Stranger Danger

“Is that… Captain Lin and Granny Xia?” 𝒃𝙚𝙙𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝒍．𝒏𝒆𝒕

After he entered the Vessel Augmentation stage, his eyesight, perception and other bodily functions were much better than before. It was why he saw the two seniors long before they saw him.

Something was wrong, however. Both Lin Hu and Granny Xia looked terribly unwell, and he wasn’t just referring to their deathly complexions. Lin Hu’s arms were dangling unnaturally by his sides, and the upper front of his shirt was covered in bloodstains. Granny Xia was in the exact same state, except her eyes were cloudier than ever, and her back was bent almost ninety degrees as she walked. She looked like she had one foot in the grave.

The two villagers were accompanied by nine strangers, and the young man at the center of the group was clearly their leader. He wore a moon-white colored robe and a faint smile on his face. He was flanked by a pair of middle-aged men, one stout and one skinny. The other six wore identical, form-fitting black outfits and carried long sabers around their waists. Their body language was rigid and austere.

“Who are these people? Do they belong to the Zheng Clan?” Ye Qing whispered to himself while furrowing his brow. It wasn’t uncommon for Lin Hu and Granny Xia to play the role of a guide for certain VIPs every once in a while, but no matter how he looked at it, these strangers were treating his fellow villagers like prisoners.

“They couldn’t have found out that Zheng Tianyuan was dead and came to investigate his death, could they? But how did they know?” Ye Qing scratched his nose in puzzlement.

He did not go into hiding not because he couldn’t, but because Lin Hu and Granny Xia were most likely going to die if he did. Granny Xia could die for all he cared, but he could not abandon Lin Hu during his time of need. If the watchmen captain hadn’t allowed him to join the watchmen, he would be dead already. If the watchmen captain hadn’t promised him temporary protection Chen Zheng, he would be dead twice over.

Perhaps he had an ulterior motive, or perhaps he really was that noble of a person. Regardless, he owed Lin Hu a huge favor, and so he must repay in one way or another!

He was no saint, but the concept of reciprocity wasn’t unfamiliar to him. If you owe someone a favor, then you must repay it. If someone treats you with kindness, then you should reciprocate that kindness. It was that simple.

“Eh? Who’s that?” It was at this moment the young man spotted Ye Qing waiting for them at the foot of Little August Hill. He looked to Lin Hu and Granny Xia for answers.

“What?” Lin Hu and Granny Xia looked up and saw Ye Qing as well. At first, they looked like they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Then, realization struck them like a lightning bolt.

Suddenly, Lin Hu broke away from his captors and ran forward. He roared at Ye Qing with all his might, “Run! Run!”

“How dare you!” The skinny middle-aged man beside the young man uttered with contempt. Like a tiger, he stretched a little before catching up to Lin Hu in an instant and landing a palm strike on the watchmen captain’s head.

Bang!

The middle-aged man had surprisingly huge hands despite his physique. He shattered Lin Hu’s head like a watermelon.

“Huhu!” Granny Xia let out a mournful, bloodcurdling scream.

Ye Qing’s eyes also turned red in an instant. Literally. Like a pair of glittery rubies, they were as bright as they were ice cold.

Of course he understood that Lin Hu was trying to save him, and of course he wanted to save Lin Hu. However, the skinny man had gone for the kill right from the get go, and he was just too far away from the group to reach Lin Hu even with his new power. He could do nothing but watch his benefactor die in front of him.

For the first time in his life, he felt the impulse to commit mass slaughter. The Zheng Clan behind this was also a part of his wrath!

“They all deserve to die!” Ye Qing muttered with cold fury under his breath.

Meanwhile, the skinny man returned to his young master’s side and apologized, “My apologies, young master. I was so angry that I forgot to control my strength!”

It was clear from his vicious, bloody grin that he didn’t mean it at all.

