In the end, the weak and easily bullied Eldest Senior Brother was still dragged onto the Sky-Kite by his two heartless junior brothers.
Leaning against Zhou Fuxue, Ming Zhu sat trembling in a seat by the carved window. To keep himself from crying out in terror, he bit down on the chain of his Zhenyu Pearl. His pupils shook slightly; he looked truly frightened out of his wits.
Zhou Fuxue could not understand why a man who usually feared nothing in heaven or on earth would be so uniquely afraid of heights. He felt Ming Zhu’s palm, which was slick with cold sweat, and sighed. "Senior Brother, why exactly are you so afraid of heights?"
Ming Zhu’s teeth chattered as he mumbled, "When I was little... Fuhua and I... we climbed onto the roof to s-s-see the stars. I didn't stand firm and r-r-rolled off. I was unconscious for days and nearly lost my life."
Zhou Fuxue didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Soon, a sudden jolt vibrated beneath them. Ming Zhu let out two muffled whimpers of terror and nearly crawled under the table.
Lu Qingkong glanced outside. The massive feathered wings of the Great Kite slowly ascended. A sharp sensation of weightlessness washed over them, followed by the piercing shriek of the remnant soul lingering within the Great Kite’s withered bones. It surged upward along the transparent barrier, instantly taking flight, and only after a long moment did it stabilize into a smooth glide through the clouds and mist.
Through the layers of thin fog, the vast wilderness below seemed to be trampled underfoot, and the wide rivers turned into long blue threads stretching into the distance.
The jade medallions for the lowest deck of the Sky-Kite were extremely cheap. Anyone with even a modest background could afford a seat. Even though many people had disembarked at Rizhao, the cabin remained crowded.
Most of the passengers were ordinary people who rarely had the chance to ride a Sky-Kite. Once the flight stabilized, they scrambled to stand along the corridors, engaging in loud, boisterous discussions as they looked at the dense clouds within arm's reach and the hazy wilderness below.
Ming Zhu pressed his hands against the table, listening to the whistling wind outside. He still couldn't stop shivering. His face was devoid of color as he asked in a trembling voice, "H-how long do we have to sit here?"
"Two days and one night," Lu Qingkong replied. "We will reach Shuoyu City by tomorrow evening."
Ming Zhu’s expression grew even more ghastly.
Just then, a hand landed lightly on Ming Zhu’s shoulder. He looked up to see a man with a smiling face leaning over him. "Beauty, are you feeling unwell? Look at how pale this little face is. Would you like to come sit in my room?"
Ming Zhu felt deathly ill and was in no mood to flirt with men as he had in the small town. He simply turned his head away and said, "No need."
With a cold face, Zhou Fuxue slapped the man’s claw off Ming Zhu’s shoulder and pressed Ming Zhu’s neck to pull him closer to himself.
A cold light flashed across the man’s face, but he continued to speak in a soft, gentle tone. "It truly doesn't suit a beauty to sit with these low-lifes. The journey to Shuoyu City is long, and the lower cabin is a den of dragons and snakes, filled with foul air. It is simply no place for a human to stay. Seeing a beauty suffer is not the way of a gentleman, which is why I have taken the liberty of inviting you to rest in my room, lest you exhaust your body."
The "low-lifes" nearby all glared at him in anger, but when they saw the character for "Middle" on the jade medallion at his waist, their fury instantly vanished.
The prices for the three levels of the Sky-Kite increased the higher one went; it was a division strictly based on power and status. Those on the lowest level were often ordinary people without influence, while those who could stay in the middle level were either wealthy or noble—not people commoners could afford to offend.
Though this man spoke with high-sounding words, anyone with eyes could see the filthy intentions he harbored in wanting to take Ming Zhu back to his room.
Whether it was the fear of heights or being disgusted by this man, Ming Zhu’s stomach churned. He covered his mouth, his face deathly pale and his eyes misted with tears. This frail appearance only served to further ignite the man's base desires.
Seeing the greed and lust in the man's eyes, Lu Qingkong felt utter loathing. He said coldly, "My Senior Brother said he isn't going. Are you deaf?"
