Upon stepping into the medicine shop, the Captain dumped the innkeeper onto the floor and walked over to Xu Qing. Throwing his arm over his shoulders, he grinned complacently.

“Little Ah Qing, do you want to know what happened when I met up with my ex-wife?”

Xu Qing ignored the Captain and looked at the innkeeper. Ling’er had already let loose an exclamation of shock and rushed over to him. Hoisting him up, she looked at him with an expression of mixed surprise and worry. She also stuffed some medicinal pills into his mouth.

“Papa!”

The medicinal pills were extraordinary in nature, and they even included some painquelling lozenges. It only took a moment for the innkeeper’s aura to stabilize.

Xu Qing could tell that he was suffering from nothing more than flesh wounds. It didn’t look like he had been attacked and beaten, more just jostled around. As for why he had been unconscious, it looked like a situation in which he succumbed to the invasion of the red moon curse. Later, the curse departed, but that just left behind room for more mutagen to enter him. Most relevant of all was that he had a special body constitution.

His constitution attracts mutagen.

Xu Qing could tell that now because of the level of his cultivation base. Thinking back, he remembered the time in Seven Blood Eyes when he had clashed with the innkeeper. The old man’s face had split open, revealing that he was actually a nonhuman. What was more, the old man’s inn was actually a grue. Later on, Xu Qing came to find that the innkeeper had an ability that could put grues to sleep and seal them. He had moved that inn to Seven Blood Eyes in order to sell it to the First Peak. Beyond that, the innkeeper had helped bolster the Captain’s seals in the early days. 1

That said, the innkeeper seemed like he was fine, so Xu Qing wasn’t too worried. Looking at the Captain, he saw a look of keen anticipation. Clearly, the Captain wanted Xu Qing to treat him like the Eldest Brother he was. So Xu Qing asked, “Did shē ask to get back together with you?”

The Captain’s eyes gleamed, and he threw his head back and laughed loudly. He had been waiting for Xu Qing to answer his question, that way he wouldn’t have to soliloquize. “You really are a smart one, little Junior Brother. You’re totally right. Shē might be a god, and shē might have made a promise that would have ensured I didn’t need to do any fighting for the next ten thousand years. BUT. In the end, I refused. My past-life affairs are gone with the wind. And in this life, I don’t care about riches or power. I just care about my Lady Peachy!”

The Captain was clearly trying to look sorrowful, but couldn’t prevent himself from smiling radiantly.

Xu Qing was well aware that the Captain often said the opposite of what was true. But the truth didn’t matter in this situation. As long as his Eldest Brother was happy, that was what mattered. And thus, Xu Qing plastered a look of surprise onto his face. That made the Captain even happier, and he was about to launch into some further bragging.

But then the innkeeper coughed up some impure vital energy and opened his eyes.

“Papa!” Ling’er said happily. Of course, she also looked a bit nervous. After all, when she parted with the innkeeper, she had snuck away without saying anything.

Xu Qing and everyone else looked over at the innkeeper.

At first, the old man looked confused, and had no idea where he was. But then he saw Ling’er, and emotion swelled within him.

“Ling’er! I finally found you!” He pulled his daughter into a hug and checked to make sure she was okay. Then he breathed a sigh of relief and looked around the shop. He saw the Captain. He saw Ningyan. He saw Wu Jianwu. And he saw Nethersprite.

The first three weren’t much of a surprise, but he was definitely not expecting to see Nethersprite. Then he spotted Xu Qing, and his eyes widened into a glare. He was about to start speaking, but then happened to notice the Heir Apparent sipping tea off to the side. The innkeeper’s eyes went wider, and then his pupils constricted. He instantly retracted all of his energy, and without even thinking about it, turned to his daughter.

“Ling’er, where are we?”

Seeing what her father was looking at, Ling’er quickly explained, “We’re in the Bitter Life Mountains, Papa. This is Grandpa Heir Apparent!”

The innkeeper hadn’t just arrived in the Moonrite Region. During the process of searching for Ling’er, he had naturally come to learn about the battle of gods. Though the names of Xu Qing and the Captain hadn’t been included in the story, he had obviously heard about the Moonrebel Congregation. And the Heir Apparent and his siblings had also been a part of the story. He also knew about the Bitter Life Mountains, and was well aware that they were now the core of the entire region. Ling’er’s words caused him to start blinking like mad.

