Stranger Danger

Chapter 385: Dear Brother

The Heartless Brain did just that. “Earlier, you used a paper doll to mislead us and buy yourself some time, didn’t you? Well, I saw through your effort instantly. Despite this, I feigned ignorance and led Corpse Child and his goons on a small wild goose chase. Otherwise, you’d never have the time to prepare your plan. Surely you can’t deny my merit in this matter?”

Ye Qing raised an eyebrow. Assuming the Heartless Brain was telling the truth, then it was definitely something he couldn’t overlook. Of course, this didn’t change the fact that the Heartless Brain was just using him for his own scheme. In fact, the Heartless Brain was the reason his enemies were able to track him in the first place.

“Hmph. I won’t deny that you did me a favor, but in the end, you were just using me to break free from the Ghost Tower’s control. At most, we’re fellow collaborators,” Ye Qing replied emotionlessly.

“Hahaha! That’s fine. As long as we’re both free, then who cares about the minor details?” The Heartless Brain chuckled.

“True.” Ye Qing lowered his head a little to hide the flash of killing intent in his eyes. “But this outcome isn’t too satisfactory, I feel.”

“Hehe, that is true. After all, that bitch will definitely learn of Corpse Child’s death. A bitch he may be, he’s not someone you want to trifle with.” The Heartless Brain chuckled. He noticed Ye Qing’s killing intent, of course. He knew he was a loose end, and Ye Qing was plotting to end the risk he represented. The only reason he was still breathing now was because the young man still wanted to hear what he had to say. If he proved that he possessed no value whatsoever, Ye Qing would kill him without a second thought.

The Heartless Brain wasn’t afraid though. He wasn’t just valuable, he was extremely valuable.

“But you have nothing to worry about, lad. I can take care of this problem for you.”

“Oh? And how do you plan to do that?” Ye Qing asked slowly.

“Hehehe, that bitch is stuck at Fengdu, and he cannot leave without a good reason. If he wishes to find out the killer of Corpse Child, he could only divine the rivers of fate through the Great Flow, Purple Star, karma hunting and other divination methods.”

The Heartless Brain declared proudly, “I’m not good at most things, but when it comes to muddying the rivers of fate, I dare say that no one is better than me in all of Fengdu... Well, fine, I might be exaggerating a little, but seriously, even ten of that bitch is no match for one of me.”

“In other words, that bitch will never find you so long as I’m by your side.”

“Why should I trust you? What’s stopping you from selling me out the second I turn my back on you?” Ye Qing pressed. He believed that the Heartless Brain possessed the ability to muddy the rivers of fate. After all, a diviner who could force the Annon Sutra to waste a golden dragon-serpent rune to protect him was no joke.

His ability had nothing to do with his capacity for betrayal, however. A human was untrustworthy enough, much less a ghost.

“Come on. I’m not that untrustworthy.” the Heartless Brain sighed helplessly.

“It hasn\'t even been ten minutes since you worked with me to backstab your owner,” Ye Qing said coldly.

“Think, lad, think! How will it possibly benefit me to betray you right now? We’re grasshoppers tied to the same rope. If I betray you, it’s only a matter of time before that bitch captures me. I just escaped from that hellhole, I have no intentions of returning ever again.”

The Heartless Brain sighed. “Plus, I’m completely defenseless right now. Lying to you at this juncture is akin to commit suicide.”

Ye Qing didn’t say anything and simply watched the Heartless Brain coolly. Everything the Heartless Brain said was true, but he wasn’t agreeing to anything unless the Heartless Brain gave him something that wasn’t empty words.

“Fine, fine, I’ll swear a Dao Oath or an Oath of Burden with you. If I lied to you, then may the heavens smite me where I stand. That okay with you?” The Heartless Brain said with a helpless sigh.

To be honest, he didn’t want to do this as a matter of course, but Ye Qing had proven to be way too paranoid. He could tell that it was impossible to dispel his paranoia with just words, and if he couldn’t dispel his paranoia, then he might die here.

So, swearing an oath was his only way out of this.

“Very well. We will swear an Oath of Burden, but I want to add a few extra terms. One, you must never harm me in any way. If I need your help, then you will give me your all. You will not hold back for any reason.” Ye Qing cracked a victorious smile. This is what I’ve been waiting for.

He didn’t force the Heartless Brain to sign a master-servant contract with him. All extremes are bad, and the Heartless Brain was no Faceless. He had a feeling that the Stranger would make him regret his decision if he pushed him too far.

One or two additional terms though? That was perfectly acceptable.

“You wound me, lad! I would’ve fulfilled those terms even without the oath!”

The Heartless Brain looked deeply hurt, but when he met Ye Qing’s emotionless gaze, he sighed. “Fine, fine. I suppose I shouldn’t spurn my brother’s wishes.”

Ye Qing ignored the Heartless Brain and performed the ritual necessary to summon the Oathbearer. Once done, their minds immediately shot through the nine heavens, and they appeared before a massive tortoise who was the size of a planet.

“We meet again, my young friend!” An old man stepped out of the void and greeted him kindly.

“Well met, senior!” Ye Qing saluted him. The old man was none other than Fu Tian, the one who helped him sign his first ever Oath of Burden.

There were more than one Oathbearer in this world. As the master of all oaths, a single Oathbearer couldn’t possibly shoulder all the oaths in the world after all. However, Ye Qing realized that the one who answered his call was always Fu Tian. He wondered if it was a coincidence, or something else.

