Stranger Danger

“What bone?” Ye Qing frowned.

“Do you really think feigning ignorance is going to work, boy? I’m talking about the Chang bone that old man gave you yesterday. Give it to me, now!” Pao ordered with a threatening sneer on his face.

Ye Qing narrowed his eyes a bit. “That’s Uncle Fu’s gift to me!”

“Hah!” Pao snorted in disdain. “So what? You’re just some backwater trash. A treasure like that is not a good fit with you. Give it to me now, or else!”

Prayer, Granny Snake, and Chi Long were simply watching this unfold with uncaring smiles on their faces. Zheng Tianyuan was looking down on Ye Qing with clear scorn as well. No one said anything, but they clearly agreed with Pao’s actions.

The corners of Ye Qing's lips turned up a little. When he received the Chang bone yesterday, he could already sense the group eying him with greed and jealousy. He thought they would at least pretend to be polite and tactful, but clearly, he had overestimated these people.

Then again, everyone here was an adult. What kind of adult would balk at something as trivial as shame?

“Just to be clear, I’m not robbing you. If it wasn’t for my young master’s benevolence, you’d never have been able to enter the mountains, stumble upon the mountain god’s wedding, and enjoy that grand feast last night. That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that someone like you should never be able to experience, so you should already be satisfied with what you’ve got!”

Pao rebuked Ye Qing harshly before threatening again, “Now stop dilly-dallying and give it to me already! Otherwise, I’ll break your limbs!"

“You best listen to Pao, boy. That Chang bone doesn’t belong to you!” Chi Long also added with a sinister chuckle.

“Heh! Since you all seem to think that I should surrender the bone… alright then! Here you go!” Ye Qing shook his head and tossed the Chang bone to Pao. For some reason, he did not look angry or dissatisfied with this “arrangement” at all.

“Guess you’re not so stupid after all!” Pao was a bit disappointed, to be honest. He was hoping that Ye Qing would resist so he would be justified in beating the shit out of him and venting his frustration. Unfortunately, the boy was even more spineless than he imagined.

After snatching the bone out of the air and shooting Ye Qing a murderous glare, he presented it to Zheng Tianyuan with an obsequious smile. “Here’s your Chang bone, young master!”

Zheng Tianyuan accepted the bone and caressed it, sensing the mysterious power within it. He smiled. Although he didn’t know what the Chang bone was used for, he was sure it was extraordinary since it had been plucked out of Tiger General’s body. When they returned home, he would show it to an artificer and check if it could be refined into a Strange Artifact.

“Put it away, Pao,” Zheng Tianyuan ordered while tossing the bone back to Pao. It was at this moment he noticed that Ye Qing was smiling like he wasn’t angry in the slightest. He raised an eyebrow and felt a tinge of worry, it only lasted a second before he shook it off. The young fool was just an ant. What could he possibly do against them?

I don’t like his smile though. Yes, I’ll see him dead as soon as we reach the Jade Dragon Lake! Zheng Tianyuan had lived his whole life like this. He killed anyone he disliked and wasn’t strong enough to resist him.

“What are you looking at, boy? Do you want me to dig out your eyeballs?” Pao was extremely displeased with Ye Qing’s lack of reaction as well.

Ye Qing shrugged. “I’m just looking, that’s all. If you don’t like it, I can just turn away!”

It was at this moment Prayer stepped in as the mediator. “Lad, the Chang bone is clearly no ordinary item. Greed is a powerful motivator, and you, if you’ll forgive me for saying this, aren’t strong enough to keep it from prying eyes. That is why handing it over to Scion Zheng is the best thing you can do, and it’s not like we’re taking it for free. When our business is concluded, we’ll give you a couple more Tiger Bone Power Pills as compensation.”

“As you wish, Prayer!” Zheng Tianyuan affirmed. From his perspective, Ye Qing was already dead. Any promise he made to him was automatically null and void.

