Black Marsh

Chapter 7: Black Marsh

After the East Side Courtyard settled down, another half year passed.

Warm Nest was running steadily.

Newborn kittens had a place to stay, and the ordinary palace cats and strays were slowly being tamed into a hint of spiritual awareness.

Charcoal Ball handled the night patrols, Snowball and Little Flame kept watch over the sleeping hall as usual, A Ju spent his days mooching food outside, Swirl guarded the door, and Blue Tail watched the fire.

Lin Yan hadn't been idle either.

Relying on Meow Wish Value, Soul Devour Moon, and Cat Resonance, his cultivation had finally and steadily crossed the thousand-year threshold.

If he had to face a powerful soul master head-on, he was still far from enough.

But if it was just about hiding his aura, running away, and buying time, there were few near Martial Soul City who could easily catch him anymore.

As for the matters in the courtyard, he had taught almost everything he could.

He finally felt the urge to head out.

"I can't really stay in the East Side Courtyard for my whole life, can I?"

The little white cat lay on the eaves, looking down at the cat crowd below, muttering to himself.

"Cats are good cats, and the food is good food."

"But This Cat still needs to go out and see just how deep the waters of Douluo Continent really are."

And he knew it in his heart.

The reason he could huddle safely in Martial Soul Hall was that he had Bibi Dong's thigh to shield him for now.

But if he wanted to go further in the future, just huddling wouldn't be enough.

His cultivation needed to rise.

Opportunities needed to be sought.

And he needed to slowly meet people.

Otherwise, when trouble came, could he really just let a bunch of cats take the hit?

Thinking this far, Lin Yan didn't hesitate any longer. He called over the most core cats in the East Side Courtyard.

Charcoal Ball, Snowball, A Ju, Swirl, Blue Tail, and Little Flame.

Six cats quickly lined up in a row.

Charcoal Ball was still the steadiest, Snowball was quiet and calm, A Ju looked like he wanted to rub against his leg, Swirl's ears were perked high, Blue Tail still carried a half-asleep look, and only Little Flame was the most direct, already placing a paw on his front leg.

"Mew."

The meaning was clear.

What do you want now?

Lin Yan lifted a paw and patted her on the head.

"I'm going out for a while."

As soon as he said this, all six cats raised their heads to look at him.

Even A Ju stopped his fidgeting.

For a moment, the rooftop was dead silent.

After a long while, it was Charcoal Ball who first sent a thought through Spark Resonance.

[How long will you be out?]

"Not sure."

Lin Yan thought it over and gave a rough estimate.

"At the shortest, a few days; at the longest, half a month."

"I'll just wander outside Martial Soul City first. I won't go too far."

Swirl immediately sent a second thought.

[Then what about the courtyard?]

"Wing it."

Lin Yan replied instinctively, then realized these cats might not understand, so he quickly got serious.

"The courtyard rules stay the same."

"Charcoal Ball watches the night, Swirl guards the courtyard gate, A Ju, don't just focus on scamming food—keep an eye on whoever delivers things or pokes their head around outside."

"Blue Tail guards Warm Nest and the fire seed, Snowball and Little Flame keep following Her Holiness the Pope as usual."

Saying this, Lin Yan deliberately looked down at Little Flame.

"Especially you."

"You can't come with me."

Little Flame's ears drooped immediately.

It clearly wanted to follow.

Lin Yan wasn't exactly unwilling to bring it.

But the main issue was that on Bibi Dong's side, she really couldn't do without it and Snowball—the two cats best at calming the mind.

Over the past few months, though Bibi Dong was still busy and still cold, her sleep had already stabilized quite a bit compared to before.

Especially in the last half-month, she'd rarely woken up in the middle of the night anymore.

This result had been hard-won.

Lin Yan couldn't just cut off that calming thread because he wanted to go out and take a look.

"You stay."

"When This Cat comes back, I'll bring you something good."

