Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1153: Chapter 198.5 – Half-Day Talk

The seventh post-disaster response meeting concluded.

It was the third day since the heavy fog had disappeared. In just three days, seven emergency meetings had already been held at Croaching Dragon Estate. Or rather, non-stop discussions, clean-up arrangements, and contingency planning had been going on continuously.

Most of the attendees were either highly cultivated or full of stamina—even so, these past three days of racking their brains had still exhausted them.

Yan Xiaoxi already had stubble on his face. He hadn’t closed his eyes for three days and nights. Even with his capabilities, he was reaching his limit.

He leaned back in his chair in the conference room, gently massaging his forehead.

A subordinate brought over a cup of hot tea. Yan Xiaoxi slowly sipped it. There were typically two stages in emergency response: the 24-hour and 48-hour phases—but this Mount Tai incident had dragged on for over half a month.

Almost all major world media outlets were closely following the event. Foreign media and even harder-to-detect foreign intelligence agents still lingered nearby.

“Department Chief, maybe you should rest a bit. You’ve been going nonstop for days.”

Yan Xiaoxi sighed. “If working overtime could solve the problem, I’d work a year straight... The real fear is that it won’t be enough.”

The subordinate replied, “But didn’t the Dragon Consultant unite both the Daoist and Demon Associations for full cooperation?”Yan Xiaoxi held his forehead and closed his eyes. “How long can the public be fooled? I’m afraid this fire can’t be covered by a sheet of paper.”

“Chief, don’t think too much. When the boat reaches the bridge, it will go straight. The post-disaster handling isn't entirely up to us,” the subordinate comforted. “All preparations are nearly complete. The official press release should go out by tomorrow at the latest.”

“Let’s see how people react after that. We’ve done everything we can.” Yan Xiaoxi slowly exhaled.

This wasn’t something the Management Bureau alone could handle. For the past three days—or rather, from the moment the fog appeared—the national machinery had been running at full power.

After the New Year, when the fog first appeared in the capital, large numbers of emergency officials began devising countermeasures day and night. But no amount of planning could have anticipated the rapid developments at Mount Tai.

They would blame it on a geological disaster—a geothermal explosion. Of course, such a reason wasn’t strong enough to justify national headlines, so preparations had to be meticulous.

In the past three days, the Management Bureau had dispatched every able-bodied agent from across the country, even leaving some high-risk areas short-staffed. As for the Daoists and Demons, they too had mobilized all available forces from their sects and clans.

Centering on Mount Tai, they conducted geological alterations over a hundred-kilometer radius—trying to make it resemble a geothermal disaster site.

Yan Xiaoxi knew the excuse was flimsy. The highest authorities still hadn’t decided to reveal the existence of the supernatural—or weren’t ready for a public rupture just yet.

But once this storm passed, a covert, bloody power struggle was sure to follow. Both sides likely knew it well.

“I’ll check on my teacher,” Yan Xiaoxi said, standing up. “Watch things here. Inform me immediately of any updates.”

…

The sub-hall of the Plain-Clothed Dao had been destroyed in the battle; barely one-tenth of Croaching Dragon Estate remained intact.

But Croaching Dragon Estate had always been a massive complex, so even the surviving buildings were enough to house people. Besides, aside from the injured, most had been outside altering the terrain these past few days, so space wasn't tight.

When Yan Xiaoxi arrived at the place where Firecloud Evil God was recovering, he unexpectedly found Daoist Baijie already there.

“Greetings, President Baijie.”

“Ah, Chief Yan,” Daoist Baijie nodded slightly. The usually cheerful veteran of the Daoist world hadn’t smiled much these days.

“Baijie and I were just discussing the Mount Tai incident. Come and sit,” Firecloud Evil God waved.

“How are your injuries, Teacher?” Yan Xiaoxi took off his shoes and sat down cross-legged.

