Chapter 445: Revenge Served Hot

Peach said softly, “After I finished that bowl of blood, I just kept getting hungrier and hungrier. That’s why I thought I’d come out for a walk. As soon as I did, I smelled living people, and it smelled so good, so I just... just followed the smell.”

“You’re fine.” Fushan Yue drew in a sharp breath, the corners of his mouth lifting into a wide grin. “It actually worked. Hahaha, damn it, it really worked! You’re not a blightful child anymore.”

“Then what is she now?” He Lingchuan asked on Peach’s behalf. “Did she turn into a ba?”

Fushan Yue ruffled Peach’s hair. “Exactly!”

He had only tried it on a whim, never expecting it to succeed, yet it had hit the mark in one go.

He was absolutely delighted.

He Lingchuan laughed in disbelief. “I always thought ba were formed from corpses undergoing transformation.”

The world truly is vast. Anything is possible.

“There are exceptions, such as myself,” Fushan Yue said, scratching his chin. “I was born a ba. Peach, on the other hand, was a living person who absorbed earth blight yin qi[1], then consumed a ba’s blood essence and forcibly transformed.”

“A living ba?”

“You could put it that way.” Fushan Yue stroked Peach’s hair. “I actually made myself a little companion. This trip was worth it, definitely worth it.”

“Is it because of the trip to the Qianxing Ruins?”

“Probably.” Fushan Yue thought for a moment. “She’s a descendant of the Yuān people to begin with, but she absorbed far too much earth blight yin qi. Without drinking human blood, it couldn’t be stabilized. My blood served as an additional guide, allowing her to complete the transformation rapidly with the help of the baleful qi. Honestly, it was luck.”

He had only been testing the waters. He never would have imagined that it would really work.

They searched the corpse and found nothing of value, only a few bits and pieces. He Lingchuan casually pocketed them, then patted the cliff ram’s massive horn. “They wanted to steal you?”

The cliff ram walked to the edge of the cliff and craned its head downward.

He Lingchuan frowned. “They wanted to push you off?”

Hm, that seems to be it.

Peach chimed in again, making sure he did not miss it, “They wanted to push me down too.”

“Strange. If stealing the ram failed, they could’ve just run. Why even try to kill a person?” He Lingchuan looked at the cliff ram and asked it, “Would you really let them steal you?”

This guy dared to ram bear monsters and moves with incredible agility. How could two humans possibly catch it so easily?

The cliff ram bleated a few embarrassed sounds.

He Lingchuan could not understand it.

Fortunately, the Soul-Stealing Mirror in his robes stepped in as a temporary interpreter. “It says they lured it with sweet red grass.”

Ah, that explains it.

The cliff ram kept sniffing at the corpse’s shoe soles.

People rarely checked there. He Lingchuan crouched down and saw that the soles were caked with mud and grass, along with traces of pale red powder.

“Anything special about it?”

The cliff ram could not explain, but it very clearly wanted to lick it.

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

He Lingchuan simply pulled the shoes off and said to Fushan Yue, “Want to give it a sniff?”

“Get lost!” Fushan Yue snapped. “What do you take me for?”

He Lingchuan shrugged and took out an empty vial instead, scraping the residue from the soles and sealing it away.

Fushan Yue was already impatient. He kicked the corpse straight off the cliff. “It’s almost dawn. Let’s head back.”

* * *

The next morning, when a clerk from the Stone Gate Merchant Guild went out to buy breakfast, he heard other caravans complaining. They said that several monsters who had been traveling along with their group still had not returned, forcing everyone to wait in place for two full days.

Traveling as companions meant paying to follow a caravan. It was not just humans who did this; some smaller monsters, or those not suited for long migrations, liked to do the same.

When the flatbread vendor heard this, he told them that monsters had gone missing here before as well, always on rainy nights.

In this case, one might wonder whether the authorities had investigated the matter.

