<b>Chapter 386: Mysterious Lady In Blue</b>
“The Sacred Nether World is essentially a ghastly realm. Perhaps there are monstrous ghosts buried beneath the ground, so even if the Thousand Islands are made from the ninety-nine ghosts, it is nothing too special.” Li Qiye replied with a smile.
There weren't many in this world that knew more about the Thousand Islands' origin than Li Qiye; of course, the existence lying below the earth did not count!
“This is not the scariest part!” The lady in blue blinked her spirited eyes and softly said: “Their bodies became the islands, and their hair turned into the Ghost Locust Trees. The resin of the Ghost Locust Trees is actually the cursed blood of these ghosts, so anyone who is infected with this blood will have to suffer the curse.”
“Uncle, you have to be careful because if you get cursed, the legend says that you will turn into stone.” The lady gently smiled and said.
Li Qiye couldn't help but chuckle at the lady's story.
The lady in blue couldn't restrain herself: “Uncle, why are you laughing? This is a real legend, not just some made-up tale that I thought up on the spot.”
Li Qiye looked at her and leisurely said: “Curse… Do you know what the most terrifying curse in this world is?”
“What is it?” The lady in blue curiously shifted her head and looked at Li Qiye.
Li Qiye pointed at his face and cheerfully said: “The most terrifying curse in this world… is me! The curse of the ghosts is nothing. Even the curse from the high heavens — to me — is just like the drifting clouds, nothing more.”
“Uncle, you really can't deviate from your main profession. Just a few words and you have started boasting again.” The lady in blue couldn't help but reveal a very beautiful chuckle as she narrowed her pretty eyes. [1. She is saying that he is a braggart by profession.]
Li Qiye smilingly shook his head in response and stopped paying attention to her again. How could she know the secret regarding this matter?
“Uncle, what are you harvesting so much resin for?” The lady did not give up and kept on following Li Qiye. She was clearly older than him, but she wanted to tease him, so she kept on referring to him as “uncle” over and over.
Li Qiye stopped and looked at her: “Do you really want to know what I want to do?”
“I'm all ears!” The lady in blue took a dignified pose, causing her to look very elegant. Others would not dare to bear impure thoughts in her sight.
Li Qiye narrowed his eyes to glare at her. This caused the lady's heart to jump since she felt a dangerous aura. Right now, her intuition was warning her about the danger that emanated from Li Qiye. It was as if he was a wild prehistoric beast and she was only a helpless lamb being preyed upon by him!
“It is not too difficult to find out the secret!” Li Qiye said with a smile: “I am a very benevolent individual that will happily share secrets with others. How about this, I am in need of a faded old wife to cook for me. You can stay behind as a cook, then you might be able to find the mysteries within.” [2. A faded old wife is an older married woman who is letting go of herself for a multitude of reasons. Whether it be age or because she is already married so she no longer cares about her appearance or even just the burden and stress of housework. This phrase also implies an unhappy marriage due to the fault of the woman. Husbands would use this term to describe their wives as their love fades. Their complexion would turn yellow instead of the more desirable white.]
Upon hearing this, the lady couldn't help but touch her face a bit. Girls were always sensitive about appearances, so she coquettishly said: “I am not a faded old woman!”
“There's not much difference.” Li Qiye casually said: “Even if you aren't one now, your age isn't too far off. Stay behind and be a nice housewife. Cooking for me is not unbecoming of you.”
The lady in blue suddenly became speechless and also felt an impulse to become crazy! Even though a heaven's proud daughter like her didn't care for her appearance too much, she was nearly driven mad by Li Qiye's words today.
With her face and her figure, even if she was not number one in the Distant Cloud region, she was still among the top ranks. She was absolutely a great beauty that was capable of toppling kingdoms and cities, but now, she was only a faded old woman in Li Qiye's eyes.
The more enraging matter was that Li Qiye essentially didn't think anything of her. With her talents and background, she was definitely the most famous heaven's proud daughter right now.
At the Distant Cloud, she was absolutely number one amongst the younger generation; it didn't matter what characteristic people would rank the young ones with. Normally, countless young prodigies would wish to accompany her during a trip. Many of them desperately tried their best just to have a chance to see her face.
Today, Li Qiye spoke as if she was nothing and even wanted her to cook like a mortal. And the worst part was that he made it sound as if cooking for him was an honorable deed!
“It is fine if you don't want to.” Li Qiye then continued his business without giving her any consideration.
