Nearly everyone’s eyes widened. Many people behind Meng Huaichuan looked on with envy, recalling the incident with Marquis Zhenyuan.
Ten years ago, misfortune befell the house of Marquis Zhenyuan. His son was turned by the Demon Race and sold military intelligence. After the incident came to light, his entire clan was taken to Divine Capital City, facing execution down to the last member.
But later, Marquis Zhenyuan’s family was merely stripped of their status and made commoners. The young and old of the clan were spared. Only the marquis’s son was executed, and Marquis Zhenyuan himself died in battle with the River Guard Army many days later.
Years later, someone revealed that Marquis Zhenyuan had once obtained a ’Southern Order’. He had used it to ask King Dingnan to plead with Emperor Taining on his behalf, ultimately sacrificing his and his son’s lives to save the rest of the clan.
This Southern Order was practically half a Pill Book Iron Certificate, an Immunity Token.
The crowd looked at Li Qingxian with envy. They also finally understood who Meng Huaichuan had been toasting that day at Huahai Building.
Li Qingxian recalled the scenes from the last time he’d been trapped in a Deceitful Land and the existence of Hao Yunsheng. He glanced at the sprawling crowd of over a hundred people behind Meng Huaichuan and then considered Meng Huaichuan’s status. ’If I join that team, will my orders really be followed?’ He sighed, cupped his hands toward Meng Huaichuan, and said, "Young Master Meng, I shouldn’t refuse such a generous offer. But I have my own hidden troubles that I cannot speak of. Otherwise, given your kindness and my friendship with Xiaoyi, I would have joined without hesitation. I hope Young Master Meng can forgive me."
Shen Xiaoyi sighed and said, "We are both Fate Masters. It was already an accident for you to enter the Myriad Phenomena Map as an Eighth Grade. Though I don’t know the reason, I can understand your position. Besides, matters of a Deceitful Land are hard to explain."
Meng Huaichuan glanced at Shen Xiaoyi, then looked at Li Qingxian and sighed. "Forget it, forget it. No wonder Shen Xiaoyi sometimes calls you a bastard. You won’t even give me face. Since you’ve refused me this time, you’ll owe me a penalty drink when we meet again after the Cyan Cloud Examination. Otherwise, where will I, Meng Huaichuan, put my face?"
Li Qingxian smiled. "Thank you for your understanding, Young Master Meng. When the time comes, I’ll down three penalty drinks."
"We’re off!" Meng Huaichuan gave a helpless smile and turned to leave.
Shen Xiaoyi gave Li Qingxian a slight nod.
Hao Yunsheng and Wang Buku exchanged a look. Hao Yunsheng smiled faintly, while Wang Buku let out a long sigh.
Watching Meng Huaichuan and his group depart, one person whispered, "Rejecting him like that... won’t he fly into a rage out of humiliation?"
Qiu Ye chuckled. "You underestimate the Dingnan King Mansion, and you underestimate the Marquis Nanxiang. Let me give you an analogy. If two people block your path—one a cultivator of the same grade who is your equal and a threat, and the other a blind man covered in injuries—which one would you be more wary of?"
"The former, of course."
"Exactly. In that situation, we wouldn’t have the mind to get angry at a blind man. It’s the same in the eyes of the Marquis Nanxiang. Looking across the world, never mind people like us, even a Third-Grade Expert is nothing more than a slightly stronger commoner in the eyes of the Dingnan King Mansion. The only things that can truly stir the emotions of the Marquis Nanxiang are the world’s first-rate powers. We can’t threaten him at any time."
Wang Buku sighed. "This is the confidence of the Noble Families. They never need to worry or waste energy on unnecessary things, unlike us, who are always scheming against this and guarding against that, terrified of a single misstep leading to eternal damnation. He isn’t afraid, so naturally, he won’t get angry. Think about it: don’t all our instances of anger or humiliation stem from realizing we can’t do something? Who among you would get angry over something irrelevant or easily accomplished?"
"But won’t he feel like he’s lost face?" someone else asked.
"Who among us is capable of making the Dingnan King Mansion lose face? Besides, the Dingnan King Mansion hasn’t been short on face for many, many years," said Qiu Ye.
"True enough." The group reluctantly accepted the fact.
