Chapter 421


    Carrying Mauve on his back, Simon arrived at Heavenly Vige. He approached the first hut without a


    moment''s hesitation. The hut looked old, and its main door was in a tattered condition. One could


    clearly see how tough it was to live around the area.


    A short while after Simon knocked on the door, the voice of a Marlingtonian rang out. “Who is it?”


    The Marlingtonian''s heavy ent was difficult to understand. Nheless, it wasn''t difficult for Simon


    to guess what he was saying. With a grim voice, Simon exined, “I''m an outsider who has been


    poisoned by parasites. I''m here to see Marlington King for a cure.”


    After Simon had spoken, a brief silence ensued before the door to the hut opened.


    A thin middle-aged man emerged, looking unassuming in the grey shirt he wore. Nevertheless, the man


    seemed to possess decent spiritual energy. After he gave Simon and Mauve a nce, the tension on


    his face eased. It was clear to him that the two had note with ill intentions.


    Thereafter, he said, “Come on in.”


    Simon nodded in response.


    Mauve, who was sprawled on Simon''s back, expressed her gratitude at once. “Thank you, mister!”


    However, the man didn''t say another word.


    Upon entering the house, Simon put Mauve down on a chair. The hut''s spartan interior came as a


    shock to the city-dwelling Mauve.


    I can''t believe such terrible living conditions still exist in the world.


    “Have you been poisoned by a parasite?” asked the man after he gave Simon a nce.


    Thetter nodded ordingly.


    The man continued, “Marlington King will not easily agree to treat anyone from outside the vige.


    Anyway, I''m just an ordinary resident of Heavenly Vige and not a member of Heavenly Cave. Let me


    examine your condition first. If I can''t cure you, I''ll then take you to Heavenly Cave. That said, there''s


    nothing more I can do if Marlington King refuses to help you.”


    “Thank you, mister,” Mauve said gratefully.


    The man subsequently took Simon''s pulse. After a long while, his expression drastically changed,


    giving Mauve a shock.


    She asked, “What is it, mister?”


    The man gave Mauve a look. “I understand now.” He then turned his attention to Simon and continued,


    “The poison is inside you because you sucked it out of her blood, isn''t it?”


    Simon nodded to confirm.


    “It makes sense now. As someone who isn''t married, this young girl possesses the purest form of


    negative energy which coincidentally nourishes the golden silkworm. After you sucked it out, it was


    then soaked in the positive energy within you. The amalgamation of negative and positive energy


    allowed it to evolve into something more powerful—the golden king silkworm. The golden silkworm by


    itself is already a handful. Now that you have the golden king silkworm within you, I''m afraid even


    Marlington King might not be able to save you.”


    The words caused Mauve''s face to lose all color. With her eyes turning red, she sobbed, “This is all my


    fault, Simon.”


    Simon''s expression darkened at the same time. He had no intention of dying, for there was still a lot in


    life he wanted to do.


    “Can you take me to Marlington King?” Simon asked the man.


    “I have no authority to see him, but I can take you to his subordinates and get them to convey your


    intention to the king.”


    While Simon nodded in acknowledgment, Mauve said, “Thank you, mister.”


    With that, the man got to his feet and suggested, “There''s no time to lose. Let''s go.”


    When Simon got to his feet, Mauve attempted to follow suit but was stopped by Simon instead. “You


    should rest here.”


    However, Mauve was adamant in her decision. “I must go and plead with Marlington King to save you.”


    Stunned by her words, Simon knew that there was no stopping the determined girl. Thus, he carried


    her on his back without another word.


    As they stepped out the door, Mauve asked the man, “Mister, we still don''t know your name after


    everything you have done for us. I''m Mauve Lief and he''s Simon Sandler.” After throwing Simon a


    nce, the man broke into a smile. “You can call me Baryl.”


    “Hi, Baryl!” Mauve greeted at once, bringing a smile to Baryl''s face.


    Heavenly Cave was situated right behind Heavenly Vige. To ess it, one had to cross a long


    suspension bridge made out of metal chains.


    Beneath the bridge was a bottomless abyss, one that looked as if it came right out of a fantasy


    storybook.


    One had to be brave to cross it, for it wasn''t one to be attempted by the faint hearted. The moment one


    took a step, the entire bridge would begin to sway with one''s weight.


    Baryl warned, “Watch yourselves.” Thereafter, he took a gentle step forward. Without saying a word,


    Simon followed with Mauve on his back. Every step he took was a steady one.


    “Close your eyes if you''re scared,” he suggested.


    At the same time, he wondered why he cared so much about Mauve.


    Mauve had gotten used to Simon''s frosty tone. Thus, the special concern he showed wasn''t lost upon


    her.


    “I''m not afraid!” she replied softly in Simon''s ear. “As long as I''m with you, I''m not scared of anything.”


    While speaking, her warm breath inadvertently bathed Simon''s ears, causing him to blush and snap


    with a frown, “Keep your distance from me.”


    Giggling cheekily, Mauve teased, “Are you feeling shy, Simon?”


    A snort was all he responded with.


