Chapter 351 Preparations Just in Case
Angus’s confirmation took away what warmth left in Chu Xun’s eyes.
“You dare lie to me?”
Without the Sacred Dew, no one could wield the True Flames of the Sun. For all that he preached, Angus had been only trying to stall for time.
“N-n-no... Please... No...” stammered Angus, panicking that he would be returned back to his imprisonment to endure more lashing of lightning bolts. “Y-y-you can just demand for the Sacred Dew in the ransom!”
Louis could not believe he was hearing this. Fuming, he began bellowing what a traitor Angus was.
Quietly, he sent word to the men rushing to the borders. They were to assassinate Angus too if possible, for he was now deemed as a traitor to the Holy Temple.
Immediately, Chu Xun instructed Yan Wushuang to reestablish contact with Louis, telling the High Prelate that he would also want huge quantities of Sacred Dew if they wanted Angus back.
“But the Sacred Dew appears only ten drops every year!” Louis roared with indignance.
“Huh?! That little?!” Chu Xun wondered and he turned to Angus for confirmation.
“It is true,” said Angus. Sacred Dew of the Sun came in such rare supply, that the Holy Temple could gather at most a dozen droplets every year. But one would only need ten drops to begin learning the True Flames of the Sun.
“Well then, Master Louis, I’ll have a hundred drops for now,” said Chu Xun magnanimously.
Louis adamantly refused to budge. “Never. The True Flames are the keystone to the Holy Temple. So you can kill Angus if you so wish, but I’ll never surrender the Sacred Dew. Forget about it.”
“But from your own lips you told everyone that the Holy Temple will never forsake any of its devotees, Master Louis?” pestered Chu Xun.
“The Sun God does not look kindly to treachery. He’d never accord protection to one as craven as Angus. By divulging the secrets of the Holy Temple, Angus has as good as betrayed the Sun God,” said Louis sanctimoniously.
Amused, Chu Xun asked again, “So do you still wish to save him? Otherwise, I might as well just kill him now.”
“Of course we do. He might have betrayed us, but he is a citizen of the Sun God’s kingdom nevertheless and he shall be judged by the Holy Temple,” said Louis.
“Then have your men make haste. I’m already thinking of turning him into a corpse.” He ended brusquely and had Yan Wushuang cut off all contact with Louis.
Chu Xun would now want to speak to Angus to glean what he could about the Holy Temple.
Unfortunately, Angus knew nothing more aside from the first three portions of the codices of the True Flames of the Sun. It sounded slightly outlandish that even with his position as Deputy Prelate, he remained still a long way from the deepest most kernel of the Holy Temple’s secrets.
Chu Xun grimaced in silence. Whatever failures they had suffered, the Holy Temple was still a force he needed to be wary of. As Deputy Prelate, Angus should have been privy to most, if not all, of the Holy Temple’s secrets. Yet it would appear that it was not so.
There could only be two reasons. First, Angus was still not yet fully trusted in his position. Secondly, Louis must have been ruling the Holy Temple with such paramount dominance that he would never trust anyone else with elements that could pose any risks to him.
Bang!
A sudden kick from Chu Xun sent Angus barreling back into the center of the enchantment field where he was once again imprisoned and the thunderstorm inside resumed its mercilessly flogging on his back with Angus screaming again.
“YOU PROMISED, DEVIL!”
Angus screamed with agony.
Coldly, Chu Xun responded, “Nothing you told me can be of any use. So shuddup and enjoy your time inside.”
On the other hand, Chu Xun knew that there must be more to Louis’s plan than just a simple trade and rescue.
By his hand, the Holy Temple’s standing and reputation had been so severely corroded, hence ransoming back Angus was only Louis’s ploy to regain public opinion.
Hence, Angus’s life hardly mattered to Louis at all and he would never trade away any Sacred Dew to save him.
...
Time passed quickly; it was already the second day.
“All of you, leave this place at once,” Chu Xun told Yan Wushuang and the Dragon-slaying League.
Naturally, Yan Wushuang had guessed Chu Xun’s apprehension – up until now, they had failed to make out Louis’s true purpose and source of confidence.
