Chinese animation: Starting with Bad Guys

The old man's gaze finally fell on Qin Chuan, and seeing him dressed in Central Plains attire, a hint of nostalgia welled up in his eyes:

"This doll from the Central Plains is..."

"Junior Qin Chuan."

Qin Chuan bowed slightly.

He knew perfectly well who the old man in front of him was.

He was Li Kan, the brother of Emperor Xizong and Emperor Zhaozong.

Like Li Xingyun, Li Kan did not want to get involved in the intrigues of the imperial court, so he left the Central Plains and lived in seclusion in Raojiang. He is now the second chieftain of the Twelve Caves.

"Qin Chuan..."

Li Kan felt the name sounded familiar, and he thought of someone.

It is said that this person perished together with the Bad Commander in the Longquan Underground Palace.

The young man in front of him must have the same name, right?

"Young man, can you cook your Central Plains cuisine?"

Li Kan didn't think much of it and asked with a smile.

"The Central Plains cuisine that the young man makes is so delicious!"

Chi Meng answered quickly, shaking Qin Chuan's arm.

Li Kan's eyes lit up, and he smiled so much that fine lines appeared at the corners of his eyes: "That would be great, show me what you've got?"

He had lived in seclusion in the Twelve Caves for decades and had long been craving the flavors of the Central Plains.

"Of course." Qin Chuan nodded with a smile.

Before long, the aroma of food wafted from Li Kan's stone house.

Soon, the stone table was filled with Central Plains dishes: glistening braised fish, emerald green seasonal vegetables, and steaming soups, the rising steam carrying an enticing aroma.

Li Kan also brought out his homemade honey pudding, served in a rough earthenware bowl. The amber-colored liquid exuded a sweet fragrance, making Chi Meng swallow hard.

Everyone sat around eating and drinking, and even the little yellow dog got a piece of fish, lying in the corner smacking its lips.

After a hearty meal, Li Kan patted his round belly and let out a satisfied burp: "I won't eat your food for nothing, how about I teach you a few kung fu moves?"

"No need for kung fu." Qin Chuan put down his chopsticks, his expression turning serious. "This junior has something I'd like to ask for your help with, senior."

"I want to see the chief lord, and all the other lords."

"Is it about the fresh ginseng?" Li Kan asked casually. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

“That’s only one thing.” Qin Chuan shook his head and looked out the window. “There’s another matter that concerns the future of the Central Plains and Raojiang.”

“You…” Li Kan’s eyes suddenly narrowed, his previous nonchalance vanished, and his gaze swept over Qin Chuan like a searchlight, “Which Qin Chuan are you exactly?”

A faint smile appeared on Qin Chuan's lips: "What senior knows is just Qin Chuan, isn't it?"

Soon after, in a huge stone chamber.

The stone chamber deep inside the mountain was dark and damp. The campfire in the center flickered restlessly, casting twelve black-robed figures onto the stone wall, twisting them into menacing monsters.

They sat cross-legged on the prayer mats, their robes falling in perfect unison, silent like twelve meditating corpse puppets.

"The Second Cave Master's urgent summons, could it be related to the Strange Altar of the God of War?"

A young man's voice came from beneath the black robe in the northeast corner, like a dull knife scraping against raw iron.

Immediately, someone from the northwest chimed in: "News has come from the Ten Thousand Poisons Cave that the Witch King is inciting the various tribes with the 'Shame of Snow Maple Leaf'."

A faint rustling sound of beetle wings could be heard from within the sleeve. "They probably harbor thoughts of recreating the God of War's Altar."

"The cycle of Heaven is predetermined. As for external matters, let them remain external."

The sound of the chief's rosary suddenly interrupted the conversation.

With each ebony bead moved, the flame mysteriously dimmed a fraction.

Eleven dark figures nodded simultaneously, the shadows of their hoods perfectly concealing their expressions.

Li Kan's breathing suddenly became erratic.

"Your heart is not at peace." The chieftain's fingertip hovered over the seventh rosary bead. "A recluse should be like a still, deep well."

"The fresh ginseng is back."

The temperature inside the stone chamber suddenly dropped.

"Is the Second Cave Master going to plead for the traitor?" A female voice from the east broke the silence, silver ornaments clinking softly beneath her black robe: "Have you forgotten the rules of the Twelve Caves?"

"It is true that Xian Shen violated the rules by helping outsiders steal the ancient techniques of the Divine Altar, but that was the scheme of the Bad Commander," a young man's voice spoke righteously. "I ask you all, who can withstand the Bad Commander's methods?"

"Rules are rules!" the woman snorted. "How can we break them just because of external forces?"

"Back then, the Bad Commander ordered our clan to protect Longquan with secret methods. Didn't we also break the rules and send Xian Shen to take the Holy Child to the Central Plains?" A fierce male voice retorted. "According to the Three Caves Master, shouldn't the Holy Child also be dealt with according to the rules?"

"These are two different things." The Third Cave Master's voice was even colder. "How can Xian Can be compared to the Holy Child? She is a traitor!"

"In my humble opinion..." an old voice said with a cough, "the ginseng has been punished for nearly twenty years, which is enough."

"Alright." The chief of the monastery holding the rosary finally spoke: "Xiancan's sins can be forgiven, but from now on, he will have no further connection with the Twelve Monasteries."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone fell silent, even the chieftain of the three villages nodded in agreement.

“Actually…” Li Kan suddenly spoke, breaking the silence, “I was not the one who summoned you all.”

"It's me."

