## AST 704 – Returning To Cold Ice City, Shouldering Her Burdens

In the end, Hai Dongqing did not agree to anything and Qing Shui did not nag her on this issue anymore. When the time comes, he would just take action, he had to at least ensure Hai Dongqing’s wellbeing.

Time slowly passed day by day, Qing Shui’s improvements were obvious. After all, one day was equal to fifty days for Qing Shui, that explosive increase in strength had been consolidated and stabilized.

Hai Dongqing also trained bitterly each day, with Qing Shui’s medicinal pills, her strength increased significantly. During the day, Qing Shui and Hai Dongqing would spar, it was terrifying to go against Hai Dongqing when she was wearing the Luan Silver Battle Dress Set, especially during those fifteen minutes of Luan’s Strength. During those fifteen minutes, Qing Shui would use an adequate level of strength to spar with her.

Time quickly flew by, one month had passed. For Qing Shui, this one month was equal to a little more than four years. Not only did he familiarize himself with his new strength, he even managed to improve his basics.

Another happy thing was, that with Qing Shui’s increase in abilities, the effects of his Heavenly Talismans increased as well. After all, those Heavenly Talismans used Qing Shui’s abilities as a base value.

Aside from the Descending Heavens Talisman, which affected the opponent’s abilities and took those as the base value. It would get stronger in the later phase, but it was a hard road to walk. Most people, who cultivated the Heavenly Talisman would not cultivate the Descending Heavens Talisman, because it felt insignificant in comparison.

During this one month, the two of them lived together, interacted with each other, ate together, and sometimes killed demonic beasts together. Qing Shui would also teach her some stuff, like cooking and cultivation matters.

Like the Taichi Fist and Tiger Form, how to temper muscles and bones, how to cultivate her heart…… Hai Dongqing did not reject it, every morning she would practice the Taichi Fist and Tiger Form as well.

One month of time was not long, but to Qing Shui, it was a few years of time. Furthermore, he still had a great debt of gratitude to her, unknowingly, he had started to treat her as family.

It was a wonderful feeling, not that of a romantic nature, more like a family, like siblings. Wishing the best for her, wanting her to be happy……

Hai Dongqing could not say that it was not so, what Qing Shui had given her caused her to be embarrassed and at a complete loss. She was still getting used to it, since young, she had always been the pillar of support for her family. Thus, there was no one able to care for her because no one in her family was qualified to do so, thus, she became lonely and aloof.

“Dongqing, eat something, we will go back to Cold Ice City soon.” Qing Shui said in the direction of Hai Dongqing, who was cultivating.

During this long period of time, the two of them had already started addressing each other by name. Hai Dongqing initially called him Qing Shui, maybe because she felt that he was younger than her. Slowly, as the two of them got more familiar with each other, she found it weird for Qing Shui to call her Miss Hai, thus she got him to address her by her name.

“En!”

When returning was mentioned, Hai Dongqing did not know how to feel. She felt that this one month here was better than the time she spent in the Seven Stars Street, there was no need to worry so much, no need to deal with the things that frustrated her, no need to see the disgusting faces of those people. But now, it was time to return.

During the meal, Hai Dongqing was very absent-minded. After eating a little, she lost her appetite, she had a lonely expression, as though she was thinking of something.

“What’s wrong? Are you still thinking of the Hai Clan’s matter? Are you not satisfied? You do not want to be the concubine of the Luo Clan clan head?” Qing Shui raised his head and asked gently.

“Of course I am not willing but some things cannot be controlled. There are times when a person is weak and unable to control the things around them. Even if they were able to make a choice, it would be one that they were unwilling to make, and they had to pretend as though they were happy about it. I am in pain, yet I have to make it so, that outsiders think that I am overjoyed.” Hai Dongqing said bitterly.

“As long as you are unwilling, no one can force you.” Qing Shui said gently, he was now able to say this in a relaxed manner, he felt that he now had the rights to do so.

With a huge increase in abilities, in addition to being able to completely absorb all that energy and use it, his abilities with hidden weapons were incomparable to before, his speed increased by many folds as well.

Now, Qing Shui felt, that he could speak his mind, he did not have to be so careful anymore. He would only get stronger, the Fire Bird, Diamond Gigantic Elephant, Jade Emperor Queen Bee, and his other demonic beasts would get stronger too.

“Qing Shui, this Luan Silver Battle Dress Set……” Hai Dongqing said to Qing Shui as they were going back.

“Dongqing, if you try to return this to me, I will throw it away. Do you not want me as your friend?” Qing Shui interrupted Hai Dongqing’s words.

“No, although I truly do not have any strength, I thirst for friends, friends like you. Thus, I cherish this friendship, you are my friend and forever will be.” Hai Dingqing smiled and said.

“You are also my friend forever.” Qing Shui smiled at Hai Dongqing.

The two of them smiled as they looked at each other, a feeling of appreciating each other arose, the two of them actually shared many common points, or to say, they were very alike. Qing Shui was the pillar of support for the Qing Clan, Hai Dongqing was the Hai Clan’s pillar of support in the Greencloud Continent. They had to face all sorts of situations and had to strive for the glory of the clan.

