it a glance, don't mention picking it up, she paid no attention to it and continued to focus on the fruit in her hand.
The man had no choice and could only bring out an even bigger one and threw it over.
Shen Ying still ignored it!
The man seemed to be dead set on pestering her and continued to throw pearls, each one bigger than the previous.
Shen Ying would still look down and glance at them at the start but subsequently she didn't even pay them any heed. Until the man took out one as big as a fist and threw it over, the giant luminous pearl smashed onto her hand. Shen Ying didn't catch it and the fruit in her hand dropped to the ground.
Shen Ying's face darkened, staring at the remaining half of her fruit on the ground, her eyes narrowed before she stood up, grabbed the biggest luminous pearl and turned around.
The man was delighted and immediately continued singing to her, wanting to enamor her at one go.
He'd just sang his first note, but he suddenly heard the opposite party say, "Are you the only one who knows how to throw?!" With that said, she threw that luminous pearl back with a swing of her arm.
Before he could react, he felt a strong gust of wind sweeping across, something whisked past the side of his ear, moving towards the river behind him with a momentum like it could break past everything. In the next second, he heard the rushing of waters, the entire river was instantly sliced in two halves by something, then a loud rumble came from the tall mountain opposite. An enormous circular hole had been made in the middle of the mountain, at one look, one could even see the boundless sea on the other side.
The man: "…"
What had just happened? Who was he, where was he?
"A brat just needs to be taught a lesson!" Before the man could react, an angry voice sounded by his ear. In the next moment, he felt a weight on his tail as he slipped off the rock and was dragged all the way by Shen Ying into the yard and thrown on the pool of luminous pearls.
"Miss Shen… What was that sound earlier, ah!" Fang Fang walked in with the tea and instantly screamed out loud upon catching sight of the man with a human body and a fishtail on the ground. "What… What is this?!"
"Master…" Chef also rushed over, carrying a dish in one hand and holding a spatula in the other. He was taken aback when he spotted the person on the ground. "This is… a fish?" "Could be a siren too!" Had been calling out for a long while earlier, what a nuisance.
"Oh, then…" Chef put down the dish in his hands and pulled out a chopper. "Want an extra dish?"
Fang Fang: "…"
The man: "…"
Shen Ying: "…"
"I'm back." Lonemoon happened to walk in right then. "I've already informed the City Lord Abode, they'll be sending people… Huh! Where did this merman come from?"
Under the illumination of the pool of luminous pearls, Lonemoon caught sight of the slightly dazed man with a fishtail in the middle right away. "Came from the water." Shen Ying pointed to the riverside.
Lonemoon turned his head. "Damn it! What have you done now?" Why was it that the moment he came back, the mountain opposite now had a big hole in it!
Shen Ying recalled the size of the pearl earlier and replied, "Played tennis?"
Tennis your foot! Who else have you that can make a hole in a mountain from playing tennis.
"Miss Shen Ying, are you alright?" Fang Fang also walked over quickly, glancing fearfully at the merman on the ground that seemed stunned. "Is this really a merman? The legends say that mermen loves to eat human meat and would often use their singing to bewitch humans. I didn't think… it is actually real."
So this merman had chosen Shen Ying?
The corner of Lonemoon's lips twitched, this merman's taste is rather special huh?! He picked one that could not be ruffled with in his first pick.
He directly took two steps forward and lifted the merman on the ground. "Speak, what are you trying to do?"
The merman faltered for a moment and turned his head to glance in Shen Ying's direction, then his entire being began trembling again. His mouth opened and closed several times but could only let out a piercing whistling sound, his eyes filled with terror.
"Can't speak?" Lonemoon paused for a moment, that's impossible. Could it be that he'd yet to form sentience? At a closer look, this merman really seemed to be just a low-level demon beast. But there is no Spirit Qi in this place, why would creatures like mermen exist?
As he was thinking, the sound of orderly footsteps sounded on the street outside, a dozen of people looking like government officers walked over. "Who reported that there had been a murder here?" The one walking right in front asked loudly and stepping into the yard, but was frightened by the creature in Lonemoon's hand in the next second that his legs turned to jelly as he directly took several steps back. "What… what monster is this?"
All of a sudden, Lonemoon did not know how to answer.
Instead, it was Fang Fang beside him who stepped forward and said. "Sir, this seems to be a merman. It came out of the water wanting to eat a person and happened to be restrained by these two young masters."
"Merman?" The fear in the officers lessened slightly, looking down at all the luminous pearls on the ground, his eyes lit up right away. "Is it the merman in legends whose tears become pearls?!"
Fang Fang hesitated, only answering, "Possibly so…?"
The officer's eyes became even brighter, the fear from earlier completely gone as he stared fixedly at the creature that Lonemoon was holding. "Will… Will this creature still hurt people?" Lonemoon frowned but still replied, "Mermen live in water, they naturally lose their aggressiveness once on land." Unless it is a high-level merman that can morph completely but it was evident that this one wasn't one.
"Good, good. good!" The officer continuously exclaimed, the excitement on his face seeming like it couldn't be suppressed. He then turned back after having recalled something and said to the group of them, "This demon creature is too dangerous, I'm afraid some mishaps might happen if we leave it here, it's better if we bring it back and lock it up in the City Lord Abode." With that, without waiting for them to agree, he quickly ordered the people behind him, "Go, bring that demon creature back."
The people behind him surged forward hurriedly, were they on their way to snatch something? Lonemoon hesitated for a moment, but did not stop them and allowed them to take the merman away.
