After slaying the Chiyou King Snake and obtaining the Jiuli Flower, Tang Yi began to head back.
He had an agreement with Liuu Tian and her people. Once he found the Jiuli Flower, he would bring it out of the valley and hand it over to them.
This was also a side quest for Tang Yi.
The time limit for the mission was seven days, yet Tang Yi had found the Jiuli Flower in only two.
Tang Yi had originally wanted to stay a few more days. ’After all, I’ve come this deep into the Valley of Desolation. How can I leave without killing a few more Demon Beasts? It just wouldn’t be right.’ However, the Jiuli Flower was supposedly needed to save a life. Every day he delayed, the person Liuu Tian wanted to save would be in another day’s mortal danger. There was no time to waste. Reluctantly, Tang Yi abandoned his plan to hunt more beasts and hurried back with the Jiuli Flower in hand.
However, just as he reached the canyon mouth of the Valley of Desolation, Tang Yi heard a commotion. It sounded like people were arguing.
Noticing that something was wrong, Tang Yi discreetly flew up to a small hill overlooking the canyon mouth to see what was going on.
Down at the canyon mouth below, two groups of people were in a standoff.
Tang Yi recognized one of the groups. It was Liuu Tian and the mercenary corps she led, the Nine Cities Mercenary Corps.
The other group consisted of seven or eight burly, bearded men. Tang Yi took a quick look with his Celestial Eye Technique and saw that the strongest among them was surprisingly a Battle King, while the weakest were all Battle Spirits.
Of course, this group’s strength was nothing to Tang Yi, but for Liuu Tian and her people, they were vastly more powerful.
According to the information from his Celestial Eye Technique, these burly, bearded men belonged to a mercenary corps called Qianxi. Their leader was a man named Qiu Wenguang—the only Battle King Warrior in their group.
Logically, with such a vast difference in strength, the two sides shouldn’t have even been interacting. If they intended to rob and kill them, there would be no need for an argument; they could have just attacked directly.
He wondered why the two groups were in a standoff and what they were arguing about.
Tang Yi remained hidden above the canyon, observing. At that moment, he saw the leader of the Qianxi Mercenary Corps, the Battle King named Qiu Wenguang, sneer at Liuu Tian and ask, "So? Leader Liuu, have you thought it over? Give me a final answer!"
Hearing this, Liuu Tian’s face flushed crimson. She was so consumed by shame and anger it looked as if her cheeks might burst. She bit her lip, saying nothing.
It looked as though Qiu Wenguang had proposed some condition that Liuu Tian found impossible to accept.
Seeing Qiu Wenguang relentlessly pressuring Liuu Tian, Li Qingqing stepped to the side and cupped her fists toward Qiu Wenguang, and then toward all the members of the Qianxi Mercenary Corps. "Leader Qiu, esteemed seniors of the Qianxi Mercenary Corps," she said, "you are our seniors, and you are powerful. We all respect you greatly and look up to you as a goal to strive for. However, for you to force our leader to accept your condition... that is going too far. As our seniors, you shouldn’t bully us like this. Besides... our leader’s heart already belongs to another. She will not accept your terms."
"Little girl, this is none of your business! We’re talking to Leader Liuu, not you. Scram, or I’ll kill you with a single palm strike!" one of the burly, bearded men from the Qianxi Mercenary Corps immediately stepped forward and threatened Li Qingqing after she finished speaking.
Li Qingqing flinched in fear but did not back down. Instead, she gritted her teeth, steeled her nerves, and stood firmly in front of Liuu Tian, looking utterly determined.
The hot-headed Wang Dali couldn’t stand seeing the Qianxi Mercenary Corps being so aggressive. He stepped forward, pointed at them, and shouted, "What kind of Mercenary Corps are you? Just because you fancy our leader’s beauty, you think you can just take her? How is that any different from being bandits? You think you’re so great just because you’re strong? And you, Leader Qiu, take a look at your age! You’re already an old man, and you want to chase after a young woman? Aren’t you afraid of people gossiping? And just look at you—disheveled, with a brutish, beefy face, you’re hideous! A toad like you wants to eat swan meat? You want our Leader Liuu to marry you? In your dreams!"
Wang Dali had been pushed too far. His temper flared, fueled by his secret crush on Liuu Tian. Seeing someone try to force her into something against her will, he had held nothing back, unleashing a torrent of insults at the Qianxi Mercenary Corps!
But as soon as the words left his mouth, Wang Dali regretted them.
His opponent was a Battle King, backed by numerous Battle Spirits, while he was just a Battle Master. ’A Battle Master insulting a Battle King... that’s just asking to die!’
"You’re courting death!"
Sure enough, Qiu Wenguang was not a forgiving man. Hearing Wang Dali’s insults, he narrowed his eyes. With a flick of his hand, the scabbard of his longsword flew out, shooting toward Wang Dali.
"THUD!"
The scabbard was incredibly fast. Before Wang Dali could react, it slammed into his chest. He was sent flying backward, and he collapsed to the ground, spitting out a large mouthful of blood before fainting.
He wasn’t dead, but he was severely injured.
Seeing Wang Dali’s wretched state, the few members of the Nine Cities Mercenary Corps who had been about to speak up fell silent. Their pupils contracted in fear as they took a few steps back, no longer daring to open their mouths.
"Leader Qiu, you...!"
Seeing her subordinate severely injured by Qiu Wenguang over a few mere words, Liuu Tian’s eyebrows shot up in fury. She rushed to Wang Dali’s side to check his injuries. After confirming he wasn’t dead yet, she turned back, pointed a finger at Qiu Wenguang, and demanded, "Leader Qiu, what is the meaning of this!"
"What do I mean? Haven’t I made myself clear?" Qiu Wenguang threatened with a cold sneer. "I’ve taken a fancy to you. You will be my woman. Then your Mercenary Corps becomes my Mercenary Corps, and I will naturally take care of them and not harm them. But if you refuse, then not a single one of your people will leave the Valley of Desolation today!"
"Shameless!"
Liuu Tian raged, "I, Liuu Tian, will never marry you! Get that idea out of your head! And as for you injuring a member of my Nine Cities Mercenary Corps, I’ll remember this debt. We’ll see about this!"
"’Never marry me?’ ’We’ll see?’ Heh. You want revenge?" Qiu Wenguang sneered contemptuously. "And how do you plan on getting it? With your pathetic group’s feeble strength? I could crush all of you with one finger. Besides, let’s not even talk about whether you can get revenge on me. The real question is whether the Nine Cities Mercenary Corps will still exist by the end of the day."
At his side, the other Martial Artists of the Qianxi Mercenary Corps also sneered, looking down on Liuu Tian and the members of the Nine Cities Mercenary Corps with disdain, as if they were completely beneath their notice.
"Hmph! That’s right, I don’t have the strength to get revenge on you," Liuu Tian snorted, threatening him back. "But now that you’ve made us enemies, just because I’m not strong enough doesn’t mean no one is! I’ll tell you the truth—I already love someone. And the man I love is inside the Valley of Desolation right now, searching for a medicinal herb for me. When he comes out and discovers that you’ve been bullying me... hmph! He will make you regret it!"