Dragon Tamer

Chapter 548: Chapter 550: The Eunuch Sword Master
 

Fortunately, Zi Miaozhu’s reflexes were good; she did a side flip just before landing, otherwise her little bottom surely would have been sore.

Zi Miaozhu stood beside Zhu Minglang’s tall and magnificent horse, pouting her lips, not knowing which of her words had offended her senior brother.

Zhu Minglang also dismounted and handed the reins over to a young disciple of Yaoshan Sword Sect.

“Who’s in charge of this expedition on Yaoshan’s side?” Zhu Minglang asked.

“It’s me.” A man in a Taoist robe replied gloomily; his eyes sizing up Zhu Minglang from top to bottom, revealing an undisguised distaste.

He coldly glanced at Zi Miaozhu and rudely chided, “As the Chief Disciple of Yaoshan Sword Sect, hugging and cuddling with a man in public, what kind of decorum is that!”

“Oh, oh, it’s you, Ye Yang Eunuch.” Zhu Minglang said.

“What did you call me!” Ye Yang snapped angrily.

“Senior brother, senior brother, let it go…” Zi Miaozhu, seeing the tension, quickly stood between them.

All eyes of the Yaoshan Sword Sect disciples were on them, with some of the younger disciples immediately inquiring about the grudge between their Ye Yangjian Chief and Zhu Minglang, wondering why there was such a tense air the moment they met.

“Do you know of Snow Trace Master?”

“Of course, an exemplar for our generation!”

“Ye Yangjian Chief was also among the elite of our Yaoshan Sword Sect back in the day, the only one mentioned in the same breath as Snow Trace Master. It is said that Ye Yangjian Chief harbored affection for Snow Trace Master, but after being rejected several times, out of frustration, he chose castration and focused solely on the Sword Dao.” Some of the gossip-minded Sword Masters immediately spoke in hushed tones, sharing this story.

Castration???

The Chief has no male capabilities???

No wonder his complexion is always gloomy and ashen, and his martial bearing carries a hint of queer softness!

“But what does this have to do with Zhu Minglang, our senior brother?” a Sword Master asked, puzzled.

“Cough cough, consider it for yourselves, think it through,” someone said suggestively.

“Senior brother Zhu Minglang has always lived with Snow Trace Master in the Abandoned Sword Forest, they are master and pupil, as well as aunt and nephew. Ye Yangjian Chief shouldn’t harbor any resentment against senior brother Zhu Minglang just because his courting was unsuccessful…”

“Aha, I get it now!”

“What do you get??”

“Their relationship might go beyond master and pupil, beyond aunt and nephew!”

“Is it that explosive?!”

“Are Snow Trace Master and Minglang senior blood relatives?” a female Sword Master hurriedly asked.

“It seems not.”

“Ah? What a pity,” the female Sword Master sighed.

“?????” All the Sword Masters turned their gazes to her in confusion.

The female Sword Master covered her face and fled.

…

The matter of Ye Yang’s castration wasn’t a secret in Yaoshan Sword Sect anymore.

In fact, Ye Yang did do something foolish when he was young, but it was at most an unsuccessful attempt at castration.

His pale complexion now was simply due to having injured his kidneys back then!

For so many years, no one had brought up the matter again, but Zhu Minglang’s calling him “Ye Yang Eunuch” suddenly exposed his old scandal to the light of day.

He did not castrate himself!!

He is still a man!

“I won’t stoop to argue with a useless thing like you who can’t even lift a sword. When I stand at the pinnacle of the Sword Dao, you will be no better than a gadfly!” As Ye Yang spoke these words, he slapped his palm on a draft beast next to him.

Hidden among the fur of the beast was a blood-sucking gadfly. After Ye Yang killed it with his palm, there was blood residue on his hand, and he took out a white handkerchief, elegantly wiping away the remains of the gadfly from his palm.

“My kidneys are better than yours,” Zhu Minglang said with a smile.

This remark made Ye Yang, who was wiping the bloodstain, visibly upset, and he crushed the already dead gadfly again, thinking of it as Zhu Minglang!

“At the summit of the Sword Dao, one has everything. In this combined military expedition, some are destined to be mere underlings, while others are bound to shine brilliantly.” No longer engaging in a verbal battle with Zhu Minglang, Ye Yang, after saying this, still looked at Zhu Minglang with disdain.

No one likes to be looked at with scorn, and Zhu Minglang was no exception.

This Ye Yang is essentially a second generation Pu Shiming, but fundamentally different from Pu Shiming himself.

Ye Yang is arrogant and proud, not even considering Zhu Minglang, who once dominated the Sword Dao alongside his peers, worth his attention.

He is a prodigy with exceptional insight and was early on appointed as Chief of the Yaoshan Sword Sect, a status scarcely second to that of the Sect Leader.

He wished for Zhu Xuehen to become his companion on the path of cultivation, a matter he considered a natural and expected development.

After being coldly rejected by Zhu Xuehen, Ye Yang was infuriated and resolved to sever emotional entanglements and devote himself entirely to the Sword Dao.

Pu Shiming is a sly and petty man, ready to remove any obstacles at any cost.

Ye Yang can barely be considered a gentleman of the Sword Dao, despising despicable tactics, but when it comes to squarely trampling Zhu Minglang, he does so with more ferocity than anyone!

In the past, Zhu Minglang didn’t quite believe there was any issue between himself and Zhu Xuehen.

As Zhu Xuehen’s admirers revealed their attitudes toward him, Zhu Minglang gradually realized that Zhu Xuehen’s manner towards others was worlds apart from how she treated him.

Simply put, to her, others were no different from the flowers, plants, and trees beside her, but when it came to him, well, he was a person.

Such is human nature.

When everyone is nothing but flora in the presence of a fairy, the heart remains pure and undisturbed. But once the fairy waters one plant a bit more or takes extra care of it, the other flowers, plants, and trees start to mind!

In the end, it’s because Zhu Xuehen hardly treated others as people that she brought so much undue jealousy and suspicion upon herself.

The pure relationship of siblings, cousins, teacher and student has been muddled by these people into something foul and murky!

…

The ascent begins.

Even the Lower Isolated Ridge has already added considerable difficulty to the march, with supply carts and draft beasts barely able to follow sluggishly behind.

After crossing the Lower Isolated Ridge and entering the Upper Isolated Ridge, the chill sets in, and many peaks are still covered in snow as far as the eye can see.

The vegetation on the high mountains and ridges is sparse, and the air is thin. It’s not that the Supreme Court and Li Chuan are unwilling to summon more troops to simply crush Absolute Ridge Chengbang with a million soldiers, but ordinary soldiers would likely be half-dead before they even reached it!

A group of Flying Dragon Generals lead the army, responsible for clearing obstacles, especially the demonic beasts and creatures that inhabit the ridge.

That evening, Zhu Minglang sat with other leaders from major forces in a makeshift tent, where Li Yunzi was briefly outlining the threats for the next three days, as Emperor Wuhou walked in with a troubled look on his face.

Emperor Wuhou scanned the gathering and said in a grave tone, “A hundred Flying Dragon Generals, not a single dragon or person returned alive!”

All in the tent showed a look of shock!

The Flying Dragon Generals, who ride atop giant dragons – a hundred giant dragons and the soldiers who rode them, just gone?!