Chapter 955: Petting a Cat
Within the courtyard, the lamplight swayed, and the atmosphere was strange.
However, both Su Yi and the Netherworld King were perfectly relaxed and content.
Seeing this, the other three old-timers all felt rather conflicted.
“Fellow Daoist, what have you come here for?” The Netherworld King supported her jaw with her hand, tilted her head, and batted her eyes at Su Yi.
“I’m here to trade something and ask a few questions while I’m at it,” Su Yi said casually. “You?”
The Netherworld King pressed her lips into a smile. “Much like you, there are a few things I’d like to ask about.”
Su Yi suddenly asked, “Are they connected to the Far Shore?”
The Far Shore!
Qu Boling and Zhan Beiqi’s expressions were a bit strange, while Wang Chonglu was dazed. Something didn’t seem quite right here.
Why would Su Yi suddenly use the Far Shore to probe that mysterious woman? Is there some secret behind it?
The Netherworld King narrowed her eyes and said with surprise, “If I’m not mistaken, you arrived in the City of Eternal Night today. I truly wouldn’t have expected you to have learned about this faction so soon.”
Su Yi laughed. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Of course, it won’t be too late to have a private chat after we’ve left this place.”
The Netherworld King’s expression shifted, and she took a deep look at Su Yi. “Very well.”
Then, someone emerged from within the main hall.
He was a handsome but pallid young man in bright red robes. There was a certain sinisterness about him, one that he couldn’t hide, try as he might.
When he emerged, the Divine Saber Demon Emperor Zhan Beiqi rose. A sharp aura surged around him, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Qu Boling, however, looked a bit grim.
This red-robed man was the first guest to call upon the Timekeeper. His origins were mysterious, and his aura was as unfathomable as an abyss or the pits of hell.
When Wang Chonglu sensed the man’s aura, his heart shook violently, and his expression shifted dramatically.
His aura was cut from the same mold as the experts of the Far Shore!
Except it was obviously far more terrifying!
“This is the City of Eternal Night. If you want to fight, wait until we’ve left the city.” The red-robed man glanced at Zhan Beiqi, then turned away.
Zhan Beiqi suppressed his sharp aura and sank into silence.
The red-robed man, meanwhile, stopped in front of the Netherworld King’s seat, bowed slightly, and clasped his fist. “Your Excellency, I ought to leave. If I linger any longer, I’m afraid the Timekeeper will see me out personally.”
‘Your Excellency’?Wang Chonglu was stunned.Don’t tell me that woman is from the Far Shore?
“I’m not interested in your business, and there’s no need to say such things to me,” the Netherworld King said softly.
Her smooth, jadelike hands supported her head, while her gaze was focused on Su Yi’s profile. She didn’t so much as glance at the man in red robes.
Utterly casual, and utterly dismissive.
However, the red-robed man seemed accustomed to such things, and he didn’t find it at all inappropriate.
As he turned to leave, he looked Su Yi up and down, his expression a bit strange. In the end, he said nothing. He simply turned and left.
It was only after he’d disappeared from the courtyard that a clear voice resounded from within the main hall. “The second guest can now enter.”
Zhan Beiqi promptly walked inside.
Although the doors to the main hall were wide open, invisible energy fluctuations covered the doorway, blocking off the outside world. No one could see the hall’s interior.
Qu Boling, meanwhile, hurried over to Zhan Beiqi’s former location and waited silently just outside the hall.
Su Yi frowned slightly. “Little Green, everyone knows your master’s rules, but tell him he’d best pick up the pace. I don’t have the patience to wait like this much longer.”
Little Green?
Wang Chonglu and Qu Boling’s hearts shook.
Neither of them knew who “Little Green” was, but they could tell that Su Yi was urging the Timekeeper to hurry!
Both were old monsters who’d witnessed the ups and downs of worldly affairs, but even so, their hearts shook.He’s a young Spiritual Revolution Realm cultivator, but he’s acting like this is his own backyard! He’s calm and composed, but more than that, he feels perfectly comfortable giving orders!
In stark contrast, the two old-timers were on their best behavior, and they dared not be the least bit impudent.
This stark contrast was naturally quite surprising.
The Netherworld King couldn’t help but smile.
She was well aware of Su Yi’s identity, and she knew he had the confidence to talk like that.
Mere moments later, green mist surged out of the main hall, transforming into a bird with green feathers and a sharp red bill. It flew right up to Su Yi.
“Dear guest, our master invites you to drink a cup of tea.”
The bird’s voice was crisp and clear, and as it spoke, it waved one of its wings.
A cup of steaming hot tea appeared on the table, right in front of Su Yi.
“I don’t drink tea.” Su Yi shook his head. “Give me wine. Right, your master ought to have collected quite a few fine wines over the years. One of those will do, so pick one at random.”
The little green bird froze in midair. It seemed it had never encountered a guest who dared make such demands of it before.
A moment later, it said, “Please wait, dear guest. I’ll go ask my master.”
Whoosh!
The bird disappeared into thin air.
Before long, the bird returned. With a beat of its wings, a jug of wine appeared on the table. “Dear guest, my master says he’s saved this wine for a long time. It’s called ‘Thousand-Fold Wine’, and he’s sure you’ll like it.”
