Chapter 700: Riverbank

Long Bad Dao's face, lit by the carriage ceiling light, laughed wildly, his mouth corner nearly reaching his ear.

He leaned toward Jiang Feng, shoulders pressed together, as if old friends reunited after years, eager to sling an arm over the other's neck.

Jiang Feng shifted his body aside by half an inch, slightly furrowed his brow and gave him a glance.

"Why did you also come to Nanyun?"

As he asked, Jiang Feng also weighed it in his mind for a moment.

He and Long Bad Dao initially met by chance, not by fighting; they bumped into each other in Jiangcheng over the Zhuyan Pill incident and even got into a scuffle…

Later, during the time at the Half-step Martial Ancestor ruins, although Long Bad Dao was blunt, often lacked a sense of restraint, his hearty boldness and never‑shying‑away attitude made him hard to dislike.

After they each left the Half-step Martial Ancestor ruins, Long Bad Dao returned to the Long Family in Kyoto; they hadn't kept in touch, so they didn't expect to meet on this carriage.

Long Bad Dao, after hearing that, leaned back on the armchair, crossed his legs, rested both hands on his brain, looking relaxed and at ease.

"Secluding oneself is boring…"

He sighed as he spoke, as if complaining about some huge, tedious task.

"Just out of seclusion and got an Invitation from Qingxiao Sect; what a coincidence, right?"

He turned his head toward Jiang Feng, his eyes carrying a knowing look.

"I originally thought Lin Shengnü was going to marry you, but didn't expect…"

He shook his head, with a tone of bitter disappointment.

"That old witch Lan Jue actually married Lin Shengnü off to that brute of the Yunding Zheng Family. I've seen Zheng Tong; he's big‑bodied, small‑minded, knows nothing but fighting, can't even speak clearly—marrying Lin Shengnü to him is a waste, isn't it?"

As he spoke, he began to laugh, patting the armchair armrest.

"But I guessed, given your relationship with Lin Shengnü, you'd definitely come to snatch the marriage!"

As those words left his mouth, the burly man in the driver's seat abruptly turned his head.

His gaze sliced like a knife across the back of Long Bad Dao's head, a surge of anger in his throat, and he spoke in a coarse, harsh voice.

"Young Master Long, watch your words."

He sat upright, turned to face the rear seats, his square, character‑shaped face bearing a seriousness born of offense.

"Although the Yunding Zheng Family treats others politely, we have a temper. Even though your Long Family is one of the Yuding San Jiazu, Young Master Long, you shouldn't be so presumptuous."

As he spoke, the copper badge at his waist swayed slightly; moonlight through the window cast a line of light and shadow across his face, making his taut expression appear even harsher.

Long Bad Dao heard that, and his smile didn't fade at all; instead it deepened a few degrees.

He sat upright, lifted his chin toward Zheng Dongqiu, and a faint aura of true Qi rippled from his body.

The ripple wasn't strong, but carried the air of a high‑level powerhouse, like a sleeping volcano gently turning over beneath.

Half-step Celestial Being.

The carriage air grew noticeably heavier the instant that aura spread, Zheng Dongqiu's breath paused, and his shoulders involuntarily drew back half an inch.

His pupils narrowed slightly, and the knuckles of the fingers gripping the steering wheel turned white.

Long Bad Dao snickered, his voice carrying an unabashed lightness.

"You Zheng Family think you're great, huh? Zheng Dongqiu, I've said my piece!"

He flicked his finger at Zheng Dongqiu's face, shouting triumphantly.

"My brother and I are here to snatch the marriage. If your Zheng Family is scared, let us leave at once."

After he finished speaking, he leaned back into the armchair, the Half-step Celestial Being aura withdrew, and the carriage air became light again.

He had long been displeased with the three great families of the Yunding Secret Realm.

This trip to Nanyun was originally just to get some fresh air after a stifling seclusion, but when he received the Qingxiao Sect Invitation, he sensed something was afoot; seeing Jiang Feng also on this carriage made him realize the matter had escalated. The last time at the Half-step Martial Ancestor ruins, he had hung out with Jiang Feng, reaped many benefits, and never suffered a loss from start to finish.

