Chapter 576: A Big Show (part 2)

Chapter 576: A Big Show (part 2)

Xu Qing looked down, his face completely expressionless. “Stop fooling around, Eldest Brother.”

“I’m not fooling around,” the Captain’s half-head said urgently. “You have to run! This is no joke. Master Darkfate is on the way. He planned this whole thing to target me!”

Xu Qing looked at Nethersprite and sighed. “You should have shaved your legs. That’s the same mistake you made with that Seazombie princess. It’s... a big hole in your story.”

Nethersprite stopped walking and looked down at the shapely legs beneath her garment. Sure enough, they were as hairy as if she were wearing fur leggings. Even with the clothes atop them, it was very obvious.

Nethersprite cleared ‘her’ throat, then looked venomously at Xu Qing. That look was enough to cause Xu Qing to take a few steps back. Meanwhile, Ling’er poked her head out of his sleeve and looked in amazement at Nethersprite.

“Hahaha! I was just joking around!” It was the Captain’s voice that came out of Nethersprite’s mouth. Meanwhile, the half-head at Xu Qing’s feet melted, turning into a handful of blue bugs that jumped back into the water and returned to the Captain.

“How’s Nethersprite?” Xu Qing said calmly.

“Her?” the Captain said, plopping down and starting to shave his legs. “Oh, she’s fine. After I explained the whole situation to her, she had very mixed feelings. And then we engaged in some very friendly discussion and negotiation.”

The image of the Captain casually shaving his legs while speaking so complacently was very jarring.

“Long story short, I resolved any potential misunderstandings. She was very grateful to know the truth, and agreed to cooperate. In fact, she took the initiative to seal herself. See? I always said I’m a very reasonable person.”

The Captain finished with one leg and moved on to the next, allowing the hair he shaved off to dissipate in the wind.

Xu Qing said nothing. He just rolled his eyes and sat down cross-legged.

In response to Xu Qing ignoring him, the Captain chuckled, produced an apple, and took a bite. Then he took out a second apple and tossed it to Xu Qing. Xu Qing caught it, looked closely at the apple, then shifted his gaze to the Captain.

The Captain smiled.

Xu Qing closed his eyes and focused on keeping the concealment magics working.

Days passed, and nothing out of the ordinary happened. When the handmaidens regained consciousness, they were confused and suspicious. But seeing that Nethersprite seemed fine, they didn’t dare to ask any questions.

The Captain’s disguise was perfect. Apparently, he really did manage to get a lot of details out of Nethersprite, because whenever he talked, there was no hint that he was an imposter.

Eventually, even Xu Qing wasn’t sure how to tell if he was really dealing with the Captain.

That was because this was the sacrificial dance of the Yin-Yang Betwixt Flowers Sect! The sacrificial dance wasn’t for the benefit of the members of the church. It was a dance of offering to a god, and was for the benefit of a god. Many regions that had gods in them had similar arrangements. One reason was that many gods had the custom of sleeping. Crimson Mother was no exception. That said, while shē would normally be able to awaken at any time, right now, shē was in a state in which awakening couldn’t be accomplished quickly.

Regardless, when gods slept, it resulted in the power of dreams seeping out. The dreams of gods were the real reason why sacrificial dances had become common. The dancers could use the god’s dream to influence an entire region.

Everything within that region would be affected. Fate. Life. People’s minds could be made blank and then their thoughts could be rewoven by means of the sacrificial dance. And then it would turn into a dazzling, five-colored dream reality. The god in question wouldn’t be able to sense that dream when sleeping, only upon awakening. If the god was happy, īt would give out blessings.

That was one reason why there were so many subsidiary branches of the Yin-Yang Betwixt Flowers Sect. Every single branch had one of their sacrificial dancers. The blessings they could bring varied based on their cultivation bases, as did the range of their power. As for the dream playing out in the Unfinished Mountains, the creator, that old man, was convinced that the god would definitely like this particular sacrificial dance.

Then the old man spoke, all while hovering in the air cross-legged, his eyes gleaming profoundly.

“Those outsiders make this dream... a lot more interesting!”

***

Strangely, the exact same words were coming out of the Captain’s mouth in the sedan chair. He also had a very profound look in his eyes. Stretching, he looked around until his gaze came to rest on one particular guard. That guard was none other than Xu Qing in disguise.

Xu Qing’s mind was in a fair amount of chaos, as he was still convinced that something unusual was going on. Everything was playing out too smoothly.

For example, he had just looked up into the sky and noticed a bird. The bird had been flying, but then it stopped in place for several breaths of time. It just remained in place, unmoving. Xu Qing was suddenly overwhelmed with a sensation of vertigo, and his vision swam. When everything returned to normal, the bird was flying along as if it had never stopped.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, reached out, and made a grasping gesture. His goal was to see if the bird was real or not. The bird shivered, then started tumbling through the air toward him.

As soon as the bird landed in his hand, his vision swam even more dramatically, and he felt extremely dizzy. This time, the sensation was even more intense and shocking than before. Everyone in the bridal procession stopped in place, and then all of them turned to look mutely at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing shivered. Considering how he was gripping the bird, it seemed real. He could even feel its heart beat and body warmth. As everyone turned to look at him, his scalp went numb. He stood in place quietly for two breaths of time, then opened his hand and let the bird fly up into the air. It flew right back to where it had originally been flying, and started moving along the same path. It was almost as if its fate had already been determined.

Everyone in the bridal possession looked away. It was almost as if nothing had just happened. Expressions the same as before, they continued joyfully on their way. The music continued. Flower petals drifted through the air.

Fear lingered in Xu Qing’s heart as he turned to look at the Captain. The Captain looked back with a profound gleam in his eyes.

That look caused Xu Qing to think back to what the Captain had told him multiple times already.

“Just trust me, little Ah Qing.”

1. Traditional Chinese wedding ceremonies are different from the typical Western version. There are many variations regionally and historically, but the general idea is that the bride travels in some sort of procession to the groom’s house. Upon arrival there are usually some formalities such as serving tea, bowing, etc. Of course, there are also things like wedding receptions/banquets. ☜