Deities Abandoning Children (Part 8)
“What is that supposed to mean?” Su Xiao mumbled under his breath as he descended the mountain with everyone else the next evening.
While the hospitality offered was fantastic or terrible, it was unforgettable. While everyone else might have remembered the drinks, food, discussions or Wang Du’s ceaseless coughing, Su Xiao was hung up on Wang Du’s answer to his query that most people would perceive as idiotic.
Following the long silence that permeated the room, Wang Du haplessly smiled and replied, “Why do you think I haven’t solved their mystery yet?”
Su Xiao still could not comprehend what was implied – or the lonely and sad expression Wang Du wore when he gave the response. Nevertheless, judging from the fruits of their visit, the mission was completed relatively smoothly. Thanks to Wang Du’s insight, they finally figured out the origins of the monster, and they had the honour of sharing drinks with him. Lastly, they obtained something incredibly valuable.
After a yawn, Song Wei, wearing a smile, asked the confused Su Xiao, “Xiaoxiao, haven’t you obtained Dark Robe Brotherhood’s three treasures? You came for it and obtained it, so why do you look dissatisfied?”
Song Wei had a hobby of shortening people’s names, such as “Brother Jin Wangshi” to “Brother Shi”.
Su Xiao, carrying a bag with contents easily worth tens of thousands of taels, curled his lips and replied, “Mm… Nothing… There’s something odd about him to me, but… mm… I can’t put my finger on what it is.”
“I agree,” voiced Jin Wangshi, yawning. Besides Xie Langya, he was the only one who could keep up with Wang Du’s ability to hold his liquor. “I’ve long heard he’s unconventional compared to other mobility. My intuition tells me that he’s bottling up a lot more than he lets on.”
Langya exhaled heavily. “That goes without saying. Despite tasting success at an early age, he was hit with the harsh reality that he would never recover from his condition and wouldn’t be able to uphold his clan’s glory. Wang and Xie clans have virtually sucked all the life out of Dark Robe Brotherhood in recent years. If members aren’t being sent to serve the imperial court, they seek employment under the imperial court. I’m one example.”
Jin Wangshi curled his lips. “Doesn’t he have to bear any blame for not poor administration of his clan?”
“Manage them how exactly? Dark Robe Brotherhood is located in the capital. Any behaviour perceived as strengthening the clan could be classified as treason. If this was the previous era, perhaps there was some leeway, but Emperor Yuansheng is hellbent on stripping the Seven Champion White Princes. Dark Robe Brotherhood is arguably the most fearsome to His Majesty. Trying to strengthen the clan would be the equivalent of committing suicide. What can he do besides watch the clan wither?” fumed Langya.
“Ah… I forgot to ask why the servants don’t have tongues,” Su Xiao muttered out of the blue, determined to acquire an answer when he went to return the items he borrowed.
Knowing it was wise to not disrespect someone Langya respected immensely, Jin Wangshi smiled and changed his tone. “All that being said, he’s a formidable warrior. Despite how much time we spent, we couldn’t stop the monster, yet he scared him off in a single attack. Even by today’s standards, he’s first-rate with that palm technique alone.”
“That goes without saying. Patriarch’s ‘Forbidden Wind Lightning’ is his unique version. The lightning energy can absorb another’s energy – and by extension – blood and flesh, making it the worst enemy of internal disciplines.”
Since Wang Du retired before Jin Wangshi debuted, the latter had no idea how fearsome Wang Du was.
“I now understand how come Gu Wuzhu was defeated. That means the monster met his worst match. Doesn’t that mean you could beat him with a few more years of training?”
“No. Initially, my lightning palm strikes were effective, but the degree of effectiveness gradually reduced. If I’m not mistaken, the monster gains some form of resistance to specific attacks as he’s exposed to them. Additionally, he seems to have trained a discipline that utilises lightning energy, too, except his version isn’t pure. We need to apprehend him as soon as possible, or it’s only going to get progressively harder.”
Bai Youhan opined, “We’re not certain of his goal, but the fact that he tried to steal Dark Robe Brotherhood’s three treasures suggests that his goal is big enough to warrant the risk. Perhaps there is a clue based on that risk alone.”
The three treasures in question were “Nine Heavens Thundernet”, which could inject lightning into someone’s body, subduing them; “Crow Scatterer”, which was a long-range tailing tool; “Fuxi Pill”, which could neutralise virtually any energy inside an entity.
