Chapter 291: Aftermath

"Splash—splash—"

The sound of seawater lapping against the shore came from above. Bright sunlight streamed down, prompting Yan Jing to raise a hand and block the glare from where he lay on the ground.

Seawater, a sandy beach, palm trees—

And a beautiful woman in a swimsuit holding a carton of coconut water.

"Sir, you can't sleep here."

The woman smiled and pointed at the massive electronic screen overhead, which was looping a beach scene.

"This is our commercial screen. If you want to enjoy it, you have to pay first. After all, this is the largest screen broadcasting beach scenes in all of Muke District."

Yan Jing sat up, only then realizing two or three other people were lying nearby. They were resting with their eyes closed, enjoying the 'sea breeze.'

He was currently on a major avenue.

Judging by its width, the street was a prosperous one—four lanes in total, neat and flat.

But there were surprisingly few people around.

Even open shops were sparse.

The overlap of desolation and prosperity gave the place a peculiar, eerie feeling.

"Sorry, I'll leave right now."

Yan Jing stood up.

He had money on him, but it was Minhu currency.

Setting aside whether he could even use it here, spending it would likely invite trouble if anyone looked too closely. This place, after all, looked like a Domain with a relatively robust legal system.

He could feel his injuries were severe, and he didn't have much weird energy left in his body.

His top priority now was to figure out where he was, then consider the Domain selection for his next role.

If possible, he naturally hoped to wait until his next Dungeon mission was over before making any plans.

"Don't be in such a hurry, I haven't finished speaking yet~"

The female clerk leaned her bountiful upper half out the window, blowing Yan Jing a flying kiss and a playful wink. Resting her head on one hand, she smiled.

"If you're willing to wait around for a date after I get off work, sir, it's not like I can't secretly let you stay here a little longer."

"The boss won't be coming in today."

The clerk stretched out a finger, twirling a strand of hair.

It had been a long time since she had seen such a standard pseudo-native species, especially one with such a rare, ancient style.

Of course, there was also the possibility that he wasn't a pseudo-native species at all, but an original species.

But an original species was highly unlikely.

Would there be an original species in Muke District?

What a joke.

...

Faced with the woman's invitation, Yan Jing's eyes flickered. Finally, he smiled and nodded.

"No problem."

The moment he agreed, two voices echoed faintly in his mind.

'I told you, this man is a massive liar!'

One voice was gnashing its teeth in anger.

'Shut up.'

The other voice sounded much colder. 'You're not allowed to speak ill of the Young Master.'

'Heh, you've been tricked and you're still counting his money for him.'

The voice that was highly dissatisfied with Yan Jing sneered.

'I've met another blockhead exactly like you before.'

After saying that, it fell silent.

Normally, it almost never spoke to Yan Jing. It only occasionally complained now because a new companion had moved in.

Once that voice went quiet, the world seemed to fall silent again.

Meanwhile, that colder voice curiously observed this new Domain through Yan Jing's eyes. Looking at the woman practically pressing herself against him, she gave a slight nod.

'The quality of the brothels here is much better than over in Minhu.'

'It just corrupts public morals.'

Minhu.

By now, the sky was completely bright.

But across the entirety of Minhu, almost no one could forget the scenes from the day before.

The blood-red pillar of light, the golden pillar of light, the massive eye, the black light, the dragon aura, and finally, that figure—

These scenes occupied the minds of every Minhu resident, replaying over and over again.

The lights of ten thousand homes had turned on in every city across Minhu at the first light of dawn.

Up until this morning, the discussions about the previous night had not ceased for a moment.

Paima County.

Compared to the other cities, there were far more mystical rumors floating around here.

Apart from those earth-shattering phenomena, the people here had also witnessed a human facing off against three of Minhu's absolute peak existences.

Furthermore, they had witnessed a slaughter.

"You guys didn't see it at all."

Beside a mutton soup stall, a man in his early thirties was talking enthusiastically. He pointed at the flatbread in his hand.

"A divination compass as big as this flatbread—and no one, absolutely no one was controlling it nearby. Just like that, whoosh! It sliced that division chief from the River Department into two halves."

