Chapter 357: Seeking Justice (Second update, seeking monthly votes!)

"It's been half a month, and the water has finally receded."

Shi Anqi stood on the coastline, looking down at the muddy ground, sighing to himself.

Half a month had passed since the day the Dragon King entered the territory, but the flood that followed had only finally receded as of last night.

Even though this land belonged to the Eastern Wasteland, Shi Anqi couldn't help but sigh.

It hadn't flooded three thousand miles, but thirty miles was certain.

That day, the entire coastline of the East Sea had pushed thirty miles inland!

Not every place was as desolate as Wanshou City; some coastal fishing villages and towns had been swallowed whole by the giant waves.

Thousands were dead or injured!

It wasn't just Shi Anqi; many people now had a clear understanding of the destructive power of a demon calamity.

This was just one Great Demon causing trouble; if ten thousand demons gathered, what a terrifying scene that would be?

One must never lower their guard against the Demon Race!

Because of Ao Zhun's rampage, the entire Eastern Wasteland had become more vigilant against the Demon Race.

Shi Anqi didn't know if this was good or bad, and could only report the facts to Beigan.

"I don't know what the Emperor's intentions are either; there hasn't been a proper reply for half a month, only telling me to decide for myself... Is he testing me?"

Great General Shi was here in the Eastern Wasteland to redeem his past merits, so he was cautious in everything, not daring to act rashly as he had in the past.

He repeatedly tried to fathom the Emperor's heart, intending to figure out Li Long's true thoughts.

After thinking for several days, Shi Anqi finally came to a conclusion.

"I can't figure it out."

He realized that he simply could not fathom the thoughts of the Emperor.

It was better to honestly do what he was supposed to do and not get involved in unnecessary matters.

He sought no merit, only to avoid mistakes.

After walking along the coast for a while, Shi Anqi arrived before a large pit filled with water.

This was a trace left behind when Ao Zhun fought the giant, and it had been scavenged back and forth by others over the past few days; no remnants could be found.

However, the aura left behind during an Ask Dao battle could not be taken away, and at this moment, quite a few rogue cultivators of the Eastern Wasteland were sitting cross-legged around the pit, attempting to gain some insight from it.

Upon noticing Shi Anqi's approach, those people merely opened their eyes to glance at him before ignoring him.

There were still plenty of spots, and as long as he didn't break the rules, no one would take the initiative to drive him away.

Shi Anqi did nothing out of the ordinary; he honestly chose a spot to sit down and closed his eyes to feel it for a while.

He knew more than these people; when the giant first struck, he happened to be observing Ao Zhun's movements not far away and had witnessed that clash between the two sides.

"That giant should be from the Chu Family, right? That giant axe should be the Chu Family's Supreme Treasure, the Pitian Axe."

Beigan had never relaxed its vigilance against the Chu Family, an old neighbor that had been plotting against them for years, and had a deep understanding of their strength.

"Is he one of the Chu Family's foundations?"

That mysterious Ask Dao Realm giant fought with Ao Zhun for three full days, battling from land to sea, leaving the land devastated and covered in corpses along the way.

Although no one knew the details of the final battle, the outcome was clear.

The giant had disappeared, and the crazed Dragon King no longer mentioned the matter of flooding three thousand miles.

The old dragon, blind in one eye, merely wandered back and forth along the coastline, constantly roaring for the Eastern Wasteland to hand over Hu Wanwan, otherwise he would continue to linger overseas.

"I heard that the Hu Family has started to go a bit mad, claiming to the outside world that if anyone forces them to submit, they will lead the entire clan to defect from the Eastern Wasteland."

"... Can we attempt to win them over to Beigan?"

Shi Anqi pondered for a long time without reaching a conclusion, sighing as he opened his eyes.

He was a military general, not a civil official, and could not judge the situation too well.

But as an old man who had been immersed in officialdom for many years, he still smelled something unusual.

The chaos in the Eastern Wasteland's situation might not just be because of the reasons on the surface.

It seemed as if an invisible hand was manipulating everything from behind the scenes, causing these problems to erupt all at once.

"But regardless, the situation in the Eastern Wasteland is becoming more and more chaotic... This is a good thing."

He slowly stood up and turned to leave the pit silently.

"The muddier the water, the more one can hide, and the more convenient it is for me to act."

"I'll go back and discuss it with my wife to see if we can find an opportunity to get a piece of the pie?"

Shi Anqi's departure did not attract anyone's attention.

Even if someone noticed, they wouldn't find it strange; they would only think that this person gave up so quickly, not only was his aptitude poor, but his patience was also lacking.

……

……

Some people lack patience, while others have no choice but to have excellent patience.

For example, a certain anxious Patriarch of a noble family.

"Hahaha! Worthy nephew! I have finally waited for you!"

Shi Enguang stood in front of his mansion himself, greeting that handsome prince with an excited expression.

Some people, upon seeing him like this, felt he was acting very realistically, a perfect image of a sycophant.

But little did they know, his excitement was real.

Since parting at the city gate that day, Shi Enguang had not seen Li Yiyi again.

Although he had taken the initiative to ask a few more times, he was always told that the prince was busy and had no time to see him.

Worried that asking too many times would expose something, he had no choice but to suppress the unease in his heart and shrink back into the Shi mansion like a young girl waiting to be married.

Fortunately, Heaven does not disappoint those who wait, and Shi Enguang had finally waited for the young man he had been longing for day and night.

Half a month after returning to Wentian City, Li Yiyi finally paid a visit today.

Three days ago, upon receiving Li Yiyi's formal visiting card, the heart that had been hanging in Shi Enguang's chest finally settled.

