Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 180
Chapter 180: Three Kowtows
Grimness seeped into Song Yi’s eyes. He politely bowed and asked, “Miss, do you need anything from us?”
“You wanted to capture me earlier and take me as your Song Clan’s slave,” Tantai Qingxuan coldly pointed out. “Are you trying to shrug that off by saying that it’s a misunderstanding?”
“What else do you want?” Song Yi asked. “You may possess formidable means—I’m guessing you’re at pinnacle Aureate Ki—but such martial artists are aplenty in our Song Clan!”
“I heard the Song Clan’s Old Master is at third stage Origin Ki. He does have the right to say such words.”
“There are no more than ten fourth stage Longevity Ki martial artists in our Chillwater’s vast territories. Given so, it would be unwise to offend a third stage Origin Ki martial artist.”
The martial artists gossiped.
Tantai Qingxuan sneered, “Don’t try to threaten me with the Song Clan. All of you, kneel down and kowtow to me thrice, and I’ll spare you from bloodshed today.”
Kowtow to her thrice?!
Song Yi and the others were infuriated by Tantai Qingxuan’s threat. They would have never thought that someone in Chillwater would dare demand them, Song Clansmen, to kneel down and kowtow. She must be tired of living!
“You’re demanding a lot. Which sect are you from? I might be acquainted with your elders,” Elder Qin asked with a darkened face.
“You?” Tantai Qingxuan burst into laughter. She wondered how the other party would react if he learned that her elders were all powerful cultivators.
Fang Chen laughed as well. He turned to Song Yi and said, “You should do as she says. It’s just three kowtows. It is a light punishment.”
You’re calling that a light punishment? You know that you’re dealing with the Song Clansmen here, right?! The surrounding martial artists were shocked. They couldn’t believe how arrogant Fang Chen and the others were being, and that made them curious about their background.
“It’s not your place to speak here.” Song Yi glared at Fang Chen.
“Audacious!”
Both Xu Ge and Zhao Yan bellowed at the same time. What happened next was a blur.
In the blink of an eye, Zhao Yan was already holding Song Yi in his grasp while releasing a terrifying ki. The surrounding martial artists felt their limbs going weak, as they vividly sensed how frightening his ki was. It was almost as if they were faced with a ferocious ancient beast.
Elder Qin’s hair stood at end, as he felt as if he had met his nemesis. He stared at Zhao Yan in disbelief. Could this young man be a second stage Primal Ki martial artist?!
“It can’t be, right? What’s their background? That ki is so terrifying! Is it really primal ki?”
“Primal ki?” The crowd gasped in shock.
Primal Ki martial artists were not at the tip of Chillwater’s hierarchy, but they were respected as regional powerhouses. Even the Ji Clan and the Song Clan would do their best to recruit them while refraining from offending them.
“Y-you are a Primal Ki martial artist…” Song Yi stared at Zhao Yan with dazed eyes.
Realization suddenly struck him, and he anxiously turned to Fang Chen with frightened eyes. He has a Primal Ki martial artist serving as his bodyguard?! Just what is his background? Is he an imperial clansman whom I don’t know about?
“Young master, please don’t hurt my big brother,” the woman who hadn’t said a word thus far suddenly spoke up with a pleading voice before bowing to Fang Chen.
“Let him go.” Fang Chen nodded at Zhao Yan.
Zhao Yan casually tossed Song Yi aside, and the latter staggered for quite a few steps before he regained his balance with Elder Qin’s support.
“Do as she says. Kowtow, and we’ll let this matter go.” Fang Chen gestured to Tantai Qingxuan.
“Who are you?” Song Yi asked fearfully.
“Don’t look into our backgrounds. We aren’t from Chillwater. We just happen to be passing by. All you need to know is that we can take your lives as easily as slaughtering chickens,” Li Daoye scoffed impatiently. “Miss Qingxuan is good-natured to just demand just three kowtows, so stop wasting time and get along with it. I’d have gotten you to kowtow 99 times if I was in her place.”
They aren’t from Chillwater? They must be powerhouses from other states! The crowd thought.
Hesitation flickered across Song Yi’s face.
Elder Qin whispered in his ears, “It might really be a walk in the park for them to take our lives.”
He wasn’t afraid of that woman. Despite having fractured his arm attacking her, he felt that he could hold his ground against her in a battle. The one whom he feared was Zhao Yan. The ki Zhao Yan had emanated earlier had completely eroded his fighting will.
He suspected that Zhao Yan was at second stage Primal Ki. A first stage Aureate Ki martial artist wouldn’t stand a chance against such an opponent!
Song Yi clenched his teeth. Suppressing the rising sense of humiliation, he kneeled onto the floor with his people and kowtowed thrice to Tantai Qingxuan. His body trembled uncontrollably throughout the entire process.
The surrounding martial artists took in a sharp inhalation of air.
Such a sight was rare to see. Heck, it was practically unheard of!
The boat captain arrived late. When he saw Song Yi and the others kneeling, he gave a tight slap to a nearby crewmate and hollered, “You piece of shit! What are you doing?”
That was the crewmate who accepted the maid’s silver ingot and tried to give the room away. The crewmate, despite being struck, didn’t argue at all. Instead, he stared at Fang Chen’s group with frightened eyes.
“Is this enough?” Song Yi rose to his feet and looked at Tantai Qingxuan with a reddened face. His voice was quivering from the humiliation he felt.
The maid behind him was left with nothing but fear. She dared not to raise her lowered head.
“Scram,” Tantai Qingxuan impassively ordered.
The captain rushed forward and said, “Young master Song, I…”
Song Yi ignored the captain and headed off. Surprisingly, he didn’t alight from the boat.
The captain sheepishly smiled. He turned to Fang Chen’s group and said, “My deepest apolo…”
Fang Chen and the others paid no heed to the captain. They entered their cabin and closed the door shut behind them.
“They are putting me in a spot…”
The captain sighed bitterly. In the end, he vented his anger at the crewmate who greedily accepted the silver ingot and caused such a huge mess. He chased the crewmate until the latter was forced to jump into the river.
After Song Yi returned to their cabin, he eyed the people around him. All of them had lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.
“Big Brother, you shouldn’t take this matter to heart. No one will know…” the woman consoled.
Song Yi’s face slowly warped in anger. “No one will know? Unless everyone on this boat dies, they will surely gossip about how I, Song Yi, am a coward who fears death when they arrive at the capital. They would talk about how I kowtowed thrice for someone to spare me!”
“Young master, our young miss is going to get betrothed to that person in the Ji Clan. Why don’t I travel to the capital ahead of time and request the Ji Clan’s experts to stand up on our behalf?” Elder Qin asked.
Song Yi thought about it and slowly nodded. “That’s a good idea. You’ll leave ahead of time when we’re about to arrive at the capital. I don’t believe those people can cause a fuss in our capital!”
“Indeed. A second stage Primal Ki martial artist is nothing in our capital! The Ji Clan is filled with such experts. Our young miss’ future father-in-law is a third stage Origin Ki martial artist. Perhaps, we might just be able to convince him to make a move,” Elder Qin said.
Song Yi’s wrath was assuaged. He wanted to arrive at the capital as soon as possible so that he could return the favor a hundred times over and regain his dignity!
