Stranger Danger

“My lord! We have a problem!”

The night eventually faded, and sunlight not unlike the underbelly of a fish broke over the horizon. It spilled across the ground like ripples in clear water. It was a shame that moment of tranquility had to be shattered by a panicked cry.

“What happened?” A dignified-looking man asked while stepping out of his tent. Yan Feng was right behind him.

“My lord, Brother Yan. Two of our brothers were cleaning themselves by the stream when suddenly, they complained about a stomach ache. Then… then…” the guard’s eyes flashed with terror as he recalled what was clearly a horrifying memory.

“Go on!” Yan Feng urged.

The man jolted out of his reverie and continued, “Their bellies started growing bigger and bigger. They are still growing as we speak!”

“Follow me!” The dignified-looking man made up his mind immediately and strode toward the stream. Yan Feng and the others hurriedly followed behind him.

They had just gotten close to the stream when they heard the sound of muffled groans and moans. When they entered a clearing, they saw two men lying on the ground with stomachs as swollen as that of a woman who was ten months pregnant. Their faces were contorted with pain, and no one seemed to know what to do or how to help them.

“What happened? How did Luo Fang and Lin Shaobo become like this?” The dignified-looking man asked urgently while checking both men’s pulses. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to identify their affliction.

“W-We don’t know either!” The surrounding guards looked at one another with varying looks of confusion and bewilderment.

“Yan Feng! See if you can find anything!” The dignified-looking man beckoned for Yan Feng to help him. Yan Feng obeyed the order and inspected the two men carefully, but he was unable to find any clue either. In the end, he tried putting his hands on the men’s swollen bellies. As soon as he did this, their bellies suddenly grew larger, and the two men let out a bloodcurdling scream. Yan Feng immediately withdrew his hands as a matter of course.

Although the two men were in terrible pain, they were neither unconscious nor delirious, at least not yet. Yan Feng asked urgently, “Luo Fang, Lin Shaobo, can you hear me? If you can, I need you to tell me exactly what happened to you?”

“B-Brother Yan, we’re not sure what happened either. We just drank a few mouthfuls of water when we were cleaning ourselves by the stream, and then… and then… argh!” Luo Fang did not manage to finish before his and Lin Shaobo’s stomachs grew yet again. Their bellies were so swollen that their clothes had been pushed away, and one could vaguely see the blood vessels and bulging veins.

“The water?” The dignified-looking man and Yan Feng exchanged a glance before striding toward the stream immediately. However, the stream looked crystal clear and untainted. The fishes darting here and there indicated that there shouldn't be anything wrong with the water either.

“What do we do, my lord?” Yan Feng requested his lord’s guidance.

The dignified-looking man thought for a second before answering, “A Stranger is probably behind Luo Fang and Lin Shaobo’s affliction, but we do not have a Stranger specialist or a doctor with us. The only thing we can do now is to make haste back to Anyang and request help from the Pacification Bureau!”

“At once!” Yan Feng replied before ordering, “Carry Lo Fang and Lin Shaobo into the carriage! We will depart for Anyang immediately.”

“Understood!” A few guards replied and tried to lift Luo Fang and Lin Shaobo to their feet. However, the two men screamed as soon as they touched them because their stomachs had grown yet again. In fact, their bellies were stretched so much that they looked almost transparent. Like a pair of balloons that had been stretched to their limits, it looked like they might explode at any moment.

The guards immediately let go as a matter of course. For a time, no one even dared to touch them!

“What do we do, my lord?” If they couldn’t even touch the two men, forget making it to Anyang, their stomachs were probably going to burst and kill them in just a moment.

The dignified-looking man looked lost. Everyone looked lost. What could they possibly do to save the two men’s lives?

It was at this moment a meek voice broke the grave silence. “M-my lord, Brother Yan, I-I might know a way to help them?”

Yan Feng identified the speaker immediately and frowned. “What do you know, Yang Guan? Tell us!”

Yang Guan answered a bit nervously, “There is one man who might be able to figure out what happened and save Brother Luo and Brother Lin’s life.”

“And who might this man be?” Yan Feng urged.

“Ye Qing!”

“Ye Qing? You mean that young scholar who’s hoping to further his studies?” Yan Feng said incredulously as the young man’s youthful face flashed across his mind. He shook his head in disappointment before rebuking Yang Guan, “We don’t have time for this, Yang Guan! Our brothers may die at any moment! What can a youngster like him possibly do to help?”

“So what if he’s young? He’s a scholar!” Yang Guan retorted.

“...”

What does that have to do with anything?

Yang Guan added when he saw the confusion on Yan Feng’s face, “A scholar is knowledgeable, right? So he might know how to save our brothers!”

“I agree on the point that a scholar is knowledgeable, but our lord is a scholar as well, one who has decades more knowledge and experience than the young man no less! If even he doesn’t know how to save our Lo Fang and Shaobo, then how could Ye Qing possibly do better than him?” Yan Feng rebuked Yang Guan while shooting his lord a subconscious glance.

The dignified-looking man’s expression grew a tad awkward. Why do I feel like I’ve brought shame to my fellow scholars?

There was no time to waste, however. The dignified-looking man quickly composed himself and coughed twice. “You must have a reason for saying this, right Yang Guan?”

Yang Guan nodded and quickly told a summary of what had happened to him last night. As expected, everyone including the four guards who were keeping watch together with Yang Guan looked stupefied when he reached the end of his story.

“I’m not doubting you, Yang Guan, but… you’re not joking, are you?” Yan Feng asked incredulously. He hadn’t sensed a thing last night.

