Scented by Blood

Li Feng hesitated—or rather, he did not quite dare.

After all, doing this was tantamount to tearing away all pretenses with Steward Chen. If Steward Chen was not severely punished after they returned to Black Stone County, Li Feng would be the one out of luck.

Han Zheng saw it too. Li Feng was somewhat indecisive by nature, more of a technical specialist.

When it came to the principles behind medicinal baths, he could speak with great clarity and confidence.

But the moment it involved taking action, he began looking before and after, unable to make up his mind.

With his temperament, when the time came to compete for the position of chief shopkeeper, he would definitely lose to Chen Moshan's son.

Han Zheng could only add more fuel to Li Feng's fire.

"Chen Moshan was blinded by profit and sought his own death. I don't want to die alongside him. Why should we risk our lives for fifty taels of silver?

"If he won't leave, then I'll take the men and go. At worst, once we return, we'll give the silver back to the chief shopkeeper and get scolded by the master.

"But Senior Pharmacist Li, you're so refined and scholarly. If Demons come, you might not even be able to outrun those strong, sturdy laborers."

The moment he heard Han Zheng intended to leave, Li Feng panicked somewhat as well.

He gritted his teeth. "We'll do it! As long as Brother Han can subdue Chen Moshan, I can command those men from Shenghe Hall."

Chen Moshan was a steward, but Li Feng had worked at Shenghe Hall for so many years. He was no pushover, and his prestige was no less impressive.

"Leave it to me. That old bastard won't be able to stir up any waves."

As long as Li Feng was persuaded, this matter was practically settled.

Han Zheng summoned Li Sancheng and explained his plan to them.

Zhao Jinming and Wang Bao had no objections whatsoever.

Ever since Han Zheng had led them in killing the Pig Demon, their trust in and respect for him had reached its peak. They followed his lead completely.

Li Sancheng rubbed his hands excitedly. "I've disliked that old bastard for a long time! When do we make our move?"

"Strike while the iron is hot—right now!"

At this moment, over by the spiritual fields.

Steward Chen was reclining in a lounge chair, having brewed a pot of tea as he leisurely watched the Shenghe Hall laborers harvest Spiritual Medicine.

Whenever someone moved too slowly, he would curse them out.

"Steward Chen, you seem quite at ease."

Seeing Han Zheng and the others approach menacingly, Steward Chen's heart gave a violent jolt, and he rose from his lounge chair.

"What are you here for?"

Li Feng stepped out from behind Han Zheng and took a deep breath.

"Chen Moshan, it's one thing for you to line your own pockets, falsify the accounts, and embezzle Spiritual Medicine.

"But you should not have let greed cloud your mind and gambled with everyone's lives!

"The Pig Demon could catch up at any moment, yet you are deliberately wasting time here. What are your intentions?"

Steward Chen's expression immediately darkened. "Li Feng, has water gotten into your brain? What nonsense are you spouting?"

Han Zheng said coolly, "Steward Chen, you're the one with water in your brain. Do you still not understand the situation you're in? You don't know your own place!"

With that, Han Zheng waved his hand and led Li Sancheng and the others straight at Steward Chen.

"Men! Stop them for me!"

Chen Moshan roared.

A few of the laborers he had brought to the estate were his trusted aides.

Among them, one laborer wielding a sickle was the fastest. He charged at Han Zheng with his sickle raised.

"How dare you! You are all guards hired with Shenghe Hall's money. Are you rebelling now?"

Han Zheng sneered and kicked the tall, burly laborer straight into the air.

This was not a figure of speech. The man truly flew several meters away before crashing to the ground with a bang.

Han Zheng walked over, stepped on the laborer's head, and said coldly, "When facing the Pig Demon before, why didn't I see such courage from you?

"You cower before Demons, yet you dare draw a blade on me. Do you think I'm easier to bully than the Pig Demon? Or have you always been this brave? Hm?"

As Han Zheng increased the force beneath his foot, the laborer's face filled with terror.

He felt that if Han Zheng used even a little more strength, his skull would be crushed beneath that foot!