“Nothing serious,” Firecloud Evil God replied calmly. “You know how capable a healer Bi Hua is. This wasn’t enough to take my life. I just burned through too much power—won’t recover fully for a month or two.”

“Martial cultivators have it better,” Baijie said with a bitter smile. “If it were us Daoists, losing that much magic power... forget a couple of months, even a year might not be enough to recover.”

Firecloud Evil God shot him a look. “Old bull-nose, stop playing pitiful. You think I don’t know how dense the spiritual energy is out there right now? A year? Please. Try ten days.”

“I’m not as young as you guys anymore,” Baijie laughed. “Old bones now.”

The two didn’t touch on the political tension between the New Nation and the Daoist and Demon Associations. Their chat sounded like friendly banter, but underneath it were countless rounds of subtle probing.

Yan Xiaoxi quietly listened, occasionally chiming in with inconsequential comments.

“Your disciples are here today, so I’ll leave you two be,” Baijie said, stretching his back and slowly standing up. “I’ll go check on my own disciples and see how their work is going.”

“Take care,” Yan Xiaoxi stood up to see him off.

…

After Baijie left, Yan Xiaoxi helped Firecloud Evil God outside for a walk.

“Teacher, President Baijie certainly lives up to his status as the Kunlun head. He’s steady.”

“If he can’t keep steady now, what else can he do?” Firecloud Evil God stopped walking. “After this disaster, the blame lies on the Daoist and Demon Associations. They failed to control their own people—Lai Caisheng was even one of their former reps. You think Baijie can dodge that responsibility?”

Yan Xiaoxi nodded, then asked, “Have those Demon Clan elders contacted you, Teacher?”

“You mean Cang Jinshui, Qu Xinghe, Ming Tushan?” Firecloud Evil God looked at him. Yan Xiaoxi nodded.

Firecloud Evil God shook his head. “A few days ago at Mount Tai, I personally killed Cang Yuntian and the others. For Cang Jinshui and the rest, that’s either revenge for a father or close kin. Even if we’re technically on opposing sides, blood vengeance is still blood vengeance. That kind of hatred can’t be let go easily. I’m sure they hate me to the bone. Why would they come see me?”

Yan Xiaoxi frowned. “I’ll have people monitor them closely.”

Firecloud Evil God waved it off. “This old body of mine isn’t so fragile. We’re short-staffed right now, and everything outside is in chaos. I doubt they’d dare stir trouble at this moment.”

“You’re right.” Yan Xiaoxi nodded, but his brows remained furrowed.

Firecloud Evil God patted Yan Xiaoxi’s shoulder and asked softly, “What are you worrying about?”

“Teacher, you should already know,” Yan Xiaoxi said seriously. “Even after the emergency response is completed, this matter isn’t over… So many civilians died or were injured—this can’t just be brushed aside. Someone has to take responsibility.”

“That person has already appeared, hasn’t he?” Firecloud Evil God said calmly.

Yan Xiaoxi frowned. “You mean… Lai Caisheng? But didn’t he already leave?”

“He left, yes. And he didn’t need to say those final words—but since he did, doesn’t that make his intent clear? Now Plain-Clothed Dao is being condemned everywhere. I’ve heard many members of Daoist and Demon sects and clans grabbed their weapons on the way over and smashed the Plain-Clothed Dao's gates into rubble. There’s not even a blade of grass left at the entrance. He left and took everything on himself—no one can do anything to him now.”

“But his remaining followers are still around—they can’t be let off either,” Yan Xiaoxi said in a low voice.

Firecloud Evil God sighed and scoffed. “Those people were willing to throw away their lives just to bring about the revival of spiritual energy… Do you think they care if they're hunted down? Before leaving, Lai Caisheng severed his ties with the Daoist and Demon Associations, turning everything into his personal actions. That means we can’t easily target the associations, because most of them were also victims. If we act rashly, we’ll only provoke all-out resistance. Without overwhelming strength and complete suppression, how are we going to wage war against the Daoist and Demon factions? And where would we even fight? You don’t know pain until the needle pricks your own flesh. Those fools who talk tough about starting a war—even calling for nuclear strikes—let’s see how brave they are when the fighting reaches their own front door. How many still have the courage to strap on explosives and storm a bunker? It’s easy to talk big and give lofty speeches, but few are actually willing to do the hard work! And besides…”

“Besides what?” Yan Xiaoxi asked, startled.

