CHAPTER 50: 49. QIN PAOPAO (MONDAY FOR RECOMMENDATION TICKETS!)

"Uh..."

Qin Tao’s lips moved, but for a long time he couldn’t get any words out.

*The other guy looked way too sincere, making him wonder if this was supposed to be mockery.*

Qin Tao studied Lei Jun carefully.

Lei Jun’s face was full of emotion, a trace of fear and confusion in his eyes, as if he was honestly more scared of the torment before death than death itself.

"Lei, you’re still young, don’t be so downhearted," Qin Tao laughed awkwardly, forcing himself to speak,

Lei Jun nodded, "You’re right, Qin."

After that, he cleaned up the dishes and left.

*Waiting to die? Then go face that Third Heavenly Layer Heavenly Moat Tribulation, see what’s waiting for you—it’s death all right...* Qin Tao’s mouth twitched as he watched Lei Jun walk away.

With Qin Tao out of the way, Lei Jun didn’t go stirring up trouble for now, still focused on his own cultivation and waiting for the Water Marrow Yin Fish to be born.

But as summer arrived, flood season gradually came near.

Besides the Xinjiang River to the south, the Yunxiao Mountain Range area had plenty of rivers, streams, and lakes everywhere.

Both the Purple Cloud Sect and Qingxiao Temple started their annual water management, preventing floods from harming nearby areas.

Even the Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Mansion sent in people.

"Luo?" Lei Jun said with some surprise, "You guys came too?"

Luo Haoran and a few junior brothers from his sect greeted Qingxiao Temple’s Lu Zhaoqing and Qin Tao, then also came to say hello to Lei Jun.

"The waterworks here at Qingxiao Lake, the talisman array we set up last year—I helped with that. This time it’s nothing as big, just need to inspect and reinforce," Luo Haoran answered with a smile,

Everyone hadn’t seen each other in months, and sat around chatting.

As they chatted, someone brought up something.

On the way here, they ran into a flood from the Xinjiang River and rescued a few people.

People from the Fang Clan in Jingxiang.

*Floods in this world were far from ordinary.*

*With spiritual energy thrown into the mix, flooding merged with chaotic qi currents to form terrifying spiritual turbulence.*

*Even cultivators could get swept up and leave nothing but bones, just like when Li Ming died at the bottom of Cloud Sea Immortal Pond.*

The Fang Clan of Jingxiang, among all the famous and prominent clans, got along pretty well with the Celestial Master Mansion. So it wasn’t strange for mansion disciples to help out if Fang Family folks were in danger.

The problem was...

"Fang Mingyuan?" Lei Jun asked after hearing this, turning to look at Luo Haoran.

Luo Haoran never bragged about himself; until then, he’d just listened quietly by the side, but now, hearing Lei Jun’s question, he finally nodded,

"I had no idea before I went in, but since we ran into it, I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing,

Back at the sect gate he did hurt Zhang Yuan, but I injured him badly too, so he got what was coming to him."

Lei Jun asked, "And then?"

Luo Haoran replied, "The Fang Clan folks thanked us, then headed downstream."

Lei Jun pondered for a moment, then said, "Luo, there’s a Confucian saying—’An upright man can be deceived if you play it straight.’"

Luo Haoran nodded, "I get your point, Lei. It’s smart to be cautious. I’ll keep my eyes open,"

They talked a bit more, then turned in for the night.

Early the next morning, everyone split up, checking waterworks all over, holding back the floods, trying to stop spiritual turbulence the flooding might trigger.

But hey, you worry about something, and of course that’s what hits you.

"Qingxiao Lake’s levee just gave way! The talisman array’s wrecked—we need fixes, fast!"

That was the most important reservoir near Qingxiao Temple—if it flooded, whole valleys, towns, and villages nearby would get wrecked.

The temple master Lu Zhaoqing and Supervisor of Fasting Qin Tao had no choice but to head out together, rushing to Qingxiao Lake to back up Luo Haoran, who already made it ahead of them.

"The new talisman array at Qingxiao Lake shouldn’t be falling apart this soon," Lei Jun frowned, "Was it shoddy work? Or...?"

Earlier in the season, Lei Jun had studied it himself,

If Qingxiao Lake didn’t suffer a major flood, it wouldn’t touch the Cold Spring wells deep in the mountains.

If the levee broke at Qingxiao Lake and a big flood spilled out, the Cold Spring section could get swamped, messing up the birth of the Water Marrow Yin Fish.

Publicly, lots of locals lived nearby.

Privately, Cold Spring Yin Fish would be in danger.

