Stranger Danger

“The Francolin is a pheasant-like Stranger with beautiful feathers and a dark brown crown. It loves to crow, and its crows have the strange power to plunge anyone who hears it into sorrow…”

“The Lying Rabbit is a rabbit with a human face. It excels at lying and enjoys feeding on the brains of its victims…”

“The Palm Leaf Celestial is a palm leaf that had transformed into a Stranger. Usually taking the form of a beautiful woman, it excels at seducing humans using its beauty and consuming their vital energies while they were distracted…”

“The Nameless Hair is…”

Rays of sunlight peered through the window lattice and filled the rooms on the third floor with bright, warm light. It felt as welcoming as the beginning of spring. Inside the bedroom, Ye Qing was meditating on a praying mat and listening to Wawa reading a book on Strangers.

The girl’s voice was crisp, soothing, and melodious. It felt like paradise combined with the beautiful morning.

Ye Qing’s head felt clearer and more focused than ever before. He had not only solved many martial arts conundrums that had previously stumped him, but also memorized every word Wawa was saying. The process seemed as effortless and natural as breathing.

When Wawa was done reciting the book, Ye Qing opened his eyes and thought, Now that I’m settled in, it’s time to get to work!

“Wawa is done reading, friend. Can I go and play now?” Wawa asked expectantly after shutting the book gently.

“But of course! Feel free to play as much as you want!” Ye Qing declared magnanimously and elicited an excited cry from the girl. She immediately teleported atop Kung Fu Frog’s head and started frolicking with it, giggling the whole time.

Ye Qing’s “work” consisted of three separate matters. First and foremost, he wanted to kill Strangers and collect dragon-serpent runes. It had been a while since he ran low on silver dragon-serpent runes, and without them he could not cultivate and grow stronger. It was why it was his first priority.

The second thing he needed to do was to train. Specifically, he needed to improve his martial arts. He was now a Vessel Augmentor, but his martial arts were, frankly speaking, a poor fit for his cultivation. The “Five Tigers Door Breaking Saber” was utterly beneath him at this point. His lightning fast saber style he developed on his own was fast, but lacking in strength. The Toad Force was powerful, but it took time to accumulate its power; far too much time in the middle of combat.

Everything besides his Blood Shadow Magic was flawed in a way he could not ignore.

These weaknesses might not matter against an opponent whose cultivation level was lower than his, but he was certain he would run into trouble if he went up against an equal. That was why expanding his repertoire of skills was also a top priority. ｂｅ𝚍ｎｏ𝚟𝚎ｌ.𝚌𝚘ｍ

Thankfully, he did not have to go hunting for a martial arts manual on the streets. He had gotten a ton of good loot from Zheng Tianyuan’s group, and among them were several cultivation and martial arts manuals. For example, he had received the Qi Invocation stage internal mental art, the “Red Dragon Art” from Chi Long, the “Esoteric Arts of Snake Manipulation” and “Thousand Snake Hand” from Granny Snake, the “Iron Hand” from Prayer, and so on.

Of all the manuals, there were two that he valued above all others. The first one was a concealed weapons manual he found in Prayer’s Nature’s Shell called the “Star Plucking Hand”. Back then, Prayer had nearly managed to kill him using his throwing knives and the Incense of Misfortune, and he was pretty sure that the martial art he used to throw his knives was the “Star Plucking Hand”. If he could combine it with his movement art “Blood Sea Fragrance”, he was certain he could maximize the martial art’s potential.

The second manual that caught his fancy was a Qi Invocation stage saber art manual he found in Zheng Tianyuan’s Nature’s Shell called the “Soulchasing Saber”.

“Soulchasing Saber” featured a very different style of saber fighting compared to the “Five Tigers Door Breaking Saber”. Where the “Five Tigers Door Breaking Saber” focused on brute force and ferocity, the “Soulchasing Saber” focused on speed, trickery, and deadliness. It taught its practitioners to always attack from an unexpected angle, and to execute them with such speed that one’s opponent was dead before they even realized what just happened. As a saber style that emphasized on speed and trickery, it was a natural fit with his lightning fast saber style and an even better fit with his “Blood Magic Divine Art”, which was anything but straightforward.

The “Star Plucking Hand” was a ranged offensive art, and the “Soulchasing Saber” a melee offensive art. They were just what he needed to expand his repertoire and something he would be focusing on for the foreseeable future.

As for the rest of the manuals, he might consider studying them if time allowed. At the current stage, there was no such thing as having too many skills after all. If not, then he could just push them to a later date.

Finally, the third thing he needed to do was to seek out the Zheng Clan and take revenge not just for August Hill Village, but also himself.

Zheng Clan! Zheng Feng! A steely glint flashed across his eyes as he recalled the ones he had sworn to kill.

Revenge wasn’t always a dish best served cold, but in this case, he had no choice but to wait. According to Zheng Tianyuan, his father was a Vessel Augmentor who had spent many years mastering the Vessel Augmentation stage. Besides that, he was the patriarch of a powerful clan with many hanger-ons and even more guards. If he visited them now, chances were he was only going to make a fool out of himself, if not die.

That was why he needed to strengthen himself and gather more information on the Zheng Clan and Zheng Feng first. He could take his revenge after he had come up with a comprehensive plan.

Best case scenario, he would have reached the Astral Refinement stage and become utterly untouchable to Zheng Feng. When that happened, he could slap the bastard left, right, and center to his heart’s content!

That’s right! I’m not scared, I’m just being careful and tactical!

