The King of Black Fog

The clamor of the Pear Garden was now distant, like another world, the residential area beneath their feet silent as if submerged in the deep sea.

"It's right here." Little Carrot kneeled at the edge of the butterfly's back, sticking her head out and looking down.

Li Qianxia knelt on top of her, overlapping slightly, also peering down.

"Could there be an ambush?" she asked.

"An ambush is certain." Li Changzhou stood up, hands spread, "Little Carrot, where is the least dangerous place?"

"Hmm—, over there!" Little Carrot pointed at a two-story building. In 1928, ordinary people wouldn't pose a threat to her, only players would.

The Blood-colored Steel Spear emerged from the backpack the siblings shared and appeared in Li Changzhou's hand.

He leaped from the butterfly's back.

The clouds happened to disperse, on May 1, 1928, the eleventh day of the lunar calendar, the moonlight was bright, and in four days it would be full.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared, the purple dragon bellowing angrily.

Li Changzhou's body was like a Divine Bow being drawn, the Blood-colored Steel Spear like an arrow nocked.

Boom!

The purple dragon split into his spine, stirring potential, transforming into an overwhelming force like a raging ocean, then exploding in his right arm.

Throw.

Bang!

An instantaneous sonic boom!

Under tremendous pressure, the air thickened, nearing solidification, and as the spear thrust forward, walls of air were torn apart, swirling around the spear shaft.

The sonic barrier wailed like a furious dragon, carrying a terrifying invisible shock wave.

Boom!

The two-story residential building exploded instantly, fragmenting, with dust and shock waves rising tumultuously.

The surrounding houses, amidst the debris and waves of dirt, shook and trembled as if hit by a typhoon, precarious and trembling.

Using the recoil, Li Changzhou returned to the butterfly.

"Any threats left?" he asked.

"No, none left." Little Carrot shook her head, dazed.

In the darkness, several shadows flashed quickly, the Heavenly Empress soaring into the sky, coming before the four of them.

"What are you doing? Didn't we agree to cooperate?" she demanded.

"To form a blood pact, there must be blood," said Li Changzhou with an indifferent smile.

The cool expression on the Heavenly Empress's face suddenly thawed like ice melting, "Forget it, the loss of one or two subordinates is nothing; out with the old, in with the new. But you've drawn attention, now we have to move again."

"Isn't that perfect?" said Yang Qinglan with a smile, "I happen not to like crowded places."

"Where shall we go then?" asked the Heavenly Empress.

Yang Qinglan thought briefly, "The forest outside the city?"

Li Qianxia thought she was very clever. Little Carrot had just learned the "Wooden Man Technique." Going outside the city, they could also restrict the opponent's flying.

"Fine, we'll go atop the sea near the dock," said the Heavenly Empress.

Devious! She wasn't fooled and even picked the sea to limit their movement! Shameless! — This was Li Qianxia's assessment of the Heavenly Empress.

"No," refused Yang Qinglan.

They had the "Thai Fighting Fish · Oxygen Bubble," so falling into the sea wouldn't scare them, but there was no reason to go to a terrain that was disadvantageous to them.

"Your choice," the Heavenly Empress chuckled, flying towards the dock, "I'll be waiting for you at the dock."

On the ground, those few shadows collected the Identity Cards of players killed by the spear and quickly scattered, not following to the dock.

"What shall we do?" Li Qianxia asked.

"Let's take a look. I'm actually quite curious to know what she plans to cooperate on," Li Changzhou said.

Yang Qinglan used Thorns to push the spear out of the ground, and then with "Attract And Repel," she let it free-fall towards the butterfly.

The butterfly hadn't flown far before the spear "chased" after it, caught by Li Qianxia, and stowed back in the backpack— with three people plus Little Carrot, the butterfly's flying load was nearly at its limit; reducing some weight was beneficial.

The dock was located to the east of Song City.

A future world-class port, it was currently still full of fishing boats, with fishermen living on them for generations.

Born on the boat, raised on the boat, eating, drinking, drying clothes, even excreting, all done on the boat.

They flew past worker dormitories about to start their day and entered the dock area. It was May, a time that should be greeted with warm breezes, but an intense chill pervaded the dock, fishermen and workers wrapped in thick clothing as though enduring winter.

