Chapter 400: Que’er, It’s You!
The ruins of the temple were very different from the rest of the desert. Right in the middle of them, a huge door could be seen, which was the entrance that led into the necropolis.
Next to the ruins and the door was the Azure Dragon Society’s tavern, and the bustling pavilions filled with countless cultivators.
Some of them were calculating their earnings from inside the necropolis, others were finishing their cups of spirit tea before heading inside. The rules were actually a bit different from when the Celestial Sky Society ran the area. Although the Azure Dragon Society only collected ten percent of the profits, they also required that anyone entering the necropolis purchase a 10-merit-point cup of spirit tea first.
Even with that new rule, they were being much kinder than the Celestial Sky Society, leaving the cultivators of Sky City very pleased. Of course, nothing could cause them to forget that they were on private property, which was threatening in and of itself.
Furthermore, many frightening rumors had spread regarding Boss Azure Dragon, and nobody dared to do anything to offend him.
As the hustle and bustle continued in the pavilions, Song Que approached with a cold expression on his face and his murderous aura roiling. That was how he had grown used to carrying himself outside the sect; generally speaking, it made it much easier to handle matters when he looked intimidating.
Song Que had no plans whatsoever to enter one of the pavilions, and instead headed straight toward the ruins with the intention of doing some scouting. However, one of the young Azure Dragon Society cultivators noticed that he was planning to bypass the pavilions, and quickly hurried over.
Clasping hands and smiling, he politely said, “Hello, Fellow Daoist, I’d like to invite you to come over and buy a cup of spirit tea.”
The courteous way that the Azure Dragon Society cultivators treated customers was a result of the rules put in place by Chen Manyao.
After all, their being here was already a subject of envy, and despite having reduced prices, they still needed to treat customers courteously. At the same time, if anyone came along who didn’t show them courtesy in return, the Azure Dragon Society would make sure they came to know that troublemakers weren’t welcome!
“Spirit tea?” Song Que said, surprised. “I’m not buying any spirit tea!” Although he wasn’t pleased, when he thought about how powerful the Celestial Sky Society was in the city, he suppressed his irritation and flashed the command medallion. “See that? I have a command medallion!”
His tone of voice instantly attracted the attention of some of the other cultivators in the area, who looked over with strange expressions on their faces.
The young man from the Azure Dragon Society didn’t seem to be offended, and the smile never left his face. After taking over the location, the Azure Dragon Society had encountered other people like this who didn’t know about the change in arrangements. Clasping hands again, the young man offered a kind explanation.
“I’m very sorry, Fellow Daoist, but your command medallion is from the Celestial Sky Society, and they don’t operate in this location anymore. We’re the Azure Dragon Society, and things work differently under our control.” With that, the young man patiently explained the rules, and as he did, Song Que’s expression changed multiple times.
He had spent a lot on that command medallion, all for the purpose of avoiding the thirty percent fee charged by the Celestial Sky Society. Now that he was being told that the command medallion was useless, Song Que was nothing less than flabbergasted.
“How is this even possible?” Song Que said. “The Celestial Sky Society is so powerful, you people….” Song Que was starting to get anxious. If it was really true that the command medallion was useless, that would be a big blow to his plan to be promoted to a yellow-robed disciple.
By this point, Song Que’s murderous aura was pulsing dangerously; he already had a short temper to begin with, and in his anxiety, his wording began to turn sharp. “You people can’t do this! This command medallion was extremely expensive!!”
The cultivators in the area began to edge away, clearly amused by the scene which was playing out. There were even some cultivators in the crowd who secretly worked for the Celestial Sky Society, and joined in to fan the flames.
“The Azure Dragon Society had better explain this!”
“Yeah, that’s right! I bought the same kind of command medallion for a pretty penny! Don’t tell me it’s completely useless now!”
The expression on the face of the young man from the Azure Dragon Society suddenly turned grim. Snorting coldly, he said, “Get the hell out of here! If you cause any more trouble, don’t blame the Azure Dragon Society for being impolite!”
Song Que had just faced a year of deadly danger, and his killing intent could erupt at the slightest provocation. Eyes flashing with cold light, he unleashed the power of his quasi-Core cultivation base, causing a powerful wind to rush through the area as he took a step forward.
The young man from the Azure Dragon Society looked shocked, and cries of astonishment rose up in the area. From the look of things, a huge commotion was about to break out. However, in that very moment, someone spoke in a quizzical voice.