“Haha. Thank you in advance!” Ye Qing said with a chuckle that did not reach the eyes. I thank your mom for giving birth to a whoreson like you, more like. Does he really think I’m that stupid? A child could’ve told you that the Chang bone is a hundred times more valuable than some shitty ass Tiger Bone Power Pills!

Seemingly placated by Ye Qing’s acceptance, Prayer stroked his goatee and asked, “Speaking of which, do you know where we are right now? And do you know how much longer we need to travel to get to the Jade Dragon Lake?”

Ye Qing smiled. “In fact, we’re already here. If you’d take a look at those plants over there, you’d notice that they’re tinged with a bit of red. They’re like this because they’re constantly exposed to blood qi. The Jade Dragon Lake should be just behind the forest.”

“That’s wonderful news!” Prayer clapped his hands in excitement. Last night, before they were forced to attend the mountain god’s wedding, they had been a fair distance away from the Jade Dragon Lake. Who would’ve thought that they would wake up right next to their destination? Clearly, this was the mountain god’s work. It was a pleasant surprise no one could possibly begrudge.

As usual, Ye Qing took the lead and led the group through the forest. It wasn’t long before they arrived at the infamous blood red lake.

“This is the Jade Dragon Lake?” Someone exclaimed in a hushed voice while staring at the ominous lake in front of them.

“Look over there! Is that… the sarcophagus?” Pao gulped while pointing a finger at the one and only object floating at the center of the lake of blood. It was as eerie as it was mysterious.

Zheng Tianyuan asked curiously, “I’ve heard that the Jade Dragon Lake holds a mysterious sarcophagus for as long as I can remember, and it seems that the rumors are true. But does anyone know what lies inside the sarcophagus?”

Prayer replied in a solemn voice, “Whatever it is, it is no one we wish to meet. Young Master Zheng, please remember that we are here for Old Man Xueying’s (Blood Shadow) treasure. I implore you not to stray away from our main objective.”

“I know!”

Even without Prayer’s advice, Zheng Tianyuan had no intentions of provoking the sarcophagus in any way. It was because one look at it was enough to inflict his mind with terror and stir his vigor to the point of instability. He would have to have a death wish to get anywhere close to it.

Meanwhile, Ye Qing was thinking to himself, I knew these people weren’t here to forage herbs. They’re here for that so-called Old Man Xueying’s treasure!

There was a problem though. The Jade Dragon Lake looked just as barren as the last time he was here. It did not look like there was a treasure anywhere.

I sure hope their treasure isn’t at the bottom of the Jade Dragon Lake, because that is one attempt that’s doomed to end in failure and death.

Pao was trembling slightly as he stared at the ominously blood qi surrounding the Jade Dragon Lake. “Young master, Old Man Xueying’s treasure can’t possibly be at the bottom of the Jade Dragon Lake, right?”

“Are you stupid?” Zheng Tianyuan could not help but criticize his servant. “You’ve seen the map just like me! Old Man Xueying’s treasure lies somewhere around the Jade Dragon Lake, not the bottom!”

“But this place is completely barren, young master. It doesn’t look like there could be a treasure anywhere. We… aren’t mistaken, are we?” Chi Long voiced his doubts as well.

Zheng Tianyuan frowned but insisted, “It has to be here somewhere!”

“Allow me!” Prayer said before producing an incense stick from his Nature’s Shell. Unlike the Incense of Worship, this incense stick had a darker color and looked no different from a normal incense stick. When Prayer lit it up, it gave off a thick smoke that quickly spread to the surroundings.

“Gods and spirits that lie within the stick, please bless me with unparalleled luck!” Prayer prayed as he planted the incense stick in the censer and bowed twice.

“Will this work, Prayer?” Zheng Tianyuan asked uncertainly.

The old man returned a confident smile. “I’m sure. This incense stick is called the Incense of Fortune. As I mentioned earlier, it will bless us with unparalleled luck. Barring unforeseen circumstances, it should lead us to Old Man Xueying’s treasure very quickly!”

