Walnut Boat

A wooden boat of this size could hardly be called a giant vessel, but it was more than spacious enough to cram in seventy or eighty people. With three such boats, there was plenty of room for every member of the party.

Everyone looked up and let out a long, collective "wow."

Even though they had long known State Preceptor Sun was a man of extraordinary means, seeing this scene with their own eyes was still a shock.

He Lingchuan, however, heard Zeng Feixiong mutter, "So that thing is a Mystic Crystal? First time I've seen one." His voice was filled with wonder.

"It's green; just a low-grade Mystic Crystal," He Lingchuan said with a casual shrug.

This remark caught Nian Songyu's ear, and he immediately turned to ask, "Do you have mid- or high-grade ones?"

"No, of course not!" He Lingchuan laughed it off. If he admitted to it, wouldn't it just be confiscated?

Who could blame him for actually having one?

Tucked away in He Lingchuan's storage bag at this very moment lay a Mystic Crystal, though it was a deep, vibrant green—of even better quality than the one State Preceptor Sun had fed to the Walnut Boat.

Mystic Crystals were the solidified form of the world's spiritual energy, usually formed only during periods of intense spiritual eruption. Once humans collected, purified, and refined them, or combined them with various materials, they could be transformed into all sorts of crystals of varying grades.

The uses for these things were endless: they could replenish the true energy of mages and demons, serve as the power source for mechanical puppets, or drive complex formations. These three Walnut Boats looked unassuming, but the cost to power them was anything but low.

It had been a long time since the last great spiritual eruption, and as Mystic Crystals were consumed, they became increasingly scarce and expensive. State Preceptor Sun used them as casually as pocket change to power his boats, while He Lingchuan possessed only one, a grand gift given to him by an envoy from the Northern Demon Kingdom in exchange for a favor.

One person used luxury items as fuel, while the other kept them as prized possessions; the difference in status and wealth was clear at a glance.

While he was observing closely, Nian Songyu was asking the sand bandits, "Do you have any other tricks that might be of use?"

Situ Han was also admiring the Walnut Boats. Hearing this, he shook his head repeatedly. "There are too many people; most of our crude methods won't work."

Nian Songyu had only asked out of courtesy, not truly expecting them to have a good solution. He Lingchuan, however, smiled and asked, "You didn't bring your Scented Dumplings this time?"

"We did," Situ Han hesitated, glancing at Sun Fuping with a look of embarrassment. "It's just... not exactly fit for polite company!"

"Saving our lives is what matters. Elegance is secondary."

Nian Songyu asked Situ Han, "Are they useful? Do they work well?"

"Generally, yes." Situ Han patted the side of the boat. "How do you get this treasure moving?"

Nian Songyu didn't hide it from him: "Mystic Crystals."

Every second it burned was money. Situ Han thought for a moment. "If we're lucky, perhaps the two lords won't need to consume any Mystic Crystals."

Even Sun Fuping became interested at this. "Oh?"

Mystic Crystals were rare and precious; one had to save them whenever possible. They were priceless, and ordinary people couldn't buy them even with a mountain of silver.

Situ Han humbly emphasized once more: "If we're lucky!"

"Give it a try then," Nian Songyu said coolly. "If it doesn't work and you delay official business, I'll throw you overboard to feed the monsters."

Why did I open my mouth! Situ Han wanted to slap himself across the face. "Then, everyone, please cover your noses."

Cover...?

Seeing his eldest son and the bandits raise their scarves to cover their mouths and noses, He Chunhua followed suit.

They watched as Situ Han gave an order, and the sand bandits brought out a chest. When they opened it, they revealed a soft-lined interior containing a bulging, bubble-like object.

Nian Songyu looked it over but couldn't make sense of it. "What is this?"

"Commandant Nian, have you never seen a pig slaughtered?" He Lingchuan laughed. "This is a pig's bladder. It puffs up as soon as you blow into it. It's nowhere near its maximum capacity yet."

Watching him look so smug, He Chunhua couldn't help but grumble to himself. This brat had been raised on the finest things in Blackwater City, a standard rich kid and young noble; by all rights, he shouldn't have known what a pig bladder was. But he was just too mischievous. He used to love filling pig bladders with water and hanging them from the old trees on the main street, waiting for someone he didn't like to walk underneath before flicking an iron needle at them...

Nian Songyu had always been accustomed to a life of luxury; how could he have seen such a thing? He didn't even eat common meats like pork, and he frowned in disgust. "What is it for?"

"It has a good seal; otherwise, we'd hurt ourselves before we hurt anyone else." As He Lingchuan explained, the sand bandits took out a large piece of cured meat, tied it with thick rope, and then untied the knot on the pig bladder, pouring the contents onto the meat.

It was a viscous, dark green liquid that not only bubbled and popped but occasionally emitted wisps of white smoke.

The moment it saw the light of day, the olfactory senses of everyone nearby were dealt a devastating blow.

The stench was like a severe case of athlete's foot left to fester in an unventilated boot for a month, mixed with the accumulated body odor of someone who hadn't bathed in half a year, with the finishing touch being the unique aroma of rotting fish and shrimp left to ferment for years in the dark corners of a smuggling pier.

It was a masterpiece of fishy, rank, and gamey odors—a stench with both style and substance.

Soldiers in the army who hadn't covered their noses in time immediately vomited.

The most terrifying thing about this smell was that once you caught a whiff, your body would remember it forever.

Infected by the reaction, even those who had been holding out could no longer endure it, and they collapsed, clutching their stomachs and retching.

Fortunately, the sand bandits quickly threw the cured meat into the sand and covered it with several handfuls of dirt. Combined with the strong desert winds, the stench dissipated after a short while.

Everyone gasped for air, never having realized how wonderful breathing could be.

Nian Songyu's face changed. "Absurd! What on earth is the use of this thing?"

He felt a tightness in his chest and a urge to vomit, struggling to keep it down. But when he turned to see He Lingchuan looking so pleased with himself, he couldn't help but suspect the little brat was using this opportunity to mess with him!

With a stench like that, who could possibly resist?

"Just watch," He Lingchuan said calmly, gesturing toward the sand pit where the meat was buried.

Everyone looked and saw that, centered on the pit, ripples were emerging in the sand—some shallow, some deep—all rapidly spreading outward. It was clear that quite a few creatures had been hiding beneath the sand, and after being fumigated by that cured meat, they were fleeing in a panic.

It wasn't just effective against humans; that stuff was also highly lethal to mutated monsters and demons.

Because the latter's sense of smell was keener than a human's, the trauma they suffered, both spiritual and physical, was even more severe.

"To be able to smoke out exotic beasts—not bad. What other uses does it have?" This move still caught Sun Fuping a little off guard. He had never considered poison gas attacks when making his plans; it seemed that the crude methods of country folk were sometimes quite effective.

"This alone is far from enough!" Nian Songyu cracked his knuckles. These sand bandits were acquainted with the He father and son; were they teaming up to deal with him?

Seeing his expression turn sour, Situ Han was confused: "Wait, just wait a little longer. The key to crossing the desert is coming!"

Coming? What was coming?