Chapter 282: Stirring Up Trouble
The Si family of the Heavenly Demon Sect was a vast clan. "Si" meant to manage or oversee. The Si family had existed since the founding of the Heavenly Demon Sect, responsible for managing the sect's calendar, heritage, finances, and propagation.
Because the Si family was extremely important, the Saintess of the Heavenly Demon Sect often came from the Si family. The Saintess was the head of the Si family, and to some extent, the Si family's importance even surpassed that of the Sect Leader and the Holy Teacher.
Before, there was Granny Si; now, there was Si Yunxiang.
Long Jiaonan naturally knew Si Yunxiang's value. Capturing the Sixth Princess of Yanguo, the Sect Leader of the Heavenly Demon Sect, and the Saintess all at once filled her with some pride, but she remained cautious. She untied the Taotie pouch from Qin Mu's waist, removed Ling Yuxiu's spirit weapons, and then patted down Si Yunxiang.
Si Yunxiang giggled, "Sister Long, don't touch me randomly. I don't have any spirit weapons on me. I follow the path of spellcasting."
Long Jiaonan sneered, took off her hairpin, and said, "The path of spellcasting? I think you're a master swordsman! This hairpin is quite powerful!"
She also took out the butcher knife, iron hammer, and other items from Qin Mu's back. She even found the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone hidden in his sleeve. Long Jiaonan glanced at them; they were ordinary items, not spirit weapons, so she stuffed them back.
Long Jiaonan whistled, and the little red snake slithered through the clothes of the three, searching for more spirit weapons.
She was an old hand and wouldn't give Qin Mu any chance to turn the tables.
More critically, Qin Mu hadn't brought Long Qilin with him this time; the beast was still sleeping in the City Lord's Mansion!
"Let's go."
Long Jiaonan, dressed as a woman, was charming and alluring. She took Qin Mu's arm, her expression even carrying a hint of shyness. "My ship is waiting by the sea for the Sect Leader, the Saintess, and the Princess. By the time the Crown Prince comes to his senses, the three of you will already be in the Eastern Sea."
Qin Mu smiled. "Sister Long has thought of everything."
Long Jiaonan whistled again. The little red snake slithered onto Qin Mu, hanging from his left ear, its tongue flicking. Long Jiaonan said softly with a smile, "No matter how sweet your tongue is, you can't escape my grasp. Don't try any tricks. One bite from Little Red and you're dead."
The three women and one man walked towards the market's edge. Suddenly, Shen Wanyun, Wei Yong, Yue Qinghong, and other scholars approached. The two groups met face-to-face. Long Jiaonan put on a smile and said in a low voice, "Act natural. Don't force me to kill the Sect Leader and you all right now."
Shen Wanyun stopped, glanced at the three women, and said, "Sect Leader, this young lady looks unfamiliar. May I ask who she is?"
Qin Mu replied, "An old acquaintance. Are you all out shopping?"
Shen Wanyun said helplessly, "I didn't want to come out, but Fatty Wei and Qinghong insisted, saying we should see the local customs overseas." With that, he led the group into the market.
Long Jiaonan also led Qin Mu and the others towards the harbor.
In the market, Shen Wanyun's face darkened. He said rapidly, "The Sect Leader is in danger!"
Wei Yong and Yue Qinghong were startled, not understanding. Shen Wanyun said solemnly, "The Sect Leader's weapons are gone. He usually carries them on his back, but now they're missing. Also, Junior Sister Si's hairpin and the Princess's spirit weapons have vanished. That woman is definitely a problem... You go inform the Crown Prince. I'll follow them!"
Wei Yong and Yue Qinghong knew the situation was serious and hurried back to the City Lord's Mansion. Shen Wanyun immediately left the market, thinking, "That woman looks familiar. I've seen her somewhere before, but I can't remember who..."
Long Jiaonan led Qin Mu and the other two to the port and boarded a multi-story ship. "Set sail!"
The ship immediately headed for the Eastern Sea. Behind them, Shen Wanyun left a trail of clues, then leaped into the sea, running across the water's surface to keep pace with the ship.
The ship wasn't slow, but he ran like the wind and could easily keep up.
"Young Miss, someone's following," a man on the ship said in a low voice.
Long Jiaonan went to the stern and saw Shen Wanyun walking on the waves. She was momentarily startled. "Just a scholar from the Imperial Academy. Does he think he can fight a Dragon King in the sea?"
She whistled with a strange rhythm. Soon, numerous slippery sea snakes, over ten zhang long, appeared beneath the surface and swam rapidly towards Shen Wanyun.
Shen Wanyun was alarmed. Flying swords shot out from the sword pouch on his back, killing the approaching sea snakes.
The sea around him instantly became like a boiling cauldron. Countless sea snakes, like flood dragons, burst from the water, attacking him madly. There was no end to them!
By the time Shen Wanyun fought his way out of the snake encirclement, he looked around and saw that the multi-story ship had vanished without a trace.
Shen Wanyun soared into the air, looking around from above. He saw only the vast blue waves stretching for ten thousand li, but he couldn't find where the ship had gone.
"Damn it!" Shen Wanyun's expression was grave.
On the ship, Long Jiaonan didn't restrict Qin Mu's movements, letting them wander around. The ship sailed further and further away, entering the depths of the sea.
Qin Mu looked up and saw the sky high and the sea vast. There was no way to leave a trail on the water's surface.
He was full of enthusiasm. Spreading out paper, he picked up his brush and began to paint at the bow. Long Jiaonan leaned in to look and saw Qin Mu painting the sea—raging waves, black clouds sweeping everything, a multi-story ship sailing through the wind and waves, with lightning illuminating the vessel from the darkness outside.
