by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
“Then… are we just supposed to allow them to dishonor Long San’s woman?!” Fang Chang’s expression changed. As a man, even if you had to die, you still couldn’t allow such a thing to happen. Huo Wufang was truly intolerable.
“Long San, what do you say?” Fang Mingyuan looked at Long Chen.
Long Chen’s expression was dark, but he was extremely calm. “Family head, I have something I want to discuss with you in private.”
“Alright.”
Within a private room of the Fang family, Long Chen suddenly smiled toward the family head. “Since matters have reached this point, I no longer need to conceal anything from you. My original goal in muddling my way into the Fang family was to borrow the Fang family’s strength to handle the Huo family.
“I trust that senior has already sensed that. But since you didn’t say anything, you must have your own plan. But now things are becoming clearer and clearer. The Fang and Huo family are like water and fire. If the Huo family wins, then your two families will either have to leave or be exterminated.
“I need your strength to handle the Huo family, and you need my strength as well. It can be said that we both need each other.”
“Continue.” Fang Mingyuan sank into thought for a moment. His face didn’t reveal any expression.
Long Chen nodded inside. As expected, Fang Mingyuan had long since sensed something. If he had always thought this scheme of his had been completely flawless, then he really would be an idiot.
“I truly do think of Chai Liehuo and Fang Chang as brothers. Although this friendship was a bit insincere in the beginning, after going through some trials, that insincerity has disappeared. So right now, I want to discuss things openly with you. Huo Wufang’s conduct today has completely infuriated me. I want to know, if I go all-out against the Huo family, how much help can you and the Chai family head give me?” asked Long Chen.
Fang Mingyuan’s hand tapped on the table rhythmically. For a long time, he didn’t say a word. Long Chen also didn’t say anything. He was waiting for a response.
Finally, Fang Mingyuan said, “Cooperating is fine. But I need proof, proof that you won’t betray my Fang family.”
“The proof is very simple.” Long Chen brushed his hand over his face, revealing his original appearance. “How is this for proof?”
Fang Mingyuan’s pupils shrank. Looking at Long Chen, it was a long time before he finally exclaimed, “Long Chen! Hehe, hahahaha! Good, very good! When it comes to craziness, no one can compare to you. I never imagined that you were still alive.”
“Of course, I’m still alive. If I died, wouldn’t the Huo family be free to do whatever they wanted?” laughed Long Chen. He pointed to his face. “How is it? Is this proof enough?”
Fang Mingyuan nodded. “It is enough. Your reputation precedes you. I already took note of you when the news of what happened in the Jiuli secret realm spread. I even investigated you, learning that you always stay loyal to your friends and family. There were even several times where you risked your life to save your companions. Such a person is someone I can trust.”
Long Chen said, “Fang Chang and Chai Liehuo aren’t bad. They’re good brothers. I was originally planning on inciting conflict between your two families and then jumping in at the last moment to give the Huo family a vicious blow. But since they’re my brothers, I have no choice but to change that plan. I’ll help you eliminate the Huo family.
“Today, Huo Wufang sent out eight Celestials to capture Xiao Die. There are two reasons I didn’t chase. One is because I couldn’t catch up, while the other is that even if I chase them to the Huo family, the Huo family would come up with all kinds of excuses to bar me at the gate.
“If I’m alone, there’s no way for me to handle the Huo family. So I need to lay all my cards on the table for you to see. Although Xiao Die was just a woman from a brothel, she was still my woman. I can’t just accept this humiliation. So I’ve decided to give Huo Wufang a vicious blow. I need your help for that.”
“What’s your plan?” asked Fang Mingyuan.
“What’s my plan? Don’t you know my temperament? He snatched my woman today, so tomorrow, I’m going to snatch his woman.” Long Chen rubbed his fists.
“You want to snatch his concubine?!” Fang Mingyuan gasped. Long Chen was crazy.
“Yes. He snatched my woman, so I’ll also snatch his woman. Then we’ll be even, and this matter can end here,” said Long Chen shamelessly.