Firecloud Evil God was silent for a moment. “That man Lai Caisheng didn’t die—he only left. No one can say for sure whether he’ll return or not… The Immortal Path has been severed for so many years, and he’s the only one who’s successfully reached a higher realm… Tell me, who can even estimate his current power?”

“But don’t we still have the Dragon Consultant?” Yan Xiaoxi frowned.

“Even a True Dragon has its limits.” Firecloud Evil God sighed. “Where do you think all that spiritual energy bursting from the ground came from? In ancient times, True Dragons stood against certain beings who left and later returned. A True Dragon draws its power from the land—every ounce of that power comes from Divine Land itself. Now that spiritual energy is surging again, it's like draining Divine Land’s blood… You can’t expect someone suffering massive blood loss to act like nothing happened.”

“The Dragon Consultant… will grow weaker?”

“She definitely will.” Firecloud Evil God suddenly looked at Yan Xiaoxi. “But even weakened, we still can’t beat her. So don’t waste time on unnecessary thoughts.”

Yan Xiaoxi lowered his head and pondered. After a moment, he suddenly asked, “Teacher… after someone leaves, is it really possible to come back?”

“That depends on Heaven’s will.” Firecloud Evil God looked up at the clear blue sky and murmured, “But I haven’t seen such a clean sky in eighty years.”

…

Yan Xiaoxi didn’t stay long and soon returned to his post—every moment, new directives arrived from the capital. Every moment, he had to report back on the situation. Naturally, he couldn’t leave for long.

Firecloud Evil God wandered alone to the ruins of the Plain-Clothed Dao’s former residence.

The phoenix tree hadn’t fallen, though many of its leaves were gone.

He stared at it for a long time, then waved his hand and made a grabbing motion in mid-air. The earth stirred, revealing a jar of unopened wine buried underground.

He opened the lid and took a long swig, then poured a splash at the base of the tree.

“Drink up, Blind. When we meet again after this jar…”

…

…

The earth split open. Scorching magma shot out from the fissures like towering fire pillars—above them loomed thick dark clouds.

The clouds had been summoned by an entire sect from the Daoist world. Wherever large-scale reconstruction was needed, the clouds would drift—mainly to block satellite and atmospheric surveillance.

The magma came mostly from the Divine Land’s True Dragon drawing it up. The rest was managed by Daoists and Demons who were shaping the disaster site. Thankfully, most civilians hadn’t seen what actually happened beneath the fog.

“I can’t… I’m going to die…”

To conserve energy, the Divine Land’s True Dragon had to revert to her smaller form again. She hadn’t rested at all these past few days. Long Xiruo didn’t dare draw too much energy from the land to recover, relying instead on her own regenerative ability.

“Stupid girl… can’t you help out a little?”

The True Dragon of Divine Land was nearly collapsing from exhaustion. She glared at Su Zijun, who had set up a beach chair and umbrella and was currently lying down getting a shoulder massage from Gui Ying.

“I don’t have the ability to control underground magma,” Su Zijun said, sipping fresh deer blood. “Besides, the sun is too strong out here—I might get sunburned.”

“Bullcrap! If someone like you can get sunburned, then every last Jiangshi and vampire on this planet would’ve gone extinct already!”

Su Zijun waved lazily. “Relax, I already had Kui Qianyi take my royal decree back to Xuanyuan Palace.”

“What are you planning?” Long Xiruo frowned.

