Huang Jia and Huang Jiu

Nanyuan. More and more experts congregated. Even the slaughter of over twenty Sun Moons could do nothing to dampen the crowd's fervor. "Has Liu Wenyan arrived yet?" "Once he arrives, will the ruins finally open?" "That's not certain. Just because he's here doesn't guarantee the ruins will open. It would make more sense if Su Yu came!" "..." Voices buzzed incessantly. The clamor was deafening! There were countless experts and geniuses present. Over the past few days, clashes between geniuses and fierce battles between the strong broke out constantly. Skirmishes between humans and humans, humans and all races, and among the foreign races themselves were common occurrences. Gods and demons were no friends, nor were immortals and dragons of one mind. Right at that moment, someone roared, "It's the Heaven Hunting Pavilion! Kill them!" As the words fell, an eighth-stage Sun Moon aura erupted in the distance. The demon god who had nearly been beaten to pieces came charging forward in an instant, accompanied by a ninth-stage Sun Moon from the god race. Two Heaven Hunting Pavilion members who had just arrived—or rather, sneaked in—were startled out of their wits. A faceless elder grabbed a white mask and bolted. That white mask was still shouting, "Misunderstanding! It's really a misunderstanding! We're not from the Heaven Hunting Pavilion..." "Still trying to fool us?! Do you think you can hide? Kill them!" The white mask's face drained of color. Fuck! Over a dozen Sun Moons were charging at them! He cried out in terror, "Elder, run! Hurry, run! Run for your life!" The elder didn't utter a single word, burying his head and fleeing with all his might. Even though he was an eighth-stage Sun Moon, he was fleeing like a madman. He had no choice; several seventh- and eighth-stage Sun Moons were hot on his heels. "It's a misunderstanding!" A shrill, mournful howl rang out. The white mask cried desperately, "I'm not... I'm Huang Jiu! I'm the Heaven Hunting Pavilion's traitor, Huang Jiu!" *I admit it!* *I'm a traitor, okay? I'm a traitor!* *I just thought this white mask was pretty good and could conceal my aura. Over the past few days, the elder and I went into closed-door cultivation. I really didn't know what happened! How did the Heaven Hunting Pavilion end up like this?!* *Hunted by everyone like rats in the street?* *I truly know nothing!* He had figured that the Heaven Hunting Pavilion specialized in gathering intelligence, and right now, news in the Human Realm flowed most freely in Nanyuan. In the past, no matter where a major battle occurred, it had little to do with the Heaven Hunting Pavilion. When the Heaven Hunting Pavilion went to gather intelligence, generally speaking, no one bothered them. So the moment they came out of secluded cultivation, he and the elder had headed straight for Nanyuan. And then... what the hell happened? What had occurred? Why treat them like this?! He shrieked at the top of his lungs, "It really is a misunderstanding! I'm not from the Heaven Hunting Pavilion..." Behind them, their pursuers actually believed him. The Heaven Hunting Pavilion operatives weren't stupid; none of them would dare show their faces openly right now. For these two to blunder in so foolishly, the odds were high that they genuinely had no idea what was going on. Of course, it was not out of the question that there were fools in the Heaven Hunting Pavilion who believed everyone would still tolerate them after so many Sun Moons had been slaughtered, thinking it was no big deal. Now, hearing that this was Huang Jiu, most people grasped the situation. That idiot Huang Jiu! The fellow who had framed Xuan Jiu as Su Yu, provoked the Heaven Hunting Pavilion into making trouble for Su Yu, and ended up getting an elder trapped and killed by Su Yu—the Heaven Hunting Pavilion had put a bounty on his head. Even so, someone bellowed, "Kill them! They're Great Xia Prefecture spies!" At these words, more Sun Moons charged forward! Kill them first, ask questions later! Even if these two weren't with the Heaven Hunting Pavilion, they were with the Great Xia Prefecture. Don't forget, the reason they had turned traitor was because they colluded with the Great Xia Prefecture, betrayed Xuan Jiu, and got Cai Yi and the others killed. Since that was the case, these two were fair game as well. Before Huang Jiu and Huang Jia could say another word, an eighth-stage Sun Moon aura erupted from behind them. A furious roar echoed, "Audacious! You dare kill people of my Great Xia Prefecture? You deserve death!" *Boom!