Stranger Danger

Chapter 475: May Your Journey Be Safe And Sound

When the Blood Demon appeared in the world, all blood would boil without question. Capable of boiling one’s blood, changing their properties, and generally manipulating blood to slay its foes, the Blood Demon was definitely a powerful Yin God.

It was even described in the “Blood Demon Sutra” that the Blood Demon could turn tens of thousands of bodies into withered bones and startle gods and ghosts into hiding.

The second martial art that could make him a Yin God was the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”. The Yin God it created was called the “Heavenly Demon of Freedom”.

The Heavenly Demon of Freedom could destroy all who lived with a single thought. It could summon a person’s heart demon, greed, annoyance, foolishness, delusion, happiness, sorrow, anger and joy with a single thought. It could trap them in an infinite sea of desire, heart demon and karmic hindrance. It could kill without anyone knowing that it had killed.

Both the “Blood Demon Sutra” and the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” were Grandmaster-stage martial arts. Either one could guide him all the way to the Grandmaster stage.

Difficulty wise, the “Blood Demon Sutra” was obviously easier to cultivate. All he needed was an ample amount of fresh blood, and he could create a Blood Demon in a very short time.

On the other hand, the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” was clearly more mysterious and powerful. The Heavenly Demon of Freedom seemed to possess greater potential as well.

That was why Ye Qing ultimately chose to cultivate the Heavenly Demon of Freedom.

Besides that, the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” was his main cultivation art. Compared to the “Blood Demon Sutra”, which he cultivated during his leisure only as a supplementary martial art, he was much more familiar with the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”. While the speed at which he cultivated the “Blood Demon Sutra” was no less slower than the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” thanks to his unique blood, the latter martial art just suited him better.

He hadn’t just been focusing on recovering for the past few days. He had been cultivating the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”’s method to create a Yin God as well. Thanks to his massive reservoir of spiritual power and potent demonic thought, his Yin God was already beginning to take shape.

Of course, he was still a ways away from creating a Heavenly Demon of Freedom, but the advancement meant that he was no longer as defenseless as before.

Longing couldn’t help but praise him, “You have a strong heart, scion Ye. Longing is most impressed.”

Not anyone could withstand such a terrible blow and still maintain a bright smile on his face.

“Don’t tease me, Miss Longing. I’m just finding the silver lining, that’s all,” Ye Qing replied easily.

His present looked grim, and his future looked grimmer. Even so, life must go on, right?

Rather than glooming over his situation, he would rather smile and laugh to his heart’s content—even if that smile was a bitter one.

“Have we reached our destination, Miss Longing?”

“Yes. We have left Tian Yong. Once you pass through Carefree Mountain Range, you’ll enter Northern Xinjiang.”

Longing’s tone grew a tad apologetic. “I’m truly sorry we can’t carry you further, Scion Ye.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. You’ve already taken a risk by saving my life and bringing me all the way here. I cannot possibly ask more of you.”

Ye Qing saluted her. “Besides, the Boat of Longing wouldn’t be damaged in the first place if it wasn’t for me. I’m the one who should be apologizing to you.”

The Boat of Longing could travel to any location with a body of water, but Zhou Hengshan’s final attack had severely damaged the Anomaly. As a result, its power became impaired, and just ferrying him out of Tian Yong had pushed it to its limits.

Of course, the Boat of Longing was an Anomaly, and an Anomaly was eternal. Given enough time, it would naturally recover and become as good as new.

It didn’t change the fact that he was the reason it took damage in the first place though.

“What a ludicrous statement. Did you not save us from our eternal torment earlier? It is only right that we aid you in your time of need,” Miss Longing said gently.

“Haha! I saved you before, and you saved me today, so let’s just say that the score is even and skip the pleasantries, okay?” Ye Qing laughed, but his movement caused his cheeks to rip open and bleed profusely again.

“As you wish.” Long smiled gently. “On an unrelated note, you should stop laughing, scion Ye. Or smiling in general.”

You look so much worse when you smile.

“Eh, I’ve gotten used to it.” Ye Qing shrugged even as the wound on his face began healing once more.

“Since we’ve arrived at our destination, I suppose it’s time I leave,” Ye Qing declared and rose to his feet.

“Why don’t you stay with us a little longer? I’m sure you can use the rest,” Longing suggested.

Ye Qing shook his head. “Thank you for the offer. but I can’t. For one, my body is in such a state that a few extra days of rest practically amounts to nothing. I need to find a way to treat my body, and staying here won’t help with that.”