    Soon, the three of them crossed the metal suspension bridge.


    Right before them was a huge entrance to a cave with the words “Heavenly Cave” carved on top of it.


    There were also two disciples standing guard on both sides of the entrance.


    When they saw Baryl approaching, one of them barked, “Baryl, what are you doing here at this hour?”


    Baryl broke into a faint smile as he exined, “I have a special patient here with me. There''s a golden


    king silkworm in his body. If he doesn''t get treated in time, he will be done for.”


    “That''s what they get for trying to trespass on Marlington. They deserve it entirely. Besides, his survival


    has nothing to do with Heavenly Cave!” the guard reprimanded Baryl.


    It was then that Mauve struggled toe down from Simon''s back and appealed to the guards, “Dear


    sirs, I beg you to let us see Marlington King. Otherwise, my friend is going to die,” Mauve begged, with


    tears dropping like rain. The pitiful look on her face was enough to melt even those whose hearts were


    made of stone.


    Unfortunately, the guards were unmoved, so Mauve''s pleas simply fell on deaf ears. “Get out of here.


    You reap what you sow!”


    Left without a choice, Mauve attempted to drop to her knees but was pulled back up by Simon instead.


    He approached the guards and demanded, “I want to see Marlington King.”


    “Did you not hear what we just said?” the guard retorted.


    All of a sudden, Simon grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground. “No I didn''t,” Simon


    asserted.


    The other guard roared, “Insolence!” Immediately after, he unleashed a punch toward Simon''s face.


    Unfortunately, Simon mmed a kick into him, sending him flying backward.


    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    After that, he threw the guard he was holding to the ground before demanding again, “Can you now


    inform your king about it?”


    The guards glowered at Simon before turning around to flee.


    Meanwhile, a grim look descended upon Baryl''s face.


    Simon quickly noticed it and apologized, “I''m sorry.” Despite his frosty demeanor, he was still a


    reasonable person. Hence, he felt a sense of regret toward Baryl, for it was thetter who had brought


    them there.


    Having two of its disciples beaten up, Heavenly Cave would definitely me Baryl for the incident.


    As for Baryl, he knew how cold Simon was and could tell that the apology didn''te easily. With that


    thought in mind, he eked out a wry smile. “The men of Heavenly Cave behave strangely because they


    have been cut off from the outside world for too long. You teaching them some manners would do them


    some good. It''s just that Marlington King might not be happy about it.”


    “If Marlington King refuses to save me, I will wipe Heavenly Cave clean. We might as well all die


    together.” A vicious glint shed across Simon''s eyes.


    He was, after all, born a murderous demon.


    No sooner had the words left his mouth than Mauve and Baryl turned pale.


    “Baryl, you should go home,” Simon suggested.


    However, Baryl shook his head as he appealed, “You can''t do this.”


    His words brought silence upon Simon.


    At the same time, Mauve put on a pitiful expression as she held Simon''s hand. “Simon, let''s not kill


    anyone, all right?”


    After frowning at Mauve, he shoved her hand aside. “Don''t stick your nose into my business.”


    Exasperation filled him then. This is how I have been all along until she keeps getting in my way.


    All of a sudden, he felt the urge to kill her but quickly cast the thought aside, for he just couldn''t bear to


    lose her.


    Meanwhile, six men soon emerged from Heavenly Cave.


    Obviously, Marlington King wasn''t among them.


    Among the six were the two disciples from earlier.


    The other four were elite fighters of their sect.


    As second-generation disciples, they relied on consuming ice silkworms to generate ice energy from


    their bodies.


    All of them had achieved Nascent Soul cultivation level. In fact, the most senior among them had


    achieved final stage Celestial Soul, while the other three were of Celestial Soul level.


    As Heavenly Cave had existed for countless years, they possessed a strong foundation of warriors.


    Among them, these four men were only second-generation disciples. Under Marlington King''s


    command, there were still four elders, eight Golden Guards, six direct disciples, and three hundred


    ordinary disciples in total.


    All of them put together made for a formidable force.


    The most senior of the four, Untainted, gave Simon an icy look and said, “Were you the one who beat


    up our disciples and demanded to see Marlington King?”


    Simon replied candidly. “Yes, I am.”


    “How dare youe to Heavenly Cave and stir up trouble!” The moment he finished, Untainted gave


    his hand a flick.


    A flying centipede burst out toward Simon''s eyes like lightning.


    However, Simon caught it between his fingers and threw it back. “You can have this back!”


    Untainted''s eyes glistened as hemented, “Well, well, we have a skilled adversary here.”


    Truth be told, he couldn''t tell Simon''s cultivation level initially, but after his first attack, he had gotten his


    answer.


    “All of you, stay out of this. I want to see how good he is,” Untainted dered.


    However, Simon replied solemnly, “Let''s not waste any time. The four of you should attack at the same


    time. If I win, take me to Marlington King. If I lose, my life will be yours to take.”


    “Insolence!” Untainted was enraged, while the other three were equally infuriated.


    After giving Untainted the side-eye, Simon sneered, “I''m not being insolent. It is you who have


    overestimated yourself.”