Stranger Danger-Chapter 1236: Taba Xuanwu’s Goodwill

“Hahahahaha!”

A moment later, Taba Xuanwu let out a long, hearty laugh. Judging from his unfathomable aura, he was now a Half-Sage.

“Martial fortune upon you, general!”

“Martial fortune upon you, general!”

“Martial fortune upon you, general!”

Everyone in the Tyrant Might Army was ecstatic at Taba Xuan’s breakthrough. They were all raising their spears and chanting their congratulations in unison.

To the Tyrant Might Army, Taba Xuanwu was their heaven and their king. Therefore, Taba Xuanwu’s breakthrough was their honor and glory as well.

“Tyrant Might, no I!”

A delighted Taba Xuanwu abruptly raised his fist and cheered.

“Tyrant Might, no I!”

“Tyrant Might, no I!”

“Tyrant Might, no I!”

The entire Tyrant Might Army—all tens of thousands of them—echoed at the top of their lungs. Such was their volume and force that a visible aura could be seen gushing into the sky and pushing away the sun and the moon.

Ye Qing was quite stunned. The Tyrant Might Army was only tens of thousands strong, but every single one of them was an elite. He could tell that they were several times stronger than even the Nanjiang Pacification Army. Under Taba Xuanwu’s leadership, a thirty thousand strong Tyrant Might Army might be strong enough to go up against a one hundred thousand strong Nanjiang Pacification Army.

Ye Qing was really starting to appreciate his earlier decision to protect the innocent people. At the same time he was really glad that Taba Xuanwu turned out to be a man of virtue. Otherwise, forget thirty thousand soldiers, twenty thousand or even ten thousand plus Taba Xuanwu would be enough to see him running with his tail between his legs. Even if he used the Earthly Sovereign Bell, the best he could hope for was a costly impasse.

“Congratulations on perfecting your martial way, general.”

When Taba Xuanwu began walking over to him, Ye Qing climbed up to his feet and saluted him.

“Haha, stop flattering me. I just advanced to the next step, that’s all!”

Taba Xuanwu was very happy that he entered the Half-Sage stage, but he did not lose himself to arrogance or self-satisfaction.

“It’s thanks to you that I am able to overcome my limits and enter the Half-Sage stage, so, thank you, brother,” Taba Xuanwu said.

“You’re welcome, general.” Ye Qing smiled, “However, I would argue that your success is more thanks to your own deep accumulation. My contribution is like adding flowers onto a brocade at most[1].”

“Hahaha... you’re not acting like yourself, brother, brother. You were as arrogant as you were dominating back at Myriad Buddha Town and Endless Learning Academy, so why are you acting humble now?” Taba Xuanwu joked.

Ye Qing chuckled. “I’m just telling it like it is.”

“Indeed! I like it that you’re an honest man, brother.” Taba Xuanwu was obviously pleased with Ye Qing’s flattery. “Come, join me in my city. I’ll treat you to a drink.”

“You... Want to treat me to a drink?” Ye Qing lifted an eyebrow.

“What’s wrong? Are you afraid that this is a trap or something?” Taba Xuanwu teased.

“Of course not. If you really want to kill me, you would have done so just now,” Ye Qing said smilingly.

He was at his weakest right after his battle against Taba Xuanwu had come to an end. If Taba Xuanwu truly wished him harm, that would have been the best time to act.

“Of course, I believe that you are not that type of person. I’m just wondering why you would invite me into your city knowing my current status. Aren’t you worried about the trouble my presence might bring to you?” Ye Qing asked.

In response, Taba Xuanwu let out a disdainful snort. “As if I am afraid of something like that. If they dare cause trouble in my Cloud Hue Pass, then they will pay the price. One, two, ten, a hundred. No matter how many they are, I will make their heads roll. I will bleed them all like fucking pigs and make a river out of them!”

“In summary, I will guarantee your safety so long as you remain in my Cloud Hue Pass, brother.”

Ye Qing: “...” That sounds very familiar. You couldn’t tweak a word or two so that it doesn’t sound like you’re plagiarizing me completely[2]?

“What about a Sage?”

Ye Qing asked smilingly, “What if a Sage decides to pay you a visit?”

“A Sage?”

