Edited by RED

“Granny, what are your plans for the future? Do you want to come with me?” Xu Qi asked.

Di Luoyu watched reluctantly as the Woodblue Village was burned to ash. She sighed gently and shook her head, saying, “I had thought hiding in the Woodblue Village was considered living in utopia, but I was still unable to escape from the fights of the mundane world. Although this matter didn’t arise because of me, the villagers are my friends. Moreover, Shu’er was abducted right before my eyes. There is no way I can remain indifferent to this. Thank you for your kind intentions, Lan Jiu, but I will come find you at your clan if I find anything.”

Then, Di Luoyu turned to leave.

“Are you not going to persuade her, Young Master?” Xu Xiaomei asked as Di Luoyu slowly disappeared from their sight.

“Didn’t you hear her calling me Lan Jiu? That proved that she doesn’t want to go back to the Xu Clan with me. Let her be,” Xu Qi said.

“Right, Young Master, I forgot to tell you this. Uncle has successfully purged the poison from his body,” Xu Xiaomei said suddenly.

“Oh? He’s fine now? This is the best news I’ve heard recently. Let’s go back for now. I’ll meet him after we return. Perhaps he will know the identity of the abductor,” Xu Qi said.

------

Xu Qi sent Xu Xiaomei back into the Four Divinities Cavern and willed his Five Elements Wings to appear, before flying back to Rivulet City. When he returned to the Xu Clan, Xu Pingfan, Luo Tianming, Wen Xiang, Qian Yin, Qian Yun, the Constellation Guards, and the Nightwatchers were all there. Even the blank Yi Qingqing was with them.

Xu Pingfan hurriedly walked up to Xu Qi and asked, “How was it, Young Master?”

Xu Qi shook his head and found a chair to sit down on.

Luo Tianming walked in front of Xu Qi and patted on his shoulder, saying “Hey, say, Xu Qi, why are you looking so listless? You can tell us anything; there aren’t any outsiders here, anyway,”

“What would you do if your wife and child were to be abducted by some unknown person and you have no idea on where to look for them?” Xu Qi asked, looking at Luo Tianming.

“Does that need to be said? Of course I’d go looking for them!” Luo Tianming replied in a heartbeat.

“But you don’t know who did it? And without any information, where do you go looking for them? Are you just going to go searching in every corner of the world?” Xu Qi continued.

“Of course! At the very least, there’s a chance you’ll find them if you go searching. They won’t appear at your doorstep if you just wait around, not even a slight chance,” Luo Tianming replied.

Xu Qi blanked out for a moment after hearing this, and nodded slightly. What Luo TIanming said is right; there is a chance only if I went searching for them. For Shu’er and our daughter’s sake, so what if I have to search the whole world?

“Hey, judging from that gaze of yours, are you really planning on overturning every stone in the world to look for them?” Luo Tianming hurriedly asked.

Xu Qi stared at Luo Tianming, not even blinking once, leaving the latter’s back drenched in cold sweat.

“Calm down a little. You can’t change your sexual orientation just because your wife was abducted. I may be a handsome man, but I don’t like men. I prefer woman; don’t you dare have any ideas on me!” Luo Tianming said, taking two steps back. A hint of fear could be seen in his eyes.

“Get lost!” Xu Qi scolded, then sent a look at everyone else in the room.

The others proceeded to leave the room one after another, and even Yi Qingqing was brought away by Wen Xiang, leaving Luo Tianming and Xu Qi in the room.

“Come with me,” Xu Qi said plainly, and walked towards the study room. Luo Tianming followed behind him, showing a confused look on his face.

They passed through the study and entered the hidden room. Xu Qi then quickly formed a rainbow seal in his hand, and Xu Xiaomei’s figure appeared in the room.

“Oh crap! Why would a girl appear!?” Luo Tianming exclaimed in shock at Xu Xiaomei’s appearance.

Xu Qi rolled his eyes at Luo Tianming and turned his attention to Xu Xiaomei, asking, “How is he? Is he fully recovered?”

Xu Xiaomei nodded.

Xu Qi then formed another seal, and the Black Tortoise, who haven’t been seen for quite a long while, slowly appeared.

“Heavens! And who is this now?! Are you performing a magic show?!” Luo Tianming cried out again after seeing the Black Tortoise, though he didn’t know they were Xu Qi’s familiars.

“Don’t be so flustered, alright? Xiaomei is actually a monster, and my familiar. Do you understand now?” Xu Qi said.

Luo Tianming pointed his finger at Xu Xiaomei and said, “She’s actually a monster? And she can even take human form? Why haven’t I heard of this before? Is she a demon spirit?”

“Demon spirit my foot! She had some fortuitous encounters and gained the ability to transform into human. As for him, you must have heard of him before. He is no monster, but a Divine Beast,” Xu Qi said, pointing at Black Tortoise.

Luo Tianming felt overwhelmed by this information. What’s with monsters, Divine Beasts, and whatnot? How many secrets is Xu Qi hiding? Wait a minute, this middle-aged man is a Divine Beast?

Seeing as Xu Qi didn’t pay any attention to him after he appeared, Black Tortoise pointed at Luo Tianming and asked, “Damn brat, who is this fellow here? How about introducing him to me?”