* A massive clash erupted! In an instant, seven or eight late-stage Sun Moons joined the fray. Huang Jia and Huang Jiu couldn't care less about anything else; they simply kept their heads down and fled frantically! They ran for their lives! *** More than ten minutes later, Huang Jia was panting heavily as he tossed Huang Jiu onto the ground. He gasped, "No one's chasing us anymore!" For the first time! Truly for the first time in his life, this eighth-stage Sun Moon had run so pathetically. It was utterly miserable! If someone hadn't held them off from behind and they had been caught, even an eighth-stage Sun Moon like him might have been beaten to death. It was terrifying! Just what had happened over these past few days? Huang Jiu was also wheezing violently. After a long moment, he wailed as if mourning at a funeral, "Elder, we're finished! Those people who showed up behind us were from the Xia family! Now the two of us are indisputably in cahoots with the Xia family! The Xia family went to war with four or five late-stage Sun Moons just for us. Would they exert themselves like that if we weren't their own people?!" Huang Jia froze slightly, speechless for a long time. Indeed. For their sakes, four or five Sun Moons from the Xia family had mobilized, and Marquis Xia himself had joined the fray to battle god and demon Sun Moons. If you told anyone that the two of them weren't from the Xia family, who would believe it? At a critical juncture like this, the Xia family went to war without a second thought. They were practically risking their lives to protect them! Huang Jia glanced at Huang Jiu. After a long pause, he said in a low voice, "The Xia family knows we aren't in league with them, yet they still did this. Doesn't that count as an unprompted confession? Either they're purely out to frame us, or... Xuan Jiu is suspicious! The Xia family wants to solidify our identity!" Huang Jiu grumbled dejectedly, "I know that! But... Elder, will anyone believe our words? Who would believe us! We're Heaven Hunting Pavilion traitors!" What a tragedy! *The two of us are traitors!* Huang Jia was equally depressed. He couldn't resist asking, "Tell me, is there really something wrong with that Xuan Jiu?" Huang Jiu pondered for a moment, saying uncertainly, "Hard to say. It's really hard to say. What I'm more curious about right now is what on earth the Heaven Hunting Pavilion did. The moment we showed up, people chased us down to kill us. Did they dig up everyone's ancestral graves?" Huang Jia thought about it and agreed. It was better to figure out the situation first. As for the matter of Xuan Jiu and the Xia family, put it aside for now. Once they got a clear picture, they would decide how to handle it. Right now, the Heaven Hunting Pavilion wanted to kill them, outsiders wanted to kill them, and the Xia family wanted to protect them... Though when no one was around, the Xia family might very well kill them too. Both of them were utterly dismayed. They had come to the Human Realm and done absolutely nothing. Not only had they lost their positions as an elder and a white mask, but they had also been inexplicably pursued by a massive horde of experts! *** Both of them were powerful experts after all. After disguising themselves, they soon gathered intelligence from some cultivators flocking toward Nanyuan. The Heaven Hunting Pavilion... had pulled off a colossal feat! This time, in the border region between the Great Zhou Prefecture and the Great Jin Prefecture, they had slain twenty-three Sun Moon realm experts! A quasi-Invincible Law Enforcement Elder had been deployed! They had nearly killed Ta'er, the eighth-stage demon Sun Moon who had chased after them earlier. No wonder that fellow had looked ready to bite their heads off the moment he spotted members of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion. He had been remarkably lucky; out of twenty-four Sun Moons, he was the only one who had escaped alive! Finding an uninhabited spot, Huang Jiu and Huang Jia stared at each other in stunned silence. They hadn't been hunted unjustly! This was the value of intelligence. Stumbling around blind without basic