"Spare... spare me!"

The laborer pleaded indistinctly, spitting blood-flecked foam as he spoke.

Han Zheng kicked him aside. The man's body twitched twice before he stopped moving altogether. No one knew whether he was alive or dead.

This scene terrified Steward Chen's other trusted aides. None of them dared make another rash move.

Only then did they remember Han Zheng's terrifying bearing yesterday, when he had slaughtered the Pig Demon while bathed head to toe in demon blood.

Even that savage, vicious Pig Demon, like a little giant, had been brought down by Han Zheng. Wouldn't they be courting death by stepping forward?

Besides, if things truly were as Li Feng had said, and the Pig Demon could catch up at any moment, then Chen Moshan really was gambling with their lives.

You had lived seventy or eighty years—enough to get your money's worth. They had not lived enough yet!

Han Zheng walked over, grabbed Steward Chen by the head, and slapped him across the face, sending what few teeth he had flying.

"Old bastard, I've fucking put up with you for a long time!"

Steward Chen still wanted to curse and shout, but Li Sancheng somehow produced a filthy rag and stuffed it into his mouth. He tied him up like a trussed fowl and tossed him aside.

After dusting off his hands, Han Zheng gave Li Feng a look, indicating that it was taken care of.

Perhaps Chen Moshan had lived so long that he had become muddleheaded, or perhaps he had been a steward for too long and grown accustomed to giving orders.

In this wilderness, with no village ahead and no inn behind, his status as a steward was a joke.

Whoever had the harder fist had the right to speak!

Li Feng said solemnly to the laborers, "Chen Moshan lined his own pockets and broke the law for personal gain. He has now been apprehended, and once we return to Black Stone County, he will be handed over to the chief shopkeeper for punishment.

"Although we killed the Pig Demon on the road, we must move faster in case its parents track us down for revenge.

"From now on, harvest the Spiritual Medicine at full speed. Once a variety is harvested, bring it directly to me for identification and grading.

"Rest assured, if anything goes wrong, I, Li Feng, will bear the responsibility. It has nothing to do with you!"

Li Feng had worked at Shenghe Hall for over thirty years, climbing from apprentice to Senior Pharmacist. His prestige was considerable as well.

More importantly, Han Zheng's strength stood behind him, so the Shenghe Hall laborers did not dare refuse.

Even Steward Chen's trusted aides did not think of stirring up any trouble.

Everyone sped up. They did not even need half a day; in just two hours, they had harvested all the Spiritual Medicine and loaded it onto the carts.

Before setting out, Han Zheng suddenly stopped Li Feng.

"We can't take the same road as before. If we run headlong into the Pig Demon, we'll be in for a rude awakening."

Li Feng thought for a moment. "The previous road is the shortest route. If we change routes, I do know one.

"However, that road passes through many scattered villages. It winds and twists, and the journey is somewhat longer—more than two hundred li farther than the previous route."

"More than two hundred li is no big deal. We have more people and Spiritual Medicine than we did on the way here. Safety is the most important thing."

Li Feng nodded, feeling that Han Zheng's words made sense.

Although Han Zheng looked young, he handled matters with extreme caution and mature composure.

The two settled on their plan, and naturally, no one else objected.

The caravan set out. Along the way, Han Zheng kept his guard raised to the utmost, especially after the Pig Demon incident.

Fortunately, nothing happened. Though this route was more roundabout, it still had some signs of human habitation. Every one or two hundred li, there was a small village.

However, all of these villages were utterly dilapidated. Their inhabitants were poor and numb with despair; in some villages, the residents could not even piece together one complete set of clothing between them.

Han Zheng had previously believed the people in Black Stone County's slums lived in sufficient misery, but he had not expected the people outside the county seat to suffer far more.

Looking at those ragged villagers, Li Feng sighed. "There have been many natural disasters and man-made calamities in recent years. On top of that, Shannan Dao has always been barren, filled with hills and mountains unsuitable for growing grain. The common people are having an increasingly difficult time.