“Second, my time is short. The longer I stay in one place, the higher the chance my enemies will be able to find me.”

Longing acquiesced, “Very well, but Hua Mei and Jue Yan are currently away to gather information. Will you stay with me until they return?”

“Sure, that’s not a problem.” Ye Qing nodded. Time is life, but he could afford to waste a bit of time.

Tian Yong city was far, far away from the border of Northern Xinjiang. An ordinary person would have to travel between three to five months to make it there, and even a warrior using a transportation Strange Artifact would be on the road for at least a month. However, the Boat of Longing had passed through Guang Ping, Chang Shan, Zhong Shan and more commanderies and arrived at the border separating Tian Yong and Northern Xinjiang in just five days. It showed just how powerful it was.

It was impossible to guess where the Boat of Longing was headed to or what their destination was, so even if Chu did announce a nation-wide bounty for his head, they shouldn’t be able to locate him immediately. Besides, he couldn’t make the most optimal decision without knowing the imperial court’s final verdict, how they planned to deal with him and so on.

He would’ve tried to gather the information himself if Hua Mei and Jue Yan weren’t already on the job. He was glad that they were doing it for him and saving him much time.

About half a teatime later, Hua Mei and Jue Yan returned one after another with some news. After they told him about the official statement issued by the Intelligence Department, he fell silent for a moment and let out a sigh.

The official statement didn’t mention him massacring the Hengshan Army or the fact that he was framed. All it mentioned was his conflict with Chu Qingli. Clearly, the imperial court was planning to pin all the blame on him and minimize the negative effects of the situation.

In the end, he was made a scapegoat.

Of course, he was prepared for this outcome. He was neither too surprised nor saddened to see his prediction come true.

“It looks like your plan to fake your death is a success, scion Ye!” Longing didn’t think as deeply as Ye Qing and congratulated him innocently, “Congratulations!”

“Eh. It’s half-successful, I guess.” Ye Qing’s lips curled into disdain.

Longing looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Ye Qing explained, “Nowhere was it stated in the statement that I was dead. Of course, it didn’t say that I was alive either, but clearly they have their suspicions. Therefore, my plan is only half-successful.”

“So... you’re still not out of danger?” The three girls exchanged a worried glance with each other.

“No one is an idiot. Of course it wouldn’t be easy to fool them. I’m happy with this outcome though. It could’ve been so much worse,” Ye Qing replied in a lighthearted tone.

Looking at the statement, the Intelligence Department wasn’t able to announce a nation-wide bounty for his head because they weren’t sure if he was still alive. The fact that the statement was issued by the Intelligence Department instead of the Three Judicial Offices and the Imperial Clan Court also meant that the imperial court had decided to leave it all in their hands, and that the local governments and military wouldn’t be getting involved.

The Intelligence Department was a monster of an organization, but being hunted by them was still better than being hunted by the entire realm.

Besides that, judging from how ambiguous the statement read, it looked like the Intelligence Department wouldn’t be dispatching a million agents to scour the entire realm for him or something. They would only be making inquiries and visiting certain places to find out if he was still alive. However, it was no easy feat to find a single person in the entire realm, not to mention that they weren’t sure if he was still alive. Theoretically, he only needed to lie low long enough for the Intelligence Department to believe that he was truly dead.

“Thank you for gathering this information for me, Miss Hua Mei, Miss Jue Yan. This one is most grateful,” Ye Qing thanked the two girls.

They replied in unison, “You’re welcome, scion Ye.”

“Alright, if there’s nothing else, then I shall be taking my leave.” Ye Qing rose to his feet and began walking toward the exit.

As usual, the Boat of Longing was surrounded by thick fog. However, it was thinner than before, and there were far less corpses on the waters than usual. Still, the corpses formed a path for Ye Qing to walk all the way to the rivershore.

After Ye Qing’s feet were standing on solid ground, he turned back toward the Boat of Longing and saluted Longing, Hua Mei and Jue Yan, “The mountains are tall, and the waters are endless. May we meet again in the jianghu, Misses.”

Longing, Hua Mei and Jue Yan too bowed to Ye Qing with respect. “The journey is long, so we surely will, scion Ye. Take care.”

The mountains are tall, the waters are endless.

May the sun watch over you during the day,

May the stars and moon be your companions during the night,

And may the wind, rain and cloud guide you away from all dangers.

Be safe,

Be free,

And may we meet again, in the jianghu.