Chapter 684: Crazy Perceptive Old Woman
[How do you lose an unconscious person?!,] Arachnidame yelled at Hurricroak.
[Hey, have respect for your elders!]
[We don’t have ages and you’re not answering the question!]
[I’m getting there.]
In the moment Zhen Liu had ordered the kaijin to clear the danger zone while taking Jin Fang and the main clan’s matriarch, Zhen Xun Tian, to safety, Spring Brawler had taken it upon himself to take the former while Hurricroak tasked herself to carry off the latter.
This wasn’t exactly a task that had many ways to go wrong, but having the person they were assigned to carry away, suddenly disappear on them, was one of the worst things that could happen.
Especially in the manner that Hurricroak described.
[Alright, so long story short, Zhen Xun Tian somehow regained consciousness while still in my arms but had somehow swapped herself out with a double made of ink! I’m not sure how or when but she’s like Houdini, but tiny, female and covered in tattoos!,] Hurricroak explained. [That sounded less crazy in my head.]
[We’re talking with just our heads!]
[I am aware!]
[Both of you, calm down,] Nepherage interjected. [If anything, our lord will probably find her before it becomes a problem, or she will be the problem.]
[Oh yeah…]
[Wait, what?]
Hurricroak was mollified by Nepherage’s answer, but Archanidame looked surprised in contrast. Evidently, she couldn’t imagine that anything would’ve been that convenient.
[Surely you jest, Nepherage. Why would the matriarch want to involve herself with-]
‘WHY IS THE MATRIARCH HERE?!’
[-I stand corrected.]
[See? Now, let’s go make sure we make ourselves scarce.]
[Huh? Shouldn’t we go and be by the young master’s side for this encounter?]
[Not unless the matriarch turns hostile.]
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‘And you’re sure she doesn’t want to kill me?’
[I am not detecting any hostility, so no.]
‘Okay…so why is she here?’
[Don’t know…]
‘Hmmm.’
At this point in time, Zhen Liu and Frosttusk were still in the middle of absorbing and refining the [Ghost Flame], before it had the chance to go wild and burn this entire arena down to the ground alongside everyone near it. However, just as the duo were just about to finish up doing so, an unexpected guest showed up right next to them.
That guest was Zhen Xun Tian, the matriarch of the Zhen main clan, who had apparently regained consciousness despite having been knocked out not too long ago.
A part of Zhen Liu thought that this woman might’ve been a fake, but when he checked on the kaijin that had carried her off to safety, it instead confirmed that she was the real deal.
As to why she was here though…let’s just say she was looking for her own answers. That and like every other older relative in this universe and the next, she wanted to have some fun poking at the younger generation.
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‘She…she is aware I can’t talk right now, right?’
[I don’t think she cares.]
‘Great…’
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‘Oh gods, I think I know where this is going.’
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‘Uh…thanks?’
Being unable to talk at this moment due to his mouth being full of necromantic fires, Zhen Liu simply nodded as acknowledgement at the compliment.
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‘Oh boy, here it comes…’
Unaware or uncaring of Zhen Liu’s inner thoughts, Zhen Xun Tian made her proposal.
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‘FUCKING KNEW THERE WAS MORE TO THAT STORY.’
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‘In exchange for…’
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Zhen Liu at this moment wanted to play dumb and say, “what kind of information could a kid born in the frontier region of whole other continent be able to provide to an illustriously powerful elder as yourself,” but he was still absorbing the [Ghost Flame] at this time. Which gave Zhen Xun Tian room to explain what she was looking for…and it was exactly the kind of information Zhen Liu could provide. Well, information he and the two more knowledgeable voices in his head could provide.
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Zhen Xun Tian paused for a moment before directing her gaze at Zhen Liu’s eyes, her expression stern.
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‘…’
While Zhen Liu wasn’t able to make any visible expressions at this time, he hoped he was making it obvious that he was both shocked and mildly infuriated at this observation. Especially since it was usually his schtick to act like an enigmatic deal maker from the depths of the underworld. It wasn’t exactly pleasant being on the other end of such behavior.
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‘Gee, how thoughtful…’
A couple more minutes passed as Zhen Liu/Frosttusk continued to absorb the [Ghost Flame] as Zhen Xun Tian continued to watch with interest.
“Vooo…phew!”
When the absorbtion process was finally done, Zhen Liu let out a small sigh of relief, which Zhen Xun Tian used as a signal to pick up their conversation where they had left off.
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Zhen Liu looked at Zhen Xun Tian with a somewhat critical gaze as she asked this question. It was still kind of weird for him to process that this woman was his ancestor, despite not looking her age, but he was now understanding why his grandfather and some of the other elders of this main clan called her an old monster. She was incredibly shrewd.
Zhen Liu let out another small sigh before giving Zhen Xun Tian his answer.
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As soon as Zhen Xun Tian posed that question, she pulled out what appeared to be a scroll from out of nowhere.
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