The night grew deeper, and the prefectural city of Clear River sank back into peace. Near the port to the city’s east, the shining fishing boats glowed with the stars in the sky.

  The two banks of the river were lit with specks of firelight, moving through the darkness. All of the disciples from the main branch of the Iron Fist school searched along the riverbank.

  Liu Hong supported himself with a weeping willow and gazed at the pitch-black water of the Clear river silently. Huang Binghu kept his distance and stood nearby, just as stern.

  “I’ve been useless. I’ve made trouble for master.” Li Long kneeled on the ground.

  “I’m just an old bag of bones. If I die, then I die. It’s just a pity that your senior brother and his family…” Liu Hong let out a great sigh, helping Li Long to his feet. “This isn’t your fault! It’s all just fate!”


  “The heavens protect the blessed like senior brother, and he’s accompanied by his martial arts, so he’ll definitely be fine.” Li Long comforted him.

  A while later, a call rang out from the darkness, “I found them! I found them!”


  A person from the Drawn Reins village had been saved by a fishing boat and was found by the searchers, which gave Huang Binghu some relief.

  Very soon, the lucky survivors were found one by one. There were a little more than they had imagined.

  Several kilometers downstream, Wang Lei emerged from the river water with the half-dead Ye Dachuan in his arms. After Hua Chenglu tossed them into the water, he immediately held his breath and sank to the bottom of the lake.

  Originally, these regular locusts had been acting completely out of instinct. They would not enter the water. Meanwhile, the Clear River prefecture was named after a river, so it was littered with river systems. Basically everyone knew how to swim, which was at least something fortunate despite all the misfortune.

  Afterwards, Li Qingshan captured the locust Daemon Commander, and the Soaring Locust King ordered the locust army to attack the city without any regard, which allowed them to scrape by. However, there were still a lot who had drowned, been eaten, or were still missing.

  Wang Lei had personally seen Ye Dachuan’s wife bobbing up and down on the surface of the water when the locusts ate her head, as well as someone unlucky from the Drawn Reins village who a locust daemon plucked out from the water. In the blink of an eye, his entire head had vanished.

  “As long as you’re still alive! As long as you’re still alive!” Liu Hong’s eyes were misty, grabbing Wang Lei firmly by the shoulders. He had no children, so Wang Lei was basically no different from his own son.

  “Master, senior brother, it’s cold outside, so you better get on the carriage!” Then Li Long called out to Huang Binghu in the distance, “Village chief Huang, would you like to travel with us?”


  “That won’t be necessary. Thank you, fellow. If there’s anything I can help you with in the future, just mention it!”


  Huang Binghu thanked Li Long before leaving the port with the rest of his clansmen, vanishing into the streets of the city.

  Li Long sent Liu Hong onto the carriage and was about to follow along when his ears twitched. He seemed to hear something. He lay down on the ground without any regard for his identity, bringing his ear to the earth to listen quietly. The sound became louder as a result. Gradually, he made out a familiar buzzing.

  Li Long stood up in disbelief and watched as darkness swallowed the stars on the horizon. He mobilised all of his spiritual qi and roared out at the top of his lungs, “Locust plague!”


  Liu Changqing had just returned from the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. He was in a very good mood and slightly tipsy, currently enjoying himself with calligraphy when he suddenly heard this sound. His hand that held the brush immediately jolted, allowing the ink to spread across the paper.

  Ripples appeared on the lake, which made the moonlight ripple with it.

  The lake was not exactly a large one. Li Qingshan arrived at the bottom of the lake very soon, entering the dwelling hidden there.

  Qiu Haitang currently had her legs crossed as she meditated away. She had her back towards him. She said without even looking back, “Li Qingshan, why have you come?”


  “If I recall correctly, I have a place here too. Your man has returned after facing hardships and dangers, so shouldn’t you get up and receive him at the very least?” Li Qingshan arrived behind her with a smile and brought his hand around her slender waist.

  “My man’s surname is not Li!” Crimson light sprang forth from Qiu Haitang and blocked Li Qingshan’s hand.

  “What’s the difference? Though, since you prefer it.” Li Qingshan’s appearance changed. His teeth lengthened and sharpened as his scarlet hair draped down. His arms passed through the red light forcefully, pulling her into his arms. He said beside her ear, “Is this a little better?”


  “Let go!” Qiu Haitang stiffened. “You don’t care about me, so why come?”


  “Because I care about you!” Li Qingshan smiled.

  “Piss off!” Qiu Haitang shouted.

  “I’m kidding. I clearly told you to contact me when you emerged. You…”


  “Get out of here!” Qiu Haitang erupted with light, dyeing the entire underwater dwelling red. The water on the surface rippled with red light too.

  Li Qingshan knew that now was not the time to reason with her. He apologised right by her ear and included some sweet talk. Sure enough, the red light gradually receded and faded. She no longer resisted him so violently. Sniffing her faint fragrance and embracing her soft, gentle body, he felt even more intoxicated.

  He kissed her on the cheek through the black veil, only to see something trickle down from the corner of her eyes. She was actually crying softly, which left him taken aback. Cultivators did not go through such great emotional upheaval so easily. Suddenly, he experienced a feeling that he could not describe, and all of his desires vanished. He asked softly, “What’s wrong? Haven’t I returned? Why are you crying?”


  “I know you’re lying to me,” Qiu Haitang grumbled.

  “Alright, I admit that I did mess around a little, but I’m definitely not lying to you!” Li Qingshan said. He could not be an infatuated romantic and liked to do as he pleased, but he was still a human after all. He had feelings.