As the voice spoke, a figure emerged from the shadows and stood with his hands behind his back beside the campfire.

The twelve figures in black robes turned their heads simultaneously, their gazes beneath the hoods suddenly sharpening like knives—

It turned out to be a young, unfamiliar man from the Central Plains!

Chapter 112 Ice is colder than water, and blue is bluer than indigo.

The air in the stone chamber felt as if it had been crushed by a lead-quenched boulder, so stagnant that you could wring out ice crystals from it; every breath carried a heavy, oppressive weight.

The campfire crackled and popped in the stone basin, its orange-red flames greedily licking the dark blue stone walls.

The twelve figures in black robes were torn into menacing shadows, like giant beasts lurking at the edge of an abyss, their breathing barely audible, leaving only silent lurking.

The Third Cave Master's voice pierced the deathly silence first, his clear, bell-like voice carrying the weight of shattered ice, each word as if scooped from an icy pool:

"Second Cave Master! This is the council chamber of the Twelve Caves' forbidden area! How dare you let outsiders barge in?!"

As she abruptly rose, the hem of her black robe swept across the prayer mat, causing the air to tighten abruptly, like a fully drawn bowstring, with a sharp, angry shriek permeating the very air.

He said this matter concerns the future of both the Central Plains and Xinjiang.

Li Kan's voice was as deep and resonant as a blue stone immersed in a deep pool:

"Gentlemen, let's hear what he has to say."

The abbot paused in his hand, which was holding prayer beads. The soft sound of the sandalwood beads clinking together echoed in the quiet room, like a drop of cold water hitting a deep pool, creating ripples.

Who goes there?

The voice emanated from deep within the hood, revealing neither joy nor anger, yet it was like an ancient sword steeped in a thousand-year-old cold spring, its words carrying a penetrating pressure that could pierce to the bone, even the ending notes tinged with an unyielding solemnity.

The two words were as faint as the wind brushing past a stone. Qin Chuan's gaze swept over the twelve figures in black robes, as calm as a frozen lake, without the slightest ripple.

These twelve people are all top experts above the Great Heavenly Realm; the Chief Cave Master is even at the peak of the Divine Firmament Realm, only one step away from the realm of Yuan Tiangang—but this one step is a world apart, separated by an entire world.

"Qin Chuan?!"

The voice of the Three Caves Master suddenly rose, like a startled bird taking flight, its wingtips filled with barely concealed surprise and doubt.

Although the other cave lords remained silent, the aura flowing around them had become disordered, like water rippling in a pond in the wind.

Even the chief monk's hand, which was turning the prayer beads, paused almost imperceptibly. The soft sound of the sandalwood beads colliding contained a slight tremor, like a spider's web being blown by the wind.

Although their twelve villages are hidden deep in the mountains, they have never been truly cut off from the winds and rains of the outside world.

Qin Chuan's name had already rolled through the darkness like a thunderclap—he hadn't actually died in that deadly battle with the Bad Commander in the Longquan Underground Palace.

"So it was the young marshal in person."

The chief's voice remained calm, without the slightest hint of emotion:

"May I ask what brings the young marshal to the Twelve Caves?"

"These are two separate matters." Qin Chuan didn't intend to beat around the bush; his tone was as direct as a drawn sword. "What you just discussed counts as one. The remaining matter is requesting the Twelve Caves to intervene and convene all the tribes of Raojiang to jointly attack the Witch King Chi Li."

The leader of the Three Caves slammed his hand heavily on the prayer mat, his shoulders beneath his black robe heaving violently, as if he were carrying a ball of fire pounding wildly.

"Our Twelve Caves have lived in seclusion for a century, and the storms of the outside world have long since become indifferent to us! Do you expect us to break our ancestral precepts based on just a word from you?"

Qin Chuan seemed not to hear her words, his gaze fixed on the direction of the chief, as still as a mountain, waiting for a response.

The chieftain remained silent for a moment, and the air in the stone chamber grew even heavier, as if the crackling of the campfire had been choked.

Suddenly, he spoke up: "Young Marshal, you were able to fight the Bad Commander head-on and escape unscathed. With such strength, why would our Twelve Caves need to intervene to deal with a mere Witch King, Chi Li?"

"Chi Li used the 'Shame of Maple Leaves' as a pretext to deceive many skilled fighters from Raojiang into following his madness."

Qin Chuan lowered his eyelids slightly, his tone as indifferent as a breeze sweeping across a lake:

"The people of the Central Plains and Raojiang will one day sit under the same sun, as close as one family. Why let Raojiang shed rivers of blood for the sake of one treacherous official?"

"We, descendants of Chi You, are sworn enemies with you, descendants of Yan and Huang, since ancient times! To think we're as close as family? That's utterly delusional!"

The voice of the Third Cave Master was filled with sparks, growing ever sharper, as if it wanted to pierce a hole in the air.

The chieftain seemed not to hear, and asked again, "If the young marshal one day unifies the world, how will he treat the people of Raojiang?"

"The people of Raojiang and the people of the Central Plains are all my people."

Qin Chuan raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the twelve figures in black robes. His words, each like a resounding blow to a stone, carried weight and conviction:

"Treat everyone equally; this is a national policy that will remain unchanged for ten thousand years."

"That would be best."

The chieftain nodded slowly, closed his eyes, sat quietly for a moment, and when he opened them again, his tone carried a more resolute determination:

"We, the people of the Twelfth Cave, wish the young marshal to usher in a prosperous era, where all people live in peace and happiness."