Having been rejected several times, the man could no longer maintain his facade of warmth. He straightened up and looked down at Ming Zhu. He suddenly grabbed Ming Zhu’s limp hand with force and sneered, "Do not refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. It is a blessing from your past life that I’ve taken an interest in him. Besides, I’m only asking him to accompany me for two days; I won't take his life. Once I’m bored of him, I’ll naturally send him back out."
In his view, those sitting on the lowest level were either mortals or ordinary cultivators without power; they were nothing to fear. In the entire Five Continents, as long as one possessed overwhelming power or stood at the pinnacle of spiritual energy, they could ignore the rules that bound commoners, holding the power of life and death as they pleased.
Zhou Fuxue and Lu Qingkong were almost moved to laughter by his arrogance. It was the first time they had seen someone so righteous about blatant abduction. It was truly a sight to behold.
Ming Zhu was completely drained of strength. One hand was held captive, while his free hand desperately covered his mouth. His ears buzzed, and the surrounding voices reached him in a blurred, indistinct hum.
Just as the man was about to impatiently drag Ming Zhu away, a man dressed in blue robes walked unhurriedly down the wooden stairs. Though his footsteps were not heavy, they somehow echoed throughout the noisy, clamorous cabin. An aura as gentle as the wind yet incredibly powerful swept over them, causing everyone to instinctively hold their breath.
Zhou Fuxue, who had already placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, suddenly froze. The Wuxin Sword let out a brief hum before falling silent.
The entire cabin fell into an instantaneous hush.
The man in blue possessed a graceful and elegant bearing. Half of his face was concealed by a mask, but judging by his thin lips and chin, one could tell he surely possessed the beauty of a jade tree in the wind.
He descended the wooden stairs at a leisurely pace. Under the panicked gazes of the crowd, he walked to Ming Zhu’s side. His well-defined hand pressed lightly on the other man’s forearm, and he spoke in a voice as soft as a spring breeze. "Sir, since the gentleman is unwilling to go with you, isn't forcing him a bit beneath your status?"
Shaken by his aura, the man’s grip on Ming Zhu’s hand suddenly loosened. He froze for a moment, his expression turning ugly. "You... you are..."
"Or perhaps, you didn't hear his refusal?" The masked man extended a slender hand and tapped the man’s arm, appearing somewhat puzzled.
He tilted his head slightly. His pitch-black eyes transformed in an instant into chilling, terrifying crimson demonic pupils. Murderous intent seethed within them as he looked at the person before him, yet his tone remained as gentle as a spring rain. "If your ears are poor, it would be understandable if you didn't hear him refuse."
A flash of terror appeared on the man’s pale face, for he suddenly realized that as the person before him finished speaking, the surrounding noise and clamor seemed to be drifting further and further away from him.
The masked man lightly flicked his finger. Amidst the man's terrified gaze, he smiled softly and said, "How rude of me. I simply cannot stand by when someone dares to covet my Senior Brother so casually."
Those were the last words the man heard in this life. Afterward, his entire world fell into a deathly silence.
The masked man easily dealt with the lecher. Ming Zhu, who had been looking sickly the whole time, suddenly reached out and grabbed his clothes.
"H-H-Hongchuan..."
The man named Hongchuan’s expression softened even more. He knelt gracefully on one knee and took Ming Zhu’s cold hand into his palm. Then, before Zhou Fuxue’s wide-eyed gaze, he brought it to his lips and pressed a light kiss onto Ming Zhu’s pale knuckles. He curled his lips into a smile. "Senior Brother, you’ve finally come."
Ming Zhu’s breath was thin, his eyes hazy as he looked at him. He said in a trembling voice, "Hongchuan."
Hongchuan said affectionately, "Senior Brother."
"Hongchuan."
"Seni—"
Ming Zhu could no longer hold it back. With a "blegh," he vomited all over him.
Hongchuan: "..."
Zhou Fuxue: "..."