Fang Mingyuan was speechless. How could snatching women be calculated like this? Furthermore, his woman had just been a prostitute, while Huo Wufang was undergoing an official wedding ceremony with a concubine. How was that the same at all?
The Huo family had already sent out the invitations, and countless Righteous and Corrupt experts had come to attend the ceremony. If Long Chen really managed to snatch her, wouldn’t the Huo family’s people have no choice but to kill themselves in shame? Just what level had Long Chen’s craziness reached?!
“The Huo family is very powerful. In truth…” Fang Mingyuan tried to persuade Long Chen to give up this thought.
But Long Chen shook his head. “Family head Fang, this is something I must do. That Hua Biluo is someone who helped me at a critical moment. If I can’t save her, then I wouldn’t be a man. If you refuse to help, I can only think of some other way tomorrow. I won’t just watch as she is humiliated.
“It seems my only choice is to capture Huo Wufang as fast as possible and use his life to exchange for Hua Biluo’s safety. But even if I succeed in that, it would expose my identity, and I would no longer be able to participate in the Pill Emperor Competition. I also won’t be able to kill Huo Wufang, so he will easily take first place. As for what will happen later, I’m sure there’s no need for me to explain.”
Fang Mingyuan sighed. “Long Chen, you are forcing me!”
“Isn’t that because I have no other choice? Helping me is also helping your Fang family. Furthermore, I can promise you that if I attend the finals, Huo Wufang will definitely be suppressed.” Long Chen tossed out another enticement.
“Do you really have that confidence?” Fang Mingyuan’s eyes brightened.
“I, Long Chen, never speak any empty words.”
These words were a bit arrogant, but they were even more moving than a thousand promises to Fang Mingyuan. He hesitated for a moment before clenching his teeth, saying, “Alright, since you have such confidence, I’ll bet everything on you!”
“Haha, don’t worry. I guarantee you will make back your investment. Let’s discuss what will happen tomorrow…” Long Chen began to explain his plan.
Chapter 680 Snatching Money or Snatching Women?
“What, you didn’t manage to catch that woman?!”
Huo Wufang’s expression was ugly. He hadn’t expected that eight Xiantian Celestials would still return having accomplished nothing.
“When we moved in, we clearly felt two auras in the room. But then somehow, the only one inside was Long San. In order to not expose our identity, we could only immediately leave. Brother Huo, I really am sorry,” said one slender man wearing a scholar’s headband.
Huo Wufang was currently in a large room with over thirty experts. These people were all terrifying Celestials. Furthermore, they were very young, and they contained members from both the Righteous and Corrupt paths. The person who had spoken just now was from a Righteous sect.
“Hmph, your Righteous path really is undependable. You wasted brother Huo’s trust. How useless,” sneered a Corrupt Celestial.
“You…! If you have any ability, then go yourself!”
“Let it go. This matter ends here.” Seeing the two sides were about to fight, Huo Wufang hastily stopped them. These people were all his guests.
These people came from powers that were the Huo family’s customers. The two sides had cooperated for many years now. They had helped the Huo family obtain endless resources. Since he was the future leader of the Huo family, he naturally had to nur
ture good relationships with them.
“Tomorrow is the wedding ceremony. Now isn’t a good time to do anything. We’ll wait until after. This Long San has been repeatedly offending me, thinking that he can do so with the Fang and Chai families’ support. Hmph, once I capture his woman, I’ll definitely find her a few hundred men to satisfy. Then I’ll record it all and show him right before the finals. I want to see if he can still calmly refine pills at that time,” sneered Huo Wufang.
“Brother Huo, just leave this matter to us and we’ll handle it,” said a Corrupt Celestial. He had two swords on his back, and his eyes were extremely strange. One was completely black, while one was completely white.
“Then I’ll thank you for your trouble. Come, as my honored guests, let’s have a celebration. The fact that you could come here today means that you truly treat me as a brother. In the future, as long as I am alive, there will be no problem with your supply of medicinal pills.”
