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Section 1
The instant that cold, glittering eight-sided crystal came into his hand, Ye Fei could not help a shudder. A vicious current of cold poured off the crystal, invaded his palm, and in a flash froze his hand as hard as raw iron.
The cold kept eating upward along his arm, and in the turn of an eye it had reached his elbow. In that instant, everything from the elbow down was sheeted in white frost.
Ye Fei started. He had not expected the crystal to be so bitterly cold. He hurried to circulate his Pure Yang Gang Qi and drove the invading chill back out.
"The moment that demon god took the field, it turned a thousand li in every direction into a frozen waste, ice and snow from sky to ground. Clearly it commanded a domain of ice and snow. This crystal it dropped is packed with freezing force. It must be a crystallization of its power. Pity… the thing doesn't match my attribute at all. It's of little use to me. I could hand it to Chu Hankong, though. She inherited the divine office of ice and snow. A freezing crystal like this ought to be extremely useful to her…"
Having turned it over in his mind, Ye Fei said to Li Yingqiong, "Sister Yingqiong, is this crystal any use to you?"
He wanted to give the crystal to Chu Hankong, but Li Yingqiong had been the main force in slaying the heavenly demon, so before he decided he still had to ask her opinion.
Li Yingqiong shot him a sidelong look. "If I wanted the thing, I'd have snatched it long ago. You think you can out-grab me?"
Ye Fei smiled, abashed. "You've got a point. You Emei disciples, every one of you has great fortune on your heads and lucky stars shining overhead. No matter the treasure, it's fated to be yours, destined for your hands. Who could possibly snatch anything from you?"
Li Yingqiong seemed not to catch the undertone. She said with perfect swagger, "Naturally. The heavenly cycle turns, and the orthodox way flourishes. Our Emei is the pillar that holds up heaven and the beam that spans the sea for the righteous path. The supreme treasures under heaven are ours by right. Anyone who refuses to accept that can take it up with my Ziying Sword first!"
"Uh…"
Hearing Li Yingqiong declare something so overbearing with such open righteousness, even Ye Fei, for all his gift of running his mouth, had no idea what to say.
He stood tongue-tied for a good while before he scratched his head, laughed awkwardly twice, and said, "Then I'll thank you, Sister Yingqiong. Mm. This round's spoils are mine. Next time we party up to cut down monsters and something good drops, it's yours."
"Tch. Ordinary treasures? I wouldn't spare them a glance!" Li Yingqiong sniffed, and with magnificent generosity waved a hand. "Look at you, you mangy little god, destitute as a beggar. From now on, whatever spoils there are, you take them!"
"Mangy little god again… and destitute as a beggar…" Ye Fei's eye twitched and the corner of his mouth jerked. He badly wanted to seize Li Yingqiong by the collar and roar, "I am not a mangy little god, I am the Chief God, and your whole family are the mangy little gods! This brother isn't poor in the slightest. This brother has magic treasures beyond counting, enough to fling around while picking up girls! This brother's summoned cold weapons are leveled to the peak. I might call out the Four Swords of Zhuxian, the Pangu Banner, and the Diagram of Taiji. Your one puny Ziying Sword doesn't count for a damn!"
Of course, he could only spin that fantasy in his head. Li Yingqiong's personality was fierce, and her face was thick enough to mark her as the standout of the orthodox younger generation. Ye Fei had no wish to get serious with her.
"I'd better go home. Find Rong'er, and borrow her soft little buns to comfort my wounded heart."
So Ye Fei took his leave of Li Yingqiong. "Sister Yingqiong, this matter is settled. This god is going home to sleep! Mountains and waters may meet again; the days ahead of us are long, and we shall see each other in days to come! There will come a day when our feelings race a thousand li in a single day! Farewell!"
With that, Ye Fei waved, turned with a flourish, and in an instant left the grassland, returning to the inn at Zhoushan in Jiangnan as his divine soul settled back into his body.
After Ye Fei had gone, Li Yingqiong muttered, "Why say so many 'days,' and why keep punching the word 'day' so hard? Utterly baffling…"
She pursed her lips, then went on to herself, delighted. "Killing this heavenly demon really did earn great merit. Heh. What does that crystal amount to? Merit is the true prize! With this merit guarding me, when I cultivate from now on, no inner demon will rise and no outer demon will easily invade. My cultivation ought to leap forward! Haha. This trip was a real bargain.
