Chapter 3023
Chapter 3023 – Why Must You Pretend Not to Know Me?
Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
On the streets of Half-Dragon City, everyone was silent.
When Li Jiao turned around again, the cold expression was back on his face. He approached that sinister and vicious-looking man, step by step.
The sinister and vicious-looking man was dizzy after being slapped in the face and when he finally got his bearings again, he saw that Li Jiao was standing in front of him all of a sudden. Thus, he became angry out of shame and opened his mouth to curse at Li Jiao, “How dare you hit me!?”
Li Jiao’s eyes drooped. Then, he lashed out again. A crisp slapping sound rang out, and the other side of that man’s face swelled as a result.
The double suppression from their bloodline and their cultivation left that man with no power to resist; thus, he could only take the beatings passively.
“You bastard! How dare…”
Before he finished speaking, Li Jiao smashed another fist into his face. He was hit so hard that his skin tore off.
“You…”
*Hong…*
Another punch slammed into his face.
The surrounding onlookers were as silent as cicadas in winter, feeling a chill running down from the tops of their heads to the bottoms of their soles.
Li Jiao was extremely furious and ignored everything around him as he rushed forward and pinned that sinister and vicious-looking man. Then, he began punching that man’s face repeatedly with both fists. The sounds of punching rang out continuously, so much so that that man couldn’t even get another word out of his mouth.
Although Li Jiao appeared ruthless, he also knew his limits. This was an unfamiliar place after all and even if he wanted to help those two vent their anger, he did not kill that man. Therefore, that sinister and vicious-looking man’s life was in no danger whatsoever even though he suffered such a terrible and miserable beating.
“Friend… It would do you good to be forgiving. Besides, this person… Isn’t somebody you can afford to offend.”
A voice suddenly floated into Li Jiao’s ears. Somebody had sent a Divine Sense transmission directly to him, causing him to frown and reduce the force behind his attacks considerably. Most of his rage had calmed down after beating that man up, so he was no longer as unreasonable as he had been previously.
The woman he rescued finally came back to her senses and screamed, “Stop hitting him! Stop hitting him! Sir, please stop!”
She wasn’t pleading on behalf of that sinister and vicious-looking man. How could she possibly plead on his behalf after suffering such humiliation at his hands? Her daughter even saw the entire scene! She was brimming with a thirst for revenge, but she was worried about Li Jiao. If Li Jiao killed that man, he would not walk away from this incident alive; thus, she was filled with the guilt and anxiety of dragging him into her problems.
In response, Li Jiao punched the sinister and vicious-looking man two more times before stopping and coldly snorted, “Worthless dog!”
The woman took the opportunity to run forward and clutched at his arm as she begged, “Sir, please stop! Stop hitting him!”
Li Jiao got up, looked at the sinister and vicious-looking man lying on the ground coldly, and snarled ferociously, “I’ll let you off this time. If this happens again, I will rip your corpse into ten thousand pieces.”
At this moment, the face of the sinister and vicious-looking man was covered in blood and his expression was literally deformed. Nobody knew whether it was because he was feeling incredibly embarrassed or he was actually severely injured, but he lay motionlessly on the ground as if he was dead.
Li Jiao kicked the sinister and vicious-looking man once again before turning to look at that woman with a slightly complicated expression and asked, “Are you alright?”
The woman shook her head, not daring to meet his gaze. Then, she gently let go of his arm. She was also an Emperor Realm Master. Thus, she was only sightly injured despite being subjected to that torture just now.
“Good,” Li Jiao nodded.
Lowering her head, the woman bit her red lips lightly before uttering, “Many thanks for lending a helping hand, Sir. But… You should leave quickly. You can’t stay in Half-Dragon City anymore.”
Li Jiao frowned at those words. Whether it was this woman’s current reaction or the message from before, both were conveying a clear meaning. Li Jiao was no fool, so how could he not realize that the man he had beaten up was somebody influential?
[I’ve really done it now. This is going to be troublesome.] Li Jiao couldn’t help feeling a little uneasy. Even so, he did not reveal his uneasiness in front of the woman. Besides, he would still make the same choice even if he was asked to choose again. It wasn’t because he had a gallant and compassionate nature; it was just…
“Are you going to keep addressing me in that manner?” He looked at the woman and sighed softly.
The woman’s tender body trembled and continued to play dumb as she asked, “Sir… What do you mean by that?”
“Ha…” Shaking his head, Li Jiao did not continue pestering her on that topic and simply said, “Come with me.”
After saying that, he led the way.
The woman hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she called her daughter over and held her hand before following behind him.
Walking into the teahouse from before and heading to the second floor, Li Jiao immediately saw Yang Kai smiling at him strangely. He couldn’t help blushing furiously in response, knowing that his impulsive actions just now had made him seem like a fool. He was a Third-Order Emperor, as well as a Palace Master, so it was indeed rare for him to lose his composure in such a manner.
Without saying anything, Li Jiao returned to his original seat. Yang Kai pushed a cup of tea over to him which he downed in a single gulp with a grim expression and remained silent.
Meanwhile, the mother-daughter pair stood next to each other happily. If one were to look at them carefully, one would notice that they had many similarities. Moreover, they were both extraordinarily pretty. The woman had been injured, and she even had some blood in the corner of her mouth, but that did not take away from her beauty.
Li Jiao remained silent. Similarly, the woman said nothing either. She simply stood there with her head lowered as if she had done something wrong. On the other hand, the girl studied Yang Kai and Li Jiao curiously, although she was relatively more curious about Li Jiao as he had rescued her and her mother; thus, she was more cordial and grateful toward him.
