Stranger Danger

Chu Nianjiu rubbed his nose in embarrassment. “We didn’t do anything. Joyless is the one who did our job.”

Ye Qing waved him off, “I just got lucky—or unlucky if you look at it from another perspective.”

Fang Xiaoman smiled. “You’re all deserving of credit. You are Joyless from Anyang, aren’t you? What a promising young lad you are!”

Ye Qing replied humbly, “You flatter me, Chief Fang.”

“Just accept his praise, lad! He’s telling the truth, and you’re way better than this glutton when he was your age!” Xuanhuang interrupted.

Ye Qing laughed. “Thank you for your praise, Lord Xuanhuang. You’re pretty amazing yourself. That literal dragon you shot today is something I doubt I’ll see again in a hundred years or even a thousand. I am most impressed.”

“Hahaha! I know right? I knew you’d appreciate my power! Unlike some people!” Xuanhuang looked so happy it could fly. “Let me tell you something. I’ve only used one percent of my power back then. If I were to unleash my full power, I could pierce even the sky above our heads! Do you believe me?”

Ye Qing put on a sincere expression and answered, “Of course I do. Doesn’t matter if everyone tells me otherwise. I’ll still believe you.”

“Hahahaha! You really are a good lad!” Xuanhuang grew more and more excited. “Very well! From now on, you’re my little brother! If someone dares to bully you in Luo Shui, just call out my name, and I will blow their heads for you!”

The golden dragon encircled around the grip abruptly shook its head as if it had come alive. A scale fell off its body and flew into Ye Qing’s palm.

“This is my scale. It contains the power of a single arrow. It’s now yours.”

Ye Qing hurriedly put it away and thanked Xuanhuang from the bottom of his heart, “Thank you, Brother Xuanhuang!”

“Hahaha! You’re welcome!” guffawed Xuanhuang.

Xuanhuang was basically giving away a piece of its power, but Fang Xiaoman simply smiled and said nothing. After their conversation was over, the Chief of Bureau finally said, “Keep it well. It may save your life at a moment of crisis. Suitang told me that you have a lot of enemies.”

Ye Qing rubbed his nose and responded in a helpless tone, “What can I do? I don’t want to make enemies either, but they just won’t stop coming!”

“Speaking of which,” Fang Xiaoman took a moment to organize his words before continuing, “I have heard about the zombie outbreak incident from Suitang. You handled it well and in a timely manner.”

“Thank you for your kind words, chief, but I was just doing my job.” Ye Qing accepted the thanks with a salute. “Plus, I haven’t found the culprit yet, so the case isn’t truly wrapped up until then.”

Fang Xiaoman chuckled. “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast, so take it at your own pace. Strangers cannot be caught in haste just like hot tofu cannot be eaten in one gulp. And above all else, you must keep yourself alive.”

“I will remember your advice, chief,” Ye Qing replied respectfully.

It was a good moment, but Xuanhuang broke it with a disgruntled voice, “Don’t listen to his nonsense, brother. ‘Hot tofu cannot be eaten in one gulp’ my ass. Ever heard the saying that ‘speed is the greatest martial art’ [1]in the world? If you wanna catch a Stranger, you gotta be fast. If you wanna get famous, you gotta do it young. And if you wanna catch a babe, you gotta do it before it’s too late!”

Ye Qing rubbed his nose awkwardly. How should he respond to that?

Thankfully, Fang Xiaoman retook the reins of the conversation. “Since you’ve all come home safely, I’m going to bed now. I want to wake up early and enjoy the tofu brains [2] at Aroma Street.”

It was only then the trio realized that it wasn’t a coincidence that Fang Xiaoman was here. He had been waiting for them. Everyone felt warmed by the Chief of Bureau’s concern.

Fang Xiaoman was about to take his leave when suddenly, Ye Qing called out to him, “Wait!”

Fang Xiaoman turned around and asked curiously, “Do you have something else to share, Joyless?”

Ye Qing rubbed his palms together and asked carefully, “There is something I’d like to ask, chief.”