“Fine, I'll just stay then!” The lady in blue took a deep breath and finally managed to endure her anger.
Li Qiye gently waved his sleeve and said: “It is getting late, so you should go back first. Make a good lunch for me so that I can eat once I'm back.”
The lady in blue was shivering with anger; a heaven's proud daughter like her was now his servant! But she still managed to contain her impulse to go mad.
'Have to endure, must endure… It won't be too late to slowly teach this brat a lesson later on. Then, we'll see if he can still be so arrogant!' In the end, she went back to cook for Li Qiye. If outsiders knew of this matter, eyes would definitely roll on the floor.
At noon, Li Qiye went back to his island and immediately smelled something burning. After noticing that there were a few burnt dishes on the table, he shook his head and said: “Oh my, your cooking skills are much worse than a faded old woman's.”
The lady almost vomited blood from anger. A proud girl like her actually had to cook for someone. Doing such a lowly thing was not something she wanted to do.
Nevertheless, the food might be a little burnt, but at least it was still made with her effort! Not to mention that she couldn't be blamed. Ever since she started cultivating in her sect, she never had to participate in such trivial duties. It was already excellent that she could make something like this.
“Little Brat, if you don't want to eat, then throw it away!” She could no longer bear it and shouted.
Li Qiye looked at her. He calmly tapped on the table and said with a leisurely smile: “Pay attention to your image, your image. What kind of girl screams like a tigress all of a sudden when something goes wrong? Maintain the appearance and attitude of a lady… Do you even know what a lady is? I hope I don't have to teach you this!”
The lady in blue almost died from exploding as she angrily glared at Li Qiye.
“Well, it seems that you did put in some effort, so I will have a taste of your dishes. Get the rice.” With this, Li Qiye handed his bowl over to the lady in blue.
The lady in blue felt like beating this brat who thought way too highly of himself.
Meanwhile, Li Qiye looked at her and smiled: “So? You are the one who's willing to stay behind and be a housewife; a cultivator should have a firm will, don't give up halfway.”
The lady in blue angrily fetched some rice for Li Qiye. If outsiders saw this scene, they would be in a state of disbelief. This was the fairy in the dreams of countless handsome young men who would fight each other just to earn her favor. However, their fairy, right now, had to cook for someone else and do all the tasks a housewife had to perform. She was even being bullied!
As Li Qiye was carefully chewing, the lady in blue had some expectations as she looked at Li Qiye. In the end, it was her first time cooking so she felt quite accomplished and wanted to ask Li Qiye about the taste.
“It is okay, it's not hard to eat!” Eventually, Li Qiye smilingly evaluated her meal.
“Throw it away if you don't want to eat it!” The lady's temper flared up again as she gave him a stern glare. She then ignored Li Qiye as she sat to the side with the appearance of a wronged daughter-in-law. [3. One of the most common Asian tropes is that new wives would be bullied by their husband's mother/family.]
Li Qiye couldn't help but chuckle. Then, he shook his head: “Little Girl, don't think you are being treated unfairly. I'm only keeping you around because I think highly of you! If I wished to recruit maids, then forget about the great powers in the Distant Cloud, even the goddesses and fairies of your Ancestral Domain would have to be my maids.”
The lady in blue lifted her head and glared at Li Qiye before she snappily retorted: “Hey, Uncle, your boasting is becoming even more outrageous. Do you even know what the Ancestral Domain represents in the Sacred Nether World?”
“What does it represent?” Li Qiye lazily said: “It's only a bunch of things that are neither human nor ghost hiding underground, not daring to come out. If their real great ghost could come out, then it might be a bit amazing. If not, then they are no big deal in my eyes!”
“Less bragging please!” The lady in blue angrily said.
Li Qiye only smiled and didn't say anything else as he continued to eat in a carefree manner.
The lady looked at Li Qiye and didn't know what to say for a while. Now, she was completely lost. Her initial intention of judging his identity was now completely muddled with confusion.
There was nothing strange or special about this brat. Regarding geniuses, talents, and prodigies, she had seen many of them.
However, this brat before her simply could not compare to geniuses. His arrogant tone was just out of this world! It was as if nothing could get into his sight despite this world being so vast.
Right now, she didn't understand where this guy's confidence was coming from at all.
He didn't seem to be ignorant to the point of being arrogant, but if he wasn't ignorant, then he should know better and not have so much self-confidence.