The Oddity Sickness

Screech—Screech—

In the afterglow of the setting sun, a giant beast with thorns covering its back slowly dragged a prison cart made of rough logs towards the snow-capped mountains.

Its pace wasn't slow, but compared to the Giant Wolf Riders who came and went like the wind, it wasn't exactly swift.

Inside the prison cart, the two women and one man sat with ashen faces.

The man and woman closer to each other were constantly exchanging telepathic messages. The young woman in the corner simply closed her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering occasionally.

The woman in the corner was named Lin Suqing, and her Daoist name was also Suqing. When she was accepted as a disciple, her master thought the name was fine and just kept it.

It was a name that emphasized… casualness.

Moments before, they had thought they were saved.

Lin Suqing had only managed to utter the word "Thank" in "Thank you all for your righteous intervention" before sharp blades were already at their throats.

The speed at which the men of the Northern Plains acted was far faster than the three of them could even begin to activate their spells.

After they were subdued, they were thrown into this prison cart. The 'Young Master' who had just shaken their Dao hearts had already left.

This Young Master was clearly just a boy, no older than fifteen by the looks of him. Considering the average human lifespan was over three hundred years, he was undeniably a child by any measure.

Even in the cultivation sects of the Human Domain, boys this age were only just beginning their training.

How could this be…

Such powerful Star Invocation Technique.

Lin Suqing had heard that humans who lived outside the Human Domain, coexisting with the myriad races, had learned many profound methods from them.

The Star Invocation Technique was learned from the Northern Plains humans. It was somewhat similar to the Five Elements techniques of the Human Domain, but even if its power was great, it shouldn't be this formidable. Otherwise, the esteemed elders would have surely promoted the Northern Plains Star Invocation Technique throughout the Human Domain long ago.

It should be said, he was a formidable young man.

Lin Suqing pursed her lips slightly. The impression this young man left on her was quite profound.

When they were first brought to the carriage, this Young Master was lounging in his throne, holding a sheepskin scroll. His dismissive gaze, coupled with his slightly languid eyes, made them feel as if he was looking at three…

objects.

And the only thing this 'Young Master' said to them was when a bear beside him asked how to deal with them, the 'Young Master' replied:

"Take them back first, I'll handle the arrangements."

The feeling of having one's life and death held in another's grasp was truly unpleasant.

Lin Suqing knew in her heart that even if they died in the Northern Plains, no one would risk coming to their rescue.

Moreover, the Northern Plains were so vast; a heavy rain could erase most traces. Even if their sect elders came looking, they would be hard-pressed to find any sign of them.

A wisp of spiritual sense transmitted into her ear:

"Senior Sister, we can't really be taken back. If we are, our lives will depend on that young man's whim. Since he's gone, why don't we just..."

Lin Suqing immediately opened her eyes, her gaze like autumn water, and looked towards the male cultivator beside her.

When she saw her junior brother and junior sister almost touching her arm, she pursed her lips and quickly averted her gaze.

Clearly, she had arrived first…

Far from this place, on a Frost Wolf carriage, Wu Wang looked at the crystal ball before him.

The crystal ball shimmered with light, displaying the scene inside the prison cart. Wu Wang keenly caught Lin Suqing's change in expression and the opening and closing of the lips of the other pair.

Interesting.

Wu Wang knew that most cultivators had ways of transmitting messages with spiritual sense. This was a small skill that even low-level cultivators could master, with the drawback that it could easily be overheard by others with powerful spiritual sense or those who had cultivated divine sense.

Wu Wang raised his hand, and immediately a Giant Wolf Rider leaned forward, quickly receiving his orders and departing.

A moment later;

Inside the prison cart, the three figures exchanged glances. From their serious expressions and vigilant eyes, it was clear that a 'cart-breaking' battle would commence shortly.

The male cultivator's voice entered his senior sister's and junior sister's ears:

"Prepare yourselves. When I count to ten, we'll all attack the sixth pillar together. One, two… five…"

Aoowww!

Suddenly, a wolf's howl came from the side. The three instinctively looked over, only to see several burly men on the backs of giant wolves hoisting powerful crossbows that gleamed with bronze metal.

Another strong man, from dozens of yards away, threw a fist-sized barren stone.

Crack crack!

Several Giant Wolf Riders simultaneously pulled their triggers. The intense whistling sound of the projectiles was like the mournful cry of a fierce beast. The barren stone shattered directly in mid-air, and the surrounding Giant Wolf Riders cheered as they brandished their weapons.

"Six."

The male cultivator's voice trembled. His telepathic message subconsciously changed to:

"Six, five, four…"

Lin Suqing silently turned her head away, unable to help but raise a hand to her forehead.

