Chapter 48: Marriage Compulsion! An Edict From The Sect Leader! (2)
The Lich Palace was located at the boundary of Beiming, which was in the northernmost part of the continent. Further north of that, was the North Sea. The entirety of Beiming was Demon territory, so when Shen Jingbin arrived, she was under the illusion that she'd stepped back into hell as they had a love of darkness.
Lich Palace was situated on a small nameless island in Beiming's ocean. The game's administrators said that this was the Lich Palace's way of fooling others, hiding themselves from the eyes of their enemies.
The Lich Palace was designed in a similar way to other assassin classes in online wuxia games. However at the same time, due to game's xianxia setting, it also had a dark and mysterious sense about it.
For example, there was a Life Skill called Divination. Players who learned Divination could utilize it to ascertain the location of a few uncommon medicinal herbs and equipment for gathering. But, only players affiliated with the Lich Palace could learn this skill. Although unlike with the Apothecary Instructor and many others, the Divination Instructor's whereabouts was still a mystery till this day.
As the Lich Palace was situated on an island in the ocean, Quiet And Steadfast could've returned by accessing the sect's teleportation array. However, he'd brought Shen Jingbin along with him, so the two of them could only make their way to the docks and travel by boat to the Lich Palace.
After the latest update, this dock was specially opened to give players from other sects a means of traveling to the Lich Palace.
It had to be said that the game developers were very attentive to the smallest details when designing the island.
Quiet And Steadfast was the was the Lich Palace's Lead Disciple, so he took Shen Jingbin straight to the Sect Leader's residence after returning to the sect.
The Lich Palace's Sect Leader was a handsome and tall man who was on the slightly feminine side. When Shen Jingbin saw him, she suddenly thought of a famous male celebrity who'd acted as an effeminate character in a popular movie a while back.
"Master, this is White Cloud Temple's Lead Disciple, Nutjob. Little Jing, this is the Sect Leader of the Lich Palace, Silky Moon." Quiet And Steadfast briefly introduced both parties to one another.
Shen Jingbin respectfully bowed towards Silky Moon. In response, he gave a slight motion of his hand as an acknowledgement.
Silky Moon tucked his hands in his sleeves and voiced his question indifferently, "White Cloud Temple and my Lich Palace have no dealings with one another. Why have you come here?"
"My Master wasn't the one who sent me here. Shentu and Yulü were the ones who suggested I ask the Sect Leaders about the Four Divine Beasts."
"Shentu and Yulü? Four Divine Beasts?" Silky Moon raised his voice and stared fixedly at her before saying, "Information on the Four Divine Beasts is classified in my Lich Palace. Only the succeeding Sect Leader has the right to know. Why should I tell it to a White Cloud Temple disciple like you? Don't think that I'll readily tell you everything just by mentioning their names. Even if they're gods, they're only the gods of the underworld and aren't able to interfere in the matters of my Lich Palace."
Quiet And Steadfast spoke up, "Master, this matter is related to the Shinra Sect. If you know anything about the Four Divine Beasts, please tell us about them."
Silky Moon raised his eyebrows, "'Us'? How are the two of you related? Disciple, when did you get so close to this bunch of old Daoist folks from the White Cloud Temple?"
"She is a good friend of your disciple." Quiet And Steadfast honestly replied.
"Friends? Hmph! Is there even anyone left in this world who can be deemed a friend? Back then, before the great battle between the Celestials and Demons, my senior sister and that Zero Fairy from the Dragonkin Tower were close friends who'd risk their lives for one another. Yet, they still became enemies overnight because of the war. This matter is classified information in my Lich Palace. Do you think the mere mention of the word 'friends' can match up to the importance of our Lich Palace's classified information?!" Silky Moon ruthlessly replied.
Shen Jingbin could hear the underlying meaning behind Silky Moon's words, so she stopped Quiet And Steadfast who was about to dispute his Sect Leader's claims once again, and asked, "Then, may I ask Sect Leader, what can match up to this classified information that you have, if the basis of friends is not sufficient enough?"
The corner of Silky Moon's lips suddenly twitched, and he gave a malice filled smile, "Quiet And Steadfast is my disciple, there's no harm in me telling him, although you can't listen in on our conversation. But, the Humans value the relationship between a married couple. It just so happens that my Lich Palace has a forbidden art that can be used on a married couple. Once the forbidden art has been activated, both husband and wife share the honors and disgraces of the other party. They will then share their lives till death do they part, and both parties will be prohibited from betraying one another. Otherwise, they'll be returned to Earth from whence they came from, no longer existing in this world. I will reveal the information on the Four Divine Beasts if you're willing to agree to this request of mine, and allow me to cast this forbidden art on the two of you."
Shen Jingbin and Quiet And Steadfast were both stunned after hearing Silky Moon's proposition.
The f*ck! What kind of insane development is this! Areyou forcing us to get married?! Yo, boss, you're a Sect Leader! Don't tell me you're a matchmaker as well?!
"What? Getting cold feet? Aren't you guys good friends? Are you telling me you aren't even willing to make this small a sacrifice? In any case, I'm only asking that the both of you to be husband and wife in name. I'm not going to force you two to share a room together. Anyway, I just wanted to see how far the two of you would be willing to go for this information. But, it seems like you aren't even even willing to accept the false title of being husband and wife!"
Seeing the duo silently standing there in shock, Silky Moon removed his hands from his sleeves and swept his long hair aside. He then spoke in a cold tone, "Back then, my Lich Palace was one of the main forces that went against the Shinra Sect. Who would've thought that once everything was over, not only did we not receive a single thing for our contribution, we were even falsely accused because we were Demons. Now, you Humans are even planning to listen in on the secrets of us Demons. No matter what, I still have to think about the reputation of my sect. I can't possibly allowed us to be played for a fool again!"
Shen Jingbin looked at Quiet And Steadfast and swallowed her saliva. In truth, she really wanted to tell Silky Moon that it wasn't her who was unwilling to make the sacrifice. Instead, she was afraid that his disciple might be unwilling to do so!
In any case, Quiet And Steadfast was the number one player in the game. Countless beauties threw themselves at him on a daily basis. Shen Jingbin, on the other hand, was different from them. First of all, she lacked the looks for it. Secondly, she didn't have the right figure. On top of that, she was much weaker than other players. No matter how she looked at it, Quiet And Steadfast was the one losing out!
Sect Leader Silky Moon, do you know that you're digging a hole for your disciple right now?!
"That… Sect Leader, do you know what it means to be husband and wife?" Shen Jingbin cautiously asked. She felt that since Silky Moon was a Demon, his definition of being husband and wife might be different from that of Humans.
However, it was clear that she was overthinking things.
Silky Moon gave her a look of disdain and said, "By asking such a question, does that mean you're stupid, or do you think that I'm an idiot?"
Shen Jingbin, "… I'm sorry, I'm stupid."
"Master, will you tell us the secret of the Four Divine Beasts if Nutjob and I are wed?" Quiet And Steadfast suddenly asked.
Silky Moon withdrew his hands into his sleeves once again and turned around. With his back facing them, he said, "In that case, come look for me when the two of you get married, then we'll talk."
PS: We’re accepting fanart! Ya'll can send in your artwork to
PPS: If you’re part of Volare’s discord and want dat cool Nutjob Army tag, just sound off in the TMK channel 😀