Chapter 3: A Plot of Farmland
Liu Shui’s eyes snapped open abruptly, her sharp gaze causing the timid woman beside her to recoil in fear. The woman’s hands, raw and bleeding, trembled as she drew them back.
[Everything is spinning. How could someone knock me out so easily?]
At that moment, Liu Shui seemed like a different person. She stood slowly and glanced around for any sign of Hu Guan. A rush of dizziness confirmed she had indeed been struck unconscious. [Whoever did this must be extraordinarily powerful—powerful enough to put me down with one strike.]
She was, after all, the captain of Golden Hill Base’s hunting team—a Six Seal Level cultivator. For someone to best her so effortlessly meant they were no ordinary foe. [But how could such a master remain unknown?]
“When did you wake up?” she asked, her cold voice directed at the timid woman.
“J-just now,” the woman whispered, shrinking under Liu Shui’s piercing stare.
Liu Shui let the matter drop and began rubbing her temple. [My head’s still pounding… That masked man was ruthless.] She trudged over to Hu Guan’s lifeless form. A deep wound marked his neck as the killing blow, but what caught her eye was the Feng Yu Dart lodged in his chest—her own weapon.
[Someone’s setting me up,] she realized, eyes narrowing. [They want the blame for his death to fall on me… how vicious.]
She grabbed Hu Guan’s corpse by the arms, dragged it to the doorway, and heaved it outside. The thunk of dead flesh hitting concrete drew the attention of nearby mutated beasts, which immediately swarmed and tore into the fresh remains.
[No time to be squeamish. If I leave the body here, it’ll only attract more trouble,] Liu Shui told herself, though the sight made even her stomach clench. The timid woman, trembling from head to toe, looked on with horror.
When Liu Shui turned her cold gaze back toward the woman, the latter shrank in fear. “Let’s go,” Liu Shui commanded, marching westward without a backward glance.
The timid woman exhaled shakily and trailed behind, ignoring the fresh blood oozing from her feet. [I just need to make it back to Golden Hill Base alive. Nothing else matters.]
Under the scorching midday sun, Wang Jie crouched in the shadow of an overturned slab of road. The path before him was the only route leading east to Golden Hill Base—perfect for keeping an eye out for certain travelers.
A haze of dust formed in the distance as several vehicles rumbled by. One driver, someone Wang Jie knew, spared him a quick nod. Wang Jie returned the gesture and watched the convoy disappear.
[Another Guide,] Wang Jie mused. [Plenty of us around. The work’s profitable but deadly.]
Many Guides operated out of Golden Hill Base, as the job offered both steady income and opportunities for scavenging cataclysmic materials. Yet it held enormous risk. Not many survived long enough to master their craft, and only the lucky or the truly skilled managed to catch the eye of the Hunting Teams.
In those circles, Wang Jie was known by the codename “Wild Grass.” [It fits,] he thought, [like a weed—hard to kill, yet never truly flourishing.]
Outwardly, he revealed only the power of a Two Seal cultivator. If people realized how well he knew the wilds, some hunting party or another would have pressed him into service long ago. For the moment, the road was clear.
Wang Jie tipped his head back to squint at the harsh sun before closing his eyes in concentration. When he opened them again, he swiftly formed intricate hand seals. Then, he extended one finger.
Half a meter before his fingertip, the air spiraled into a twisting vortex. It shot out and pierced the ground, leaving the space directly before his finger oddly undisturbed.
[Good—Air-Piercing Force still works.]
Wang Jie let out a long breath. Then he closed his eyes once more. When they opened again, the blazing sunlight was gone, replaced by a hazy gloom. Everything vanished into murk—save for the land beneath his feet.
A small plot of farmland.
Yes, farmland.
He pointed a single finger above the soil. As soon as he moved, an imprint shimmered in the air, then sank into the earth like a seed.
[My own secret. Martial techniques can be “planted” here, yet nothing’s ever come of it… until now.]
He had done this countless times, watching the imprint fade without any visible effect. Over the years, he’d nearly given up hope.
But this time, the soil trembled. Three green sprouts pushed through the surface, growing rapidly to half a person’s height before blossoming.
[Finally,] Wang Jie thought, a surge of excitement stirring in his chest. [There’s a change at last.]
When the sprouts finished blooming, the transformation halted. Besides these three small plants, the farmland looked as lifeless as ever. Wang Jie circled them, noting the absence of any fruit.
[What does this mean? There’s no harvest… unless—]
He reached out and gently pressed each sprout in turn. After a moment, he withdrew his hand, pondering what he had sensed. The technique he’d “planted” was Heaven and Earth Luo Xuan Finger.
[It’s taken root in this mysterious soil. But to truly cultivate it, I need something else… fertilizer, of all things.]
The sprouts demanded three components:
Heartbroken Maiden’s Tears
A 33-Year-Old Flower
An Evil Person’s Severed Finger
Only by embedding each one into the matching sprout would the technique fully mature.
[The severed finger of an evildoer is easy enough, but the other two… Who knows where to find them?]
The farmland rippled, and his vision blurred. An instant later, the hazy scene dissolved, returning him to the blazing midday sun. [Time to wait.]
Convoys came and went along the broken road. Finally, two figures appeared in the distance, leaning on each other for support.
Wang Jie raised an eyebrow, realizing who they were. [They survived. So much for my worries. And they’re putting on quite the act, it seems.]
