Stranger Danger

Chapter 599: Age Ender

“I don’t need verbal thanks. If you really want to thank me, then bring me something good when you get back from your trip. I’m not lending Tian Ling Ling to you for free.”

Yi Pin sipped his wine.

Ye Qing: “...” And just like that, all those sappy emotions I was feeling went down the drain.

“Ahem... I thought you’d have a lot of good stuff stowed under your bed since you’re technically an old monster, but to think you’re so poor you couldn’t even afford to give one to a brother, tsk tsk tsk...” Ye Qing clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“I do have a lot of good stuff, but they’re reserved for my disciple. You’re not my disciple, are you? Why should I give you anything?” Yi Pin harrumphed.

“I may not be your disciple, but I am your junior, and junior is synonymous to disciple, isn’t I?” Ye Qing grinned.

“Like hell it is! My disciple will serve me tea, wash my clothes, cook my meals, make my bed and generally take care of every aspect of my life for me. When I’m bored, I can yell at him, beat him up, make idle chat with him to stave away the boredom and more. Even when I’m too old to take care of myself, he can look after me and arrange for a proper burial after I die. Can you do any of that?” Yi Pin argued vehemently.

Ye Qing: “...” Are you sure you’re talking about a disciple, not a servant?

“Fine, you win!” Ye Qing shrugged.

Heh! You’re ten years too young to take advantage of me! Yi Pin thought with a triumphant smirk.

Dang!

Dang!

Dang!

Suddenly, three loud gongs resounded throughout Bei You City. It was loud and resonant, long and ancient at the same time.

As if on cue, countless fireworks streaked across the sky and erupted into brilliant colors. It chased away the dark and illuminated the night.

“Master, master! We’ve entered the Zi Hour[1]!” Li Longxiang yelled excitedly as he jumped to his feet.

“You’re still like a child even though you’re a young adult now. Fine. You may go.” Yi Pin waved.

“Hurray!” Like the excitable child his master described him to be, Li Longxiang rushed into the house and returned with an entire pile of fireworks in his hands. On the opposite side of the street, Wen Shu too emerged from the coffin shop with a pile of fireworks.

The duo proceeded to lay out the fireworks and the firecrackers in a straight line along the street. Once done, they counted to three and ignited the fireworks at the same time. They immediately covered up their ears, ran to the side, and watched the sparking threads excitedly.

They were both strong warriors in their own right. They could’ve sat in the middle of the fireworks, and it wouldn’t even be able to deafen them, much less hurt them. Even so, they stayed far, far away from the firecrackers like actual children.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang...

The next moment, the fireworks shot into the sky and burst into brilliant, dazzling colors. They painted the ground white and made it look like it was daytime.

The neighbor’s children came over to spectate the gorgeous sight as well. They stood together with Li Longxiang and Wen Shu and cheered loudly at the sight of the fireworks.

“Seriously, how are they still like kids when they’re already young adults?” Yi Pin shook his head smilingly after watching Li Longxiang and Wen Shu for a bit.

“There is nothing wrong with having an innocent, carefree heart,” Ye Qing replied with a gentle look in his eyes as well.

Suddenly, a naughty idea occurred to Ye Qing. The corners of his lips curling into a devious smirk, he produced a line of firecrackers from his Nature’s Shell, lit it in secret, and tossed it under Li Longxiang, Wenshu, and the cihldren’s feet.

The children scattered like headless chickens as soon as the first firecracker popped. When Wen Shu realized what happened, he immediately spun on Ye Qing and glared at him. Li Longxiang simply scratched the back of his head and smiled.

Having succeeded in playing a prank on the kids, Ye Qing winked at the duo, pretended that he couldn’t see Wen Shu’s glare, and retreated back into the courtyard.

“What on earth are you doing? Do you think you’re three or something?” Yi Pin rolled his eyes at Ye Qing.

“I’m not three, but I’m a young man too, you know. If Li Longxiang and Wen Shu can fool around like kids, why not me?” Ye Qing countered.

