Chapter 53: His Excellency
*Things like sexism and racism are purely for worldbuilding and to make it more realistic. Thank you for your understanding.*
A man with a gentle gaze sat within a pavilion as he stared at a canvas before him.
He looked to be in his early thirties, however, there was a solemnity deep within his green eyes that seemed to age him thousands of years. His white hair was messy and short as it lay uncombed on his forehead, however, his gently handsome features still shone through.
His dark tanned skin made him look exotic when paired with his white hair and piercing green eyes. However, there seemed to be no one at his side as he sat alone in the pavilion.
He wore a loose green robe that swayed as his arm moved across the canvas with excellence, the songs of birds accompanying his calm disposition. The branches of trees hung low and arched through the open pavilion, seemingly embedded in nature and cosy.
The pavilion made from redwood was simply exquisite as it was embedded within a large garden that ran wild with all sorts of flora and fauna. However, for some reason, all the animals would stay away from the pavilion at all costs.
The moonlight shifted and reflected a glint in the man's eyes, reflecting his canvas. Upon it, there was a vast range of beautiful land. From icy tundra that shone with a crystal blue, to forests that conveyed a feeling of warmth; the beauty of the entire world was painted upon the canvas.
The man's hand suddenly halted as he started to stare at his creation with a complex expression. He seemed to find fault within it, or maybe fault within himself...
And then, the man's eyes looked to the left as the sounds of rustling movement gradually got closer and closer to him. There was a lovely expression on his face, but his hand bulged with veins as he crushed his paintbrush into dust!
He picked up the canvas roughly and threw it into a faraway corner of the pavilion. It hit the ground hard, the wet paint dripping and deforming the lovely landscapes into a blurry world. However, the canvas landed amongst tens of others, except the paintings depicted in them were much different.
Gloomy shadows shrieked in despair as they were wrapped in chains, looking up to a distant light in the sky that seemed worlds away. Others were of scary shadows that circled men who welt with sorrow. They were all haunting scenes and the only exception was the canvas the man had just thrown.
However, that canvas of beautiful scenery was the one he found the hardest to look at...
And as if he had never done something so violent, the man shifted his entire body, crossing his legs and resting his chin on his hand as he looked on at his incoming visitors. His eyes contained interest, maybe he was hoping to distract himself from thoughts he would rather not have...
A lean man in a tight green battle robe burst through the foliage, a cold look on his face as he rushed over courteously. He quickly jumped into the pavilion and bowed his head slightly as he spoke to the relaxed man.
"My lord, you have a visitor." His voice was deep and stale, contrasting the lovely surroundings and the handsome, smiling man before him. However, the smile he saw contained impatience, which caused him to become stern.
"I don't remember calling for an audience." The man said innocently with light laughter as the saw his servant standing before him tense a little. "Well? Who has come to see me?" He queried, batting his eyelashes.
The man looked solemn as if he was inconveniencing his lord unnecessarily. "My lord, there was a woman who came to the north gate only minutes ago, stating she had some information about the Temple." The man shifted his eyes to where he had just come from, narrowing them. "She says she is an exile."
"An exile?" The eyes of the man looked intrigued and he shifted, crossing his legs the other way and leaning back into his chair, letting himself nestle into his robes.
"Yes, my lord. The seniors at the gate made the decision to heed her demands. She asked for you personally." The servant said with a tone that indicated his own opinion. He didn't sound approving and clearly thought of this as trouble. Even being made to disturb his lord, he scoffed at his peers.
"Me personally?" The man sounded surprised as he raised his thin eyebrows. "Hmm, bring her." He eventually said after cupping his hand to his chin and closing his eyes.
"It will be done." The man said before he stood to the side, behind his lord, and watched his peers walk through the foliage with a woman in black robes between them.
Her long black hair was tied tightly behind her head, exposing her thin but toned neck and shoulders. Her lips were pursed as her gaze shot straight ahead and into the dazzling green eyes of the seated man, greatly amusing him.
The woman walked up and stood straight before the man, looking down on him with her beautiful eyes and eyelashes that fluttered whenever she blinked. There was a small smile on her face as she saw the green-eyed man look at her with interest.
"Bow before His Excellency Zheng Li, Lord and leader of the Freedom Alliance." A stern voice coupled with cold eyes fell upon Chu Hua as the man stood behind Zheng Li was staring daggers at her.
She scoffed at him lightly before turning her seductive eyes onto Zheng Li as she lowered her body in a graceful courtesy. She watched Zheng Li look at her with amusement and felt many cold gazes fall on her body from all directions.
However, she paid them no mind and only focused her attention on the seated man before her.
"It's so lovely to finally meet you, senior Li." Chu Hua said with a blush as she peeked a glance at Zheng Li.