“Let Yi take the men and leave. I’m staying with you,” said Yan Wushuang.
But Yi Xiaosu stubbornly refused to withdraw. “I might have lost an arm, but not all my powers. I might still be of use.”
“I’m staying too, Big Brother,” insisted Tang Rou as well.
“So are we, Immortal Chu,” said the others emphatically, “We’re staying too.”
Chu Xun shook his head. The Evocation of Heavenly Secrets afforded him heightened spiritual senses, allowing him to be tens of thousands of times more sensitive than ordinary people.
And this time, he felt only the pressing sensation of premonition and dread.
“No. I’ll have it no other way. All of you must leave,” Chu Xun asserted firmly.
An annoyed Yan Wushuang blurted, “You’re strong and powerful. We know that. But with us here, you can depend on our help! Quit being the lone hero! Nothing you say is gonna make us leave!”
Chu Xun glared at him, rubbing his palms expectantly. “What’s this? A rebellion? Don’t forget your father handed you to me. Disobey me and I’ll discipline you like how a father would.”
Hearing this made Yan Wushuang so exasperated that steam nearly blew out his nostrils. He stared angrily at Chu Xun, “You’re just a brat. For all we know, my age’s almost like a grandfather to yours! What gives you the right to declare yourself my father!?”
Bang!
Yan Wushuang crashed backward, squealing with pain.
“My knuckles,” said Chu Xun, waving his clenched fist.
“I’m taking you down!” glowered Yan Wushuang, embarrassed that Yi Xiaosu and the others were watching him taking a walloping from Chu Xun.
Yet, hope is a tease designed to prevent us from accepting reality.
And so gone were Yan Wushuang’s hopes of regaining face; he emerged from the walloping heavily-bruised and bleeding.
“Goddammit! Haven’t you any etiquette at all! You hit your opponent but you always avoid the face!” grumbled Yan Wushuang achingly.
Bang!
Another punch sent Yan Wushuang propelled into the air again.
“I’m cutting all ties with you,” whimpered Yan Wushuang at a distance away, on the verge of tears.
Chu Xun diverted his attention to Yi Xiaosu, “You really need to leave this place, Yi.”
Yi Xiaosu would have said anything to stay, but his voice seemed to fail him.
“I know what you’re worried about,” said Chu Xun, promising Yi, “Trust me. Angus will never live. There’s no way I’ll let him go for what he did to Dayong and the others.”
The men of the Dragon-slaying League were all stout and strong men and their deaths at the hand of Angus, including Le Dayong’s, was nothing but a humiliation to them.
“Understood. I’ll leave it all to you and we’ll leave,” said Yi Xiaosu with Chu Xun’s assurance.
Chu Xun paused for a moment before asking, “Where would you go from here then?”
Yi Xiaosu tossed a look at the rest of his brothers-in-arm and smiled, “The League is just a motley group of men bunched together out of necessity. I daresay that’s the end of it once we leave here. The men have lives they need to go back to. As for me, I’m just a wandering vagabond. I’ll go wherever chance takes me.”
“If you don’t mind me, the Chu Mansion will forever open its doors to you, Yi,” said Chu Xun, extending him an olive branch. Yi Xiaosu had demonstrated dauntlessness and valor in battle and for that, he had earned Chu Xun’s admiration and respect.
Yi Xiaosu clearly did not expect this, for he looked stunned for seconds before he broke into a sheepish grin. “I thank you for that kind offer, Immortal Chu. But I am accustomed to a carefree life of latitude and unconstraint. I’m afraid I would never be used to such a change. Nevertheless, if anything arises and Immortal Chu has need of me, I, Yi Xiaosu, will never refuse.”
Understanding full well that how all good things must come to an end, Chu Xun knew better than to pester. “Well, then. I’ll leave you to your own devices. But remember: the doors of the Chu Mansion is forever opened to you, Yi.”
“Thank you, Immortal Chu,” Yi Xiaosu expressed his gratitude with a salute.
At last, Chu Xun gave him a Divine Purple Pill. Having lost his right hand, Yi Xiaosu’s battle strength had fallen considerably, and consuming this pill might make up for it.