"Sir, then… then the murder here." Seeing that they were about to leave, Fang Fang stepped forward anxiously.
The officer was then reminded of his purpose in coming here and quickly said, "About the incident here, the person who reported it earlier has already made it very clear, don't worry, those people who murder for gains, the City Lord Abode will punish them. With that said, he asked for the location of the three men and took them into custody too.
He did not even reconfirm the entire incident, seeming like he could not wait to return. Seems like he was curious about that merman whose tears could form pearls and wanted to bring him back and test out that legend personally.
Even the officers of the City Lord Abode were so heedless, no wonder the innkeepers here dared to open an illegal inn in the middle of the city. Lonemoon shook his head, but there was no need for them to intervene in matters of the mortal realm either, besides, this wasn't their plane.
Chapter 545: Guesting At The City Lord Abode
"This…" Fang Fang wore a blank look, turning towards them as if inquiring their opinion.
"It's getting late." Lonemoon glanced at the sky, those officers were occupied with presenting the treasure to the City Lord and seeking credit, seems like they couldn't care less about them. "The matter has been settled, let's get some rest." With that said, he pulled Shen Ying and Chef upstairs, taking the dishes on the table with him at the same time.
It wasn't suitable for the girl to say anything else and she could only randomly pick an empty guest room and settle in.
—————
"Did you hear, a huge hole suddenly appeared through Mountain An opposite the river last night, it's about a few hundred feet wide." "How could you miss such a big hole, it appeared overnight and looks very smooth, doesn't seem like its man-made."
"There are rumors that there even people who heard the ethereal voice from heaven last night, that voice was dreamlike, like an immortal song from the skies."
"In that case, could that big hole be a divine sign? It is a sign of great prosperity!"
"It definitely is, otherwise who has the ability to cut through a mountain and leave behind such a big hole in a night's time? The only explanation is that an immortal descended to Earth last night!"
"Then doesn't that make our city a lucky city."
Early morning, every street and alley in the city was discussing the big hole that suddenly appeared in the middle of the night. And the talks became increasingly dubious, someone even swore that he saw the immortal with his own eyes. All at once, that big hole became a divine sign, a good number of people even wanted to cross the river to worship it.
Lonemoon: "…"
Shen Ying: "…"
Yi Qing: "…"
Alright, to a certain extent, it was really the doing of an immortal.
While he went out to report the case last night, Lonemoon had actually also probed around the city, but he came to the same outcome as he did previously. This was simply a mortal city, nothing different from other places and nowhere was it related to Managers.
So he decided to head out for the city for a look, if there are still no discoveries, then they would return to their plane first. Anyway, they weren't particularly interested in this Big Dao Organization. Yet just as they were about to leave the city, they were stopped by a person, a person they recognized, it was the officer who brought troops to investigate the case yesterday but ended up taking a merman away with him. This time, he was missing his domineering stance as he smiled amicably. "Fellow guests, the City Lord requests a meeting with you!"
City Lord? Lonemoon paused, it must be because of the merman incident, seems like this officer really presented that merman to the City Lord. After giving it some thought, he did not decline and followed the officer with a nod.
They arrived at the biggest building in the city in a short while, the City Lord Abode. When he came here to report case last night, he'd only stood outside to explain the situation before leaving. Now the three of them were taken all the way into the abode, to a hall used for meeting guests.
There was already a person seated inside, at a closer look, it was the girl from yesterday, her name seemed to be Fang Fang.
"Miss Shen, young masters, why did you all come too?" Fang Fang looked towards the trio with surprise. "Miss Fang, why are you here too?" Lonemoon asked. They'd parted ways as they left the inn this morning, didn't she mention she was returning to her village?
"The officer at the city gate said that they had orders from the City Lord to bring me here." Fang Fang replied.
Seems like they gathered all the people in the know, Lonemoon frowned as a voice announcing the arrival of the City Lord sounded outside the door. In the next moment, a middle- aged man hurried in, his eyes lit up upon seeing the few of them as he quickened his steps and walked over excitedly.
"It was you all who discovered that merman?"
Lonemoon exchanged a look with Chef before stepping forward and answering. "Yes, we were the ones who found it."
"How insolent!" He'd just finished when the person beside him suddenly rebuked, "How dare you not bow when you see the City Lord?" "No need to bother with such empty shows of ceremony." The City Lord waved his hands, becoming even more excited. He surveyed Lonemoon from top to bottom, then turned to look towards Yi Qing who was beside him and said with approval. "I can tell that both of you are of no ordinary talent at one look, no wonder you were able to capture a merman who has been known to be ferocious and would even bewitch humans."
"…" Actually, it was caught by Shen Ying.
Yet the City Lord treated them with increasingly ardor, his eyes filled with curiosity. "Could you tell me how you managed to capture it?"
Lonemoon was stumped, he could not say that Shen Ying first smashed a hole through the mountain and scared it sh*tless before she managed to capture it.
"We all learned some simple kungfu and chanced upon this merman, so we took it down." Lonemoon could only make up a story on the spot. "I see!" This City Lord was evidently at the height of his enthusiasm and did not suspect anything. "Seems like you are also an exceptional man."
"You flatter me, it was merely some small tricks."
"No need to be too humble!" The City Lord said exceedingly eagerly. "To be able to catch such a rare creature, how could you be an ordinary man? Don't worry, I remember your contributions, there will definitely be generous rewards for all of you."