Then Ling’er, hoping to brush over the fact that she had run off with Xu Qing, launched into a long explanation.

“Papa, things used to be really busy around here. We had Third Grandma and Fifth Grandma. There was also Eighth Grandpa, too. They all treated me really well. Oh right, we have a whole bunch of chickens in the backyard. I’ve been doing great here, Papa. Me and Big Bro Xu Qing opened this medicine shop together!”

The innkeeper felt like his mind was being struck by lightning. After all, the stories he had heard about the Bitter Life Mountains also mentioned that there was a medicine shop there that most people viewed as a holy land. Now that he was coming to find out the true story behind that medicine shop, he started shaking from head to toe.

“By the way, Papa, it’s very safe here. I’ve been totally fine. And guess what? Big Bro Xu Qing just gave me a gift!”

Ling’er waved her hand to reveal some of the imperial energy that she’d just absorbed.

“There’s more,” Ling’er said proudly. “Big Bro Xu Qing is super ferocious. A while back, Crimson Mother and hēr people came and surrounded this whole area. But Big Bro Xu Qing drove them away. After that, Big Bro Xu Qing and all the grandpas and grandmas went to the moon and actually destroyed Crimson Mother!”

Her words were like repeated bolts of lightning striking the innkeeper directly in the heart. Eventually, it felt like 1,000,000 lightning bolts battering his soul. Around the point where Ling’er mentioned the ‘grandpas and grandmas,’ he gasped. Struggling to his feet, he bowed to the Heir Apparent.

“Well met, Senior!”

The Heir Apparent nodded. Looking the innkeeper up and down, he said, “You’re one of the ancient Hex-Sealers? Your species always coexisted with emperors. Every Ancient Emperor had an official Hex-Sealer on call, who could use imperial energy to seal the many heavens. They were very important people. But your bloodline doesn’t seem pure.” 2

The innkeeper bowed his head. Sounding very bitter, he said, “When the gods came, my species changed. Instead of being Hex-Sealers, we called ourselves Nether-Sealers. What’s more, since there are no Ancient Emperors anymore, our species has nowhere to use our skills.” 3

“Is that why you chose Ling’er?” the Heir Apparent asked, glancing at Ling’er.

For some reason, Ling’er’s eyelids had closed, as if she didn’t understand what was being talked about. Then she yawned.

As the innkeeper looked on in surprise, Xu Qing hurried over, scooped up Ling’er, and checked to make sure she was okay. As it turned out, the imperial energy within her was in the process of being absorbed.

The Heir Apparent smiled and took another sip of tea, but didn’t say anything further.

Seeing that, the innkeeper breathed an inner sigh of relief. Just being in the presence of the Heir Apparent put a lot of pressure on him. Turning to Xu Qing, he suppressed his feelings of irritation and sighed.

“Xu Qing, I didn’t just come here looking for Ling’er. Marquis Yao also wanted me to pass a message to you. He said… to stay away from Sea-Sealing County for a while.”

Upon hearing that, Xu Qing’s eyes suddenly glittered. Off to the side, the Captain frowned and suddenly pulsed with a faint pressure.

“Marquis Yao?” Xu Qing said. “What happened in Sea-Sealing County?”

The innkeeper sighed again. Then he went into a detailed explanation of everything that had happened in Sea-Sealing County and the Holytide Region while Xu Qing was away.

After Xu Qing, the Captain, and everyone else left, the political situation in the Holytide Region was stable for a while. Because Grand Duke Holytide didn’t have the backing of the Nightshades, he fully submitted to the human emperor and didn’t dare to act out.

But Seventh Prince’s army still occupied about half of the region. Meanwhile Princess Anhai was put in charge, as a way of keeping Seventh Prince in check. Because of the unusual circumstances that had played out in Sea-Sealing County, the place was unique. It was autonomous. But because of the general peace and stability, Seventh Prince and Princess Anhai were accepted by the county.

