Chapter 26 Are You Bandits?

The emotions of the hundreds of guests on the dragon ship fell and rose throughout the day from witnessing the exciting dance by the beauty to the nervy auction of magic treasures, followed by the attack of the Devious Iguanas, the overwhelming aura of the appearance of the youth from the Demon Race, and finally the appearance of the sword master from Shushan out of nowhere. They felt as though their hearts were going to leap out of their chests.

Now, the reinforcements that they had been waiting for had arrived, and the danger was finally over.

Cheers soon rang out around the dragon ship.

"We're saved!"

"The sword master of Shushan is really cool!"

"We don't have to worry any longer. I nearly died from fright just now. If the young demon did not keep to his word, many of us would have died."

The guests of the ship began discussing excitedly, and some of them even embraced each other, extremely relieved at having survived the ordeal. Even Leng Wuxin heaved a long sigh of relief. As the second in command of the Mortal World Pavilion and overall in charge of this flower-viewing drinking banquet on the dragon ship, he would have a lot to answer for if he could not guarantee the safety of the lives and properties of his guests.

Even if he had somehow managed to survive, he would not dare or want to go back home. His only option would have been suicide in the Luo River.

Now, even though there were some casualties, most of his guests had survived, and it was the best outcome that he could have wished for.

He smiled gently as he observed the cheering guests and waved to them as well. "I'll keep the magic treasures on the deck and return as much of the guests' possessions back to them as I can, so that I can create a record of some kind."

After giving out instructions, Leng Wuxin surveyed his surroundings and walked up to Ye Que.

"Let's be re-acquainted with one other. I'm Leng Wuxin, second in command of the Mortal World Pavilion," he said, before cupping his right first with his left hand and bowing slightly.

"I'm Ye Que," the youth replied, telling the man how to write his name in Mandarin. He had a good impression of Leng Wuxin and felt that it was useful to know him- he might need to call on the man's help in the future.

"Thank you for what you did today. If it weren't for you, as the person in charge of this dragon ship, I would have killed myself in shame," Leng Wuxin continued in a grateful tone.

"I just did what I had to do. Besides, I wouldn't have been able to stop the attack of the demons on my won," Ye Que said honestly.

Just as Ye Que was chatting with Leng Wuxin, there was a commotion near them on the deck.

A red-faced low-level officer of the Mortal World Pavilion was pointing at the pile of magic treasures in front of him and he seemed to be explaining something. A disciple of Shushan stood in front of him. The swordsman did not speak, but he used his body to separate the officer from the artifacts, as if he did not want anyone to be able to reach them. A few other guests had crowded around them, and they looked as angry as the officer.

Leng Wuxin frowned and signaled for Ye Que to follow him, as he walked toward the crowd.

"Excuse me, please give way to us. These magical artifacts belong to the Mortal World Pavilion and its guests. We have to get them back," the low-ranking officer tried explaining again.

The Shushan disciple lifted his head to look at officer and curled his lips. He did not speak nor move away.

"You're an Immortal Master of Shushan, and we're truly grateful for your help in rescuing us. However, these artifacts are ours, and you've no right to deny our access to them. We wouldn't mind giving them to you if they were ordinary trinkets, but they are extremely valuable and I'm afraid I'm not in the position to let you take them."

The disciple of Shushan remained silent. A crowd quickly gathered around them as more people overheard their argument.

In a few words, the whole story was revealed.

"How can this happen? That's unreasonable. These artifacts are our possessions to begin with, so why is he not allowing us to retrieve them?"

"Does he think he can bully us after fighting off the Demon Race?"

"These people from Shushan are really shameless. To think that they're the leaders of the Cultivation World, and that they claim to be the top swordsmanship sect?"

All sorts of arguments could be heard, and they came not only from the officer of the Mortal World Pavilion, but also the guests from Luoyang City. Now that the Demon Race had been chased away and the imminent danger removed, the nobles and businessmen, who had just been humiliated, were not afraid of the disciples from Shushan. In their eyes, it was a reputable sect that went by the rules.

Would the disciples of Shushan really dare to misbehave?

Are they not afraid of earning a bad reputation?

"Shut up, everyone!"

"None of these magic items can be taken away."

With a loud roar of anger, Zhuo Bufan walked through the crowd and looked around coldly. "These magic items are related to the demon race. I need to take them away to Shushan for further investigation to determine if any humans are in cahoot with the demons."

After he had finished speaking, Zhuo Bufan signaled to his fellow sect members, and some of them began to gather up the pile of magic treasure.

"Immortality Master of Shushan, I'm afraid your actions are not very right," Leng Wuuxin spoke up suddenly.

"My name is Zhuo Bufan," the swordsman said as he looked at Leng Wuxin without displaying any emotion.

"Immortality Master Zhuo, I guarantee you that these magical artifacts are auction items from the Mortal World Pavilion or personal items of our guests, and have no connection at all to the Demon Race. They are all private property," said Leng Wuxin in a low tone.

"Private property? Nothing to do with the demon race? " Zhuo Bufan sneered, "What proof do you have?"

Zhuo Bufan continued, pointing to a pile of magic weapons on the ground, "If these magical items have nothing to do with demon race, then why do they try to rob the ship? If there isn't any connection, why would they spend so much effort to lay seige to this dragon ship? What was their motive?"

"Don't forget that they weren't looking to take your lives," he continued, totally disregarding Leng Wuxin after he had finished speaking. He did not think highly of the weak Mortal World Pavilion. To ordinary folk, it was a big faction, but to Zhou Bufan, it was just a small gang that was weaker than even other third-rate sects like the Green Mountain Sect.

"Do the items that the Demon Race covet need to have any connection with them? I heard that they want to take over the Demon Holding Tower. Does that mean that Shushan is also in cahoots with the Demon Race?"

Ye Que walked out of the crowd, just as Zhuo Bufan turned around. The teenager tucked both of his hands into his shirt sleeves and wore an ironic look on his face.

"Ridiculous!"

Ye Que snorted contemptuously at Zhuo Bufan, then pointed to the nearby pile of magic treasure surrounded by Shushan disciples. "Be truthful if your actual intention is to seize these artifacts for yourself. You're acting like a whore who's trying to work under the guise of a legitimate shop. This is disgusting. Does Shushan nurture its disciples in this manner?"

"To think that you people keep vowing to rid the world of demons and uphold justice."

"I don't think you people are here to rescue us or to slay demons. This is an obvious robbery attempt!"

Ye Que pointed at Zhuo Bufan and gang as he questioned them.

"Are you bandits?

"I just want to ask, are you bandits or not?"

Most of the guests had begun arguing, but no one dared to step forward and confront the swordsmen, as they knew that the Shushan disciples were much stronger than them. Who could possibly take them on in a fight, if they really wanted to seize the magical artifacts for themselves?

The Demon Race was strong, but only their ashes were left.

Why was Ye Que unable to understand this? He could see clearly, but that did not mean he could take it lying down. When he was still a member of the Qingqiu Sword Sect, he had already hated the culture of Shushan. They were fake, loved to show off and their purported chivalry was an act.

The sight of Shushan disciples made him feel nauseated.

Disgust!

"Who are you?"

"What nonsense!"

"How dare you slander the disciples of Shushan and claim that we're bandits!" Zhuo Bufan turned to deride Ye Que.

"I'm no one. I'm just a guest of the Mortal World Pavilion," replied Ye Que. He would not budge and remained firm.

"You're courting death!"