Hmm, my junior brother isn't afraid of death, he's just purely fond of his own life. Such an understanding of the times truly befits a fine talent.

At dusk, the setting sun bled like blood.

The sky above the Northern Plains grassland was high and deep, and the brilliant starry sky had already impatiently begun to shine in the not-yet-completely-darkened firmament. Two intertwined galaxies sparked countless daydreams and inspirations among the living beings of the Great Wilderness.

Lin Suqing was slightly dazed. When she came to her senses, the prison cart had already driven onto a flat road. On both sides of the road, continuous tents and stone houses began to appear intermittently.

The destination of the prison cart was a gentle slope.

The slope was covered with stone houses and yurts. At the very top of the slope stood several huge yurts, like palaces, from which hung a flag depicting a gray bear roaring upwards.

The Giant Wolf Riders withdrew in an orderly fashion. A group of men and women wearing pitch-black armor, with stronger physiques and radiating an aura of fierce energy, took over the prison cart and escorted the three of them up the slope.

"Are these the Human Domain cultivators the Young Master captured?"

Someone called out from the roadside, and the three of them, Lin Suqing included, immediately attracted a large number of onlookers.

A few unpleasant comments followed, mostly from robust women dressed in animal skins, pointing and gossiping about them:

"The humans from the Human Domain are different from our people. This little girl is so skinny, she has no strength."

"This young man is really handsome! He can't compare to the rough men in our tribe."

"What's the use of being handsome? Look at his build, he's still a weakling."

The male cultivator glared at the woman who said this. Although he had cultivated in the mountains for many years, he knew this was not a compliment.

At the edge of his vision, a strong and sturdy woman was holding a bronze hammer, brutally smashing a Chujian Beast, frozen into a large ice lump, into pieces.

Hmph!

Big sister really knows people!

I was still pure last year!

A woman asked curiously, "What did the Young Master capture them for? To feed the wolf cubs?"

It was precisely this question that successfully stirred up the unease of Lin Suqing and the other two.

Lin Suqing saw this 'Young Master' again in a brightly lit large tent.

The exquisite magical lamps inside, which provided abundant light, surprised Lin Suqing slightly. It was obvious at a glance that they were refined by Human Domain cultivators and were quite valuable.

Looking at the Young Master again, he was seated in a beast-skin chair.

Lin Suqing couldn't help but take a few more glances at this powerful young man.

He had changed into ordinary attire: a comfortable linen shirt and trousers, his long hair simply tied back. His face, though refined, had a square structure and lacked any effeminate qualities.

Instead, it exuded a strange warmth.

Wu Wang raised his hand slightly. A guard beside him brought over three beast-skin chairs and placed them at the edge of the carpet, about ten feet away from him.

"Sit," Wu Wang said calmly. "Since I went to the trouble of saving you, I won't kill you now."

The three of them visibly relaxed, exchanging glances.

Lin Suqing took half a step forward first, sitting on the beast-skin chair on the left, setting an example for her junior brother and sister.

She said softly, "This... Young Master, thank you for saving our lives."

Wu Wang did not respond to her, merely saying:

"The mainstream cultivation paths in the Human Domain are spirit cultivation and body cultivation. Your blood and qi are not strong, so you should be cultivating spirits.

Spirit Gathering, Qi Condensation, Return to Origin, Core Formation. These are the first four realms of the most common Golden Core path for spirit cultivators in the Human Domain. You cannot yet fly through the air, so your strength is clearly below the Core Formation stage.

Core Formation Realm?"

The three cultivators each showed a look of shame.

Lin Suqing replied, "Among the three of us, I am the senior sister. My cultivation is only at the middle stage of the Return to Origin Realm. You must be laughing at me."

Wu Wang curled his lips. "So weak."

So!

Lin Suqing pursed her lips, recalling the ice mountain that had materialized out of thin air, and silently lowered her head with a sigh.

Wu Wang asked, "With your own strength, you probably couldn't have left the Human Domain. Why did you come to the Northern Plains, and how did you get here?"

Lin Suqing answered:

"We took a large ship heading north for trade at the coast of the East Sea. We drifted for three and a half years before finally arriving at the Northern Plains.

We came here to search for the legendary spirit bird, Baiye, and to obtain its beast core to refine a spirit pill to cure our sect elder's illness."

"Senior Sister!"

The male cultivator frowned. "Don't say so much..."

"Your senior sister is very smart," Wu Wang interrupted the male cultivator calmly. "At least smarter than you."

The male cultivator's face turned red, but he merely snorted coldly and sat upright.