Taba Xuanwu let out a low chuckle. “Most Sages have thin skin. Few possess the shamelessness to enter a children’s playground and bully the young just to obtain the Earthly Sovereign Bell. But if a Sage really dares to show his face, then let them come. I will... let my backing do the ass kicking for me!”

“Well said, general! Well said!” Ye Qing praised, though he was snickering on the inside. He thought for sure that Taba Xuanwu would declare that he would take down the Sage or something, but in the end, even the Tyrant General must resort to calling for backup against a higher power.

Of course, that didn’t mean he didn’t appreciate Taba Xuanwu’s declaration. In fact, he appreciated it a lot. Not many people would stand up for him and make such a bold, risky declaration at this sensitive timing.

“But of course! Why be a general if you have neither audacity nor the confidence?”

Taba Xuanwu said proudly, “So? What is your decision? Will you join me for a drink, or?”

“I wouldn’t dream of turning down an invitation from you, general. Lead the way!” Ye Qing replied respectfully.

He knew that Taba Xuanwu was helping him. After the duel, he was fatigued in body and mind and injured quite severely. On top of that, he used Annihilation Hammer, an all powerful technique he was just beginning to grasp. Just like when he started practicing Break Hammer, he had hurt himself almost as badly as he hurt his opponent. Therefore, he was at his weakest point right now.

Although he managed to recover a little while Taba Xuanwu was making his breakthrough, it was only a small recovery. It would take one or two days at the minimum for him to return to peak form.

Therefore, this was the period where he was in the greatest danger.

His fight against Taba Xuanwu had been anything but quiet. It was quite the long fight as well. He was sure that those who would do him harm were spying on him and just waiting for an opportunity to strike him at his weakest.

He knew this because he sensed multiple probing looks when he was meditating just now. They were overflowing with malice and greed. If Taba Xuanwu and the Tyrant Might Army weren’t present, or if they returned to Cloud Hue Pass after bidding him goodbye, then his ambushers would certainly jump him and attack him like hungry wolves.

To be honest, this was not the outcome he had planned at the beginning. His original plan had been to go all out—yes, that meant using even the Earthly Sovereign Bell to gain a decisive advantage—kill Taba Xuanwu in the shortest time possible. Then, he would calmly escape from the Tyrant Might Army and his pursuers.

However, it turned out that he and countless people in the jianghu had the completely wrong idea about Taba Xuanwu. Not only was the Tyrant General not planning to kill him, what should have been a short fight to the death had turned into a prolonged friendly match instead. In the end, he became like this.

Still, it wasn’t like he didn’t have a solution. He would simply run like hell. He had already prepped a number of escape plans inside his head including activating the Instantaneous Long Distance Teleportation Talisman he had purchased, using his Strange Artifacts to cover his tracks and so on. He would run, and he would hide until he had recovered in full.

Even if he failed to escape his pursuers, he still had the choice of activating the Earthly Sovereign Bell and killing them in an instant.

He didn’t think Taba Xuanwu would extend him an olive branch and invite him into Cloud Hue Pass though. Cloud Hue Pass was Taba Xuanwu’s territory. So long as the Tyrant General was present, he highly doubted that those cowards would dare to infiltrate the pass and attack him.

This would definitely buy him enough time to recover.

Once again, Taba Xuanwu had surprised him. Although Taba Xuanwu was the reason he was injured and fatigued, it was ultimately the consequences of his own actions. Besides that, this was their first meeting. It would have been entirely within Taba Xuanwu’s right to ignore his plight.

As for him aiding Taba Xuanwu in perfecting his martial way and overcoming his limits, the general had already repaid the favor. Therefore, there was even less of a reason for Taba Xuanwu to take such a risk.

Long story short, it would have been perfectly reasonable for Taba Xuanwu to leave him to his own devices, and perfectly surprising for him to offer his help.

In any case, Taba Xuanwu’s offer had countless upsides and no downsides. Naturally, Ye Qing saw no reason to reject him.

1. Meaning that the gift/contribution doesn’t mean much. Like, if you’re poor, I send you firewood during winter so you can keep warm, then it’s significant. But if I send you coal during summer then it’s a nice-to-have but meh gift. ☜

2. Refer to chapter 1211 where Ye Qing made a very similar statement. ☜