"Then I thank you, City Lord." Money sent right to his doorstep, why not.
The City Lord's smile grew wider as he glanced at the both of them again, something flashing across his eyes. "I see that the few of you are foreigners, since you have such capabilities why don't you stay in my abode to make a future for yourself?" He suggested directly and added after some thought. "To be honest, I have always been very fond of such precious objects and rare creatures, I also have quite a number of collections here, but this is my first time seeing someone who was able to capture a merman from the sea, I truly want to cherish such talents." So he wants to recruit fighters, Lonemoon said with a smile, "Thank you for your kind offer, but the few of us still has important matters to attend to. We are just passing through this city on our way, it's not likely that we will stay behind now."
"Oh?" His expression fell instantly, seeming displeased with his rejection. "You must be clear, if you were to stay in my abode, great riches and splendor will be right at your fingertips, isn't it better than having to travel everywhere?"
"We seek your understanding, City Lord!" Lonemoon's reply remained the same. "We indeed have important matters to attend to."
The City Lord's face became a little darker and he continued to smile after a moment. "Don't be so quick to come to a decision. I reckon that the few of you do have some knowledge regarding the different races, why don't you follow me to Precious Creatures Garden to take a look at my collection of races before deciding?"
With that said, he walked out without waiting for their response. His armed guards by the side took two steps forward, looking like they were waiting for them to move. Lonemoon exchanged a look with Yi Qing, something flashing across their eyes at the same time before following, taking Shen Ying's hand at the same time. Fang Fang wore a look of panic but could only follow along and walked carefully beside Shen Ying.
The Precious Creature Garden that the City Lord spoke off wasn't far away, they followed him through several courtyards and finally turned into one that had a completely different style. It was massive, but there were rare treasures everywhere, there were even colorful exotic flowers and rare herbs grown by the paths.
Occasionally they could see living creatures with odd appearances walk through, a deer with a flowering branch on its head, a cat that could speak human languages, various beasts with unusual appearances, all things that couldn't be spotted easily in the mortal realm.
Chapter 546: Silencing
Fang Fang was entirely stunned as she stared with disbelief at everything before her. Even Lonemoon and Yi Qing had surprise flashing through their eyes, this place was filled with demon beasts and spirit herbs. In a world with totally no Spirit Qi, where did they come from?
"How is it, what do you think of my Precious Creature Garden?" The City Lord said with some intention of flaunting.
"It indeed leaves quite an impression." Lonemoon continued the conversation politely.
"These are still the little things." He continued, "Follow me inside!"
With that he continued to walk forward, the deeper they went, the more they saw. Lonemoon looked around carefully, even the surrounding spirit herbs had subsequently become fourth and fifth-level ones, compared to the initial first and second-level ones, they could be considered as intermediate spirit herbs, but not one bit of Spirit Qi could be felt. Lonemoon suppressed the surprise in his heart and followed the City Lord right into a cave. The spirit herbs were no longer seen and the cave wasn't dark either, colorless little flowers covered the entire wall of rock on the side, though the flowers were transparent, they radiated a faint white light.
Fang Fang seemed to have never seen such a unique flower and instinctively reached out to the left to touch them, in the next second, a terrifying roar of a beast sounded from the wall and something charged from between the rocks and snapped at her.
Fortunately Shen Ying who was by her side reached out and pulled her back, that she managed to dodge it. Fang Fang was startled, her face turned white like snow instantly as she panted heavily, half her body was lying limp on Shen Ying, looking like she got quite the shock.
"Hahaha, I forgot to remind everyone, a rock beast lives in this rock wall, it is bad-tempered and these flowers are guarded by it, no one is allowed to touch it." The City Lord reminded rather insincerely before continuing to move forward.
Fang Fang was so frightened that there wasn't a trace of blood in her face, she only stood up, looking still in shock after Shen Ying held her up and murmured a soft word of thanks after a moment.
Shen Ying looked back at her with surprise then crunched down on her fruit before nodding and responding. "Mm."
The group headed towards the interior of the cave. Moments later, the surrounding began to warm up, the City Lord stopped before a huge metal gate and introduced rather excitedly, "This is the most peculiar beast in my Precious Creatures Garden, even I do not know exactly what it is. It took a great deal of effort to capture it."
With that, he shifted the gear by the side, a wave of blazing heat came surging immediately. There was another metal mesh inside and through the crevices in the middle, one could see that there was scorching fire everywhere and in the midst of the fire, laid a huge beast the size of three humans stacked together.
This was… a seventh-level fire beast! Lonemoon quickly turned to look towards Yi Qing beside him, seeing him nod, he then concealed the surprise in his eyes. A seventh-level demon beast but no Spirit Qi present, interesting!
"How about it?" The City Lord looked towards them again and said, "I was even able to capture such a creature, this is proof of the capabilities of my city, have you changed your mind and decided to stay behind to render your services to me?"
"City Lord is naturally exceptionally capable of great feats." Lonemoon said with a smile, "But our ambition does not lie here, we cannot stay for long in the city, We can only disappoint your kind offer."
The City Lord's expression instantly fell, a guard by his side shouted directly. "All of you are so unappreciative of favors! It's really too…"
Before he could finish, the City Lord stopped him with a raised hand, his eyes dark as he said with a small smile. "Alright, since you are unwilling to stay behind, then I shall not force you against your will, take your leave." "Thank you City Lord!" Lonemoon shot a look towards Chef, then turned and walked outwards. But the City Lord and his guard behind them did not follow, as if really intending on watching them leave.