Before Fang Xiaoman could say anything, Xuanhuang interrupted, “Shoot away, brother. Xiaoman will tell you everything he knows!”

Again, Fang Xiaoman did not take offense with Xuanhuang’s behavior. He simply nodded and waited patiently for Ye Qing to speak. So he did. “Is there any place around Luo Shui that contains high concentrations of Burning Wind?”

“Burning Wind?” Fang Xiaoman examined Ye Qing for a bit, and for a moment Ye Qing felt like all of his secrets were laid bare before the Chief of Bureau. Then, Fang Xiaoman chuckled and said, “In fact, I do know a place like that near Luo Shui. It is a very dangerous place though.”

“Where is it?” Ye Qing exclaimed excitedly. With the Star Lotus and the Blood Jade Lotus, he could enter the late stage of the Astral Refinement stage in one go. He just needed the Burning Wind now.

Truth be told, he didn’t need the Burning Wind. He could use the Star Lotus and Blood Jade Lotus right now and temper the astral qi inside his body. However, the Astral Refinement stage was the stage where one continuously absorbed, refined, and tempered one’s astral qi. As he was far from reaching his limit, it would be a waste to use the Star Lotus and the Blood Jade Lotus now.

To give an example, you were trying to retrieve some water from the well. You could’ve carried a full bucket, but instead you only carried half. While you had technically fulfilled your objective, you hadn’t done the bet you could. Moreover, half a bucket of water might only be enough to sate your thirst for the day, but a full bucket could sate your thirst, cook a meal, water some crops and more.

In martial arts, one of the worst things you could do was to do things half-assed. Entering the late-stage the way he was would only give him a small boost in power and destabilize his foundation. He would have a much harder time ascending the cultivation levels as well.

This was why Ye Qing wished to seek out a location with high concentrations of Burning Wind. This way, he could fill his “bucket” to the brim—even overflowing it until his body had reached its absolute limits—and enter the late stage of the Astral Refinement stage in the optimal state.

In the short term, this endeavor would undoubtedly consume a lot of energy and time, but in the long term, it was purely beneficial. The hardships he endured now would significantly improve his strength and make it so much easier for him to scale the cultivation levels. It was worth the effort, and he must do it if he wished to survive the dangers ahead.

Not only that, his goal since he arrived at this world had always been to climb the mountain that was martial arts to the absolute top, not mingle with the countless hills at the bottom. When he looked up he wanted to see the sky and nothing but the sky. When he looked down, he would see the millions others who were trying to reach him. To that end, he couldn’t let up for even a moment.

Firewind Valley was an excellent choice, and he didn’t mind traveling a few days to improve his cultivation at all. However, the source of the Burning Wind—the Heaven Scorching Bagua Brazier—had been snatched away by an old fucker, so the valley was just a scorched valley now. He would have to hunt for his astral wind elsewhere.

As the Chief of Bureau, Fang Xiaoman must be intimately aware of Luo Shui’s surroundings. That was why Ye Qing decided to try his luck. He was right. Fang Xiaoman did know where he might find his Burning Wind.

Sometimes, you make your own luck. And sometimes, luck just hits you in the face!

Fang Xiaoman answered, “Sixty five kilometers to the south of Luo Shui, there is an underground grotto called the Thousand Buddhas Grotto. It is also a Strange Realm. Deep within the grotto is a Thousand Buddhas Temple where three kinds of divine winds blew constantly.”

“The three divine winds are the Wind of Five Poisons, Wind of Six Desires, and Wind of Seven Emotions respectively. According to Buddhists, the Five Poisons that plague humankind—attachment, aversion, ignorance, pride, and jealousy—originate from their thoughts, which is why the Wind of Five Poisons exists to cleanse it all and purify one’s mind.”

“The Six Desires—the desires associated with the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—originate from the body, which is why the Wind of Six Desires exists to cleanse it and purify one’s body.”

“And finally, the Seven Emotions—happiness, anger, sadness, fear, love, hatred, and desire—originate from the heart, which is why the Wind of Seven Emotions exists to cleanse it and purify one’s heart.”

