“Fox Twelve pays homage to Her Highness, Princess Yushan!”
Twelve slowly stepped forward from behind Qiao San, her silhouette emerging through the mist. The clever Xuanhu instinctively shielded her chest with a swirl of ethereal smoke. Although her tall, graceful figure was undeniably beautiful, it no longer posed much of a threat to Yushan’s dazzling allure.
“Ha, ha… Sister, there’s no need to be so formal. From now on, just call me elder sister!”
Yushan’s warmth always brought comfort to people’s hearts, seemingly devoid of any arrogance that came with high status. She took Twelve’s hand and walked together toward the seats. Those unfamiliar with the situation would genuinely believe these two young women were close sisters.
“No wonder Brother Danda has achieved so much – you, dear sister, must have contributed greatly. The future of the Mortal Realm depends on rising stars like you, Sister Twelve!”
Twelve naturally understood the hidden meaning in Yushan’s words. She glanced back at Qiao San before respectfully responding with a subtle undertone, “Everything Twelve has done follows our mother’s teachings. The future of the Mortal Realm still requires guidance from Her Highness, the Princess.”
At this moment, the clever Shao Bing and You Tiao, without waiting for their leader’s instructions, had already set up a banquet to welcome the guests. The two generations of outstanding beauties in the Mortal Realm also stopped their “conversation” and walked toward Qiao San, instinctively sitting on either side of him, sandwiching the rogue right in the middle.
The subtle aura made Qiao San feel anything but pleasure at having beauties on both sides. Instead, he felt as uneasy as if there were thorns in his back.
Qiao San had always disliked this feeling. A crude catchphrase broke the strange atmosphere, returning everything back to the rogue’s usual track.
“Damn it, brothers, raise your cups for me and welcome Princess Yushan to our Liumang Town!”
Glasses clinked and wine flowed. Surprisingly, Princess Yushan handled herself skillfully among the rowdy rogues, responding appropriately to each situation. Actually, it wasn’t so strange after all. Knowing that the Mortal Realm was home to myriad demons, if Yushan could handle them with ease, how much easier would it be to deal with these simple-minded human rogues.
Midway through the banquet, Yushan suddenly changed the subject, smiling sweetly at Qiao San, “Dear Brother Danda, I was actually quite anxious coming here, fearing you wouldn’t recognize me as a friend. If that had happened, I would have made this trip in vain and failed to fulfill my duty to my father, the King of Demons!”
“Oh! Princess, you came from Jiuyou Palace in the Mortal Realm?”
Qiao San gently placed his wine cup on the table, his expression relaxed while his heart remained unsurprised. As the saying goes, no one visits without purpose. Especially considering how much help Yushan had given him, there naturally would be more to follow.
Thinking thus, the rogue who owed a favor solemnly said, “Princess Yushan, great kindness needs no words of thanks. If you have anything to ask, please speak freely. As long as Qiao San can accomplish it, I won’t refuse.”
As soon as these words left Qiao San’s mouth, the course of events became inevitable, everything proceeding smoothly.
The sun of the Mortal Realm shone upon the Ghost Forest. On the highest peak at the eastern gate of the Mortal Realm, a brocade flag fluttered in the mountain breeze. Four majestic characters appeared and vanished intermittently in the wind, exuding solemnity while bringing smiles to all beings in heaven and earth.
———— Rogue King!
Throughout the world and within the Three Realms, who else but Brother Danda would dare use these four characters as his nickname?
Liumang Town remained the holy land of rogues, but no longer just for human rogues. From the moment Qiao San accepted the title of “Shiyin Holy Lord,” King of the Eastern Gate of the Mortal Realm, granted by the King of Demons, Liumang Town had spanned both human and demon worlds, becoming a unique and special territory.
“Hail the Rogue King! May our King’s demon life be everlasting and his romantic fortune eternal!” Dozens of mountain chieftains in Ghost Forest knelt before the Rogue King, and thus the long chaos in Ghost Forest ended, achieving reunification.
“Hehe…” Qiao San felt extremely proud of his “inspiration,” increasingly convinced that the title “Rogue King” sounded much better than “Shiyin Holy Lord.”
Laughing out loud, the fellow leaped into the air. Just as his momentum was about to wane, the void suddenly turned red, and the ancient divine bird appeared surrounded by flames, steadily supporting its master.
Shiyin Holy Lord, the Rogue King, tilted his head back, instantly transforming his appearance – golden crown binding his hair, armor covering his body, divine weapon spanning the sky, his mount neighing proudly, the blood seal radiating light. At this moment, even the sun and moon of the Mortal Realm seemed dimmed by his splendor!
“Long live the King! Long live the King!”
Under Qiao San’s overwhelming aura, the demons of Ghost Forest instinctively softened in spirit, kowtowing to the ground in the most devout posture to express their loyalty to their new king.
“Haha…” Having successfully established his authority, Qiao San laughed heartily, soaring around the grand flag in a circle. With a sweep of his big hand, he stopped the thousand demons from singing his praises.
“My subordinates, follow your King, and those with divided hearts shall be executed, while those with single-minded loyalty will surely enjoy good food and wine. Do you all understand?”
“Long live the King!” The response from the demons shook the heavens and earth, the echoing sound of rebellion lingering for a long time between the mountains and forests.
A rogue remains a rogue. Qiao San, now more devilish than ever, enjoyed the absence of rules. Scanning the Ghost Forest with pride, he felt an unrivaled ambition that made him seem like the only one worthy of ruling the Three Realms.
※※※※※※※※
A few days later, after completing her mission, Princess Yushan returned to Jiuyou Palace in the Northern Juzhou to report to her father. After a brief period of busyness, Liumang Town – the special place that had drawn attention from the Three Realms – returned to quietness from its previous bustle, and the days of the Rogue King suddenly became boring.
More than a year of turbulent events had long accustomed Qiao San to such chaos. Now, suddenly living an easy life, the Rogue King lying in his cave couldn’t help but lazily yawn out of boredom.
“Sigh… This is so boring! Shuling, where have you gone this time?”
Shuling hadn’t appeared before Qiao San for quite some time. Despite his frequent calls, Shuling had only occasionally responded with a few words through mind communication, never showing up in the real world.
“Master, Shuling is currently cultivating the power of《The Treatise on the Earth》. Why don’t you go find Princess Twelve?”
This time, Shuling still responded with the same old excuse. Without waiting for Brother Danda to object, the spirit who could perceive the rogue’s thoughts preemptively said, “Master, you’ve already become the ruler of this land. You should restrain your playful heart a bit, otherwise how can you command respect? Also…”
Crack! Qiao San hurriedly cut off the mental connection between them, then fell back into his throne with a bitter smile. Who asked him to be lazy and unwilling to diligently cultivate《The Treatise on the Earth》? Wanting to rely on Shuling for shortcuts naturally meant he had to endure some “annoyance”!
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