Invincible Dad-Chapter 646 - One Hundred and Forty-Six: Time to Hit the Road_1
Men. They’re just not trustworthy.
Ji Jie walked into the sea until the water reached her waist. She extended her pale arms as if trying to grasp the bright moon reflected on the water’s surface.
But how could one ever grasp the moon in the sea?
After several attempts, Ji Jie failed each time.
She covered her face and began to laugh abruptly, a deeply seductive sound.
The maid, Ren Shi, who had been keeping her head down, suddenly lifted it. Her eyes filled with admiration and longing before she silently lowered it again.
As a maid, Ren Shi was very clear about her own status and position. The Crown Princess was a being she could never touch in her lifetime.
"I am to Xu Lai as this moon is to the sea—visible but untouchable."
Ji Jie cupped seawater in her hands, the white crescent moon clearly reflected within. She gazed at it, entranced, then turned with a smile that bloomed like a flower.
"Eternal skies, a fleeting romance. If I can’t hold on to Wen Rou, I will make him remember me forever."
"Ren Shi, what do you think I should do?"
"..."
The maid Ren Shi shuddered inexplicably.
The Crown Princess was a madwoman. This fact was known to everyone in the Moon Clan, from top to bottom, including the Moon King.
Even after serving the Crown Princess closely for many years, Ren Shi dared not claim to understand Ji Jie’s temperament. The madwoman’s joys and sorrows were never worn on her sleeve; she did whatever she pleased according to her mood, and no one could ever see through her.
But Ren Shi knew that angering the Crown Princess was a dead end, no matter who you were. There was no question about it.
Therefore, Ren Shi remained silent, not daring to respond to Ji Jie’s question.
Ji Jie didn’t take it to heart; she was long accustomed to her maid’s caution. She opened her hands, letting the water in her palms return to the sea, briefly stirring a few ripples.
She turned and walked back to the beach.
With each step, her seductive expression gradually turned to ice. Behind her, the bright moon hanging high in the sky grew more dazzling as an emotionless voice echoed.
"Return to the Moon Clan."
...
「Chang’an City.」
After more than ten days of repairs, all the parts damaged by the war had been restored. Starlight fell upon this ancient city, and the defensive Starlight Array flickered in and out of sight, emitting a brilliant, flowing light.
Martial Artists patrolled the city walls.
The statue of Xu Yanyang, sitting cross-legged, still stood atop the city wall, a sharp, curved saber lying across its lap. Three hundred years had passed, lending the stone statue an indescribable aura. This was the man who had ushered in the golden age of Hua Country’s Martial Dao. It was he, with just his saber, who had guarded Hua Country’s peace for a hundred years. For generations, the members of the Xu Family possessed the same indomitable spirit as their ancestor.
The head of the Xu Family in this generation was Xu Wandao. After leaving the meeting room of the Martial Dao Association in East Sea City, he had headed straight for Chang’an. Compared to Earth, he much preferred the vast desolation of the Moon.
This was his home.
As always, Xu Wandao carried two flasks of wine to the statue, gazing at his ancestor’s likeness with a peculiar expression.
Nowadays, in Hua Country, apart from him and Senior Xu Lai, nearly everyone believed the ancestor had died.
Xu Wandao placed one flask of wine before the statue and opened the other, looking toward the distant horizon with a lonely expression.
There lay the depths of the Moon Clan, home to countless tribes, large and small, as well as the Eight Great Crescent Moon Clans and the supreme Royal Clan.
"Ancestor, when do you think we will be able to remove this thorn in our side?"
"And the Sea Demons in Sea City, within Hua Country’s borders... though they are currently lying low, half of them are from beyond our domain. If they were to erupt, the consequences... would be unpredictable."
Xu Wandao looked down and saw a few flecks of fresh, red blood on the ancestor’s statue. His expression turned somber as he took a large swig of wine. The blood was from the Moon Clan’s attack on the city half a month ago. It was impossible to tell if it belonged to his own people or to the Moon Clan.
Xu Wandao carefully wiped it clean, silently finished the flask of wine, and then turned to leave the city wall.
WHOOSH—
A gust of wind blew past. The flask of wine Xu Wandao had left at the statue vanished, and the murmur of "Good wine" could be vaguely heard on the wind.
But no one heard this voice, not even the Martial Artists patrolling ten meters from the statue, who felt not the slightest disturbance.
In the distance, however, a figure gazed toward Chang’an City.
It was Ji Jie. She glanced at the city shrouded in starlight, her eyes filled with conflicting emotions, then she flew away.
Without stopping along the way, Ji Jie headed back to the Royal Clan. But as she sped along, she was unaware that her younger brother was near the Royal City, and with Ji Gui were eleven elderly men and women. They were not from the Moon Clan, but the former Sect Masters of the Three Sects and Eight Pavilions!
These eleven had been shielded from both their Divine Sense and their sight. As their hoods were removed, the sudden brightness made them all subconsciously raise their hands to shield their eyes.
"Where is this place?" The old Sect Master of the Blade Sect, Qi Wanhai, felt his pupils shrink.
What was he seeing? A towering city rose from the ground, several times larger than Chang’an City, resembling a gigantic fortress. The sight was utterly intimidating.
"This is the Royal City," Ji Gui said calmly, his hands clasped behind his back. "I will guide you to a secret path that leads directly to the Great Hall. My father, the King, spends his days in the Great Hall."
"..."
The eleven former Sect Masters felt their hair stand on end.
They had indeed intended to cooperate with Ji Gui, but they could never have imagined that what he’d said before was actually true. Patricide. In all times and places, it has been an unforgivable crime of the gravest nature, yet the Crown Prince of the Moon Clan wanted to risk it all.