information would get a person killed. Speechless, Huang Jiu sent a voice transmission: "Elder, there is definitely something wrong here! Since when has the Heaven Hunting Pavilion been so brazen? Hunting down dozens of Sun Moons all at once... could this be Xuan Jiu's doing?" Pausing, Huang Jiu added, "The Xia family is providing cover for Xuan Jiu and solidifying our identity... Elder, Xuan Jiu... is a hundred percent Su Yu, isn't he?!" Last time, he had truly spoken off the cuff. Yet now, reflecting on the Heaven Hunting Pavilion's recent bizarre behavior and that signature style of trapping and slaughtering countless Sun Moons, could anyone really be sure that wasn't Su Yu? Huang Jia took a long time to reply. "Speculation is useless! Do you want to ask the Heaven Hunting Pavilion to test Su Yu again? If you think the Heaven Hunting Pavilion dares to, you can go and confront them yourself!" Huang Jiu was struck dumb. *Stop joking!* *The Heaven Hunting Pavilion would beat me to death!* Testing him last time had cost an elder's life. Testing him again now... how many deaths would satisfy them? Test my ass! It would be one thing if you claimed Xuan Jiu was someone else, but saying Xuan Jiu was Su Yu—no one would believe it now. As for the methods and style... if Su Yu dared to ambush and slaughter people, did that mean Xuan Jiu wouldn't dare? That wasn't exclusive to Su Yu! Helpless and despondent, Huang Jiu sighed. "We can't keep these Heaven Hunting Pavilion identities anymore. Elder, if we keep them, we'll be sitting ducks! Why don't we just ditch them and throw away the masks? We please neither side, and we're taking the blame for someone else!" The elder pondered and nodded. Indeed, they couldn't keep them! Keeping them meant certain death. Pleasing neither side! It was too miserable! The Heaven Hunting Pavilion was hunting them, all races wanted them dead, and the human side might very well butcher them too. There was no way to survive. "*Sigh!*" With a long sigh of dejection, Huang Jia lamented, "I spent a hundred years climbing the ranks in the Heaven Hunting Pavilion, and now... what a disaster! It wasn't easy to become an elder, and you've ruined me!" "You can't put it like that, Elder. You just didn't establish enough credibility; nobody believes a word you say. Look at Elder Xuan Jia. When he said Xuan Jiu was clean, everyone believed him... Speaking of which, could Elder Xuan Jia have a problem too?" Huang Jiu clicked his tongue. "If there's something wrong with him... that would be terrifying!" If Xuan Jia had a problem, what about the Minister of the Xuan Division? Of course, he and Huang Jia had their own secrets as well. If they were innocent, they wouldn't have fled. As for the Minister of the Yellow Division... Huang Jiu transmitted his voice, "Elder, what's really the deal with the Minister of the Yellow Division? Are you in cahoots with him?" Huang Jia snapped in annoyance, "What do you mean, 'in cahoots'? That's called having an eye for talent! The Minister valued me, didn't care about my background, and took us into the pavilion..." "Then what do we do now?" "Do whatever!" Huang Jia washed his hands of the matter irresponsibly. "It's all your fault! You insisted on causing trouble, insisted on sticking close to that Xuan Jiu, and now look how thoroughly we've been screwed! *Sigh!*" Huang Jiu spoke up again. "Elder, do you think the Minister really knows our true identities?" "How should I know?" "Then why did you say..." Huang Jia cut him off. "Fine, let's stop talking about this. Who knows what that person is thinking? But even if he didn't know before, he might know now. If the two of us were clean, why would we run?!" Full of regret, Huang Jiu said, "True. We shouldn't have run back then. At worst, we would have submitted to an inspection; they might not have uncovered our identities! The Minister of the Yellow Division might have known all along and simply didn't care. We scared ourselves half to death. What terrible luck!" Huang Jia was speechless. Listen to that—wasn't he the one who insisted on fleeing? When told to go back, he had adamantly refused! Otherwise, why would Huang Jia have run? As he was brooding, Huang Jiu suddenly remarked curiously, "Elder, is your mask broken? It's glowing." Laughing, he added, "It seems fate wants us to throw these things away. It's completely broken. An elder mask isn't that great after all. It only glows when being tracked, but the Minister of the Yellow Division is still on the All-Heavens Battlefield. Could he be tracking you across the heavens?" "..." Mid-sentence, Huang Jiu's expression abruptly shifted. Without another word, he spun on his heel and bolted! Huang Jia's face also changed drastically. He ripped off his mask and prepared to shatter it. *Fuck!