Yet they'd barely taken a few steps out when they heard a creak, the ground beneath their feet weighed down, the initially flat ground had disappeared. All four of them fell down together, they could faintly catch the curses of a certain City Lord from the top.
"Unappreciative fools, all of you deserve to become the food for the monsters!"
The most alarmed person amongst the four of them was Fang Fang, she screamed out loud directly. Whereas Lonemoon and Yi Qing were prepared long beforehand, Chef reached out and pulled Shen Ying into his arms and Lonemoon lifted the terrified Fang Fang.
They landed within seconds, the sound of rushing water sounded by their ears. Lonemoon brought out a pearl and shook it, their surroundings then lit up at once. It was then that they had a clear view that they were standing on a protruded rock, a dark river several meters wide was below it, filled with sinister looking monster fish that would leap out of the water from time to time, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth.
Fang Fang's expression became graver, she instantly broke free of Lonemoon's hand and hid, seeming habitually, behind Shen Ying. "What… what is this place?"
No one answered. Instead Yi Qing glanced her hand that was grabbing his Master tightly and frowned before pointing to the right. "Father Niu, it's there!"
"Wh… What's there?" Fang Fang still wore a look of fear and bewilderedness. "Why did the City Lord suddenly trap us in here?"
"He did not think of letting us live from the start." Lonemoon explained, "He must not want any outsiders to know that he had gotten the merman. So, for people like us in the know, we either become his subordinates or dead people who cannot speak!" Fang Fang's eyes widened abruptly, disbelief written all over her face, as if not expecting that a dignified City Lord would do such a despicable thing. Lonemoon had long guessed that the City Lord was no good thing, otherwise why would that innkeeper dare to open an illegal inn so brazenly in the city.
The reason why they came over here was because he had checked out the entire city last night, just not the City Lord Abode, so he made use of the opportunity to do so. Only, he did not expect to really make a discovery, a place without Spirit Qi could have spirit herbs growing and high level demon beasts, he had to admit that this was really odd. Moreover, both Chef and him had detected a trace of Spirit Qi when they saw the seventh- level demon beast earlier.
Originally, they could pretend to accept the City Lord's offer and slowly investigate thereafter. But it was too troublesome, and they would not be able to investigate openly, not to mention it being a definite waste of time, it'd be better if they just fall out with him
But he did not expect that this trace of Spirit Qi just happened to appear in this underground river, it could be considered an accidental find. Pity that Spirit Qi was too weak and this place was weird, they could not use their spells and naturally could
not use their divine perception to search for it, it was very troublesome.
However, as long as they find the source of the trace of Spirit Qi, they would surely be able to figure out what was up with this place. Only this girl named Fang Fang… would be experiencing an unexpected calamity.
"Master, let's go!" Yi Qing said and lifted Shen Ying directly, leaping and ending strength from the protruding rocks on the banks of the river, he moved forward in the direction of the river flow.
Chapter 547: A Mini Plane
"Miss Fang, forgive me!" Lonemoon gave Fang Fang a look, took her and followed. Only he lifted her instead.
The two went with a fast speed, yet after an hour of going along the direction of the underground river, they still didn't see its end. By right, even for an underground river, it should flow into a main river, or the sea. They thought that they must have long gone beyond the city by now, yet they still didn't find its end.
Chef leading the way in front suddenly paused, and turned to look at the cliff to his right.
"What's wrong?" Lonemoon also stopped.
Yi Qing turned back and gave him a look. "The direction changed!"
Lonemoon was stunned. Sensing it carefully, he realized that indeed, the string of spirit qi changed course. Yi Qing thought about it and then retreated a few steps and put down the person he held. "Master, please wait here for a moment, don't go too near." With that said, he stuffed a fruit into her hand.
"Oh." Shen Ying took it and took two steps back.
Lonemoon also hurried to step back, dragging the girl Fang Fang with him.
Only then did Yi Qing take out a longsword from his storage bag and focused his spirit to shove it right at the cliff beside him. Though he couldn't use spells, Chef with only his sword technique still opened up the whole cliff instantly. Large pieces of broken rocks rolled down, showing a passage forcefully opened by Sword Qi.
"Let's go, Master." Yi Qing put away his sword and turned back.
"Yup." Shen Ying followed. "Wait, wait for me!" Fang Fang anxiously walked forward a few steps and walked behind Shen Ying with some remaining fear.
Lonemoon had to walk at the end of the row.
This passage opened up by Chef wasn't very wide. At first, it could only allow one person to pass, yet somehow the deeper they went, the wider it became. Even the light bead Lonemoon held in his hand didn't seem able to light up the whole area around them.
Fang Fang looked even more scared and followed even closer. She even grabbed Shen Ying's hand subconsciously. "Where… where is this place after all?"
"No idea!" replied Shen Ying. She still nibbled at the fruit, and there wasn't the tiniest bit of panic on her face, as though she wasn't at an unknown, dangerous place, but here for a purposeful tour.
The girl Fang Fang gave her a look, and somehow also seemed less scared herself. "Miss Shen is so brave. Even I am becoming less nervous." She showed a friendly smile. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something. "Oh yeah, I also bought a few pears beside the street this morning. Miss Shen likes fruits so much, would you like to taste it?" With that said, she immediately took out a pear from the bag she carried.
