Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 36 - 35: Storm on the Horizon

"Long time no see, Immortal Master Lord."

From afar, Shen Fang began waving his hand to greet.

When he rode his horse to the village entrance, Liu Shuyue spoke coldly, "I remember drawing a line for you, right? If you dare to cross that line, I will definitely show no mercy."

"Wait... times have changed, Immortal Master. You must have heard that in warfare, envoys are not harmed!" Shen Fang hurriedly explained, completely devoid of his former manner as a Governor.

"You? An envoy?" Liu Shuyue asked in surprise.

"Precisely. The current ruler cares greatly about your situation. He specifically wrote a letter and ordered me to hand it to you personally." With that, he dismounted and retrieved a roll of paper from his bag.

She did not reach out to take it, "So you’re here to persuade surrender?"

"I’m only here to convey the ruler’s intentions, nothing more."

Liu Shuyue turned to look at Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan pondered briefly and nodded slightly to her.

It was only then that she stepped forward to take the roll, "Let the guards stay outside. You come with us alone." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

In Hot Pepper Village, there were hardly any decent buildings. Most villagers lived in caves beneath stone pillars, let alone having a dedicated meeting hall or guest room. Nevertheless, Shen Fang was still shocked by the vitality here, his eyes never stopped darting around.

"How about it? This village." Chen Xuan asked teasingly.

"If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d absolutely find it hard to believe." Shen Fang seemed to have been waiting for this topic, and immediately spoke eloquently, "People say the Wanshan Wilderness is a place of certain death, overrun with monsters, littered with corpses, yet here stands such a pleasant landscape... and abundant resources." He pointed to a drying rack by the lakeside hung with fish jerky and exclaimed, "From not being able to fill the belly to storages full of meat, what a complete miracle! I thought the escaping refugees would live quite miserably, maybe not even one in ten surviving, looks like I underestimated the ability of the Immortal Master."

After saying that, he looked at Chen Xuan, "May I know how to address you? Are you also a Cultivator from Lotus Cloud Sect?"

"Surname Chen, given name Xuan, as for my background..."

"He is a peer of mine," Liu Shuyue interjected at this moment, "Though not part of Lotus Cloud Sect, he and I share common goals on our cultivation path."

"But as far as I know, the Lotus Cloud Sect is hostile towards cultivators other than their own family..."

"That’s true only for cultivators on this land. Chen Xuan comes from beyond the Abyss Sea."

Shen Fang showed a look of understanding, "I see. The moment I saw this young fellow, I knew he had quite a background. If there’s a chance, I’d love to hear Brother Chen talk about stories from overseas."

Chen Xuan merely smiled and nodded slightly.

Liu Shuyue was clearly making things up, he only needed to cooperate.

The reception was decided to be held on a lakeside empty ground at the edge of Wanshan, with only a long table and a few chairs.

"The village is currently under construction, there’s really no better place to host you. If there are any inconveniences, please don’t take offense." Liu Shuyue said politely, though her face bore not a hint of apology.

"No, no. I find this place excellent." The Governor waved his hand repeatedly, "The light is clear, a breeze brushes past, with heaven and earth as your room, mountains and rivers as your mirror, quite suitable."

Liu Shuyue stared at him for a moment before sighing, "I assumed you were a stubborn and proud person, yet unexpectedly, you’re quite adaptable and flexible."

Faced with this sarcasm, Shen Fang just smiled bitterly, without responding.

She was also too lazy for continued politeness, and directly opened the "secret letter" in her hand.

After skimming a few lines, Liu Shuyue’s eyebrows furrowed, and upon finishing, she angrily slapped the roll onto the table, "Absurd!"

"What’s written there?" Chen Xuan curiously asked.

"See for yourself." She handed it over directly.

By rights, this item was meant for Liu Shuyue alone, but Shen Fang tactfully looked away, pretending not to see the Immortal Master’s move.

The letter’s content was straightforward. The first part rebuked and condemned Liu Shuyue—the King of Qi’s anger at her betrayal was evident in every word. Sincerity over five years, only to receive unilateral actions in return, yet even so, he was willing to offer Liu Shuyue a chance to redeem herself. If only she returned to the Royal City within two months upon receiving the letter to admit guilt and pledge allegiance, he could forego the penalty against nine generations of her kin.

