📖 Chapter 1021 - Shearing a Sheep!

13 Jul, 2023

Inside the pagoda, Wang Baole was sitting cross-legged in meditation, waiting for Xie Haiyang to arrive. When he heard Xie Haiyang’s words, both eyes flew open and his eyebrows raised slightly. His lips couldn’t help but curl up in a smug smile.

Part of this smugness was from the fact that Xie Haiyang had followed his expectations, and the other was because Xie Haiyang had called him the most handsome man in the Federation.

“It’s been a long time since someone’s called me that…” Wang Baole felt quite emotional. At the same time, he was a little curious why Xie Haiyang would call him “Sect Uncle”. He was about to call him in, but before he could, Little Missy’s lazy voice sounded in his mind.

“Don’t you have any shame?”

“Huh? What did you say?” Wang Baole instantly became a little unhappy.

“I asked if you have any shame. Fatty, we’ve been together since you were just a kid. In all these years, you’re the only one who’s ever called yourself the most handsome man in the Federation. And now you’re actually saying that it’s been a long time since you’ve heard someone call you that? Do you not know what the word ‘shame’ means?”

Wang Baole’s eyes widened. If it were someone else who heard such pointed words, they would probably feel embarrassed, but Wang Baole wasn’t like ordinary people. When he heard those words, he immediately put on a bewildered expression.

“Little Missy, where’s your self-confidence? You should know, as cultivators, self-confidence is essential. You shouldn’t always care about other people’s opinions. As long as you yourself are confident, then everything in the world will naturally act according to your will. But you…” Wang Baole shook his head emotionally.

“Damn fatty, putting it bluntly, you’re just shameless!”

“Little Missy, could it be that soul bodies also have periods?” Wang Baole’s expression didn’t change at all as he spoke indifferently. Little Missy immediately felt stifled, and she could only snort coldly before shutting up.

Actually, she had also noticed that her temper seemed strange recently. She usually stayed inside the mask, so it wasn’t obvious. But for some reason, she was unable to hold herself back today.

‘Something isn’t right…’ Inside the mask, Little Missy was sitting in a cross-legged position. She propped her chin up with a hand, eyes flickering with thought.

As Little Missy pondered the recent changes in her temper, Wang Baole had already called Xie Haiyang in. The doors of his pagoda swung open, and Wang Baole walked out to greet him with a warm smile.

When he saw Wang Baole, Xie Haiyang immediately took a deep breath. Plastering a respectful expression on his face, he bowed deeply.

“Disciple Xie Haiyang greets Sixteenth Sect Uncle!”

“Brother Haiyang, what’s this all about?” Wang Baole’s eyes widened and he quickly stepped forward to help Xie Haiyang up, asking in surprise. “We’re brothers, aren’t we? Why are you suddenly calling me Sect Uncle after meeting my master? Brother Haiyang, don’t joke around.”

Upon hearing Wang Baole’s words, Xie Haiyang became a little embarrassed. In the end, he just wasn’t shameless enough, and he felt extremely awkward being considered a generation younger than Wang Baole. However, he quickly adjusted his mindset, and a smile that contained a hint of pride appeared on his face.

“Sect Uncle, Grandmaster saw my sincerity, so he allowed his chief disciple – that is, my master – to accept me as a disciple. From now on, I, Xie Haiyang, will be your sect nephew. Thus, Sect Uncle must not refer to us as brothers. Our relationship is now even deeper than that of brothers.” Xie Haiyang’s sincere words, and the faint pride visible on his face, made even Wang Baole wear a strange expression.

He inwardly thought that Master was too ruthless. Shearing a sheep a single time was one thing, but he had tied Xie Haiyang to the Raging Flame Galaxy as a granddisciple. Thus, Xie Haiyang would be coming here for a long time.

Obviously, the Flame Patriarch wanted to shear this sheep not just once, but for a lifetime…

‘Master really is great!’ Wang Baole offered sincere praise to the Flame Patriarch in his heart. Looking at Xie Haiyang, he couldn’t help but lift his right hand and touch his new sect nephew’s head…

Xie Haiyang froze, but there was nothing he could do. In this situation, he was the junior, so he could only comfort himself by internally saying that everything was worth it. As the sect nephew of the Raging Flame Galaxy, it was obvious that his seniors would want to pat his head. There was nothing wrong with that.

When his thoughts reached this point, Xie Haiyang immediately put away his complicated emotions and allowed Wang Baole to touch his head. He instinctively plastered a smile on his face, but when he heard Wang Baole’s new form of address for him, that smile suddenly froze and almost disappeared…

“Yang’er, what you said is right. Come, come in and chat with your Sect Uncle.” Wang Baole instantly accepted this new relationship and walked into the pagoda with his hands clasped behind his back.

Xie Haiyang took a deep breath and comforted himself again. Then, he hurriedly entered the pagoda, closing the doors behind him. His attentive and fawning expression seemed very well-practiced. After entering the pagoda, he quickly swept his gaze across the place, then rolled up his sleeves and shouted loudly.

