Stranger Danger

Chapter 408: It’s Just A Misunderstanding!

“Ashamed?” Fang Muyun tilted his head in confusion.

“Yes. If I wasn’t delayed by something, I’m sure I could’ve done so much better,” Ye Qing replied with deep regret. Although he wasn’t eliminated, he was certain that his ranking was pathetic considering that he started so late. He didn’t even want to imagine what Gu Suitang would do when he heard about this.

Everyone fell silent and stared at him oddly as soon as he said this. It was such a strange reaction that Ye Qing couldn’t help but scratch his head in confusion. What? Is it a sin to be humble?

“Hmph! Youngsters these days are arrogant beyond imagination!” Jing Huang scoffed with dripping disdain. Ye Qing had reached the peak first in half the time everyone else took, and he said he was ashamed? If this wasn’t arrogance, then what was?

Ye Qing: “...” Bruh, how much more humble do I need to be? I’m probably the last fucking person to make it up this mountain!

Someone tried to smooth things over. “Hahaha... and where are you going to find a genius who’s humble, one as capable as the Qing Emperor Junior no less? Would you prefer him to act like a gloomy old man like us?”

His words only irked Ye Qing more, however.Did your math teacher teach your language class? I’m as fucking humble as I could be! Is everyone here an illiterate idiot?

“Hahaha, that’s right. For the past few decades, every genius who became the champion in such a short time is arrogant beyond imagination. Sixty years ago, the ‘Sword Qi Savant’ Sun Tzufu ascended the Flying Dragon Mount in sixteen hours[1] and declared everyone who came after him to be trash. Forty five years ago, the ‘Vast Blue Sky’ Ren Tianya ascended the mountain in twelve hours and declared mockingly that he lived in the Dark Age of Spring and Autumn period. And thirty years ago, the Qing Emperor ascended the mountain in six hours and declared that only he left his name in the annals of history while everyone else in a century languished in mediocrity...”

Lei Xiaodan ended his statement with a chuckle. “It is fine to be arrogant so long as you have the strength to support it.”

“It so happens that Ye Qing is nicknamed the Qing Emperor Junior. Once upon a time, the Qing Emperor ascended the heavens in six steps. Today, the Qing Emperor Junior repeated his feat by starting during halftime. It makes for a great legend, doesn’t it?” Fang Muyun said smilingly before looking at Chu Wangsun. “What do you think, Wangsun?”

“Not bad,” Chu Wangsun replied indifferently, though his eyes were flickering with unknown meaning.

“You flatter him, Mister Farseeing, Mister Nine. He still has a long way to go before he can be mentioned in the same sentence as the Qing Emperor,” Hong Jianglong said smilingly. “Besides, calling him a champion is too much. Just because he reached the peak first doesn’t necessarily mean that he will conquer the tribulations ahead. Please don’t flatter him too much and give him a big head.”

Meanwhile, Ye Qing was feeling like he had been transported to a parallel universe. By now, he realized that he had misunderstood something, but he still couldn’t help but ask, “Er, excuse me, but I thought I was the last participant to reach the peak?”

“Who told you that? You are the first person to make it to the peak!” Hong Jianglong shot him an incredulous look. Did the Age Songstress’ curse lingered in him after all? Was it why Ye Qing was acting like a buffoon?

“I’m the first?” Ye Qing’s eyes bulged in disbelief. He couldn’t help but mutter under his breath, “I started six hours late, and I’m still the first person to make it to the peak? Just how useless are this year’s participants?”

As if on cue, Wen Xiaonuan and Xu Rulin reached the peak from two different directions at the same time. Of course, they heard Ye Qing’s mutterings.

Xu Rulin’s eyes had just returned to normal, but Ye Qing’s words immediately turned them red and infused him with fighting spirit again. Wen Xiaonuan let out a deep sigh and looked even more depressed than before.

“The arrogance! But I think you should save those words until after you become the champion,” the Harmony King scoffed. He was pissed off because he lost the bet, and Ye Qing had unwittingly insulted his dearest daughter with his careless words. How could he not be angered by this?

The rest of the group looked annoyed and angry as well. They were fine with his earlier display of arrogance, but this was going a step too far. After all, their juniors were participating in the competition as well, and Ye Qing had just called them useless.

“Joyless! Where are your manners?” Hong Jianglong rebuked Ye Qing.

“Sorry, sorry! I misspoke! Please forgive me, my lords!” Ye Qing hurriedly apologized with a bitter smile on his face. It was just a careless remark, but he really should’ve known better. “I never—”

Ye Qing was just about to launch into a passionate explanation when Fang Muyun said, “It’s fine. For now, please move to the side so you won’t disturb the meet. The same goes for the rest of you.”

“Sure, just let me fi—” Ye Qing tried to explain himself again, but Hong Jianglong interrupted, “Cut the bullcrap and move to the side already!”

Ye Qing: “...” If you would just give me one heavens damned minute to explain myself...

He couldn’t ignore the order though. If he did, he would only leave an even worse impression. So, Ye Qing said, “Yes, commissioner,” and went to stand on the sidelines with Xu Rulin and Wen Xiaonuan.

“My name is Ye Qing. It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Ye Qing greeted the two warriors after standing still. “I wasn’t thinking when I said what I said earlier. I hope you won’t take offense.”

