Chapter 535: Femme Fatale?
That fellow hadn’t received the slightest bit of favor from Ling Bi’er when he’d coaxed and pestered her incessantly with his pursuit before. His desire to conquer Ling Bi’er had only grown increasingly fierce over the years, almost developing into one of his internal demons.
Such was humanity sometimes. The more one couldn’t obtain something, the more they would desire it.
As a genius of the younger generation in the Walkabout Sect, Wei Qing thought very highly of himself with his impressive background. He felt that he was more than a good match for Ling Bi’er. Although she was a genius of the Regal Pill Palace, she didn’t have much of a foundation or a decent backer. But he… he was different. He had extraordinary potential, a powerful background, and was one of the candidates to inherit the Walkabout Sect in the future.
In his eyes, there shouldn’t be any difficulty in him pursuing Ling Bi’er. However, he was different from Shen Qinghong. Although the latter also liked Ling Bi’er, he still had that bit of backbone that made him retain his manners.
Wei Qing was born in the Walkabout Sect, a sect that didn’t care about bearing or demeanor. They were proponents of practicality and only cared about results, never minding the methods used to reach them. Therefore, Wei Qing only knew how to badger and hound, backed by an unending drive to never stop until he reached his goal.
Shen Qinghong had yet to walk far when he suddenly heard someone harass Ling Bi’er. In his eyes, this was someone blatantly making moves on his woman! His face frosted over as he walked back and stopped in front of Wei Qing. “Wei Qing, what do you mean by this?”
Wei Qing didn’t think much of this new face in front of him and responded in exaggerated tones. “Yo! Isn’t this that first genius of the Regal Pill Palace?”
Shen Qinghong bit his words off coldly, “My house’s junior sister Ling doesn’t welcome you. Stay away from her.”
Wei Qing had a very thick face and didn’t feel ashamed about his actions at all. “What? Are you jealous? Haha, I say, you should give up! They say that those at the waterfront pavilion are the first to catch the rising moon. You’ve been in such an advantageous position for years but still failed! It’s obvious that junior sister Ling isn’t the slightest bit interested in you. Brother Shen, why not give the chance to me? I’m sure we’ll be able to come to an agreement.”
Shen Qinghong was incensed. “Piss off!”
Wei Qing’s face darkened. “Shen Qinghong, I’m trying to give you face here!”
“Are you going to leave or not?” Shen Qinghong projected a domineering aura. In terms of cultivation, this Wei Qing was only at the peak of eighth level origin realm, and would be a pushover if it came to a fight.
A hint of a violent light started twinkling in Wei Qing’s eyes as he nodded lightly. “Good, very good. Shen Qinghong, you better not bump into me in Mt. Rippling Mirage. If that happens, my face is the last thing you’ll ever see!”
If it’d been anyone else at eighth level origin realm speaking these words to Shen Qinghong, a half step sage realm, they’d be made fun of as a laughingstock. However, those of the Walkabout Sect were known for being insidious and cunning, and very adept at using poison. It would be impossible to stay on guard once they employed poison at a gathering like this.
A trace of wariness flashed through Shen Qinghong’s heart, but now that things had developed to this point, he could only continue in the same vein. He snorted coldly in response, “Just you wait!”
He’d already made up his mind that if he saw Wei Qing in Mt. Rippling Mirage, he would make the first move and use his strength to completely suppress Wei Qing.
As the two conducted this verbal duel, they suddenly discovered that Ling Bi’er had already taken Jiang Chen and Mu Gaoqi away to another corner.
Wei Qing snorted coldly. “Shen Qinghong, you’re hallucinating if you think the other party is willing. Did you think you were the hero saving the beauty? She thinks nothing of your act at all!”
A shadow passed over Shen Qinghong’s face. As he watched Ling Bi’er’s departing back, he was assaulted by a mix of negative emotions. He rather envied Jiang Chen and Mu Gaoqi. Would junior sister Ling rather be with them than me?
