Shrouding the Heavens

Chapter 554: Chapter 558 Alternative Lord

“Do you know the consequences of doing this? If you dare to harm the Dragon Horse, you will surely bring about a deadly disaster! This is not something a mere small Lord like you can withstand,” the people on the ground, their bravado masking their weakness, threatened nervously.

“Oh, I’m so scared,” Ye Fan said as he walked forward. The crops reached his knees, all just young seedlings—a lush green expanse. Even before maturity, a large patch had been trampled, all of it the villagers’ hard work. No wonder even the elders were anxious.

“What… what do you want to do?”

BAM.

Ye Fan kicked out, sending one person flying tens of meters like a sandbag. He landed outside the field, followed by a scream like a slaughtered pig.

“ARGH…”

“Treating us like this, you’re asking for big trouble! You’ll meet a bad end!”

“Really noisy.” Ye Fan glanced at the person he had kicked to the roadside, then continued to stroll through the field, approaching the others.

“Don’t… don’t come near us! We’ll compensate for the damage!” These people were all scared. Already injured and collapsed on the ground, they were unable to escape.

“What were you doing earlier? Scared now?” Ye Fan remained unmoved. He stepped forward and kicked. His strength was immense, sending these people flying tens of meters like chicks, to fall onto the dirt road outside the field.

PLOP. PLOP…

They tumbled one after another like gourds. Even though these people were cultivators, they were unable to move and couldn’t defend themselves. They rolled their eyes in pain, screaming continuously.

Two of them even fainted. The other four had broken bones, moaning in pain, their bodies convulsing and trembling uncontrollably.

The villagers were all dumbfounded. This sixteen or seventeen-year-old Lord, usually cheerful and sunny, had sent a group of evildoers flying with one kick each, astonishing them.

“Our Lord is so strong!”

“Our Lord has taken care of the bad guys! Don’t cry, snotty kid.”

A group of children all shouted, their tears not yet dry. Each looked like a little kitten, yet appeared very innocent, with joy and anger plain on their faces, showing a unique simplicity.

“Don’t come over…” These people were utterly terrified. Seeing Ye Fan walk out of the field, they all trembled, desperately dragging their bodies backward.

BAM. BAM…

Ye Fan delivered a wild flurry of kicks. He had no sympathy for such people. The sound of bones breaking rang out, like chickens and ducks being slaughtered, as several of them screamed miserably.

“We’ll compensate! Stop kicking!”

“We’ll apologize! Spare us!”

The men, tumbling like gourds, shouted desperately, truly fearing Ye Fan would kick them to death. Several of them realized this man was unrestrained, more domineering than their master.

However, one or two among them were stubborn, still threatening viciously, “Treating us like this, you won’t meet a good end! Let alone a small Lord like you, even if a Prince came, he’d have to think twice!”

“Do you think I’m easily scared?” Ye Fan said no more. He kicked twice, crippling these two’s Wheel and Sea. Their divine energy vanished, and their Dao Palaces were shaken into chaos, rendering them unable to cultivate again.

“You… ARGH…” Now everyone was horrified. They all lay prostrate on the ground, constantly kowtowing and begging miserably.

“Please spare us! We won’t dare to do it again!”

“Young Master, please be magnanimous! Don’t concern yourself with us.”

One of the quicker-witted ones began kowtowing to the villagers in the field, apologizing, “We’re sorry! We were wrong! Please forgive us, fellow villagers!”

Under the threat of this figure who seemed like a great evil person, these people lost all arrogance. They were all submissive, begging pitiably, fearing they would lose their lives here.

Ye Fan casually inquired, and they answered everything, not daring to hide a single word. They were indeed from the immortal mountain, horse keepers for a genius of Qi Shi Mansion, responsible for tending to strange and powerful beasts.

“You really are impressive. A few horse-keeping slaves, yet you behave so domineeringly everywhere! Disappear immediately!”

Ye Fan had no good impression of them. With a cold snort, the men fled as if pardoned, stumbling as they turned to run.

“As I said, leave that Dragon Horse for me…” Ye Fan said calmly, standing outside the field.

Forced, they led away the other strange and powerful beasts, leaving the Dragon Horse behind. They didn’t dare to breathe loudly, fearing they would anger this menace again.

“Villagers, tonight I’ll treat everyone to Dragon Horse Meat!” Ye Fan smiled.