* *He was being tracked!* That shouldn't be possible. He was an elder; only his direct superior could track him. But his direct superior was an Invincible—the Minister of the Yellow Division! How was that possible?! That person was still on the All-Heavens Battlefield. Just as he was about to smash the mask, a light chuckle sounded by his ear: "If I were you, I wouldn't break it. Better to keep it. It's a peak Earth armament after all, isn't it?" "..." Huang Jia's complexion paled drastically. The next instant, adopting an utterly humble demeanor, he stammered tremulously, "Subordinate Huang Jia greets the Minister!" Over on the other side, Huang Jiu, who was fleeing at top speed, felt the world spin. In the blink of an eye, with a dull thud, he slammed directly into Huang Jia. The very next moment, without a word, he bowed his head and shouted loudly, "Subordinate Huang Jiu pays respects to the Minister!" Both of their hearts pounded in dread, overwhelmed by despair and grief. Life was simply impossible! Just a moment ago, they were hunted by Sun Moons. Now, the Minister of the Yellow Division, an Invincible, had actually entered the Human Realm in person to track them down. They might as well just drop dead. Their luck was truly atrocious! In front of them, a figure materialized—the Minister of the Yellow Division, wearing a gray mask. Strolling casually as if taking a leisurely walk, he stepped down from the air and smiled. "Huang Jia, why run upon seeing me?" "My Lord... I... I didn't run..." Huang Jia defended himself, quickly putting on a pitiful expression. "My Lord, I didn't betray the pavilion! Xuan Jiu framed us! Yes, he framed us! My Lord, we discovered a shocking secret, a monumental secret! I was just trying to find a way to report it to you!" "What secret? Let's hear it." The Minister of the Yellow Division stepped forward gently, smoothed Huang Jia's disheveled collar, patted his shoulder, and smiled. "Go ahead and tell me. Don't let your legs shake. Don't be afraid." "Yes... I... I'm not afraid..." Huang Jia said nervously, "It's like this: we discovered that there's something wrong with Xuan Jiu!" "He's Su Yu?" The Minister of the Yellow Division chuckled. "Is that the monumental secret? Do you want the Heaven Hunting Pavilion to go test him again? The Third and Eighth Elders of the Law Enforcement Department have tested him several times already. Or should we have an Eternal personally visit the ancient city to inspect whether Su Yu is actually there?" "..." Despair! Huang Jia sank into utter despair. What did this mean? Did he not believe it, or did he simply not care? To the side, Huang Jiu's legs had long been trembling in terror. He wanted to weep. Why on earth had the Minister of the Yellow Division come in person?! The two of them hadn't discarded their masks precisely because they assumed the Minister wouldn't come. As long as he didn't appear, they could still pass themselves off as members of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion. But now, the Minister had actually shown up! The Minister of the Yellow Division smiled, reached out, and slowly removed Huang Jia's mask. He chuckled, "Back then, I personally recruited you into the Heaven Hunting Pavilion. Huang Jia, tell me, do I know your true identity or not?" "Uh... My Lord..." Huang Jia's mask came off gradually, revealing an elderly face with an immortal, sagely bearing. The Minister of the Yellow Division chuckled. "This face of yours is still so innocent, so sagely, so upright and righteous. A century has passed, yet this face hasn't changed in the slightest." "Minister... I..." The Minister of the Yellow Division said with a smile, "Don't be nervous. Whatever you do, don't be nervous! This face is good, very good. It seems you've grown accustomed to it. And this little Huang Jiu here—who is she to you?" He reached out toward Huang Jiu's mask. Huang Jiu wanted to dodge, but didn't