One had to say, Ling Bi’er was the center of the younger generation’s attention no matter where she went. She was the dream lover of all the disciples in the Rosy Valley of the Regal Pill Palace, and was also the focus of everyone’s attentions in the entire Myriad Domain.
“It’s been a few years, junior sister Ling. Your beauty has surpassed itself again!”
“Junior sister Ling, this foolish brother is Zhu Feiyang from the Tristar Sect. Do I have the honor of having the junior sister enjoy a drink with me?”
“Junior sister Ling…”
People seemed to arrive in an unending stream of intrusions, rapidly pushing at the upper limits of her tolerance. Any other time, she would’ve graced them with an cool expression, but this time, Jiang Chen was with her. Her irritation only grew with these never-ending pick up lines. She could hardly wait for the pill competitions to begin.
Jiang Chen also seemed to detect Ling Bi’er’s frustration as he raised an idea, “Senior sister Bi’er, it’s quite boring here; why don’t we walk around elsewhere?”
Mu Gaoqi hastened to agree. “Yes yes, let’s walk around elsewhere. Brother Chen, you go walk with senior sister Ling. I’ll go find my honored master.”
Jiang Chen laughed lightly. “And what do you need from your honored master? Walk with us.”
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Ling Bi’er nodded. Although she had some good feelings towards Jiang Chen, she would be at a bit of a loss if she was left alone with him. She grew even more panicked when she saw how ambiguous Mu Gaoqi’s tone was, as if trying to create an opportunity for the two of them. Unbeknownst to her, her nervousness was also spiced with a bit of anticipation.
The three were just about to step outside when Wei Qing swaggered over in pursuit. A cheeky grin split his face as he spoke boisterously, “Junior sister Ling, it is rare that the six sects find the time to meet. Why is junior sister not taking advantage of this opportunity that comes but once in a blue moon? Why waste this great chance to interact and spar with the top geniuses of the Myriad Domain on two junior brothers who don’t amount to much? Don’t you think that this is a grievous pity?”
Jiang Chen’s originally good mood evaporated when he heard those words. When these fellows had continuously come to chat up Ling Bi’er, he hadn’t been in a position to say much. But this Walkabout Sect fellow was mocking both him and Mu Gaoqi in his attempt to pick her up! What junior brothers who don’t amount to much? Jiang Chen’s footsteps halted and he snorted derisively. “Top genius? Do you mean yourself?”
Wei Qing had always occupied a lofty position in his sect, and had voiced such arrogant words that blatantly disrespected those around him who knew how many times in his thirty years of life. Those who he looked down upon had never dared talk back, and he’d truly only viewed Jiang Chen and Mu Gaoqi as minor characters just now. His thoughts had been completely occupied by Ling Bi’er. So when Jiang Chen retorted, his first reaction was a shocked blink before his temper flared. His face grew dark as he aggressively responded, “What? You got something to say?”
Jiang Chen had an unconcerned expression. “So what if I do?”
Wei Qing chuckled coldly. “When Shen Qinghong tried to play the hero saving the beauty just now, I could still view him as an opponent. But you… what the hell are you?”
It was obvious that Jiang Chen’s cultivation level at earth origin realm was utter trash in Wei Qing’s eyes. He might possibly be a pill dao genius in the Regal Pill Palace, but when had Wei Qing given a pill dao genius any respect?
“Junior brother, pay no heed to such pointless people. Let’s just go.” Ling Bi’er obviously didn’t want her own matters to draw in Jiang Chen as well. However, one’s control slips when one’s mind is preoccupied with worry. In fact, things had been manageable when she had stayed quiet. Now that she’d spoken, she’d unconsciously revealed the fact that she cared about Jiang Chen.
Wei Qing’s shifty gaze immediately detected this subtle undercurrent. His gaze turned frigid and his heart lurched. He immediately started assessing Jiang Chen coldly. Is Ling Bi’er’s taste so different from most that she likes the junior brothers of her own sect? Sizing up Jiang Chen, Wei couldn’t find anything special about the kid in front of him. At most, he could admit that Jiang Chen had slightly better visuals.