Huo Wufang did his best to entice them. He also knew that if the Huo family truly wanted to get a firm foothold, they had to pull in more experts.
These people were the elites of the powers they belonged to. In the future, they would be the leaders of those powers. So Huo Wufang had to win them over.
But he didn’t know that while he plotted on how to snatch Long Chen’s woman, Long Chen was also thinking the same about his.
…
By the time the morning sun released its first light over the horizon, Pill Yang City was already filled with people.
Countless people were holding fresh flowers on the sides of a ten-mile-wide road, calmly waiting. Suddenly, they saw some activity as a large carriage slowly appeared.
These people all had close relationships with the Huo family, and they had come from all corners of the Eastern Wasteland. Some people hadn’t even received an invitation card from the Huo family and had merely come to suck up.
But after coming here, they realized that they didn’t even have the qualifications to do that. There were too many people, and some of them came from even stronger sects than them. The only thing they could do was wave their flags and cheer.
Within the carriage was a beautiful woman. She wore a phoenix crown and a red shawl. But her eyes were icy-cold, seeming to contain endless hate and killing intent.
She was Hua Biluo. When she had been sent back to Biluo Mountain, that had counted as the end of her experience. She had received the family’s care and resources.
Her display had been exceptionally good, and she had formed a relationship with Long Chen, who had been the reason why the Mo family had exterminated the Yin family. In this world, there was nothing happier than having one’s mortal enemy be destroyed. As a result, she had even been given the chance to obtain a Heavenly Dao inheritance.
Unfortunately, that chance hadn’t worked out. Out of the ten spots, only one person had managed to become a Celestial, and that person hadn’t been her.
If it hadn’t been her, then that was fine. But the person who had become a Celestial was envious of her beauty, and she repeatedly suppressed her. The thing that was most difficult to accept was that this person was her older half-sister.
In this world, there was a saying that fortune never came in pairs. That perfectly described Hua Biluo’s plight. After her older sister had become a Celestial, she gradually gained authority in the family. She even had the right to join the discussion on major affairs occurring within the family.
As a result, when the news that Long Chen had fallen in the chaos region came, Hua Biluo had yet to recover from her shock when the Huo family came to propose a marriage. Her big sister had ‘helped her out’, and no matter how Hua Biluo had tried, she hadn’t been able to change her fate of being married into the Huo family.
Even when she had gone to beg her father, his response was: everything was for the big picture. One person had to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.
That made Hua Biluo’s heart turn completely cold. She now truly experienced the heartlessness of an ancient family. If she wanted the right to speak, she had to have enough power. Otherwise, no one would listen to her.
Back when she had helped Long Chen, the higher-ups had even praised her for being farsighted and having good judgment. When the Mo family had exterminated the Yin family, the family head had personally come to give her praise.
But now that Long Chen had fallen, Hua Biluo’s position had taken a devastating hit. She was actually treated as a chess piece to appease the Huo family.
Who in the entire Hua family was unaware of Huo Wufang’s hatred toward her? But in the entire Hua family, not one person had said a word for her, not even her father.
Now, Hua Biluo was like a walking corpse, as if she didn’t have the slightest strength.
That was because her good sister, ‘for her own safety’, had sealed her spiritual yuan, making it so she couldn’t even kill herself.
She felt hatred. She felt hatred toward her emotionless family. She felt so much hatred that she wanted to kill all of them. Even if these people had thick blood ties with her, she no longer cared.
As the carriage moved, she heard the ruckus outside, and she could even see her grand and majestic sister sitting on a golden horse at the front of the carriage. That sister of hers was bringing her step by step toward despair.
Suddenly, the side window of the carriage was opened. A woman stretched her head in. This woman’s face was not bad, but her forehead was a bit big and her chin was a bit sharp. The feeling she gave others was not a good one.