dare, and could only miserably allow the Minister of the Yellow Division to take it off. The moment it was removed, the Minister of the Yellow Division seemed momentarily stunned. "A woman?" "..." The Minister paused, then laughed despite himself. "Well now... my eyesight must be failing. You're actually a young lass? Here I thought you were a mischievous boy. Tsk, tsk. Huang Jia, where did you swindle her from?" Beneath Huang Jiu's mask was indeed the face of a woman—pure-looking, delicate, and carrying an air of pitiful innocence, like a naive young girl. And yet... nothing in the dialogue between Huang Jiu and Huang Jia displayed even an ounce of simple honesty or righteousness. Huang Jia wore a helpless look, though his expression remained sage and earnest. "My Lord, she's my granddaughter." "Nonsense!" The Minister laughed. "You're not an honest man. How can you lie to me? Your granddaughter? Lying to me won't do you any good, don't you think?" Huang Jia had no choice. "Uh... alright, I'll be honest. I picked her up. Really, I just picked her up off the street!" "Elder, you picked me up?" Huang Jiu put on a look of total shock, her eyes darting back and forth. "Elder, you said I was your granddaughter! How could I be someone you picked up? You lied to me! I... I'm severing all ties with you! We'll never cross paths in the martial world again..." With that, she turned to bolt. The Minister of the Yellow Division reached out with a casual tap, pressing his large palm onto her forehead. He smiled. "Stop running. Where do you think you can run, little girl? There's no need to play these tricks with me. Look at those little eyes darting around. What a cute girl." Huang Jiu was in despair. *I'm not cute!* *Does the Minister of the Yellow Division have some sort of peculiar fetish?* *No, he doesn't need a fetish—I'm a woman!* The Minister smiled, probed her slightly, and said in surprise, "Oh, a genius! Huang Jia, where did you pick her up? She's quite the talent. Her bone age isn't very old, is it?" Huang Jia said sheepishly, "Yeah, not very old. I picked her up nineteen years ago..." "Oh?" The Minister of the Yellow Division raised an eyebrow. "Nineteen years ago... how old was she when you picked her up?" "Two or three, probably. The child was too small to be certain, roughly two or three." The Minister was taken aback, then soon smiled. "Interesting. Picked up nineteen years ago... two or three years old. So that means you killed the previous Huang Jiu and had this girl take his place?" "No, I didn't kill him!" Huang Jia hastened to explain, "Truly! He died on a mission on his own, but as luck would have it, his mask didn't break! When I arrived, he still had a breath left in him. I figured... this mask is an Earth armament after all, so it would be a shame to waste it, and I gave it to my granddaughter." "You know her identity, don't you?" The Minister said faintly, "Picked up nineteen years ago... is she from *that* family?" "Well..." Huang Jia said awkwardly, "I don't know. I didn't investigate thoroughly, nor could I find anything, so I didn't pursue it. Minister, so many years have passed; what's the point of digging it up, right?" "If she is, she was three back then and is only twenty-two now. A genuine genius!" The Minister sighed with emotion. "That family specializes in producing geniuses! It doesn't surprise me too much. You certainly were generous, willing to spend quite a fortune. You must have used plenty of Heaven Yuan Qi and Heaven and Earth Profound Light on her, haven't you?" "*Cough, cough*... well..." "Did you embezzle it?" "No, absolutely not! Minister, I acquired it through legitimate means!" "Oh, I see!" The Minister smiled. "Understood. Your old profession. You're an expert in that trade, never short on cash. Understandable." Huang Jia's face practically split in half! His jaw dropped, and only after a long pause did he manage to speak: "Minister... you knew my identity all along?" "Of course. How could I not? If an Eternal were really that foolish, could they have become an Eternal?" The Minister chuckled. "Naturally I knew. Kongkong, care to exchange a few blows with me? I'm merely a three-life embodiment; I might not be a match for you. What do you say?" To the side, Huang Jiu froze. She looked at Huang Jia, then back at the Minister, murmuring blankly, "Kongkong? Elder, didn't you