With a low, guttural engine drone, several biplanes sliced toward the Asian Dao Alliance's island, skimming the very surface of the sea. The low cloud cover brushed against the planes’ noses, rain spewing endlessly from the misty depths. Looking out from the cockpit hatch, the entire vista was a blinding sheet of white water.
“I warn you, if you continue this, I will retaliate! Just you wait and see!”
“Release me at once, or I swear I’ll slice you into thin strips! I swear it!”
Inside the cabin, Yulice roared madly, restrained by a psychic suppression ring, a vital energy dampener strapped over her abdomen, and dozens of heavy magnetic shackles densely fastened around her wrists and ankles. She was bound so tightly she resembled a zongzi (rice dumpling), struggling to writhe like a sluggish caterpillar trapped in its cocoon, her burdens too immense to allow more than a slight twitch.
“I hate the rain!”
Gu Xiechen and Peng Hua complained almost in unison.
They looked at each other in surprise, nodding and smiling with instant mutual understanding. Gu Xiechen sighed softly, “My mother loved bright, sunny weather. So do I.”
Peng Hua’s complaint carried a chilling, eerie quality. Frowning darkly, he grumbled, “Rain always reminds me of the years I spent lying in a coffin, covered in hair.”
A dead silence fell over the cabin, causing Yulice, who had been incessantly howling, to involuntarily shrink back. Peng Hua grinned, showing his teeth, and flashed a smile at Yulice. He counted on his fingers, “Black hair, green hair, red hair, grey hair, white hair… and finally, none… Sigh, it’s been quite a journey! But, the hair I had then was thick, luxurious, and wonderfully comfortable!”
Gu Xiechen couldn't help but shudder, staring oddly at Peng Hua before laughing and cursing, “Are you advertising sex toys?”
Peng Hua gazed at Yulice with deep affection, his crimson tongue lightly licking his lips, and he chuckled with a perverse, wicked glee, “Sex toys? I like that term; it certainly sets the imagination running!”
Under Yulice’s horrified gaze, Peng Hua’s body flickered and suddenly he was right in front of her, gently caressing her cheek. “Darling, I’ve been single my entire life!”
“Ah!” Yulice let out a shriek that could curdle ghosts and shatter the earth. She finally succumbed to the bizarre pressure and fainted.
Clapping his hands softly, Gu Xiechen complimented him, “Peng Hua, you are truly something! Even this madwoman can be scared into submission. I’ve had enough of her on this trip.”
The thought of Yulice’s relentless howling, cursing, threats, verbal abuse, and all manner of malicious oaths throughout the journey sent a throbbing pain through Gu Xiechen’s temples.
“Women!” Peng Hua patted Yulice’s cheek again. He then squatted back down near the cabin door, lit a cigar, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and chuckled with self-satisfaction, “I have a natural advantage when dealing with women. Most women, after all, fear ghosts!”
Gu Xiechen let his legs hang out of the open hatch, leisurely watching the swirling storm. Peng Hua mimicked him, letting his legs dangle outside as well, quietly smoking his cigar. After about ten minutes, as a few black silhouettes of islands began to emerge from the sea ahead, he suddenly smiled, his expression tender, serene, and steeped in memory, pursing his lips slightly. “However, I once met one who wasn't afraid of ghosts.”
“Oh?” Gu Xiechen looked at Peng Hua.
Peng Hua remained silent, shaking his head in profound reflection, puffing out thick plumes of smoke. Only as the aircraft began its descent did he sigh softly, “I watched her get into a sedan and marry another man.”
“And I even gave her a very, very heavy dowry gift—sect funds I had secretly embezzled, layer by layer, against my Master’s orders!”
“And the girl, where is she now?” Gu Xiechen felt touched by Peng Hua’s gentle smile. Even an ancient zombie like him must harbor a soft spot somewhere in his heart?
“Uh, two years ago in Shanghai, I ran into her fourth-generation direct descendant.” Peng Hua spat out the cigarette butt with a loud Pah! and leaped out of the plane into the wind and rain.
“What is love in this world, that it makes one pledge life and death!” Gu Xiechen let out a few strange laughs. He snatched up Yulice, who had just woken up, and roared, “Here’s another fellow driven mad by thoughts of his own girl. You’d better pray he doesn’t tear you apart the first moment he sees you.”
Xin Jia emerged from another fighter jet with heavy steps. With a loud thud, his head slammed against the hatch, causing the aircraft to brake sharply and nearly overturn him. Gu Xiechen hauled Yulice up and handed her to Xin Jia, lowering his voice as he smiled at Xin Jia. “Take this woman to Siren. Tell him Peng Hua has gotten her to talk, and Siren must personally supervise her in preparing the antidote.”
Xin Jia acknowledged the order, grabbed Yulice, and vanished toward the ground.
The pallid-faced Daoist Xiao Zhang walked over slowly, holding an umbrella. He inclined his head toward Gu Xiechen.
“I have already relayed messages to the elders of the sect.”
Gu Xiechen asked directly, “What was their decision?”
A sharp glint flashed in Daoist Xiao Zhang’s eyes. “Since they dared to try and kill us, the elders unconditionally support any counter-attack measure we deem necessary, provided it is not overly extreme. My Master said that as long as we don't completely wipe out the Earth Federation’s Expeditionary Force on Paradise Star, occasionally killing a Federation Lieutenant General or General would serve as a necessary warning.”
Gu Xiechen shook his head, expressing dissatisfaction. “Why bring that up now? Am I such a brutal person? Didn't Peng Hua tell you about the alliance with the War God Hall?”
Daoist Xiao Zhang’s reply was startlingly direct. “If we can find over a hundred magical artifacts left by our ancient ancestors on Paradise Star, then forging an alliance with the War God Hall is entirely feasible. At least the elders of our Yuntai Temple, those from the Nine Hells Dao behind Peng Hua, and the lords of the five major allied sects all share this view.”
“One hundred pieces? No problem! If they’re on Paradise Star, we will certainly find them!” Gu Xiechen extended his hand toward Daoist Xiao Zhang. “We still need the Dao Alliance’s help to put some pressure on Wageli.”
Daoist Xiao Zhang clasped Gu Xiechen’s hand, his eyes narrowing to slits as he smiled. “Absolutely no problem. Once the artifacts are secured, the Walou will become your most loyal auxiliary force.”
The two shared a smile and simultaneously looked out at the sea, now shrouded in a violent storm.
The fierce wind swept across the ocean surface, sending towering waves over ten meters high roaring across the expanse. The colossal breakers slammed against the reefs with the sound of heavy bomb detonations.
Daoist Xiao Zhang spoke with a heavy heart. “We don't have much time left. According to intelligence, the Roman Kingdom’s massive army will depart from Mars in a month and a half. The Earth Federation’s second wave of expeditionary forces will also be fully assembled in a month and a half. For the sake of Paradise Star, the scale of troops deployed by both sides will exceed ten million. We must leave Paradise Star before then…”
“I thought you guys seemed quite forceful when threatening those fellows like Borujin and Yakjin.”
Gu Xiechen looked at Daoist Xiao Zhang with confusion. Given the deterrence wielded by the Asian Dao Alliance, why the rush to leave before the main armies arrived? He clearly remembered how the Asian Dao Alliance had berated the young members of the nine elector families of the Romans when they first arrived on Paradise Star—it was like lecturing their own sons.