Yet Shen Ying didn't look at that pear, but turned and looked straight at her. She didn't respond for a long time. When the girl thought that she was going to refuse, she suddenly smiled, nodded and said, "Okay! Thank you!"
"You're… you're welcome." Fang Fang returned her smile and turned to the front. Suddenly, her expression looked shocked as she said, "Hmm? Is there light in front? Are we… are we at the exit?"
With that said,, she grabbed Shen Ying and walked forward several steps, her face full of joyful surprise.
Indeed, there was suddenly a white light not far from them, and it grew brighter and brighter. At the same time, a wave of thick Spirit Qi also rushed towards their faces. Yi Qing and Lonemoon at the back exchanged a look and also hastened their footsteps.
"It's so good, we can finally be out." Fang Fang became even more joyful, her look excited. The white light in front increased in number before them, yet it didn't look like sunlight, but more like a large patch of moving light dots.
"This is…" Her footsteps paused and she looked at the scene before her with a totally shocked expression.
Before her was a large wave of thick whiteness, one couldn't tell what it was. It was like countless light dots gathered together. They filled up the whole ground and were flowing slowly like white spring water.
Instantly, everything around them disappeared, as though they were transported into another space-time in an instant. Their surroundings were totally dark, with only that patch of whiteness before them.
"What… what is this?!" Fang Fang looked completely shocked. Lonemoon took one step forward, then suddenly turned back and smiled, "What is this? Shouldn't you tell us that?"
"Young Master, what are you talking about?" She turned back, her face blank. "I don't understand."
Lonemoon's eyes darkened. "You plotted carefully to draw the three of us here, it can't be just to let us watch you act?"
She froze for a moment. In the next instant, the original innocent and confused look changed instantly. Suddenly, her figure flashed and retreated right into that white light, showing a satisfied smile. "I didn't expect you to see through it after all. When did you start suspecting me?"
"When you appeared in that room one floor below." Lonemoon was in no hurry. He explained slowly.
"One floor below?" She was stunned for a moment. Didn't she expose herself from the very beginning, then? "How did you realize that I was pretending?" Lonemoon rolled his eyes at her and gave her a how-is-this- worth-asking expression. "We were staying right upstairs. If that old woman below was really killed by the innkeeper, it was impossible for us to not hear it. Besides, there was no bloodstain on the knives those two carried." Those two holding knives ran up hurriedly upon hearing the innkeeper's voice. If he really killed one person before that, how could they have the time to wash their knives clean, before coming up?
"I see!" She looked like she came to a sudden realization. "I didn't imagine that I was exposed that early. Since you knew early on that there was a problem with me, why did you take me all the way here?"
"We've already come here, naturally we wanted to be clear," said Lonemoon, "what did you draw us to this place for after all?"
"What for?" She suddenly laughed out loud. Her eyes sank and it was immediately full of viscousness. She spoke gritting her teeth, "To destroy you scum and turn you into dust, naturally."
Lonemoon was stunned, feeling that her hatred came with no reason. "We do not know each other, why are you doing this?" "Why? Hahaha…" She laughed even more loudly. her eyes grew cold and hatred overflowed from it like sea waves. "You all invaded my world for no reason, and you ask me why?"
"Invade?" Lonemoon was stunned, his eyes opened wide with disbelief. "You are the Manager!" How was this possible? Could a world so tiny really be a plane?
"Very surprised, are you?" As though guessing what he was thinking, she smiled even more coldly. "Such a small plane could actually have a Manager? A pity that you won't have a chance to leave this plane alive, the same for your Manager." With that said, she suddenly raised a hand. That pear in Shen Ying's hand suddenly produced several rays of white light, forming four light walls which kept her inside directly.
Chapter 548: Manager's Revenge
"Master!" Yi Qing was shocked. Just when he was about to go and save her, that light wall actually flickered with white light and disappeared right where it was instantly, reappearing behind Fang Fang instead.
"Hmph, this is a restriction I made with the power of original source, nobody can escape."
"Your target has been Shen Ying from the start?" Lonemoon's face darkened. He suddenly remembered that mermaid. Apparently it was a sea creature, yet it appeared beside a river. And not only that mermaid. That City Lord, and even that inn, were all used by her to test them.
"Indeed, since she happens to be your Manager. At first I meant to deal with her directly…" Fang Fang said, uncaring, "A pity that I under-estimated her power. Even if I confined the immortal and spirit qi of this plane, she still has such a terrible strength. Therefore, I could only draw all of you here and use the power of the original source to suppress your abilities."
Lonemoon was stunned, and subconsciously he sensed for his own plane. Indeed, he could no longer sense it. Moreover, the plane door had been locked. No wonder she brought them here. It was to block their way of retreat.
"Done with talking nonsense?" Yi Qing's face darkened. He directly stepped forward and drew out his sword. "Come and fight!"
Fang Fang actually sneered, not in the least bit intimidated by them. She turned and gave a look at Shen Ying trapped inside the white light. "With the Manager in my hands, this is the place of original source, with your strength you can never…"
Before she finished her words, a terrible wave of sword qi swept right towards her suddenly, bringing forth an immense momentum and thick killing aura. She subconsciously turned back and managed to escape that wave of sword qi. The bottom of her heart grew cold immediately: had she not have dodged fast, that sword qi would have hit on her body.
How was this possible? She turned towards Yi Qing, her face full of disbelief, only to see an expression of anger like he was almost bursting out. He spoke word by word, "Don't give your dirty things to my Master anyhow!" Lonemoon: "…"
#theselfdiscipleofachef
So the point of your anger was just because she gave Shen Ying a pear? Should he feel fortunate that he restrained himself for so long and cooperated with him to finish the acting before bursting out?