Looking at that sincere-worded visiting card, the greatest unease in Shi Enguang's heart also dissipated along with it.

Because Li Yiyi's visit this time was for nothing else... but to personally propose marriage!

Proposing marriage means coming to ask for a hand in marriage; it should have been accompanied by a matchmaker, but Li Yiyi came alone.

Logically speaking, this was somewhat against the rules, especially given Li Yiyi's special status as a prince, but Shi Enguang could not care about so much.

Not long after Li Yiyi entered the door, Shi Enguang, disregarding his status as the girl's father and the Patriarch of a noble family, took the initiative to bring up the matter of the marriage.

"You two are childhood sweethearts and have a good relationship, so naturally, I, your uncle, agree to this matter."

"Betrothal? Hah! What need is there for those tedious formalities?"

"We practitioners of the Dao, why bother with auspicious dates? Uncle Shi will make this decision today! I will betroth Xiao Xiao to you right now!"

"Whenever she returns home, you two can get married directly."

"Ah hahaha..."

And just as Shi Enguang was fawning over Li Yiyi to the extreme, a pair of angry and jealous eyes were cast upon the two of them from a dark corner.

Hua Tianquan, who had a crippled leg, was sitting by a table drinking sullen wine by himself, with a pair of crutches leaning to one side.

He stared intensely at the two who were chatting happily, biting his lip so hard that the resentment on his body was almost becoming tangible.

"All of this should have been mine!"

Yes, if not for someone secretly interfering, he would have succeeded that day, and Shi Xiaoxiao would have already been his!

It was also from that day on that his days in Wentian City began to become difficult, which could be described as everything going wrong.

First, the Hua Family had an incident and recalled all disciples outside to return home; everyone else left first, but only he stayed behind, unwilling to give up.

Then, while drinking to drown his sorrows outside, he encountered the Second Prince and accidentally offended him with a few words, leading Li Fengyao to send men to break his leg!

The Shi Family also began to treat him with indifference; although they did not go so far as to drive him away, they did not give him a pleasant look either.

So, the more he thought about it, the more indignant he felt, and he slammed his wine cup onto the table.

Clang!

"Hua Tianquan! What kind of drunken tantrum are you throwing there! What business is this of yours!?"

Shi Enguang was already full of annoyance at Hua Tianquan for shamelessly hanging around, but since it was Li Yiyi who had spoken to let him stay earlier, he found it difficult to drive him away; at this moment, Hua Tianquan's actions provided him with the perfect excuse.

Hua Tianquan was also fueled by the alcohol and did not care about so much, shouting at the top of his lungs:

"I have treated Xiao Xiao like a younger sister since I was small, and her feelings for me are also excellent! Her business is my business; why shouldn't I be allowed to stay here!"

"Stop spouting nonsense here!" Shi Enguang's expression changed, fearing that he might say something chaotic while drunk, and he said in shock and anger: "Get out of here immediately!"

Hua Tianquan stiffened his neck and refused to leave no matter what, but in the end, Li Yiyi waved his hand to stop Shi Enguang, who was about to take action.

"For the sake of my nephew Yiyi, I will discipline you properly later!" Shi Enguang snorted angrily, then turned his head and said to Li Yiyi with a pleasant expression: "Alright, let's not talk about him; the matter of the betrothal is settled like this, how about it?"

"Many thanks, Uncle Shi."

"Eh!" Shi Enguang feigned displeasure and said to Li Yiyi: "We are already betrothed, why do you still call me Uncle Shi?"

Li Yiyi's lips moved, he took a deep breath, bowed, and said: "... Many thanks, Father-in-law."

"Good, good, good!"

Shi Enguang was overjoyed and patted Li Yiyi's shoulder affectionately: "From now on, Xiao Xiao is entrusted to you; she is my treasure, you must take good care of her!"

"Yes, this son-in-law will certainly do so." Li Yiyi stood up and said solemnly: "As long as I am here, no one will be able to bully Xiao Xiao; I will definitely seek justice for her!"

"That is good."

Looking at the smile on Li Yiyi's face, Shi Enguang was just about to say something when his eyes suddenly widened in an instant.

Because Li Yiyi, who had been obedient and sensible just a moment ago, drew the Long Sword at his waist without any warning.

He slashed the sword across Hua Tianquan's neck.

Clang... Crack.

The next second, the head of Hua Tianquan, who had been sullen just a moment ago, flew directly into the air, and he died on the spot.

His body was still sitting in its original place, his arm maintaining the upward lifting motion, pouring a cup of wine into his empty neck...

And Li Yiyi stood expressionless beside Hua Tianquan's body, took a deep breath, the corners of his mouth curling into a cold arc.

"What are you doing!?"

Shi Enguang stood up abruptly, drew his Long Sword, and shouted angrily: "Li Yiyi!!!"

But Li Yiyi ignored his terror, tilted his head to glance at him, and said indifferently:

"What am I doing? I am seeking justice for Xiao Xiao."

"Or are you saying that you truly thought I knew nothing?"

It's over!

Shi Enguang's heart sank abruptly, and his complexion became extremely ugly.

He knew!

He knew everything!!!

Everything Li Yiyi had done before was to deceive him and make him lower his guard.

Seeing Shi Enguang fall into silence, Li Yiyi smiled coldly, turned around, and sat on the grand armchair.

Li Yiyi did not wipe off the blood splattered on his body, just leaned back naturally, and then tossed the sword in his hand casually at Shi Enguang's feet.

He said:

"Father-in-law..."

"Do it yourself."