The young man he called his young master grinned just as wickedly. “It’s fine. We still have a spare. Speaking of which, that young man ahead of us is probably the guide who accompanied my younger brother on his treasure hunt. The idiot wouldn’t have suddenly lost his mind otherwise. Let’s see what he has to say, shall we?”

It wasn’t take long before the group reached Ye Qing. The young master spoke first, “You’re Ye Qing, right? My name is Zheng Tianqi. I am Zheng Tianyuan’s older brother.”

“...”

.

“You’re a much smarter man than that idiot back there. If you had tried to run away just like him, you would be a corpse already.”

Ye Qing’s expression was unnaturally calm as he replied, “His name is Lin Hu, and he’s the watchmen captain of our village. Aren’t you worried that the Pacification Bureau would punish you for wanton murder?”

The skinny man who killed Lin Hu sneered before Zheng Tianqi could answer. “Oh yeah? And what would they do, pray tell? All I killed is a nobody, an ant no one gives a damn about!”

“Is that really how you see us? Ants that you may shame and kill as you please?” Ye Qing asked again, voice still utterly devoid of anger and defiance. It was like a dead zone that held nothing but the promise of death.

“Sure! And what are you gonna do about it?” The skinny man continued with the same contemptuous tone he displayed since the beginning, “We live in a world where the strong are honored, and the weak are no different than ants. And ants do not deserve to live!”

“Is that so?” Ye Qing nodded. “Thank you for the lesson!”

He then turned back to Zheng Tianqi and asked, “You’re here to investigate Zheng Tianyuan’s death, aren’t you?”

Interesting. Zheng Tianqi didn’t understand why Ye Qing was so calm. His confusion was mixed with a bit of worry, anger, and curiosity. That was why he decided to answer the young man’s question even though he could’ve ignored it outright, “Oh no, you got it all wrong. I do not care one whit how Zheng Tianyuan died. The only thing I care about is pleasing the old man! That is why I came all the way here to find the answers he seeks, and to kill a couple of people to cure some of my boredom, of course!”

“You’re killing people… to cure your boredom?” Ye Qing squinted at Zheng Tianqi and felt like laughing, but on second thought, there was nothing funny about this at all.

“My apologies, young master, but you might want to tone down your wording a little? This is the patriarch we’re talking about. It would damage our reputation if someone hears us!” The stout middle-aged man with an honest face said with a chuckle.

Zheng Tianqi shrugged. “And who is this someone, pray tell? There’s no one here except us and some ants! Also, I’m the sole heir of the Zheng Clan now. He wouldn’t really hurt me even if I said it to his face!”

He then started laughing like a madman, “Ah, I’m so glad you’re dead, brother! So glad! Haha! Hahaha! Hahahahahahaha!”

A long time later, he finally recovered enough to ask, “Where was I? Oh right. You can tell me what happened to Zheng Tianyuan now.”

“Eh, I changed my mind. I don’t think I’m going to tell you anything,” Ye Qing said with a shrug and a smirk.

Zheng Tianqi stared at Ye Qing as if he couldn’t believe his ears. A steely glint entered his eyes as he asked, “What did you just say?”

The rest of the group were glaring daggers at Ye Qing as well. No one thought that an ant would dare to speak to Zheng Tianqi this way.

Ye Qing couldn’t seem to feel their threatening gazes. He simply smirked and answered, “I was planning to let you rest in peace, but now that I think about it, that is too good for the likes of you people. It’ll also be boring, don’t you agree?”

“Hahaha! What on earth are you talking about, boy? Have you gone mad?” The skinny guy let out a vicious cackle before making a grab for Ye Qing’s head, his fingers glowing unnaturally just like when he killed Lin Hu earlier.

“Don’t kill him, Elder Chen. We need him to appease the old man, remember?” Zheng Tianqi reminded with a smile.

“Don’t worry, young master. I know what I’m—” Elder Chen was still grinning viciously when suddenly, he trailed off like someone had grabbed him by the throat. The next moment, a red line appeared on his neck before his entire head fell off. Not only that, his body started shriveling rapidly until he was nothing more but a dry husk.