Wu Wang tapped his fingers on the armrest of the beast-skin chair, his gaze sweeping over the three people before he spoke slowly:

"Did you get the Baiye's beast core?"

"No..."

"I have plenty here, I can give you one."

Wu Wang continued, "But I saved you, and gave you what you needed, not without asking for something in return.

I need one of the three of you to stay and serve me, just for six years.

The other two can leave with the spirit pills. I will also give them enough travel money and arrange for someone to escort them to a place where they can board a ship to head south."

The three cultivators were stunned.

Wu Wang said no more, sitting down and flipping through the sheepskin scroll in front of him.

Lin Suqing turned to look at the male cultivator, only to find that her favored junior disciple's lips were a little pale, his fists clenched and then loosened, clearly conflicted.

She sighed inwardly, After all, I am the senior disciple...

"I'll stay!"

The male cultivator said with a firm voice, though it was a little shaky, "I'll stay, Senior Sister Lin, Junior Sister Cha, you take the spirit pills and go back!"

"No, I'll stay," Lin Suqing's eyes were full of determination. She took two steps forward, looking directly at Wu Wang, "I will stay here to serve you for six years, as repayment for your kindness. Please let my junior brother and junior sister leave safely."

"Is it settled?"

Wu Wang gestured with his chin towards the male cultivator, "As a man, aren't you going to insist?"

"Senior Sister, I think you..."

"Senior Brother!"

The female cultivator, who had been silent, called out softly and exchanged a look with the male cultivator.

Lin Suqing turned her head and saw their hands clasped together...

The male cultivator didn't dare to meet Lin Suqing's gaze, lowering his head and saying, "Senior Sister, Th-thank you very much."

Lin Suqing's body trembled. She merely nodded slightly and stood there, head bowed and silent.

Originally ugly, myself.

Lin Suqing had a vague understanding of what "serve" meant.

She just hadn't expected that this young man, who looked so delicate, would be so... so eager.

As soon as the three of them decided she would stay, this 'Young Master' sent someone to escort her junior brother and junior sister away, then ordered guards to stand watch on either side of the large tent.

This...

This young man was handsome and refined, and she didn't seem to be at too much of a disadvantage.

Lin Suqing bit her lower lip hard, her cheeks burning as if they would bleed.

Fine, for the sake of my junior brother and junior sister's safe departure, and because I truly owe this young man an immense debt.

Let's just consider this repayment of a debt.

Lin Suqing sighed softly, her delicate hands undoing her damaged waist sash and removing the jade hairpin artifact. Her three thousand strands of black hair cascaded down like a waterfall.

Although she didn't know the exact steps that followed – in the miscellaneous books and stories she'd read in the Human Domain, it was always just a phrase like "loosening clothes" and then the scene would change immediately.

But since she had chosen to stay, she was prepared to make a sacrifice!

Wu Wang: ...

What a shame, she has a pretty good figure. If only I were normal and didn't have that strange illness, it would be great.

"Are you trying to take advantage of this Young Master?"

Wu Wang smiled and shook his head, "Put your clothes back on. Even if it's about serving in that aspect, you need to at least build some rapport first."

"Huh?"

Lin Suqing was full of confusion and fumbled to tie her waist sash back on.

A moment later, several burly men with knives walked in, standing in front of and behind Wu Wang, their eyes fixed on Lin Suqing.

"Come forward."

Wu Wang stretched his left hand out through the gap created by the two bodyguard uncles, "Touch my fingertip with yours."

Lin Suqing's mind was suddenly filled with question marks. She thought this might be some mysterious tribal ritual. Doubtfully, she raised her finger and pointed it towards Wu Wang's finger.

The guards' eyes widened, and a surge of blood energy emanated from them, nearly causing Lin Suqing to get injured.

Wu Wang also held his breath.

Can it be broken?

The women of the Human Domain might be different from the women back home, after all, they seem much softer.

Could my chance really be on the Human Domain?

Silence fell in the large tent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Tap.

Two fingertips lightly touched. Lin Suqing was completely unaware, but then she heard a muffled groan. The young man before her rolled his eyes back, his body tilting backward, and twitched unconsciously a few times.

"Young Master! Young Master!"

"Don't come any closer!"

Several burly, imposing men shouted nervously, but Lin Suqing stood frozen in place.

What in the world was this?

(PS: The male lead's strange illness is an important plot point and will be fully explained later. His orientation is normal, and there will be no problematic elements, so rest assured. Please add to your collection and vote with recommendation tickets! This new book is updated with 7,000+ characters daily! Starting tomorrow, updates will be at a fixed time!)