"This time, we knew something was terribly wrong. Tigers and leopards hunt alone, don't they? Even if those five men had run into one, they were all seasoned mountain hunters. Surely at least one could have escaped?
"So we gathered the village's able-bodied young men, a full... sixteen of them, and asked our best hunter, Mo Laowu, to lead them. They took every weapon they could and made their way into the mountains."
At this point, an indescribable tangle of emotions forced its way onto Zhao Baishu's face: fear, bewilderment, grief, hatred. He struggled to speak. "Sixteen men, every last one a fine young fellow. Not one... not one came back."
Jing Ziwang fell silent for a while, waiting for the old man to regain some composure before asking, "Then when did you learn that a demon tiger had eaten them?"
"Because it came to the village itself," Zhao Baishu said, his face numb. "It was the third day after those seventeen men left. We'd only just begun to worry that they might not come back either. That evening, Sister Zhou said she was going to pick a couple of vegetables in the western fields. There was only a little rise between the fields and the village, but she never came back. When we went looking, there was almost nothing left but bones."
The old man gritted his teeth. "It bit her to death right there, then ate her at its leisure!"
"Once we were certain none of those seventeen men were coming back, we sent people to the county for help. The first time, we sent two riders off in opposite directions at once. The moment they vanished from sight, we heard a dreadful scream. The most terrifying part was that fewer than a few dozen breaths later, another scream came from the other direction. That was why I revised our appeal for help. We had to have heroes from the Crane and Teal Register. I haven't seen much of the world, but crossing such a distance in a few dozen breaths and catching two galloping horses... I... I simply couldn't imagine how it was possible. In the end, we had no other choice. We gathered our last four horses and sent them off in four directions at once... Now it seems only Huang Er is still alive."
Pei Ye tightened his grip on his sword hilt. "It's treating the village as its hunting ground."
"But we didn't encounter it on our way here," Jing Ziwang said.
The old man shook his head helplessly. "I don't know."
Jing Ziwang narrowed his eyes out of habit. "Send someone out on horseback now. Let's see whether it comes out to stop them."
"Lord Jing!" Xing Zhi looked him in the eye. "Let's wait until Senior Brother Zhu arrives."
Jing Ziwang pressed his lips together, suppressing the trace of irritation at the corners of his mouth. Ordinarily, he might not face this much defiance in an entire month.
"Of course... as Master Xing wishes."
"Village Chief Zhao, have you kept the bodies?"
"Yes. I'll take you there." Zhao Baishu leaned on his cane.
They reached the mortuary, where five bodies lay.
"The one that's nothing but bones is Sister Zhou. These two were the first riders we sent for help, and these two were from the second group," Zhao Baishu said bleakly. "The others died too far away. We didn't dare go and retrieve their bodies."
Pei Ye approached the corpse of a middle-aged man and looked down solemnly.
The corpse was incomplete. Its chest and abdomen had been hollowed out, and a bite or two had been taken from its thighs and upper arms, exposing white bone. The fatal injury, however, was in the neck. Some tremendous force had pinned it to the ground and crushed the vertebrae, leaving the head lolling limply to one side. The face was intact. Both pupils had rolled so far upward they were almost invisible, and twisted blood vessels crawled across the whites of the eyes. The suffering of his final moments still lingered in his expression.
Pei Ye turned to look around. The missing portions of the four men's bodies were roughly the same.
It wasn't frightened away halfway through its meal. It simply wasn't hungry, so it only ate the organs it preferred.
As Pei Ye considered this, he noticed a sheathed saber lying nearby. He drew it to examine the blade. Its surface gleamed as though new, without the slightest trace of blood.
"This is Old Tongzi. He'd hunted for more than a decade and was one of the best in the village, but he never even had time to draw his blade," Zhao Baishu said.
At that moment, Pei Ye truly felt the difference between an immortal hunt and a demonic calamity.
Black Chi was calm and rational, sometimes even displaying a cold sense of humor, almost indistinguishable from a human. This "demon tiger," however, was worse than a beast. A beast's nature was to eat; its nature was to kill.
From the other side, Shang Lang suddenly called, "Sister Xing Zhi, come examine this."
Everyone gathered around. He was pointing at a patch of dark gray skin. Pei Ye studied it for a moment, then looked incredulous. "Is that... frostbite?!"
Xing Zhi's expression grew extremely grave. She took a slender needle and drove it deep into the wound, then retrieved a small glass gourd from her pack. Through its hazy walls, they could see a pale blue, viscous liquid slowly swaying inside.
Then Xing Zhi withdrew the needle and immediately inserted it through the mouth of the gourd, submerging its tip in the liquid.