As soon as he said this, the black smoke rising from the censer abruptly started floating toward a hill next to Jade Dragon Lake. This was strange because it was moving directly against the wind.

“See?” Prayer declared with a pleased look. “Follow the smoke!”

“Wait. What do we do with the boy, young master?” Pao suddenly looked at Ye Qing with a sinister glint in his eyes.

Remembering that Ye Qing was there with them, he said without hesitation, “Since his duty is finished, it’s time to send him on his way!”

By that, he meant sending Ye Qing to the afterlife, of course.

“At once! This is my forte!” Pao let out a vicious cackle before striding toward Ye Qing.

Ye Qing feigned surprise and backed two steps away from the group. “What are you doing?”

“What else? I’m going to kill you, of course! Don’t worry, I’m a fast worker. I promise you won’t feel any pain when you go!” Pao clenched his fists as bloodthirst and tyranny flashed in his eyes.

Just when it looked like a clash was inevitable, Prayer suddenly raised a hand to stop Pao. “Scion Zheng, we haven’t located Old Man Xueying’s treasure yet. It’s a little hasty to kill the lad before we know what lies ahead of us, don’t you think?”

Zheng Tianyuan mulled over Prayer’s advice. He really wanted to kill Ye Qing now, but not at the cost of offending the old man. After all, they still needed him to find the treasure. So, he nodded. “Very well. I trust your judgment, Prayer. Pao! Stay your hand.”

“Pah! Lucky sonuvabitch. I suppose you get to live a while longer!” Pao cursed angrily before stomping away.

“Thank you for saving my life!” thanked Ye Qing as he saluted Prayer. Although he wasn’t afraid of the group, he didn’t want to clash against them yet. If he wasn’t mistaken, the treasure they were looking for was probably the opportunity mentioned on the Annon Sutra.

“I promise you’ll be safe if you stay close to me. You have nothing to be afraid of!” Prayer shot him a friendly smile before turning his attention back to the black smoke. The group began following the smoke trail.

They had just taken a few steps when Pao—he was taking point together with Prayer—suddenly let out a cry of pain. At the same time, blood began seeping out of his pores.

“Save me, young master!”

.

“Scion Zheng! If you will!” Everyone else in the group was alarmed as well. Every breath they inhaled contained a sliver of blood qi in them, and it seemed to be taking control of their blood and pulling it out of their body.

“Got it!” Zheng Tianyuan didn’t dare to treat his life lightly, of course. He immediately produced a clean, smooth skeleton hand from his shirt. The moment the skeleton hand appeared, it immediately emitted a warm light that chased away the surrounding blood stench in an instant. They could vaguely hear the sound of Buddhist chants as well. It stopped the unnatural bleeding immediately.

“It is as we postulated! The Sarira Bone really does work on the evils of this place!” Prayer declared in relief before urging, “Now move!”

And so the group hurriedly followed the black smoke to heavens-know-where. But the closer they got to the Jade Dragon Lake, the narrower and dimmer the light became. Cracks were beginning to appear on the skeleton hand as well.

“The Sarira Bone isn’t going to hold much longer, Prayer! Can we find the treasure in time? If not, can we get out in time?”

Prayer was normally a cautious man, but right now he looked anything but. His face was warped by a tinge of desperation and madness as he uttered, “We’re close! We’re close! Just hang on!”

The group would continue to run behind the black smoke for a while longer until they arrived at a small valley. They saw the smoke flying straight into it. 𝘣𝘦𝑑𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝑙.𝘯𝑒𝘵

The valley wasn’t really a valley. It was a gully running through two small hills and ending with a rocky wall. Strangely, the smoke flew all the way to the wall before vanishing behind it.

“That's it!” Prayer roared in triumph.

The rest of the group looked relieved as well. They began running down the gully with all their might. They did not stop even after they had reached the dead end.

The wall shivered when Prayer made contact with it, but it did not stop him dead in his tracks. It was an illusion. The rest of the group quickly vanished into the wall as well.