Strange Illness

Creak—screech—

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

It was not moving slowly, but compared to the giant wolves that came and went like a gust of wind, it was indeed far from swift.

Inside the prison cart, the two women and one man wore ashen expressions as they sat cross-legged apart from one another.

The man and woman sitting closer together kept communicating through voice transmission. The young woman in the corner merely closed her eyes and concentrated, her lashes flickering now and then.

The woman in the corner was named Lin Suqing, and her Daoist Name was Suqing as well. When she took a master, her master had thought the name was rather nice and simply kept using it.

It was casualness taken to the extreme.

Just moments ago, they had believed they were saved;

Lin Suqing had only managed to say the word "Thank" in "Thank you all for stepping forward in righteousness" when sharp blades were already pressed against their throats.

The Northern Wilds men had struck countless times faster than the three of them could activate their spells.

After being subdued, they had been tossed into this prison cart. That "Young Lord" who had just shaken their Dao Hearts had already departed ahead of them.

The Young Lord was clearly just a youth, absolutely no older than fifteen; with the Human Domain's average lifespan exceeding three hundred years, he was a mere child no matter how one looked at it.

Even within the cultivation sects of the Human Domain, a youth of that age would only just be beginning cultivation.

How could he...

What a powerful Star Invocation Technique.

Lin Suqing had once heard that humans who had drifted beyond the Human Domain struggled for survival alongside the Hundred Races beneath heaven and earth, and had learned many profound methods from them.

The Star Invocation Technique was learned from the humans of the Northern Wilds. It somewhat resembled the Five Elements arts of the Human Domain, yet no matter how formidable it was, it should not have been so overwhelmingly powerful. Otherwise, the senior experts would have long since spread the Northern Wilds' Star Invocation Technique throughout the Human Domain.

It should be said that he was an incredibly powerful youth.

Lin Suqing gently pursed her lips. This youth had left a deep impression on her.

When they had just been escorted before that carriage, the Young Lord had lounged sideways upon his throne, holding a parchment scroll in one hand. His indifferent gaze and faintly weary eyes had looked upon them as though they were three...

Objects.

And the only thing this "Young Lord" had said to them was, when a bear beside him asked how they should be dealt with, the Young Lord said:

"Take them back first. I'll arrange it."

Having one's life and death held in another's hands was truly an unpleasant feeling.

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

What was more, the Northern Wilds were so vast. One heavy rain could erase most traces; even if elders from their sect came searching, they would likely be unable to find the slightest clue of them.

A strand of Spiritual Consciousness voice transmission slipped into her ear:

"Senior Sister, we can't truly let ourselves be taken back. Otherwise, our lives and deaths will be decided by a single word from that youth.

He has already left. How about we..."

Lin Suqing immediately opened her eyes, autumn water shimmering within them as she looked toward the male cultivator beside her.

When she saw her junior brother and junior sister sitting nearly arm against arm, she lightly pressed her lips together and swiftly shifted her gaze away.

Clearly, she had come first...

On the Frost Wolf carriage an unknown distance away, Wu Wang watched the Crystal Ball before him.

The Crystal Ball shimmered with flowing radiance, displaying the scene within the prison cart. Wu Wang keenly caught Lin Suqing's changing expression, as well as the movements of the other man and woman's lips.

Interesting.

Wu Wang naturally knew that most cultivators possessed the means of Spiritual Consciousness voice transmission. It was a minor technique even low-level cultivators could master, though its flaw was that those with powerful Spiritual Consciousness—or who had cultivated divine consciousness—could easily overhear it.

Wu Wang raised a hand, and a Giant Wolf Rider beside him immediately leaned in, received his orders, and swiftly departed.

A moment later;

Within the prison cart, the three cross-legged figures exchanged glances. Their solemn expressions and vigilant eyes already made it clear that, in but a moment, a great "cart-breaking" battle would erupt.

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

"Prepare yourselves. When I count to ten, strike the sixth pillar together.

One, two... five..."

Awoo!

A giant wolf suddenly howled nearby. The three instinctively looked over, only to see several burly men lifting heavy crossbows that gleamed with bronze metallic light from atop the wolves' backs.

Another burly man, several dozen zhang away, threw out a wilderness stone the size of a human head.

Click! Click!

Several Giant Wolf Riders pulled their triggers at once. The violent whistle through the air resembled the shrill cry of a Fierce Beast, and the wilderness stone exploded directly in midair. The surrounding Giant Wolf Riders waved their weapons and erupted into cheers.

"Gulp."

The male cultivator's throat trembled, and his voice transmission instinctively became:

"Six, five, four..."

