Qu Wuxing watched the old man walk away and said, "He's completely out of his mind. What a load of nonsense." Yan Chihuo said, "I don't think he's an ordinary man. As long as he has nothing to do with us, there's no need to pay him any attention." He had traveled the martial world for many years and encountered all manner of strange people and peculiar events, so he didn't think much of it.
That evening, they stopped to rest at a small inn. Yun Zaitian and Tong Huaibing had their acupoints sealed and were placed in the middle room, while Yan Chihuo and Qu Wuxing slept in the rooms on either side, to keep the two from escaping.
Yan Chihuo was injured and had spent the whole day on the road, so he was rather tired and went to bed early. Half-asleep, he suddenly saw black smoke rising from his door. He started in alarm and tried to get up, only to find that he couldn't move a muscle. Even his qi wouldn't circulate. He opened his mouth to cry out but couldn't make a sound. He had faced countless brushes with death, but had never encountered anything so eerie. Fear surged through him.
The black smoke in the room grew thicker and soon filled the entire space. Within it appeared a creature that looked half-human, half-ape. It bared its teeth at Yan Chihuo in a grin that was chillingly sinister. With a single leap, it pounced at him, then turned into a wisp of black smoke and slipped into him through his seven orifices, making him feel indescribably awful.
I'm going to die! How did that monster get inside me? Yan Chihuo screamed in his heart. Suddenly, he sat bolt upright and found the room empty. It had all been a nightmare, but the dream had felt so real that he couldn't tell whether it had been true or false.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and only then realized that he was drenched from head to toe. He moved his limbs and found nothing had changed. Then he began circulating the Spirit Jade Vajra Art and was taken aback to discover that it had improved again. The Spirit Jade Vajra Art was the highest-level martial cultivation technique of Tiger Roar Manor, but very few people could master it. In the past several hundred years, only Second Master Ping's uncle, Ping Qi, had succeeded. It was said that he later entered the Dao through martial arts and became a cultivator, but he hadn't returned to Tiger Roar Manor for decades.
Later, Second Master Ping, Ping Fei, had brought out this technique to expand his influence in the martial world. Unfortunately, Yan Chihuo was the only one who could practice it. Strange as it was, after practicing the Spirit Jade Vajra Art, Yan Chihuo had become incredibly strong and advanced at astonishing speed, leaving everyone else far behind. It had been thanks in no small part to the Spirit Jade Vajra Art that he had risen to the top of the Thirteen Guardians at the age of sixteen.
The Spirit Jade Vajra Art had one peculiar trait: no matter what divine weapon Yan Chihuo used, it was inferior to a stone weapon. Even for concealed weapons, he chose the Flying Locust Stone. His Flying Locust Stones flew nearly twice as fast as other concealed weapons and struck with nearly twice the force, which was why he chose a jade sword as his weapon. However, if he used the full force of the Spirit Jade Vajra Art in a single strike, he would be left utterly drained and in unbearable pain. He needed three full hours to recover.
The Spirit Jade Vajra Art had three levels. After ten years of painstaking practice, he had only just reached the second level. Now, however, he was close to its peak. He had never advanced so quickly before.
Yan Chihuo took another jade sword from his robes. He carried three of them; the first had broken, and this was the second. He gently pushed open the window and leaped outside, then went to the window of the middle room and listened carefully. Hearing two people snoring inside, he knew Yun Zaitian and Tong Huaibing were still there. He looked up at the bright moon, then returned to his room and slowly fell asleep.
Early the next morning, Yan Chihuo woke to find that his injuries had mostly healed. He still thought the previous night's dream had been extraordinarily strange. Gao Kun's sword had only caused an external wound, but it had been far from minor. After everything that had happened, he hadn't slept well, yet he didn't feel the least bit tired.
Under ordinary circumstances, he would have waited until his injuries had fully healed before returning to Tiger Roar Manor. But before setting out, Ping Fei had told him that if he obtained the treasure Gao Bing had acquired, he must bring it back as quickly as possible and not delay. Thinking of this, he took out Gao Bing's treasure.
It was kept in a jade box fitted with a small lock. Strange patterns had been drawn across its surface. Seeing them, he took out Gao Kun's long sword as well.
He didn't know what the sword was made of. It was a kind of wood, yet incredibly hard. Strange patterns had been drawn on it too. They bore some resemblance to the markings on the jade box, but were also distinctly different.
Yan Chihuo had no idea what was inside the jade box. Ping Fei hadn't told him what the object was, only that it was a jade box covered in strange patterns. Since Ping Fei hadn't told him what the treasure was, Yan Chihuo hadn't opened it. If Ping Fei didn't want to tell him, he naturally ought to be discreet.
Qu Wuxing was pleased to see that Yan Chihuo looked better. They hurriedly ate breakfast, then continued on their way. It wasn't until evening that they reached a small town called White Cloud Town.
Seeing how few people were on the streets, Qu Wuxing said, "That's strange. The three of us passed through here two months ago, and it wasn't nearly this deserted. Could everyone really have gone to bed so early?"
"Let's find an inn for the night," Yan Chihuo said.
Qu Wuxing pointed. "There's Fortune Abode Inn."
Yan Chihuo saw that the inn's sign looked new and its doors had been scrubbed clean. "Let's take a look."
They rode over, and Qu Wuxing called out, "Innkeeper!" After a while, a young attendant came out. Seeing Yan Chihuo and the others, he asked, "Are you gentlemen looking for a room?"
"Prepare three rooms for us, all next to one another," Qu Wuxing said. "Then get us a table of food and wine, and make sure our horses are fed."
The attendant acknowledged him and went to make the arrangements. Before long, he had served them a table of food and wine. Then he asked Yan Chihuo, "Where are you gentlemen headed? Could it be east?"
"That's right," Yan Chihuo said.
"Sir, you mustn't go east."
Yan Chihuo was puzzled. "Why not? We came from the east just two months ago."
"Sir, you don't know what's happened. Last month, a huge snake came out of the mountains to the east. It ate everyone who passed by, and sometimes it even came into town and snatched people to eat. It's made our lives miserable."
Qu Wuxing replied, "No matter. If we come across it tomorrow, we'll rid you of this menace."
"That snake is more than ten zhang long, with black scales all over. Arrows can't hurt it. It moves like lightning and has tremendous strength. It can even spit poisonous mist, and anyone struck by it dies on the spot. You'd better be careful, sir."
"You're kind to warn us, but don't worry." With that, Qu Wuxing picked up his wine bowl and drained it in one gulp.
Seeing that Yan Chihuo and the others weren't concerned at all, the attendant could only shake his head and leave.
"Country folk have such narrow horizons," Qu Wuxing said. "What's there to fear from a mere snake?"
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