Within two breaths, the liquid rapidly began to boil.
"There's residual spiritual energy," Xing Zhi said.
"Then we can track it now," Jing Ziwang said. Glancing at Xing Zhi, he added, "Once Lord Zhu arrives, of course."
"Brother Zhu should be here soon," Shang Lang said.
"Before leaving, he said he wouldn't go far. If he received a message, he would certainly return within four hours."
As they spoke, a blue-green shadow descended from the sky. Xing Zhi held out two fingers and caught it steadily, smiling. "There, it's back."
She flicked the Soul Bird lightly on the head. "What took you so long? Were you slacking off?"
The Soul Bird shook its head, opened its pointed beak, and spat a roll of paper from its throat.
Xing Zhi paused, taking it in her hand. "Why did Senior Brother Zhu write a reply?"
She lowered her head and unfolded it. Her entire body stiffened, and her face visibly drained of color.
Shang Lang stepped forward. "What's wrong?"
Xing Zhi looked up, panic entering her expression for the first time. "This... this is the letter I sent before we set out. The Soul Bird... didn't find Senior Brother Zhu."
Keeping up with new chapters is extremely important for a new author and a new book. I hope you'll try not to let chapters pile up during this period. Please follow the updates each day and nurture this little seedling. Thank you!
Chapter 33: Autumn Lotus
Amid the commotion, Pei Ye caught Shang Lang's sleeve. "How strong is this Lord Zhu?"
Shang Lang turned toward him, his face still dazed from the shock. "How strong is Brother Zhu...? His surname is Zhu, his given name Wu, and his courtesy name Gaoyang. He's the foremost true disciple of the Dragon Lord Dongting's sword lineage. He entered the Crane Rankings at the beginning of this year, ranked two hundred and ninety-sixth. The Immortal Platform's appraisal of him is [Sword Hidden in a Snow Casket]."
Zhu Gaoyang!
Zhu Gaoyang!
Pei Ye opened his mouth but could not speak.
During the two years Pei Ye had read the Crane and Teal Register, Yan Feiqing had been its undisputed protagonist: advancing fastest, dominating most completely, cutting an unstoppable path upward from the bottom. Zhu Gaoyang, meanwhile, had been the legend of the previous generation, already standing upon the highest peak. He had cast one final glance at those desperately chasing him, then calmly stepped through the Profound Gate.
Only four years had passed since he entered the grandmaster realm. An ordinary person would still be honing themselves on the first jade step, yet he had already entered the Crane Rankings and was contending with old monsters who had reached the summit of the Profound Gate goodness knew how long ago.
And now, a figure like that had vanished without a word.
Pei Ye could completely understand Shang Lang and Xing Zhi's dismay.
It was rather like two squirrels afraid to cross a dark patch of grass where snakes and insects lurked. Then a fine horse arrived, lifted them onto its back with its mouth, and leisurely stepped inside.
The two squirrels were looking down at the shallow grass, utterly safe and happy, when suddenly there was nothing beneath them. The grass had swallowed the horse!
The two squirrels landed on the ground with a plop and raised their heads in bewilderment. Blades of grass blotted out the sky, and hissing came from the shadows all around.
Pei Ye gazed up at the rolling mountains beyond the village, his thoughts unsettled.
Zhu Gaoyang had entered Xin Cang Mountain in pursuit of traces of the Torchworld Cult, and now his whereabouts were unknown. The cult's remaining strength exceeded everyone's expectations. What were they plotting, hidden in the mountains?
An immortal hunt descending upon the world, a demon tiger eating people, an evil cult lying concealed-all of it had converged in these dim, boundless mountains. Pei Ye touched his dantian, unsure what role he played in this vast net.
Xing Zhi took a deep breath and collected herself. Her expression grave, she said, "Assemble the soldiers! We're leaving this village immediately."
Jing Ziwang wheeled around, fixing his tiger-like eyes on her. "Master Xing, what did you say?"
Xing Zhi had already taken out another sheet of paper and was writing rapidly with her head lowered. Without looking up, she said, "Lord Jing, you're a defense commandant. You ought to be more alert than I am. If even Senior Brother Zhu can run into trouble, then what's happening here is beyond our ability to resolve."
Jing Ziwang's brows bristled. "We don't even know whether these are connected. But even if they are, are we supposed to abandon these villagers? They've only just thought their saviors had arrived."
Xing Zhi did not grow angry. She said calmly, "Lord Jing, protecting your territory and keeping its people safe is your duty. If you're willing to die for it, I respect you for that. But we act under orders from the Northern Office and conduct the Immortal Platform's business. If we're wiped out here, the Immortal Platform won't even have anyone who understands the situation."
