Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 168: This Is A Very Good Outcome

The Old Dragon’s threatening words truly frightened Chu Mingcai, but Ji Yuan now clearly knew that the True Demon in front of him would never dare to attack casually, even if he had a little leeway.

But even so, in Chu Mingcai’s heart, he had the impression that the Old Dragon had deliberately given a dangerous signal at this moment. It was even possible that he had been deliberately asking the True Immortal next to him, ‘Should we take action? ’

“If the evil thoughts in one’s heart are not already strong, even I cannot easily enter the body and control it like an extra limb. To put it bluntly, this Chu Mingcai and Huang Shihe, who previously coveted Huang Xingye’s family business, are birds of a feather. They are not good people!”

Chu Mingcai spoke these words loudly and with obvious sarcasm, while appearing nonchalant.

“Besides, Mr. Ji and I have been chatting here for so long, out of nothing more than concern for the people of Dongle County. It is rare to see a true immortal like Mr. Ji who has no prejudice against demons, humans, or gods. I will also give you two gentlemen a favor and a promise: I will not make any more moves in Dazhen territory again, nor will I touch Huang Xingye.”

Chu Mingcai’s words were quite skillful. They are veiled and soft, implying surrender but carrying a threat: ‘I am afraid of you, but if you really shed the pretense and make a move, this Dongle County and even this country of Dazhen will be in turmoil, and there will be no peace.’

As soon as these words came out, the Old Dragon sneered and said nothing. Ji Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, and even Ying Feng didn’t dare to make a sound. The atmosphere seemed even more tense than before.

The entire Huang mansion had already been filled with faint dragon energy. All the snakes, insects, worms, and rats in the house fled in a panic.

The movement of the small animals added a sense of oppression to the dim room.

Thunder exploded in the sky, illuminating the faces of the two dragons and showing grotesque expressions.

“Crack…”

The teacup that Chu Mingcai had been holding all this time had a crack in it. It seemed his words just now were counterproductive…

Most dragons had bad tempers, and Ji Yuan was rather clear on the Old Dragon’s temperament. He was fond of those liked, and disliked those he didn’t.¹ Although he was reasonable, he was definitely a stubborn donkey who would not blindly obey others’ will.² The slightly provocative words of the True Demon who occupied Chu Mingcai’s flesh were unpleasant.

“Mr. Ying, let’s calm down first!”

Ji Yuan spoke up at the right time to uplift him. Although he knew the Old Dragon was already acting restrained, he couldn’t help but feel that the atmosphere was too depressing.

“Sir, your words do make some sense. We have indeed made quite a fuss, but your words, Sir, are too one-sided as to the natures of Chu Mingcai and Huang Shihe. As a True Demon, if that is your intent, even a truly virtuous individual could not stop your corruption. How about this: let’s ask the Dongle County’s underworld to investigate these two people’s character. If it is as you have said, we will let you leave safely today. If there is any deviation from your claims, we shall have to give some retribution, Sir.”

Hearing Ji Yuan’s words, Chu Mingcai let out a sigh of relief. This could be considered a way for both parties to save face. Even though Huang Shihe and Chu Mingcai were not that terrible of people, the phrase “give some retribution” was at least much more relaxed than the tense situation just now.

If he had such a disadvantage like fighting against a True Dragon and a True Immortal at the same time, it would most likely end in his death. He didn’t even dare to attempt it.

“As Mr. Ji says!”

Chu Mingcai quickly expressed his opinion. The Old Dragon just hummed and did not object.

Ji Yuan took a deep breath, raised his left foot and lightly stepped on the ground.

“Lord Land God.”

At his command, the Land God appeared once again beside Ji Yuan, surrounded by green smoke.

At this moment, both the Old Dragon and the Dragon Son turned to stare at Ji Yuan and the Land God. The Old Dragon was relatively unfazed, but Ying Feng couldn’t help but show a look of shock.

Many people had heard of the strange art of “Spirit Binding,” but few had actually seen it. However, the characteristics of “Spirit Binding” were far too distinct, so anyone with even a little knowledge could definitely identify it upon sight.

This was the first time the Ying family’s father and son had seen the binding of a god.

The Land God was already prepared to resist the pressure, but even so, he shivered as soon as he appeared. The dragon energy in his hall was too strong, and very uncomfortable.

To put it bluntly, he was just a god with a newly built temple, so he did not have much incense power. Although he had begun to connect to the earth veins, he was essentially closer in nature to a monster, so he couldn’t withstand the pressure.

Not daring to look back at the two dragons to the side whatsoever, the Land God held his breath and greeted Ji Yuan.