In the distance, those few servants stumbled, nearly falling to the ground. What sort of person is this? Is he really planning to eat the Dragon Horse? That’s a rare beast worth tens of thousands of jin of Source! To actually eat it like donkey or horse meat… This was unbearable for them.

Pervert! They fled without turning back, not wanting to stay a moment longer. They felt they’d encountered a monster, someone truly untouchable.

It can’t end like this! We must report back to the Commandery Princess and make sure she dismembers this bastard Lord!

Damn it, this isn’t over! He beat us half to death and still wants to eat the Commandery Princess’s Dragon Horse! How outrageous! He’s tired of living!

They swore this to themselves and left, disappearing into the ancient Immortal Veins on the horizon.

“Will there be trouble?” In the field, Er Gouzi’s old father trembled, fearing this would cause a disaster. His broken bone had been reset, but there were still bloodstains on him.

“There won’t be any trouble. At most, they’ll come after me. Let’s go, I’ll treat everyone to Dragon Horse Meat. It’s highly nutritious!” Ye Fan laughed.

「In the evening.」

Several figures broke through the air. One was especially beautiful, like the descent of the Nine Heavens Profound Lady in the Fire Red sunset, her gown fluttering and black hair flying, her whole person bathed in a light golden sheen.

In the Ancient Village, a group of children looked up at the sky, all shouting.

“Look, a fairy! Such a beautiful sister!”

“The fairy has descended! She’s come to our village!”

A group of children clapped, and the snotty kid even called for Ye Fan to come look.

Ye Fan was surprised. He hadn’t expected Princess Yu Die to come. After half a month without seeing her, she was even more beautiful and ethereal. In the sunset, she looked just like a fairy, her dress swaying as she landed.

Beside her were two men and a woman. The men were handsome and imposing, and the woman was as beautiful as a flower. They all had extraordinary auras.

“Why has Her Highness the Princess come?” Ye Fan asked with a smile. He didn’t know the other three people.

“I came to see if you’re adapting to life here,” Princess Yu Die smiled. A Jade Hairpin was pinned into her cloud-like hair, a phantom of a Divine Phoenix flowing from it, casting a hazy brilliance that enhanced her noble and spirited demeanor.

“Everything is fine here. Thank you for your concern, Princess,” Ye Fan replied with a smile.

“I happened to hear that you’ve detained Commandery Princess Qi’s Dragon Horse. Is it true?” Princess Yu Die, the third beauty of the Central States, asked, her eyes flowing with astonishing charm.

“Yes, I did detain it,” Ye Fan nodded.

“Where is it?” Princess Yu Die inquired.

“Look, isn’t it right there? It’s cooking in that big iron pot,” Ye Fan nonchalantly gestured with his chin.

“What? It’s in the pot?!”

“Are you saying the Dragon Horse is being cooked in that big iron pot?!”

Princess Yu Die and the three people beside her were all flabbergasted and speechless. Especially Princess Yu Die; her small, cherry-like mouth was agape with a bewildered look, lending her an unusual kind of beauty.

“How could you actually eat a Dragon Horse?”

The group looked at him as if he were a monster. They didn’t know what to say; they had never met anyone like this. That was a Dragon Horse, a descendant of a Divine Beast, extremely rare!

This guy here, treating it like braised dog meat, had actually stewed it in a big iron pot. It was the first time they had seen such a brazen person; it left them speechless.

“It’s incredibly nutritious, with a trace of Dragon Blood lineage. Since you’ve all come at the right time, you have the good fortune to partake as well,” Ye Fan said with a smile.

“But… we didn’t come here to eat horse meat!” one of the men said, finding the fellow before him too eccentric.

“We wanted to come forward and help you return the Dragon Horse to resolve this conflict. Otherwise, Commandery Princess Qi will definitely not let this go once she comes out of seclusion,” Princess Yu Die said.

“I’ve already cooked it. At most, I can only send her back a bowl of horse meat so she can have a taste,” Ye Fan replied.

“…” The group was truly defeated by him.

“Brother, you’ve caused big trouble! Commandery Princess Qi loves that Dragon Horse the most. If you eat it like this, she’ll definitely try to kill you!” another man said.

“This can’t be blamed on me. They were simply too outrageous. Not eating the horse meat would hardly appease the villagers’ indignation,” Ye Fan said, not too concerned.