Lin Suqing silently turned her head away, unable to stop herself from raising a hand to rub her forehead.

Mm, her junior brother was not greedy for life or afraid of death. He simply cherished his life a little too much. Being so able to read the winds and trim the sails, he truly deserved to be called a man of the hour.

At dusk, the setting sun was like spilled blood.

The skies above the Northern Wilds grasslands were lofty and profound. The dazzling starry sky could not wait to shine upon the heavens that had yet to turn fully black, while two intersecting Milky Ways stirred the reveries and inspirations of countless Great Wilderness creatures.

Lin Suqing was slightly dazed. By the time she came back to herself, the prison cart was already traveling along a broad, level road, with clusters of tents and stone houses beginning to appear intermittently on either side.

The prison cart's destination was a gentle slope.

Stone houses and felt yurts covered the slope, while several enormous felt tents stood at its summit like palaces. Above them hung a banner depicting a gray bear throwing back its head in a roar.

The Giant Wolf Riders withdrew in an orderly fashion. A group of men and women clad in pitch-black armor, stronger in build and brimming with Killing Intent, took over the prison cart and escorted the three of them toward the top of the slope.

"So these are the Human Domain cultivators the Young Lord captured?"

Someone called out from the roadside, and Lin Suqing's group of three immediately drew a great deal of attention.

A few unsavory remarks followed. Most came from robust women dressed in animal-hide clothing, who pointed at them and appraised them from head to toe:

"The humans from the Human Domain really aren't the same breed as us. Look how skinny that little girl is—she's got no strength."

"This young fellow is really handsome! He can't compare to those hulking brutes in our tribe."

"What's the use of being handsome? Look at that build. Isn't he just a wax-tipped spear?"

The male cultivator glared at the woman who had said that. Though he had cultivated in the mountains for many years, he still knew that was no compliment.

At the edge of his vision, a sturdy woman raised a bronze hammer and brutally smashed a Chujian Beast frozen into a huge lump of ice into pieces.

Hmph!

Big Sister really had a sharp eye!

He had still been a pure yang virgin last year!

One woman asked in puzzlement, "What did the Young Lord capture them for? To feed the wolf cubs?"

That very question successfully stirred unease in Lin Suqing and the other two.

The next time Lin Suqing saw this "Young Lord" was inside a brightly lit grand tent.

The several exquisite artifact lamps within the tent provided ample illumination, which surprised Lin Suqing slightly. At a glance, she could tell they had been refined by Human Domain cultivators and were worth quite a bit.

Looking again at the Young Lord, he sat in a chair upholstered in animal hide.

Lin Suqing could not help studying this powerful youth a few more times.

He had changed into ordinary attire: a comfortable short linen shirt and long trousers, his long hair simply tied behind his head. Though his square, upright face was delicate, it carried not the slightest trace of effeminacy.

Instead, he gave off an inexplicable warmth.

Wu Wang raised a hand slightly. Guards at the side brought over three animal-hide chairs and placed them at the edge of the carpet, three zhang away from him.

"Sit," Wu Wang said evenly. "Since I went to the effort of saving you, I will not kill you now."

The three of them visibly relaxed and exchanged several glances.

Lin Suqing took half a step forward first and sat in the animal-hide chair on the left, setting an example for her junior brother and sister.

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

Wu Wang ignored her and merely said:

"The mainstream cultivation paths in the Human Domain are Spirit Cultivation and Body Cultivation. The blood energy in your bodies is not vigorous, so you should cultivate the spirit.

Spirit Absorption, Qi Gathering, Return to Origin, Core Formation—these are the first four realms of the Golden Core path most widely practiced by Spirit Cultivators in the Human Domain. You cannot yet achieve Skyward Flight, so your strength is clearly below the Golden Core Realm.

Core Formation Realm?"

All three cultivators showed ashamed expressions.

Lin Suqing replied, "Of the three of us, I am the senior sister. My cultivation is merely at the middle stage of the Return to Origin Realm. Please forgive the poor showing."

Wu Wang curled his lips. "So weak."

Fine!

Lin Suqing pressed her lips together, recalling the iceberg that had condensed from nothingness. She silently lowered her head and sighed.

Wu Wang asked, "With your own strength, you likely could not leave the Human Domain. Why did you come to the Northern Wilds, and how did you get here?"

Lin Suqing answered:

"We took a merchant ship carrying goods north from the coast of the Eastern Sea. After drifting for three years and five months, we finally reached the Northern Wilds.

We came here to seek the legendary spirit bird Baiye and take its beast core to refine a spirit pill, in order to cure the illness of an elder in our sect."

"Senior Sister!"

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

"Your senior sister is very clever," Wu Wang interrupted him blandly. "At least cleverer than you."