And in fact, they had, but nothing ever turned up, and in the end it was dropped. Besides, the missing monsters were few and far between. Every year, more monsters die out in the wild fighting each other than that. Who could really say what happened?

When He Lingchuan heard this, he said, “Looks like last night’s victims weren’t limited to my ram.”

The bighorn cliff ram had simply been luckier than most.

But why are they targeting monsters instead of humans?

Just then, Fushan Yue walked over and asked the caravan to slow their pace.

“What for?” Second Boss Shi and Li Qingge had not caught on yet. He Lingchuan, however, frowned. “You’re delaying their deliveries. Are you going to compensate them?”

Second Boss Shi silently praised him. Young Master He had really learned a thing or two after traveling with the merchant guild this long.

The thing that Fushan Yue least wanted to hear about right now was money. He could only say, “Then lend me your cliff ram for a few days. It’s fast, so I’ll be able to catch up with the caravan afterward.”

He Lingchuan whistled, and the bighorn cliff ram bounded over from nearby.

After the scare last night, He Lingchuan had wanted to soothe it a bit. That morning, it had eaten alfalfa and oats, plus a whole barrel of pea soup. He had even thrown in some jerky as a bonus. At the post station, it had received a full wash-and-brush service, and its beard under the jaw had been neatly trimmed as well.

It felt fantastic all over. Whatever displeasure lingered from the night before was long forgotten.

“Help this guy with whatever matter it is that he has to attend to.” He Lingchuan pointed at Fushan Yue. “Come back to find me in a few days, got it?”

The cliff ram nodded.

Fushan Yue mounted its back, then suddenly remembered something and pointed at Peach. “I’ll leave this little one with you. Remember, one bowl of pure blood every day.”

With that, he turned the ram around and had it run off, vanishing in no time.

Second Boss Shi was puzzled. “Where’s he going?”

He Lingchuan shrugged. “Taking care of some personal business. Don’t worry, he’ll catch up in a few days.”

Li Qingge beckoned to Peach. The girl obediently walked over and flashed her a sweet, adorable smile.

“Oh?” Li Qingge bent down to look at her. “Open your mouth again. Let me see.”

Peach did as told.

Li Qingge exclaimed in surprise. “Her teeth grew back already? That fast?”

She had personally seen Peach missing several teeth yesterday. Now they had all grown in again.

A mouthful of small white teeth, except that the canine fangs on both sides were long, thin, and sharp, utterly unlike an ordinary human’s.

“Anything else feel uncomfortable?”

Peach shook her head. “Sometimes it itches a little.” She wanted to grind her teeth, but the craving for blood had already subsided.

He Lingchuan took out the twig and examined it in the daylight.

The slime had dried. It was a bit hard, a bit brittle, and it reflected light like a soap bubble.

What on earth had been down there beneath the cliff last night?

* * *

Several days later, the group arrived at the capital of the State of Chiyan.

The journey had been smooth and uneventful. In truth, this was the normal state of affairs on Beijia’s trade routes, but both He Lingchuan and Second Boss Shi sensed a coming storm.

With such a dramatic upheaval in the ruling house of the State of Chiyan, how could the state remain unaffected?

They also traveled part of the way by water, disembarking beneath Baigong Dock. At the ferry landing, four or five people were already waiting, their gazes sharp as they scrutinized every passenger who disembarked.

After several boats had unloaded all their passengers, those people were still craning their necks. Clearly, they had not received the guest they were waiting for.

He Lingchuan and the others paid them no mind and continued on.

But at the next post station, it was the same scene.

Judging by their attire and bearing, everyone waiting there was someone of some influence, and they were divided into two or three factions, carefully keeping to themselves.

They were all waiting for someone.

Even after He Lingchuan and Li Qingge left, that someone still had not appeared.

The same thing happened upon entering the capital itself.

Those who were already high officials or nobles had either sent representatives or come in person to wait by the roadside.

