The Unparalleled Sword Emperor
Chapter 1700 - 1697: Hai Tang, Long Time No Harm!

Chapter 1700: Chapter 1697: Hai Tang, Long Time No Harm!

"Hai Tang, long time no see!"

Lin Bai spoke in a low tone, his face adorned with a full smile.

As he began to speak, there was an unexpected hint of a choke in his voice.

Gao Lin couldn’t help but ask with amusement, "What’s this? Does Brother Dongfang know our captain?"

"Hai Tang, do you know him?"

Yang Qingyun also asked curiously.

Tiehai Tang was momentarily stunned, then she chuckled and said, "Brother Dongfang, noble as the Junior Sword Venerable of the Heaven-reaching Sword Sect, holds a position of high prestige, while I am merely a rough woman from this barbarous land. How could I possibly have the honor of knowing Brother Dongfang?"

"Brother Dongfang, have you mistaken me for someone else?"

Tiehai Tang said with a laugh.

At this moment, Lin Bai had disguised himself, and apart from Bai Xiaoxiao, no one else knew that Dongfang Bai was actually Lin Bai!

However, there was one other person who knew Lin Bai’s true identity—Jian Ruohan.

Jian Ruohan recognized Lin Bai due to her deep understanding of him. The moment she saw Lin Bai draw his sword, she had already identified him as Lin Bai!

Thus, in Starry Sky City, upon recognizing Lin Bai, Jian Ruohan turned and left without hesitation.

"Mistakenly recognized someone?" Lin Bai pursed his lips into a soft smile.

Tiehai Tang looked at Lin Bai in puzzlement, her face still carrying an amused expression.

Yang Qingyun’s demeanor eased slightly as he remarked, "Brother Dongfang, Hai Tang has never left the Exile Land. It seems you may have mistaken her for someone else."

Lin Bai let out a gentle laugh but chose to remain silent.

His gaze, however, sunk into a spiral of memories. Back in the Qingling Mountain Range, Lin Bai had made enemies of the Qingtian Alliance. At that time, he had just joined the Demon Slaying Alliance, using their map of the Qingling Mountain Range to hunt down demon beasts and strengthen his cultivation.

During those days, there was a girl like a sprite in the forest who would always appear before Lin Bai with a radiant smile, saying to him, "I want to accompany you."

"Lin Bai, I’m very strong! I’ll go with you."

"Let me follow you."

"..."

Later, though, Lin Bai destroyed the Qingtian Alliance, but unexpectedly, they had ties to the Five Poison Sect. Soon after, the Five Poison Sect retaliated by destroying the Demon Slaying Alliance and cruelly torturing Tiehai Tang’s father.

When Lin Bai returned to the Qingling Mountain Range, he rescued Tiehai Tang’s severely injured and dying father, but the man chose self-sacrifice.

Before taking his own life, he entrusted Tiehai Tang to Lin Bai, who solemnly promised to care for her.

Since then, Lin Bai had been searching for Tiehai Tang’s whereabouts. Yet, after chaos erupted in Lingdong, Lin Bai finally got a lead on her location, only to lose it soon afterward.

Tiehai Tang stared blankly at Lin Bai, her furrowed brows reflecting her confusion.

Lin Bai reminisced for a long moment, then looked at Tiehai Tang and said, "I never imagined that the little girl who used to clamor about going out to hunt demon beasts with me has now grown into a woman capable of leading a mercenary group."

Lin Bai spoke while gazing at Tiehai Tang.

Upon hearing this, Tiehai Tang’s expression tightened as she stared at Lin Bai, frozen in emotion.

Lin Bai gestured with a smile, asking her, "Have you gone back? Have you visited your father’s grave?"

Thump—

Tiehai Tang’s heart skipped a beat, startled she asked, "How do you know about my father’s grave...?"

Lin Bai smiled at her and said, "I built your father’s grave."

Whoosh—

Tiehai Tang stared at Lin Bai in stunned disbelief, her eyes overflowing with shock as tears slid down her cheeks.