But Chef had already rushed out, holding his sword. For a time, the sword qi thickened even more around them with a dangerous aura emanating.
Fang Fang was forced to retreat rapidly all the way towards places closer to the original source where it was thicker, yet she realized that it was of no use. Yi Qing's movement not only didn't slow down, but actually became even more rapid.
"This… this, how can this be!" Her face was full of disbelief. Obviously, she was already inside the original source, and controlled the Manager, why would they still have such abilities? Unless… "You are Managers too!" Her eyes widened abruptly.
"What? You only just realized?" replied Lonemoon, smiling.
"How can there be three at once…" She gritted her teeth, and the hatred in her eyes deepened even more. Among the three of them, apparently that one called Shen Ying was the more powerful one, even somewhat unfathomable, so she instinctively concluded that she was the Manager, and these two were only her assistants.
And she did indeed see that there was the power of contract among the three, but didn't imagine that all three were Managers! As the Manager of a plane, they were actually willing to become another person's assistant, was there something wrong with these two people's brains?
But she didn't have time to think carefully. Yi Qing's sword attack had already forced her into a corner. She gritted her teeth and her face sank. They didn't know what she did, but the plane's original source under their feet which was at first calm as spring water suddenly started boiling. One giant beast followed by another emerged from the water and attacked towards Yi Qing. "Holy shit!" This Manager actually raised demon beasts in the original source. Lonemoon was shocked, cursed to himself and then pulled out his sword and rushed over. The demon beasts raised in the original source were, of course, strong. They were no mere demon beasts but divine beasts, in fact. Yet they couldn't use any spell here, and could only forcefully fight them with the sword, making it even harder, not to mention it was a whole group set on them at once.
Lonemoon rushed inside, and he and Chef each took one side and started fighting. For a time, there were Sword Qi everywhere inside the white light. Fortunately, though the divine beasts were strong, they didn't seem to have consciousness. Even though spells couldn't be used, and their Manager abilities were also suppressed in many ways, it was still just a matter of time before they defeated those gigantic beasts. Only that they would be trapped inside for a while.
And Fang Fang who had been chased and beaten by Chef also got a chance to breathe. She retreated directly. Her injuries were rather severe, with wounds cut by Sword Qi all over her, deep to the bones. Yet somehow, the wounds weren't healing. She wasn't suppressed, and obviously these were just small wounds not worth mentioning to a Manager. "You raised them with your own power?" Suddenly, a familiar voice rang in her ears.
Fang Fang was stunned. She looked back and realized that Shen Ying who was trapped inside the white light was the one speaking. She was still holding a fruit in her hands and nibbling at it, without the tiniest bit of panic for being trapped. Instead, she tilted her head and looked at her curiously.
"No!" She suddenly corrected herself. "More like, you are feeding back on this broken plane with your own power?" That's why she couldn't even heal herself.
Her eyes widened abruptly, with the look of being exposed all over her face and vigilance filling her eyes.
"Why?" continued Shen Ying. She couldn't last too long like this.
"Why?" She stood up like with anger and irritation. The hatred in her eyes looked like it was going to overflow. She gritted her teeth and roared out, "I want my plane to not collapse. I want the living beings of my world alive. I don't want them devoured by chaos! What right do you murderers of Big Dao Organization have, to ask me why?"
"Big Dao Organization?" Shen Ying frowned. "We're not!"
"Ho, is there a difference?" She sneered. "Soon you will be, or why would you appear here? You only need to kill me, and destroy this plane already riddled, barely surviving plane, and you will be eligible for membership to the Organization."
"Eligible?" Shen Ying's eyes narrowed. "You mean we are actually sent here, as a test for membership."
"What? Are you not even clear with this?" The coldness in her eyes deepened and she said full of ridicule, "Then Big Dao Organization is quite blind this time, to actually invite these people who can't even figure out their situation."
Shen Ying's eyes darkened, and she finally put down the fruit in her hand. She reached out and made a forceful breaking movement with her hands. With a tearing sound, that layer of trapping white light cracked open at once like a piece of white paper being torn.
Fang Fang's eyes protruded instantly.
(⊙_⊙)
Yet Shen Ying walked directly towards her and stopped one step away from her. She spoke with a deep voice, "Come, let's have a chat!"
Chapter 549: The Truths of The Big Dao
"You… How did you…" She still looked lost in her senses as she stared baffled at the person before her. She had trapped her, why was it so easy…
Shen Ying had already held her to the ground with a slap and she followed to sit down cross-legged beside her, bringing out a few plates of pastries at the same time, looking like she was intending to have a long and deep talk.
Sitting in a momentary daze, she seemed to recall something and suddenly lifted her head to shout towards the two people who were in a heated battle, "Chef, Father Niu, stop fighting! Come! Let's have a good talk."
With that, she reached towards the white light under her and tapped forcefully. With a resounding slap, some indistinct energy seemed to scatter out instantly. It swept towards the battlefield and the giant beasts instantly became a million motes of tiny sparks like shattered glass and returned to the original source.
Whereas Fang Fang who'd been forced to sit down felt some familiar energy return into her body at once. In the next moment, those ghastly wounds on her body healed.