Everyone’s smile froze on their face. It had happened so fast that they didn’t even realize what was happening until it was too late.

When a wisp of red flowed out of the corpse and into Ye Qing’s body, he squinted a little and let out a sigh of pleasure, “Phew… that felt good!” At the same time, his presence suddenly grew a tad stronger.

Ye Qing was smiling, but it failed to induce any semblance of friendliness or warmth at all. Zheng Tianqi and his group were all staring at him like he was a Stranger clad in human skin.

Zheng Tianqi visibly shuddered before he regained his composure and shouted angrily, “G-get him!”

The six bodyguards in form-fitting outfits immediately unsheathed their long sabers and split up into two-man teams. Then, they let out a battle cry and charged Ye Qing from multiple directions. It was clear from their movements and coordination that they were extremely well-trained. Their lack of hesitation betrayed the fact that their hands were coated in blood as well.

“Well met. I was hoping to test out my ‘Blood Shadow Divine Art’ in a real fight!” Ye Qing said smilingly as he ran his arm through the air like he was caressing a lyre. Out of nowhere, six Blood Shadows sprang into existence and rushed toward the six men like they had a life on their own.

Appearance wise, the Blood Shadows looked almost faint enough to be formless. They would be invisible if not for the wisp of dark red sitting at the center of their bodies.

To the bodyguards’ credit, they reacted to the surprise attack swiftly and decisively. All six of them were able to cut the Blood Shadows in half before they could reach them. The problem was that their effort was completely useless. The Blood Shadows reconnected with their severed halves almost instantly and entered the humans’ bodies before they could react.

All six men shuddered as their expressions morphed into horror. They would’ve screamed, but their bodies started shriveling as if something was sucking them dry from the inside out. They were dead in just the blink of an eye.

After that, the six Blood Shadows left the corpses and entered Ye Qing’s. His presence became much stronger after he reabsorbed the Blood Shadows.

“What the hell…”

Not including Granny Xia, the group of nine had dwindled to two in just a matter of seconds. Zheng Tianqi and the stout middle-aged man could only stare at Ye Qing in horror and disbelief.

“Not bad, not bad!” Ye Qing ignored their looks and praised his new power. The Blood Shadows were, of course, the result of his Blood Shadow Magic.

Ye Qing had spent three whole days cultivating in the Jade Dragon Lake. On the first day, he managed to unlock four Standard Meridians, two Extraordinary Meridians, and thirty-six points and enter the early-stage of the Vessel Augmentation stage. After his cultivation level had stabilized, he spent the next two days cultivating the Blood Shadow Magic and the movement art, “Blood Sea Fragrance”. Since his vigor was immense, and he was assisted by the silver dragon-serpent runes, it took him little time to master the basics in both arts.

Of the two, his progress in the Blood Shadow Magic and the power it displayed were especially heartening. He would even go so far as to say that it had surpassed his expectations.

The Blood Shadow Magic was a magic art that summoned the shapeless, formless Blood Shadows through the fusion of true qi and vigor. These blood entities could split into countless bodies and slay enemies without a trace.

Generally speaking, the greater the amount of true qi and vigor of the practitioner, the greater the quantity and quality of the Blood Shadows they summoned.

Since Ye Qing possessed both an overwhelming of vigor and a hefty amount of reserves in the shape of the silver dragon-serpent runes, the biggest requirements of the magic art was never a problem to him. As a result, it took him just two days to create thirty six Blood Shadows—which happened to be the number of Heavenly Astron stars [1]—and reached the journeyman level of the Blood Shadow Magic.

Even better, he discovered that his Blood Shadows possessed the same unique quality of his blood, namely the ability to devour vigor and vitality. It was what had happened to Elder Chen and the six bodyguards. This one ability made the Blood Shadows so much better than the original version.

Blood Shadow Magic, the magic art that kills without a trace!

1. stars of the Big Dipper that constitute the tail of the dipper 👈