A moment later, Ming Zhu lay in a luxurious room on the top level of the Sky-Kite. He was at death's door as Zhou Fuxue fed him water. It looked as though if he had been left by the window for a moment longer, he would have kicked the bucket and ascended to heaven.
In the outer room, Shen Hongchuan, who had changed his clothes from head to toe, leaned lazily against a chair. He had removed his mask, revealing a gorgeous and handsome face.
Upon closer inspection, one could see that whether it was the expression on his face when he was idle or his casual way of leaning, he was the spitting image of Ming Zhu’s usual languid mannerisms, as if they were cast from the same mold.
Lu Qingkong said with a cold face, "I think you must have been bored out of your mind to book all the remaining private rooms. If it weren't for you, Ming Zhu wouldn't have suffered like this, let alone be harassed by that lecher in front of everyone."
Shen Hongchuan maintained his relaxed posture. His sinister demonic eyes glanced at him coldly. "Xiao Jiu, we haven't met for so many years, yet you are still so lacking in manners. You actually dare to call Eldest Senior Brother by his name? Call him Eldest Senior Brother, and apologize to him while you're at it."
Lu Qingkong said coldly, "The one who should apologize is you."
"Xiao Jiu," Shen Hongchuan said curiously, "I received a letter from Eldest Senior Brother a few days ago saying he wanted me to look after two junior brothers coming out for experience. I was afraid you were inexperienced and unreliable, so I kindly went to all this trouble to arrange everything for you. And yet, it's my fault?"
"We could have found a room without you," Lu Qingkong said coldly. "Before I left, I asked Little Martial Uncle for enough silver to sit on the second level. There was no need for you to meddle."
Shen Hongchuan immediately wore an expression of disbelief. "It’s not that I want to criticize, Junior Brother, but those rooms on the second level... Heavens, they are simply not fit for humans. A single room isn't even as big as my wardrobe. Tell me, don't you feel like you can't even stretch your legs living there?"
Lu Qingkong: "..."
Lu Qingkong seemed to want to curse at him, but remembering that this man’s thick skin was inherited directly from Ming Zhu, he swallowed his insults and said coldly, "Thanks to you, we couldn't even stay in a wardrobe."
The spendthrift Shen Hongchuan had no understanding of the fury in the heart of a junior brother who had to carefully budget with scraps of silver. He clicked his tongue twice. "Look at you. It’s one thing for you to sit on the bottom level yourself, but why would you let Senior Brother suffer in a place not fit for humans?"
Lu Qingkong repeated the point he had been emphasizing with a wooden expression: "It was all because of you."
Shen Hongchuan completely ignored the accusation. He took a wooden, lattice-carved box from a small cabinet and said nonchalantly, "This is a blueprint for a Spirit-Gathering Lamp array that I spent a fortune on in the Shishen Kingdom. Alas, I just remembered that I don't know the first thing about artifact crafting."
Upon hearing this, Lu Qingkong’s eyes instantly went straight. His previous expression of disgust vanished, replaced by a glowing gaze fixed on the wooden box in Shen Hongchuan’s hand.
Shen Hongchuan spun the wooden box in his hand a few times, shaking it slightly. He watched as Lu Qingkong’s eyes followed the box back and forth, like a cat watching foxtail grass.
Shen Hongchuan curled his lips into a smile and leaned forward slightly, his posture elegant and refined. "Junior Brother seems to know a bit about artifact crafting and arrays, doesn't he? How about I give this to you as a gift to celebrate our reunion?"
Lu Qingkong completely abandoned his usual coldness and nodded like a chick pecking at grain.
Shen Hongchuan handed the wooden box toward Lu Qingkong with a beaming smile. Just as Lu Qingkong reached out with trembling hands to take it, Shen Hongchuan pulled the box back with the speed of a gale.
Lu Qingkong looked up in shock, only to see Shen Hongchuan’s smile vanish. He said expressionlessly, "Call me Senior Brother."
Lu Qingkong endured the humiliation. "Seventh... Seventh Senior Brother."
Shen Hongchuan’s face remained cold. "The one I want you to call 'Eldest Senior Brother' is him."
Lu Qingkong: "..."
