Volume 6: Stealing is Plundering - Chapter 8: Floating Cloud Immortal Realm (Part II)

Chapter 8: The Drifting Cloud Fairyland (Part Two)

The next day, Kuang Chi and Anna boarded the spacecraft and immediately began secluded cultivation. Anna, having just emerged from her closed-door training, took Jing'er and Jing'er's elder sister on a tour of the Phantom pirate ship, after which she accompanied the two sisters off the vessel.

In truth, Anna had merely been integrating the biological spores that Kuang Chi had given her after boarding the ship. Now, however, Anna seemed to be facing some trouble; while the biological spores were integrated, the Divine Martial Beast showed no signs of movement whatsoever.

The two sisters' secondary palace was located just over ten minutes away from the landing port, separated only by a moderately sized mountain. For an airship, they had hardly had time to settle into their seats before arriving at their destination.

Kuang Chi and Anna followed Jing'er and Jing'er's sister out of the airship. The vessel had landed directly on the roof of a three-story ancient-style palace made entirely of pristine white stone. The entire palace appeared to be constructed from natural stone, its snow-white exterior adorned with irregular striped patterns. Massive boulders, arranged in a seemingly random yet deliberate combination, caused those stripes to form a bizarre and exceptionally beautiful design.

Jing'er was well aware of Kuang Chi's preferences. Upon entering the secondary palace, she immediately led him to a luxurious dining room. No sooner had Kuang Chi taken his seat than a group of young and beautiful palace maids, dressed in the formal attire of the Drifting Wind Empire, presented a table brimming with various delicacies before he could even collect his thoughts.

Kuang Chi made no pretense of modesty. He bowed slightly to Jing'er, smiled at Jing'er, and began eating directly. The craftsmanship of the imperial chefs was, in Kuang Chi's view, beyond reproach—or rather, he felt he had no right to critique it. Some dishes genuinely did not suit his palate, bordering on the truly unpalatable, but fortunately, the majority met his expectations. As far as Kuang Chi was concerned, the culinary skill was acceptable, but he chose to withhold judgment on the flavor.

Jing'er, knowing Kuang Chi all too well, glanced at Anna and hurriedly asked, "Fatty, what's wrong? Don't you like the food?"

Indeed, who on the Forgotten Star was unaware of the eccentric relationship between Kuang Chi and Jing'er? Everyone simply tolerated it, and Anna chose to play ignorant, believing the matter was none of her concern. Usually, when Jing'er and Kuang Chi displayed intimacy, they never avoided Anna.

Kuang Chi smiled and quickly replied, "Of course not, it's just that a few of these dishes aren't quite to my liking."

Jing'er's elder sister looked between Jing'er and Kuang Chi, then smiled and said, "The imperial chefs at this secondary palace still leave something to be desired. Young Master Kuang can make do for a few meals; once we return to Drifting Wind Star in a few days, my sister and I will take you and Lady Anna into the inner palace to sample the cuisine of the Imperial Kitchen."

Kuang Chi certainly would not refuse food, especially since Anna, upon hearing that they could enter the inner palace, was already nodding repeatedly beside him.

They stayed at this imperial garden planet for only three days. Eventually, because the Emperor of the Drifting Wind Empire greatly missed Jing'er—and because Jing'er also seemed extremely eager to see the imperial father she constantly spoke of—Kuang Chi had no choice but to take the Clear Smoke Pavilion and twenty martial arts experts from the Demon Valley, whose appearances were largely indistinguishable from ordinary humans, to escort Jing'er and her sister back to Drifting Wind Star.

Anna remained behind on the garden planet. According to Jing'er, someone would be sent to pick her up in a few days, as the return trip might involve unforeseen dangers. Whether this claim was true or false, Anna herself did not seem to mind, and Kuang Chi was certainly wise enough not to provoke her. Women could be terrifying at times.

Within a military port guarding the fleet, Kuang Chi, Anna, Jing'er, and her sister boarded the royal ceremonial ship sent by the palace to receive the two princesses. Accompanied by nearly fifty top-tier experts from Tyrant Peak, their entourage was undeniably conspicuous. Fortunately, with the presence of Jing'er and her sister, the Tyrant Peak group was permitted to board the ceremonial ship.