say... your name was Kong Qingzi?" Who was Kongkong? Ordinary people might not know, but any figure of stature knew full well. Kongkong, third on the Dao Attainment Ranking, from the Ancient Space Beast race! Third on the Dao Attainment Ranking! Ranked even higher than Xia Longwu, who was fifth on the Dao Attainment Ranking! One of the beings closest to Invincible in the entire realm! Huang Jia said dryly, "A misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding. The Minister is truly mistaken. How could I possibly be Kongkong? I'm Kong Qingzi. Back then, I accidentally killed a descendant of an Invincible, so my identity couldn't be exposed..." The Minister smiled. "I know, I know! Kong Qingzi, who killed the son of Immortal King Tianxuan. Skilled in spatial arts—to put it simply, stealing. You stole right under the nose of Immortal King Tianxuan's son, got caught, and beat him to death... wasn't that it?" "Yes, yes, yes..." Huang Jia said helplessly, "So with an identity like that, how could I dare reveal myself carelessly..." The Minister smiled again. "What a coincidence. A hundred and twenty years ago, I happened to pass by a certain place. Pure chance, truly. That Kong Qingzi had gone mad and tried to steal from me... I casually slapped him to death. I had urgent business and was in a hurry to leave, so I couldn't be bothered to collect the corpse. But he was a seventh-stage Sun Moon after all. Just as I went back to retrieve the body later on... wouldn't you know it? A fellow suddenly burrowed right into his skin! Why, I was positively stunned!" "..." Huang Jia's aged face froze entirely! The Minister smiled and patted his cheek. "Yes, exactly this face. Though... there were slight differences, but close enough! Tell me, isn't that quite a coincidence?" Huang Jia said in a daze, "The Minister killed him?" "Indeed! Who else did you think it was?" "I..." Huang Jia said with a crestfallen face, "I thought... I thought he had been caught in the crossfire. Back then, two Invincibles were battling in the distance. I figured that fellow was just unlucky, and I could conveniently borrow an identity to use..." "You certainly know how to pick things up!" The Minister chuckled. "Kongkong, was it fun?" "Not fun at all!" Huang Jia was utterly at a loss for words. "So the Minister knew my true identity from the very beginning?" "Of course. You wore so many aliases—this one and that one—with Kong Qingzi buried beneath them all. You thought I would at most discover your identity as Kong Qingzi, didn't you?" The Minister said cheerfully, "You have no idea. I followed you all along. You were simply too amusing. When I found you, you were wearing layer upon layer of skins, shedding them one by one. In the end... I couldn't even be bothered to expose you. Entertaining, wasn't it?" Beside them, Huang Jiu stood dumbfounded. She looked at Huang Jia, and after a long while, her mouth fell open. "Elder, you're... not human?" Huang Jia rolled his eyes. "Did I ever say I was human?" "You... you're really Kongkong?" Huang Jiu was a member of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion too, and from the intelligence branch at that. In utter astonishment, she cried, "Third on the Dao Attainment Ranking, Kongkong of the Ancient Space Beast race?!" "What do you think?" Huang Jia was helpless. "Now that my secrets have all been laid bare, do you feel hurt that I hid it from you for so long..." "Not at all!" Huang Jiu was suddenly thrilled. "Elder, you're Kongkong! Hit him! Beat him up and let's run! You're third on the Dao Attainment Ranking! Everyone says the top ten on the Dao Attainment Ranking can fight Invincibles! Elder, let's—" Huang Jia was speechless! The Minister of the Yellow Division chuckled warmly, sighing, "This temperament, this personality... she truly carries the spirit of her heritage." Huang Jiu looked at him, then back at Huang Jia. "Elder, what does the Minister mean? Could it be... that I was stolen by you, not picked up? I heard Kongkong is best at stealing..." Huang Jia said listlessly, "Picked up! Who would steal you? Nobody would take you if you were left on the road! I picked you up to help disguise my identity, and you ruined the whole thing, you idiot! If you hadn't provoked Xuan Jiu, would there be all this trouble?!" Puzzled, Huang Jiu asked, "If you're Kongkong, what are you hiding