Stranger Danger

Ye Qing smirked when he saw Yi Pin looking gloomy. “The stink you’re currently afflicted with is more useful than you think.”

“Not only can the stink of a Bird of Riddles’ saliva keep most Strangers away, it could keep the Bird of Riddles itself away.”

“The location where we might find an opportunity is in this forest, isn’t it? And this forest is filled with the Bird of Riddles. It would be suicide for almost anyone else to venture into this place, but you can waltz right in like you own it. We would be able to search for this opportunity without their interference. How good is that?”

“That’s true,” Yi Pin agreed before realizing something. “Wait a second. You haven’t planned this from the beginning, have you?”

Ye Qing smirked. “Of course not. It’s just your destiny to be our… walking repellant today.”

“...”

“Don’t be mad! It’s for the better good, isn’t it?”

“Oh yeah? Then why don’t you let the Bird of Riddles spit you in the mouth?” Yi Pin grunted.

“Because I don’t want to smell, duh!” Ye Qing answered matter-of-factly. “Besides, there’s no need for a second repellant, is there? Thanks for the trouble, brother!”

“Thanks for the trouble, master!” Li Longxiang echoed in agreement.

“Get lost! What are you butting in for?!” Yi Pin scolded Li Longxiang before looking at the forestful of birds uncertainly. “Are you sure it would work, brother?”

“If you don’t trust me, then we can just leave. After all, we won’t get the chance to regret it once we enter the forest.” Ye Qing wanted to give Yi Pin an assuring pat on the shoulder until he recalled the smell and gave up immediately. “It’ll be fine though, so c’mon!”

Ye Qing had long since sealed off his sense of smell to avoid catching a whiff of the stench. He had also covered himself in a sheen of light to prevent the smell from clinging to him. The stench of a Bird of Riddles’ saliva was that bad.

Yi Pin: “...” His words are sweet, but his actions are treacherous. Men!

After repeated urgings, Yi Pin eventually took the lead and slowly walked toward the forest. When they were about ten meters away, the Birds of Riddles grew restless and started cooing and flapping their wings like crazy. When Yi Pin forced himself to control his fear and took a couple more steps forward, the Birds of Riddles abruptly scattered and flew away.

Ye Qing immediately reached out and caught a handful of black-and-white feathers that looked to be of excellent quality. When Yi Pin saw this, he asked, “What are you doing?”

Ye Qing gave him a vague answer. “The feathers of a Bird of Riddles is an excellent material that can be used to sew clothes, cloaks, fans and more.”

The real answer was that it was one of the main ingredients to make the Incense of Misfortune.

Yi Pin curled his lips in disdain as if he couldn’t stand Ye Qing’s miserly behavior, but as soon as Ye Qing turned away, he kicked his disciple in the leg to command him to pick up the rest of the feathers. After that, they ventured deeper into the forest.

As Ye Qing claimed, every animal and Stranger they came across stayed far, far away from Yi Pin because the stench was horrible. About half a teatime later, they arrived at a garden of flowers.

The flower garden was about 666 square meters wide and covered in fragrant, colorful flowers. A single shed stood in the middle of the field.

“Is this the opportunity you speak of, brother?” Ye Qing asked. “I believe so.” Yi Pin nodded after a moment of observation. “If I’m not mistaken, this is the resting place of a powerful warrior or something.”

“Yeah,” Ye Qing echoed in agreement. “Since you’re the one who found this place, you may explore it first.”

“Oh no, it is all thanks to you that we were able to make it this far. Of course the privilege of exploration goes to you first, brother.”

Four eyes met, and two men chuckled. Li Longxiang was the only one who didn’t get what was going on.

Ptooey! You think you can manipulate me into being your mine sweeper? Think again!

Hmph! You’re not very generous, are you kid?

“In that case, why don’t we observe the place first? Who knows, there might be unseen danger!” Ye Qing coughed.

“Yes, that seems like the best idea,” Yi Pin echoed in agreement as if that was his plan all along.

In fact, Ye Qing was pretty damn sure that there was invisible danger lurking right around the corner. This place looked like a small slice of paradise, but they were inside the Demon\'s Tomb. True paradise might exist somewhere, but it shouldn’t be found in the depths of hell. Even if it did, it should’ve been destroyed by the Strangers living in the forest a long time ago. However, the garden in front of them looked perfectly pristine.

“What are you waiting for, master, senior uncle? This way!”

The two men were still observing the surroundings for dangers when suddenly, they heard Li Longxiang calling out to them. When they looked, they saw Li Longxiang standing in the middle of a small path leading toward the shed. They had no idea when the path had appeared or how Li Longxiang had stepped on it without them noticing.

“Are you trying to kill yourself, idiot? Get back here!” Yi Pin shouted as the blood drained away from his face.

“What do you mean, master? It’s safe here!” Li Longxiang scratched his head, puzzled.

“Calm down, brother. He seems to be fine for now,” Ye Qing also chimed in.