“Sixteenth Sect Uncle, this disciple sees that there’s a bit of dust here. Let me wipe it for you.” As he spoke, he quickly wiped one of the tables.

When he saw this scene, Wang Baole once again praised his master’s cunning. However, he couldn’t just stand there and watch, so he quickly pulled Xie Haiyang aside and spoke in a solemn tone.

“Yang’er, there’s no need for this. Tell me, which of your sect uncles or aunts do you need me to introduce you to?”

When he heard Wang Baole call him “Yang’er” again, Xie Haiyang’s face twitched. He looked at Wang Baole with a wry smile.

“Sect Uncle, don’t play around. The one I’m looking for is you!”

"Me?" Wang Baole blinked.

Xie Haiyang sighed and told Wang Baole what had happened between his father and Chen Qingzi. Without omitting anything, he explained how his father had refined a magical artifact for the Split Moon Divine Emperor, then how Chen Qingzi summoned the Underworld Sect’s Heavenly Dao to reverse the spell formation and unleash a massacre. All of that happened not long ago, and Chen Qingzi was close to breaking out. With Chen Qingzi’s usual temperament, once he took care of the Split Moon Divine Emperor, he would definitely hunt down all of the Divine Emperor’s helpers to vent his anger.

Xie Haiyang didn’t hide anything. His father was indeed in the wrong here. At the same time, he offered compensation as long as Chen Qingzi was willing to let things go.

Wang Baole’s expression was initially indifferent, but as he continued listening, his breathing started to quicken. After Xie Haiyang finished speaking, Wang Baole sat there with his eyes closed, slowly calming the huge waves that had risen up in his heart.

He finally knew why his senior brother had left him in the Divine Eye Civilization. Obviously, on the way to the Underworld Sect, Senior Brother Chen Qingzi had been besieged, so he had to send Wang Baole away first.

At the same time, Wang Baole also breathed a sigh of relief. Xie Haiyang’s attitude clearly showed that Senior Brother Chen Qingzi was not only not in danger, but his reputation rose once again, shocking the entire Never-Ending Dao Domain. After all, he had reversed the spell formation used to trap him and in turn trapped a Divine Sovereign, whose life and death were currently unknown.

As for the rest of the Never-Ending Clan, there might be some people who wanted to make trouble. However, in general, there was nothing to worry about in regards to Chen Qingzi’s safety; otherwise, Xie Haiyang wouldn’t have come here to beseech Wang Baole.

Thus, after calming down, Wang Baole looked Xie Haiyang up and down with a satisfied smile. Since Xie Haiyang’s actions were subtly guided by the Flame Patriarch, added to the fact that Xie Haiyang had always had a decent relationship with him, Wang Baole couldn’t just refuse to help out.

However… their relationship had always been one of mutual benefits. Naturally, that wouldn’t change now, so Wang Baole plastered an embarrassed expression on his face.

“That… I’m not really that close to Chen Qingzi…”

“Sect Uncle, this disciple is willing to offer a hundred Mortal Planets to repay you for your help!” Xie Haiyang hurriedly said.

“Actually, Chen Qingzi and I only barely know each other…” Wang Baole coughed, seemingly unintentionally rubbing his thumb and forefinger together^[1] before running his hand through his hair.

“This disciple will give a thousand Mortal Planets!!” Xie Haiyang gritted his teeth fiercely, as if making a huge concession. In reality, this wasn’t the case at all. He knew that bargaining chips must be added little by little, and he couldn’t offer too much too soon. This was the only way to obtain the maximum profit from the minimum price.

“Chen Qingzi and I have eaten dinner together!” Wang Baole blinked.

"Three thousand!"

“We’ve drunk together!”

"Five thousand!!"

“We’ve kowtowed to each other!”

“Eight thousand! Sect Uncle, this is my limit…” Xie Haiyang looked like he was about to cry. However, that was merely on the surface; eight thousand Mortal Planet’s wasn’t his real limit. Wang Baole saw through all this, but he knew that to shear a sheep, he couldn’t do everything at once. He had to take things one step at a time.

Thus, he reluctantly nodded.

“Ah well, since Yang’er is so filial, Sect Uncle will help you out. Next time I see Chen Qingzi, I’ll put in a good word for you.”

Light flashed in Xie Haiyang’s eyes when he heard Wang Baole’s words, instantly recognizing the other party’s hidden meaning. After all, “putting in a good word” could do a lot or a little for his cause, depending on how many words were said. Thus, if he wanted Wang Baole to help him wholeheartedly, Xie Haiyang would have to continue to satisfy him in the future.

At the very least, he would have to keep Wang Baole happy until his father’s crisis was resolved…

‘Wang Baole is too devious, just as devious as that Flame Patriarch… Only Master is honest and kindhearted, without all these wicked intentions!’ Xie Haiyang wailed inwardly. The more he thought about it, the more he felt like his master, Wang Baole’s First Senior Sister, was really a good person…