“The Buddhists make it sound very fanciful and profound, but it’s really not that complicated. To put it simply, the Wind of Six Desires is the Corrosive Wind, an astral qi that can corrode flesh and bone, the Wind of Seven Emotions is the Icy Wind, an astral qi that can chill one’s core, and the Wind of Five Poison is the Burning Wind, an astral qi that can burn even the mind.”

“Therefore, the Burning Wind you seek lies in the Thousand Buddha Grotto.”

“Thank you so much for sharing this information, Chief Fang,” Ye Qing saluted him gratefully.

“You’re welcome. The Thousand Buddhas Grotto is incredibly dangerous not just because it’s haunted by the three divine winds, but also because it’s a spawning ground for all kinds of Strangers and Anomalies. You must be careful,” Fang Xiaoman warned.

“I will, Chief Fang.”

“Good. Do you have any more questions? If not, then I shall be taking my leave.”

“That’s all. Thanks again, Chief Fang.”

“I’m going then. Good night, everyone.”

Fang Xiaoman rubbed his hand on his sleeves and picked up the Xuanhuang Bow. Then, he stepped inside the Pacification Bureau.

“Good night, Chief Fang!”

After Fang Xiaoman was gone, Ye Qing bade Chu Nianjiu and Lin Yuhuai goodbye and returned to his room. Then, he started tallying his haul for the day.

Tonight’s adventure had turned out to be far more fruitful than he expected. Not only did he manage to fulfill his objective, he also obtained the Star Lotus.

It was nothing compared to tens of thousands of soul power he received from the souls though, not to mention the scale Xuanhuang had gifted him.

He daresaid that his spirit was now stronger than the vast majority of peak Spirit Purifiers thanks to the soul power the souls had bestowed upon him. But of course, it was only in terms of quantity. His ability to use spirit and control was still inferior to a Spirit Purifier because, you know, he wasn’t a Spirit Purifier yet.

Still, this amount of spirit guaranteed that he would encounter no obstacles when he ascended to the Spirit Purification Realm. When the time was right, he could probably cross over to the next level with a single thought.

As for the scale, Xuanhuang claimed that it contained the power of a single arrow, and Ye Qing had witnessed first hand just how powerful it was. He didn’t doubt that it could save his life at a critical moment.

This trip hadn’t just paved his way to the Spirit Purification Realm, he also gained a potent life-saving item.

All he needed to do now was to stick to the plan and ascend the cultivation levels methodically. How great was that?

“Oh right, I should ask the Annon Sutra what the hell happened today. Why did the Deer of Balance suddenly crush the Candle Spirit out of nowhere?” Ye Qing muttered and pulled out the vellum. When his eyes subconsciously flickered to the dragon-serpent runes though, he noticed something that caused his eyes to widen like saucers.

“What the heck? Why are there only ten silver runes? Where did the other six go?”

For the past few days, he had killed a ton of Hatred-class Strangers such as the Bronze Toad of Cornucopia, Black Pot, Shadow, Yin Woman, Old Mud, Writer and more. In total, he had accumulated sixteen silver dragon-serpent runes. He didn’t remember using them, so he couldn’t understand why six of them were suddenly gone after he went to the Strange Market.

“Wait… Could it be…”

It was at this moment Ye Qing recalled the Annon Sutra’s new ability, the Orbit of Fate. The vellum must have used its new ability to somehow reveal the Candle Spirit’s ploy to the Deer of Balance. It would also explain why the Deer of Balance had gone so far as to kill the Candle Spirit for its transgressions, which didn’t really fit its nature.

This was a good thing, of course. If the Annon Sutra hadn’t taken action, heavens only know what might have happened to him. Even so…

“Goddammit, Annon Sutra… fuck my life…”

1. Quote from ‘Superspeed is the greatest superpower’. ☜

2. It’s tofu pudding, and it’s quite delicious. But it has different names and I don’t want to be caught off guard if the author decides to pull the cultural card down the line. ☜