However, all of that changed dramatically thanks to the political undercurrents affecting the imperial capital. It started with Princess Anhai suddenly being called back to the Imperial Region. She gave up leadership of the Holytide Region, and handed all authority over to Seventh Prince. It didn’t take long for news to spread in Sea-Sealing County about why that happened. Seventh Prince’s mother came from a very important clan in the Imperial Region, and they somehow brokered a deal with the emperor regarding the imperial prince. It resulted in the emperor recalling Princess Anhai, which was a tacit show of approval, allowing Seventh Prince to have the position and authority to control the Holytide Region.4

At the same time, someone else came from the Imperial Region to take over the military in the Holytide Region. He was one of the backbones of the clan that Seventh Prince’s mother came from. He was Seventh Prince’s blood uncle, and was one of the thirty-three heavenly kings of humankind.

He was King Heaventide, a Smoldering God with a very high rank in the human species. After bringing his troops to the Holytide Region, he took control of all the forces there, then waged war on the Nightshades. That was what he had agreed with the emperor to do, and it was also the agreement that had been brokered between his clan and the emperor. He was to pave the way into Nightshade lands from the Holytide Region, all in the name of the emperor. When the Nightshades were at their weakest, he would devastate them and help the emperor to expand human territory.

When face-to-face with the majestic King Heaventide, even Grand Duke Holytide had to back down and meekly obey orders.

As for Sea-Sealing County… although it was technically autonomous, that didn’t matter much to King Heaventide. When he showed up, a simple order was enough to shake the county so badly it became like a leaf on an angry sea. Everyone was scared, and almost overnight, numerous species, sects, and organizations chose to acknowledge allegiance to the heavenly king.

That included the president of the Eight Sect Coalition. Without any hesitation at all, he abdicated his position in the Eight Sect Coalition and took his closest followers to switch loyalties to King Heaventide.

After that, King Heaventide issued a call of recruitment to cultivators from all species in the region to go to the field of battle and slaughter the Nightshades. Since Sea-Sealing County was part of the region, there were no grounds to refuse the call.

“Around the time I left, Sea-Sealing County had already sent three waves of reinforcements. They all died in battle. It’s basically a war of attrition in which King Heaventide is throwing human forces against the Nightshades to wear them down.”

As the innkeeper’s words echoed in the shop, Xu Qing’s facial expression turned cold. The Captain narrowed his eyes. Everyone else maintained silence. That was especially true of Ningyan, who opened his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it.

“That’s why Marquis Yao told me to warn you not to return. If you do… Seventh Prince will definitely try to conscript you. And if that happens….” The innkeeper was about to sigh again, but then he looked at the Heir Apparent sipping tea, and suddenly realized that, based on what he had heard and what Ling’er said, maybe he didn’t need to sigh. “Uh… so, that’s how things are.”

Xu Qing looked in the direction of Sea-Sealing County for a moment. Then he turned to the Heir Apparent and clasped hands.

Smiling, the Heir Apparent put down his tea and opened his mouth to speak. Before he could, a cold voice swept through the Bitter Life Mountains.

“I’ll go with you to Sea-Sealing County.”

The voice sounded like a sword, full of slaughter, capable of shaking heaven and earth. When the Heir Apparent heard that voice, he sighed and picked up his tea again. That voice came from Ninth Sib!

1. The innkeeper was revealed to be nonhuman in chapter 64. We learned that the inn was itself a grue in chapter 96. Exactly one hundred chapters later in chapter 196, we learned that the innkeeper was strengthening the Captain’s seals. ☜

2. Commenters in Chinese drew connections between this passage and I Shall Seal the Heavens. Some commenters even speculated that the innkeeper is somehow related to (perhaps a descendent of) Meng Hao, or an inheritor or member of the League of Demon Sealers from ISSTH. The section in this passage that talks about “sealing” the “heavens” uses the exact same characters as those from ISSTH (with the addition of the character for “many,” which is why I included that). That said, the top-voted comment in Chinese also concluded that there was no connection, and that it’s just a matter of similar Chinese characters. There is no doubt that Er Gen likes to troll people, so take that into consideration in your analyses. ☜

3. Chapter 240 was entitled Nether-Sealing Blood, and it also went into some of the history of “Nether-Sealing.” There were a couple other chapters that mention “Nether-Sealing.” It’s hard to say if that passing lore from almost 500 chapters ago is supposed to be related to the innkeeper from Plankspring Way. Probably not? But the Chinese characters are the same, so I’m translating it the same in both instances. ☜

4. Back in chapter 556.2, Duanmu Zang speculated that Seventh Prince’s mother and

/or clan was somehow important. ☜