Luo Tianming was a little annoyed at Black Tortoise’s arrogance and wanted to retort to him. However, he immediately kept his mouth shut upon hearing Xu Qi’s voice.

“This here, is one of the Four Divinities, the Black Tortoise. I’m sure you’ve heard of him before. Just call him Uncle,” Xu Qi chuckled.

“That.. what did you say? Black Tortoise? The Black Tortoise of the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise?” Luo Tianming asked, his eyes staring wide open.

“You don’t say! Where else have you heard of the Black Tortoise from?” Xu Qi quipped.

Luo Tianming’s annoyed face immediately turned into a flattering smile. He rubbed his hands together and said, “Erm, Uncle, this one here was blind and couldn’t recognize your esteemed self! Please pardon me if I did anything to offend you!”

Seeing this, Black Tortoise smiled and said, “Since you’ve heard of me, you must be someone from that side.”

“Yes, yes,” Luo Tianming hurriedly answered. His heart was itching to ask Xu Qi about the Black Tortoise, but he didn’t dare to, since the Divine Beast was present.

“Uncle, Young Master, what Black Tortoise are you talking about, or from that side or whatever? Why don’t I understand any of it?” Xu Xiaomei asked in puzzlement by the side.

“It’s a secret!” Xu Qi, Luo Tianming, and Black Tortoise responded in unison.

“Let’s talk about serious business. Xiaomei told me about the situation in Woodblue Village. What are your plans?” Black Tortoise asked sternly.

“Uncle, I have been thinking about that mysterious elder’s identity on my way back. He claimed to be from the seven top schools; could he be from one of those which I’ve offended?” Xu Qi hypothesized.

“Pardon my frankness, but that granny who saved you back in Woodblue Village definitely had higher cultivation than you. I heard from Xiaomei that she was actually injured in just a single exchange, while that person was holding back, to boot! How powerful do you reckon his cultivation level is?” Black Tortoise asked.

“It’s hard to say,” Xu Qi answered frankly.

“Damn brat, I’m afraid this man isn’t someone from the seven top schools. Do you remember the night when we encountered Mie Luan and the Godsfeather Bow was stolen? Didn’t a frighteningly powerful mysterious man appear that night? I’m afraid he was the one deliberately mystifying things,” Black Tortoise said.

“Him?! How is that possible? I didn’t offend him; why would he abduct my family, and even kill so many innocent people?” Xu Qi asked in bewilderment.

“Hey, hey, who exactly are you two talking about? Who is Mie Luan? And what is the Godsfeather Bow?” Luo Tianming couldn’t help but interrupt.

“Shut up!” Black Tortoise and Xu Qi shouted at the same time, causing Luo Tianming to immediately cover his mouth.

“Isn’t he a fool, damn brat? Didn’t he say to look for him after you’d gathered all four of us? Only those from that side will know about our existences. Moreover, who else would dare to challenge us to look for him after the four of us are gathered?” Black Tortoise said deliberately, with a hint of graveness in his expression.

“Then, Uncle, what should we do now?” Xu Qi asked.

“What should you do? With only your current strength and the kids you command, you’ll be defeated in the blink of an eye with just a finger if you were to confront him! Didn’t you listen to his message to you? He told you to find him after you subdued all four of us. He’d obviously shown you the path to take,” Black Tortoise smiled.

“You’re saying.. I should dive into the Four Divinities Cavern to look for them?” Xu Qi asked doubtfully. Ever since he subdued the Black Tortoise by luck, he didn’t have the courage to confront the other Divine Beasts.

“Judging from our current situation, perhaps that will be your best option. But I’ll say this first: don’t count on me to help you subdue them. I can’t help you in any way, and you’d better prepare yourself to stay in there for a long period of time! Their temperaments are increasingly worse than the other! Also, their characters are disputable; they can be both virtuous and wicked!” Black Tortoise said.

Xu Qi nodded. He understood his strength well; it was due to luck that he subdued the Black Tortoise, with the latter willingly allowing Xu Qi to do so. The Black Tortoise could have easily killed Xu Qi if he wished to. As for subduing the remaining three, Xu Qi really didn’t have much confidence in himself.

Luo Tianming came to a realization from the two’s conversation and cried out in shock, “Xu Qi! Don’t tell me the other Divine Beasts are with you, too! My heart isn’t that strong; I won’t be able to take it!”

Xu Qi only let out a smile, not answering him. Instead, he said to Xu Xiaomei and Black Tortoise, “Uncle, Xiaomei, I’ll leave the Xu Clan to the both of you for now. I won’t be going to them to leave some words behind. You can leave the trivial matters to Uncle Mang and Aunt; you only need to make sure the Xu Clan is safe.”

“Hey, you rascal! You seemed to have left me out! Hey, hey, wait!” Before Luo Tianming could finish his piece, Xu Qi smiled at him and slowly disappeared as rainbow energy shone on his body.

“Let’s go. We’ll just look after his home and wait for his return,” Black Tortoise smiled and walked out. Xu Xiaomei quickly followed behind him, while Luo Tianming stamped his feet in annoyance before following along.