Chaotic World Book-Chapter 489 - 476: Sisi Destined for the Barrel

From the time Zhao Changhe and his party fell into the encampment of the Secret Realm to their arrival at the so-called Holy Mountain, the journey took a little over a day.

They set off in the afternoon and rested in the carriage for the better part of the night, finally reaching their destination the next evening.

The couple’s condition had not fully recovered, so they didn’t rush the coachman. Instead, they took their time to heal and recuperate in the carriage, stopping to eat at various tribal settlements along the way.

Ultimately, after some rough estimation, the journey covered a distance of just over three hundred li.

From this, one could glimpse the sheer vastness of the Secret Realm. Assuming the encampment was at the edge and the Holy Mountain was near the center, the radius of the Secret Realm was also around three hundred li.

And if one were to make another guess, assuming the encampment was not at the periphery but rather central, then this Secret Realm would easily cover over a thousand li, exceptionally vast indeed.

It truly was like a large-scale group raid; only a Heavenly Book could sustain a Secret Realm of such caliber.

However, if the Spirit Clan possessed a Heavenly Book, how could they be bullied to this extent... It could only prove that the Heavenly Book was actually within the so-called Forbidden Land...

This was a bit troubling.

The blind man had left everyone here, likely intending to provide a buffer. Throwing them directly onto the Holy Mountain would have been far too difficult to explain away in a hundred ways. Now, by sending messages back from the surroundings, the Spirit Clan Elders received reports and believed definitively that the Envoy had arrived, without even a hint of doubt in their minds.

Upon arriving at the Holy Mountain, all they saw was a vast crowd kneeling before them, with the Elder at the front touching his forehead to the ground: "Welcome, Honored Envoy."

Then came a thunderous chorus: "Welcome, Honored Envoy."

Yue Hongling opened her mouth, unprepared for such a grand display, feeling both embarrassed and awkward. Her first instinct was to tell everyone to get up.

Zhao Changhe gently squeezed her hand.

Yue Hongling kept silent, watching Zhao Changhe casually stroll past the Elder, not uttering a word for a long time.

Heads bowed in a dark mass, no one daring to look up, and the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

Zhao Changhe’s steps finally stopped in front of the leading elder, and he spoke coldly, "Do you think that because my Cultivation is not as high as previous Envoys, there is no need to show as much respect?"

The Elder hastily replied, "Why would the Honored Envoy say such a thing? Was there disrespect from the mountain village? I will have someone..."

Zhao Changhe coldly interrupted, "I’m talking about you!"

Yue Hongling’s expressionless face watched Zhao Changhe performing his act.

She knew what Zhao Changhe meant. He was portraying the arrogance and bullying nature of an Envoy. The more arrogant, the more convincing it would be. As to the claim of lack of respect compared with the past without specifying the problem, it left the accused to guess for themselves—since he actually didn’t know what the problem was. Thinking about it, they would inevitably find faults of their own.

Yue Hongling suddenly realized what Tang Wanju was thinking... He had that potential.

Sure enough, the Elder, with a back drenched in sweat, pondered for a long while before kowtowing, "The lanterns for the Honored Envoy were not as spectacular as before because some trees around here had been cut down... Uh, there is no reason, please punish me, Honored Envoy."

Yue Hongling looked at the surrounding lanterns and silk, sighing.

Zhao Changhe hadn’t expected the Elder to come up with this excuse, finding it a bit comical, yet realizing that indeed the standard had been strictly adhered to. This was unexpected; he had thought that the arrogant Envoy would prompt the Spirit Clan to offer treasures, a sort of bribing behavior, but they couldn’t think of anything, suggesting that there was no precedent for this.

So the Forbidden Land Envoy was actually quite incorruptible? That was absurd.

He spoke indifferently, "Very well, let us not be reproached for being overbearing."

"Not at all, not at all..."

"Smack yourself in the face ten times, let it never happen again."

"Thank you for the grace of the Honored Envoy." The Elder was visibly relieved, actually starting to slap his own face with vigor.

