Chapter 477 - 241: The Youth Journeys East, Weirdness in Lu Town

Chapter 477: Chapter 241: The Youth Journeys East, Weirdness in Lu Town

A man well past fifty stood with his back to the city gate, his hands clasped behind him. His silhouette exuded an indescribable air of world-weariness and maturity. Six blades of varying lengths were securely fastened at his waist in a peculiar scabbard. The six hilts jutted out from his hip, resembling a spider’s legs from a distance—exceptionally ferocious and imposing, their killing intent impossible to conceal.

From afar, Zheng Xiu thought the short old man—bent like a bow yet straight as a pine—looked somewhat familiar. As he drew closer, he was stunned. "Situ Yong???"

Zheng Xiu rubbed his eyes. He glanced down at the six butcher knives at the Elder Divine Doctor’s waist, then back up at his silhouette, still unable to believe it.

’...A Physician?’

"The living... dead man, Situ Yong?"

He was beginning to question Situ Yong’s title. ’Maybe the "living" and "dead" parts are meant to be read separately.’

"I..." Situ Yong’s magnetic voice rang out, his back still turned to Zheng Xiu. "I was young once, too. Time is a cruel master... Hm? Lad, who are you? Why do you look so much like the Red King?"

Situ Yong’s gaze was sharp, his face chiseled. But when he saw Zheng Xiu’s face clearly, he froze. "Red King, you know the magic of rejuvenation?"

"He is... supposedly the Red King’s nephew."

Yin Qingqing said, her expression strange.

"So that’s how it is!" Situ Yong’s face lit with understanding as he clapped a fist into his palm. A moment later, however, he shook his head in anger. "Absurd! How can you let a clueless, ignorant child go on a Level B or higher case?"

Yin Qingqing looked at Zheng Xiu.

Zheng Xiu walked to one side, cocked his fist, and—BAM!

A small tree, as thick around as a bowl, snapped and fell to the side with a loud CRACK.

Situ Yong was dumbfounded, his jaw hanging open.

Zheng Xiu explained, "Innate Divine Power." He then pointed to the small cat on his head. "And I have my Pillar Cat."

Situ Yong closed his mouth, but he remained skeptical.

Situ Yong never believed in any of that "Pillar Cat" nonsense.

’It’s just a cat, after all.’

’Nothing more than a mascot for the Disaster Prevention Bureau.’

But the sight of the boy shattering a tree with a single punch had genuinely shocked Situ Yong.

Appearances can be deceiving.

Yin Qingqing watched Zheng Xiu’s retreating back as he walked toward the small grove of trees, a suspicious look on her face. The more she watched, the more she felt that his gait was familiar.

’Age can be deceiving—she herself was a perfect example, thirty-five yet forever eighteen, her youth preserved. Appearance can be deceiving, too; there are plenty of Miracle Techniques that can alter one’s face. But mannerisms and habits... those are much harder to imitate on short notice.’

She suspected this boy was the Red King himself.

But Yin Qingqing had no proof. Besides, even if she had her suspicions, she wouldn’t dare voice them.

After all, she was one of the Red King’s people now.

Just as Zheng Xiu was preparing to set off for Lu Town, the urgent sound of horse hooves echoed from within the city.

Two figures with golden hair, sharing a single horse, arrived with a flourish.

It was the two sisters, Ye and Snake.

They were still dressed in the style of the Western Regions, drawing considerable attention as they paraded through the city.

In this era, a bare midriff, an exposed navel strung with gold beads—such a daring outfit would be labeled "wanton" by the common folk. But the two sisters hailed from the Western Regions, where attitudes were completely different from those in Daqian. They gracefully accepted the strange looks from onlookers as they rode all the way here.

"Where’s that arrogant Prince?"

Snake, so petite her waist looked as if it could be encircled by a single pair of hands, scanned her surroundings with darting eyes. As she spoke, her tongue flicked out with a little HISS—its tip was bizarrely forked.

Ye, however, smiled as her gaze fell upon the boy with the cat on his head. After a moment of study, her eyes lit up with silent admiration. She squeezed her legs, giving the tactless Snake a secret pinch, then dismounted. Wearing the gentle expression of a doting older sister, she stepped forward, took the boy’s hands, and warmed them against her chest. "And who might this handsome young man be...?" she asked with a radiant smile.

Yin Qingqing could only repeat the explanation, her face wooden. "The Red King’s nephew."

"Oh!" Ye’s eyes crinkled into a smile. She’d meant to pat his head, but it was occupied by the cat, so her hand moved down to gently tap the boy’s nose instead. "So the Red King’s nephew is already this grown up."

Zheng Xiu revealed the Red King Mirror to show his authority. "The Red King has given an order: while we are out, you listen to me."

"Aha? Listen to *you*?" As one of the Ten Greats of the Incompleteness Tower, Snake had long been disgruntled about their master merging the Tower into the Disaster Prevention Bureau. The Red King was one thing—in Daqian, he was second only to one and stood above millions. Listening to him was no disgrace. But this little brat? Ha? Aha? Ahahaha?

"That’s enough, Snake. Don’t forget we’re part of the Disaster Prevention Bureau now."

Ye chided her in a soft voice. She leisurely pulled a long reed leaf from her bodice and began to idly wrap it around her fingertip. "We listen to him."

Snake immediately shut her mouth.

Upon asking, it turned out that Wei Chen had been worried about the mission being shorthanded and had sent Ye and Snake to help.

This was, in its own way, a gesture of goodwill. The Disaster Prevention Bureau had only been established for a month. The Incompleteness Tower had been a Miracle Master organization capable of rivaling the former Ye Weiyang, and now that the two had been combined into a single department, they needed time to integrate.

This was also why Zheng Xiu had divided the Disaster Prevention Bureau into four departments at its inception. You can’t get fat in one bite. As long as the Bureau could get up and running quickly, the finer points of integration could be handled later.

The current Disaster Prevention Bureau was like a brand-new piece of software that some programmer had a flash of inspiration for and pushed straight to production. As long as it could boot up, that was enough. The bug fixes could be patched in while it was running; there was no rush.

Before setting off, Zheng Xiu stood and tried to recall if he had forgotten anything.

’I gave Feng Bei clear instructions before I left. To keep the Main Body clean, it needs to be bathed and scrubbed once a day.’

’Anyone can do the scrubbing. After all, I, the Red King, am a man of refined tastes. It’s purely about cleanliness, nothing more.’

’Let’s just see if you can bear to let someone else do it, my dear Feng’er.’

He had also equipped the essential travel Trait: [Evil Child].