Book 12 Chapter 3

Yong Tianming vs. Maharishi (?)

- The Fierce Battle of the Remnants

"Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Kuck!"

It's old, and when a rusty sword is forced out of its iron scabbard, I think of the

It sounded like a creepy, nervous grinding noise.

Long Tianming, a celestial dragon, almost did as his instincts told him, plugging his ears and freezing in place at the sound of an unidentified yin pit assaulting his thin and fragile (?) eardrums. But through sheer willpower, he stood firmly on the ground.

"Moo…, what is that, this horrible sound?

As he listened to the torturous grinding of the yin gong, which was almost as terrifying as the horrifying grinding of his room mate's teeth, Yong Tianming had a feeling that he had heard it all before.

"Who was that?

That unique, individualized, nervous voice that I don't think I'll ever be able to mimic, no matter how hard I try, is not the kind of thing that's easily forgotten.

'The owner of that voice must be short-tempered, intolerant, neurotic, and clueless!'

Just as he thought it might be, a woman's face flashed across his mind.

"Get away from me, get away from me, get away from me, get away from me, get away from me, get away from me, get away from me!"

And when that ghastly scream once more echoed through the canyon, threatening to collapse it, he felt confident in his reasoning, and soon realized that she fulfilled every one of the qualities he had envisioned for the owner of such a scream.

"Of course!"

In the corner of the room, the Maha spirit was screaming incessantly, his blue, raggedy face shriveled into a grimace, and he was hurling beams of light at the venomous vipers like a man possessed. The spider-web of light almost formed a shroud, and the venomous snakes caught in its deadly glare were forced to gird their loins.

'I can't believe it……. I can't believe Ma Sojae had a feminine side like that, that she was so freaked out and hated snakes…….'

For a moment, he laughed at the absurdity of it all, but then his gaze turned worried. A sense of urgency washed over him, that if he made a mistake and she continued to scream, the canyon might collapse and bury them all. Though her Dao was not allowing any viper's teeth to approach her now, what she was doing was not rational. The neat, refined herbivore she usually was was nowhere to be seen.

How can you be rational when you bite your lower lip so hard it bleeds, your eyes glaze over, and you wield your sword with all your heart?

In fact, such a formidable and powerful herbivore was not necessary to fend off Bizarro's viper attack; excessive use of Qin Qi is a waste of internal energy that quickly depletes the entire body.

At that rate, she would have no choice but to fall to the ground as the enemy intended. With a sense of urgency, Long Tianming rushed to her aid, using his sword wind umbrella to shield her from the rain of arrows and venomous snakes. Long Tianming quickly rushed to her side and swept away the snakes around her with a sweeping motion, giving her a moment to catch her breath.

"Are you okay, MaSojae, are you hurt or bitten anywhere? "

Her disheveled appearance was anything but. Her normally neat clothes were disheveled as if they had been thrown to the ground, and her hair, which had been neatly pinned up, had been tangled in her violent movements and hung loose like a raggedy garment made of straw. It was a mess that she would never want to be seen by anyone in her position.

"Let me help you, MaSojae! "

Suddenly, her face flushed bright red.

"I don't need it! "

She let out a nervous 'bam', followed by a ragged exhalation. It was a stark contrast to Long Tianming's steady breathing, and a testament to how wasteful her movements were in comparison. The blood in her eyes still hadn't subsided.

Her nerves were already on edge from being attacked by hundreds of blue-scaled creatures slithering across the ground, and this wasn't going to be a quick fix.

"Again, you say things you don't mean when you feel like it."

Long Tianming shook his head in disbelief. It was offensive to have his favors rejected like a dog's head, but he was now somewhat immune and could afford to take one more hit, and if the Maharishi knew, he would weep, but he had been beaten so many times that he had grown accustomed to dealing with this ferocious cipher.

"Are you serious about that, MaSojae?"

Long Tianming looked directly at her, his eyes like a calm lake, and spoke in a low voice that grew even more blunt. She flinched under his impassive gaze.

"I'm going to ask you one last time, are you sure you don't want to help me? I don't care what happens to me, but……."

His tone was intimidating, like if I said no this time, I'd turn around and walk away.

"That…, that…, stir……."

Ordinarily, she would never have admitted such an outburst, not even as an invitation. But she didn't have the mental space for ego and pride right now. This was an emergency, a crisis.

On her tenth birthday, a grumpy boy had stuck a blue, scaly creature on her backside, a cold, slimy, slithery, ghastly abomination that had turned a young girl's mind to a blank slate as it slithered playfully up and down her backside. Ever since then, she'd been repulsed by the idea of snakes.

For a moment, the augury leapt like a spark on an anvil, and then it was gone. The maharishi opened his slitted eyes and took in his surroundings. The scene around him was an inferno so horrific that he was afraid to even focus his gaze.

"Are you sure you don't want me to help you, Lord Gung-Ho? "

She still didn't answer.

The snakes, swept like sandcastles before the waves by the rising tide, switched places, and from every direction came the horrible sound of white flesh slithering through the dirt. There were more than a hundred of them.

'Ask for help, Maharishi! Is this the time to leisurely stroke your ego? Is this the time to cover your tracks? Ask for help! There are few people as reliable as me as a helper!'

But she was quick to backpedal.

"No! You can't do that. You can't do that. You're going to ask him for help because I'm crazy? Think about your status, and think about what happened in the past. He's probably already forgotten what happened. It was over a decade ago. How can you ask a man like that to help you? You're an Iron Jade Jade Maharajah, and you should never ask for help from the Chinese New Year. If he dies today, he's dead. I can't do that! No, I can't! But…….'

Two mutually contradictory thoughts were waging a fierce war in her head, but the conclusion was unlikely to fly easily.

Hiss!

Her red, thin tongue lolled out in a threatening sound, and the pigment ebbed from her face, which was otherwise jet-black, turning it white in an instant.

"Seeing as you haven't answered so far, I guess I really don't need to help you, huh, spirit? Then I guess I won't be seeing you here much longer."

Long Tianming returned the longsword he had drawn and wielded to its sheath and turned around unceremoniously. It wasn't a mistake to call him 'subordinate' as usual. It was a very unkind and risky gesture in this situation where the threat was not yet over, but it was effective.

His cool demeanor left her with no room for rational, logical thought, and no room for dignity or deception.

Hundreds of snakes were surrounding him from all directions, showing off their crooked teeth. Maha Ling was devastated. A part of her mind that had been battling fiercely finally raised a white flag.

The Maharajah stopped him with an urgent voice.

"Dragon Confucius, wait a minute, I think I'm mistaken. I don't think it's polite to refuse the help of the Chinese New Year Lord when he's so generous with his help. I think it's also not polite to refuse his favors when he's so generous with his consideration, ho ho ho!"

The woman's transformation was said to be innocent. As if she had stated the obvious, she straightened her back and opened her mouth with a straight face. The bravado was plain to see, but Long Tianming was not deterred.

'Well, well, well, what a spirit!

Long Tianming shook his head. It was better not to expect any more bending from a woman as fierce as a lion, and perhaps that was more like her.

Long Tianming drew his sword again. He decided to call it a day. At a time like this, accumulating debts would be useful in the future.

Pavabababat!

He coolly unleashed the first of the Thirteen Swords of the Dharma, the Buddhist Light Tide, and swept his son-in-law away. The swarms of vipers that had approached him and her were swept away without a trace by the halo-like wave of light that emanated from his sword.