Chapter 44: The Royal Family
On the coast of City of Qingzhou, a giant ship sailed away and finally disappeared from people’s sight.
An old man was standing quietly there, watching the giant ship leave. Waves continued crashing on the rocks, while the wind shrieked. The sea breeze kept whistling and whipped around the old man’s body. His gray hair was swinging, and so was his body. It almost looked like he would be blown away by the wind. However, he stayed immobile.
Behind him, in the City of Qingzhou, some powerful sorcerers and knights mounted on beasts were heading that way. They looked at the ocean, and someone commanded, “Lock down this coast! The Lord of the City ordered that Ye Futian shall not leave this city!”
“A ship just left for the City of Donghai. Should we check the ship?” someone asked.
“Old man, did you see a sixteen-year-old boy board that ship?” a sorcerer saw the old man standing on the coast and asked him.
The old man was still standing there quietly. He just stared ahead and stayed silent as if he wasn’t listening.
“Answer him!” A knight came forward and pointed his lance at the old man.
The old man also ignored him. The sorcerer frowned at him, and the knight continued to threaten the old man. “Are you looking for trouble?”
The wind was still shrieking, and sand was flying. The sorcerer mounted on the monster realized something terrifying was approaching. He suddenly noticed that the old man was condensing the power of the universe. Soon, he saw a terrible whirlpool of sand forming. It only took a moment for the vortex to descend upon them and ultimately engulf them all. The old man was still standing there quietly as if he wasn’t doing anything.
“Please, don’t kill us!” All those powerful people were now begging for mercy. However, they had already lost their chance. The sandstorm had taken them all and lifted their bodies into the air. The old man also started to float with them.
“Please, we regret what we said!” They were totally desperate.
“You have never seen the power of the Holy Bird. You should feel lucky that you can witness this power before you die,” the old man said peacefully. His body soon disappeared. As soon as he left, the storm intensified and all the people trapped inside were torn apart.
……
Ye Futian was not worried about the people chasing after him. He knew that the Prefectural Administration Mansion would only be informed that he left after a long while. Even if they reacted as soon as possible and locked down the coasts, they would still have no idea where he was going. Furthermore, since the people chasing after him were scattered, the resistance he encountered would not be too harsh. Meanwhile, the Black Wind Eagle was flying next to the ship, prepared to attack anyone in Ye Futian’s way.
The ship he was on was enormous. There were a lot of private rooms on the ship that could house four people inside comfortably.
“Be careful, Professor.” Ye Futian helped Hua Fengliu sit down. He and Yu Sheng then sat across from Hua Fengliu.
“Professor, do you have any plans for after we get to the City of Donghai?” Ye Futian asked. It had been Hua Fengliu’s idea to go to this city, so he believed Hua Fengliu must have had a plan.
“I don’t want to talk right now.” Hua Fengliu was in a grim mood.
“Sorry, I’m just kind of excited about seeing my fairy soon.” Ye Futian was smiling.
“The City of Donghai is the capital of the East Sea Prefecture. You will run into many beauties there.” Hua Fengliu was making fun of Ye Futian.
“Professor, please, I’m not that bad.” Ye Futian believed Hua Fengliu was doing this intentionally.
“Okay, I’ll trust you.” Hua Fengliu nodded.
“Yu Sheng, how about you?” Ye Futian turned toward Yu Sheng.
“I trust you, too,” Yu Sheng said mockingly.
“I need some air.” Ye Futian was embarrassed and left the room.
After going up on the deck of the ship, Ye Futian started to enjoy the sea breeze. The City of Qingzhou started to fade away from his sight. His mind was now filled with emotions. He had no idea when he would be able to come back to the city he had lived in for sixteen years.
Yu Sheng also followed him onto the deck. They gazed at the city together. That city had held so many memories for them.
“Yu Sheng, do you think your father is watching us now?” Ye Futian asked.
“Even if he is, he’s only looking at you.” Yu Sheng sounded a bit sad.
Ye Futian looked at Yu Sheng and realized that he wasn’t very happy. However, he didn’t know how to comfort him. Ever since they were born, Yu Sheng’s father had always treated Ye Futian better than Yu Sheng. Even though he respected his father, Yu Sheng was somewhat resentful.
Gazing at the sea, Ye Futian started to laugh. “Yu Sheng, remember, even if someday I become the emperor of this continent as godfather expects, I would give that crown to you if you asked me. I promise you that I will share everything with you except my cute fairy.”
Yu Sheng nodded to show that he understood. When he was being punished by his father as a child, Ye Futian would confront his father and secretly share snacks with Yu Sheng. At that time, he swore to himself that he would stand by Ye Futian’s side no matter where they were.
The sea breeze was still shrieking and whipped at the boys. No one had any idea how legendary their future would be.
There were footsteps behind them. Ye Futian turned around and saw two beautiful girls coming towards them. The two girls were the same age. Both of them were very attractive, especially the girl on the left who was wearing green. She was extremely charming.
They realized that Ye Futian was staring at them. The girl in green naturally nodded back at him.
“What’s wrong with your eye? Getting fixed on beautiful girls?” The girl on the right started to chuckle with a wicked sense of humor. Ye Futian also started smiling. “Why would I take my eyes away off of beautiful girls like you? Don’t be mad, please.”
