Chapter 2527: Everything Is Fated

Upon hearing the name, Yumen Beiqing looked grim.

“Lady Houtu...” The Mermaid Queen was initially confused before she was overtaken by shock. “Is that the person you met in the underworld?”

Zu An nodded. He would have wondered if Houtu was capable of such a feat in the past, but after learning that Houtu was a being on par with the Celestial Emperor, he realized that she was far stronger than he had expected. Not to mention she governed the Six Paths of Reincarnation. It shouldn’t be an impossible feat for her to transport someone across worlds.

The true question was why she'd done that. Furthermore, she had chosen not to reveal her identity. If not for the Mermaid Queen perfectly emulating her voice, they wouldn’t have known she was behind this.

She didn’t send me any messages even though I promised to find and deliver the six power insignias to her. Instead, she suddenly sent the Mermaid Queen here. What is she planning?

And what could the price the Mermaid Queen mentioned be?

Many doubts popped into his mind. He felt as if he'd been dragged into a massive conspiracy, and that there was a pair, or even many pairs, of eyes staring at him. The thought of it made him shudder.

“Why did Lady Houtu do that?” The Mermaid Queen was perplexed.

Yumen Beiqing’s eyes darted around as if she had a thought in mind, but she couldn’t confirm it.

Zu An asked out of curiosity, “Little sister Ling’er, what are your thoughts?”

“There’s too little information to work with.” Yumen Beiqing shook her head. She turned to the Mermaid Queen and asked, “What do you plan to do next?”

The Mermaid Queen had no answer. She knew too little about this world, and she vaguely sensed that the Fiend races’ Saintess was hostile to her.

Is it because of big brother Zu...

Fortunately, Zu An interjected, “You should come with us. I’ll keep you safe.”

The Mermaid Queen nodded in relief. Now that she had his promise, nothing else was important.

Yumen Beiqing hesitantly spoke up. “The earlier clash showed that Yi is extremely strong. If he learns that his fiancée is with you, things will not end well.”

Zu An sighed. “I’ll explain it to him. If he can’t accept it, we’ll have no choice but to come to blows. I can’t turn a blind eye to Suyin.” He couldn’t bring himself to abandon the Mermaid Queen, whether it was due to his sense of responsibility, or the feelings he had for her.

When she heard Zu An calling her name, the Mermaid Queen’s eyes narrowed into tender crescent smiles.

Yumen Beiqing wanted to say more, but she suddenly thought of another possibility, and her eyes lit up.

This development isn’t that bad either...

So, she grabbed the Mermaid Queen’s hand and said, “My queen, please forgive me for my harsh words. I was just worried about our circumstances; I don’t mean to leave you in a difficult situation. Pardon me for that.”

The Mermaid Queen was already in a good mood from her reunion with Zu An, and now, the Saintess was expressing her goodwill as well. There was no reason for her to mind it. “Don’t worry, Saintess. We should be standing on the same front and working together.”

Yumen Beiqing wasn’t used to this heartfelt sisterly interaction, but she knew it wouldn’t be apt for her to retract her hand now.

Fortunately, the Mermaid Queen changed the topic, asking, “How did the two of you get here?”

Yumen Beiqing took this chance to pull her hand away. “We’re heading to Kunlun Mountain to rescue Celestial Bao Jiang...” She quickly summarized the situation for the Mermaid Queen.

“Bao Jiang?” The Mermaid Queen frowned. “I have heard that name.”

“Where did you hear it?” Zu An was overjoyed. Kunlun Mountain was so massive that finding Bao Jiang there was as good as finding a needle in the ocean. Having some clues could greatly narrow their search radius.

“I remember it now!” The Mermaid Queen’s eyes lit up. “He stopped by and stayed at the Chang clan's residence for a few days. He was looking for a herb, and the clan elder guided him. Back then, I was too shaken up by this foreign world to pay much attention, so I only remembered it just now.”

“When did he arrive at the Chang clan?” Yumen Beiqing asked.

The Mermaid Queen spent a moment in thought before replying, “Around half a month ago.”

“What?” Zu An was astounded.

He'd been hoping to catch up with Bao Jiang to save his life, but even if that didn’t work out, it would be wonderful if he could get some clues about the Brilliant Pinflower’s whereabouts. But Bao Jiang had arrived at the Chang clan half a month ahead of them. There was just no way they could catch up with him anymore.

The schemers could have already killed Bao Jiang and obtained clues about the immortal medicine. Learning that their hard work was all in vain made Zu An slump in disappointment.

“There’s no need to be too disheartened. There’s a saying that a day in heaven is equivalent to a year on earth. Who knows? Bao Jiang might have just reported to the Celestial Court and started on his way back now,” Yumen Beiqing said. “When do you think would be the best time for the culprit to make a move? If Bao Jiang were killed on his way to report to the Celestial Emperor, the Celestial Court would swiftly notice something was amiss. But if Bao Jiang met the Celestial Emperor and received his orders, the Celestial Court would be unlikely to contact him again in the short term. If he died on his way back, the Celestial Court could fail to notice it for decades.”

Zu An’s eyes lit up upon hearing that analysis. “You’re sharp to have thought about that, little sister Ling’er!”

If I were the culprit, I would have chosen to strike on Bao Jiang’s way back too.

Furthermore, with his current grasp of spatial transformations, he knew that the adage that a day in heaven was equivalent to a year on earth wasn't just hearsay.

He anxiously asked the Mermaid Queen, “Do you know where Bao Jiang headed when he left?” He figured that Bao Jiang could return via the same path.

The Mermaid Queen gave it some thought. A blue light glowed on her fingertip, and she drew a map on the table. “While planning my escape, I paid close attention to the terrain around the Chang clan's residence. I think he left from here.”

Zu An compared the Mermaid Queen’s map to the Goddess of Wu Mountain’s map. The maps were broadly similar, with the former having more details. Having confirmed the direction, he quickly steered the Crystal Boat over.

Just like that, they flew for days but didn’t find anything. The trio began to worry that they had gotten the direction wrong.

Out of the blue, however, Yumen Beiqing pointed in a direction and exclaimed, “I see movement there!”

Zu An looked over and saw a forest swaying. He didn’t sense anything unnatural about the movement, but he still decided to take a look. While they were heading there, he noticed a highly profound formation in the forest. He exchanged looks with Yumen Beiqing, and the two of them began hurling formation flags around. Soon, the surrounding space warped to reveal a white-bearded elder leaning against a big tree.

The white-bearded elder’s snowy-white robe was dyed red with blood. He looked to have suffered a severe blow to his ribcage. He had no doubt constructed the formation to conceal himself, yet he didn’t react to the breaching of his formation.

“Bao Jiang!” Recalling the Goddess of Wu Mountain’s description, Zu An could tell that the other party was the person they had been looking for at a glance.

When she saw Bao Jiang’s condition, Yumen Beiqing trembled. Her face turned pale, and her eyes became dazed.

Has it all been decided? Is it impossible to change fate...

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