Chapter 1650: Fortune or Misfortune, Good or Bad

“Speak. Where did you come from?”

Ye Qing was sitting on a horse carriage. He looked at the Water Demon Ape crouching next to him and asked it a question.

They had split up with Xue Qiurong and her people before continuing north.

The Water Demon Ape replied, “Bei Yuan... I came from Bei Yuan.”

Ye Qing anticipated this answer, of course. He asked another question, “Why did you leave Bei Yuan?”

“Es... Escape...”

A bit of fear leaked into the Water Demon Ape’s eyes. “They killed my mother, my older brother, and my older sister. I was scared, so I ran all the way here.”

“They? Who are they?” Ye Qing asked even as realization struck him. This would explain why the Water Demon Ape was so far away from its home. However, he wondered what on earth had killed its family.

After all, the Water Demon Apes were quite powerful creatures even in a deadly hellhole like Bei Yuan.

“Fiend Demons... terrifying Fiend Demons... so many terrifying Fiend Demons...” The Water Demon Ape shook all over as he repeated in a terrified voice.

“Fiend Demons?” Ye Qing raised his eyebrows. “What’s a Fiend Demon?”

The Water Demon Ape trembled. “A Fiend Demon is a demon. Mommy calls them Fiend Demons.”

Although this Water Demon Ape was very powerful and sapient, it was probably a child just like its pubescent voice suggested. It was clear that it wasn’t very mature.

Feng Qingyou asked, “Did the Fiend Demons come from the depths of Bei Yuan?”

The Water Demon Ape hurriedly nodded. “Y-yes. They came from the bottommost depths of Bei Yuan. They attacked us as soon as they saw us...”

Ye Qing looked at Feng Qingyou curiously. “Do you know what a Fiend Demon is?”

“I’ve read it in an ancient book. A sea of corruption and evil influences resides in the depths of Bei Yuan. That is why most of the Strangers living there are unintelligent, bloodthirsty and cruel.”

Feng Qingyou explained, “The deeper you go, the thicker the corruption and evil influences become. The Fiend Demons are Strangers born from this sea of corruption and evil influences, or those that had fallen completely to corruption. They are completely mindless and know only death and destruction. They are also extremely powerful and scary.”

“However, Fiend Demons are usually found in the depths of Bei Yuan, and they rarely leave it. This is unusual.”

Feng Qingyou looked at the Water Demon Ape and asked, “Do you know why the Fiend Demons are crawling out of the depths?”

The Water Demon Ape shook its tiny head. “I do not.”

Feng Qingyou asked another question, “Have you seen this before?”

The Water Demon Ape shook its head again. “I have not. In the past, they only stayed at the bottom of Bei Yuan. Mommy says that... they won’t come out as long as we don’t provoke them.”

“But... that day, they all came out...”

“That’s... that’s...”

The Water Demon Ape tilted its head and counted its fingers for a bit. Some time later, it finally said, “Twenty to thirty days ago?”

Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou exchanged glances with each other. That was more or less the same time as when they foiled King Taishan’s conspiracy.

Could the Fiend Demons’ sudden departure had something to do with King Taishan or the evil suppressing spiritual treasures they were looking for?

Ye Qing hurriedly asked, “Has any human entered Bei Yuan during the few days before or after the Fiend Demons emerged?”

The Water Demon Ape shook its head. “No. No humans dare to go there.”

Ye Qing asked another question, “Did anything unusual happen to Bei Yuan during those few days?”

The Water Demon Ape looked at him with big, watery eyes. “What counts as unusual?”

Ye Qing clarified, “I meant something that you have never seen before; something that has never happened until then.”

The Water Demon Ape thought seriously for a moment. Then, its eyes lit up. “There is one... a terrible light and presence had suddenly shone from the bottom of Bei Yuan... mommy, brother and sister are very scared... I... am very scared too...”

“Erm... also... I heard constant rumblings from below... it feels like thunder... it’s scary...”

Ye Qing asked, “None of these unusual things have happened before, right?”

The Water Demon Ape shook its head affirmatively.

Feng Qingyou guessed, “So, the Fiend Demons’ departure probably has something to do with this light and presence.”

Ye Qing nodded in agreement before asking, “Do you think this might have something to do with that spiritual treasure?”

The timing of the unusual phenomenon happened to coincide with the timing King Taishan had reappeared in the human world after all. King Taishan himself confirmed that one of the evil suppressing spiritual treasures was located in Bei Yuan. It was impossible not to put two and two together.

“It is very possible.” Feng Qingyou clearly agreed with him.

Ye Qing couldn’t help but smile at this. “We found a clue regarding the evil suppressing spiritual treasure before we even got to Bei Yuan. This is quite fortunate.”

Feng Qingyou smiled back. “But it is also rather unfortunate, isn’t it?”

Ye Qing nodded in agreement. “Fortune and misfortune are two sides of the same coin after all.”

Finding a clue regarding the evil suppressing spiritual treasure was of course good news, but the fact that the spiritual treasure was most likely located in the deepest depths of Bei Yuan was equally bad news. After all, that was where the greatest dangers of Bei Yuan resided.

He had anticipated something like this from the beginning though. That was why he wasn’t too worried or scared.

“Hey Gray. We need you to help us with something,” Ye Qing said while looking at the Water Demon Ape.

The Water Demon Ape scratched its tiny head and asked, “Who’s Gray?”

Ye Qing smiled. “You, of course!”

The Water Demon Ape shook its head. “I am not Gray. My mom and my brothers and sisters call me Qiwa (seventh kid).”

“Qiwa?”

Ye Qing blurted out without thinking, “Do you have seven brothers and a grandpa[1]?”

The Water Demon Ape looked at him in confusion. “How did you know?”

“Ahem... I divined it, of course.” There was no need to inform an outsider about his esoteric knowledge, so Ye Qing changed the subject. “We need you to take us to Bei Yuan, specifically the place where you said the phenomenon had appeared.”

Qiwa immediately shook its head like a fan. “No! I won’t go back. The Fiend Demons will kill me! I don’t wanna!”

Ye Qing tried to console it, “It will be fine. We will protect you.”

Still, Qiwa shook its head in fear.

Ye Qing asked, “Don’t you want revenge? Take us to Bei Yuan, and we will take revenge for you!”

To Ye Qing’s surprise, Qiwa shook its head again. “I don’t want revenge... I don’t want to die...”

Ye Qing was speechless. Was it really okay for a Stranger to be so cowardly?

There was only one tactic left then. “Don’t drink a forfeit when I offer you toast! If you don’t take us to Bei Yuan, then you can die right now!”

He wasn’t going to threaten the little guy not just because it was a little pitiful, but also because its name had infected him with a sense of nostalgia. However, it was clear that Qiwa was immune to soft tactics. Therefore, he had no choice but to use threats.

His murderous words immediately caused Qiwa to shake like a leaf. The ape was almost curled up into a ball.

“But if you take us to Bei Yuan and point us toward the place where the strange phenomenon is occurring, then we can release you.”

Carrot and the stick. Always the carrot and the stick.

1. Search 七娃. It’s a Chinese reference. ☜