“Don’t listen to her.” The girl in green began introductions, “I’m Lin Xiyue, and this is Xiao He, my friend. Who are you guys?”
“I’m Ye Futian, and this is my best friend, Yu Sheng.” Ye Futian didn’t stop smiling. “Are you also from the City of Qingzhou? I don’t believe we have met before.”
“No, we come from the City of Donghai,” Lin Xiyue said. “We heard that relics of Emperor Ye Qing showed up in the City of Qingzhou. We asked our masters to bring us here to broaden our horizons. However, people told us that the place couldn’t be approached at all, so we gave up. You guys are from City of Qingzhou, so have you been there?”
“Yes, we have,” Ye Futian nodded.
“You’re bragging.” Xiao He kept chuckling, “Admit it. You’re just trying to attract Lin Xiyue’s attention.”
Ye Futian shrugged his shoulders. Lin Xiyue then asked, “Why are you going to the City of Donghai?”
“We’re following our professor,” Ye Futian responded.
“Good luck to you. The best academy in this province is there,” Lin Xiyue encouraged them.
“What’s your class and plane? I can guess your chances.” Xiao He asked Ye Futian.
“A mage, in the Two-star Glory Plane.”
“Good for you. I believe you will go to a decent academy.” Lin Xiyue smiled and said, “Now we need to go for a walk.”
“See you later.” Ye Futian then told Yu Sheng, “Let’s go back.”
Soon, they headed back to their room. After seeing them leave, Xiao He started chuckling again. “Why did you hit on these strangers, Lin Xiyue?”
Lin Xiyue gave her a stare.
“That boy is a bad one, isn’t he? But he’s pretty handsome. The other one is a stud. So, Lin Xiyue, which one do you like?”
“You’re talking nonsense. Come on, girl, we just met.”
“Even though we just met, it’s okay for you to tell me your preference, right?”
Lin Xiyue gave up. She thought for a while, then smiled. “I like Ye Futian better. He’s cute.”
Xiao He sighed in disapproval and looked at her with mockery. Lin Xiyue tried to stop her. “Stop thinking of crazy stuff. It was just a casual conversation. I know he is talented, but he is definitely not the very best in the City of Donghai.”
“Of course you’re looking for the greatest.” They left and kept chatting.
Several days later, the ship finally arrived at the City of Donghai. When Ye Futian disembarked, he was awed by the prosperity of the city. Countless ships were docked at the commercial capital of the East Sea Prefecture. Due to the geographic importance of this city, it had become the gateway of the whole province.
“Goodbye, Ye Futian.” Xiao He waved at Ye Futian and Lin Xiyue was looking at them with a smile.
“I believe we will meet again.” Ye Futian waved back. Later, he saw the girls leave with an old man.
Ye Futian raised his head. He explained to Hua Fengliu, “Professor, it was just some casual talk with the girls, I promise. Yu Sheng can testify for me.”
“I’m used to it.” Hua Fengliu did not take it seriously. Yu Sheng looked at Ye Futian with sympathy. The Black Wind Eagle landed in front of them. They got on her back, and soon the eagle flew to the City of Donghai.
Compared with the City of Qingzhou, this ancient city was so much more prosperous. Monsters were flying in the air all over the city, and they served as mounts for powerful cultivators. Ye Futian and Yu Sheng suddenly believed that they had made an absolutely great choice to come to this city.
“Lead the way please, Professor,” Ye Futian asked Hua Fengliu. Hua Fengliu took command of the Black Wind Eagle, and Ye Futian noticed that he looked earnest now, which was rare. Apparently, getting back to the City of Donghai stirred his mind.
Eventually, they arrived at their destination. From afar, they saw an immensely spectacular mansion in their sight. It was almost as grand as a royal palace.
The Black Wind Eagle landed in front of the building. Ye Futian had never seen such a majestic building. He asked Hua Fengliu, “Professor, where are we? It almost looks like a royal palace.”
“It used to be a royal palace,” Hua Fengliu told him. “About three hundred years ago, before Emperor Ye Qing and Donghuang the Great unified the continent. This continent was torn apart by warlords that controlled separate regions. The nation of Nandou was ruled by the Nandou family. After the continent was unified, the ruler gave a new order to this world. The Nandou family toppled and were seized from the throne. This was the mansion of the Nandou family.”
“So, why did you bring us here?” Ye Futian was curious.
“Because your future wife is living here.” Hua Fengliu started laughing.
Ye Futian blinked his eyes. He was surprised. “So, your wife is the daughter of this royal family? How did you manage to pursue her?”
“I was handsome, boy.” Hua Fengliu was confident. Ye Futian believed he was boasting again.
“Professor, if I told the guards that I want to go to this place to see my girlfriend, would they kill me?” Ye Futian was joking.
“You can try that,” Hua Fengliu said. “I have been prohibited from entering the City of Donghai. They told me that if I did, they would destroy my natal spirit. However, it has been already destroyed.”
Ye Futian was silent. He started laughing again and said, “Don’t worry, Professor. Someday they will beg you to come back.”