Chapter 345 - 166: Cunning Battle

Chapter 345: Chapter 166: Cunning Battle

He had never understood why the Domain Lord would appoint a woman to the position of Vice Pavilion Master of the Battle Pavilion.

And one so soft, at that. It would be easy for others to think everyone in their Battle Pavilion was a pushover.

He knew, of course, that the Vice Pavilion Master was one of the original Elders.

But the Elders who had followed the Domain Lord since the first rainy season now all held high positions, and every one of them was truly capable. Wang Mazi of the Commerce Pavilion, Wang Kui of the Celestial Granary Pavilion, and Qi Chong of the Hundred Valleys Pavilion—they had all made great accomplishments in their roles.

Only Big Fish was middling.

Yes.

He knew Big Fish was a Night Watcher.

But...

Did the Mortal Realm of today really need a Night Watcher?

No matter how powerful the explosion of a single Night Watcher, could it ever surpass the combined fire of several hundred Godslaying Cannons?

Especially since Night Watchers couldn’t even practice Cultivation.

These days, the Mortal Realm’s Battle Pavilion had plenty of Martial Kings, and even its lowest-ranked Cultivators were at Level 8 or 9. It wouldn’t be long before they reached the glorious milestone where every member was a Martial King. This, in turn, led to more and more people feeling that Big Fish was unworthy of her position as Vice Pavilion Master.

If Zhou Mo hadn’t been keeping a lid on it, the dissenting chatter would only have been louder.

His expression darkened as he strode toward the back kitchen. He had to teach a certain gossip a lesson she wouldn’t forget. No matter how soft Big Fish was, she was still the Vice Pavilion Master of their Battle Pavilion.

’An unofficial member of the Mortal Realm, daring to gossip right in front of the Mortal Realm’s Vice Pavilion Master.’

’If I don’t teach her a lesson...’

’She’ll really start to think our Battle Pavilion is a pushover.’

...

Big Fish walked into the interrogation room and looked at Hu Zi, who was sitting across from her.

"Name."

"Hu Zi."

Hu Zi looked up at Big Fish, a flicker of doubt in his eyes. He could tell the woman before him had no Cultivation whatsoever, but from the reactions of those around him, it was clear she held a high status.

Along the way...

...his impression of the Jiangbei Mortal Realm had been completely overturned.

Before this...

...he had always thought the Jiangbei Mortal Realm was just a faction that was pretty good at making braised stew.

But in reality—

The Jiangbei Mortal Realm was nothing less than a behemoth residing in Jiangbei. Its sphere of influence nearly enveloped the Four Areas of Jiangbei, and it had been deliberately holding back. Otherwise, the many factions in the Guanxi Plain wouldn’t have remained oblivious to the colossus that had risen right next door.

And especially that...

...unbroken, ridiculously vast expanse of Level 5 City Walls.

’I’ve never seen any faction with such an outrageous City Wall. Is this really to protect your own faction? It looks more like a defensive line. Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were trying to guard the whole of Jiangbei.’

The Mortal Realm was countless times stronger than his Riyue Square.

The two weren’t even in the same league.

Therefore, he no longer held out much hope of getting out of the Mortal Realm alive. There was no way Riyue Square, the faction he served, could possibly save him.

The interrogation was over quickly.

They only asked a few simple questions.

Name, faction, and reason for coming to Jiangnan.

Hu Zi didn’t hide anything.

He answered everything in full detail. There was nothing to hide, really. He hadn’t done anything too outrageous; he just wanted to take the person who made the braised stew with him.

If making braised stew was all Jiangbei was known for, then his actions would be akin to stealing their entire livelihood—grounds for a bitter feud.

But given the Mortal Realm’s scale...

...that so-called braised stew was probably just something they made for fun. The higher-ups in the Mortal Realm might not even know their faction had such a "specialty product."

This didn’t count as a major grudge.

After meticulously taking down his statement, Big Fish rose and looked at Hu Zi.

"We contacted Riyue Square. Your Pavilion Master has refused to pay your ransom, so you’re free to go now."

"Take your men with you and go."

With that, Big Fish turned and left the interrogation room.

"Go?"

Hu Zi was stunned, his face turning pale. ’Does she mean... sending me on my way?’ He knew, of course, that his Pavilion Master would never pay a ransom for him; he just hadn’t expected the Mortal Realm to contact his master so quickly.

"By ’go,’ she means you can go wherever you want."

A Battle Pavilion member standing nearby stepped forward, undid his restraints, and clapped him on the shoulder with a smile. "It means leave alive, not ’get sent on your way’."

"You’re really letting me leave alive?"

Still bewildered, Hu Zi subconsciously stood up and looked at the Battle Pavilion member beside him—the very one he had failed to ambush, who had then flattened him with a single punch. "You’re not going to kill me?"

"How much could your life possibly be worth?"

"I can really go?"

"Really."

...

It wasn’t until he reached Mortal City, standing amidst its bustling streets with his crew, that Hu Zi truly believed he had left the Mortal Realm alive. He was still in a daze, though. Why had the Mortal Realm brought him all this way just to let him go?

"So, uh... brother. We’ll be leaving, then?"

He asked tentatively, looking at the Battle Pavilion member who had escorted him.

"Go on."

"Just one more thing..."

"You’ve still got more?" The Battle Pavilion member, who had been standing there, couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation. "Come on, spit it out. What else is there? You want the Mortal Realm to compensate you for your carriage?"

"No, not that."

Hu Zi said sheepishly, "Actually, when I ambushed you, I held back. I was worried I might kill you. The truth is... if I had really tried to ambush you, even if you’re a Martial King, you wouldn’t have been able to beat me."

"..."

The Battle Pavilion member patted Hu Zi’s shoulder with a resigned sigh. "I get it. Now hurry up and go."

"I’m serious."

"The High-speed Rail is over there. It goes straight to Fuyao City in Jiangnan. From Fuyao City, you can go directly back to the Guanxi Plain. Go on, get back to your Riyue Square."

"I’m not going back to Riyue Square."

"Then where are you going?"

"I’ve figured things out."

The weather was turning a bit chilly. Hu Zi sniffled and said with some seriousness, "You told me back then to think long and hard about the first half of my life. I really did think about it, and I realized... the first half of my life has been a complete failure."