He closed his eyes, feigning calm. Soon, they arrived.
Liu Shui noticed Wang Jie. A flicker of surprise crossed her face. [He’s alive?]
“It’s him!” the timid woman whispered.
Liu Shui marched forward. “Wild Grass?”
Wang Jie opened his eyes as though just now noticing them. “You two? Why are you out here?” A show of alarm creased his brow. “Where’s the masked man?”
“Don’t you know?” Liu Shui demanded.
Wang Jie shrugged. “Know what?”
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. [Could it have been him all along? That’s too far-fetched. But I need to be sure.] “Did you really go to that supermarket?”
Wang Jie nodded. “I did.”
She pressed on, “After you left, he left as well. No one knows where he’s gone.”
The timid woman glanced at the footprints in the dirt, saying nothing.
Wang Jie heaved a dramatic sigh. “He’s the same person the Hunting Team wants—cunning, with strength to back it up. That palm strike he gave me was more intimidation than anything else, but I fell for it. I even used a Signal Device to try luring the Hunting Team, but I ran out of time. If I run into them now, it could be awkward.”
He looked at Liu Shui. “If you happen to see them, keep quiet about me.”
“You really used the Signal Device?” Liu Shui’s gaze darkened.
Wang Jie nodded ruefully. “I nearly got killed by those vines. Desperate times. Anyway, I managed to escape. Lucky me, or I’d have been devoured.” Then he turned his attention to the two of them. “But you… I can’t believe you made it all the way back unscathed.”
The timid woman glanced at Liu Shui, remembering the trail of corpses left in her wake. [This woman tore through every beast between us and the base… it’s no wonder we survived.]
Liu Shui said nothing more. She merely walked on, Wang Jie and the timid woman falling in behind. Soon, the towering walls of Golden Hill Base loomed overhead—a place of relative safety.
A chaotic sea of tents spread beneath the walls. Not everyone could live inside. After a decade of fortification, Golden Hill Base had walls nearly a hundred meters high, enough to keep most mutated beasts at bay. Yet living space was finite, with countless displaced people gathering outside unless a massive beast tide forced the gates to open.
From where he stood, Wang Jie could see the well-armed guards stationed atop the walls, their armor patchwork but sturdy. Beyond them stretched the vast sprawl of the base. Golden Hill was one of the five major strongholds in Hua Xia, presided over by Hong Sword, a member of the legendary Five Extremes. His reputation had drawn a host of powerful cultivators from the east, making Golden Hill Base a bastion of relative stability.
Within the city gates, Liu Shui offered Wang Jie money, but he refused out of guilt for leaving them behind earlier. [I might be a Guide, but I’m no heartless mercenary. At least I can do this much.]
“Then take this beast blood,” the timid woman said, pulling out a small glass vial from her coat. Crimson liquid swirled, glinting in the midday sun.
Wang Jie stared at it in surprise. “You were carrying this the whole time?”
Even Liu Shui seemed taken aback.
“In case of an emergency,” the timid woman murmured.
Wang Jie studied her before tucking the vial away. “Thanks.” He offered no more words, fading into the bustling crowd.
The timid woman watched him go, then glanced over at Liu Shui, who was already leaving. [I’m nothing but a tool to her. She only brought me back because I was momentarily useful.]
Lips pressed tight, the timid woman turned and followed Wang Jie’s trail instead.
Golden Hill’s main street wasn’t as packed as one would expect, its old asphalt shattered into muddy patches. People dragged mutant creature carcasses here and there, the stench of blood mingling with stagnant water. Splashes of filth stained the timid woman’s legs, but she ignored it as she sped forward.
“Looking for me?” Wang Jie’s voice drifted from the shadows of an alleyway.
She stopped and turned to find him leaning against the wall, watching her intently.
“I… I need your help,” she said quietly.
Raising an eyebrow, he slipped deeper into the alley, the woman following close behind. They rounded a corner, arriving at a garbage heap soaked in decay.
“What is it?” Wang Jie asked, crossing his arms.
She swallowed. “I want you to help me find my brother.”
Wang Jie frowned. “I’m a Guide, not a detective.”
She steeled herself. “I still have beast blood. Name your price.”
He produced the vial she’d just given him. “Is this your deposit?”
She shook her head. “No, that was for you. If you accept this job, I’ll give you more as a down payment.”
[There’s more where that came from? How did she get so much beast blood?] Wang Jie wondered, eyeing her carefully. “Where did he go missing?”
She answered, mentioning a place notorious for its dangers.
Wang Jie’s scowl deepened. “That region is lethal. You went there?”
She hesitated, then nodded.
“What made you think you could survive in a place like that?”
She lowered her gaze, saying nothing. Wang Jie turned to leave.
“Wait!” she cried, desperation in her voice.
He paused. “You have five seconds.”
Her eyes flicked to the ground. Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, she confessed, “I… I can sense danger coming.”
Wang Jie blinked. “Sense… danger? How does that work?”
She looked up at the sky as though seeking an answer in the clouds. Though she did not speak further, Wang Jie understood.
[So she’s a cultivator, but I can’t sense her seal level at all… Very strange.]
He studied her in silence, considering the risks against the possibilities. Meanwhile, the woman stood trembling at the entrance of the alley, awaiting his reply.
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation