The next day, before it was fully light.
Qingping came knocking.
To her surprise, the door was opened not by Liuye but by a strange man wearing a pair of oddly dark eyepieces. If she’d only looked at his face, with the dark eyepieces obscuring his eyes, he would have been intriguing in a mysterious sort of way. But then she looked down, and Qingping got a shock. Because this strange man had no shirt on. Arms bare. Downstairs he wore only a pair of beach shorts. Barefoot. Casually planting his feet all over the clean white carpet. He was sheening with sweat, and a wave of aggressive male musk rolled off him and hit her in the face…
Qingping recoiled — she thought she’d walked into the wrong room.
She stepped back and checked the door number. She hadn’t. Only then did she dare venture: “You, you’re —”
“Ah-ha! Aren’t you the pretty lady from the express train the other day? Miss Qingping. Welcome, welcome. The last few days I’ve been tied up with work and haven’t had a chance to catch up with Miss Qingping, but here we are at last.” As soon as the man opened his mouth, Qingping recognized him. This was the pretty-boy who had ruined a whole night of her sleep the day before.
Silver mask off.
Replaced with these dark eyepieces. She’d nearly missed him.
Now, seeing that lecher expression of his, she was disgusted. How had a man like this cost her a good night’s sleep?
Qingping had the strong urge to just turn around and walk away. Compared to the perfectly-mannered Tianra Prince, this specimen was a straight-up thug — one hand short of actually reaching out and groping her!
“Where’s Liuye?” Qingping choked down the impulse to punch him and asked.
“Oh, her. She’s still cultivating. Leave her alone. Let’s just you and me have a chat.” Yue Yang came off like a big bad wolf who was about to skin a little lamb.
“I’ve already made plans with the Prince and the others — we’re heading out to the Wave-Mist Sea together shortly. Why don’t the two of you come along? More people, more fun!” Qingping thought this man had gotten a handsome face for absolutely nothing. If they could just peel his face off and slap it onto that block of wood Ye Kong, the effect would be perfect. For her mission’s sake, she had to keep her sweet smile on. And though she was privately shouting Die, you pervert at him, on the outside she was giggling on and on: “I got so lucky — I managed to rent a luxury yacht. And the next few days are peak season for the Wave-Mist Sea’s warm currents and the fish tide. Not going would be a real waste. Please, don’t stand on ceremony — I’ll just wait out here. When is Liuye going to finish cultivating?”
“She seems to be working through some kind of domain-force insight. She probably won’t have time to play for the next couple of days. Don’t worry about her. With her here, she’d just be a third wheel — a lot of things wouldn’t be very convenient.” Yue Yang indicated Liuye was busy. Qingping was inwardly sneering. You’re the one who’s deliberately preventing her from coming, aren’t you?
“Really? She’s so diligent!” Qingping smiled sweeter than sugar, but inside she was seething and wanting to strangle the pervert.
A third wheel? What a piece of work.
Just from that word she knew what he was thinking. God only knew what Liuye — a pure, hardworking girl — had done to end up listening to this raging lecher! Someone like you — how are you qualified to teach anyone? If a lecher like you gets made a teacher, then it’s really a tragedy for the student… None of what Qingping was thinking made it out of her mouth. On the outside she was radiant with a flower-blossoming smile. If the contempt beaming out of her eyes had been throwing knives, Yue Yang would have used up ten lives.
Yue Yang indicated Liuye was busy and that he would go in her place.
Without giving Qingping a chance to renege, he changed into a shirt printed all over with drawings of shiny naked women. The women were arranged in various tantalizing poses — one look and the blood would try to break your veins.
Now — by White River City regulations, shirts showing the “three points” were not permitted.
But this shirt had been very cleverly designed. The three most crucial points on every drawing were all just barely covered. Not one exposed inch.
The shirt complied with regulations, but the suggestion was, if anything, worse. Half-hidden, half-revealed — those partially-drawn women were more provocative to the eye than fully bare would have been.
Qingping had to give it to him.
Whoever had designed that abomination was the number-one lecher in the world.
“That shirt’s really pretty. Your design?” Qingping smiled sweetly.
“Of course. Aside from a design genius like me, who could design something this pretty? Next time, I’ll design one for you too. Let me observe and measure your body properly — then I can design something even prettier!” Yue Yang was hmmphing with obscene self-satisfaction, totally missing the I knew it was you expression on Qingping’s face.
“Ah — thanks. Wait until you’ve got time, though!” Qingping declined quickly. If she showed up in that kind of pornographic outfit, the good impression Tianra Prince had of her would collapse. Xue Tanglang — that block of ice — and Ye Kong — that piece of wood — would probably never speak to her again.
“I’ve always got time. Come find me any time. Even in the middle of the night. I’m always available to a pretty woman.” Yue Yang’s words seemed to imply things.
