Can You Count from One to Nine?

But he had barely taken two steps before Ice Empress blocked his path. Her hearing was excellent, and she had clearly heard him say, "You have a daughter too." There was no one else here—Ice Empress, Snow Empress, Ye Qing, and Gang Zong.

Gang Zong was a boar, Ye Qing was a grown man, and Snow Empress was much taller than her. So didn't that make the daughter another her? Being made a generation younger than Ye Qing for no reason naturally displeased her.

What displeased her even more was this: if she was the daughter and Ye Qing was the father, then who was the mother?

There was no doubt it referred to Snow Empress. Snow Empress belonged to her, Ice Empress. How could she possibly be a pair with that bastard? That was the real reason Ice Empress had stopped him so unhappily.

"Stop right there, human. Explain to this Empress who you mean by his daughter." Her tone carried unmistakable arrogance. In Ice Empress's eyes, humans were weak creatures. Her current attitude was only possible because Ye Qing had taught her a lesson before; for her now, being able to communicate normally with humans was already tremendous progress.

The man was extremely anxious when he saw his path blocked. He had just handed his daughter over to them, so it was inconvenient for him to resort to force. As he spoke, he tried to circle around Ice Empress.

"Girl, move aside! There's no time!"

Ice Empress was just about to demand who he was calling a girl when rustling sounds came from the fields. Rows of corn collapsed, and a group of people clad in standard armor emerged from within.

"Damn it, they're stuck too tightly. These bastards."

"Hey, you—" Ice Empress was about to make her next move, but Ye Qing stopped her. He also wanted to see what exactly was going on. It was the middle of the night in the wilderness, yet they had somehow ended up in this situation.

However, once Ice Empress moved aside, the other man stopped running. Instead, he summoned his Martial Soul. White, yellow, yellow—a thoroughly ordinary commoner's configuration. Judging by his age, he was merely the most ordinary sort of Spirit Master, which made this seem unlike a conflict among nobles.

The man's Martial Soul appeared to be an ordinary Green Serpent. He even used a Spirit Skill on the group that had just emerged, seemingly afraid they would fail to notice him.

After making sure he had been spotted, he immediately ran into the distance.

The leader casually waved a hand and blocked the attack, then pointed at several people behind him.

"You few, go after him."

"Hmph. Trying to be clever and only exposing yourself. Your Soul Power is nearly exhausted, yet you still deliberately provoked us. You clearly wanted to draw our attention away. Then there's no doubt you people are suspicious. Surround them."

With a wave of his arm, the remaining people surrounded Ye Qing and the others. Before anything else could happen on this side, the man who had fled was already captured and brought back, then thrown beside Ye Qing.

"Mister, that won't do. You only ran a few steps before getting caught again."

"Cough, cough. Sorry, young man. I dragged you into this."

"Dragged me into it? Not really. I'm just curious—what play are you all putting on in the middle of the night? Could someone explain?"

But no one paid him any attention. The captured man had already fallen unconscious, while his pursuers were moving toward the carriage. It seemed they intended to search the compartment.

"I'd advise you to stay away from that side. Otherwise, it might end very badly for you."

"Kid, what nonsense are you talking about? Driving a pig cart down the road in the middle of the night—do you really think you're somebody? Spirit Hall is conducting official business. Uninvolved parties had better not interfere. If the inspection checks out, we'll naturally let you leave."

"Can you count from one to nine?"

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. I'm just not very good at math. Why don't you help me count how many Spirit Rings I have?" Ye Qing then revealed his Spirit Rings before humans for the first time. There was no spectacle of nine red rings—just an utterly ordinary arrangement: two yellow, two purple, four black, and one red. The striking red glow appeared in the night sky.

Following the usual cliché, Ye Qing should have simply watched, then Ice Empress would probably attack directly. These people would reveal their backing, only to discover that everyone on Ye Qing's side was a nine-ringed Titled Douluo. They would be terrified and begin begging for mercy, while the outcome remained uncertain.

Since that was the case, he might as well show his Spirit Rings right away. Ye Qing did not know the identities of that father and daughter. What if they were fugitives? He had no desire to get involved in someone else's conflict for no reason.

"Now I advise you to stop. What do you think?" In truth, Ye Qing was saving these people. Snow Empress's calmness depended on who she was dealing with, not to mention Ice Empress. Most Spirit Beasts on the continent held no goodwill toward humans. If they had not promised Ye Qing otherwise, these people might have already become ice sculptures.

"Everyone, stop!" He did not even need to shout it. The people over there had already stopped what they were doing. As members of Spirit Hall, they were perfectly familiar with the common knowledge of the Spirit Master world.

"Your Excellency..." Although Spirit Hall's influence was rapidly expanding, he had no right to act arrogantly before a Titled Douluo. As the pinnacle of existence, every Titled Douluo was worth recruiting. If he angered this one today, then even if he somehow escaped unscathed, once word reached the higher-ups, they would not hesitate to trade one member for a Titled Douluo's goodwill. His direct superior was only a Spirit Douluo, after all.

"Looks like you can count after all."

"Of course, Your Excellency. Please don't tease me. I'm carrying out official duties, so I ask that Your Excellency make this convenient for us."

"In the middle of the night, are these two such vicious criminals that you need such a large operation? Tell me honestly. I won't make things difficult for you."

"..." Seeing the other party start digging into the matter, he felt a headache coming on. Even he found the reason for this arrest baffling. Still, he took the salary of his superiors and carried out their orders; he was only following instructions from above. But it did not matter. He was merely an ordinary low-level member. He had not lived long enough to try taking people from a Titled Douluo. A Titled Douluo's appearance was almost always deceptive, and their age was difficult to judge. Many possessed strange temperaments because of their Martial Souls. This one looked ordinary enough, but who knew what peculiar disposition he might have?

"Orders from above. Search for and arrest all Spirit Masters with snake-type Martial Souls who are not registered with Spirit Hall, especially poisonous types such as Bamboo Green Snakes. May Your Excellency allow us to take these two away?"

Ye Qing did not answer immediately. Instead, he began thinking. Xiao Qing had previously made a deal with that doctor and given him some of her Venom. Ye Qing felt there had to be some hidden connection. In the end, he gave the Spirit Hall members the answer they least wanted to hear.

"No. They have committed no wrongdoing, yet you want to take them away solely because of their Martial Souls? I do not agree. And judging by his earlier attitude, you probably did not tell me the whole truth. Search and arrest? I think your orders are to kill them. This is your last chance. Explain the cause and effect clearly, or I will take special measures."

"I'll explain..." Spirit Hall had only recently been established, and few people in the local Branch Halls were truly loyal to it. Most had joined either to borrow its influence or because they had been forced to. Unlike in later generations, when most Spirit Masters registered with Spirit Hall, Spirit Masters at present were different. For this man, attempting to deceive Ye Qing had already been the greatest loyalty he could show Spirit Hall. Since Ye Qing had noticed the problem, there was naturally no need for him to risk his life for Spirit Hall.