"Let’s observe a little longer, then enter the city!" said Li Qingxian.
Everyone looked around, deep in thought.
The two giant children continuously raised and lowered their arms.
The plaque on the gatehouse was damaged and incomplete; the city’s name was illegible.
The entire city wall resembled a shield rusted solid.
Li Qingxian watched for a while, recalling his various experiences in the Deceit Village.
First, he participated in the Deceit Village’s ritual, constantly worshipping the five Ladies of Deceit as his companions died one by one.
After that, he was forced by Hao Yunsheng to become a Deceitful Infant, and then he traded with Hao Yunsheng for the Great Cutting Sword and the Sunlight on Golden Mountain Destiny Star.
Later, sensing that Hao Yunsheng’s malicious intentions hadn’t died, he crossed out the name "the blacksmith" and carved in "Ye Han" when it was time to establish names after the ritual. He officially took Ye Han as his Deceit Name.
He also planted a ginkgo tree and had the blacksmith, Chen Sanwa, guard it, making him the Name Guardian.
Finally, he seized Hao Yunsheng’s Qiankun Ring and drove back the Deceitful Mother.
It wasn’t so much that he had successfully resolved the Deceit, but rather that he had survived until the very end.
’Why did I carve the name "Ye Han" on the wooden board back then? Oh, right, it’s perfectly normal to carve one’s own name. The blacksmith’s name was erased, so he can only be called Chen Sanwa...’ Li Qingxian felt he was on the verge of realizing something, but for some reason, his mind grew hazy, and once again, everything felt perfectly natural.
"How is it? Are you ready?" Li Qingxian asked.
Wang Buku said, "I have a theory."
"Speak."
"The two giant children sing, ’Golden lock, silver lock, KACHA, iron lock,’ while the children next to them sing, ’City gate, city gate, how high is the wall? Thirty-six feet tall. Eat some porridge, swallow a pepper, walking to the gate you’ll slip and fall.’ They often sing together, but sometimes they’re out of sync. I suspect that when we’re entering the city gate, if the other children sing ’slip and fall,’ we’ll actually slip and fall," Wang Buku said in a low voice.
"That’s very likely!" Everyone’s eyes lit up.
Li Qingxian nodded. "I also think the two are related. However, you’ve all forgotten one thing."
"What is it?" the group asked.
Li Qingxian swept his gaze over the children beside each person in the group.
Songg Baige was suddenly alarmed. "Are you saying... these children might also start singing the nursery rhyme?"
Li Qingxian nodded.
A chill ran down everyone’s spines.
Li Qingxian said, "However, as long as we’re prepared and have considered various countermeasures, we can handle any sudden developments. Remember, the core of this game is one thing and one thing only: at the safest moment, rush through the city gate as fast as possible. Right now, we will observe and calculate the timing of both nursery rhymes. We need to ensure that we rush in at the exact moment the giant children lift their arms after ’slip and fall’ has been sung. This will avoid the overlap of the two rhymes."
After a brief discussion, the group began to observe carefully, searching for a pattern.
Before long, Li Qingxian distributed Light Body, Wind Stepping, and other Spirit Talismans to the group. They approached the two giant children and waited quietly.
There were already several hundred people gathered here. They merely glanced at Li Qingxian’s group before going back to their own business.
The clear sound of the nursery rhymes continued unabated.
"...Eat some porridge, swallow a pepper, walking to the gate you’ll slip and fall."
At the same time, the two giant children finished singing, "Big lock, small lock, nothing at all!" and smilingly raised their arms.
Suddenly, a gentle breeze swirled around Li Qingxian’s party of twenty-four as Spiritual Power rippled through the air.
Like arrows loosed from a bow, the twenty-four of them shot forward between the two giant children, pulling their own little companions along.
At the same time, the other people nearby noticed the scene.
"Look, someone’s going through the city gate!"
"They’ve got guts!"
"Impressive!"
"I think that’s the Eighth-Grade Aoshou. Incredible!"
"As expected of Ye Han, son of Gangfeng!"
More people turned to look at the city gate.
The very instant Li Qingxian stepped into the gateway area, he immediately felt Fangfang, the child beside him, suddenly grow heavier.
Out of the corner of his eye, Li Qingxian saw everyone’s figures falter violently. They then staggered, and several of them nearly fell.