“You’re so devoted!” Qingping playfully brushed the innuendo aside, then privately sneered. You think a shirt can win my heart? Dream on. I like men like the Prince. Even the block of ice and the block of wood beat you, you pretty-boy. Someone as brain-in-the-groin as you — only that dumbass Sea Fatty would put up with you.
She was regretting her visit.
If she hadn’t come to the Iron Cross Hotel and tried to invite Liuye, this pretty-boy would not have latched onto her, and she could have spent a nice happy time with Tianra Prince, Ice Block, and Wooden-block.
The worst part was — Liuye hadn’t accepted, and this kid had latched onto her instead. Who knew if Tianra Prince and the others would welcome this pretty-boy?
Yesterday, when she hadn’t been able to see him and Liuye had cheerfully shut the door on her, there’d been a little pang of dissatisfaction.
Today, seeing him — this was what he was.
Last night’s little pang must have been a mistake. How could she have been sad about missing someone like this?
If Liuye would just come running out and drag this pretty-boy home! Unfortunately, she had to keep training… And why the hell wasn’t this damned pretty-boy training? What could someone like this even do besides design pervert-shirts?
Qingping felt this was the most patient day of her life. She dragged Yue Yang along, half-hearing his chatter and offering equally half-hearted replies, and finally arrived at the East Gate docks.
Old Iron Anchor, Big Gorilla, Lobsterman, and the other rough-sailor porters were shouting cadences as they hauled anchor and cast off the lines for the luxury yacht moored there. Under the beautiful golden morning light, travelers arrived in a stream by carriage. All of them had come especially at this season to catch the White River City ferry to the Wave-Mist Sea. Only at this time of year was the Wave-Mist Sea at its most beautiful — and only now would you see the rainbow fish tide, which was hard to see anywhere else.
“Over here! Good morning, Prince! Good morning, Tanlang! Good morning, Kong!” Qingping had been waiting at the East Gate docks with Yue Yang for only a few minutes when she saw Sea Fatty, Ye Kong and the others get off the tram at the gate station and come along with the flow of foot traffic. She promptly dropped Yue Yang and went bounding over to greet them.
“Miss Qingping, good morning!” Sea Fatty greeted her, cheerfully — mouth full of a meat bun.
“Oh, classmate Fatty. You’re here too.” Qingping pretended she’d only just noticed him. Inside, she was cursing: Damn fat man. Choke to death already.
“Who’s this guy? He’s not much to look at. And he still dares go out in public?” Sea Fatty took one look at Yue Yang and got worked up. He clenched a fist and stalked over, as though ready to fight.
“You two don’t know each other?” Qingping was surprised.
“Who’d want to know an idiot like this?” Yue Yang planted a kick that knocked Sea Fatty flat to the ground, pinned the fat man, and rummaged through his pockets with the smooth practiced motion of a career pickpocket to snatch a meat bun and start eating it. It looked like ten years of training. Qingping stared, dumbfounded. Then, seeing Ye Kong and the Liqie brothers’ expressions — not warm, not cold, but with an edge of hostility — she realized this bunch already knew each other. Just not from the same social group.
Qingping observed for a while and determined that this pretty-boy was on the friendliest terms with Xue Tanglang and Tianra Prince. He was on ordinary terms with Ye Kong and the Liqie brothers. And with Sea Fatty — it was straight-up mortal enemies!
Of course, Tianra Prince’s cordial greeting to the pretty-boy might just have been noble breeding and etiquette, not friendship. But one thing was certain: this group knew each other and had come from the same place.
Sea Fatty pulled himself off the ground unbothered. Anyone else would’ve been mortified to be publicly humiliated like that. He shouted: “Where’s my Liuye? Why isn’t she here?”
“What do you mean, your Liuye? Get out. She’s my disciple!” Yue Yang lifted a foot to kick him again. Sea Fatty flinched three steps back.
“Say no more — he must have refused to let her come.” Sea Fatty’s take won, for the first time, Qingping’s approval.
She thought so too.
Definitely this big lecher wanted to hoard Liuye all to himself and wouldn’t let her come with everyone else to Wave-Mist Sea.
“Cultivating my ass. Grasping some domain force — that’s all fake. A girl at Liuye’s level of strength — how could she possibly be grasping a domain force?” I would have to be a fool to believe him, thought Qingping. Her opinion of Yue Yang dropped a few notches more. Aside from a handsome face, he was worthless! If that face were on Wooden-block Ye, on Ice Block Xue, or on Tianra Prince, that’d be perfect. Wasted on this lecher — waste of resources!
Yue Yang, hearing Sea Fatty’s accusation, snorted: “You don’t understand a thing. I’m protecting Liuye. She’s my disciple. Am I going to let her come to harm? She’s young. She doesn’t understand how dangerous people can be. Get her on a boat, and if some jerk deceives her, what then?”