This was due to the sudden sea freezing this year, with even the ocean forming ice.

Flying deeper into the sea for another hundred or two hundred meters, they saw the Heavenly Empress again.

"Do you see it? This is my target," she said, lifting her hand, her slender and long fingers pointing towards the frozen sea surface.

"To protect the Basket Star or to kill it?" asked Yang Qinglan.

"So you've also allowed animal players to join your team, expanding your intel network."

So that's it. This 'Heavenly Empress' is a hundred percent a "Senior Player," having summarized some experiences.

"To be more specific, the owner of the Fire God Hall who is hunting the Basket Star is my target; I want the 'Divine Fire Map' he possesses," the Heavenly Empress explained.

"Visualization?"

The Heavenly Empress didn't answer but asked Yang Qinglan, "Why is it always you who speaks? I want to hear the gentleman's voice. Li Changzhou is the most handsome man I've seen, and his voice is also the most pleasant."

"House rules," replied Yang Qinglan indifferently.

Li Qianxia hid behind Li Changzhou, giggling.

Li Changzhou remained expressionless... well—, he was still wearing an Attribute Mask, so only his eyes could be seen clearly, so it should be said his eyes remained unflinching.

"House rules?" the Heavenly Empress paused, then chuckled, "Little brother Changzhou, would you like to be with me? Once you win the 'Favored Concubine's' heart and body, you can become a king, gaining the 'King's Instinct."

"Is there really a king in the world who has to be recognized by the consort to be called a king?" Yang Qinglan asked, her doubt laced with sarcasm.

"Hmph!" The Heavenly Empress disdained to bother with a woman, "You must have listened to Old Huang's money-grabbing lessons, you should know that breaking through limits means birth. In this sense, the Visualization is like a baby's milk.

"Different types, different flavors, different nutritional milk affects different people in different ways.

"I've been searching for the Visualization that suits me best. The 'Divine Fire Map' is my ultimate goal for coming to the past."

"You don't care about the quest either?" Yang Qinglan asked.

"Just a smile is enough, there are plenty of players, even natives, to help me complete the quest." Chun Emperor scoffed with disdain, "Ugly demons and lowlifes deserve to be used."

"..."

Little Radish scratched the back of her left hand with her right, feeling a little itchy.

"The three of you are different," Chun Emperor added.

After a moment of pondering and choosing her words carefully, she condescendingly continued, "You all barely pass for human."

Chun Emperor seemed quite satisfied with this assessment and nodded before proceeding, "That's why I'm willing to stoop down and work with you."

"Work on what?" Yang Qinglan was clearly not one to quibble over appearances since she was absolutely confident in her own.

"After the Fire God Hall's master defeats the Basket Starfish, we join forces to kill him. Once successful, we will study the 'Divine Fire Map' together."

"Isn't your 'Favored Concubine' able to make those with less Charm adore you? Doesn't the master of the Fire God Hall have 9 points of Charm?"

Chun Emperor just smiled without speaking.

Of course, the master of the Fire God Hall could not possibly have 9 points of Charm; it was a limit of 'Favored Concubine,' which is why she chose not to answer.

"I'm also interested in the 'Divine Fire Map,' but how do we ensure that both sides will honor the agreement?" Yang Qinglan asked further.

Chun Emperor spread her hands, "After completing the quest, we return to the waiting hall. The store items will increase based on individual evaluations. There are various things inside that Earth has never seen, like slowly starting to recognize the world after breaking through the boundaries of birth."

A bowl of blood appeared in her hand.

"The blood oath you want," she said with a coquettish smile to Li Changzhou.

She dipped her index and middle finger into the blood and smeared it onto her lips, creating a layer of fiery red lipstick that was breathtakingly voluptuous.

With her blood-stained lips, Chun Emperor stated, "Blood oath—I will not do anything to harm my allies during this quest instance, will jointly defeat the master of the Fire God Hall, and will share the 'Divine Fire Map' afterward."

She let go of the bowl, and a wisp of mist separated from her sleeve, supporting the bowl in the night as it floated towards the butterfly.

The fresh blood trembled slightly, looking incredibly eerie against the night sky above the vast sea.