"Aren’t you afraid we’ll tell the Moon King of your treacherous schemes?" Tian Ce Pavilion’s old Pavilion Master narrowed his eyes.
Ji Gui said nothing, merely gazing calmly at him. The old Pavilion Master was equally silent, their gazes locked. After a full minute, they both suddenly broke into laughter, a sound that was hearty and liberating.
The other Sect Masters of the Holy Lands were completely baffled but asked no questions.
Was Ji Gui afraid the human experts would betray him? In a way, yes. In another way, no. Through their recent interactions, Ji Gui had come to believe that among these eleven, the elder from Tian Ce Pavilion was a man of wisdom. He was sure the man would understand the situation.
If they did betray him at the last moment, all eleven of them would die, and Ji Gui would undoubtedly perish as well. Then, the most brutal retaliation would await the Human Race, while the Moon Clan would suffer no major losses.
However, if they cooperated with Ji Gui to assassinate the Moon King, it was a gamble they would most likely lose. But if they won, the Moon Clan would undoubtedly fall into chaos. Of that, there was no doubt. Ji Gui believed that any rational human powerhouse would collaborate with him rather than betray him at the last moment.
And he was right.
Tian Ce Pavilion’s old Pavilion Master smiled like a cunning old fox. "This is one overt bait I must bite."
Ji Gui remained silent. He tossed a Jade Slip into the air and turned to leave, even using a special Magic Artifact to erase all traces of his presence.
The old Pavilion Master caught the Jade Slip, which contained the location of the secret passage.
"Old friends, it’s time to set out." His gaze was resolute. The term ’set out’ was ominous, yet it suited them perfectly.
"Today, we, eleven Golden Core experts of the Human Race, shall face the Moon Clan’s greatest warrior!"
Eleven figures strode forward with a carefree air, their silhouettes looking somewhat desolate, yet touched with a tragic nobility. This was a choice that was doomed to offer no path of survival. But not a single one of the eleven old Sect Masters from the Three Sects and Eight Pavilions showed any cowardice or hesitation; they were, in fact, eager for the challenge.
Eleven people slipped into the secret passage together. The moment they stepped out would mark their final farewell to life.
...
「The Crown Princess had returned.」
This news spread across the entire Moon in an instant, originating from the Lower Crescent Fourth Moon Clan. It wasn’t that they had an intelligence network capable of tracking the Crown Princess, but rather that Ji Jie had used their Teleportation Array.
She then teleported to the Lower Crescent Third, then to the Upper Crescent Fourth...
In less than half an hour of teleporting, Ji Jie arrived ten kilometers outside the Royal City.
Her eyes immediately fell upon Ji Gui, who was pacing behind a large boulder. Her lips curled into a smirk. "Why does His Highness the Crown Prince linger outside the city?"
BOOM!
The familiar voice made Ji Gui’s pupils constrict. He spun around to face Ji Jie, exclaiming in shock, "Why have you returned!"
"This is my home. Why shouldn’t I return?" Ji Jie’s smile gradually faded. "My dear brother, lurking here so furtively... surely you aren’t up to some mischief?"
Ji Gui quickly regained his composure and said indifferently, "Mother ordered me to return to my fief to rest. I am not to enter the Royal City again without a royal decree."
"Then what are you doing here?"
"I was commanded by Father to investigate the theft of the Spiritual Field in the Southwest Great Tribe, and I have some leads," Ji Gui said solemnly. "But without a royal decree, I cannot enter the city."
Ji Jie tilted her head, her exquisitely beautiful face carrying a soft, alluring smile. "My foolish little brother, that is our father. How could he possibly find fault with you?"
She had oddly emphasized the word ’father.’
Ji Gui remained expressionless. "Speak plainly. No need to talk in circles."
Ji Jie glided forward with graceful steps, moving beside Ji Gui and bringing with her a scent that was pleasant but not cloying. She chuckled. "After some time apart, His Highness the Crown Prince seems more imposing. I just wonder how many more innocent maids have died by your hand."
"And how many skins has Her Highness the Crown Princess flayed in the meantime?"
"..."
Ji Jie was slightly taken aback. Her brother, who used to fear her, now dared to talk back. How interesting. She didn’t dwell on it. With a smile in her eyes, she said, "Let’s enter the city. As it happens, I also have intelligence to report to Father."
Sweat began to bead on Ji Gui’s forehead.
This madwoman, Ji Jie, had to return now of all times. Could she have gotten wind of something? But that shouldn’t be possible. For days, these eleven humans have been under my watch; there was no way for them to send any message. Could the news have leaked from the Supreme Elders of the Eight Great Crescent Moon Clans?
"Dear brother," Ji Jie said, playfully clasping her hands behind her back as she looked at him, "why is my Sound Transmission Jade Slip being blocked?"
Ji Gui froze.
"So it was you," Ji Jie narrowed her eyes. "Tell me why."
Ji Gui frowned deeply. "You came all the way back to the Royal City just for this? To complain to Father about me?"
"What else?"
"Hahahahaha!" Ji Gui couldn’t help but laugh loudly. He spoke with force, "Yes, I did it. But I did it to protect you, sister."
"Oh?"
Ji Jie was surprised, not only by the long-unheard title of ’sister,’ but also by Ji Gui’s frankness.
"Xu Lai’s whereabouts are still unknown," Ji Gui said gravely. "And he is suspected of being a Nascent Soul peak expert, possibly even in the Divinity Transformation Realm. We can’t rule out the possibility that he’s hiding within one of the tribes. I was concerned for your safety, sister."