Zhao Changhe walked with his hands behind his back through the kneeling crowd as if they weren’t there, "The two of us do not like noise, disband, and cancel the feast, award it to you for your own use. Let us bathe and wash off the dust first, and then we will talk."

"Yes, everything has been prepared; Honored Envoy, please follow me."

Even though they were dismissed, no one dared to leave, all still kneeling there. The Elder personally led the two of them toward the back of the mountain, chuckling, "This way, please, Honored Envoy."

Zhao Changhe silently followed, and soon they arrived at a serene bamboo courtyard, which he couldn’t help but admire.

It appeared that there were two bamboo buildings side by side in the courtyard, with a row of green bamboo separating the space into two halves, which could be seen as one courtyard or divided into two. A closer look revealed that it was originally two separate courtyards, with the middle fence removed and green bamboo temporarily planted as a divider.

It was clear that the Spirit Clan had gone to great lengths to accommodate these "male and female Saint Envoys." Not knowing whether the two were a couple and not daring to ask or carelessly house them together, yet if they were truly a couple, separating them could lead to offense. So, they opted for this arrangement, which allowed for any interpretation.

Being a servant was indeed difficult.

From this, it could be inferred that previous Envoys probably came alone with a few attendants, with clear roles for host and servant, making reception straightforward, unlike the current situation with a couple. But this raised a question: if a single Envoy came, would he request women to serve him?

Would the absence of maids serving mean that Envoys never asked for them, or was it because this time there was a couple and they dared not arrange it?

It was understandable not to arrange them, but if Envoys never asked for maids, that would be strange. To neither take bribes nor request women, could it be that the Forbidden Land was in fact a Buddhist Holy Land?

Zhao Changhe flashed through these thoughts rapidly, and said deliberately, "Bring a few pretty girls to serve me while I bathe."

Yue Hongling glanced at him, guessing he was testing the waters, and remained silent.

The Elder also glanced at Yue Hongling, noting her lack of reaction and sighing inwardly, thinking that this testing had revealed they were not a couple. Well... even though previous Envoys truly never asked for women, each Envoy was different and it was normal to want them.

He immediately bowed, "They are ready. The Honored Envoy, please wait a moment."

Zhao Changhe yawned and waved his hand, "Go ahead."

After the Elder bowed and left, the maid had not yet arrived, and the bamboo garden was peaceful. Yue Hongling stood with her arms crossed, smiling wryly, "It seems you’re struggling to maintain the act, why not just call for the Holy Daughter to serve you?"

"There was no sign of Sisi among those kneeling outside earlier; it should be that more important matters kept her from entering," Zhao Changhe replied.

"So, you really did want to!"

"Hey, hey, hey, fuck..." Zhao Changhe clutched at his waist, unable to cry or laugh: "My Yue sister, can you not know what I’m doing..."

"Hmph." Yue Hongling knew, of course, and trusted Zhao Changhe in her heart not to mess around.

Zhao Changhe whispered, "The greeters from earlier, did you notice? There were more middle-aged and elderly, but not as many young people. Normally in the mountains, no one would dare to not come and greet the Forbidden Land Saint Envoy, so they should all be here, but the age ratio is off."

Yue Hongling said, "Those villages before... also had this situation... Maybe Sisi took them out?"

"How many could Sisi have taken out to make such a big impact?"

While the two were discussing, they caught a glimpse of a group of little maids walking in and stopped talking.

Each maid carried a small bucket of hot water, seemingly to add water to the bathing tub. When they reached the two of them, the maids glanced at each other cautiously, as if they had been assigned their roles beforehand: one team headed towards Yue Hongling’s bamboo building, while a team of noticeably prettier maids, blushing and shy, headed towards Zhao Changhe.

Yue Hongling gnashed her teeth: "They aren’t Sisi... If you dare take advantage of the opportunity to bully them, you’d better watch out."

After speaking, she flicked her ponytail and entered her own bamboo building.

Zhao Changhe watched her leaving figure, both annoyed and amused. So you’re saying it’d be fine if it were Sisi?

He leisurely entered the bamboo building, where the water in the tub had been filled. The maids stood aside in their thin garments, heads shyly bowed, their faces flushed with embarrassment to their necks.