Yang Qinglan looked towards Little Radish.

"Hm?" Little Radish tilted her head, her sparkling large eyes looking at her quizzically.

Yang Qinglan's shoulders sagged ever so slightly, clearly sighing inwardly, and she couldn't help but ask, "Is there any danger?"

"Oh!" Little Radish caught on, "No, no danger!"

Yang Qinglan reached out her hand and caught the bowl filled with blood. Li Qianxia and Li Changzhou looked over curiously.

[Name: Golden Bull Blood]

[Type: Item]

[Quality: C]

[Special Effect: Can form alliances with others, betrayers will have their blood turned into gold]

[Minimum Use Conditions: Life Form]

[Introduction: Smear the bull's blood on the lips and make an alliance with others in the manner of a 'blood oath—covenant']

[Note: A promise worth its weight in gold! (Gold is truly valuable; don't use this to get rich anymore! Also, beware of those life forms that can survive even when their blood turns into gold.)]

Yang Qinglan exchanged glances with Li Changzhou, who thought for a moment and then nodded.

The three of them all smeared the Golden Bull Blood and formed a blood oath with Chun Emperor.

At Chun Emperor's insistence, Little Radish also smeared the blood and took the oath.

After the oath was spoken, Chun Emperor poured out the entire bowl of bull's blood, and the fresh blood on everyone's lips instantly disappeared, formally establishing the alliance.

The atmosphere relaxed a bit, and Chun Emperor even boldly flew over and sat on the butterfly, her long legs seeming to struggle to find a place. The butterfly had to grow a bit larger as a result.

Furthermore, it was a good thing that she was light; otherwise, the butterfly would have plunged into the sea.

"Chun Emperor sister, how many times have you returned to the past?" Li Qianxia asked curiously.

"Including this time, four," Chun Emperor said, yawning.

Li Changzhou and Yang Qinglan observed Little Radish, and seeing no reaction from her, they finally let their guard down completely.

Li Changzhou turned to Chun Emperor and inquired, "With the 'Divine Fire Map,' what about combat skills?"

"You rely on yourself," Chun Emperor hinted by leaning towards him.

Li Changzhou dodged.

"The master of the Fire God Hall has a disciple, what's his name... never mind, he's already passed his combat skills on to me. How about I teach them to you?" Chun Emperor said cheerfully, reaching to poke Li Changzhou's abdomen with her finger.

"Hey!" Li Qianxia grabbed her hand, "My sister-in-law is right here."

Chun Emperor pulled back and embraced Li Qianxia in her arms, biting her ear and saying, "From now on, I will be your sister-in-law. Be good, call me sister-in-law."

Li Qianxia blushed and was flustered, "Sister-in-law..."

She suddenly came to her senses, quickly rushing towards Yang Qinglan and wrapping her arms around her slender waist, burying her face in her embrace.

"There can't be two suns in the sky, Li Qianxia only has one sister-in-law, Qing Lan!" she proclaimed defiantly, clinging tightly to Yang Qinglan.

Yang Qinglan gently embraced her.

Li Changzhou: "..."

Noticing his jealous gaze, Yang Qinglan glanced at him with a smile.

Chun Emperor pondered, seemingly wondering why Li Qianxia was immune to the effect of 'Favored Concubine.'

"Where are we going next?" Little Radish, unaffected by the others' concerns, tugged on Li Changzhou's sleeve.

Ever since she called him 'mom,' Li Changzhou wasn't scary anymore; in fact, he was the safest.

"Back to the Commander Mansion," Li Changzhou stated, then asked Yang Qinglan and Li Qianxia, "What about you?"

"Let's go together," Yang Qinglan said after a moment's thought. "Chun Emperor can't harm us, but that doesn't mean her subordinates can't. We shouldn't split up."

"Great! I've long been tired of trudging on foot! By the way, Qing Lan, what will you do since you've only learned half of the Beijing Opera?"

"With the Liyuan Theater destroyed like that and my disappearance for so long, how can I go back? But this is also an experience—learning without succeeding, giving up halfway. From now on, I will follow your brother and learn to handle the affairs of the Commander Mansion."

"I'll go too, I'm homeless now, and I want to be Li Er's aunt. I'm super good at mahjong!"

"....."