"Those intestines were just like—just like—"

He looked around, hoping to find something more concrete to add color to his story. Suddenly, he caught sight of a blood sausage in a nearby old man's bowl and immediately grew excited.

"Right!! Just like that!"

He immediately apologized to the old man.

"Sorry about that, sir. Didn't mean to ruin your appetite."

"It's fine."

The old man slowly stood up. "Ruined or not, it's already been said."

"Alright, go home when you're done eating. Time to pack up the stalls, too."

The old man spoke softly. Everyone was completely baffled, not understanding why he would suddenly say such a thing.

But in the next second, a bone-piercing chill surged toward them. It felt as if the blood in their bodies had frozen in an instant, stopping their hearts.

Just as they were about to be collectively wiped out, the old man gently reached out a hand at the last moment. It blurred into a flurry of afterimages, pushing everyone away from the area.

Then, the old man raised his head to look at the Vice Prefecture Master walking slowly toward him. His wrinkled eyes narrowed.

"You've come."

He knew the Vice Prefecture Master would definitely come to Paima County.

Because the spectacle of the five of them being taken on one-against-five by that human had been witnessed by the people of Paima County.

Given the methods of the person before him, action would definitely be taken.

"...Where is the Second Young Master?"

The Vice Prefecture Master's gaze was calm.

"I couldn't find him."

The old man spoke softly, his voice like a sigh.

"Couldn't find him, or didn't go looking for him?"

The Vice Prefecture Master looked at the old man.

The old man shook his head.

"Either way, he should be dead."

The Vice Prefecture Master did not press the issue, simply speaking indifferently.

"You've sat in the position of Acting Prefecture Master of the Third Lake Prefecture for a very long time, haven't you?"

"Two hundred and forty-some years."

The old man replied.

"Hmm. Time to change to someone else."

The Vice Prefecture Master nodded and said:

"I've noticed a few good seedlings in the Martial Guild recently. Zhu Yi has spoken to me several times; he wants to make more contributions to the development of the East Lake Prefecture."

"Understood."

The old man nodded.

"Vice Guild Master Zhu is indeed a good candidate. He's not far from the Seventh Rank. I will complete the handover as soon as possible."

"Hmm."

The Vice Prefecture Master nodded.

"And this Paima County—how do you think I should handle it?"

The old man fell silent for a moment before finally speaking.

"Naturally, you handle it however you wish. I wouldn't dare speak out of turn."

"Hmm."

The Vice Prefecture Master nodded.

"After you step down, don't linger around the Lake Prefecture anymore. Go to the countryside to relax and find a place to settle down. I think this Paima County isn't a bad choice."

With that, the Vice Prefecture Master patted the old man's shoulder, turned, and left.

Ninth Lake Prefecture.

A knock sounded on the door of the golden hall, echoing like a death knell.

Inside the dim hall, a figure sat upright in a massive 'python' chair.

His figure was imposing, dressed in a yellow cloud-brocade robe, a red-tasseled crown on his head, and a dragon-patterned cape over his shoulders. It should have been a majestic sight.

Yet his eyes were incredibly vacant right now, making him appear utterly desolate.

Beside him stood the blind woman.

Hearing the knock, the woman's body trembled.

Soon, the door was pushed open.

The Vice Prefecture Master walked in, casually found a chair to sit down, and smiled at Li Qinghe on the throne.

"The dragon aura was shaken last night. Did you know?"

"...I know."

The two words squeezed out of Li Qinghe's mouth as he tried his best to maintain his majestic image.

"And after the Imperial Era ended, the dragon aura was not to be moved. Did you know that?"

The Vice Prefecture Master reached out, grabbed a grape from a fruit platter beside him, and popped it into his mouth.

"...I know."

Li Qinghe again replied with those two words.

Then...

Several grapes smashed directly into his face. Green juice splattered across the floor and stained the cloud-brocade dragon robe he loved so much.

"You knew, and you still messed with it?!"

The Vice Prefecture Master's expression turned incredibly dark. He blinked directly in front of Li Qinghe, grabbed him by his dragon robe, and hoisted him completely into the air.