  “Then how much did you mess around in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain?” Qiu Haitang asked.

  Qiu Haitang had wanted to contact Li Qingshan the moment she emerged and returned to the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. However, while she was gone, Li Qingshan had served as the owner of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain for a period, which was basically no different from letting a monkey into a peach orchard. He had indulged himself quite a bit. That was commonplace among cultivators, but she was the master of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, so she basically found this unforgivable. Out of rage, she decided to never have any more contact with him again.

  “Cough cough, that was just fun in the moment. There were no strings attached.” Li Qingshan rubbed his nose, feeling rather embarrassed.

  “Did you know?” Qiu Haitang’s voice became fleeting.

  “Hmm?”


  “I’ve always been waiting for you, waiting for you to lie to me, to coax me!” Qiu Haitang turned around and gazed at Li Qingshan with misty eyes.

  Li Qingshan was very touched, pulling her into his arms and consoling her softly.

  Qiu Haitang pressed her face against his chest. She seemed to make some kind of decision inside before hugging his waist forcefully.

  The moonlight penetrated the lake water, landing on the crystal ceiling and undulating with dim, blue light. It was dim and serene.

  A while later, Li Qingshan removed the black veil on her. It was an unadorned face with faint streaks of tears, but she was as delicate and charming as flowering crabapples. She stole his breath, feeling a little amazed. He smiled. “You’ve become even prettier again! No wonder you have to wear the veil!”


  “This is all for your sake!” Qiu Haitang said with absolute seriousness.

  Qiu Haitang had not wasted these years. Instead, she practised the Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge arduously. Perhaps because of her compatibility with the cultivation method, she advanced rather quickly. She was beaming with beauty.

  She had become even more confident with the usage of that “technique” as well.

  Li Qingshan was even more touched, lowering his head to kiss her soft, red lips. Following that, he lifted her up and walked towards the stone bed layered with thick furs. Originally, he thought she would put up a struggle out of embarrassment, but she actually curled up in his arms without budging at all, as docile as a cat.

  There was another series of intimate contact and care on the stone bed. Qiu Haitang’s face reddened, her cloud-like black hair draped down, and her full chest heaved gently as her black dress became a little messy.

  “It’s not like your man has died. Dressing like this is just a little too ominous, so why don’t you…” Li Qingshan said that as he gently grabbed her waistband.

  Qiu Haitang became even redder. She shut her eyes firmly and did not resist.

  Li Qingshan grinned, waiting for the beauty to disrobe herself, only to see Qiu Haitang’s face change. He could not help but ask, “What’s wrong?”


  “Someone is attacking the prefectural city, probably the Soaring Locust King. I need to rush back. The protective formation around the city can’t go without someone controlling it!”


  Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and pressed down on Qiu Haitang’s shoulders. “Wait right here for me. I’ll be right back.”


  “But…”


  “No buts. This is a matter for men!”


  With a boom, a great splash erupted in the lake. Li Qingshan unfolded his wings and charged right into the atmospheric wind layer. His face was extremely twisted and vicious. He had truly become enraged this time. Any man would become tempted to commit murder when they were interrupted at a time like this.

  Reaching high into the air, Li Qingshan summoned the Demon Suppression Tower in his right hand and asked the locust Daemon Commander inside, “Soaring Locust King, is this you again?”


  “How’s that, Li Qingshan? You didn’t expect this, did you? In the language of you humans, that would be called a second surprise attack! Do you think I’ve been frightened just from losing some clones?” the Soaring Locust King said complacently.

  From the moment Li Qingshan demonstrated his startling strength and captured the locust Daemon Commander, the Soaring Locust King had already begun planning the second attack.

  Sure enough, he had grasped the opportunity. After dealing with such a large swarm of locusts, everyone had relaxed, believing they had survived the danger.

  Qiu Haitang and Li Qingshan had left the prefectural city successively, leaving behind a protective formation under nobody’s control.

  “Come as many times as you’d like. I’d like to see how many of your clones I can kill!” Li Qingshan sneered.

  “I don’t need a few times. Just once is enough. I’d advise you to stop right here, or I’m going to carry out a massacre!” The Soaring Locust King warned.

  “Do you think you can threaten me?”


  “You don’t care about the lives of others, but what about the bitch from the Hawkwolf Guard? She must be your mistress. Do you know what I’m going to do once I capture her?”


  “Don’t you dare!” Li Qingshan widened his eyes in fury. He remembered how Hua Chenglu had said she wanted to return to the Hawkwolf Guard to continue working after the banquet. She was still in the prefectural city right now.

  “I said I would kill all of your friends and family, but if you have some sense about you and release all of my clones, I can consider sparing that bitch!”


  “Soaring Locust King, my surname is not Li if I don’t butcher you!”


  Li Qingshan’s deep voice was filled with cold killing intent, which even made the Soaring Locust King shiver. He wanted to say something more, but Li Qingshan had already stowed away the Demon Suppression Tower, unfurling his wings of wind and drawing in the atmospheric winds to fly off towards the prefectural city.

  “Commander Qian! Commander Qian! I’m Liu Changqing! The locust plague has come again! Please provide assistance immediately!” Liu Changqing sought reinforcements from the commandery city of Ruyi again.

  On a hill outside the prefectural city, a woman gently knocked the transmission talisman on her waist, and Liu Changqing’s voice came to a halt. She watched as the locusts swallowed the city with absolutely no intention of providing any assistance.

  ps: 我猜很多人会误会“夜袭”的意思^_^

  PS: I think a lot of people misunderstood the meaning of the “night attack”. ^_^