In that moment, she remembered.

"Hai Tang, it’s been a long time." Lin Bai smiled softly, reaching out gently to wipe the tears from the corner of Tiehai Tang’s eyes, his expression filled with tenderness.

Tiehai Tang didn’t resist. If anyone else dared approach her so intimately, she would have stabbed them without hesitation.

Even Yang Qingyun and Gao Lin found this scene utterly astonishing.

They had spent considerable time alongside Tiehai Tang and knew very well she was akin to a rose with thorns; anyone who stepped too close would undoubtedly be smashed and fed to the dogs!

Yang Qingyun had courted Tiehai Tang for years, yet he had never gotten as close to her as Lin Bai was now.

"It’s been so long..." Tiehai Tang’s gaze revealed an extremely rare glimmer of softness.

With a sudden motion, she rushed forward into Lin Bai’s embrace, sobbing uncontrollably. "Why are you only coming to find me now! Why now!"

Lin Bai, filled with guilt, murmured, "I’ve been searching for you all along, but I could never find a trace of you!"

Gao Lin and Yang Qingyun watched as Tiehai Tang buried herself in Lin Bai’s arms, their eyes widened in shock.

Especially Yang Qingyun; his widened eyes were soon accompanied by an increasingly grim expression.

"Come, let’s talk inside," Tiehai Tang said after crying for a while. She pulled herself from Lin Bai’s arms, firmly grabbed his hand, and led him into a room.

After entering the room, Tiehai Tang shut the door tightly. Her spirit-fox-like eyes locked onto Lin Bai’s face, scanning it intently as she smiled and said, "Why do you look like this now?"

Lin Bai’s mind shifted, and the Ghost Disguise Skill faded from his face, revealing his original appearance!

"It really is you." Upon seeing Lin Bai’s true visage, Tiehai Tang broke into tears of joy and spoke.

Standing before her, Lin Bai revealed a trace of guilt on his face as he said, "Hai Tang, all this time, I’ve wanted to say I’m sorry. If it weren’t for me, the Demon Slaying Alliance and your father... might not have met such tragic fates."

Tiehai Tang’s expression dimmed slightly as she replied, "Life and death are predestined, aren’t they? Besides, didn’t you later destroy the Five Poison Sect? In a way, you avenged my father."

Lin Bai let out a faint, bitter smile and asked, "How did you end up in the Exile Land?"

Tiehai Tang took a deep breath and said, "It’s a long story. Back then, Lady Hua Yuxian brought me and your third uncle out of Lingdong. After her antidote cured me, I found myself in Lingnan."

"I went back once afterwards but heard that you had died."

"So I left Lingdong again, wandering across Lingnan for a long time before finally settling here in the Exile Land."

"Maybe I was born to love places like this—forests and the thrill of hunting prey."

Tiehai Tang spoke with a wry smile.

"And what about Lady Hua Yuxian and my third uncle? Weren’t they with you?" Lin Bai asked.

Tiehai Tang shook her head and replied, "When they heard you had died, they went searching for you once but couldn’t find you, and then they headed to Lingnan. That’s when we parted ways."

"As of now, I have no idea where Lady Hua Yuxian or your third uncle might be."

Tiehai Tang shook her head again.

Lin Bai’s expression darkened with concern.

Tiehai Tang said, "But don’t worry too much. I don’t think Lady Hua Yuxian is any ordinary person. Given her wit, she surely has the means to survive, whether in Lingnan or the East Continent."

Lin Bai nodded, saying, "I’ll have to look for them later."

Tiehai Tang laughed and remarked, "You always bring a whirlwind wherever you go! As Dongfang Bai, you’ve made quite the name for yourself on the Lingnan Continent."

"Even though I’m stuck here in the Exile Land, I hear stories about you every day... about the Monstrous Genius of Purple Gold City, the King of Thousand Victories in the Reincarnation Arena, the Demon Sword Cultivator from the Stars Secret Realm, and how you killed so many strong ones from Fenxin Sect and Luo Tian Sect!"