“Of course not! I’m telling you the truth!” Yang Guan declared with absolute confidence. “You can check the forest if you want to! I’m willing to bet that the Rosemary Bird’s body is still there!”

The dignified-looking man raised a hand and declared, “I trust you, Yang Guan. Please invite Ye Qing to our camp immediately. And be polite!”

Did he really think that the young man was capable of saving his men’s lives? Not really. But they didn’t have the time to seek out a better solution either, so that was that.

“Yes, my lord!” Yang Guan responded before breaking into a run immediately.

Outside the camp, Ye Qing was just packing his stuff and getting ready to leave. The commotion hadn’t escaped his senses, and he was almost certain that the group had encountered some trouble. He did not stick his nose into their business though. Assuming the worst, the last thing he wanted was to be mistaken as the culprit.

Ye Qing was just about to leave when he saw Yang Guan running toward him while shouting on top of his lungs, “Ye Qing! We need your help! Please come with me!” 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝑙.𝘰𝑟𝑔

Ye Qing paused his footsteps and waited until Yang Guan had caught up to him. He then asked calmly, “What happened?”

“I’ll explain as we go, so come on!” Yang Guan grabbed Ye Qing’s hand and took off. By the time they returned to the camp, he had explained more or less the whole situation to Ye Qing.

“Their bellies kept getting bigger after they drank the water, huh?” Ye Qing hummed thoughtfully but did not say anything.

When they reached the camp, the dignified-looking man and Yan Feng walked over to him immediately. The dignified-looking man examined Ye Qing for a second before introducing himself, “Hail, fellow. My name is Yan Yufei. Thank you for agreeing to help us!”

“You’re welcome, Lord Yan. My name is Ye Qing, Ye meaning ‘leaf’ and Qing meaning ‘cyan’!” Ye Qing saluted him. “Before we do anything, I’d just like to say that I cannot guarantee that I’ll be able to save your men. All I can say is that I’ll do my best!”

“We completely understand. We’re already grateful that you’re willing to lend us a hand. Should the worst happen, you have my word that we will not fault you for it!” Yan Yufei replied civilly and respectfully. He did not underestimate Ye Qing just because he was young.

On the other hand, Yan Feng was examining Ye Qing with a critical eye. To be exact, he was watching Kung Fu Frog, who was standing behind the young man. He could feel his hair standing on end just looking at the frog Stranger.

Noticing this, Ye Qing assured him smilingly, “Don’t worry, brother. Its name is Kung Fu Frog, and it is my friend. You have my word that it won’t hurt anyone!”

“Right. My name is Yan Feng!” Yan Feng replied succinctly before returning his attention to the frog Stranger. He didn’t doubt Ye Qing’s words, and he couldn’t sense any malice from Kung Fu Frog whatsoever. However, that was no reason to let down his guard at all.

“This way, my friend!” Yan Feng turned around and led him to Luo Fang and Lin Shaobo. Once they had arrived, he explained, “These are the two who drank the stream water and became like this. Also, we were originally planning to take them back to Anyang and find help, but physical contact immediately causes their bellies to grow bigger!”

“Got it!” Ye Qing nodded and shot the two guards a glance. Then, he walked over to the stream, crouched down and just stared at the waters.

“What is he doing?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he’s looking for clues?”

“I doubt it. The stream is so shallow you can see right to the bottom. If there really is a clue, we would’ve found it already, don’t you think?”

“That’s true. I think he’s just a charlatan trying to put on a convincing show. Just look at him! Does he even have a bush down there? What can he possibly do that we cannot?”

“Quiet! You’re being too loud!”

It was inevitable that the guards would start gossiping as they watched Ye Qing. At some point, Yan Yufei had to let out a cough to shut them up. Personally, he didn’t think Ye Qing was going to find anything new either, but the young man had come to help them. It was unbefitting of a gentleman to reciprocate kindness with ill will!

It was at this moment Ye Qing rose to his feet and rubbed his sore neck.

“Did you find anything, friend?” Yan Yufei asked.

“Yes, I have!” Ye Qing nodded.

“That’s too bad. Maybe—wait, what did you just say?”

Yan Yufei had asked the question out of courtesy. He wasn’t expecting the young man to actually find something. Pleasantly surprised, he urged, “What did you find?”

“Come closer!” Ye Qing beckoned for everyone to come closer before pointing at a guard. “Can you give me your hand?”

“What for?” The guard was puzzled but still did as he asked.

Ye Qing grabbed his elbow and put his hand into the water. It was quite early in the morning, so the stream water was ice cold. The guard subconsciously tried to withdraw his hand, but he couldn’t because Ye Qing was keeping a firm grip on it. Ye Qing rebuked him, “I said, don’t move!”

The guard flushed red. He didn’t really want to obey a young lad who was at least a decade younger than him, but he quickly discovered that he was unable to move a muscle. Despite his scrawny and weak appearance, the young man possessed the strength of a titan. Just how was this possible?

The next moment, a white cobblestone on the stream bed suddenly shivered for a second before scattering like white powder. The white dust quickly filled the entire stream, although they were so tiny and white that it was incredibly difficult to spot them in the water. Not only that, they all started swimming toward the guard’s hand as if they had a life on their own.

Startled and afraid, the guard hurriedly withdrew his hand from the water. This time, Ye Qing did not stop him.

After the guard’s hand was removed from the water, the white dust floated aimlessly for a bit before sinking back to the stream bed. A couple more seconds later, they had transformed back into a cobblestone once more.

“What… what is that?” Yan Feng asked.

“They’re Bellyfish eggs!” Ye Qing replied.

“Bellyfish eggs? You’re telling me those tiny white dusts are eggs?” Yang Guan could scarcely believe his ears.