Stranger Danger

Chapter 297: Free Soul

“Xiangqi Demon? That’s... is that its main soul?!” Xiao Feng exclaimed in surprise and delight. It was because the soul fragment Ye Qing was attacking was none other than Xiangqi Demon’s main soul.

“No wonder I couldn’t find the bastard even after using the ‘Soul Scouring Eye of Sky and Earth’! He was hiding in my blind spot this whole time!”

Xiao Feng had to admit that Xiangqi Demon was smarter and more audacious than he gave him credit for. They must have played their games on that xiangqi board for centuries, which was why he had subconsciously overlooked the object while searching for his main soul.

Moreover, Xiangqi Demon had intentionally strengthened his subsoul instead of his main soul like most people would. It was to fool him into thinking that his subsoul was his main soul, and the ruse had worked like a charm.

Of course, he was smarter than Xiangqi Demon. If the circumstances weren’t as desperate as they were, or if he had just a bit more time, he would’ve figured out the ruse eventually. The problem was he didn’t have enough time. By the time he figured it out, the Boundless Heart Demon would’ve broken free from its prison already.

But then, a variable that no one had placed any significance on—a living piece of their game—had emerged and ruined it all for Xiangqi Demon. It was such irony that one could almost say that it was, as the cultists of the Boundless Heart Demon loved to put it, fate.

Xiao Feng’s lips curled into a smile that was both mocking and wistful. “Hahaha! What an unpredictable world this is! What a fateful ending!”

Xiangqi Demon could never dream that he would fall to a nobody after successfully fooling everyone and everything.

If he hadn’t captured that youngster and tossed him into their game, the youngster wouldn’t have had the chance to kill him.

If he had killed the youngster immediately after winning the game, he could’ve avoided the same fate as well.

Or if he had strengthened his main soul just enough that even a late-stage Astral Refiner couldn\'t kill him, then maybe he could’ve averted the worst case scenario.

The what-ifs were infinite, but there was only one reality.

That was why people came up with the concept of fate.

That was why people believed in fate.

Xiao Feng barked out another laugh before crushing the silver lines covering the Mountain of Demons with his bare hands. The array couldn’t possibly resist as the one person who could’ve controlled it was no more. As a result, it began crumbling upon itself and spilling demonic qi everywhere.

The next moment, Xiao Feng moved his hands down and suppressed the origin qi and demonic qi rampaging throughout the world. Then, he directed the energies to heal the cracks covering the entire mountain.

After the Mountain of Demons had recovered, the gigantic face that was this close from breaking out of its eternal prison slowly subsided back into the ground.

“OooooOoooooOo...”

For the first time, the disturbing smile on the face curled into a sad expression. At the same time, a pair of bloody tears began streaming down its cheeks. A ghastly wail also resounded throughout the Demon’s Tomb. The sky began raining blood, and every human and Stranger under the rain felt sad all of a sudden.

It didn’t matter if they were sentient or not. Everyone and everything began to feel sad and weep tears of blood as well.

“Do not make contact with the blood rain, boy. They’re unsafe,” The Fog Demon floated out into the open and warned.

“I know.”

Ye Qing wiped away the bloody tears pooling under his tear ducts and expanded his astral qi into a protective cocoon. At the same time, he visualized the “Emperor Fuxi Visualization Method” to protect his mind.

After the golden light had dispelled the formless, invisible energy affecting his mind, the unnatural sorrow afflicting him subsided considerably.

What the hell happened in the Guixu? Ye Qing wondered as he stared at the tattered center of the Graveyard of Demons.

He couldn’t have been trapped in the xiangqi board for more than an hour or two, so why the hell did it feel like the entire world had changed?

Shit! Surely that old fuck can’t control time, right? What if a century had already passed while I was trapped inside the board...?

“Screw it. Let’s leave this place first!” Ye Qing decided after thinking for a moment.

Since he entered the Guixu, almost nothing had gone his way at all. First, he ran into a gigantic snail that almost infected him with a mini snail. Then, he was captured and thrown into a xiangqi board where he had to fight to survive. Worse, he was left to die inside the game world even though he scored the final blow. He had seen the sun crumbling into pieces, the moon sinking into the horizon, the earth being swallowed into a bottomless void piece by piece and more.

It was a scene straight out of the apocalypse, and he wasn’t equipped to handle it to say the least.

If he hadn’t picked up that the sky was the weakest part of the unnatural world he was trapped in, if he hadn’t combined his, the Mara Boundless Buddha and Zhong Ji’s strength together and just barely punched a hole in the sky, he would probably be atoms already.

