May 4, 2018

When Cyan Cloud Maiden Shen Qingming saw Qian Yue’s happy smile, she felt on the verge of a breakdown.

She shouted at Wang Jiu, "What’s wrong with your heads?! After thinking for so long, not only did you not abandon the ridiculous idea of conquering the Saint Sect, but you also want to bring Qian Yue along?! Why should she come with us!"

Shen Qingming’s questioning was immediately addressed by Zhao Chenlu.

"You’ve misunderstood."

Shen Qingming was stunned, then slightly relieved, "I thought so, she’s not someone particularly close to us, why should..."

Zhao Chenlu said, "There’s no ’us’ concept, only three people are going to the Saint Sect this time."

"..." Shen Qingming opened her mouth and in the awkward silence, she told a cold joke, "Ah Jiu is the Celestial Divine Sword, doesn’t count as a person, right?"

"Right, my beloved has worked for fifty years just to break free from the constraints of human form. How could I possibly use the concept of a person to defile him? He indeed cannot be considered a person."

Shen Qingming asked, "So, the three people are..."

"Me, Lingbo, and Qian Yue."

Shen Qingming couldn’t help but burst out, "Why is Zhao Lingbo counted?!"

"She is my newly adopted daughter, a result of a logical union between me and my lover. What’s wrong with taking her along?"

"...But I’m also the number one mount of the Celestial Divine Sword, I have to go too."

Zhao Chenlu said, "What’s the reason for that? The Master-Servant Contract between you two could have been dissolved long ago. I remember the conditions are 5 pieces of Vortex Gold, 2 bottles of Myriad Spirit Blood, and a Vast Agreement, right? I can prepare 100 sets for you right now."

"I never said I wanted to dissolve the contract!"

"I never said I needed your opinion either," Zhao Chenlu sneered, "I’ve long said that your relationship with him is just a shameless parasitic one, and as soon as I get the chance, I will definitely help him sever this ill bond."

"Ah Jiu hasn’t said a word, why are you acting on his behalf?" Shen Qingming said, looking expectantly at Wang Jiu, waiting for the Celestial Divine Sword to come and uphold justice.

However, in the next moment, Zhao Chenlu stepped forward to block her view.

"My beloved is not good with social interactions, so he needs a wise helper like me to clear away some unnecessary, flamboyant nuisances. He entrusted us with full authority to handle these matters since the Jiuzhou Era, so I have every right to make you leave as far as possible."

Shen Qingming felt an overwhelming mix of despair, shame, anger, grievance, and jealousy, and facing Zhao Chenlu’s imposing presence, she couldn’t find any words to refute.

"No words to say? Then go back to where you came from. The Golden Jade Immortal Platform has been prepared for your supplies, gather your little companions and depart immediately, you can still make it back for dinner..."

"I don’t want to hear you talk, I only want Ah Jiu to tell me what to do next."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jiu finally spoke, "The journey to the Saint Sect is too dangerous for you."

Shen Qingming couldn’t hold back her tears anymore.

"So you’re saying I’m a burden?"

Wang Jiu said, "Yes, once a war with the Saint Sect begins, aside from Zhao Chenlu and me, the survival chance of others doesn’t exceed 0.01%."

Shen Qingming wiped her tears and said, "If that’s the case, why are you bringing Zhao Lingbo and Qian Yue? Don’t their lives matter?"

Wang Jiu said, "They have chosen to come at their own risk."

Shen Qingming said, "I’m also choosing to go with you!"

"But your Intelligence Index is only..."

"Is now the time to mention that! Do you have any humanity left?" Shen Qingming felt that her tears weren’t worth as much as salt water.

But Wang Jiu continued seriously, "You’re too young, and lack sufficient intelligence, so you don’t have the ability to be independent, let alone handle matters of life and death. Therefore, your choice is meaningless. There are only two parties that have the right to decide your path, one is me, your master, and the other is your parents. I have already written to your parents, and they oppose it."

Shen Qingming was speechless.

Of course, they would object.

Even she herself is firmly against Wang Jiu and the others going to confront the Saint Sect—in fact, no normal person could support such behavior that disturbs the order of Xiangzhou. As for Li Fengyun and Lu Xin, it goes without saying.

But on the other hand, Shen Qingming couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

Rationally speaking, as parents, they couldn’t stand by and let their children risk danger, but humans aren’t machines, how could they act only with rationality? The things they did in their youth were also driven by a pursuit of emotions at the risk of life and death, weren’t they?

Don’t they know why they’re following Wang Jiu to the Saint Sect? Don’t they know how they feel about the Celestial Sword Spirit?

If that’s the case, why can’t they offer even a little support?

If her biological mother Shen Yue’e were here, she’d probably support her, right.

Shen Qingming thought to herself, showing a bitter smile.