As it spoke, the little green bird’s gemstone-like eyes shone with bewilderment.
It seemed even it dared not believe that its master wouldn’t just agree to a young Spiritual Revolution Realm cultivator’s demands, and that he’d even go so far as to offer his guest Thousand-Fold Wine. Under ordinary circumstances, even the Timekeeper couldn’t bear to drink this precious wine!
“This really is good stuff.” Su Yi looked uncharacteristically rueful.
Once, in his past life, he and Old Ghost Coffin-Bearer sat here and drank together.
And they’d drunk the Timekeeper’s Thousand-Fold Wine!
Even after all these years, the courtyard hadn’t changed, but he no longer had his drinking companion.
“A life of ambition led to today, but throughout the four seas, there’s no one left for me to drink with.” Su Yi sighed, gently undid the jar’s stopper, lifted it to his lips, and drank from it directly.
The bird had already disappeared into thin air.
Qu Boling’s expression was increasingly inscrutable. Wang Chonglu started to say something, but hesitated.
In the end, both old monsters sank deeper into silence.
If asked to describe everything Su Yi had done since entering the courtyard, they would have said it was “out of the ordinary”, “shocking”, and “unexpected.”
To the point that they dared not believe it.
By now, both of them were absolutely certain that this young man’s origins weren’t at all simple, and it seemed highly likely that he had a deep connection with the Timekeeper!
Otherwise, he couldn’t possibly have behaved so casually, as if he’d returned to his old home. He couldn’t possibly have been so relaxed.
If not for his fear of the Netherworld King’s majesty, Wang Chonglu would have long since given into the temptation to ask Su Yi what was going on.
This was simply unbelievable!
“How about I drink with you?” the Netherworld King asked with a smile. She inwardly repeated the phrase, “A life of ambition led to today, but throughout the four seas, there’s no one left for me to drink with.” The loneliness and melancholy contained within those words moved her.
She understood. The higher your cultivation, the more solitary your pursuit of the Grand Dao, and the rarer those who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you.
This was what they meant when they said it was lonely at the top.
“You just want to try this Thousand-Fold Wine,” laughed Su Yi.
“What’s wrong with that?” The Netherworld King asked right back, her eyes shining like stars as she looked at Su Yi.
“I’ve already drunk from this jug,” said Su Yi. He couldn’t bear to share such a quality brew.
But the Netherworld King just flashed him a bewitching grin. “I don’t mind.”
With that, she snatched the jug out of Su Yi’s hands, threw back her head, and drank.
Her boldness gave her an additional valiant charm.
Su Yi was stunned, and his heart ached. “Don’t drink so much! Aren’t you afraid you’ll choke?”
He reached out and snatched the jug right back.
Wang Chonglu and Qu Boling couldn’t help but stare. Even if you’d hit them over the head, they would never have guessed that this terrifying, mysterious woman would squabble over a jug of wine with a young man like Su Yi.
“Meow~”
Suddenly, the fat orange cat lying on its back atop a tree branch crawled to its feet and meowed. It was practically drooling.
It looked down at Su Yi’s jug of wine, its blue eyes blazing like torches.
Suddenly, the Netherworld King, Qu Boling, and Wang Chonglu all sensed a terrifying, invisible majesty surging from the fat orange cat.
It was like a peerless yao god awakened from dormancy, with an innate, terrifying pressure.
“Ee?” The Netherworld King’s starry eyes flashed with surprise.
She could sense that this seemingly ordinary orange housecat’s body contained an utterly strange and terrifying power!
Wang Chonglu’s hair stood on end. His original body was that of a vicious Ba Serpent, and his instincts immediately told him that this orange cat was extremely dangerous!
Qu Boling stiffened, and he sighed to himself.Indeed, it’s not just the courtyard that’s mysterious and unfathomable. Even the Timekeeper’s pet cat and bird aren’t the least bit ordinary!
He was a Profound Serenity Emperor, but when he sensed the cat’s aura, even he sensed an oppressive threat!
Whoosh!
An orange blur flashed across their field of view as the cat leaped for Su Yi’s jug of wine.
But it was still mid-jump when a hoarse, ancient voice resounded through its mind. “You are not to be impudent. Don’t tell me the lesson you learned back then wasn’t enough?”
The orange cat froze, then seemed to recall something. Its fat body stiffened, its soft fur stood on end, and its fluffy tail was perfectly straight.
It meowed, turned, and was just about to flee when su Yi grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and held it aloft in front of him.
Su Yi looked it over, then said, “You’re fatter than ever, you little beast. It seems you’ve eaten quite a few powerful evil spirits over the years.”
The orange cat’s eerie blue eyes were full of helplessness, pitifulness, and weakness as it quivered uncontrollably.
.
Su Yi laughed, then hugged the cat to his chest, raised his hand, and stroked the smooth fur of its back. It really was quite pleasant to the touch.
The orange cat cautiously huddled against him, not daring to move in the slightest.
Witnessing this didn’t just astonish Wang Chonglu and Qu Boling; even the Netherworld King’s eyes widened.
It seemed that the orange cat with the aura of a peerless yao god was utterly terrified of Su Yi!
Just what was going on?
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