“The Land God of Maoqian Town bows in greeting to the Immortal!”

“I’m sure the Land God has seen the situation here, so there’s no need for me to say more. The two people beside me are the True Dragon of Tongtian River and his son. They are my friends. Please, Land God, quickly notify the underworld of Dongle County, and tell them that we would like to ask the underworld officials to investigate the lives and characters of Chu Mingcai and Huang Shihe.”

Ji Yuan explained everything briefly, such that the Lord Land God didn’t have to stay in this atmosphere for too long.

“I accept your orders, and I will be taking my leave!”

After receiving the command, the Land God all but fled into the ground.

As soon as the Land God left, Ying Feng was the first to lose his composure.

“Uncle Ji, you know the ‘Spirit Binding’ technique? Why haven’t I seen you use it before? Is it a difficult skill? Is it possible for me to…”

“Ahem!”

The Old Dragon coughed to stop his son’s somewhat humiliating excitement.

The first half of my son’s words was quite funny. Ji Yuan could use Spirit Binding, hadn’t he just used it in front of him? What kind of trick did he think it was?

But the second half of his words…

The Old Dragon glanced at Ji Yuan and turned back to lecture the Dragon Son.

“The technique of Spirit Binding is a mysterious art. It cannot be accomplished without a true cultivation of the Tao. You are still hundreds of years away from reaching it!”

Of course, somehow Ji Yuan could hear the Old Dragon’s subtext, something like “I wouldn’t need that long.” However, “Spirit Binding” was different from techniques like flying on clouds or water control. The Old Dragon was too embarrassed to speak, so JI Yuan just played dumb…

…

The little God was so exhausted that he nearly broke his legs after hearing the immortal’s command.

The Land God appeared in front of his own temple at a breakneck speed. Of course, he wanted to first notify the ghosts and gods currently in town. The Land God of Maoqian Town could not simply step outside of the town at will.

The Land God had naturally informed the underworld of what had happened in the Huang family mansion just now. This time, the underworld sent even more people to be on high alert. All the great gods from the various divisions had arrived, along with quite a few underworld messengers.

The Land God, who had been explaining the situation to them just a moment ago, suddenly dove into the ground in the very next moment and disappeared without having finished his sentence.

All the ghost messengers were still wondering what had happened, when they saw a flash of yellow light, and the Land God appeared once more.

“Haa… haaah… I’m so scared, so scared. It’s really not easy to be a local Land God…”

The Land God spoke with lingering fears, and hurriedly greeted everyone from the underworld.

“Everyone, this time something big happened. A True Dragon arrived here when we least expected it and we didn’t notice. The Immortal needs…”

The Land God explained the matter briefly and succinctly,³ with a heavy tone.

After hearing his explanation, all the ghosts and gods of the underworld subconsciously raised their heads and looked at the dark clouds, black like splashes of ink. They found that there really was a dragon flying towards them.

The Land God breathed a sigh of relief after conveying the message, but the ghosts and gods of the underworld who had left immediately went to work.

Huang Shihe was fine, as he could be easily found by searching in the records of Dongle County’s underworld. However, Chu Mingcai was not originally from Dongle County, but instead a citizen of Changchuan Prefecture. The City God of Dongle County traveled to the county border in person to set up a soul-calling bell in order to attract a daytime patrol of Changchuan Prefecture. Then they explained the situation.

Within half an hour, the entire underworld of Changchuan Prefecture was shaken. The City God of the prefecture personally traveled to Dongle County with the records, and the ghosts and gods gathered in the small Maoqian Town.

After a while, the Land God emerged in the living room of the Huang family mansion, two books filled with Yin energy in his hands. There were wooden bookmarks placed inside each of the two books, opened to the pages with the records of Huang Shihe and Chu Mingcai.

“My Lord, these are the record books that contains the records of the lives of Huang Shihe and Chu Mingcai. They are from the underworld of Dongle County, and the underworld of Changchuan Prefecture, respectively. The pages have already been marked.”

This time, the Land God spoke more fluidly, but he still only looked at Ji Yuan, and didn’t dare to glance around.

“Alright. This place is too heavy for you, feel free to leave first!”

“Thank you for your understanding, Immortal. I will take my leave!”

The Land God retreated rapidly as if he had been pardoned of a crime. After all, no one here would destroy the books of the underworld. And even if they did, could he even stop them?

Ji Yuan opened the books on the table, and read out the underworld’s latest comments.