“Dear sister, do you see? There are so many experts watching! Your wedding is so incredibly grand. You better thank me for this!” This person was Hua Biluo’s sister, Hua Jinrong.
Hua Biluo seemed to not hear her. She didn’t even bat an eye. Right now, she had lost the qualifications to fight against her. She had never imagined that her sister loathed her so much.
“Sister, you really are beautiful today. I hope Huo Wufang is a protective man who makes sure you won’t have an early death! Hahaha…” Hua Jinrong laughed, but that laugh was full of envy and rancor.
“After I die, will you really be happy?” Hua Biluo finally opened her mouth.
“Of course. That way I won’t have to see your face. Then the only beauty in Biluo Mountain will be me, Hua Jinrong,” she laughed.
“A martial artist’s lifespan is long. Are you sure your beauty will last so long? You won’t age one day? Even if you can maintain it, millions of experts rise on Biluo Mountain, and babies are born each day. There will be quite a few beauties reaching their prime every year. Are you going to kill them all?” Hua Biluo icily asked.
“Correct. As long as they’re more beautiful than me, I’ll get rid of them. In the future, the Hua family will be mine, and under my rule, I will be a supreme god. No one can disobey me,” said Hua Jinrong.
“The family’s higher-ups really were blind. If they knew this thinking of yours, perhaps they would have decided differently!” sighed Hua Biluo. She had never expected that her sister’s heart was so dark.
“You should worry about yourself. With Huo Wufang’s vicious and domineering character, he’ll definitely torment you to the point that you’ll be between a human and a ghost. Hahaha, all that grievance of mine from all these years can finally be released,” laughed Hua Jinrong.
Huo Biluo lowered her head, no longer speaking. Hua Jinrong was truly crazy, but there was one thing she was right about. She really should worry about herself.
Suddenly, a burst of activity came from the front, and the carriage stopped. Hua Jinrong roared, “Who dares block our path?”
On this vast road, a man stood in front of the carriage.
“Heavens, isn’t that Long San?”
“What is he doing?!”
“Today’s a big day for Huo Wufang. Is Long San trying to disrupt things?”
“Eh? It’s not just Long San. Junior master Chai and junior master Fang have also come. What are they up to toda
y?”
Long Chen had been waiting here for a long time. Now that the carriage had finally arrived, he directly appeared in front of it. Following him, Fang Chang and Chai Liehuo also appeared.
Fang Chang: “This road was opened by me.”
Chai Liehuo: “These trees were planted by me.”
Long Chen: “If you want to use this road, you have to pay my fee.”
The three of them shouted together, “Break this rule at your own peril!”
This caused everyone to be dumbfounded. The three junior masters had changed professions to bandits?
Fang Chang: “Men, raise your hands. I came here to snatch money, not to snatch women!”
Chai Liehuo: “Women, raise your legs! I came here to snatch women, not to snatch money!!”
Long Chen: “What are you two doing? If you snatch the women and the money, what am I supposed to do?”
Chapter 681 Conquered Just Like This
“Third master, don’t misunderstand. We’re talking about the others. The one in the carriage is yours,” said Fang Chang hastily.
Seeing Long Chen’s group of three blocking the carriage, Hua Jinrong was dumbfounded. She had never expected that there would be people who dared to block the Huo family’s bridal carriage.
“Who are you?! Could it be…” Hua Jinrong hastily jumped off the carriage and walked forward.
“Haha, junior master Chai, you’re the one who said you wanted the women. This… hehe, this is definitely peak grade,” laughed Fang Chang upon seeing Hua Jinrong.
Long Chen also laughed. But Chai Liehuo was dumbfounded and he raged, “Who are you?! How did you manage to sneak into the bridal carriage?! Don’t you feel embarrassed to come out in public when you’re so ugly?!”
Fang Chang and Chai Liehuo were both very handsome, and they liked beautiful women. According to reason, the bridal carriage procession should have quite a few beautiful maids. But this Hua Jinrong wasn’t up to par.