Chapter 544: Giant War Crossbow (2/10, Autumn Moon Tickets)

Only now did Fang Yue realize that You Sisi really was from a great family in Jingcheng — what a generous spender!

Just as the two were talking, the Little Taiji Sect Master Cun Yue, who was beside them, suddenly pointed ahead.

"Two lords, look quickly — the dark clouds are passing straight through the city gate, heading forward, which is our direction. Looks like we were worrying over nothing. Given the situation, the clouds should pass straight through Qingsi County, and whatever is strange or dangerous about them is, for now, none of our concern."

It wasn't that they were washing their hands of it — it was that, faced with the bizarre dark clouds, they had no way to deal with them.

They could only report it upward, or send people afterward to investigate and get to the bottom of it.

Seeing the dark clouds enter the city with no change in speed or direction, coming straight over, the others figured they would leave just as straight, passing through Qingsi County to somewhere else, and all heaved a sigh of relief.

By now You Sisi's expression had returned to normal. She was thinking that since she'd used the name "Night Rain" to mobilize people, once the clouds left, she could take the chance to gather everyone and send them to the shelter.

You Sisi's plan sounded good enough, but the moment she came back to herself, she found everyone suddenly widening their eyes and dropping their jaws, staring dumbly up at the sky directly above.

Their expressions gradually shifted from relieved to puzzled, then to shocked, and finally froze on terror and dread — some were even starting to tremble.

What happened?

Startled, You Sisi followed their gaze upward, and at once her own expression went through the same staged change, settling at last on dread.

The dark clouds had stopped right above them.

Boom!

A bolt from the blue.

From within the dark clouds directly overhead, thunder exploded outward, threads of lightning spreading — then quickly vanishing.

Even though no "Night Rain" had fallen, the crowd was still trembling with fear.

For no other reason than that the presence capable of wiping out everyone below Rain-rank was still hanging over their heads.

Why had the clouds stopped moving?

Why had the clouds stopped above us?

Why here of all places — why stop right here?

Are the clouds headed for our Qingsi County? Or for us?

For a moment, thoughts raced through everyone's minds; they exchanged terrified glances, no one speaking.

As if, so long as no one said it out loud, what was happening before them hadn't yet become a certainty.

In the end, Fang Yue was the first to speak.

"The clouds up there… have stopped right above us."

No one said a word; they only looked at Fang Yue, then back up at the clouds, some of them trembling.

Isn't this just ostrich behavior?

Fang Yue, keeping his patience, said: "Doesn't this mean something strange is hiding inside the clouds? Something strange is controlling the clouds and made them stop above us."

Pale-faced, the crowd still said nothing. Only You Sisi grabbed her own left arm with her right hand and pinched hard — the pain let her steady herself, barely.

"I'll go… I'll go to the Green Office and have the war crossbow brought out."

Seeing she didn't look in great shape, Fang Yue paused, then said: "Let me go. You stay here and wait for me…"

"No!"

Before Fang Yue could finish, You Sisi cut in sharply, tense.

He blinked, looking at her in confusion, but she turned her face away: "Going out now isn't safe. I'm a Green Garment — let me be the one to test it."

So that was it.

Fang Yue gave a small shake of his head: "I'm the strongest one here, and I'm at the Xiantian Realm. Even if the clouds unleash 'Night Rain,' a range the size of two houses still can't kill me. And if something strange is hiding inside, as the strongest, I'm also the one most likely to dodge its attacks."

Fang Yue's reasoning was sound, but You Sisi still seized his wrist in an instant.

"I don't agree — it's too dangerous!"

The others, though, were hoping Fang Yue would go out and test the waters.

After all, just imagine — a strange being that could control the clouds' movement and make 'Night Rain' fall was probably not something they could handle, so naturally they hoped a strongman would step up and take the hit.

But seeing how Green Garment You was set, she clearly had no intention of letting Fang Yue go out, so the others had to smooth things over.

"Everyone, don't panic — maybe this is just a coincidence, and the clouds will drift off in a bit."

"Right — if there were something strange inside, it would have come after us by now. No reaction yet means it's probably just an unusual phenomenon."

They comforted themselves with that, but after waiting five minutes, the clouds still showed not the slightest sign of leaving.

Instead, curious villagers from all around had gathered over. You Sisi's eyes lit up, and she called out to them, telling them to notify the Green Office to bring the large war crossbow over.

At this, everyone felt a good deal more at ease.

After all, they were all under the eaves — even if the clouds overhead suddenly dropped 'Night Rain,' they had nothing to fear; they were just stuck here for the time being.

Before long, Captain Wu, who had gotten word of it, along with Lord Han, Yu Baiyi, and others, arrived pushing a Giant War Crossbow — nearly as wide as the street and a full story tall.

A good five or six people pushed the crossbow. Once they reached a suitable position, they stopped, shooed away the villagers who had come to watch, and stood by on the spot awaiting You Sisi's orders.

Gazing at the Giant War Crossbow, You Sisi's expression turned complicated — an old embarrassment flashed through her mind — and then, her face blank, she gave the order.

"Fire!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Giant War Crossbow's whistle of displaced air, like cannon shells being fired, rang out through the street.

Five shots in a row — five crossbow bolts in succession — whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh — punched straight through the clouds overhead and vanished into the sky!

The five bolts punched five holes straight through the clouds, yet inside the clouds there was nothing at all.

Once the bolts had passed, in short order the holed clouds flashed with thunder again and slowly drew back together, returning to their original state.

The crowd stared blankly. Those five bolts had basically covered a large swath of the clouds, and still nothing strange had appeared — that meant the clouds really were just clouds.

They exchanged glances, and finally looked toward You Sisi.

Her face darkening, You Sisi said coldly: "I'll go!"

Without waiting for Fang Yue's reaction, she charged out ahead of everyone.

As she burst past the eaves and was exposed beneath the dark clouds, You Sisi's entire spirit tightened.

Everyone held their breath, watching You Sisi with tension.

But… nothing happened.

You Sisi simply slipped free of the dark clouds' range.

The moment she left the dark clouds' range, You Sisi collapsed entirely, caught by Captain Wu.

Her expression changed slightly; she quickly pulled away from Captain Wu's hand, glanced instinctively toward Fang Yue's direction, then straightened her body, as Captain Wu looked at her in confusion.

"Are you alright?" Captain Wu asked, puzzled.

You Sisi shook her head, then shouted toward the people inside the dark clouds: "You can come out now—the dark clouds seem fixed in place. I'll have Qing Si's people seal off this area, station guards to monitor it day and night, and report the situation. It shouldn't be a major issue."

With You Sisi as proof, the others trapped in the dark clouds sprinted out, wishing they had two extra legs to run with!

(End of Chapter)