Chapter 159 Boat Scene: Qi Ying Releases That Firework...

Not long after Qi Ying set off the firework, Wu Chen's disciples from the nearby Divine Palace arrived to clean up the mess.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the Luo brothers, Dushou and Duan, abandoned the injured Zhan Yantai experts and slipped away on their own.

Instead of taking the opportunity to escape, Chief Fang and his wife waited anxiously by the lake. When they saw Wu Chen in the distance, they knelt down and begged, "Your Excellency, it is we who are at fault. You may kill or punish us as you see fit. But my daughter is truly innocent. Please show mercy."

Some of the guests he had invited wanted to plead for mercy. However, remembering how almost all the experts from Zhan Yan Tai had been wiped out by the couple, everyone immediately straightened their posture. No one dared to underestimate the young couple anymore; even looking them in the eye required courage, let alone trying to act like Luo Dushou and speak rashly.

Wu Chen glanced at Lu Qing, who said calmly, "She and her maid are still on that island in the middle of the lake. You can go and find them yourselves."

Wu Chen was somewhat surprised that she would say that. However, he didn't think Lu Qing would let the Fang family off so easily. He didn't say anything more, because his attention wasn't on the Fang family; his elaborate scheme still had one crucial step to complete.

He turned around and said loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, tonight's events happened suddenly and this change was not my intention. But there is another important matter that I was interrupted before I could finish speaking, and I need to explain it to you all. Please spread the word."

The guests hurriedly said, "Please speak, Your Excellency."

Wu Chen looked around, his gaze lingering on each person's face as if he were memorizing their features. "Back then, Zou Boyu ate the Spirit Fruit, which was not the legendary tale. The Zou family themselves knew that this act was against their conscience, so they tried their best to conceal it. However, this act also left a huge hidden danger for the Zou family. Their cultivation progressed extremely quickly, but in the later stages, they could not control it. Their spiritual power surged violently, yet their blood and energy were insufficient, causing them to suffer unbearable pain all day long, until finally they exploded and died. It is recorded in the Zou family's writings that several priests even chose to end their own lives because they could not endure such pain. Since Zou Boyu, the Zou family has been trying their best to solve this problem. This is also the reason why they hunt down the Spirit Clan at all costs every thousand years. Now, the Spirit Clan has no spiritual power because of the Zou family's atrocities, and the Zou family still cannot solve this hidden danger. In fact, the simplest solution is to not go down this wrong path in the first place, and there will be no harm."

Everyone was dumbfounded. Why didn't you say such important information sooner? If you had said it earlier, maybe Zhan Yantai wouldn't have made a move.

Wu Shen said solemnly, "I know that revealing this secret will firstly bring shame to the Divine Palace, and secondly, it will give rise to inappropriate thoughts in some people with evil intentions. However, the Divine Palace has never belonged to the Zou family alone, but also to us, the disciples of the Divine Palace. We will correct our mistakes and strive to improve where we are not. We will not deliberately conceal the mistakes that the Zou family has made, and as disciples of the Divine Palace, we will definitely make amends. I, Wu Shen, hereby swear that from this moment on, if anyone dares to harm the Spirit Communication Clan again, the Divine Palace will spare no effort and will cut them down to the ends of the earth."

Wu Chen's vow echoed across the lake.

Everyone was awed.

Lu Qing tried her best to keep a straight face and feign indignation. But inwardly, she couldn't help but mutter to herself: When Luo Si ascended the Divine Palace to congratulate him on his succession, he even said that Zou Gaoyang had died from a qi deviation during cultivation. It turns out that the Fang family's foolish act of making such a big fuss was all to promote him. They put on a grand show, but it allowed him to expose the Zou family's past to the world and demonstrate his protection of the Spirit Communication Clan.

On the way back to the ship, Lu Qing couldn't help but ask him, "When did you plan all this?"

