Volume 6: To Steal is to Plunder - Chapter 9: Storm in a Sea of Jealousy (Part Two)

It seemed that these three men were not just all show and no substance. At the very least, being able to face a frenzied eating frenzy with such composure under these circumstances was definitely something ordinary people could never accomplish.

Just as the three of them were about to make a move on Kuang Chi, Jing'er's cold shout came from the side: "Stop right there."

Anyone who could come here, anyone capable of attending the banquet hosted by the Empress, naturally could not possibly fail to recognize the Empire's princess. While it might be possible to have multiple princesses under different circumstances, the Piaofeng Empire currently had only two princesses and not a single prince. If someone failed to recognize a princess even in such a situation, there could only be one explanation.

The moment the three men saw Jing'er arrive, they couldn't help feeling a jolt of shock. Immediately after, the three of them hastily bowed in salute. Jing'er paid them no heed whatsoever; instead, she hurried over to the shaken Anna and asked with deep concern, "Anna, what just happened?"

With a face full of terror, Anna pointed at the three young men and said, "The three of them said they were going to drag me away."

Hearing these words, not only did murderous intent flash in Kuang Chi's eyes, but even Jinghe at the side glared coldly at the three men.

Following this, Jing'er spoke in an even frostier tone, "Three barons, is there any truth to this?"

The young man who was clearly the leader hastily opened his mouth to defend himself: "Your Highness the Princess must be mistaken. I saw this young lady frolicking wantlessly in the woods, completely oblivious to the fact that this place is the location of the Empress's inner sanctum. My subordinates and I assumed she was a handmaiden brought by some noble. That was why—"

Kuang Chi let out a cold, harsh snort and interrupted, "Do you think she looks anything like a handmaiden?"

Observing Kuang Chi's expression at that moment, Jing'er was clearly worried that he might take action right then and there. She immediately barked coldly at the three men, "Get out of my sight before I lose my temper."

The three men cast a cold, resentful glare at Kuang Chi, offered a perfunctory bow to Jing'er, and turned to leave.

After the three men departed, Kuang Chi finally withdrew his gaze from them, looked at Jing'er, and called out coldly, "Little Flower."

Little Flower poked its head out. As Kuang Chi's wife, there was no way Anna hadn't seen Little Flower before; back in Homing City, Anna's favorite pastime had been using Little Flower as a swing. Normally, with Anna around, Little Flower wouldn't dare show its face at all.

Summoned by Kuang Chi this time, Little Flower had no choice but to poke its head out. As soon as it emerged, it said to Anna, "Third Mistress, Little Flower still needs to cultivate and cannot play with you. Look at how unstable all my energy is right now."

Upon hearing this, Jing'er couldn't help but chuckle out loud. She naturally understood why Little Flower was saying such things. However, Anna was in no mood for play right now; she was currently burying herself in Kuang Chi's embrace with a pitiful expression.

Kuang Chi patted Anna in his arms and then looked back at Jing'er, saying, "Little Flower, tell Little Black to go finish off those three bastards just now, and make sure no one detects it."

Following Kuang Chi's words, a streak of black light suddenly erupted around his body. With a flash of this black darkness, the ground beside Kuang Chi produced a squeaking sound, leaving behind a tunnel deep enough to fit Kuang Chi's thigh. Looking at the wisps of light smoke still rising from the edges, it was clearly the trace left behind when Little Black's true form passed through.

Jing'er did not voice any objection. Having lived with Kuang Chi for more than a decade, how could she not know his habits? When it came to understanding Kuang Chi, Jing'er was definitely the person who knew him best today. How could she not know where Kuang Chi's inverse scales lay!

***

Jing'er let out a low sigh before speaking: "You must have heard of the Kong family of our Difeng Empire, right? The White-Robed God of War from eight thousand years ago."

Kuang Chi nodded and asked, "Are those three men members of the Kong family?"

Jing'er nodded, glanced at Anna in Kuang Chi's arms, and then said, "They are the three grandsons most cherished by the current head of the Kong family, as well as the Empress's own grand-nephews."

Having said that, Jing'er did not say anything more. She simply gently pulled Anna away from Kuang Chi's embrace and murmured softly to her.

Just at that moment, a black streak of light lunged toward Kuang Chi and vanished into his body in the blink of an eye.

Little Flower, which had kept its head exposed the entire time, finally spoke up: "Master, Little Black said he has already eaten those three fellows along with the dozen or so people nearby."

Hearing mention of the dozen or so people nearby, Jing'er's expression instantly shifted, and she let out a cry of alarm. She scanned her surroundings and then blurted out, "There were a dozen other people nearby? Now we've caused a massive disaster! Every single person who can come here to attend the banquet hosted by the Empress holds an extraordinary status. Furthermore, no guards are permitted to enter Mount Tuolu. The only possibility is that they were guests attending the banquet. For a dozen-plus guests to go missing on Mount Tuolu, this—"

Kuang Chi gazed coldly at Jing'er, casually kicked the ground to collapse the tunnel formed by Little Black's passage, and then stated, "If you don't say anything, who on earth would know who did this? Surely you don't doubt Little Black's sensory capabilities."

Jing'er let out a long sigh, looked at Kuang Chi and Little Flower perched behind Kuang Chi's neck, and said nothing more. She simply quietly took Anna by the hand and began walking back along the path they had come.

The elevation change of this mountain from base to peak was a full thousand meters. By the time the three of them slowly reached the summit, the sky was already verging on dusk.