As if that wasn’t miserable enough, it wasn’t even a completely smooth journey. While he was attacking the sky, a soul fragment had appeared out of nowhere and attempted to stop him, and at first, he almost shat his pants. It was because it shared the same presence as one of the players outside the xiangqi board, and that presence was so powerful any resistance he could’ve mustered would’ve been completely futile.

When he actually clashed against it though, he abruptly realized that the soul fragment was stupidly weak. He didn’t understand why that was the case, but he had no qualms destroying it after he broke out of the strange world.

Speaking of which, he was fully ready to fight a hopeless battle after returning to reality. Surely the players wouldn’t be pleased that one of their pieces had broken free, right? He didn’t find anyone around him, however. Instead, he saw a graveyard that looked like it had been ravaged by a bunch of rapists, the ground was shaking like a magnitude 8 earthquake, and the sky was literally weeping blood. This series of discoveries snuffed out any desire he might have had for the Guixu.

What was I thinking entering this place? I’m just a small fry, and I don’t feel like dying just yet. I belong anywhere but here.

He was just about to take his leave when suddenly, someone called out to him from behind, “Leaving already, young friend? Don’t you want to stay here a little longer?”

Ye Qing froze for a second. Every hair on his person stood on end, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat before he knew it. He turned around and saw Xiao Feng smilingly devilishly and lazily at him.

“Hello... senior.”

Ye Qing forced a smile on his stiff face and adjusted his posture to exude as much sincerity as possible. “It’s er, it’s raining right now, so I need to rush home and put away my laundry immediately. I’ll see you another day?”

“Is that so?” Xiao Feng smiled, thinking that Ye Qing’s reaction was quite amusing. He waved his sleeve once, and the blood rain abruptly subsided rapidly. It stopped completely just a few seconds later. Then, a blood moon rose into the sky, and the demonic qi scattered its light and dyed everything in the Guixu in red.

“Now you don’t have to hurry home, do you?”

“Ha, haha...”

Ye Qing’s sweat grew thick enough to slide down his nose. His smile was already stiff in the first place, but now he was just barely keeping it together. He knew from the start that the mysterious man was extraordinary, but to literally change the weather with a single wave?

I’M JUST A SMALL FRY DAMMIT. WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO ME!?

“T-Thank you, senior, but maybe next time. A-Also, your skill is most impressive. I’d never seen such incredible power.”

“Oh? You’re a flatterer as well?” Xiao Feng chuckled.

“I’m not trying to flatter you, senior. I’m telling the truth. In the jianghu, they call me the Honest and Dependable Gentleman or the Man Who Never Tells Lies. It’s how you know I’m telling the pure, unadulterated truth.”

Ye Qing wiped away a bead of sweat and continued in a sincere tone, “Your power and skill aren’t the only things that are impressive either. You’re also one of the most handsome men I’ve ever met. You remind me of a heavenly celestial who descended upon the earth to enjoy the pleasures of the world. I must have used up three lifetimes’ worth of blessing to be rewarded with a meeting with you. I am sure that I will take this memory to the grave.”

To emphasize just how excited and honored he was, Ye Qing even squeezed out a tear from his tear duct.

“By the Nether, he is even more shameless than I am!”

Inside the Boundless Mara Buddha, the Fog Demon was so disgusted it couldn’t help but make a mental spit. Shamelessness was something that transcended the boundaries of race, but the effect was magnified on someone with an honest-looking face like Ye Qing.

“You will take this memory to the grave, is it? If that is your wish, then so it shall be!” Xiao Feng smiled devilishly and pointed a finger at Ye Qing’s forehead.

“Wa—”

Ye Qing’s eyes bulged in shock and horror. This isn’t how the script should go! I refuse to be the protagonist who committed suicide because of excessive bootlicking!

Ye Qing tried to resist, but he was immobilized practically the instant the thought appeared in his head. He could only watch helplessly as the finger came closer and closer.

Boom!

When the finger finally made contact with his forehead, his headspace churned, and his mind wobbled like a leaf caught within a storm. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he collapsed on the ground just like that.

“You actually killed him, Xiao Feng?”

A colossal figure appeared next to Xiao Feng and lamented in mock horror, “He’s the man who wiped your sorry ass for you! How could you do this to him? My, I have never seen a more heartless and ungrateful man in my life!”

He was none other than Mountain Bearer.

Xiao Feng smirked and tapped Ye Qing on the head again. “What can I do? It’s what he asked for.”

Mountain Bearer slapped his hands on his cheeks. “Oh my heavens! It’s bad enough you murdered your benefactor, you would desecrate his corpse too? Monster! Monster!”