Drifting Wind Star was a naturally formed living planet, and the Drifting Cloud Continent was renowned as the premier fairyland in the mortal world. Descending through the cloud-shrouded planetary atmosphere, the entire Drifting Cloud Continent finally revealed itself before everyone's eyes. The entire continent was suffused with wispy mist, and rainbows of all sizes could be seen weaving across the sky. Illuminated by these rainbows, the clouds resembled layers of rosy dawn—the title of a fairyland was truly well-deserved.

Drifting Wind Star was a purely natural planet. As the political and cultural center of the Drifting Wind Empire, its layout supposedly preserved the pastoral style established when the empire was first founded tens of thousands of years ago. Small villages occasionally flashed past below, filling Kuang Chi with an inexplicable excitement. Compared to the overcrowded and congested environment of the capital star of the Caro Empire, this place was simply incomparable.

Standing before the transparent porthole of the lounge, Jing'er looked with a beaming smile at Kuang Chi and Anna, who were both staring in wide-eyed astonishment, and asked, "Well, is it pretty?"

Kuang Chi and Anna nodded repeatedly. Anna even chimed in, "Fatty, can we immigrate here?"

As soon as these words were spoken, not only the elder sister, but even Jing'er and Kuang Chi froze in shock.

After a long silence, Jing'er burst into laughter and said, "That won't do. Our Drifting Wind Star only issues one hundred thousand temporary residence permits each year. As for immigrating into Drifting Wind Star, our empire hasn't seen such a case in tens of thousands of years."

At this, Jing'er looked at Kuang Chi with a smile and added, "Of course, if Fatty were to take up an official post on this planet, a long-term residency permit could still be arranged."

Seeing the eager expression on Anna's face, Kuang Chi furrowed his brow slightly. After a long pause, he said softly to Anna, "Anna, we can't do that here."

Anna nodded obediently and did not press the issue further.

Evidently displeased that Kuang Chi had not taken the bait, Jing'er glared at him before turning to Anna with a smile. "However, Anna, there's no problem at all if you want to live here. You are my guest, after all. I have several estates across the continent; if you wish to settle down long-term, I will give you one of them."

Before Anna could accept, Kuang Chi interjected, "Alright, Jing'er, I've already made arrangements. Once people from our Kuang family arrive, they will escort Anna back to the Kuang Battle Star. Stop stirring up trouble for me."

Hearing this, Anna's eyes instantly reddened, welling up with a shimmer of moisture. Though she remained silent, she mournfully wrapped her arms around Kuang Chi's left arm.

At this sight, Kuang Chi felt a twinge of pain in his heart and quickly coaxed her in a low voice, "Anna, what's wrong? Don't you want to go to the Kuang Battle Star?"

Anna shook her head and said, "Anna doesn't want to. I want to be with you. Please don't chase me away." With that, large tears began to stream down her face.

After that, no matter how Kuang Chi tried to comfort her, it had no effect, and he ultimately had to abandon the idea of sending Anna back.

Once Anna finally stopped crying, Jing'er reached over with a smile and pulled her into an embrace. "Anna, don't cry. Pay no attention to that fatty. When we arrive in Drifting Cloud City later, I'll take you shopping. Drifting Cloud City is much more prosperous than your Homesick City. You gave me so many things back in Homesick City, and I never had a way to repay you..." Jing'er understood Anna well enough; a few words were all it took to divert her attention. Soon, the three girls were chatting happily among themselves, leaving Kuang Chi to focus entirely on the scenery outside the window.

Not long after, Anna wandered off somewhere with Jing'er, leaving only the elder sister and Kuang Chi in the cabin. It wasn't until the elder sister called out to him from behind that Kuang Chi snapped back to reality.

Recovering his senses, Kuang Chi surveyed the cabin and hurriedly asked, "Where did Jing'er and Anna go?"

The elder princess smiled and replied, "Jing'er took Anna to look at her jewelry."