"Mm. That mangy little god Ye Fei's world still has plenty of demons like this one. He has the jade pendant that summons me, and he can summon me three more times. If he calls me into his world to slay demons and eradicate evil, how much merit would I earn? Hehe. I wouldn't go straight to proving the Dao through merit and achieving sainthood in the flesh, would I? Hahaha…"
The girl actually started giggling like a fool while she daydreamed.
…
After his divine soul returned, Ye Fei put away the power crystal the heavenly demon had dropped, took Rong'er in his arms, and slept sweetly. When dawn came and Rong'er woke, Ye Fei raised his spear and leapt astride his mount, and the two of them fought a splendid battle. He fought until Rong'er was dripping wet, bones gone soft and body gone slack, her soul flown beyond the sky, and only then did he withdraw, well satisfied.
The two of them rested a little and soon recovered their strength. They got up, washed, settled the bill, left the inn, and headed straight for the seashore.
Rong'er knew nothing of what Ye Fei had done the night before. Ye Fei did not tell little Rong'er about it either.
After all, slipping his divine soul out of his body in the night to run off and meet Li Yingqiong, even if it had been to handle proper business, would leave Rong'er a little unhappy if she knew.
Ye Fei and Rong'er soon reached the shore. Both of them could fly, and they had Little Gulu for a mount, so there was no need to press fishermen and sailors into taking a boat to that legendary and exceedingly dreadful Peach Blossom Island. They found a stretch of beach with no one about. Ye Fei tossed Little Gulu into the sea and ordered it to take dragon form. Then Ye Fei and Rong'er rode Little Gulu and set off across the water toward Peach Blossom Island.
Under Rong'er's direction, Little Gulu soon carried the two of them close to the island.
They had not yet landed when the sea wind already brought a rush of flower scent to their noses. From afar the island was a deep green, blossoms thick as brocade. It could well be called a peach-blossom paradise beyond the sea, a place of beauty in the human world.
Ye Fei and Rong'er leapt from the dragon's back and flew onto the beach. Little Gulu hurriedly turned back into a little golden pig, flapped its two ears, and flew pat-pat-pat to Rong'er's side, settling on her shoulder.
Rong'er patted Little Gulu on the head and said with a grin, "Little Gulu, you're about to meet my daddy. Be good. No mischief!"
Little Gulu nodded at once.
Ye Fei frowned, pinched Little Gulu's ear, and said, "This little thing is so fantastical. When my father-in-law sees it, he won't be frightened into a heart seizure, will he?"
"My daddy is not that timid!" Rong'er pouted, shot Ye Fei a glare, and said, puffed up with indignation, "Daddy's martial arts are the finest under heaven in this world. He's learned through past and present, and he's seen a great deal. What grand scene hasn't he witnessed? How could one little Gulu frighten him?"
Ye Fei teased her. "And if Little Gulu showed its dragon form?"
"Hmph. Even if Little Gulu showed its dragon form, Daddy would be a little surprised at most." As she spoke, Rong'er watched Ye Fei warily. "Xiao Fei, you aren't bottling up some mischief and planning to give my daddy a good scare, are you? I'm warning you. If you dare scare my daddy, I'll never speak to you again!"
Ye Fei waved his hands again and again. "I won't, I won't. I'm the son-in-law. How would I dare joke with Father-in-law? Rest easy, Rong'er. When the time comes, I'll behave myself properly in front of your daddy. I won't disgrace you."
"That's more like it." Rong'er nodded, still not entirely at ease, and patted Little Gulu on the head with a warning. "Little Gulu, listen well. If your master tells you to show your dragon form and scare my daddy, you must not agree. Otherwise I'll stew you and make a whole-dragon banquet!"
Well. To intimidate Little Gulu, this little girl had actually brought up a whole-dragon banquet. It had to be remembered that it was always Ye Fei who wanted to eat a whole-dragon banquet, while Rong'er had spared no effort protecting it against the wicked great demon king Ye Fei.