Little Flame stared at him for a long while, then finally nodded somewhat reluctantly.

At that moment, A Ju also sent a thought over.

[Are there little fish out there?]

Lin Yan: "..."

"Is that all that's on your mind?"

A Ju wasn't the least bit guilty; in fact, he even flicked his tail.

Lin Yan felt a laugh bubbling up, and the parting emotions in his heart were diluted a bit.

But when his gaze swept over each of them one by one, something still felt a little off in his heart.

In his past life, he'd been an orphan.

There had never been anyone who truly counted as "family" around him.

After transmigrating into Douluo, he'd spent the early days just surviving, adapting, and testing the waters—let alone a sense of belonging; most of the time, he didn't even know where he'd be tomorrow.

It wasn't until now, surrounded by this group of cats asking him all sorts of questions and giving him endless reminders, that he clearly felt for the first time that he was no longer a lone cat.

Thinking this, Lin Yan's heart suddenly softened a little.

But only for a moment.

The next second, he quickly suppressed that emotion.

"Alright, it's not like I'm not coming back."

"You're all acting like This Cat is heading into the deepest part of the Star Dou Forest to die."

"Just keep the courtyard in good shape."

Charcoal Ball nodded.

Snowball let out a very soft "mew."

A Ju thought for a moment, then suddenly sent a thought that made even Lin Yan pause for a second.

[Then be careful on the road, and don't shed fur.]

Lin Yan was silent for two seconds.

Then he lifted a paw and smacked him on the forehead.

"Scram."

"The first half was pretty warm, but the second half just sounds so annoying."

A Ju, having been smacked, wasn't angry at all; instead, he rubbed against Lin Yan's paw.

This scene made the other cats nearby quiet down quite a bit.

In the end, it was Lin Yan who got up first, ending this little meeting that felt half like a handover and half like a farewell.

Before leaving, he even made a special trip to glance through the study window.

The light inside was still on.

Bibi Dong sat behind the desk, a stack of dossiers pressed under her hand, her brows slightly furrowed, as if she'd run into some bothersome matter again.

Snowball and Little Flame were perched on either side of the desk corner, quietly keeping her company.

Seeing this scene, Lin Yan finally felt completely at ease.

"Good."

"With these two around, This Cat going out for a few days won't be a problem."

"As for Her Holiness the Pope... she probably won't even notice she's missing one cat."

With that thought, he didn't linger any longer, turned, and melted into the night.

For this trip, the direction he chose was north of Martial Soul City.

To be precise, it was a stretch of black marsh further north of Death Canyon.

That place wasn't one ordinary soul masters liked to visit.

For one, the miasma was thick.

For two, the terrain was terrible.

For three, there were plenty of soul beasts inside, but valuable medicinal herbs weren't easy to find, and a moment's carelessness could mean a wasted trip.

But for Lin Yan, this place was actually just right.

Few people.

Complex terrain.

It was convenient both for testing his current abilities and for feeling out the situation outside Douluo Continent.

Besides, the Black Marsh connected to the outer edges of Death Canyon—if something really went wrong, retreating wouldn't leave him completely without a path.

"First time going far from home, don't push it too hard."

"Being a person... no, being a cat, you still need to play it steady."

And so, Lin Yan headed north.

Hiding by day.

Traveling by night.

Occasionally stopping to swallow some moonlight essence while scouting the terrain.

But as he ran, he slowly came to understand one thing.

This place called Douluo Continent was anything but small when you actually ran across it.

On the map, the area north of Martial Soul City was just a single patch.

But when it came down to four legs, it was a completely different story.

He ran for three straight days, his legs nearly worn thin, yet the mountains, forests, swamps, and rubble before him seemed to have no end in sight.

"Ridiculous."

"This Cat always thought the Douluo Continent map wasn't that big."

"Now I know—when you actually hit the ground running, a tiny dot on the map can run a cat ragged."

He grumbled inwardly, but Lin Yan's pace never slowed.