Wu Shen honestly replied, "I've been looking for this opportunity, but I can't be too abrupt, otherwise, discerning people will immediately suspect my identity. After arriving at Fuxian Lake, I discovered the matter of the Flame-Slaying Platform. So..."

Lu Qing suddenly realized, "No wonder you were in such a hurry to get here, but suddenly you're not in a rush anymore, and you've been pretending to take us sightseeing all day long. So that's what you really wanted!"

Wu Chen quickly smoothed things over, "How can that be called pretending to enjoy the scenery? I was clearly wholeheartedly accompanying you on your sightseeing trip. Their affairs were just incidental. And thanks to Madam, we were able to turn the tide tonight. Otherwise, with so many experts from the Flame-Slaying Platform, the disciples of the Divine Palace would have suffered heavy casualties."

"So you originally planned to kill Luo Sicheng here?!"

"No. My original plan was just to fight Luo Sicheng here. That way, if I was too polite, he wouldn't actually think I was easy to talk to." He originally intended to go himself, but who knew Lu Qing was here? He could just sit back and win. Indeed, as long as you marry well, you'll have no worries.

Qi Ying and the others chimed in, "Your wife has done a great service; we are so grateful to her for saving our lives!"

Lu Qing laughed, "Clever words and a flattering face!"

Old Hei chimed in, not wanting to be left out, "I also deserve credit, I also deserve credit. I found the letter, and when I came out, I slipped a note to Madam Fang, the head of the Fang family, to warn her. The plot has been exposed, and Miss is in danger. That lady came running right away."

Wu Chen rarely praised her, saying, "You have indeed improved a lot."

Old Black was so proud that the ends of his hair stood on end.

However, when Lao Hei mentioned the Fang family, A Fan secretly took notice. Once on the ship, he couldn't help but ask Lao Hei privately, "Didn't you keep saying you wanted to kill the Fang family? Why didn't you take the opportunity to do it?"

Old Hei snorted, "Wu Chen has already made his move, so I'm too lazy to bother."

Afan was puzzled. "That's not right. Didn't Master Wu publicly swear to protect the Spirit Communication Clan?"

"But does the Fang family have any descendants of the psychic race?"

"No, but others don't know!"

"That's right. Madam Fang said that Nan Bei's bloodline is Fang Er. But Fang Er is gone. That is to say, the protection promised by Wu Chen only applies to Fang Er. But there are many crooked people or demons in this world who refuse to believe in this nonsense. Why do they have to test the Fang family? Just because Wu Chen says it's useless, will they stop eating it? They'll only stop eating it after they've tried it and found it really is useless. You see, unless the Fang family leaves their hometown and hides their names, they will be in big trouble in a few years. The suffering that Nan Bei endured back then, I'm afraid all the Fang family members will have to suffer the same fate."

Although Afan was a snake demon, he had a soft heart. "It's a pity for those innocent people."

Old Hei rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Then let them leave. Their ancestors betrayed Nanbei, and now they're just wandering around, which is already letting them off easy. I bet those who are penniless will leave easily. But the direct descendants of the Fang family will probably be unwilling to give up their family business and insist on staying here as sitting ducks."

Old Hei was right. After some time, news of what happened at Fuxian Lake spread. Members of the Fang family kept disappearing inexplicably, and within two years, the entire family had fallen into poverty, only occasionally mentioned in casual conversation. Of course, that's another story.

After finishing his sentence, Lao Hei felt relieved and pushed open the window of the room. "The moon is so round tonight, it looks like a shiny salted duck egg! Hey, why are those two sailing away? Quick, hurry up and catch up."

As Lao Hei was about to leap out of the window, A Fan grabbed his hair and asked, "Where are you going?"

"Go after them! They went out to have fun without taking us with them."

Afan sighed, "You've been married before, how come you don't understand these things? This ship is full of cultivators, it's inconvenient for the couple to do anything. Going out alone means they don't want to be disturbed..."