“Your Highness, this friend of yours is truly… eccentric!” the beautiful woman could only remark.

“Revered Daoist saints, please forgive us! It’s not the young City Lord’s fault; it’s all our fault!” Er Gouzi hobbled over, afraid of causing a big disaster, saying, “This horse has already been stewed. How about… I compensate you with the donkey from my house?”

Princess Yu Die and her group were caught between laughter and tears. They had already seen the lame old donkey not far away. Offering it to replace a Dragon Horse would surely infuriate Commandery Princess Qi to death.

“Forget it, forget it! I’m not getting involved in this,” the beautiful woman beside Princess Yu Die said, almost laughing to the point of tears.

“I appreciate your kind intentions. For now, let’s not talk about other things. The Dragon Horse Meat is already thoroughly cooked. Let’s all enjoy it together!” Ye Fan warmly invited them.

“We won’t eat. We should leave,” one of the men said.

“Don’t go! You’re already here. Let me tell you, this Dragon Horse is incredibly nutritious, beyond description. If you miss out on this, you’ll definitely regret it for a lifetime!” Ye Fan pulled all of them back.

By the Ancient Locust Tree Forest, there were some stone tables and stools. The villagers had already prepared everything; large bowls and small dishes were brought out, the aroma of meat filling the air. There were also jars of old wine.

Besides the Dragon Horse Meat, there were also over a dozen roasted lambs, all brought by Ye Fan. Otherwise, even though the village was small, one Dragon Horse wouldn’t be enough for everyone to eat.

“We’re eating Dragon Meat!” a group of children shouted excitedly, and the other villagers were also very eager.

“Come, brothers, I toast you all!”

“This piece is the choicest part of the Dragon Meat! Come, you all try some!”

“This is Dragon Tendon, truly the best part! Everyone, try it!”

Ye Fan was constantly proposing toasts and serving dishes, full of enthusiasm. The ancient locust trees swayed with a RUSTLE, and the aroma of wine wafted through the air. The few guests were also drawn in and unconsciously began to eat.

“Since we’ve all eaten the Dragon Meat together, I’ll be counting on your support when the time comes,” Ye Fan said with a smile.

The group suddenly felt something was off. One of the men said, “I say, Brother Ye, you’re being rather unscrupulous, aren’t you? Inviting us to eat Dragon Horse Meat, are you trying to drag us all down with you?”

“How could that be? Am I such an unscrupulous person?” Ye Fan righteously declared. “I merely wanted to offer my hospitality to you all. When the time comes, if there’s any news, I would be deeply grateful if you could let me know.”

The two men were both suitors of Princess Yu Die, and the woman was Princess Yu Die’s friend. Although they weren’t like Xiao Mingyuan, they couldn’t help but roll their eyes.

“Come, come, come, don’t be polite, everyone! Eat Dragon Meat, drink fine wine! There is no greater joy in life than this!” Ye Fan continuously poured wine for them.

“I say, Brother Ye, you still need to be careful. That Commandery Princess Qi, as soon as she comes out of seclusion, will definitely come to kill you.”

“That’s right. She raised that Dragon Horse herself. She definitely won’t let you off. It’s useless for anyone else to try and persuade her.”

The two men were highly skilled; one was named Cheng Hui, and the other Zhang Wen. The woman was named Li Xinyue. They elaborated on some of the details of this matter.

“You might not know, but quite a few people in Qi Shi Mansion have heard about it. An eccentric Lord has appeared outside our Mountain Gate, and many people want to come and see you.”

“Yes, the fact that you’re going to eat Commandery Princess Qi’s Dragon Horse has dropped jaws all over the place. A whole crowd of people wants to come and see what kind of remarkable person you are.”

Hearing this news, Ye Fan touched his chin and said, “I’ve recently encountered a bottleneck and need some battles. It’s just best if they don’t all come at once.”

“Why do I get the feeling you’re actually looking forward to it?!” Princess Yu Die rolled her eyes at him in annoyance. Her skin was like suet white Beautiful Jade, her gaze intoxicating.

“They are coming to kill you. Be careful,” Li Xinyue said.

“Lord of Lu City, come out and face your death!” Just then, a shout came from the distant sky, resounding through the Deserted House. This patch of ancient locust trees all swayed with a RUSTLE. (To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log on to www. for more chapters, and support the author and legitimate reading!)