The male cultivator's face reddened, but he only snorted and sat there with his chest raised and head held high.

Wu Wang tapped the armrest of his animal-hide seat with his fingers, his gaze drifting across the three of them. After some time, he finally said slowly:

"Did you obtain Baiye's beast core?"

"No..."

"I have many here. I can give you one."

Wu Wang continued, "But I saved you, and I would give you what you need, not without asking anything in return.

I need one of the three of you to remain and serve me. You need only stay here for six years.

The other two may take the spirit pill and leave. I will also give those departing sufficient traveling funds and send people to escort you to a place where you can board a ship south."

The three cultivators could not help but freeze.

Wu Wang said no more, sitting there as he flipped through the parchment scroll before him.

Lin Suqing turned to look at the male cultivator, only to discover that the junior brother she favored had pale lips at that moment. His fists clenched and loosened repeatedly, clearly torn by indecision.

She sighed inwardly. After all, she was the senior sister...

"I'll stay!"

The male cultivator called out firmly, though his voice was faintly weak. "I'll stay. Senior Sister Lin, Junior Sister Cha, take the spirit pill and go back!"

"No, I'll stay." Lin Suqing's eyes were filled with resolve as she took two steps forward and looked directly at Wu Wang. "I will remain here and serve you for six years, as repayment for your kindness.

Please let my junior brother and junior sister leave safely."

"Have you discussed it?"

Wu Wang lifted his chin toward the male cultivator. "As a man, won't you insist a little longer?"

"Senior Sister, I think you..."

"Senior Brother!"

The female cultivator, who had not spoken until now, called softly. She exchanged a glance with the male cultivator.

Lin Suqing turned her head, just in time to see their hands clasped together...

The male cultivator did not dare meet Lin Suqing's eyes. Lowering his head, he said, "Senior Sister, th-thank you."

Lin Suqing's body trembled. She merely nodded faintly, then stood there with her head lowered in silence.

So it was ugly, after all.

Lin Suqing vaguely understood the meaning of the words "serve him."

She simply had not expected this youth, who looked so refined and delicate, to be... to be in such a hurry.

Almost as soon as the three of them decided that she would remain, this "Young Lord" sent her junior brother and sister away, then ordered guards to stand watch on either side of the grand tent.

This...

This youth had fine brows and bright eyes. It seemed she was not losing out too badly.

Lin Suqing bit down hard on her lower lip, her face burning as though it might drip blood.

So be it. For the sake of her junior brother and sister leaving safely, and because she truly owed this youth a heaven-sized debt of gratitude.

She would consider this... repaying his kindness.

Lin Suqing sighed softly. Her slender hand untied her already damaged waist sash, then she raised a hand to remove her artifact jade hairpin. Her three thousand strands of dark hair cascaded down like a waterfall.

Though she did not know the specific steps that followed, the miscellaneous storybooks she had read in the Human Domain always skipped directly to another scene after the words "disrobed and loosened the belt."

But since she had chosen to remain, she had already prepared herself for sacrifice!

Wu Wang: ...

What a pity. Her figure was quite nice. If only he were normal and did not have that strange illness, how wonderful would that be?

"Could it be that you're trying to take advantage of this Young Lord?"

Wu Wang smiled and shook his head. "Put your clothes back on. Even if I want you to serve me in that regard, we should at least cultivate some feelings first."

"Hm?"

Lin Suqing was full of confusion as she hurriedly tied her waist sash back on.

Shortly afterward, several burly men carrying sabers entered and stood before and behind Wu Wang, their eyes fixed intently on Lin Suqing.

"Come forward."

Wu Wang struggled to extend his left hand through the gap formed by two guard uncles standing beside him. "Touch your fingertip to mine."

Lin Suqing was instantly filled with question marks. Thinking this might be some mysterious ritual of the tribe, she suspiciously lifted a finger and touched it toward Wu Wang's.

The guard uncles all widened their eyes, blood energy surging around them with such force that it nearly injured Lin Suqing.

Wu Wang could not help holding his breath as well.

Could it be broken?

Perhaps women from the Human Domain were different from the women back home. After all, they looked much softer.

Could her own opportunity truly lie in the Human Domain?

A pin drop could have been heard inside the great tent.

Tap.

Two fingertips lightly touched. Lin Suqing had no idea what had happened, yet she heard a muffled groan. The young man before her rolled his eyes back and toppled backward, his whole body twitching involuntarily several times.

"Young Master! Young Master!"

"Don't come any closer!"

Several burly, imposing uncles shouted nervously, while Lin Suqing stood rooted to the spot in complete shock.

W-what kind of situation was this?