“Huang Shihe, a native of Maoqian Town. Born was born on the second hour of the afternoon in the twelfth lunar month of the year of Xin Chou.⁴ He is… jealous and will take revenge if attacked.”

After reading Huang Shihe’s record, he decided to switch.

“Chu Mingcai, from Yue’an Lane, Changchuan Prefecture…”

After reading the relevant content of the two volumes, Chu Mingcai felt mixed emotions of joy and sorrow. The older Huang Shihe had a bad character, and was indeed not a good person.

But the younger Chu Mingcai was not all that bad. At most, he had been spoiled since childhood, and was rather lustful. He often went to brothels and made love to the pretty maids in the mansion. Occasionally, he would flirt with some of the higher-class girls he liked, but if they were unwilling, there would be no further inappropriate behavior.

After Ji Yuan finished reading the annotations in the underworlds’ record books, the hall grew quiet again, with only the occasional lightning and thunder making frightening sounds.

“Sir, how do you think this matter should be resolved? I might as well tell you frankly: if you were not a True Demon, a weaker demon would already have been destroyed by now.”

Ji Yuan was silent for a while. Then, with a tone that was neither lighthearted nor cold, he directly threw the question to the person (devil) in question.

…

In Maoqian Town, the City God of Changchuan Prefecture, the City God of Dongle County, and all the other ghosts and gods waited a hundred feet away from the Huang residence. Some were anxious, others were calm, but all were ready to take action.

“Boom…”

Thunder sounded in the sky again, and as soon as the lightning illuminated the earth, an enormous hole exploded from the roof of the Huang family mansion with a “boom!” Black and purple demonic energy rose rapidly like light and smoke.

“ROAR…”

A dragon’s roar came from the Huang mansion, and all the ghosts and people of the entirety of Maoqian Town seemed to feel unsteady for a short period of time, as if the earth itself were shaking.

“Shiiing…”

At the same moment, the crisp sound of a sword rang out, and the world seemed to light up in an instant.

A blurry dragon claw mixed with wind, dust, and drizzle stretched out into the air, and the light of a sword flashed.

It was like an infinite stream of air bursting amidst the drizzle…

“Boom…whooosh…whooosh…whooosh…”

At this very moment wine gusted violently through Maoqian Town. Countless large trees swayed from side to side. The roof tiles of many of the houses were blown away… and the demonic energy in the sky dissipated into nothingness.

……

Inside the Huang Mansion, the Green Vine Sword has been sheathed. The Old Dragon and Ji Yuan sat in their original places, as if they had never moved. The chair the True Demon had originally been sitting in had been shattered. Chu Mingcai’s body collapsed to the ground.

A light drizzle drifted in from the hole in the living room. Ying Feng stood somewhat excitedly, staring at the big hole, then back at his father and Ji Yuan.

“Father, Uncle Ji, you just let him go so easily? Shouldn’t you capture that guy and keep him here?”

The old dragon snorted coldly.

“Heh, who do you think that was? Some little monster who had just achieved human transformation? What would the consequences be if we truly fought?”

At this point, the Old Dragon sneered again.

“Haha, your Uncle Ji’s method is also quite insidious. He first made him swear a Heavenly Demon Blood Oath that he would never enter Dazhen again, then let him run off first. The two of us didn’t even move and just attacked once, but he was hit by my Hidden Dragon Claw and the Immortal Sword at the same time. Even a True Demon would be hurt. If it had been you, you would have been destroyed on the spot.”

The Dragon Son Ying Feng pouted and muttered.

“But he still ran away…”

The Old Dragon set down his teacup and stared at his son’s back with a smile, making the latter feel a cold sweat.

Ji Yuan gently closed his eyes to ease the unbearable pain, and breathed a sigh of relief. This outcome was already very good.

The very same thought was shared by the True Demon, who had escaped into the turbulent gale and was at this very moment fleeing north. Although he could not suppress his overflowing demonic energy and the heart-piercing pain, he was still grateful.

“I was only hit twice, this is a very good outcome…”

T/n: A True Dragon, True Immortal, and True Demon walk into a bar…

1. This sentence is tricky because it seems like it’s the tautology “I like the people I like,” but it’s more saying “I like who I want and you can’t change my mind”
2. Donkeys are known to be stubborn and contrary animals, hence the metaphor

3. 简明扼要

   (jiǎnmíng’èyào) succinct and to the point. Lit: “as if he were pouring beans”

4. 辛丑 (xīnchǒu): thirty-eighth year H2 of the 60 year cycle – i.e. year 38 in a cycle of 60 years. the last Xin Chou was in 2021, and the one before that was 1961.