Lonemoon and Yi Qing who were now missing their opponents then shared a look, put their swords away and walked back, seating themselves right opposite the other two. Lonemoon even glared at Shen Ying, should have said earlier if you're gonna act, making them fight all day.
Shen Ying supported her head with a hand and turned towards Fang Fang once again. "Alright, come, tell us your story!"
Fang Fang: "…"
Lonemoon: "…"
Yi Qing: "…"
Fang Fang faltered for a good while before coming back to her senses. Still staring at the trio with resentment, but she did not strike again. That seemingly casual slap of Shen Ying earlier was utterly shocking. She'd also understood that with her capabilities, she wouldn't be a match for them at all. Shen Ying had only refrained from acting earlier, no, even if she did not act, she might not be able to beat the other two Managers.
"Oh, yes!" Shen Ying swept a look across her and seemed to have thought of something as she turned towards Yi Qing and said, "Chef, let her use the what… washing machine spell?"
The corner of Lonemoon's mouth twitched as he interrupted, "That's the dust-removing spell!" Screw your washing machine.
"Oh, yes, the dust-removing spell." Shen Ying nodded. "Otherwise, with the blood all over her, it makes it seem like she's telling a ghost story."
"Yes, Master!"
"What yes? We can't use spells! As if you'll be able… F*ck!" Before he could finish, he saw a spell of Chef go and the bloodstains on her body disappeared completely, with the exception of a few holes, it was as clean as a new set of clothes. "How is it that he could suddenly…" Hold on, he sensed instinctively and realized that the divine power in his body had returned, not to mention being able to switch between Immortal Qi and Spirit Qi at will.
What's going on?
"Oh. I just opened a back door." From their plane.
Lonemoon: "…"
He vaguely felt something snap in his mind.
"If you could open a back door, would it kill you to do it earlier!" Made them work so hard for a good half of the day.
"You didn't ask me to open it either!" Shen Ying wore an innocent expression. "…" A mouthful of blood.
Fang Fang who was looking on: "…"
Were these three people really managers? Why did they look to be so unreliable? She somehow wanted to ask, was their plane still alive?
——————
The never-ending story of Fang Fang's plane in short was the story of a successful intrusion. Only it wasn't done by one intruder but a dozen managers at once. In the end it led to the collapse of her plane, only leaving an area the size of this little world now.
And that Big Dao Organization was indeed as Shen Ying had said, a union made up of the managers of every plane. According to Fang Fang, there were already more than a dozen managers in it and most of them came from an immortal spirit plane similar to Yi Qing and Lonemoon's. But the nature of it was different from the administrative committee that Shen Ying had once interacted with. The administrative committee was formed to resolve internal communications and interactions, whereas this was formed as an alliance against external forces. Though they did not initiate wars, they will charge forward in a crowd and counter-intrude the other party's plane.
Although it is self-preservation in name, their approach was relentless and arbitrary, without listening to any explanations. They were also continuously recruiting new members, Fang Fang was also one of the invited members back then, but she had seen through their despotic nature and had rejected them directly.
Even so, she suffered the revenge of the Big Dao Organization. Those people saw her as a threat and attacked. After exhausting all means, she managed to retain the last bit of the plane's original source. Initially, she had thought she could start afresh but was still found by those people.
"They trapped me in this little world and locked up the last of the original source so I cannot escape, neither can I save my own plane." Her eyes were empty, as if her entire person had lost its life, completely filled with despair. "I could only watch as my plane move towards death, what's laughable is that they even used this broken land of mine as the location for their trials to select their allies, that's thoroughly making use of things too!"
She suddenly looked up and broke into a mocking smile. "All of you are the selected members for the trial this time."
Shen Ying turned silent, Lonemoon and Yi Qing's expression also did not look too good, they did not expect that what Big Dao Organization was such a bunch of people.
After a good while, Lonemoon then spoke up. "What's the criterion for their selection?"
Her smile became even colder as she inhaled deeply and said, "Find out the truth about this world, find the correct path that leads to the Big Dao Organization."
"So simple?" "Simple?" Fang Fang turned her head and glanced at him, the deeply ingrained resentment from earlier surfacing again. "To you all it is naturally simple, but to me it is a disaster time and time again!"
"What do you mean?" Lonemoon frowned.
"Did you think that you three are the first batch of managers I met?" She chuckled coldly. "Not many of them were like you three, totally oblivious about what the Big Dao Organization was. Most had long heard about the existence of the Big Dao Organization and were so eager to join them. Of course, they also knew there would be such a test, but when they totally cannot find the way, what did you think they did?"
"…" Lonemoon faltered, his gaze dimming at once.
While Fang Fang continued to smile coldly. "The best idea they could come with, was of course to find me and ask for the correct path. But they have no way of finding me easily, so they could only force me to show myself. Some would still voice some threats, others simply massacred the city, forcing me to obey! The people in this city are already the last of my living beings, they're not afraid that I won't obey and their methods are effective every single time."
"…"
"So, instead of sitting passively and await doom, why not strike first to gain the upper hand!" Her gaze swept across them. "Even if I must die, why shouldn't I cause some trouble to annoy these bastards."
Chapter 550: Locking The Plane
Was this why she had targeted them from the start? For some reason, Lonemoon suddenly could not bring himself to say any words of blame. After all, in her eyes, they had been standing on the opposing side since they were able to come here.
Shen Ying suddenly asked, "It's the last of the living beings in the city?"