The painting had a peculiar artistic conception, making one feel as if they were inside it.
"I didn't expect Sect Leader Qin's painting skills to be so good."
Long Jiaonan praised, "If you went to the capital to sell paintings for a living, you could probably earn the title of a romantic scholar."
A boatman carrying a ghost-head knife walked over, waved the knife near Qin Mu's neck, and chuckled, "What a pity this Heavenly Demon Sect Leader is going to die, and he's still in the mood to draw these ghostly talismans."
Long Jiaonan said coldly, "Ghost Number Three, before my father orders his death, he is still a guest invited by our Dragon Gate Sect. Show some respect!"
Ling Yuxiu's eyes lit up. She came closer to watch Qin Mu's painting and secretly exchanged a glance with Si Yunxiang.
Qin Mu seemed dissatisfied with this painting. He set it aside and painted another, also of wind, rain, lightning, and sea waves, but this one had no ship.
Long Jiaonan had been watching with interest, but seeing Qin Mu paint the same picture over and over without any novelty, she stopped watching, only leaving the little red snake hanging on Qin Mu's ear.
Qin Mu painted over a dozen sea storm scenes. Then he picked up his brush as if to refine and modify them. The moment his first stroke landed, the entire painting seemed to change slightly. The thunder and storm in the painting seemed about to fly out.
Qin Mu added the final stroke to all the finished paintings and casually tossed them out of the ship.
Long Jiaonan saw this and sighed inwardly at the waste.
Qin Mu clasped his hands behind his back, looked at Long Jiaonan, and smiled, "I've heard there are many storms at sea. Can Sister Long's ship withstand the waves?"
Long Jiaonan sneered, "The sky is clear now. What storms could there be?"
Just as she spoke, the wind suddenly rose. It went from a breeze to a gale in the span of a breath. Then the sky darkened, a fierce wind howled, and waves taller than mountains tossed the ship high into the air before crashing it back down.
Everyone on board was caught off guard and hurriedly steadied themselves. Lightning crackled and struck all around the ship. In the chaos, Qin Mu flicked his finger, sending the little red snake hanging from his ear flying.
The little red snake had just flown out and was about to reveal its true form when hundreds of lightning bolts converged into one, striking it with a deafening roar!
Long Jiaonan was startled, but she saw the little red snake fall into the sea, with countless lightning bolts continuing to strike the spot where it had fallen. In the seawater, the red snake finally revealed its true form, but it was hit by countless lightning strikes, its body paralyzed, and it sank to the seabed.
"Where did this wind and thunder come from? Why does it only strike Little Red?"
Long Jiaonan's heart was in chaos. She looked around and saw only pitch-black darkness. A strange feeling arose in her heart: "This scene is somewhat similar to the one in his painting just now..."
Qin Mu grabbed Si Yunxiang with his left hand and Ling Yuxiu with his right. The three of them leaped into the pitch-black sea.
Long Jiaonan cried out in surprise. Suddenly, the multi-story ship beneath her feet shattered into pieces, throwing everyone on board into the sea. At that moment, she saw another multi-story ship sailing out of the turbulent waves. Qin Mu, Ling Yuxiu, and Si Yunxiang stood at its bow. The young Sect Leader waved at her, and then the ship sailed into the darkness and disappeared.
Long Jiaonan immediately gave chase, but a wave as tall as a mountain slammed into her, burying her underwater.
Long Jiaonan grunted, burst through the waves, and just as she leaped into the air, countless lightning bolts converged and struck her, charring her inside and out!
She fought desperately, struggling against the thunder and storm. But after a moment, the thunder suddenly vanished, the strong wind ceased, and all was calm.
Long Jiaonan was soaked through, standing on the water's surface in a sorry state. She looked around and saw patches of ink slowly dissipating in the sea.
A crimson giant python swam to her side, covered in wounds.
Long Jiaonan's heart turned cold. She looked around. The boatmen from the ship had also died in this sudden shipwreck. Ghost Number Three had died the most miserably.
"Was this shipwreck... painted by Sect Leader Qin?" Long Jiaonan still found it hard to believe.
Qin Mu and the two women stood at the bow. Soon, the multi-story ship suddenly dissolved, turning into patches of ink that disappeared into the ocean. The three of them channeled their primal energy, landed on the water's surface, and looked ahead. An island appeared on the horizon.
"Long Jiaonan took us deep into the Eastern Sea. With our cultivation, it would be exhausting to walk on water all the way back to Hezhou. We'd be dead tired."
Qin Mu suggested, "Let's go there to rest for a while. Shen Wanyun is very sharp. He should have informed the Crown Prince. With Fan Yunxiao's fast ship, finding us won't be difficult."
The three of them landed on the island. Suddenly, they saw many small, yellow-clad figures running out from the island's forests, brandishing knives, spears, clubs, and sticks, charging at them ferociously. When they reached Qin Mu and the others, they all stopped and looked up at them in terror.
"Giants!" a small, yellow-clad figure shrieked.
This army immediately scattered, fleeing in all directions. These little figures were only about a foot tall. Some hid in rock crevices, some buried themselves in the sand, some hid under leaves. One little yellow-clad figure ran around, found nowhere to hide, and simply lay on its back, pretending to be dead, its tongue sticking out and its eyes wide open.
"So many Polygonatum?"*
Si Yunxiang said in surprise, "They are Polygonatum that have become spirits. They can be eaten. They're excellent for improving cultivation."
"The giants are going to eat us!" The one pretending to be dead jumped up, turned around, and ran, only to slam into a tree with a thud and knock itself unconscious.
*Translator's Note: Polygonatum (Huangjing) is a medicinal herb. Here, the "yellow-clad little figures" are personified Polygonatum spirits.