Chapter 121 - Grandmother (1/2)
“Alright child, this is a secret formula of Pill King Hall. I have studied it hard for many years yet it’s workings elude me. You may have some passable skill in alchemy but there’s no way you can see through its mysteries after just a glance.”
Picking up on his surface thoughts, Aunt Tao shook her head. She then turned to Chu Qingcheng, “Girl, you didn’t come here just for his sake, right?”
Chu Qingcheng’s cheek went rosy and bowed as she related the feast’s events in all its details. Aunt Tao cried out in shock.
“What, even Regent Estate came? Ah, this must be fate…”
Crying towards the heavens, Aunt Tao wiped the dry tears from her eyes and muttered, “Chuchu, what are you planning to do next? Will you let them destroy Drifting Flowers Edifice? Or will you plead the Venerable to fight them to the death?”
Venerable!
Zhuo Fan raised an eyebrow in thought.
Each of the Seven Noble Houses raised their own Venerable. They were Radiant Stage cultivators, their last line of defense. They would never ask a Venerable’s intervention unless a calamity struck.
This confirmed that Drifting Flowers Edifice was on the brink of annihilation.
When he thought about it, going against another Radiant Stage expert would most likely end in the Regent Estate’s Venerable being wounded for a few decades. [I guess it is another way to slow down their conquest.]
“Sister Chuchu, ask the Venerable to step in and let them know we will fight tooth and nail with them. Drifting Flowers Edifice isn’t their playground.” Zhuo Fan instigated, the more chaos, the better it was for him.
Chu Qingcheng shook her head, her eyes firm, “Asking the Venerable will trigger a war among the seven houses. The empire would be plunged into civil war and the people would fall into despair. My heart cannot bear it. If Drifting Flowers Edifice falls, we, sisters, will part ways, but in case of war, Drifting Flowers Edifice will lose for sure and my sisters will perish with it. As a Lord, I cannot ignore their fates.”
“Now I see why Grandmother chose you, the least qualified, as the Lord despite unanimous disapproval.” Aunt Tao nodded with a faint smile.
Zhuo Fan, on the other hand, rolled his eyes, [Softies the lot of ’em!]
If it were him, he would’ve divided and then conquered, attack openly and overtly, spreading slaughter everywhere and throw the empire upside down. That was where his chance laid, to rise above from that madness. [I would rather turn my back on the world than have the world turn its back on me!]
The demonic cultivator path was cruel and ambitious, with everyone stepping on others to reach the peak.
Unfortunately, Chu Qingcheng was not a demonic cultivator. Her kind nature was just not cut out for this unlike Zhuo Fan’s bold nature!
“And there are the overseers poisoned by that old dog…”
Chu Qingcheng gazed with worry at Aunt Tao, “This is why I want to ask Aunt Tao to step out and protect the Bodhi Root! Perhaps our only chance of getting the antidote is if we give it in exchange…”
“You plan on making me face that accursed man in alchemy?”
Aunt Tao seemed to have heard the biggest joke, cackling like mad. But in her lunacy, a hint of woe was hidden.
“Qingcheng, look at me. In my trials of unraveling his Rainbow Cloud Palm, I am now neither human nor demon. Do you think my feeble skill is enough to win?”
Her heart in pain, Chu Qingcheng whispered something in Aunt Tao’s ear.
Aunt Tao’s eyes lit up and nodded, “I see, I see. So that’s what you’re planning. But… will it work?”
Chu Qingcheng’s eyes were dead set, her nod firm, “Then I will die a worthy death!”
“So that’s why you brought this child.”
Sighing, Aunt Tao patted Chu Qingcheng tenderly on the shoulder. She then turned serious as she eyed Zhuo Fan, “Kid, come here and kowtow to this Grandmother three times!”
Zhuo Fan was clueless, [Grandmother? Where?]
Following her finger, he discovered she was referring to the living dead!
He was still out of the loop, but the dead ought to be shown respect, he guess. So kowtowing wasn’t that big of a deal. And so, Zhuo Fan was quite casual in his kneeling and knocking his head on the ground.
As he did, he realized Chu Qingcheng was kneeling next to him, kowtowing just as well.
“Good! The rite is complete!”
Zhuo Fan was still confused when Aunt Tao shouted, and asked for him to kneel again.
This time, he was against it. He was first clueless to what was going on, but now he had to kneel again to this damnable old bat? But Chu Qingcheng’s piercing eyes left Zhuo Fan with no other choice.
[Crud, I’m Song Yu now and can only kneel.]
Aunt Tao and Chu Qingcheng noticed his proud eyes and shook their heads.
Next, Aunt Tao began reciting the teaching of Drifting Flowers Edifice’s ancestors, along with their thousand-year-old history. Zhuo Fan wasn’t at all content listening to some senseless rambling.
But around the middle, Zhuo Fan started paying attention.