Yi Xiaosu recognized what it was and knowing full well that consuming it could immediately afford him a breakthrough in his powers, he stared at the pill with disbelief.
“Don’t worry, Yi!” quipped Yan Wushuang suddenly from aside, “This freaking monster’s concoctions – his Level-improving Pills and Divine Purple Pills – can all help you achieve breakthroughs! In fact, they have zero side effects!”
Chu Xun extended the same offer to the rest of the League as well. They were all good men that the Chu Mansion could use.
Admittedly, several of the men were interested in taking Chu Xun up on his proposal. The prospect of being able to serve the Devil excited them greatly.
To all of them, whether they would join him or not, Chu Xun rewarded them lots of magical herbs and elixirs, rewards that they had rightly earned.
With the problem of the League solved, Chu Xun had but one more conundrum to contend with: Tang Rou, who was glaring at him, fuming.
“Go back to the Fire Dragon Palace and wait for me there, please?” said Chu Xun, feeling troubled. With Yan Wushuang, he could easily deal with by just using his fists. But with Tang Rou, he needed to be subtle and delicate.
“Tell me, Big Brother, truthfully, was it because you sensed grave danger?” Tang Rou asked with her unblinking eyes threatening to bore deep into Chu Xun.
Chu Xun shuddered. Then he realized: as a Cultivator just like he was, Tang Rou had spiritual senses far more acute than ordinary people. “Has she sensed something too herself?”
“No. It’s only just preparations just in case. At least if anything happens, it’s easier for me to escape,” Chu Xun smiled.
“Really?” Tang Rou asked doubtfully, tilting her head.
Chu Xun pinched softly her little nose and feigned a stern look. “How dare you doubt you Big Brother Chu Xun.”
Tang Rou’s face blushed a bright pink as she whimpered, “I’m only just worried for you.”
Chu Xun felt his heart flutter at the sight of her girlish countenance, wondering how she had grown up.
“Don’t worry,” Chu Xun chuckled and said, “Since when has your Big Brother ever got the short end of the stick before?”
“But you must be really, really careful, Big Brother,” urged Tang Rou.
Chu Xun nodded. Coaxing little girls had never been part of his forte and having done it so successfully to Tang Rou filled him with relief; his forehead was already slick with sweat by then.
This reminded him of a news article he once saw about a man who had, at the same time, more than twenty girlfriends. It was a marvel upon himself that the man was able to juggle between all that flabbergasting clutter with impeccable deftness.
Gods, Chu Xun mused, wondering if he should meet this man and learn a thing or two from him.
As dusk came, Chu Xun sent everyone away from the village.
...
Chu Xun returned alone to the border the next day, where he found Angus barely alive.
He smirked. Angus’s end looked as certain as the sun rising from the East.
The people from the Holy Temple should be arriving any moment now.
The live broadcast was still ongoing for the sentries of the Country Y border had not returned to collect the paraphernalia.
Through the exchange Chu Xun had with the Holy Temple, everyone was now in awareness of the trade.
Chu Xun leaped up to a mound with a great vantage point and sat down to meditate. He needed to be in his best shape for the battles to come.
There he perched until the sun was almost passing midday on its westward recline when he noticed a group of men coming from the direction of Country Y.
Leading the Holy Temple troupe was another Deputy Prelate, a man named Orlov who was accompanied by ten youngsters, all of them wards of the Holy Temple.
From afar, they spied Chu Xun sitting atop a high mound and they veered off their path to come near and stopped not far away.
Orlov bend in what looked like a bow as if he was a noble aristocrat and greeted, “Revered Devil. We are here on orders of the High Prelate to carry out the exchange for Angus.”
Chu Xun’s eyes opened slowly, revealing a cold glare as he surveyed Orlov and his retinue. “What of the items I demanded?” he asked placidly.
The handsome and fair Orlov was a dashing man with a tall nose with deeply-sunken and blue eyes.
He produced a Storage Ring and held it out in his opened palm, “Here are the items you requested, Devil.”
“Give it here,” Chu Xun extended a hand.
Orlov bowed again and replied, “I’ll need you to first release Angus, revered Devil.”
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