“Song Que?” Master God-Diviner and Xu Baocai had just been passing by, and when they looked over to see Song Que, their jaws dropped.
Song Que had been bristling with a murderous aura, but when he caught sight of Master God-Diviner and Xu Baocai, it changed to an expression of astonishment. That was especially the case because of the healthy glow they had, and the way all of the Azure Dragon Society cultivators in the area looked at them with expressions of reverent respect.
“You two….” Something seemed off to Song Que, but before he could react any further, Bai Xiaochun, who had heard the commotion and taken the time to straighten up his robes before stepping out, scanned the area with divine sense. Upon seeing Song Que, he blinked a few times, and then smiled broadly and rushed out.
As he appeared in the open, the numerous Azure Dragon Society cultivators looked at him with expressions of reverence as they dropped to their knees to kowtow.
“Greetings, Boss!”
The reaction of the Azure Dragon Society cultivators caused a stir in the crowd. When people looked over and saw Bai Xiaochun, they gasped and rushed to clasp hands and bow their heads.
“Greetings, Boss Azure Dragon!”
It only took a few moments for everyone in all of the pavilions to join in. As for Song Que, he looked over at Bai Xiaochun, dumbfounded, his mind spinning and his eyes completely blank.
“Que’er!” Bai Xiaochun cried, a loving expression on his face as he hurried over. “You finally showed up! How did you get yourself in such a bad situation, Que’er? I mean, I thought I had it bad, but obviously, you have it way worse than me.”
When people heard Bai Xiaochun’s words, more gasps could be heard, and then people looked over at Song Que with envious looks. Considering that the boss of the Azure Dragon Society was addressing this cultivator as Que’er, it confirmed that the two of them had a very close relationship.
Clearly, this Que’er was a generation below Boss Azure Dragon when it came to family ranking.
Song Que’s face was as white as a sheet, and his mind was being battered by tsunamis of astonishment. He suddenly felt like the entire world had been turned upside down. Here Bai Xiaochun was, glittering with the light of magical treasures, numerous jade pendants hanging all over him. Even at a glance, it was obvious that he must be wearing more than 1,000,000 merit points’ worth of ornamentation.
In addition to that, he was flanked by more than a dozen puppet maidservants, each of whom had a leashed spirit creature with it. Their combined value had to be in the millions of merit points.
Song Que had spent an entire bitter year eating frugally and risking his life to reach the threshold of being a yellow-robed disciple. Now, he felt like he was about to fall to pieces mentally.
“Y-you’re… you’re Boss Azure Dragon?” he stammered. He felt like his vision was swimming, as if the sheer incredulity of the situation was more than he could process.
As that happened, Big Fatty Zhang and Chen Manyao approached. Song Que tore his vision from Bai Xiaochun to look at them, and when he saw the finery they wore, he suddenly got a very bad feeling.
“You guys….”
Xu Baocai cleared his throat and looked at Song Que with an expression of pity and compassion.
“Song Que, we own this place. The junior patriarch built the Azure Dragon Society into what it is today, and this tavern belongs to us. This whole area is the personal property of the junior patriarch. Your command medallion really doesn’t do any good here. But considering that you’re the junior patriarch’s nephew, then we’re all on the same team, right? Who cares about command medallions! Just toss that thing in the trash. You can go into the necropolis any time you wish. Right, Junior Patriarch?”
Bai Xiaochun wore a very somber expression as he patted Song Que’s shoulder. Looking very much like someone in the elder generation, he nodded his head.
“Que’er, your aunt entrusted your safety to me. As your Senior, it’s my responsibility to care for you. Despite how you callously abandoned me when we first got here, you’re my nephew, so I can cut you some slack. Listen. Those ruins are quite dangerous, and as your uncle, I really can’t see you facing such peril. How many merit points do you need? I’ll make up the difference, and you can become a yellow-robed disciple immediately. All it will take is a single word on my part.”
In response to his words, countless gasps could be heard in the area, and many covetous gazes fell upon Song Que. Most people could only dream of becoming a yellow-robed disciple, and yet they had all personally heard Bai Xiaochun say that he could give that honor as a gift to Song Que. The envy in their eyes couldn’t have been more obvious.
However, Song Que was a proud person, so to hear terms such as ‘uncle’ and ‘Que’er’ caused his anger to spike to the heavens. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and then, unable to control himself, he passed out flat on his face.