*What a shame Master Yuan Mobai wasn’t here right now...*

After thinking it over, Lei Jun set off as well, joining Lu Zhaoqing and Qin Tao heading for Qingxiao Lake.

With so few hands on deck, Lei Jun’s help was more than welcome for Lu Zhaoqing and Qin Tao.

When they arrived near Qingxiao Lake, they saw the mountains had turned into a river valley, and floodwaters surged everywhere.

Floods mixed with chaotic spiritual energy made Lei Jun and the others tread carefully, worried about getting caught in it all.

Luo Haoran, who’d gotten there first, struggled to hold together the damaged talisman array at the levee.

Countless spirit talismans lit up, holding back the floods and the wild spiritual currents, but the gap was huge.

The three of them barely had time for words, each grabbing Water-Avoiding Talismans, activating them one after another to help Luo Haoran plug the breach.

Just the four of them wouldn’t be enough to stop the flood.

The only shot they had was to repair and work with the ragged remnants of the talisman array.

At last, the array and the flood struck a fragile but real balance, and the waters finally stopped bursting out.

But what was left before Lei Jun and the others was a gigantic, terrifying Hanging Sky Lake—massive floodwaters held in midair by the power of the talisman array, looking like an ocean flipped above their heads.

The massive lake blocked out broad mountain ranges, entire peaks vanished under it.

Lei Jun and the Qingxiao Lake array were basically in an underwater world, with a temporary cavity carved out.

All around, floodwaters pressed in, but the radiance of the talisman array kept dragging and sealing most of it, stopping the surge from spreading out further for now.

Most of the mountains still suffered under floods, with just two valley passages left leading outside the hills.

With this part finally done, Lei Jun and the others could catch their breath for a second.

Lu Zhaoqing looked at Luo Haoran and Lei Jun, "Good thing you two came, nephew—without one more hand, both Qingxiao Lake and our temple would’ve been doomed today!"

The balance right now was crazily fragile.

Take away even a fraction of their power, the remnants of the array would buckle for sure.

If the array collapsed, all this flooding would get beyond what anyone could deal with—not something they could handle.

No matter what Qin Tao personally thought of Lei Jun, even he nodded nonstop, "Exactly!"

Lei Jun said, "Master Lu, Qin, you flatter me. I’m really not worthy,"

"We’re barely holding on here—gotta get in touch with the rest of our sect and the Purple Cloud guys, get more help ASAP," Luo Haoran worried,

Lu Zhaoqing spoke up, "No one here can leave right now, but at least things are stable for a bit. Let’s split up: some stand guard, some go call for help."

The Hanging Sky Lake blocked off the sky above; if they tried to take off, the wild spiritual turbulence could swallow them up.

He looked out across the distant mountains.

At least off in the north and west, there were barely workable paths through the mountains.

At that moment, a flash of light shot through Lei Jun’s mind, and words emerged,

[Heavenly disaster and man-made trouble, death on every path, but stay calm—big scare, no real harm.]

Next, three lots flew out,

[Neutral lot: Stay at Qingxiao Lake and reinforce the array—be careful and thorough, disasters turn lucky. You might gain a Sixth-Rank Opportunity and a Seventh-Rank Opportunity, but it could leave behind future trouble. Proceed with caution. Neutral.]

[Moderately unlucky lot: Leave Qingxiao Lake, head out west to the Purple Cloud Sect for help, but run into danger along the way, struggle to survive—outcome unknown. Bad.]

[The worst lot: Leave Qingxiao Lake, break out north toward the Purple Cloud Sect for help, run into unbeatable disaster—certain death! Terrible!]

*You could say none of these lots were any good this time.*

*At least there was a neutral lot—dodged two death traps.*

*Only thing was...*

*Staying behind to face the flood looked riskier, but was actually safer.*

*Leaving to seek help seemed safer, but actually was either bad or really bad?*

Lei Jun looked at the lots, his eyes flashed.

"I’ll stay," Luo Haoran said instantly, "Reinforcing the array—I’m best suited here,"

Lu Zhaoqing looked at Lei Jun and considered aloud, "Then let Lei..."

Lei Jun said, "I don’t know the terrain well—if I go for help, it might slow things up. Better I stay and help here,"

Lu Zhaoqing was surprised; inside, Qin Tao was absolutely thrilled, but didn’t dare show it.

Lu Zhaoqing didn’t have much time to think it over, so he made a quick call,

"Then I and Luo, Lei, we stay—Qin, you go call for help, and stay alert on the road."

Qin Tao took a deep breath, "Yes, Master. I won’t let you down!"

Lei Jun watched Qin Paopao head out toward the mountains.