Sea Fatty wasn’t buying it: “Aside from you — who else would deceive her!”
“Fat man, your skin itching? I’ll — you’re literally asking to die…”
“Ha! One-on-one duel! Eating!”
“Why don’t we duel at playing dead? Enough talk — or I’ll shave your fat off you and press it for lard!”
“Ooh, I’m so scared. Try to touch one of my hairs — and when I get home, I’ll rip your front door off!”
Qingping was going to try to break it up. But when she saw that Ye Kong and the others were watching the two of them yell at each other with an air of this is normal, she decided to save her breath. Fine. Birds of a feather flock together. Two nasty pieces of work having it out — perfectly normal! Since ticket-checking hadn’t started yet, she just went to chat with Ye Kong and the others. When Tianra Prince complimented her lake-green dress, she said shyly that the dress had been made for her sixteenth birthday and was now a little short.
Once the topic turned to clothes, Yue Yang kicked Sea Fatty aside and joined in: “Short? A knee-length skirt, short? If you ask me, that’s too long. What’s a short skirt? The legendary crotch-length mini-skirt — that’s short!”
Sea Fatty’s eyes lit up when he heard “crotch-length mini-skirt.” Wolf-hungry: “What’s a crotch-length mini-skirt?”
Yue Yang snorted: “The legendary short skirt. Legend says only Godfather has laid eyes on the real deal!”
“Godfather?” Sea Fatty asked what Godfather was.
“They say ‘Godfather’ is short for the ancient invocation ‘Godfa-Fa-Ther!’ — the name of a supreme powerhouse, long since lost.” Yue Yang was hinting that a numbskull like Sea Fatty wouldn’t know something this esoteric.
“This Godfather sounds like a god-level being…” Sea Fatty was almost weeping tears of admiration: “I want to be Godfather! I want to see a real crotch-length mini-skirt!”
“Look at yourself, in the state you’re in. This is what happens when you don’t hit the books as a kid! Not reading properly — do you think you’re going to be Godfather? Do you think you’re going to see a crotch-length mini-skirt? Fever dream! Classmates — take the fat man’s tragic outcome here as a cautionary tale, and study hard forever.” Yue Yang rapped Sea Fatty on the round head and solemnly counseled Ye Kong, Xue Tanglang, and Tianra Prince to keep up their reading and to strive daily upward.
“Is there really a crotch-length mini-skirt in this world?” Qingping had never heard the term.
“Hmph, hmph. What do you know about the fashion trends of ancient times? Regarding the legend of the crotch-length mini-skirt — I’ve read a bit of it in an ancient book called Journey to the West. But because of some issues of insight I could not understand it. Only later, when I received the crotch-length mini-skirt enlightenment, did wisdom flash upon me and I understood — this god-tier garment has existed since ancient times, and only a super-powerhouse is qualified to wear one.” Yue Yang gestured that everyone should gather round and sit and listen while he spoke.
“Please enlighten this humble one and dispel the fog of ignorance in my brain!” Sea Fatty was one step short of prostrating himself.
“Journey to the West — I’ve never heard of any such ancient book.” Qingping was skeptical. Was this lecher just pulling their legs?
“Journey to the West is about a monkey — orphan, no father or mother — struggling against his fate. It’s not a very long story, but it is very moving…” Yue Yang gave a rough summary. When he got to the part where the monkey jumped out from under Five-Finger Mountain, took a master, killed a tiger, and had his master make him a tiger-skin skirt, Sea Fatty burst out: “Crotch-length mini-skirt! It’s real! The Old Master who could break Five-Finger Mountain and sew a crotch-length mini-skirt — is he Godfather?”
“No. Godfather is even greater. I’ve never seen him either.” Yue Yang looked truly regretful.
“Crotch-length mini-skirt is real?” Qingping listened and it did sound plausible. She was half-convinced. Would this lecher be able to make up a story that good? She asked further: “Well — what’s it look like?”
“Its true form I have also never seen. But according to legend, if I put in the full effort of my mind, I could roughly reproduce a passable copy.” Yue Yang was extraordinarily generous: “When I’ve made one, I’ll gift it to you. Given your build, I think it’d look great on you!” Sea Fatty and Ye Kong and everyone chimed in agreement.
“Really? Then — thanks in advance…” However bad Qingping’s opinion of Yue Yang was, she still wanted to wear a garment out of legend.
Old Iron Anchor came over.
Respectfully invited Yue Yang and the party aboard. And the luxury yacht began sounding its long horn.
The trip to the Wave-Mist Sea was about to begin. What kind of trip would this be? From the smiles on Yue Yang, Sea Fatty, and Ye Kong’s faces, it was obvious: this was going to be a fun trip!
(End of Chapter 1020)