This was good news though. Fu Tian was obviously fond of him. With him witnessing the oath, he didn’t need to worry about being screwed over by some sort of loophole.

“It has only been a while since we last met, and you’ve already grown so much. Congratulations, young friend.” Fu Tian smiled kindly.

“You flatter me, senior. It isn’t that big of an improvement.” Ye Qing saluted back brightly.

At the side, the Heartless Brain was staring at the conversing duo in stunned silence. Since when is an Oathbearer so friendly? And judging from their conversation, they seemed to be acquaintances! Was I cooped up in the jar for so long that the world had changed, or I’ve turned senile?

He knew the answer, of course. The world hadn’t changed, and he hadn’t turned senile. The man before him was just that unusual.

Realizing that there was absolutely no room for him to try something here, the Heartless Brain gave up his schemes and waited patiently for the duo to catch up with each other. Once they were done, he swore a perfectly honest Oath of Burden with Ye Qing.

After their minds had returned to their bodies, the Heartless Brain grabbed Ye Qing’s hands and breathed emotionally, “Brother Ye...”

“Brother...” Ye Qing squeezed back and breathed just as emotionally. It was as if they were actual brothers and not two complete strangers who were moments away from killing each other a while ago.

They had given their true names when swearing the Oath of Burden earlier. Naturally, the Heartless Brain was aware of Ye Qing’s real name.

The two men stared into each other’s eyes a while longer before the Heartless Brain said suddenly, “Oh right, Brother Ye. Can I ask for your help with something?”

“What is it?” Ye Qing withdrew his hands and said indifferently.

The Heartless Brain: “...” Bro, can you be any more pragmatic?

The Heartless Brain shook off his incredulity and asked, “Can you get a new body?”

“Excuse me?” Ye Qing thought he heard wrong for a second. The human desire was infinite, and he had heard plenty of strange requests. This was the first time someone asked him for a new body though.

Is this body too masculine for you? Do you want to become my sister?

“You might have inferred from my name, but my true form is a brain. Without a body, I can only hibernate until I get a new body, or I die.”

The Heartless Brain revealed everything truthfully, “Corpse Child, that cunning bastard, gave me this weak body because he was afraid that I might pull something on the road. As a result, my abilities are greatly restricted.”

“This body is going to fall apart very soon. If I don’t switch into a stronger body soon, then I might not be able to protect you when the time comes.”

“Plus, this body is so weak there is practically nothing I can do to defend myself. In times of danger, I can only rely on you to protect me. That would be quite troublesome for the both of us.”

The Heartless Brain knew that Ye Qing wouldn’t release him in the short term, at least not until he was sure he was completely safe. This was perfectly understandable. In his position, he would’ve done the same thing.

He wasn’t worried that Ye Qing would deny his request either. They had sworn an Oath of Burden, and he couldn’t even muster the thought of harming Ye Qing without risking death. Even if Ye Qing suspected that he was plotting something, there should be no reason for the young man to reject him.

Plus, he wasn’t lying. The stronger the body, the better he could exert his abilities.

For example, Corpse Child had given him a strong body—the body of an early-stage Spirit Purifier to be exact—when he was divining Ye Qing’s location and identity. It wasn’t anything impressive, but it certainly wasn’t weak.

“Very well.” Ye Qing agreed after just a few seconds of thinking.

“Thank you very much for your assistance, brother!” The Heartless Brain thanked Ye Qing in an exaggerated fashion.

“But I remember from a book that a Heartless Brain can only infest a living human’s body, right?” Ye Qing asked.

“You’re quite the experienced and knowledgeable warrior, Brother Ye. I am impressed!” The Heartless Brain praised before growing worried. “Er, you’re okay with me infesting a living human, right?”

Ye Qing was a human after all. It made sense that he would loathe a hostile act against his own kind.

“Relax, I’m not one of those pretentious, ‘law-abiding’ pricks who can’t think out of their own asshole. Plus, there are people who only look like humans on the outside, but are less than animals on the inside. The Chaos Heaven Brigands are a perfect example of that. Do you really think I care if they lived or died?”

As if he could read the Heartless Brain’s mind, Ye Qing let out a dark chuckle. “Everyone on this mountain is going to die eventually. I won’t let them live because they don’t deserve to live.”

What bloodthirst!

The Heartless Brain felt a chill as Ye Qing’s bloodthirst washed over him.

Ye Qing ordered, “Wait here. I’ll go find you a brigand.”

The Heartless Brain snapped out of his daze and said in a hurry, “Oh, there’s no need. There’s a suitable body right here.”

“What?” Ye Qing followed the Stranger’s gaze and saw that he was looking at the deceased Chen Ah Sheng. Surprised, he asked for clarification, “You want Chen Ah Sheng’s body?”

The Heartless Brain smiled. “Everyone thinks that a Heartless Brain can only occupy a living body, but in reality it was a misunderstanding. The reason we usually choose a host that is alive to infest is because their bodily functions are intact. Theoretically, we can infest any body that hasn’t broken down in some way.”

“Chen Ah Sheng is a Half-Step Grandmaster and a body-tempering warrior no less. His body is so strong that even after his brain has died, his body is still perfectly intact. To give you a picture, it would’ve taken years for the body to start rotting.”

“More importantly, Chen Ah Sheng’s consciousness is long gone. It will take me no effort to occupy this body whatsoever.”