Chapter 54 Detain
"It's just as you think. I painstakingly cared for the seven gourds for a thousand years, and when it was time to harvest them, Hongyun stole one of the red ones when I wasn't looking." Tongtian exposed Hongyun's unscrupulous behavior without showing any mercy.
"How can this be called theft? You won't take it, and you won't let me take it either? That doesn't make sense." Hongyun was indignant. He had obtained the gourd through his own abilities, so why should he return it?
"Are you blind? How could we not want it? If we hadn't been confronting Dijun and Nuwa back then, would you have been able to take it away?" Tong was furious. This Hongyun may look innocent, but she's a master at pretending to be ignorant when she knows the truth.
Upon hearing this devastating news, Zhen Yuanzi was caught off guard. He lost his balance, nearly fell backward in shock, and felt the world spinning around him. His chest heaved violently, and his entire soul trembled.
"Calm down. Hongyun is always causing trouble all over the prehistoric world. He's used to cleaning up after him. This time, he's just caused a bigger mess and angered some serious people. The right thing to do is to think about how to resolve this." The kind-hearted man patiently persuaded Zhen Yuanzi to calm down.
"Settle it? How do you settle it? Just beat them half to death, leave them alive. It's better than causing a huge disaster later and dying and having your soul destroyed." The dark side was quite tempting, and Zhen Yuanzi was really tempted.
In the end, his love for Hongyun prevailed. Zhen Yuanzi ground his back teeth. What had he done to deserve this? He had a close friend with whom he had a complicated relationship. Anyone who didn't know better would think that Hongyun was his mortal enemy.
“Shut up, Hongyun,” Zhen Yuanzi took a deep breath. “Fellow Daoist Tongtian, I’m truly sorry. I didn’t know that Hongyun obtained his gourd in this way. I am willing to offer a ginseng fruit in exchange for it. I hope you will be merciful and spare Hongyun’s life.”
"Easy for you to say, but I've lost face. The whole prehistoric world is talking about this. I won't be able to quell my hatred until Hongyun is punished," Tongtian turned his face away, refusing to accept the greeting, and opened his palm, "Gourd, come..."
Hongyun's crimson gourd thus appeared in Tongtian's hands, and Tongtian pretended to forcibly erase the blood connection between the crimson gourd and Hongyun.
"Wait..." Zhen Yuanzi could not bear to watch Hongyun's cultivation foundation be destroyed and his vital energy severely damaged, so he could only place his hopes on Yuanshi.
“Fellow Daoist Yuanshi, I, Zhen Yuanzi, have never asked anyone for anything in my life. For my sake, please allow your younger brother to let Hongyun off the hook. In the future, if you have any requests, I will grant them.”
This promise was of great importance, and Yuanshi's expression softened. He had never imagined that Zhenyuanzi cared so much about Hongyun.
“Tongtian,” Yuanshi thought for a moment and decided to give Zhenyuanzi face. “Let’s be lenient when we can. Since Hongyun took your Crimson Gourd, let him find an innate spiritual treasure of equal value. What do you think?” As for whether Chang Hao would let Hongyun go, that was another matter.
Zhen Yuanzi quickly offered his bargaining chip: "I am willing to offer all the ginseng fruits that have grown from this ginseng fruit tree. I hope you will be lenient."
In fact, Tongtian knew all along that once the gourd was taken away by Hongyun, it would be impossible for it to return to him intact. His pursuit of Hongyun throughout the prehistoric world was merely a way to vent his anger. Before he left, his second brother had spoken with him earnestly about how to minimize the losses.
As for the ginseng fruit, he had never eaten it before, so he couldn't help but turn his gaze to Yuanshi.
Yuanshi nodded slightly, indicating that the Tongtian Trade was feasible.
Tongtian, now that he had a better idea, readily agreed: "Alright, although exchanging thirty ginseng fruits for a red gourd is a bit of a rip-off, since Zhenyuanzi has made the request, I'll give you that face."
A gourd that has become someone else's natal magic weapon is neither useful nor worth discarding. It's better to exchange it, which will also make Zhen Yuanzi owe him a favor. It's worth it.