Then, he threw him down below the throne.

Li Qinghe rolled a few times, tumbling down the steps to the next level.

He raised his head and looked at the Vice Prefecture Master, not concealing the venom in his eyes in the slightest.

The Vice Prefecture Master acted as if he hadn't seen it, sitting down in the now-empty chair with a chuckle.

"Feels decent. No wonder you love sitting here."

"Though, you really don't seem to mind how it burns your ass."

He stood up, looking down at Li Qinghe as if he were a dead dog.

"Recently, our East Lake Prefecture has been negotiating with the West Lake Prefecture. The West Lake Prefecture's ties with the Mechanical Heavenly Kingdom have grown increasingly close. So as not to lose out, we have also established contact with the Life Heavenly Kingdom."

"They agreed to our request, but..." The Vice Prefecture Master paused.

"They need us to show some sincerity."

"Therefore, we decided to give them a hostage."

Hostage.

The moment that word came out, Li Qinghe trembled all over, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Him, the only royal bloodline.

Now he had to go be a hostage!

"If you've thought it through, give me your answer tomorrow."

The Vice Prefecture Master walked down the steps, passing by Li Qinghe, who remained slumped on the ground.

"If you haven't thought it through, I will make you think it through."

Walking out of the hall, the Vice Prefecture Master took a deep breath, and then violently kicked a stone lion beside him like a madman!

He didn't use any supernatural power for the kick; it was purely to vent.

No one understood his distress.

This entire mess—not a single person was reliable.

Yet, no matter how much effort he put in, it was all for someone else's benefit.

Even a human!

Even a human dared to act up right in front of him!!!

"A bunch of stupid pigs!"

Amid a blood-red haze, after an unknown amount of time, Ye Jinyuan opened his eyes.

He could feel it—the end of this 'journey' was finally approaching.

He was about to arrive.

At the homeland of that mysterious power.

The Inner World hid treasures, and there lay the greatest treasury of them all.

He, Ye Jinyuan, was the biggest winner in all of this!!!

Before long, a blood-red door appeared in front of him.

Ecstatic, he took a step inside.

"Here I come!!!"

Soon, he tumbled out of the blood-red door and joyfully raised his head to look at the world before him.

He had already smelled unprecedentedly fresh air, preemptively opening his aged arms to embrace it all.

But suddenly...

He froze.

What appeared before him was not the new world he had imagined.

Broken continents floated in the sky, covered in withered plants and decaying buildings. Even the place he stood was just a tiny 'isolated island' that could hardly be called land!

In the distant sky hung nine 'suns,' but eight of them had already turned gray. Before them, some sort of creature seemed to be twisting its plump body, dancing around.

The last remaining illuminated sun now looked as if it were terminally ill, having turned a dull, dark red.

"Splash—splash—"

Before his shocked eyes, a river composed of corpses slowly drifted toward him.

Every piece of land that touched that white river of corpses vanished into nothingness in an instant.

"Where... where exactly... is this?"

He lowered his head and looked at a puddle beside his feet.

The figure reflected in the puddle was white-haired. His face, which had originally looked much younger than his peers, now looked like the bark of an ancient, thousand-year-old tree.

"Ah!!!!!"

A roar full of despair and unwillingness echoed through the broken world.

Heavenly Kingdom.

"Then it's a date."

The woman reached out a finger, wanting to lift Yan Jing's chin, but he dodged it with a quick sidestep, immediately making her giggle.

"I have half an hour left on my night shift. We can go get a drink then."

"I know a place that has Happy Water."

The woman's voice was seductive, as if she were sharing a secret.

Yan Jing nodded.

"I'll wait for you."

"Oh my! You really are the classical type! I love it!"

The woman teased.

Yan Jing was just about to say something when he saw a squad of people in uniforms walking toward them from a nearby intersection.

"Don't be afraid. Those enforcers are probably just here to issue tickets."

The woman smiled and said, "You can't just lie down anywhere in this area. They'll probably fine you five or six eerie points for a lying dead fee. It's not much."

Lying dead fee?

Yan Jing blinked, understanding. It was a parking fee, right?