Without realizing it, her absence for one month caused the Hai Clan to worry, they thought that Hai Dongqing left and would never come back, there were people in joy as well as despair.

Hai Clan!

“Hai Dongying, she is your sister and yet she actually abandoned you. Back then, she even put up a pretense and said that she would never abandon you, yet she was still led away by another man. What’s so bad about marrying the Luo Clan clan head? This way, our clans can create an alliance and overcome these difficult times.” A fat old man angrily said to a handsome middle-aged man.

“I really regret coming to the Central Continent. Ancestor, do you see this, this is the Hai Clan, it is no longer the same Hai Clan as when you had left. I let down Dongqing, I let down the Hai Clan.” The man bitterly sighed.

“I don’t care what methods you use, you must find your sister. Or else, I would not mind sending your daughter over as a substitute.” the old man said with an unhappy expression.

“Hai Zhen, you dare! Shiya is already married.” Hai Dongying shouted with anger in his eyes.

“I forgot to tell you, the Luo Clan clan head has a fetish, he likes widows and married women, especially those that are newly married. The Luo Clan is pushing us already, the Tu Clan is just waiting for the Luo Clan to change their stance, I have no other choice.” Hai Zhen said calmly.

“If you dare to do that, I will put my life on the line and fight you.” The man’s eyes turned red and shouted at Hai Zhen

“Fight? With what? I can crush you with just one finger. If it’s not for your sister saying that you have to be unharmed, I would have already killed you. Get over it, you still have children, I don’t want to see you sever your family line.” When Hai Zhen said that, he turned and left.

Hai Dongying clenched his fist tightly, his palm was already oozing out blood. This admirable man was reduced to such a state, he had no other way out, living was worse than dying but yet he cannot die.

Blood trickled out from the corner of his mouth, it was unclear whether he vomited blood or just bit his tongue.

Luo Clan!

“Big Brother, Hai Dongqing has already been missing for a month.” An old man said to a man who appeared to be middle-aged.

“Big brother, I need to depend on her to help my ‘Divine Yang Energy’ breakthrough. Send people to search, as long as she is somewhere nearby, find her location.” The man seemed to be regretful.

“Why is this woman so important in helping to make the breakthrough?” The old man asked with suspicion as he looked at the man.

“I have already been at this bottleneck for a hundred years, I am unable to make any more breakthroughs in the ‘Divine Yang Energy’. Big Brother, I got a good eye in women, Hai Dongqing can definitely help me break through this bottleneck and I will achieve the abilities of a peak Martial Saint.

“Big Brother, I heard that she went to the Icy Cloud Mountain with that man. It had been such a long time, do you think anything happened to her?” The old man looked at the man in worry.

“She went to the Icy Cloud Mountain?” The man frowned.

“Yes!”

“I hope she did not go in too deep, or else she would die. I am not able to do anything within the depths of that place, there are too many demonic beasts that have more than the abilities of 10000 countries.”

“Big Brother, what about the matters pertaining the Tu Clan?”

“Don’t bother with the matters of the Tu Clan, I already spoke with them. After that Hai Clan woman becomes my concubine, then they can take action. As long as she is late by three days, then it is no longer our problem.

One week later, the two of them returned to Cold Ice City, they have returned after leaving for one month.

Riding on the Fire Bird, they directly landed in Hai Dongqing’s courtyard. The door was already open and there were sounds of people speaking in the courtyard.

Hai Dongqing frowned, Qing Shui did not say anything and just followed Hai Dongqing inside.

There were a few men in there drinking wine, they have turned the courtyard into a mess. Furthermore, there was a woman beside each one of them.

While they were drinking, there would occasionally be sounds of women protesting coquettishly and the laughter of men.

Qing Shui and Hai Dongqing were noticed by one of the lightly dressed women right after their entrance. The woman used her hands to touch the man in a shocked manner.

The man raised his head to see Hai Dongqing enter, he was astonished and stunned. His actions were seen by the other men and they all looked over.

“Hey, isn’t this miss Hai, who is this wild man? We thought you were never coming back?” A man with tender voice stood up and said.

That man was about 50 years old, his hair was steadily turning gray, his stature was tall and sturdy, his skin was very fair, he had a tender voice, it was very easy for people to think, that he was a man with no balls.

“Hai Chuan, Who allowed you to come in here?” Hai Dongqing frowned unhappily.

Hai Chuan was Hai Zhen’s brother, he relied on the fact, that his brother was the clan head and threw his weight around. His talent was pretty good but he was too lecherous, even so, he was still a Grade 3 Martial Saint. He was considered to have a decent strength within the Hai Clan, after all, the Hai Clan had already declined for a time.

“Haha, you are a person of the Hai Clan, of course, this place belongs to the Hai Clan. Why can’t I come here? Why have you brought a wild man back here? Don’t you know that you are now a person of the Luo Clan?” Hai Chuan said without a care, he even stretched his hands out and grabbed a breast of the woman in his embrace, his eyes were lit up with a flame as he looked at Hai Dongqing.

“Who said that she was a person of the Luo Clan? How can the Luo clan be worthy of her!” Qing Shui took a step forward and said gently but his voice was very distinct, it entered the ears of everyone.