Yi Pin calmed down after confirming that Li Longxiang really was fine. He sighed both in exasperation and relief, “You brat…”

He was just about to rebuke his disciple when suddenly, a silhouette shot out of the forest and toward the shed at high speed. It was a man, and he wore a delighted expression on his face.

He was able to elude the Birds of Riddles’ senses using Wood Escape, and he had arrived at this field of flowers way earlier than the trio. However, he didn’t dare to venture deeper because he was afraid that some unseen danger might lurk in the field of flowers. But seeing as Li Longxiang was able to walk through the flowers safely, he believed that that meant that there was no danger. Unable to hold back his greed any longer, he made a beeline for the shed hoping to obtain whatever treasure lay within it before anyone else.

Just like Ye Qing and Yi Pin, the man had come to the conclusion that this was the resting place of a powerful warrior or Stranger. This meant that the shed most likely contained the deceased’s possessions and even inheritance. At his level, even the leftovers were more than enough to empower him. And assuming that it was an inheritance, then this could be the moment where his life was changed forever for the better.

Naturally, he couldn’t allow anyone else to claim it before him.

Afraid for his disciple’s safety, Yi Pin intended to rush into the field of flowers himself. However, he had just raised his foot when Ye Qing stopped him.

“Wait, brother. Look!”

Yi Pin looked. He observed how the man landed both feet on the flower every time he ran out of energy, but only bent its petals slightly. It was as if he was as light as a feather. Then, he would kick off and launch himself even faster toward the shed.

“‘Swallow Taps The Water Three Times’? He’s probably a Swallow Bandit, but why should I care about his background?”

“I never said to look at the guy! I’m talking about the flowers!” Ye Qing rolled his eyes.

“Ahem…”Yi Pin scratched his nose to conceal his embarrassment and did as Ye Qing said. As the man ventured deeper into the garden, the flowers started growing brighter and more colorful. But at some point, they slowly withered as if they were going through the seasons. When summer came, the flowers bloomed their brightest. When autumn came, they all started to wither.

The flowers weren’t the only things that changed, however. The man’s qi, essence and spirit had changed as well. At first, his energies became stronger than ever before as if he was entering his prime. Then, it weakened drastically as if he had aged decades in but a moment. In fact, he had aged decades and turned into an old man with flabby skin and white hair.

The flowers fully withered and started dying en masse. It was as if they had entered the winter.

The man realized something was wrong as soon as his energies started changing against his will, but by the time he tried to leave, he had already transformed into a weak, decrepit old man whose vigor could barely keep himself alive, much less leave where he came. As he fell toward the ground, his body started rotting as if time moved far faster for him than it was everyone else. His flesh turned to bones, and his bones eroded into ash as he fell from the sky.

That still wasn’t the end of Ye Qing and Yi Pin’s shock, however. When the ash was seconds away from hitting the ground, a breeze blew past it and scattered it all across the garden. Countless saplings started bursting out of the earth, and the spring wind turned into a rain that nourished their growth. The saplings fed on the nutrients contained within the ash and rain and grew at an exponential rate. It wasn’t long before the whole garden was filled with lush leaves and colorful flowers once more.

It was like the garden had undergone all four seasons in just a matter of breaths. They went from life to death, then from death to life as if emulating the eternal cycle of reincarnation.

It was both beautiful… and utterly horrifying to Ye Qing and Yi Pin. They had just witnessed a man aging to death right before their eyes, and his ash was used to reborn the flower garden anew. It was a stunning sight to say the least.

Ye Qing had only witnessed this method of death once in his life, and it was when the Heptachromatic Fog of Aging killed a guard right before his eyes. The only difference between the two was that the Heptachromatic Fog of Aging aged only one way, and only when it changed colors, while this field of flowers went through the cycles again and again.

“I believe this field of flowers is affected by the power of time, brother.” Ye Qing subconsciously took a few steps away from the garden.

Yi Pin did the same thing and replied in a hesitant voice, “I think so too. The way the guy died wouldn’t make sense otherwise. Thank goodness we didn’t step in willy-nilly.”

“Your disciple did though. Wait a second. Why is he…?” Ye Qing’s voice grew puzzled.

“Oh yeah!” Yi Pin finally recalled his disciple and looked. Right now, Li Longxiang looked completely gripped by fear and confusion, which was understandable considering what he just saw. He was about to make his way out of the garden when Yi Pin hurriedly stopped him, “Don’t move! Just stay there!”

After he was done placating Li Longxiang, Yi Pin frowned and voiced his doubts, “But why is Longxiang unaffected by its power?”

Ye Qing shrugged. “Don’t look at me. I have no idea what’s going on here. Maybe we can ask him to walk around for a bit and see what happens?”

“Do you think he’s a dog? Why don’t you walk into the field yourself then?”

Yi Pin rolled his eyes at Ye Qing and returned his focus to the flowers. A while later, Yi Pin suddenly jumped on his feet and cried, “I got it! It’s the Reincarnating Flowers of the Four Seasons!”