"Heh." Jing Ziwang sneered. "The Dragon Martial Army, the Immortal Platform-so you're just a flock of lambs that scatter the moment their leader dies."
Xing Zhi finished her letter and raised her head to look at him. "Do you think we're going back to the County Office, Lord Jing?"
Without waiting for an answer, she turned toward the assembling soldiers. "Xu Qing, Zhang Liu, Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhang, the four of you will take separate routes back to Fenghuai and report. Everyone else, ready your swords and halberds. In half a quarter-hour, you'll follow me into the mountains to find Lord Zhu."
Jing Ziwang's face turned livid. He barked, "If you're not afraid to die, why not rid these villagers of that vicious tiger first?!"
"Because it would take time, Lord Jing." Xing Zhi released the blue-green bird, took her horse's reins, and glanced at him. "I shouldn't have to teach you this-some lives are worth far more than others."
Even though staying here would plainly improve their chances of defeating the vicious tiger and saving an entire village, even though this group would probably disappear into the mountains without raising so much as a ripple, even though Zhu Gaoyang might already have met an untimely end, Xing Zhi still chose to stake everything on him.
Shang Lang's expression shifted uncertainly. He swallowed. "Sister Xing Zhi... if Brother Zhu were here... he wouldn't agree to this either."
"Then he ought to be here!" Xing Zhi's brows shot up. "How many times has he done this?! Always playing the hero alone! Doesn't he know how many lives depend on him?"
Shang Lang faltered. Xing Zhi drew a breath and said evenly, "I'm in charge now. Go get your horse."
The argument did not reach Pei Ye's ears.
A yearning rose from his abdomen. He felt his dantian stirring restlessly.
For the first time since the wine cellar, the Dragon Tongue in his abdomen conveyed a clear intent again. Something was drawing it, calling to it. It craved that thing. It wanted to return to its nest.
The seed. It's the seed... That dantian seed is nearby!
Pei Ye scanned his surroundings, trying to determine the direction of the sensation. Suddenly, his gaze tightened. Inside the village!
Just then, a piercing scream erupted from within the village.
Several of them tensed and turned to look at once.
It came from the place where the women had gathered to sort and wash vegetables. Chickens, fish, and wild game lay on the ground, ready to be made into a simple feast for the soldiers who had come to the village.
Now water splashed across the ground, and people scattered in panic.
Behind them stood an extraordinarily tall, stooped humanoid figure. Its skin, so dark blue it was almost black, gleamed like scales in the firelight. A claw on one of its upper limbs had pierced a woman's neck. Blood bubbled out, rapidly draining the life from her eyes.
It swung its arm, flinging the corpse to the ground, then raised its head to reveal a face like a yaksha's. Its cold, golden eyes fixed on the fleeing crowd ahead.
With a single leap, it caught up to another girl, who was crying out.
Its claw rose, but just as it was about to strike, it suddenly paused. A trace of human struggle and bewilderment appeared on its face, only to be swiftly replaced by indifference. The claw swung down again.
But that brief hesitation cost it any further chance to kill.
The water in a vat seemed to come alive, transforming into countless fine, resilient cords. They blossomed outward like a flower and wound tightly around that hideous body.
This was [Water Autumn Lotus], a technique of the Dragon Lord Dongting's spell lineage, recorded in the Jade Dragon Autumn Water Scripture. That spiritual scripture ranked seventy-second in the spiritual scripture section of the Grand Canon of Spiritual Mysteries compiled by the Immortal Platform.
The sight was certainly less spectacular than the water dragon that night, but to a trained eye, the difference between the two was as vast as that between clouds and mud.
Although the water's force had been impressive that night, it had relied largely on the torrential rain. Shen Yanping had only practiced using the magical implement a few times at the Immortal Platform. His casting technique had barely crossed the threshold, crude and forceful. Of every ten parts of the water's power, he had likely wasted seven.
Now, in the hands of a truly seasoned spellcaster, a single vat of water produced a powerful, unrelenting restraint. The course of every slender stream was precisely controlled, astonishing in its intricate sophistication.
With technique so delicate and spellwork so refined, Wu Zaigu would never have had the chance to leave the County Office if she had been there that night.
Close behind the spell came a heavy halberd flying through the air.
Accompanied by the shriek of riven air, the halberd pierced its abdomen. Its momentum unspent, it drove the creature deep into the ground.
As Xing Zhi lowered her sword fingers, she withdrew her gaze as well. Without lingering another moment, she turned wordlessly and urged her horse ahead of the others, toward the deep mountains.
Damn it, I forgot to schedule yesterday's update, so it went up an hour late. Sorry!
Chapter 34: Qiongqi
Before you continue