"Wha-?!" The cultivator stood behind Zheng Li and was about to burst out in anger! How dare this little seductress dare to address his lord in this manner?! By his first name no less! He wanted to pull her throat from her neck!
However, a single hand raised by Zheng Li silenced him as he was restricted to icy glares over his shoulder at the smirking Chu Hua.
"Very lovely to meet you too, young lady." Zheng Li said with a smile, his eyes beaming at the girl before him.
However, Chu Hua felt inwardly uncomfortable as she only felt anxious under that gaze. She couldn't tell what he was thinking at all, and his eyes made her feel exposed. This isn't what she came here to do...
"Thank you, senior Li." Chu Hua shyly smiled as Zheng Li once again lay back in his chair and stared at her with that gaze that scared her so.
"Do you know how long it's been since someone called me by my forename?" Zheng Li rhetorically said with a laugh. "Years! Haha!" As he succumbed to a gentle chuckled amidst his cold-faced servants, Chu Hua giggled along too.
"So, I hear you've come to me with some news, young lady?" Zheng Li calmed himself and interlocked his fingers as he asked.
"Please, call me Chu Hua, senior Li." Chu Hua said to which Zheng Li nodded warmly.
"But, yes. I've come to you with some information, but-" Chu Hua started to speak before the glare in Zheng Li's eyes became scarier as he interrupted her with a sharp but harmonious voice.
"But?" He only said one word but there was plenty of meaning behind it. He looked at Chu Hua hardly but he was inwardly annoyed to see her not falter in the least... Just where did this girl come from?
Chu Hua raised her head and met Zheng Li's gaze with a solemn face. "I want to make an exchange."
Her voice was only met with the silent smirks of all the cultivators around her as well as an eerie smile from Zheng Li as he fiddled with his fingers, interlocking them and bending them unnaturally.
"And why shouldn't I just skin you alive?"
Those cold words came from the happy smiling face of Zheng Li and would send a chill down the spines of many mighty cultivators. The gaze from the Stage 6 was piercing and suffocating, however, Chu Hua steeled herself before smiling accommodatingly.
"Because we can both benefit from this much easier, senior Li. The information I hold is of immense value and I only want a small thing in exchange." Her voice radiated strength and the surrounding cultivators frowned once again. They knew how they would react if their lord asked them that chilling question, however, this little Stage 2 girl had no reaction?
"And what would that be?" Zheng Li's cool voice came again. His eyes never left the young woman, her black hair shining in the moonlight and her large brown eyes staring into his unyieldingly.
"I want to join the Freedom Alliance."
Zheng Li blinked his eyes several times before his smile got wider. "Of course, that is no problem, young lady. I would welcome a strong young woman like you even if you came to me with nothing!"
"And..." Zheng Li's eyes immediately narrowed as he heard Chu Hua continue. He thought that was all she wanted, but she shamelessly continued. But, if she went too far, he could always kill her on the spot. He was not in the greatest of moods anyway.
"...I want access to cultivation treasures. I want pills, Water path resources and to be taken under a capable master." Chu Hua listed as she firmly looked at Zheng Li, whose smile seemed to thin a little.
"Hmm, that can be arranged, young lady. However, just know that if your information isn't as good as you say it is, you will be killed very painfully on the spot you stand. Is that clear?" Zheng Li spoke with rare solemnity as the surrounding cultivators clenched their fists.
Chu Hua smirked as she had a wry look in her eyes. "Don't worry, senior Li. I am sure you will like what I have to say." In the face of her confidence, Zheng Li just waved he had for her to continue. However, his gaze sharpened considerably.
"The information I bring is about the Temple, the place I am exiled from. The old leaders of the Temple were a reclusive and secretive family of powerful cultivators called the Qing Family, from which I belonged to."
Zheng Li had already learned something he didn't know and frowned as he waited for Chu Hua to continue.
"However, only a few weeks ago, the in-name leader of the Temple and also the strongest cultivator, Hong Yuxuan, suddenly betrayed the entire Qing Family and ruthlessly executed all of them on the spot."
Chu Hua looked up to see Zheng Li in deep thought and did not hesitate to continue.
"I was lucky to escape as I was not present at the time, however, I am confident that there are cultivators from the Temple actively searching for me as we speak, trying to silence me from leaking this information. I believe that the only reason Hong Yuxuan would suddenly betray all of her allies is because she has secretly sided with someone."
Chu Hua stole a glance at Zheng Li and seeing he wasn't saying anything, she took the initiative to speak the words he was thinking.
"The City Lord."
And as expected, numberable creases appeared on the forehead of Zheng Li as his brows furrowed further and his expression darkened. One had to know that the City Lord was the reason for the Freedom Alliance's rapid decline from the strongest force. And now, they were barely surviving, let alone searching for ways to escape the city...