In the vast Xiangzhou, among all the people, only her own mother could understand her, support her...

Just as she thought this, she suddenly heard Qian Yue say, "I think we should bring Shen Qingming along."

"......"

Qian Yue glanced around and saw Zhao Chenlu watching with interest, showing no intention of intervening. She continued speaking.

"I think bringing Shen Qingming has several benefits. First, it gives us more legitimacy. Our trip to the Saint Sect isn’t to fight without reason; at least we should adhere to propriety before taking action. And that propriety is about having a justified reason. Qingming is the champion of the Cyan Cloud competition and is entitled to visit the Saint Sect and receive their guidance. This makes our visit appear more natural than us simply showing up unexpectedly. The second benefit is insider support. If the information I have is correct, Shen Qingming’s uncle, Shen Ziyu, is an envoy of the Saint Sect. Due to his outstanding talent, he has gained quite a standing. If we encounter trouble at the Saint Sect, we can leverage the relationship between Shen Qingming and Shen Ziyu for assistance. And if a fight occurs, those of us with weaker combat abilities can seek protection from Shen Ziyu. Third, as the daughter of Li Fengyun and Shen Yue’e and the stepdaughter of the Lu Family, she has connections with three of the Seven Great Noble Families. Even if the situation escalates, the Saint Sect might refrain from harming her. Her life is relatively secure."

After listing the three reasons, Qian Yue smiled and said to Shen Qingming, "I’m supporting you, you know."

Shen Qingming’s face turned iron blue as she gritted her teeth, "You just read my mind, didn’t you?!"

"Eh?"

"You said that on purpose to take advantage of me, didn’t you?!"

"Hey, are you out of your mind? I’m speaking up for you! How am I taking advantage of you?!" Qian Yue was also visibly upset, "Think about it, in the vast Xiangzhou with all its people, who else besides me would support you!?"

"You definitely did it on purpose! I won’t forgive you!" Shen Qingming shouted in anger, ready to activate her Immovable Tyrant Body to fight Qian Yue to the death...

However, before the two could clash, Zhao Chenlu snapped her fingers, and the Vigorous True Essence suppressed them, forcing them both to the ground.

Afterwards, Zhao Chenlu turned to Wang Jiu and said, "The little girl from the Qian Family makes a lot of sense; what do you think?"

Wang Jiu replied, "Since it makes sense, let’s bring her along."

And so, Shen Qingming was finally fortunate enough to join the Saint Sect strategy team.

——

Objectively speaking, Shen Qingming was indeed accepted into the team thanks to Qian Yue’s excellent performance. So afterwards, although she was full of reluctance, Shen Qingming still sought out Qian Yue to express her gratitude.

"Thanks for speaking up for me earlier. I shouldn’t have doubted you. But why are you helping me?"

Qian Yue replied to this question with a smile that lacked sincerity, "First of all, it’s definitely not because we’re close, okay."

Shen Qingming showed a face of disgust, "Close... Just the thought is disgusting."

"So of course, I’m not doing it for you; I’m doing it for myself."

Shen Qingming was puzzled, "For yourself? You have always hated me, right? So why do you want me around?"

"Hmm, have you ever heard of the food chain?"

"I’ve heard of it... Why?" Shen Qingming sighed, not caring that the other party had suddenly changed the subject, because she realized that many smart people liked to speak in circles, using various metaphors, as if they were afraid the listener’s intelligence wouldn’t be enough to understand them directly.

"Since you’ve heard of it, then you should know that in the food chain, there’s a bottom tier responsible for recycling all the upper tier’s waste. Although it’s plain-looking and often looked down upon, it plays an essential role in the entire cycle."

"Ah, I know, so what?"

Qian Yue said, "The current team needs such a bottom tier participant."

"..."

"You see, although the team currently has only a few members, the hierarchy is very distinct—Mr. Wang Jiu is at the top, followed by Zhao Chenlu, the City Lord, then there’s me and Zhao Lingbo. We’re the bottom tier, and we’re sure to be bullied along the way, and while I really like being with Mr. Wang Jiu, I don’t like being bullied. I have no choice, at least I need to shift some pressure, so I immediately thought of you. With you here, at least I won’t be at the very bottom, it would be so much easier. So you really don’t need to thank me; instead, I should thank you, haha."

Hearing Qian Yue’s happy laughter, Shen Qingming felt emotionally numb.

"Oh, as a token of appreciation, I’ll give you a piece of advice: if you don’t want to be at the bottom of the food chain, you should find a companion who’s lower-ranked than you. Considering your Intelligence Index, I think a sled dog might be a good choice. By the way, there’s a pet shop in the Golden Jade City business district that I invested in. I can help you pick a particularly dumb one to ensure your position is stable, okay."

"One day, I’ll definitely kill you."

"Haha, usually when someone starts with ’one day,’ it means that day will never come, you know."