for?" Huang Jia remained silent. The Minister smiled. "Of course he has to hide; he has no choice! Kongkong, third on the Dao Attainment Ranking, yet he refuses to attain the Dao and never shows his face. He's been in hiding for years. Do you think he'd hide without a very good reason?" "..." Huang Jia said sheepishly, "Minister, those words... I..." "Say no more. Have you forgotten? I am the Minister of the Yellow Division. Across the all-heavens and myriad realms, I know the most." The Minister said calmly, "A hundred and twenty-five years ago, someone wanted to steal a carrier in order to attain the Dao. Such items are only possessed by great figures. That fellow was bold indeed; one theft led to another until he stole the coffin lid of the Immortal race's Ancient Immortal Half-Emperor. Isn't that right?" "..." Huang Jiu couldn't help but blurt out, "A coffin lid?!" The Minister smiled faintly. "Indeed. The Ancient Immortal Half-Emperor, being so ancient and advanced in age, might truly have lived from the ancient era to the present day. He crafted a coffin specifically to nourish his vitality! That coffin was extraordinary! It was forged from a ten-thousand-year Heaven Yuan tree, boundless Heaven Yuan Qi, Sun Moon Xuanhuang Liquid, Heaven and Earth Profound Light, and various heavenly treasures. He personally nurtured it for over a thousand years to create a coffin comparable to a peak Heaven armament! And then... someone stole his coffin lid. Could he afford not to hide?" "..." Huang Jiu was thoroughly stunned. After a pause, she hurriedly asked, "Elder, where's the coffin lid?" "..." Huang Jia was speechless, grumbling, "What do you want it for? That thing is bad luck!" The Minister laughed. "It's right in his hands. That item makes for an exceptional carrier. Kongkong probably wants to fish out an overwhelmingly powerful past incarnation. He looks down on ordinary ones, so he's likely spent the past century attempting it, haven't you?" Huang Jia kept his mouth shut. After a while, the Minister smiled. "Very well, I have no intention of causing trouble, nor do I have any interest in that. Do something for me. I did shelter you for a hundred years after all. You were the one who insisted on fleeing; had you stayed, none of this would have happened, would it?" Huang Jia didn't agree right away, instead asking hesitatingly, "Just what strength does the Minister possess?" "Eternal, of course. Could I be a Half-Emperor?" "That's not what I meant. There are strong and weak Eternals. You said you followed me back then without my knowledge... Have you reached..." The Minister smiled faintly. "Reached what? Don't let your imagination run wild! Kongkong... well, let's still call you Huang Jia! Huang Jia, how about doing something for me?" "Speak, My Lord!" "Help me steal the Civilization Tombstone!" The Minister chuckled softly. "You can do it! I don't think anyone has a better shot at it than you!" Huang Jia frowned. "All the races in the heavens have their eyes on that item. I only want a carrier; I don't want that thing. It's too dangerous!" Pausing, he looked at him. "Why must you have that item, Minister? Even going so far as to expose my identity..." "A bit of interest. All races want it, so naturally I want it too. But if I obtain it, the others in the Heaven Hunting Pavilion will want a share. That won't do; I want it all for myself." Huang Jia hesitated for a moment. "Uh... I can't do it. I haven't made a move in years; I've almost forgotten how to steal." "Nonsense!" The Minister laughed. "Hardly! How could you not have made a move in years? A few years ago, didn't you steal a dragon egg from an Eternal of the dragon race?" "..." Huang Jiu gasped, "Elder, that egg we ate eight years ago—was that a dragon egg?!" "..." Huang Jia cursed inwardly. *What are you doing!* *Why scream so loudly!* *What if the dragon race hears you?!* Huang Jiu continued to cry out, "Then what about that roast bird you had me eat twelve years ago?" The Minister chuckled. "Oh, there's that too! Twelve years ago, the phoenix race lost a fledgling. Was that your doing?" Huang Jiu gasped, "A fledgling? How cruel! Elder, let's sever our relationship! I'm leaving. You're too cruel..." She turned to run. The Minister felt exhausted and reached out again, pressing a hand to her head. "Where are you running, little girl? Do you think if you run, he'll dare fight me?" Huang Jiu was depressed. Hauled back once more, she blinked at Huang Jia, asking with her eyes: *Can you fight him?