Yi Pin fell silent. Now that he thought about it, Ye Qing had just entered his twenties, meaning that he was barely a few years older than Li Longxiang and Wen Shu. He just didn’t realize it because of how mature and cunning Ye Qing usually acted.

“You’re right. I forgot that you’re a youngster as well!” Yi Pin muttered.

“I am young. Unlike you, I don’t look like I have one foot in the grave, and I’m full of energy.” Ye Qing smirked.

“And because you’re full of energy, you feel the urge to play a prank on kids?” Yi Pin scoffed disdainfully. “That’s not energy. That’s just childishness.”

“Jealousy is unbecoming of you, brother. Jealousy toward the youth is especially unbecoming of someone your stature.” Ye Qing raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not jealous! I was young too, you know?” Yi Pin raised his voice.

Ye Qing shrugged and stopped triggering the old man. Wouldn’t want the old man to have a heart attack because he was too excited, you know?

“It comes.” Suddenly, Yi Pin looked up.

Ye Qing too looked toward the vast, infinite night sky above his head.

Some sort of invisible energy peeked out from the night sky. It thickened the darkness until it was nigh impenetrable.

It was then Ye Qing realized that he was looking at a shadow. It was so massive, so vast that he could scarcely imagine its true size. It neither looked humanoid nor beastial. In fact, he was having difficulty drawing its shape in his mind.

One look at the creature was enough to send Ye Qing’s heart into overdrive and fill his headspace with tainted power. His eye sockets suddenly felt unbelievably itchy as if countless insects were crawling over it.

Stunned, Ye Qing hurriedly bowed his head and stopped looking at the creature. It was only then the taint and the unnatural itchiness began to fade away.

When he finally returned to normal, Ye Qing looked at Yi Pin and realized that the old Taoist was shaking his wine cup a little and watching him, smirking. Clearly, Yi Pin knew whatever that creature was, and clearly, he did not warn him about it because he wanted to enjoy his reaction.

Ye Qing wasn’t in the mood to take offense, however. He asked in a hurry, “What on earth is that, brother?”

Yi Pin slowly drank his Tusu wine as if he was basking in Ye Qing’s embarrassment. It wasn’t until he finished the last drop that he finally said, “That’s the Age Ender.”

“The Age Ender?” Ye Qing thought for a moment until a memory came to mind. His eyes slowly widened as he blurted, “That Age Ender?”

“The one!” Yi Pin nodded in confirmation.

Ye Qing licked his lips. It took him a good few breaths before he finally managed to calm down.

The Age Ender was an Ancient-class Stranger. In terms of power level, it was equal to a Sage. A Sage!

Worshiped like a living god, a Sage was so powerful that a single one could protect an entire country from harm. Naturally, an Ancient-class Stranger was even more powerful and mysterious. They were nigh immortal and in possession of unimaginable power.

Some evil Ancient-class Strangers could inflict an unimaginable amount of damage to humans the moment they revealed themselves. Some could even annihilate an entire country.

Five hundred years ago, a country named Donghai Yunlai (The Clouds Come From The Eastern Sea) was struck by an Ancient-class Stranger. According to historical records, a River Patrolling Koi had summoned a tsunami like nothing the world had ever seen and flooded the entire country—the biggest at the Eastern Sea at the time—and ended millions of lives in a single day. Because of this, Donghai Yunlai turned into a footnote in history.

It wasn’t the only one. There were many other countries who had suffered such an unfortunate fate.

Of course, all Ancient-class Strangers were intelligent, and only those deeply steeped in evil would actively antagonize the humans. After all, the one thing humans did not lack were champions. If an Ancient-class Stranger stirred too much trouble, it was entirely possible that multiple Sages would come together as a group to vanquish them. Not even an Ancient-class Stranger could fight against that many living gods.

The Age Ender was one of the Ancient-class Strangers who held no animosity toward humans. In fact, it was one of the more well-documented Strangers.

Ye Qing had read about it in the Pacification Bureau’s file room before.

1. 2300~0100. ☜

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