It wasn't until the evening of the fourth day that he finally saw that Black Marsh.

From a distance, it was just a vast expanse of black water and mud.

Scattered here and there grew crooked trees and withered reeds.

In some places, he could see puddles bubbling up, one after another, as if something alive was buried beneath.

The air carried a hint of dampness and a not-so-pleasant smell.

Lin Yan stood on a half-dead branch, watched for a while, then lightly flicked his tail.

"Alright."

"This place doesn't look like any kind of good land at first glance."

"But it sure looks like a good spot to hide something."

He had originally planned to just circle the outer edges, see if there were any heavenly treasures, and take the chance to test his scent-tracking and stealth.

But he'd barely gone in for less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick when he sensed something was off.

Ahead, there was soul power fluctuation.

And it was urgent.

Not a soul beast.

A person.

Lin Yan's ears twitched, and he immediately lowered his body, silently shrinking into the shadow of a nearby tree.

The next moment, a white figure shot out from deep within the Black Marsh.

Extremely fast.

Almost skimming across the water's surface as it flew out.

Lin Yan narrowed his eyes and finally got a clear look at the person.

It was a white-robed youth.

His features weren't bad, but his face was a bit pale, as if he'd been traveling too hard, and his breathing was a little ragged.

His hair was simply tied back, and the hem of his robe was already stained with mud.

The strangest thing was that his right hand was tightly gripping something.

It wasn't big.

From the outline, it looked like some kind of slender, small object, clutched in his palm, guarded very closely.

"Who is this?"

A thought flashed through Lin Yan's mind.

"Since when did someone like this show up near Martial Soul City?"

What bothered him more was that he couldn't see through the other's cultivation level at a glance.

It wasn't that he couldn't sense it at all.

Rather, he could clearly detect the other's considerable soul power, yet there was always a vague, indistinct feeling, as if something was in the way.

This put Lin Yan on alert.

Anyone who remained blurry under his perception was either genuinely strong or carrying something that concealed their aura.

Either way, it meant this white-robed man was no simple figure.

And the White-Robed Youth, the moment he burst out, clearly noticed Lin Yan as well.

His gaze shifted, landing on this white cat beneath the tree shadows, and a clear flicker of surprise showed in his eyes.

He probably hadn't expected to find a cat in a place like this.

And one that looked so clean, without even a speck of mud on it.

But he only spared it an extra glance, not stopping.

Because the next moment—

The Black Marsh behind him exploded.

Boom!

A great mass of black water surged upward.

A heavy, rank stench rushed over.

Then, a monster raised its head from the marsh.

The moment that thing appeared, Lin Yan felt his entire cat-self turn sour.

Its head was like a leech, yet also like some freak hybrid of a fish and a snake.

Fleshy wings grew from its sides.

When it opened its mouth, it was packed with fine, sharp teeth.

The worst part was its lower body, dragging a mass of tentacle-like things that churned through the black water, kicking up waves of mud.

"...A Marshwing Blood Leech."

"And at least fifty thousand years old, at that."

Lin Yan's expression shifted.

How could something like this be at the edge of the Black Marsh?

By all logic, a soul beast of this level should be deeper inside.

When the White-Robed Youth saw the monster fully raise its head, his expression also darkened a few shades.

Clearly, this thing was even more troublesome than he'd originally anticipated.

"Bad luck, bad luck, damn bad luck."

Lin Yan cursed inwardly as he quietly edged to the side.

He could have just stayed out of it.

But the problem was, the direction the Marshwing Blood Leech had raised its head just happened to cover him too.

In other words—

He and that white-robed man were both now in this monster's line of sight.

"Great."

"This Cat just wanted a place to rest its paws, and it steps right into a soul beast nest."

"If this isn't a case of checking the calendar before going out, I don't know what is."

The White-Robed Youth clearly realized this too.