When the palace at the mountain peak—which could only be seen as a vague silhouette from the base—fully revealed itself before Kuang Chi, he stood in the plaza in front of the palace, speechless for a long time. It was simply too breathtaking. The entire complex of pale-yellow palaces, crafted from some unknown material, radiated a distinct and otherworldly halo under the light of the setting sun's constant star.

Many parts of the entire palace complex were constructed from timber. Whether the palace grounds were planted with exotic flowers or utilized some strange spice, the entire summit was permeated with an intoxicating, lush, and secluded fragrance.

Anna hugged Kuang Chi's arm even tighter, her eyes shining as she gazed at the sight before her.

After a long while, Anna finally spoke up again: " Fatty, can we also live in a house like this in the future?"

Kuang Chi had no mind to ponder other things right now and nodded repeatedly. At this moment, he wished he could claim this entire palace complex as his own.

Watching the expression of the couple, Jing'er, who had not smiled along the entire journey, couldn't help but chuckle. She teased from the side, without a trace of seriousness: "Building a palace like this is no easy feat. Just procuring this fragrant Tuolu sacred tree is difficult enough. This tree is produced exclusively in the holy land of the Winged Clan—their place of origin. The Winged Clan has always believed they were nurtured by the Tuolu sacred tree and have forever regarded it as the sacred tree of their tribe. Such trees exist in very small numbers even among the Winged Clan."

Saying this, Jing'er smiled at Anna and added, "It took our Piaofeng Empire a great deal of effort just to bring back three saplings. This tree only grows one meter taller every ten thousand years, and it is said to bear fruit only once every million years."

Both Kuang Chi and Anna stared in utter astonishment with their jaws dropped wide open. Regaining his senses, Kuang Chi began to curse and swear: "What kind of damn tree is this, growing so damn slowly?"

Kuang Chi was merely speaking off the top of his head, but a middle-aged man nearby who apparently had long looked upon Kuang Chi with disfavor was certainly not going to let him off so easily. A middle-aged man stepped forward and directly shouted sternly at Kuang Chi: "Impudent! What kind of place is this, that you would utter such foul and vulgar language? Which family do you belong to?"

***

Seeing this situation, Kuang Chi glanced at the middle-aged man standing not far to his side, and then looked at Jing'er, who wore a look of intense displeasure. It was clear that Jing'er and this fellow had long been at odds.

Kuang Chi then looked back at the self-righteous middle-aged man beside him and smiled sinisterly: "Where this lord comes from—do you even have the qualification to ask?"

By this time, it wasn't just the middle-aged man opposite them who was huffing and puffing with anger; even some of the onlookers who had initially planned to simply watch the show started pointing fingers and criticizing Kuang Chi.

Kuang Chi cast a cold glance around their surroundings. Everyone who met Kuang Chi's gaze felt a sudden chill grip their hearts. The people Kuang Chi had killed and the starry sky cultivation arts he practiced were no joke; the killing intent and spiritual power radiating from his body were simply not something these aristocrats who had never set foot on a battlefield could endure. No matter how high the cultivation levels of those onlookers might be, under the stare of Kuang Chi, who bore the moniker of the Blood-Drinking Butcher, it was impossible for their hearts not to tighten.

Jing'er's reaction this time was exceptionally swift. Before Kuang Chi could speak again, she strode directly in front of him, blocking him entirely behind her, and swept a frosty gaze across the crowd before barking coldly: "This person is a guest invited by this Princess."

Having said that, Jing'er turned her gaze toward the middle-aged man standing not far away who had just reprimanded Kuang Chi. After staring coldly at him for a long time, she finally opened her mouth: "Count Kong Qiu, should I address you as Lord Count, or should I call you Deputy Commander Kong?"

Hearing these words and observing Jing'er's expression, even a fool could tell that Jing'er was extremely unhappy right now.

The middle-aged man hastily bowed to Jing'er and said, "Please forgive this subordinate for any offense, Your Highness the Little Princess. However, for your friend to utter such words on Mount Tuolu is indeed lacking in decorum. It is a complete insult to Mount Tuolu."

Jing'er glanced at Kuang Chi. Clearly, this matter gave her a headache as well, but looking at Kuang Chi's expression, she still addressed the middle-aged man: "Even so, it's not your place to speak. What qualifications do you have?"

Hearing Jing'er put it this way, the middle-aged man's expression could not have been uglier.

Anna looked at Kuang Chi, then at Jing'er, and finally at the surrounding crowd. She walked over to Jing'er's side and said, "Sister Jing'er, enough, don't be angry anymore. It's all Fatty's fault; he can never break his habit of swearing. Come on, pay them no mind and hurry up and take me to see that Tuolu sacred tree."

With that, she grabbed Jing'er with one hand, walked over to Kuang Chi—who was still glaring fiercely at the opposite party—and grabbed Kuang Chi's hand, pulling him directly toward the temple gates across the plaza.

After walking some distance away, Anna looked at Kuang Chi and scolded him playfully: "Fatty, you nag me every day to observe aristocratic etiquette, but look at you! Weren't your words just now causing trouble for Sister Jing'er?"

Scolded by his own wife, Kuang Chi had no temper to speak of and simply let out a few hearty chuckles.

Shortly after, he offered an apology to Jing'er. Jing'er shook her head with a wry smile and said nothing more. It wasn't until they reached the main gates of the grand hall that she suddenly spoke up: "Fatty, I finally have a very clear understanding of your first wife's situation right now."