At this, Kuang Chi seemed to realize something. He looked at the calm-faced princess before him and said, "If Your Highness the Princess has something to say, please speak plainly."

The elder princess smiled with a trace of desolation and said, "Jing'er said you are willing to help us."

Kuang Chi nodded. Only then did the elder princess ask, "I still don't know what kind of help the Young Master is offering."

Kuang Chi thought for a moment, gazed deeply into the princess's eyes, and replied, "As long as it does not involve my family, and as long as it is within my power, I can help."

The princess frowned slightly. After staring at Kuang Chi for a long time, she asked with a peculiar expression, "When Young Master Kuang speaks of his family, what does he mean?"

Kuang Chi smiled. "Naturally, I am referring to the thirty-six sects of our main Kuang family clan." How could Kuang Chi not know that whatever the elder princess wanted his help with undoubtedly involved the imperial household and politics of the Drifting Wind Empire? He certainly could not drag his entire family into such matters. At most, he could only act in an individual capacity, doing things he otherwise shouldn't as a friend of Princess Jing'er—that was his absolute limit.

Hearing this, a look of pleasant surprise flashed across the elder princess's face. The thirty-six sects of the Kuang family formed a very specific and central lineage, but the ancient Kuang family also countless branches, such as the existence of Tyrant Peak. Moreover, according to family rules, Kuang family martial arts supremos were considered to have severed ties with the clan once they reached the supreme realm. Although the family still provided for them, their actions had nothing whatsoever to do with the Kuang family—a fact known throughout human society.

The elder princess had long since learned from Jing'er that a large number of Kuang family martial supremos would soon arrive by Kuang Chi's side, though Jing'er had not told her the specific reasons. Even so, the princess had already been scheming on how to utilize this group of Kuang family supremos. If Jing'er was merely an imperial princess, then her elder sister was a politician through and through.

The elder princess fell into contemplation for a moment, gazed deeply at Kuang Chi once more, and asked, "May I ask if the family Young Master Kuang mentioned also excludes those martial supremos who are about to arrive?"

Kuang Chi sighed inwardly, then nodded. "Our Kuang family has never acknowledged the actions of our martial supremos as family acts."

Hearing this definitive answer, an involuntary look of joy appeared on the elder princess's face.

Without even looking at her, Kuang Chi stared out the window and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, just tell me what you need me to do, provided it does not exceed my capabilities."

Though the elder princess could clearly sense Kuang Chi's aversion toward her, she paid it no mind and replied directly, "Of course."

After a brief pause, as if recalling something, the princess let out a long sigh and asked, "Did Jing'er tell you the reason?"

Kuang Chi nodded. The princess sighed heavily once more, studied Kuang Chi for a moment longer, and finally blurted out, "Actually, I never wanted to be empress; I am simply forced to do so. Ever since my sister and I were very young, danger has followed us. Jing'er doesn't know this, but since we were born, I have been the target of fifty-six assassination attempts, and my sister has faced thirty-three. Tell me, what else can we do now?"

With that, the elder princess turned and walked out of the cabin without looking back, ignoring Kuang Chi's calls entirely.

Not long after, Jing'er walked in with a puzzled expression. Approaching Kuang Chi, she asked curiously, "Fatty, what just happened? Why does my sister seem so sad right now? Did you refuse to help her?"

Kuang Chi shook his head slowly with a smile. "When have I ever gone back on a promise I made to you? I have no idea what's wrong with your sister; I agreed to help her, yet she seemed unhappy about it."

Though somewhat perplexed, Jing'er smiled sweetly at Kuang Chi and said, "Fatty, thank you."

Kuang Chi smiled and asked again, "You've always said you wanted me to help your sister, but I still don't know how I'm supposed to help. Tell me, what should I do now?"

Jing'er pondered for a moment, glanced around, and chuckled softly when Kuang Chi remarked, "Just speak freely. My Star-Space Art isn't practiced for nothing; unless there's a martial supremo nearby eavesdropping, I'd certainly sense it."

Jing'er nodded and said, "Didn't I tell you last time that my imperial father was poisoned?"