Jiang Chen had no desire to spar verbally as he nodded in acquiescence to Ling Bi’er’s words. He ignored Wei Qing’s territorial gaze and walked off beside Ling Bi’er.
Aren’t you pursuing Ling Bi’er, hmm? Jiang Chen purposefully shifted closer to her, maintaining a distance that didn’t hint at anything, but also indicated that their relationship was closer than normal.
Indeed, Wei Qing glowered with jealousy when he saw. How could he not tell that this minor character from the Regal Pill Palace was doing this on purpose, and Ling Bi’er was playing along with him!? He felt like a clown, as if he’d completely been made a fool.
“Brat, you’d better pray for your own well-being that you don’t make it into Mt. Rippling Mirage!” Wei Qing’s teeth made an audible sound as he ground them in anger.
Shen Qinghong suddenly drifted across to him, not losing an opportunity to mock, “How about it, hmm? The vaunted Sir Wei turned down by the beauty. Do you feel like you’re sweeping the floors with your self respect?”
Wei Qing’s original hostility was actually swept away when he saw Shen Qinghong. He laughed coldly, “Shen Qinghong, what are you strutting about for? Is Ling Bi’er any better to you?”
Shen Qinghong was speechless, and the two actually shared a moment in common misery.
“What’s that kid’s background?” Although Wei Qing didn’t think much of anything about Jiang Chen, and frankly couldn’t even be bothered to ask about this minor character’s name, the fires of envy within were like a poisonous viper gnawing at his heart, filling him with unspeakable discomfort.
“Heh, have you not heard of my sect allying with the Precious Tree Sect?”
Wei Qing blinked and then seemed to recall something. “He’s the Precious Tree Sect disciple? What’s his name again?”
“Haha, Sir Wei should go obtain his own intelligence. When all is said and done, we’re of the same sect. How could I ever betray one of my own?” Shen Qinghong was secretly delighted to see Wei Qing aiming his ire at Jiang Chen, but maintained a pure and lofty look as he walked away with a dashing flair.
A corner of Wei Qing’s mouth twitched as he snorted coldly. “Posturing buffoon. Is everyone from the Regal Pill Palace this fake?”
The trio from earlier walked out of the side door of the Hall and soon arrived in a backyard.
“Junior brother, that Wei Qing is sinister and scheming, and eschews all morals and principles in the pursuit of his goals. You must be on your guard after offending him with those words. As narrow-minded as he is, he is certain to take revenge. I’m worried…”
Jiang Chen nodded slightly. “Don’t worry senior sister. I’ll be fine as long as he doesn’t irritate me. If he does, that day just happened to be his unluckiest day.”
This wasn’t Jiang Chen tooting his own horn, but that he really wasn’t looking twice at these so-called poison experts. He was completely immune to poisons, so what would he fear Wei Qing for? Not to mention that apart from the Goldwing Swordbirds, he’d brought all his other strong spirit creatures this time as well. Long Xiaoxuan, the Goldbiter Rats and the ancient Golden Cicada were all trump cards he was keeping in reserve.
He’d come to strip Mt. Rippling Mirage of all its treasures, and the Goldbiter Rats were here precisely to make off with all of the spirit herbs on the mountain. Long Xiaoxuan was shaping up to be a great assistant. He’d been becoming irritated with boredom in the wood spirit spring anyhow, and it was a perfect time to take him out on a trip and learn more of the world. Long Xiaoxuan himself was eager for nothing less.
When she saw how confident Jiang Chen was, Ling Bi’er was left without anything to say. She could only secretly make up her mind that if she entered Mt. Rippling Mirage, she would think of ways to protect Jiang Chen from Wei Qing’s revenge. Even if it impacted the amount of time she had to harvest spirit herbs.