Old Hei snorted, looking at his body with disdain. "I'll ask Lu Qing later if there's any way to get me a real body. There are so many young disciples in the Divine Palace, and quite a few of them seem pretty good..."

Afan: Uh? Sigh~

The small boat, rowed by Wu Chen, was meticulously crafted by the artisans of the Divine Palace. On the calm lake, it remained perfectly still, almost motionless. Lu Qing lay on her back, her head resting on the deck, admiring the moonlight. She drifted off to sleep without realizing it. She didn't know how much time had passed when she felt the boat sway, instantly waking her. She found the small boat adrift on the vast lake, with no shore, no islands, no other boats, and no one else around.

"Where are we?" Lu Qing murmured.

“Still on Fuxian Lake, a place where no one will disturb us,” Wu Chen replied.

Lu Qing turned her head and saw that he was still half-submerged in the water, shirtless, his arms bracing against the edge of the boat, water droplets rolling down his long hair to suggestive places. Suddenly, countless scenes from the storybooks that Wu Chen had confiscated flashed through Lu Qing's mind. She swallowed hard and subconsciously asked, "There's no one around, aren't you going to do anything?"

Wu Chen laughed, making Lu Qing feel itchy, but then he let go of his arms, fell back into the water, swam to the stern, and boarded the boat.

Lu Qing craned her neck, preparing to peek. But she felt a sudden tightening on her ankle as Wu Chen abruptly pulled her back into the cabin. The cabin door slammed shut, shutting out all sound. Only the water around the ship, still without wind, rippled with waves, creating shimmering silver light under the moonlight.

Absolutely beautiful.

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Author's Note: The main story is complete! Please leave a message if you would like to read the extra chapters.

Another flop, haha. Of course, it's largely due to my inability to maintain a consistent update frequency and my lack of effort in applying for rankings lately.

I'm a rather lazy person with few hobbies; writing is one of my ways to pass the time. Pisces people always have some strange and unusual thoughts in their minds, which they can't share with others. Writing is a great way to de-stress.

My husband once asked me curiously: How much money do you make writing this?

I answered him very seriously: It's not about how much money I make. If I spent all my writing time shopping, just think about the consequences. You should cherish your wife's hobby, which doesn't cost any money and can even earn you a little something.

My husband has kept silent ever since.

But after finishing this article, I really need to take a break for a while.

Firstly, I feel completely drained. Writing requires time to accumulate knowledge and experience before you can create truly original content. Since resuming writing in 2016, I've barely stopped. Almost everything I've accumulated during that time has been published. I feel a bit creatively exhausted, especially when applying for rankings without a backlog of drafts. Under the pressure of ranking targets, lacking inspiration while still trying to meet word counts, the resulting work feels like a disservice to my readers. I still prefer to finish writing before publishing, revising as I go; that gives me more peace of mind.

Secondly, we're building a house. We've always lived in existing houses, so this is nothing new. This year, our company's business has been affected; almost all of our old operations have stopped, and it's foreseeable that they won't recover until the end of next year. My husband and I decided to take a gamble—we had nothing else to do anyway—and buy an old house, tear it down, and rebuild. We had the ambition, but we really didn't expect so many problems. Just finding a simple underground water pipe—we followed the blueprints, had the Indian guy dig three feet deep, and still couldn't find it. I dream about all the details on the blueprints. Under these circumstances, it's incredibly difficult for me to fully concentrate on writing. Neither speed nor quality can be guaranteed. Rather than writing something that makes people feel like they've wasted their money, I'd rather not write at all.

Of course, under pressure, I might do something even I think is crazy. Who knows!

I'm leaving a pre-order for a story called "See You Again." I sincerely hope to see your comments again when I start posting again. Feel free to leave a comment about your preferred genres. I'll seriously consider them.

I hope to see you all again in Jinjiang. Wishing you all peace, good health, and happiness every day.

Waka

2020.12.04