He Lingchuan said to Second Boss Shi, “Five taels says they’re waiting for Fushan Yue.”

Li Qingge overheard and chimed in. “Five taels says the ruler of the State of Chiyan is on his last legs.”

Second Boss Shi was startled. “Why do you say that?”

Li Qingge smiled faintly. “If the ruler were still hale and hearty, would they dare openly show favor to Fushan Yue at a time like this? They’d have a death wish.”

Something stirred in He Lingchuan’s mind. “The ruler of the State of Chiyan is a powerful ba. Why do you think his lifespan is nearly over?”

She clearly knows something more.

“He certainly has fearsome battle strength. Otherwise, how could he have founded the State of Chiyan? But his health has long been poor, and that’s something that has been whispered about in the capital for years.” Li Qingge paused before adding, “I’ve heard that more than a hundred years ago, in the battles of Qianxing City and Panlong City, his contributions were immense. Otherwise, why would Lingxu City have carved off part of the old territory of the State of Yuān and let him establish a new state here?”

He Lingchuan’s expression changed. “What? The Battle of Panlong City?”

He had never imagined that the ruler of the State of Chiyan could be connected to Panlong City at all.

They were separated by tens of thousands of kilometers.

But suddenly, he recalled the history of Panlong City that he had once read.

In its final, annihilating battle, the northern monster state had answered the calls of the states of Baling and Xianyou, dispatching powerful monster armies and monster generals.

Could the ruler of the State of Chiyan have been among them?

Unfortunately, Li Qingge said, “That’s all I know. That battle destroyed Panlong City outright, and all the other participants have kept silent ever since. Even the accounts of the battle record only the barest details.”

He Lingchuan drew a deep breath.

Having spent so much time in the Panlong Dreamscape, he often subconsciously forgot that it was destined to be destroyed.

Li Qingge smiled and said, “You’re very interested in Panlong City, aren’t you?”

“Of course.” He Lingchuan smiled faintly. “I’m from Heishui City. We were neighbors with the Panlong Desert for over a decade.”

“That explains it, even your treasured saber is a relic of Zhong Shengguang’s. No wonder it’s extraordinary.”

His treasured saber was far more than just Zhong Shengguang’s relic.

The next time they encountered people waiting by the road, He Lingchuan simply walked up and asked directly, “May I ask who you’re waiting for?”

The man glanced at him. “That’s none of your concern.”

“Not Fushan Yue?” He Lingchuan muttered. “Then it really has nothing to do with me.” He turned to leave.

“Wait, wait!” The man called after him. “You know the Eldest Young Master?”

“Sure do. I’ve been traveling with him this whole way.”

The man looked unconvinced. “Then where is the Eldest Young Master now?”

“He went back to handle some personal business. He’ll catch up sooner or later.” He Lingchuan looked at him. “And you are?”

“My surname is Qian. My father is the current Assistant Minister of Justice.”

He Lingchuan smiled and said, “Give it three to five more days. He should arrive by then. If you have patience, you might as well keep waiting here.” Without caring whether the man believed him, he turned and left.

* * *

Five days later, Fushan Yue indeed returned to the capital and knocked on He Lingchuan’s guest room door.

“Your ram’s back. I left it in the rear stables.”

He Lingchuan lowered his head and noticed a dark stain that looked like blood on the hem of his clothes.

“You went back and killed people?”

Fushan Yue grinned broadly, showing a mouthful of white teeth. “Can’t waste the opportunity.”

He Lingchuan knew it. With Fushan Yue’s relentless, vendetta-driven temperament, there was no way he would just accept jabs at him quietly.

“The officials who caused us trouble, I killed them all.” Fushan Yue cracked his knuckles.

“You really do make enemies everywhere.”

“If no one envies you, you’re just mediocre.”

1. Honestly, it seems like all these terms are just mixes and matches of each other and refer to the exact same thing .-. ☜