Now that Jiang Feng had come, and with a stance to snatch the marriage, Long Bad Dao had to get involved as well.

Moreover, he was already a Half-step Celestial Being.

Back at the Half-step Martial Ancestor ruins, Jiang Feng had already entered the Half-step Martial Ancestor realm; after all this time, he was likely even higher.

This outing gave him a chance to share in his brother's glory.

After the aura faded, Zheng Dongqiu's brows remained furrowed, but he said no more.

He was from a side branch of the Zheng Family; his Grandmaster Fifth Rank cultivation could still command some awe among ordinary people, but it was nothing before a Half-step Celestial Being.

If he dared to offend again, Long Bad Dao would kill him on the spot, and the Zheng Family wouldn't risk offending the Young Master of the Yuding San Jiazu for a side‑branch descendant.

He wasn't foolish.

The vehicle started up again; Zheng Dongqiu didn't look back, just stared at the road ahead, his voice muffled from the driver's seat.

"Young Master Long, even though it's the Heavenly Human Realm, our Zheng Family also has many. If you dare to cause trouble, the Zheng Family will not forgive."

As he said this, his tone had softened considerably compared to before, sounding like a routine, perfunctory statement.

Deep down, he didn't truly believe Long Bad Dao and Jiang Feng would dare act; the Yunding Three Families had run the Yunding Secret Realm for millennia, with deep foundations and countless masters, essentially a feudal lord within the realm.

Who would truly try to snatch a marriage at a Zheng Family wedding banquet?

That's nothing short of courting death.

Yet, despite his words, the string in his heart stayed taut, and he never again spoke a word of his own on the journey.

The carriage fell silent, leaving only the engine's muffled rumble and the tires' rustling over the gravel road.

Outside the window, the night gradually lightened; the eastern horizon first took on a pale gray‑white, then slowly shifted to light blue, then to warm orange, as if someone were slowly turning on a lamp behind the sky.

Long Bad Dao chatted with Jiang Feng a few more times on the road. He asked Jiang Feng where he had gone after leaving the Half-step Martial Ancestor ruins last time, then recounted some amusing incidents from his seclusion in the Long Family; halfway through, he leaned in, lowered his voice, and asked a question.

"Old Jiang, what realm are you at now?"

Jiang Feng gave him a glance, without answering directly.

"Fine."

Long Bad Dao clearly wasn't satisfied with that answer and pressed further.

"What does 'fine' mean? There are several realms above Half-step Martial Ancestor; which one are you actually at?"

Jiang Feng's gaze fell on the trees constantly flashing outside the Window, he was silent for two breaths, then spoke lightly.

"A bit stronger than before."

Long Bad Dao blinked twice, clearly still wanted to ask, but seeing Jiang Feng's expression he knew another question would get nowhere.

"Ah, pfft! No fun, acting mysterious between brothers…"

He muttered a sentence, then leaned back onto the Armchair and stopped pursuing the question.

The vehicle drove for about another hour and a bit, and the sky became completely bright.

Zheng Dongqiu finally spoke, his voice came from the driver's seat.

"You two may prepare to get off."

The vehicle stopped on a wide open clearing, Jiang Feng pushed open the car door and walked out.

The view ahead suddenly cleared.

A broad river stretched before him, the river water was teal, the current flowed neither fast nor slow toward the east, and in the morning light it shimmered with fine, silver‑scale‑like glints.

The river was roughly a Hundred zhang wide, the opposite bank shrouded in a thin layer of white mist, only vague undulating mountain silhouettes could be seen, not clearly.

The wind blew over, carrying the river's faint fishy scent, making the hem of the clothes flutter and rustle.

Jiang Feng stood on the riverbank, looking at the broad river before him, his gaze calm.

At this moment, a number of people had already gathered on the bank.

"What? Is the Zheng Family chartering a boat to ferry us across the river? Could the rumored Yunding Secret Realm be on the opposite bank?"

Long Bad Dao, the quickest‑tempered, was the first to speak and ask.