To create “Fuxi Pill”, the previous generations of Dark Robe Brotherhood utilised Forbidden Wind Lightning’s mental cultivation to stimulate the major meridians of the human body to mimic numerous internal energies. As long as the victim was still alive, any residue internal energy from internal injuries could be neutralised, and recovery would be just a matter of time. Unsurprisingly, then, Wang Du’s generous action of gifting all three treasures to Su Xiao would have had any clan elder so livid that their eyes might have popped out.
Song Wei voiced, “Perhaps Nine Heavens Thundernet and Crow Scatterer cannot be explained, but it is almost certain what he is after if he covets Fuxi Pill.”
“What makes you say that?” queried Jin Wangshi.
“Didn’t it feel as though he was bearing injuries or was unable to maximise his skills when we fought him? If either of them is true, then would Fuxi Pill not be a dream come true for him?”
Bai Youhan said, “She’s right. Rather than being outmatched, he seemed to be suffering due to his own power. If he could resolve the internal conflict in his body using the pill, then his abilities would be amplified multiple folds.”
Considering how astute and knowledgeable Bai Youhan was, his conjecture was unlikely to be wrong. His opinion compelled them to discuss what the monster’s next aims could be to combat the problem he was dealing with. Noticing Bai Lian supress her urge to speak on the matter, Langya asked her, “Miss, you have something to tell us, don’t you?”
Bai Lian had nodded before she realised it – even missing the fact that her gender was exposed. “Yes. Are you… going to search for him?”
The five nodded fearlessly in synchrony.
The confused maiden followed up, questioning, “You are all from esteemed families and are wanted by your own families…”
Song Wei’s status in Song Clan was considered lowly, but she accidentally saw their martial arts skills and learnt them by watching, which was still not a huge issue. However, when she saw Song Clan’s third young master harassing a maid, Song Wei accidentally revealed she had learnt their skills when she smacked his face the other way. Since he refused to pardon her, she had to flee from the clan.
Bai Youhan’s clan all turned a blind eye to him – if they did not make life hard for him – due to his mother’s identity after she passed away. If not even their patriarch, who was known for shielding his clansmen to an extreme degree, backed him, it was not hard to imagine the attitudes of others towards him.
Ling Yingmu shook his head. “Unlike them, I never committed any mistakes. I’m just wandering.”
Jin Wangshi draped his arm over the frowning Ling Yingmu and laughed hysterically. “But because he spent too long out and about, Mount Lu recruited new blood five years ago, changed their systems four years ago, and announced an exile of members three years ago. He didn’t make it in time for any of them. When he returned this year, he found out he had been given the boot.”
“Isn’t that even worse…?”
Ling Yingmu rested his sword on the ground and gazed into the ether, tears welling up in his eyes.
Bai Lian hesitantly expressed, “You are all in tight pinches, yet you risk your lives for something unrelated to you. Why? While I have not encountered the monster, I can tell that it is virtually immortal from your discussion, and it only grows stronger each encounter. Why do you not report it to the government bureaus? I do not mean to belittle you; I merely do not wish any of you to meet with harm.”
With each word she enunciated, Bai Lian grew increasingly confused.
“Mm… The government may have more elites, and those elites be stronger than us,” Jin Wangshi rubbed his head, “but we happened to run into him. Since we’ve encountered him, even if we want to ignore him,” he pointed to the bird tattoo on his chest and added, “this part of us can’t let it go.”
Bai Lian could feel an emotion surfacing, but she could not identify it.
Langya cordially added, “He’s right. We’re not trying to be heroes of justice or anything, either. We just can’t turn a blind eye to a problem we’ve seen.”
Song Wei added, “If there is somebody in the government who can subdue him, that would be for the best. Fighting him scares me.”
“It’s precisely because we’ve seen different degrees of unfairness,” Bai Youhan turned back once he reached the intersection and, wearing a smile, continued, “which is why we want to do something about it. We’re stones that have been kicked to the side of the curb, so we can’t accomplish anything major. Still, if there are any minor ways that we can contribute, then there’s no reason to shirk off the opportunity, is there?”
Memories of the poor folks of Wuhua, and the fleeing citizens from Bai Lian’s childhood surfaced in her mind. The thought of, “If only there was someone there to help me at the time,” manifested. Finally, she saw Brilliant Consort.
In a firm tone, Bai Lian raised her head and offered a propitious salute. “Thank you for the enlightenment. If I ever get anywhere in life, it will be thanks to today.”
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