“Unthinking words are the truest words in your heart,” Wen Xiaonuan said dejectedly. “Plus, you were speaking the truth. I failed to reach the peak first, so I am trash.”

“You misunderstand, miss. I wasn’t talking about you two,” Ye Qing tried to explain.

“You’re talking about the others? But so what? There is no difference between me and them,” Wen Xiaonuan sighed and pressed her chin against her chest.

“I really don’t mean it like that,” Ye Qing tried again.

“And what do you mean, exactly? Are you saying that we are worse than trash? Sigh...” Wen Xiaonuan grew even sadder.

She’s fucking with me, right? Ye Qing barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he turned to the—hopefully—saner one of the duo. “Brother—”

“No need to say anything. We will see who is truly strong on the battlefield,” Xu Rulin said coldly.

Ye Qing: “...” What was that saying again? If you have yellow mud in your pants, then you might as well pretend that you’ve shat yourself because no one would believe otherwise. Sigh.

... Fucking dammit! Why the fuck is this happening to me? I was six hours late! I didn’t want to get first place! Motherfucking...

Knowing that he couldn’t get through the two blockheads, Ye Qing gave up trying to defend his innocence.

It was at this moment the fourth person showed up. It was none other than Chu Qingge.

Chu Qingge looked injured and tired, but mentally, she was actually doing quite fantastic. After reaching the peak and performing a salute, she walked up to Ye Qing and greeted him cordially.

The fifth warrior to ascend the peak was Yang Zhao, but unlike Chu Qingge, he looked clean and untouched almost as if he hadn’t fought a great battle earlier.

His smile froze a little when he spotted Ye Qing and the others, but it quickly turned back to normal. He was able to make a good impression just by smiling warmly.

The sixth warrior to make it was Jian Wusheng, though he looked way worse than Yang Zhao as a matter of course. His body was covered in wounds and bloodstain, and there were hostile sword qi lurking in some of the wounds as well.

The seventh warrior to make it was Luo Zhan, and he looked even worse than Jian Wusheng was. His body was sickly white and bloated like that of a drowned corpse, and he was literally soaked to the bone. Even now, mud and blood were slowly pouring out of his orifices. It was terrible.

The eighth warrior to make it was Qi Xuanyun. He looked pale, but he was mostly fine. He greeted Ye Qing excitedly when he saw him.

The ninth warrior to make it was Wei Bulao. Wei Bulao was similarly uninjured, though he felt like he had one foot in the grave.

The tenth warrior to make it was Chu Renhe. He was covered in frost and snow as if he just braved a blizzard, and his lips looked as white as snow. He grew even colder when he saw Ye Qing and the others.

As the time limit approached, more and more people ascended the peak. There were Tou Jiao, Zhang Tiancheng, Chen Shaoyu, Zhao Lan, Zhao Lu; Wine, Sex, Wealth and Popularity; Eat, Drink, Fuck and Gamble; and more.

A moment before the time was up, Lin Yuhuai, Chu Nianjiu, Gao Ningan and more made it up the peak as well. Although they looked like they had just fought a war, at least they weren’t disqualified in the first round.

When the time was up, the golden dragon circling above the nine heavens abruptly roared and swooped toward the ground. Such was its pressure that everyone felt suffocated and repressed.

Thankfully, the golden dragon disappeared just as quickly as it came. It slammed into the great array surrounding the peak and caused a golden ripple to spread across the whole mountain in an instant. Everyone who was still climbing was immediately flung out by it. To those watching from the foot of the mountain, it looked like the mountain was shooting golden meteors. It looked mighty impressive.

Of course, the warriors wrapped inside the golden light were unharmed despite the great height they fell from.

“This marks the end of the first round of the Hidden Dragon Meet.”

After the golden dragon had completed its descent, Hong Jianglong rose to his feet and looked at the group of participants. “Good. A total of sixty five of you managed to make it to the peak in the allotted time. I won’t congratulate you though, and you shouldn’t be celebrating just yet. This is but the beginning of your journey to become a dragon. Will you rise to the heavens as a dragon, or will you fall to the ground like a worm? That all depends on your next performance.”

“I will give you one piece of advice. Don’t let arrogance or impatience get to your head.”

Everyone bowed respectfully to Hong Jianglong. “We will remember your advice, my lord.”

Ye Qing was the only one who thought that Hong Jianglong’s advice was specifically targeted at him.

“Mister Farseeing, is there anything you would like to share with them?” Hong Jianglong looked to Fang Muyun next.

Fang Muyun rose to his feet and said in a refined manner, “You’ve said all that needs to be said, so I shan’t bore them any longer. Everyone, you are all young geniuses with a bright future ahead of you. I wish you all good luck in tomorrow’s tournament.”

The group saluted again. “Thank you, Mister Farseeing.”

“Wangsun, there are many people here who attended this meet for you. Would you like to speak with them?” Fang Muyun asked smilingly after noticing a lot of people staring at Chu Wangsun, who was sitting right next to him.

It was a harmless remark. He knew full well that his friend had exactly zero interest in addressing the crowd. He wasn’t even expecting him to say a single word.

That was why he was greatly surprised when Chu Wangsun actually rose to his feet and walked toward the crowd.

1. It looks like the time limit is gradually shortened over time, because this year’s competition is only twelve hours long. ?