* *If you can win, fight; if not... forget it, just work for him. At worst, once he leaves, we'll run and break the deal!* Huang Jia said helplessly, "Minister, stealing the Civilization Tombstone... is truly dangerous." "I know. But losing that thing... wouldn't be good." The Minister smiled. "Enough of this. Do this for me once. If you succeed, when you attain the Dao, I'll lend you a hand. With your Dao attainment... it's practically suicide. The Ancient Immortal King might come looking for you in person." Huang Jia was speechless. *I know. Why else would I have waited until now? Isn't it because I didn't dare?* "Then... fine!" Huang Jia sighed with emotion, saying resignedly, "The Minister is truly... brilliant!" "Just average!" The Minister chuckled. "Then I won't disturb you further. Huang Jia, don't shatter your mask. It's a peak Earth armament after all. Even if you break it... I can still find you. And if I can't find you, I can find this girl." Huang Jia said sheepishly, "Rest assured, Minister, I won't run!" "I hope so!" The Minister of the Yellow Division smiled, vanishing on the spot in an instant. Once he was gone, the two looked at each other, panting once more. Huang Jiu stared at him curiously. "Elder, are you really Kongkong? Kongkong is an Ancient Space Beast. What does your true form look like? Is it fun? Nobody knows what an Ancient Space Beast's true form looks like..." "Shut up!" Huang Jia snorted and put his mask back on. "Put your mask on! You're completely useless, good for nothing!" "Elder, that was an Invincible! Even you didn't dare fight, so how could I? I acted cute so many times, but he ignored me. What was I supposed to do?" Huang Jia ignored her, thinking for a moment before saying, "It looks like I'll have to do this job for him after all. Why does that fellow want the Civilization Tombstone? It should be useless to him. They say it's only useful to a Half-Emperor or a Civilization Master of the multiple divine character faction..." Huang Jiu said nonchalantly, "Either he wants to become an Emperor, or he's colluding with humans! From the sound of it, he might already know about Xuan Jiu's issues and simply doesn't want to mention it. It wouldn't surprise me if he has some connection to the multiple divine character faction!" "Is that so?" Huang Jia rubbed his chin. "Perhaps! Never mind, no point digging into it. The more you know, the faster you die! If my identity gets exposed, I'll die even faster than him! Your grandfather here provoked one of the top three powerhouses in the myriad realms... *Sigh*, I truly regret my past actions!" "Then why not return the coffin lid?" "No way, how could I return it? I'm still counting on it to fish out an extraordinarily powerful past incarnation!" "A past incarnation? Didn't you already fish out a past incarnation, Elder? Or did you fish out a future incarnation?" "Nonsense! Almost all of the top ten on the Dao Attainment Ranking fish out future incarnations. Who would fish out a past incarnation? It has almost no combat power! Fishing out the future from the past—that is what true figures do. Forget it, you wouldn't understand. Once you reach my stage, you'll know just how difficult this step is!" Huang Jiu didn't dwell on it, asking instead, "Elder, which family was the Minister of the Yellow Division referring to earlier?" "You? I told you, I picked you up from the road." "Where did you pick me up?" "Why ask so much? Are you planning to go look for your real father?" "No!" Huang Jiu denied. "I'm just curious. From the sound of it, my family seems rather extraordinary. How about I go recognize my ancestors, and then we steal some good stuff to bring back?" "Forget it! Your family is gone, so what the hell are you going to steal? Stop daydreaming. Let's go, let's go. Don't think about going home. Your grandfather here has raised you for so many years, and you've eaten so many of my treasures. Pay me back first, then you can go home!" "...I can't afford that!" Huang Jiu muttered under her breath. How many good things had she eaten? Dragon eggs, phoenix fledglings—how could she possibly pay that back?! Forget it, whatever. Following the elder was the only way to get delicious food.