Kuang Chi nodded. Jing'er continued, "Coupled with the fact that my father's trusted ministers have been repeatedly assassinated, it's impossible for there to be no trace at all. Through years of secret investigations, although my father hasn't found definitive evidence of who is behind it, he has narrowed down a list of suspicious targets. However, these targets hold immense power within our empire; without concrete proof, even my father cannot touch them."

Kuang Chi frowned. "Jing'er, you surely aren't asking me to help you find evidence?"

Jing'er rolled her eyes at him playfully. "Of course not. If the empire's intelligence agency can't find any clues, could you possibly be better than them?"

Pausing for a moment, Jing'er smiled and added, "My sister simply hopes you can help us strike a blow against their influence."

"How are we supposed to strike a blow? Do you want me to slaughter all their subordinates just like them?" Kuang Chi frowned.

Jing'er smiled. "If you have the ability, we certainly wouldn't object. But wouldn't that mean you get nothing out of it?"

Seeing her expression, Kuang Chi retorted half-jokingly, "Alright, stop beating around the bush. If you have an idea, just spit it out."

Jing'er then lowered her voice and said, "Fatty, what do you think generates funds the fastest?"

Kuang Chi frowned and answered without hesitation, "Resources, of course. As long as you have mining rights and a few mining ships, wealth flows like water."

Jing'er smiled, nodding vigorously. "Fatty is so smart! Yes, resources. And even more so in our Drifting Wind Empire, because our Resource Law explicitly states that all resources within the empire belong to the state, and no one is permitted to mine them privately."

She paused before continuing, "However, our empire also has a fiefdom law exclusively for members of the imperial family—meaning tracts of star systems are allocated as personal territories to imperial members who have made significant contributions to the empire. Although these assigned star systems were not particularly wealthy at the time, according to imperial law, they hold absolute dominion over them. While it isn't explicitly stated that this includes the right to mine resources within the territory, customary practice dictates that all resources within a fief belong to the lord."

At this, Kuang Chi suddenly interrupted, "Is there currently a territory that has produced a certain kind of resource powerful enough to make even your imperial father green with envy?"

Jing'er glared at him in mock anger. "What do you mean, my father is green with envy? If those people would just behave themselves, would my father care? It's precisely because their power has grown, because they refuse to obey imperial control and actively instigate trouble, that my father and sister want to suppress them. Don't you think the person capable of poisoning my imperial father must possess terrifying strength? Is that something an ordinary person could pull off?"

Kuang Chi nodded in agreement. Poisoning an emperor—even when he had been an imperial prince at the time—was an exploit far beyond the reach of any ordinary individual, given the empire's sophisticated palace security systems.

Kuang Chi then stated directly, "Tell me what you want me to do."

Jing'er smiled and suddenly said, "When those martial supremos from your family arrive, I'll tell you about a great place. How about I let you go raid it? But half of what you plunder this time belongs to me—deal?"

Kuang Chi froze, asking with a puzzled expression, "What kind of place requires martial supremos just to raid it?"

Jing'er smiled again. "I heard that in battle, you habitually use a sky-blue crystal hammer. Is that true?"

Kuang Chi's expression darkened. "You aren't asking me to raid a sky-blue crystal mine, are you?"

Jing'er slowly shook her head with a smile. "How much sky-blue crystal could there possibly be on a mining planet? This time, I'm asking you to raid their underground warehouse dedicated to storing and processing sky-blue crystals."

Kuang Chi was stunned. Jing'er added with a grin, "It took our royal intelligence agency decades to find this place."

"Decades?" Kuang Chi retorted dryly. "By the time you found it, the crystals there would have been mined dry long ago."

Jing'er did not refute him, merely saying, "You've surely heard of the Sky-Blue Star System."

Kuang Chi frowned. Of course he had heard of the Sky-Blue Star System; it was hailed as the largest sky-blue crystal mining region in the universe, where every planet contained veins of sky-blue crystals. However, it was said to be a restricted military zone controlled by the Drifting Wind Empire's armed forces.

Frowning deeply, Kuang Chi blurted out, "Isn't that entire star system the exclusive property of your Drifting Wind Imperial family? There's even a regular space legion stationed there."