Su Zijun replied casually, “If we’re going to use the excuse of a geological disaster, then let’s commit to it all the way. What else can we do? I’m not doing much—just sent some people with relics overseas to cause some ‘natural’ disasters in empty places. You know, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, sinking islands, tsunamis—stuff like that. We all live on the same planet, right? Gotta share both the blessings and the hardships.”

“You’re ruthless…” Long Xiruo massaged her own forehead.

But as the True Dragon of Divine Land, her jurisdiction didn’t extend beyond it. Outside Divine Land, none of it was her concern.

“Hopefully, these foolish humans learn to restrain themselves… Instead of signing some stupid Kyoto Protocol and treating it like a joke. If a Dragon Fiend appears again, good luck finding someone else to block it for them.”

“You little…” Long Xiruo paused, then smiled and walked over to Su Zijun, rubbing her head. “You’ve grown up.”

“Get lost!”

“What’s the big deal? It’s not like I haven’t done it before.” Long Xiruo rubbed her head even more vigorously.

“Old hag, I swear—if you touch my head again, I’ll make sure you can never lift yours ever again!!”

Amid the commotion, a figure slowly drifted down from the sky… It was Luo Pianxian, holding a basket as she gently landed. “Sister Dragon, Sister Zijun, Mr. Gui Ying, you’ve worked so hard! Take a break and eat something, okay? I brought lots of food! Here, this blood ginseng soup is to restore vitality—it’s for Sister Dragon. These are the peacock blood buns you asked for, Sister Zijun… and this is the vegetarian dish for Mr. Gui Ying!”

“Mm… not bad, not bad. Haven’t seen you in a while, and you’re all soft and chubby.” Su Zijun squinted at Luo Pianxian, nodding in approval. “Looks like you’ve been raised well.”

“Hee hee.” Luo Pianxian giggled.

Long Xiruo immediately rolled her eyes and quietly started sipping her blood ginseng soup. After handing out the food, the little butterfly sat down obediently with a yogurt in hand and began reading a book.

“What are you doing?” Long Xiruo glanced over.

Luo Pianxian blinked and said, “Hmm, I haven’t been reading lately, and exams are coming up! If I don’t review, I might fail!”

You're probably the only one still thinking about exams right now… The world’s in chaos, Daoist and Demon factions are uneasy, the New Nation leadership’s stance is unclear… Maybe having a simple brain isn’t such a bad thing?

“Oh right! Sister Dragon, you’ve lived so long—you must know a lot, right? How do you read this word?” Luo Pianxian ran over holding her book.

The True Dragon of Divine Land, who had feared the butterfly with eternally developing curves was about to ask some weird math problem, sighed in relief upon hearing it was just about a word… Just a word? Easy.

“Sister Dragon, how do you read this word?” Luo Pianxian opened her book and earnestly asked, “Mother and daughter… what? Is it ‘well’? But why is there an extra dot in the middle?”

“Oh, this word is pronounced—” Long Xiruo instinctively opened her mouth.

——“I still want you, Lady Long, to be even more beautiful, more attractive to me, more heart-stirring… Of course, Miss Su Zijun too.”

Rip—!

“Ah! My book…”

The textbook in the True Dragon’s hand was suddenly torn in two!!

“You scumbag!! Keep dreaming!!” The True Dragon of Divine Land shot into the sky, the earth trembling and cracking beneath her, and a giant fire pillar erupted from the ground. “Die, die, die!! Hahahahaha! Hahahaha!!! Hahaha!!!!”

“Oh no, oh no! Sister Zijun, Sister Dragon’s gone crazy!!” Luo Pianxian ran over to Su Zijun, clutching the torn book with a terrified face, shaking her awake.

Su Zijun yawned, sat up, and peeked from under her sunglasses. “Isn’t she full of energy? What help does she still need… I’m going back to my beauty sleep. Don’t bother me.”

——Die, die, die!!! Hahahahaha!! Hahahaha!!!

In the quiet valley, the terrifying laughter of the True Dragon of Divine Land echoed continuously.

(End of Chapter)