Then, Ye Qing’s aura began growing stronger and stronger. From time to time, he would emit powerful spiritual shockwaves.

Mountain Bearer turned serious when he saw this. “You unlocked his Xuanguan point for him? Are you actually going to make him your successor, Xiao Feng?”

“Aren’t you the one who keeps pushing me to repay the favor?” Xiao Feng countered.

It was at this moment Nine Mountains joined the trio. “Amitabha. Have you decided, Xiao Feng?”

“I have,” Xiao Feng responded with a smile. “You Buddhists are very concerned with karmic bonds and destiny, aren’t you? Well, to borrow your words, this boy shares a karmic bond with me.”

“Not only did he do us a huge favor, he just so happens to be carrying an item that I left outside[1]. I see no reason not to pass down my signature martial art to him.”

“All arts must not be passed down carelessly, not to mention that your signature martial art is more dangerous than most. You really should consider this carefully.” Nine Mountains said with a frown, “Do you know what type of person he is? Do you even know if he’s good? If he’s a villainous monster, then what you’re doing is no different from committing mass slaughter. Are you aware of that?”

Xiao Feng shook his head. “Heavens, you just can’t help but be a goody-two-shoes, can you? When you were alive, you hunted countless evils and protected many from disaster. After you died, you kept watch over the Demon’s Tomb and act as his watchdog. Now, you’re still worrying about the future of humanity. Aren’t you tired, man?”

“Amitabha! My Buddha is merciful!” Nine Mountains chanted solemnly in response.

“Heh. Truly, you and I cannot be anymore different. You’re a Buddhist and a goodie-two-shoes. I’m a demon who does whatever I like. We literally don’t even pee in the same jar.” Xiao Feng scoffed. “Seriously, if you hadn\'t saved my life back when we were still alive, I wouldn’t even leave a wisp of my consciousness in this place. I swear, it’s a laborious and thankless job.”

“To be free when I was alive, and to be ash after I’m dead. That’s the kind of life I wanted to lead.”

“On behalf of all of humanity, this poor monk thanks you for your selfless service,” Nine Mountains saluted him deeply.

“Save it. That doesn’t work on me.” Xiao Feng chuckled. “All I ask is that you stop trying to change my mind. My eardrums are a little sore after all that noise from earlier, you see.”

Knowing that Xiao Feng truly had made up his mind, Nine Mountains shook his head and chanted, “Amitabha.”

“If it helps you rest easier, know that this boy does not cultivate any unsavory martial art. Yes, his bloodthirst is stronger than most, but he isn’t a full blown monster either. He won’t cause the kind of disasters you fear.”

Mountain Bearer interrupted, “You have a good eye for people, Xiao Feng. For someone so young, this boy already possesses a powerful physique and flawless talent and aptitude. He’s definitely qualified to be called a once-in-a-century genius. Assuming he doesn’t die young, he’s destined to leave his name in the annals of history. You’re one lucky bastard, Xiao Feng.”

It was clear that Mountain Bearer was jealous.

Xiao Feng chuckled. “Why are you jealous? You can teach him your skills if you want to. As you say, he’s quite compatible with your ‘Pan Emperor Mountain Bearing Sutra’, isn’t he?”

“You’re not wrong,” Mountain Bearer rubbed his chin as if seriously considering the opinion.

Then, Nine Mountains interrupted with a cough, “Ahem. Amitabha...”

Mountain Bearer got the hint and laughed. “Hahaha... forget it. The monk’s already pretty annoyed that you passed him your signature martial art. If I passed him my signature martial art as well, I’m afraid that he would pass onto the afterlife this instant!”

Nine Mountains said seriously, “Amitabha, I am not annoyed.”

“Sure, I believe you.” Mountain Bearer laughed again before urging, “Come on, monk. There is still stuff to clean up regarding the Boundless Heart Demon, and I’m sure Xiao Feng could use some peace and quiet.”

“Amitabha...” Nine Mountains shot Xiao Feng one last complicated look before taking his leave. Mountain Bearer was gone as well.

Xiao Feng paid their departure no heed. He simply smiled at Ye Qing’s unconscious figure and tapped his forehead again.

“Since you’re going to inherit my signature martial art, I consider you my disciple. My name is Xiao Feng, and I was a free soul who toured every walk of life, followed my heart, and changed the world as I pleased. Back in the day, they called me the Demon Lord of Freedom.”

“I don’t really care, but try not to forget me as soon as you leave this place, hahaha...”

1. He’s talking about the silver page. ?