"Even if they do not die in war or become food for Demons, the number who starve to death every year is still far from small."

"Doesn't the imperial court do anything?"

Li Feng said mockingly, "The imperial court? If it were capable of doing anything, would the Incense Cult be causing trouble?

"Just look at our County Magistrate in Black Stone County. In three years since taking office, he has held court twice.

"Other than drinking, composing poetry, and matching couplets, spending his days drunk and dreaming, what affairs in the county has he ever managed?"

Only after hearing Li Feng say this did Han Zheng remember that Black Stone County even had a County Magistrate.

Yet this County Magistrate had such a vanishingly low presence that it was outrageous. The true powers in Black Stone County were the two great families and three major gangs.

"And our County Magistrate is already considered decent. Though incompetent, at least he doesn't make a mess of things.

"I heard that neighboring Yongning County is where there is truly no peace.

"The local County Magistrate is a corrupt official. He joins hands with the local gangs to scrape the land three feet deep, wiping out entire families at the slightest provocation.

"Many people from Yongning County could no longer survive there and fled to Black Stone County to make a living."

Han Zheng shook his head lightly.

This was what the end of a dynasty was like. In the historical records of his past life, there had been countless things even more absurd and dark than this.

In the end, whether the state prospered or perished, the people suffered.

"Senior Pharmacist Li, how far are we from Black Stone County?"

"About two hundred li. Li Family Village is roughly ten li ahead. We can rest when we pass through it."

After saying that, Senior Pharmacist Li called out to the caravan. "Everyone, move a little faster! We can rest once we reach the village ahead."

On the return journey, the carts were all loaded with medicinal herbs, so their pace was inevitably slowed.

Whenever they passed difficult stretches of road, the Shenghe Hall laborers had to help push the carts.

Thus, after walking for half a day, everyone had grown somewhat tired. They had to rest for a while every three or four hours.

Half an hour later, a small village appeared before the caravan.

"Huh? Why is that village giving off red smoke?"

Following behind Han Zheng, Li Sancheng muttered in puzzlement.

Han Zheng also sensed that something was wrong.

Most common folk ate only two meals a day, one in the morning and one in the evening.

One reason was the shortage of grain; another was that they begrudged the firewood.

It was midday now. Hardly anyone in the village would be lighting a fire to cook, and even if they were, why was the smoke red?

Moreover, the red smoke was strange. Its color was as scarlet as blood, and it rose straight into the sky, utterly unaffected by the breeze.

"Stop first."

Han Zheng raised a hand, bringing the caravan to a temporary halt. He walked to a slightly higher earthen mound and looked closely.

That red smoke in the village was not from cooking fires.

More than a hundred villagers had gathered in an open space, slicing open their hands and letting their blood drip onto thumb-thick incense sticks.

The incense sticks, soaked through with blood, were lit. The incense smoke, carrying scarlet blood-qi, soared skyward and shot straight into the clouds.

Though the villagers were bloodletting, beneath that scarlet incense smoke, every one of them wore an intoxicated expression.

Even those whose faces had gone pale from blood loss still looked as though they were floating among the immortals.

Before the gathered villagers, two people in white robes led them in chanting scriptures.

"Merciful Mother, deliver all living beings.

"Receive the wondrous law of Heaven, True Spirit Master.

"We believers scent the incense with sincerity.

"Fear neither life nor death, and only then attain transcendence.

"Enter the gates of our faith, the homeland of eternal life.

"Neither born nor dead, Nine Levels of Ultimate Bliss!"

The chanting of the hundred-plus villagers was uneven, their voices carrying indistinct local accents.

Yet their voices were filled with an indescribable fanaticism and intoxication, making the scene incomparably sinister.

Li Feng walked to Han Zheng's side, his expression somewhat unsightly.

"This is bad! It's the Incense Cult!

"Wasn't the Incense Cult always active in Huainan Dao?

"This is already Shannan Dao territory, and it is less than two hundred li from Black Stone County. Why would the Incense Cult appear here?"