Zhen Yuanzi finally felt relieved. He had incurred two great favors, and even he looked a little tired. Compared to the gourd that only produced seven fruits, the ginseng fruit that only required a long wait to ripen was not worth the same as the gourd, which was also one of the ten innate spiritual roots. However, he was short of money and had nothing else to offer besides the ginseng fruit.
"Please, gentlemen, take a stroll to Wuzhuang Temple." Zhen Yuanzi gestured for the three people present to go to Wuzhuang Temple. As for how to distribute the ginseng fruit they obtained, that was none of his business.
“Zhen Yuanzi,” Hongyun said, her eyes brimming with tears, “I’ve dragged you into this again.” That stubborn man, why does he always get into trouble?
"You, sigh, you should stay away from wandering around in the future and stay in Wuyang Mountain to cultivate in peace." Zhen Yuanzi was really going all out, and he was determined to teach Hongyun a lesson.
"I'll listen to you." Hongyun was feeling very guilty at this moment, and followed Zhen Yuanzi step by step, responding to whatever Zhen Yuanzi said.
As Zhen Yuanzi stepped across the threshold, Hongyun was about to follow when a sword swiftly blocked his way.
"Who said you could leave?" Chang Hao's smile vanished, replaced by an indescribable aloofness and indifference.
“This,” Zhen Yuanzi looked to Tongtian for help, “Fellow Daoist Tongtian, didn’t we agree on this?”
Tongtian tugged at Chang Hao's sleeve, feigning to persuade him, "Alright, Chang Hao, I won't hold it against you."
“It’s none of your business,” Chang Hao brushed Tongtian’s hand away. “You talk your thing, I’ll do mine.”
Hongyun knew that what was coming had finally arrived, but he couldn't be blamed. Look, the entire hall was filled with beauties. There was Yuanshi, who was aloof, elegant, dignified, handsome, and abstinent; there was Tongtian, who was incomparably sharp, daring to be rebellious, and spirited; even Zhenyuanzi was handsome and dignified, and he was dashing and handsome. Yet Chang Hao completely overshadowed all these beauties in the room. It was understandable that he was dazzled and infatuated for a moment.
“Fellow Daoist, let’s talk this out,” Hongyun said, startled by the sword in Chang Hao’s hand. “It was Hongyun’s fault, and I am willing to accept the punishment.”
"Since you've admitted your mistake, then stay in Lishan and serve me." Chang Hao was just feeling awkward because he didn't have enough people to do things for him, and then Hong Yun bumped into him. Well, that's it. If he doesn't torment him to death, he shouldn't be called Chang Hao anymore.
Zhen Yuanzi's expression changed slightly. "Fellow Daoist, even if Hongyun has committed a grave mistake, he should not be treated like this." Hongyun is, after all, a powerful figure in the prehistoric world; how could he be humiliated like this?
"Is that so?" Chang Hao took out a clean white handkerchief and slowly wiped the sword. A contract engraved with Daoist script appeared in the air. "Hongyun, what do you say?"
Hongyun glanced at the contract, his eyes flashing. "I'll sign it. Thank you, Fellow Daoist Chang Hao, for your magnanimity in not holding it against me." It's only been five hundred years. If this is an insult, then his impulsive action just now was even more humiliating to Fellow Daoist Chang Hao.
Now it was Zhen Yuanzi's turn to turn pale. No one knew better than Zhen Yuanzi. Seeing Hongyun's death, he realized that the trouble he had caused was one that he couldn't resolve. He was furious and for a moment actually put his hands down, ignoring Hongyun's life or death.
"It would be better to get rid of him," Yuanshi whispered, appearing behind Chang Hao at some point. "Why keep someone by your side to serve you? If you're lonely, I'll move to Lishan to discuss the Dao with you and travel the primordial world arm in arm." Keeping this thing by his side is not only an eyesore, but if he were to become stupid, where would he find another Chang Hao like him?
Yuanshi stared at Hongyun with a very unfriendly expression. As astute as Yuanshi was, he had already sensed something was wrong from the exchange of glances between Chang Hao and Hongyun, but he didn't know what was going on for the moment. He just relied on his intuition to utter a cruel word that made Zhen Yuanzi's scalp tingle.
"Tsk tsk tsk," Tongtian couldn't bear to watch. "Second brother, that's not what you said just now." Yuanshi's telepathic communication could fool Zhenyuanzi, but it couldn't fool Tongtian.
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