"Why? Is that very hard to believe?" Fang Fang glanced back at her, the mockery in her eyes growing deeper. With a wave of her hand, they only saw a blur before their eyes and instantly, they had arrived at another place, it was the city gate. On the streets beside them, there were still crowds going to and fro, but they seemed completely unaware of their sudden appearance.
"Didn't you ask for a story? Go out there yourself and verify it!" Fang Fang said with some self-abandonment, and without waiting for their reply, walked out of the city.
The trio exchanged glances and followed. This time, the guards at the gate did not stop them anymore, seemingly unable to see them, they walked on and left the city. The moment they stepped out, the scenery before their eyes instantly changed, the initial green mountains and clear rivers out the city had all disappeared and instantly became nothingness, as if a layer of disguise had been peeled away.
It was two entirely different worlds in and outside of the city, the division appearing just a few meters outside the city gate. It was still a bustling market inside of the city, whereas just several meters outside of the city, it was a boundless void, there was nothing in it, no ground, no sun, not even air, one could only see an endless darkness.
"How did this area…" Even Lonemoon was stunned, not expecting that it was such a situation outside the city, no wonder she wanted to stop them from leaving the city previously. Now that they thought about it in detail, it seemed as though there were many people who walked passed the city gate, there was indeed no one who really left the city.
However, whether it was before they saw the fruit or what they were sensing now, this little world should have been very big? There should be an even bigger world outside, but why is there only a city left? "Before they locked me here, they'd also locked the void into this place." As if knowing their queries, she directly answered, "They'd never intended on letting me go, so the void has been constantly swallowing this world, till now, there is only this city left. Before long, this last city might disappear too." By then her plane would really have died away.
Her gaze became even more defeated, as if she'd come round to something, she sighed and said, "This void is the path to the Big Dao Organization, I lost this time, you all can go!"
Lonemoon and Yi Qing fell silent, subconsciously frowning. Actually, they weren't very keen on joining that Big Dao Organization, especially after learning about the matters at hand..
However…
Yet Shen Ying suddenly moved closer to the void, squatted down and glanced at a spot before turning back and asking, "That girl who gave the pear, is this the thing that's locking up your stuff?" "…" Who's the girl who gave the pear? Hello?
Also, what thing?
The three of them were stupefied at the same time, wearing blank looks.
"Just that one!" Shen Ying pointed forward, seeing the three still looking wholly confused, she speedily finished up the fruit in her hand, then threw the core towards a certain spot in the void. "That!"
Before they could react, they heard a deafening echo, like the heavenly clock, it instantly sounded through the entire world. The ground beneath their feet shook, it was as if the entire city… no, the entire world trembled.
What was going on! Both Lonemoon and Yi Qing were baffled.
While Fang Fang widened her eyes abruptly, exclaiming with a look of disbelief, "You can see it!" "Ah!" Shen Ying took out another fruit calmly and nodded. "Isn't it very obvious" Chained up by such huge shackles.
The three who did not see anything: "…"
"How is this possible!" Fang Fang looked even more shocked. "I…" She'd been searching for a long long time, before any managers arrived, she'd spent all her time in the void, searching for the thing that was locking her and the plane, but she'd gotten nowhere.
Various emotions instantly rose in her heart, there was excitement, agitation, hope but also worry and a trace of despair, extremely complicated. She stared right at Shen Ying, wanted to speak up yet not knowing what to say. "You… You…"
"Do you need me to break it off?" Shen Ying suddenly asked, her tone relaxed and easy, as if she was asking if you needed to eat a fruit.
Fang Fang's entire being was jolted, looking towards her like she couldn't fathom her thoughts, great delight flashed across her eyes but they dimmed down within moments, her gaze becoming increasingly complex. "You… want to help me! Why?" She'd only wanted to take their lives from the very beginning.
"Huh?" Shen Ying faltered, seeming she'd just thought of this question and was in a daze for quite a while. Does this require any reason? She could only nudge Lonemoon beside her. "Father Niu, give a reason."
How would I know? Lonemoon gave her a glare before saying smoothly, "Just take it that we like enjoy meddling in other people's business?"
Her gaze became even more complicated as her hands fisted together and relaxed repeatedly, the remaining resentment that was initially in her eyes were instantly wiped clean. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, seeming like she had let go of something and said after moments, "Forget it! All of you don't have to do this, this has nothing to do with you, why seek trouble for yourself."
She sighed, turning her head to look towards the void before them, as if she was gazing at something through this blanket of darkness. "It's hopeless for my plane, if you really sympathize with me, don't let situations like mine happen again after you join the Big Dao Organization."
She looked down at Shen Ying who was still squatting on the ground, a trace of warmth flashed through her eyes, her mouth opened seeming like she wanted to say something to her but ultimately, she still turned around and said, "Go, all of you, even if you can see, it's a seal set by a dozen of managers at the same time, how could it be easily…"
A rumble…
Before she could finish, with a loud crash she saw Shen Ying suddenly reach out towards the bottom of the void then pull hard like she had grabbed onto something. The entire world shook harder than it had before, even Fang Fang found it hard to remain standing.
In the next moment, miles of land appeared beneath their feet. The city that was initially right before their eyes was instantly distanced, until it completely left their sight. No! It's not that the city moved away, but that the void had cleared. They'd been pulled to the border of this new world alongside the border of the void. Fang Fang felt her whole body become lighter, like some familiar energy instantly returning to her body. She could even sense that the initially weak and almost extinct plane had suddenly regained a hint of vitality. Even the energy that was locking her now had huge gaps in it.