He didn't stop moving, but his direction shifted slightly, and he actually veered toward Lin Yan.

Lin Yan was stunned for a moment, then his face darkened.

"You've got to be kidding me?"

"You stirred up this mess yourself, and now you're dragging This Cat into it?"

But before he could dodge, the White-Robed Youth had already flashed past him.

The two of them... no, one man and one cat, shot out of the tree shadows almost side by side.

Behind them, the Marshwing Blood Leech let out a long cry, flapped its fleshy wings, and gave chase.

Its speed was absurdly fast.

The air above the Black Marsh was instantly filled with the sound of tearing wind.

Lin Yan no longer had the luxury of pretending to be an ordinary cat.

Withdrawing his Mimicry Breath, he flickered and directly accelerated.

The White-Robed Youth caught this scene from the corner of his eye and was visibly stunned for a moment.

He probably hadn't expected that a white cat that looked like a house pet could move this fast.

Lin Yan couldn't be bothered to care what he was thinking.

Right now, the most important thing was to stay alive.

One man and one cat raced forward in this manner, neither speaking, yet both tacitly choosing not to separate.

Because they both understood that going solo at a time like this wasn't necessarily safer than sticking together.

"Hiss—"

Another long screech came from behind.

Immediately after, deep within the Black Marsh, as if something had been disturbed, large swaths of black water began to churn violently.

Lin Yan's expression had already darkened.

At this moment, he was starting to want to curse.

"No."

"This place doesn't have just one!"

The next instant, a presence deeper and heavier than that of the Marshwing Blood Leech from before slowly rose from the depths of the Black Marsh.

Lin Yan's fur stood on end instantly.

That wasn't the aura of an ordinary ten-thousand-year soul beast.

Nor was it the pressure a fifty-thousand-year soul beast could exert.

That was... an old monster almost at the threshold of a hundred thousand years.

"Damn."

"This isn't some Black Marsh."

"This is clearly a breeding pit!"

If it were just that fifty-thousand-year Marshwing Blood Leech behind them, Lin Yan could still rely on stalling for time, Moon Mark Time Slow, and running to slowly find an opportunity to shake it off.

But now, there was an even fiercer one hiding beneath the Black Marsh.

If that thing fully surfaced, he might not even be able to escape.

The White-Robed Youth had clearly sensed that presence too.

His footsteps faltered for the first time, just a brief moment.

But that brief moment was enough to reveal the problem.

Lin Yan glanced at him as he sped along.

"Great."

"Looks like this guy isn't that steady either."

"It's not about who saves who now—we're both in trouble."

Just as he thought this, another strange cry rang out above the Black Marsh behind them.

One shadow after another burst from the water.

Some had wings.

Some had long beaks.

And a few looked like skinny flying fish, dragging long tails, tumbling through the air.

All soul beasts startled from the Black Marsh.

Not many in number.

But if they got tangled up, it would be a real nuisance.

Lin Yan's expression grew even worse.

"Perfect."

"The big one's chasing from behind, and the little ones are finishing me off from the side."

"This Seat's luck today can't even be described as just 'bad' in the ordinary sense."

The White-Robed Youth finally spoke.

His voice wasn't loud, carrying a hoarseness from suppressed breathing.

"At this rate, we'll both be held back sooner or later."

Lin Yan turned his head to look at him, thinking, Isn't that obvious?

But in the next moment, a thought suddenly stirred in his heart.

Because he noticed that although this white-robed man had been fleeing the entire time, his right hand had never once let go of that small object.

Which meant—

This guy most likely still had a trick up his sleeve.

With that thought, Lin Yan remained silent but had already grown more cautious.

And behind him, the leading Marshwing Blood Leech was drawing closer and closer.

If this kept up, something bad was bound to happen.

Just then, the even more terrifying aura deep within the Black Marsh finally stirred completely.

Lin Yan felt a chill run down his back.

He didn't even need to turn around to know.

This time, the trouble was truly serious.