“Why don’t you sit down and talk?” Yang Kai smiled at them slightly.
The woman shook her head and whispered, “I have received your kindness, Sir. It’s enough for me to remain standing.”
Li Jiao was frustrated when he heard what she said and took another sip of tea.
She continued, “Two Sirs, you should leave Half-Dragon City as soon as possible. You must not stay here for long.”
Yang Kai asked, “Who is he?”
She answered, “He isn’t anything important, but… He can communicate with the other side.”
She did not explain clearly as it seemed to be a taboo of some sort. Seeing the indifferent expressions on both Yang Kai and Li Jiao’s faces though, she anxiously turned to Li Jiao and explained, “Sir, you really have to leave soon. It will be too late if you don’t leave now.”
Li Jiao turned his head and looked at her in annoyance and quickly snapped back, “Are you going to continue pretending not to know me?”
As soon as those words left his mouth, she immediately lowered her head again and did not dare to look at him. The girl next to her widened her eyes curiously and stared at her mother. Then, she turned to Li Jiao and asked, “Do you know my mother?”
Li Jiao snorted, “You have to ask her yourself!”
Li Jiao seemed to be a little angry; however, even he did not know why he was feeling upset.
In response, the girl innocently turned her head, “Mother, do you know this man?”
The woman remained silent, but her tender shoulders began shaking softly. Her tears dripped down like a string of broken pearls as she looked like she was reminiscing about something sad.
“Mother…” The girl’s eyes reddened at the sight, and she reached out to hug her.
“Why are you crying? So many years have passed, yet you’re still the same…” Li Jiao felt speechless. Knowing that his words had been a little too harsh just now, he suddenly felt bad. Unfortunately, he did not know how to comfort her so he fidgeted anxiously for a bit before turning to Yang Kai for help.
Yang Kai smiled, “Elder Sister, please have a seat.”
Although they were both in the First-Order Emperors, this woman was certainly older than him so it was not wrong of him to address her as ‘Elder Sister’. Furthermore, she seemed to be an old friend of Li Jiao’s, so it was only natural for him to show some courtesy to give Li Jiao some face. After all, Li Jiao had gone out of his way to play the role of a hero just now.
Sure enough; Yang Kai’s words immediately caused Li Jiao’s face to turn a brilliant shade of red. Nevertheless, he sternly ordered, “Sit. Why are you just standing there? If people didn’t know better they might think that I am bullying you!”
The woman continued weeping quietly. Even so, she sat down with her daughter. She probably felt that it was unsightly of her to stand there and cry. Her emotions were all over the place. Nobody knew if it was because of the harassment she received earlier or her meeting Li Jiao again after so many years; in any case, her tears flowed without stopping.
Seeing that it wasn’t convenient for her to talk at the moment, Yang Kai decided to turn to look at Li Jiao instead and secretly communicated with him via Divine Sense, “Do you know her?”
He had guessed as much before Li Jiao even made a move. Besides, what happened afterwards gave him various indications that Li Jiao and this woman were old acquaintances. It was just that he found it strangely coincidental for Li Jiao to meet somebody he knew in this weird place called ‘Half-Dragon City’.
Li Jiao nodded lightly in response, his expression becoming complicated again as memories flashed through his eyes.
Yang Kai did not inquire any further. It wasn’t easy to ask about something so private and he just couldn’t shake the feeling that the relationship between Li Jiao and this woman was not an ordinary one.
“Palace Master Yang, have you ever heard of the Sect, Dream Gate?” Li Jiao was silent for a long time before he answered through Divine Sense without any warning.
“Dream Gate?” Yang Kai pondered for a moment and nodded, “Yes, I have.”
Dream Gate was also located in the Northern Territory, but it was nothing compared to Fire Dragon Palace, Full Sky Sect, Seeking Passion Sect, or Ice Heart Valley. That was because there were no Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters in that Sect. The strongest among them was merely a Second-Order Emperor. Therefore, Yang Kai did not have a thorough understanding of this Sect even though he had heard of it before. Hearing Li Jiao mentioning it at this time, he immediately understood that this woman had something to do with Dream Gate.
Li Jiao continued, “Dream Gate’s Sect Master, Lu Qiu, is only a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master. Although his cultivation is not the greatest, it is not bad either. Furthermore, Dream Gate is a Sect with a long history. Sect Master Lu Qiu might not have many achievements under his belt, but he has been able to maintain the inheritance passed down by his ancestors well. The point is, he has many children. In particular, his third child is very beautiful and very famous. Everybody knew her as Lu San Niang.”
At this point, he turned to look at the woman who was crying softly next to them.
“It was probably around three hundred years ago, I was out travelling when I encountered a group of evildoers committing heinous crimes. I’m sure you are familiar with such incidents, Palace Master Yang. Not knowing the circumstances, I did not dare to interfere in the matter lightly, but just then, a lone woman decided to intercede on behalf of justice. Her strength wasn’t bad, but in the end, she was just a Third-Order Dao Source Realm at the time. She was surrounded by danger on all sides, so I saved her from her predicament and became acquainted with her. That woman… Was none other than Lu San Niang of Dream Gate. I am not afraid of being laughed at, Palace Master Yang, but the lecher in me was tempted by her beauty. After getting to know her for some time, I learned that she had a favourable impression of me, and therefore, I went to Dream Gate to ask for her hand.”
Li Jiao was born lecherous. Combined with the Dragon Clan’s blood flowing in him, it was only natural for him to be charmed by Lu San Niang’s country destroying beauty.