Chen Xuan found this unsurprising, but the letter didn’t even mention the slaying of the dragon. Once the King of Qi knew the dragon symbolizing royal authority had been slain, skinned, and butchered by the Immortal Master, with precious dragon blood nourishing refugees, he’d likely lose his breath in anger.

However, the second half of the letter was somewhat absurd.

It was a blatant threat—if Liu Shuyue did not return within the deadline, the King would execute her entire clan, and even her birthplace’s residents would be put to death altogether. It didn’t stop there; he would then rally troops and civilian Loose Cultivators to flatten the refugees’ hiding place, grinding all those who dared resist into dust!

Such contempt for the lives of governed civilians naturally enraged Liu Shuyue.

"Where are your family now?" Chen Xuan asked after reading.

"I’m a disciple of Lotus Cloud Sect. What family would I have!" she said indignantly, "Since I could remember, I’ve been inside the Sect’s Mental Cultivation Room. Not just me, other disciples are the same. I’ve never heard of them talking about family or secular life. The King of Qi is entirely trying to threaten me with something nonexistent!"

"Oh, Immortal Master Lord, were you born inside the Sect?" Shen Fang asked in surprise, "I thought Lotus Cloud Sect would secretly seek out children with exceptional talents, adopting them and then cultivating them into cultivators..."

"That’s merely a rumor circulating in the world." Liu Shuyue immediately denied, "The Sect opens its mountain gate once every hundred years. How could they have manpower to collect secular children? It’s just some Loose Cultivators, Evil Cultivators using Lotus Cloud Sect’s name to deceive and kidnap, making people mistakenly believe it!"

An entirely enclosed sect? Without desires for the outside world, why do they interfere with secular matters... Chen Xuan was somewhat concerned, "Then who is the Liu family mentioned in the letter?"

"I know, the Yunzhou Liu Family, it’s a large clan." Shen Fang immediately replied, "But... Immortal Master Lord, are you sure you have no connection with the Liu Family?"

"Would I not know my own origins?!" Liu Shuyue retorted.

"I’m not doubting you, just..." The Governor hesitated, "They not only claim to have a blood relationship with the Imperial Advisor Immortal Master but also have close ties with Lotus Cloud Sect. Simultaneously, they explain your background vividly, like how you have a sister in the clan named Liu Qing—"

"Ridiculous!" She couldn’t help but interrupt, "This Liu Family is simply crazy!"

"They probably wanted to ride on the prestige of disciples of an Immortal Family, thus fabricating things so comprehensively." Chen Xuan rubbed his forehead, "Now, to ride the fame, they’ve stepped onto the path to ruin."

Liu Shuyue suddenly fell silent.

After a long pause, she spoke again, "I believe the Governor should have guessed the content of the letter."

"Roughly so." Shen Fang humbly said, "This affair has affected the court profoundly. I can feel the ruler’s anger even in Qing State. His restraint in first sending you a letter rather than immediately deploying the army may already be quite restrained."

"Restrained?" Liu Shuyue scoffed, "Taking the lives of a land’s civilians as a bargaining chip... he doesn’t deserve to rule this nation!"

Shen Fang coughed awkwardly.

"I won’t reply. You can pass on my words directly." She articulated, "I will never bow to such a tyrant!"

"Um... I understand your meaning. I’ll convey it appropriately at that time." Shen Fang nodded.

The two escorted the Governor to the village entrance, where he said upon farewell, "Is the Immortal Master still gathering refugees to seek haven here?"

"Correct." Liu Shuyue admitted, "What’s it about?"

"I might be able to help the Immortal Master a bit."

"What do you mean?"

"As you see, Zhangwei is the gateway to Qing State’s northward route, refugees will inevitably converge at Zhangwei. I can send people to ensure their safe arrival here, saving Immortal Master quite some effort."

This caught Liu Shuyue slightly off guard, "Why? You don’t seem to care much about their lives?"

Shen Fang retained an unchanged expression, "I’m the parental official of Zhangwei, when it comes to prioritizing city people or outsiders, there’s no choice to be made. I’m merely weighing the lesser of two evils. But if there’s a chance to save a refugee’s life, why should I become the villain scorned by Qing State citizens."

After a moment of gazing at each other, Liu Shuyue clasped her hands in respect, "Then I must trouble you, Lord."

She returned to using a respectful address.

Shen Fang earnestly raised his hand to reciprocate, "I hope when we next meet, this can become a genuine place of refuge."