Zheng Li undoubtedly detested him with immeasurable malice.
"All I want is protection, senior Li." Chu Hua spoke with concern as she saw Zheng Li just sit there in agonising silence. She didn't want to press him but needed to prioritise her goals.
"I see..." After a while, Zheng Li broke the silence with a quiet mutter. After that, he looked up to see Chu Hua's uncompromising face, causing him to lightly scoff.
"See to the girl, I must meditate." He said as he raised his hand whimsically.
And before it could fall again, his cultivators had already taken Chu Hua away and left him alone. He sighed deeply before turning his gaze to an empty canvas that was ready to be painted upon in the corner. His eyes lowered as he found himself laughing at his own thoughts, with no one knowing what he was thinking.
However, his eyes were incredibly cold and murderous as they seemed to shatter space and peer a thousand kilometres away.
...
Chu Hua was dragged away at a speed faster than she could see.
However, there was relief on her face. She had achieved what she came here to do and everything worked out just as she planned.
A drop of sweat trickled down the side of her face. Well, it seems that coming face to face with a Stage 6 was really not that easy...
Chu Hua was just glad that she didn't have to show her full hand. If the information she had told still didn't appeal to Zheng Li, then she would've told him about the existence of the sacred garden and its path to the outside world...
However, she knew that if she did that a war would be waged tomorrow and millions of people would die. Especially since the Temple had supposedly sided with the City Administration. Thus, she would only speak it if absolutely necessary, and she was glad that she didn't.
Chu Hua suddenly felt that she was slowing down and the world around her gradually turned from a blur back into reality. She was planted onto the ground by one of the cultivators that had escorted her before.
She turned to him and smiled, but he only scoffed coldly after directing her a glance.
"This will be your residence. I will have you arranged to be taken in as a core disciple of Elder Lan. He is a Stage 5 Water path cultivator and a capable master of many talents. I will inform him about taking you to the treasury and letting you take a few treasures and use some special facilities within the alliance."
After speaking these few words, the man promptly disappeared and Chu Hua had a feeling she would never see him again. She would probably never even see Zheng Li again. After all, how many Stage 2s mingled with Stage 5s and 6s? It was unheard of and her special circumstances allowed her to meet some incredibly strong cultivators in the Freedom Alliance for a short while.
Chu Hua walked forward under the large moon and opened the door to her new residence. Straight away, she laid her eyes upon canvases and paints that were neatly placed in a corner of the large general space.
She smirked as she thought back to Zheng Li before laughing at herself.
She really had to work on her seduction skills...
Walking through her residence, she instantly found the bedroom and threw herself into the sheets. Today had been a long day and she had done too many things that would alter the course of her life forever. She desperately needed rest and her eyelids had never felt heavier at this moment.
Tomorrow would be a new day and also a new Chu Hua. She was nameless no more, now belonging to the Freedom Alliance and even being the core disciple of a Stage 5 master! She felt giddy thinking of her future trip to the treasury and all the things she would choose.
Increasing her strength had never been so important to her. But now, it was all she cared about.
But thinking about these convictions, a face came to her mind. It was a face that caused her much grievance that she couldn't simply forget. That mysterious man Fang... Where on earth did he come from? Who was he? He claimed to be part of her family but never said anything more before...it happened.
Quickly, Chu Hua cast her mind from it before trying to drift off into sleep.
...
At the same time, two huge figures were wrestling with each other in the middle of the streets. They had sharp fangs and draconic scaly skin as they smashed their hard skulls into one another in a contest of strength.
Purple blood flowed from their wounds as bright dragon fire glowed from their growling throats and threatened to spill over like magma.
"Hahaha! You're slipping, Shen!" The larger of the draconic beings shouted dryly with malice as his opponent's huge claws tore through the stone as he was steadily pushed backwards by him!
"Fuck off, Ren! That was my fucking human and now no one will get it because you fucking ate it!" The other draconic monster yelled deeply as it stared with hatred at its enemy slowly pushing it back.
"HAHAHA! Fool, you think I will let you surpass me just like that? I'll eat the whole fucking street if it will stop you from getting a single one!" Demonic laughter came from Ren as his eyes stared playfully at Shen with goading mockery.
However, before Shen could bare his claws and draw more blood from the laughing Ren, a larger dragonman appeared between the two and pushed them apart.
"Fucking idiots. Master said that staying hidden is our top priority! And you're here grappling in the streets?!" Nu Li appeared and roared with anger at the two.
Ren merely snickered as he moved to turn away. However, Shen snorted with unimaginable frustration before he turned away also and stormed off.
Nu Li watched them with a helpless glance. He thought back to when he bought the both of them with his Master's claws.
'Why did I have to pick the idiots...'
*3,054/3,000 words*
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