Zhao Changhe said indifferently, "They didn’t want these before? That’s surprising to me..."

The maids looked at each other, and one who was braver said, "Indeed, the Envoys before really never asked for these..." fгeewebnovёl.com

What Zhao Changhe wanted to ask was what exactly the Forbidden Land Saint Envoy was here for, what they wanted. Otherwise, without knowing such an important matter, he couldn’t keep up the act... He had avoided the old men’s welcome dinner and ran to take a bath first, just to find a few naive little girls to pump for information.

Hearing this he continued to probe, "They were indeed diligent and devoted to their duties, just taking and leaving, huh?"

The maid bit her lip: "Anyway, they’re taking people away; maybe they use them on the way..."

Zhao Changhe’s mind exploded, understanding dawned on him.

The Forbidden Land wanted people! Possibly boys and girls, no wonder the age ratio here was so off.

Considering the nature of the Spirit Clan, as well as what he knew about those God Demons clinging to life, trying to revive, and so on, it was very likely a blood and flesh sacrifice. Those who were taken away were said to be serving the gods, but once gone, they never returned!

Of course, the Envoys wouldn’t dare to mess around. Whichever they took, theoretically, everyone here was food for a God Demon. Who knows if the God Demon is aware of what one is doing as an Envoy? Of course, they wouldn’t dare to touch them.

These naive little maids didn’t know, with the bolder ones possibly hoping to seduce an Envoy and rise above their station, unaware that welcoming him meant a road of no return...

But the higher-ups must know and still sent their own blood and flesh every year to sustain an unknown demon god!

Sisi must have known or at least had a vague idea; her rebellion was particularly fierce.

Zhao Changhe took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Since they were all so, I shouldn’t break the custom either. You may all leave; I can wash by myself."

Some of the maids sighed in relief, some showed disappointment, but none dared to disobey and left duly, bowing and saying, "Saint Envoy, rest well, call us anytime."

Only after they had all left did Zhao Changhe undress and get into the tub, washing himself while thinking.

Fortunately, the Corpse Demon in the ring couldn’t see what was happening outside, otherwise, it might’ve already gone berserk knowing this.

This matter was indeed a bit troublesome... but with the Corpse Demon here, it should be manageable. He needed to plan. It’d be best if Sisi came and he could discuss with her what to do. Just relying on himself and Yue Hongling here, their identity was awkward, not knowing the appropriate way to proceed.

As he thought this, Dragon Sparrow trembled slightly.

A warning of murderous intent.

With a thought, Zhao Changhe turned and saw outside the window behind him the bamboo forest swaying, a graceful silhouette hidden in the bamboo shadows under the moon, a dagger held upside down, eyes firmly fixed on the window, seeking an opportunity to assassinate.

Sisi had come...

The first thing she did upon arrival was to try to assassinate the Envoy.

Killing the Envoy might force a rebellion from the entire clan.

Zhao Changhe barely held back his laughter. Maid follows master; such similar thought processes in action... Maybe she was emulating Master’s stories?

No, from her very first act of going to the Thief Sect as soon as she left the mountain, she had laid the groundwork for today’s scheme.

Zhao Changhe leaned on the edge of the tub, closing his eyes in feigned sleep, even letting out faint snoring sounds.

"Whoosh!"

A fragrant breeze passed, a shadow flittered like wind and mist behind the tub.

Zhao Changhe shifted slightly, grabbing her wrist with one hand, dragging and pulling her in with a "thud," the little girl tumbling into the tub once more.

"How many times has it been now?" Zhao Changhe lifted her out of the tub, eyes smiling, "Tell me, is your fate destined to bathe with Master?"

Sisi’s look of rage froze on her face, rapidly turning into an expression of extreme surprise: "Why is it you?"

Zhao Changhe smiled slightly, "It’s heaven’s will."

"Blargh..." In some nameless space, a blind man vomited all over the floor.

Yet Sisi’s peach blossom eyes sparkled, and she truly felt this was ordained by the heavens.

----------

PS: This Chapter isn’t short, begging for a monthly ticket, ying ying ying~

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m