And so Ye Qing spent the next few days holed up in Endless Horizons. During the day, he would cultivate the “Soulchasing Saber” and the “Star Plucking Hand”. When night arrived, he would meditate while listening to Wawa’s recital. During his free time, he would pour himself a cup of tea, open the doors, and lie down on a recliner to bask in the warm sun. Sometimes, he would even pay his neighbors a visit, tell strange stories to the children running all over the streets, or sit down at a restaurant to enjoy their fine wine and music. If he was in a particularly good mood, he would even reward them with a small tip. It was a good life.

His actions were so out of the ordinary compared to the average plebeian that everyone living nearby soon learned that Endless Horizons had gained a new owner. Not only that, he was a young, friendly owner who loved to smile and enjoyed making other people smile even more. He called himself a scholar, and he often carried a strange frog with him.

Of course, that wasn’t to say that the new owner wasn’t without its flaws. He was lazy and seemed to have entirely too much free time in his hands. Besides that, he didn’t seem bothered in the slightest that the bookstore was doing as poorly as ever under his management. Forget getting angry, sad, or even concerned for his future, he smiled everyday as if he was living the time of his life!

One day, Ye Qing entered a restaurant named “Coming Clouds” and was immediately greeted by a smiling waiter, “Come to hear our music again, Boss Ye? I assume you want the usual arrangements?”

“The same!” Ye Qing nodded. Coming Clouds was just next to Endless Horizons, and he had been visiting the place quite frequently for the past two days. As a result, every waiter and even the owner of the restaurant were familiar with him.

“Two jars of Pear Blossom wine, a platter of beef and a plate of peanuts~” The waiter sing-songed as he headed toward the kitchen.

The restaurant had a fair amount of customers at this hour. They were all enjoying their alcohol, listening to the music, and gossiping about everything.

“Have you heard about that incident?”

“You know I don’t like to be kept on tenterhooks, Old Cui. Just spit it out already.”

Three middle-aged men were gossiping at the table next to Ye Qing’s. The guy called Old Cui answered, “I heard that several people had been found dead in Fortune Alley this morning!”

“What? Who?” His two companions were drawn in an instant.

Old Cui down a cup of wine before explaining, “I don’t know, but I do know that four, if not five people were found dead on the streets. Not only that, I heard that it was an absolute bloodbath. One man had their limbs cut off, another had their eyes and tongue dug out of their bodies, and a third had their ears and nose severed. For whatever reason, not a single body was left intact. It was terrifying!”

“Damn… that’s terrifying!” Both men gasped in horror. “What kind of person would do something like this?”

Old Cui shook his head. “Exactly. No person in their right mind would do such a thing, so either they’re actually cuckoo in the head, or more likely, a Stranger is the one responsible for those poor people's deaths!”

“A Stranger? Heavens… wait, we shouldn’t be talking about this. What if the Stranger decides to kill us next?”

“Old Liu is absolutely right. Come, let us bask in the music and forget about this conversation already!”

Hmm. A murderer, possibly a Stranger with a fetish for mutilating bodies? Ye Qing shot the trio a thoughtful look.

It was at this moment the owner of Coming Clouds walked over and greeted Ye Qing with a gloomy, exhausted expression. “You came, Boss Ye?”

“Good day to you, Boss Zhou!” Ye Qing greeted him before asking curiously, “What’s happened to you? Did you fall ill, or did you sleep poorly last night?”

Boss Zhou stopped in his tracks and let out a long sigh. “It’s a long story, but I’ll try to keep it short. Yesterday, my son suddenly complained that he’s hungry and started eating non-stop. And I do mean non-stop. He’d stuffed himself until his stomach was bulging, but still he wouldn’t stop crying about how hungry he was and shoving food into his mouth. When we tried to stop him, he cried and struggled and even mutilated himself to get his way. It wasn’t until this morning that he finally tired enough to cease his tantrum, and I’ve been kept awake for just as long!”

“I’ve already hired five doctors to look at him, but none of them were able to determine a problem. I’m worried sick right now. Doctor Xue is the most famous doctor in Anyang, so I’m planning to pay him a visit later. I only have one son, Boss Ye. I cannot lose him no matter what!”

Boss Zhou’s full name was Zhou Fu, and Ye Qing had met his son before. He was around eight or nine years old with an honest face, a robust figure, and a mischievous personality. Zhou Fu had been trying for a son for years, and it wasn’t until nine years ago that he finally got his wish. It was why he pampered his son to death and loved him more than his own life. It was no wonder Zhou Fu was a bundle of nerves right now.

Suddenly, an urgent cry came from outside the restaurant. A second later, a servant rushed through the entrance, found Zhou Fu and said urgently, “The young master is awake and begging for food again, master! He’s shoving everything he can grab into his mouth! The mistress asks you to head home as soon as you’re able!”

“Oh heavens… I’m going right now!” Zhou Fu hurriedly got to his feet and ordered, “Zhou Gui, I want you to go to the Divine Needle Clinic and invite Doctor Xue to our place. Go!”

“At once, master!” Zhou Gui responded before running back out the entrance, Zhou Fu following right behind him. The owner had even forgotten to bid Ye Qing goodbye before taking his leave. It was just as well. He didn’t notice that Ye Qing had risen to his feet and trailed after him.

Zhou Fu’s residence was just a few steps away from his restaurant. As soon as he walked through the entrance, he heard a series of muffled groans and panicked noises from the backyard.

“What the hell has happened to my Hui’er?”

Zhou Gui ran all the way to a building in the backyard and stepped in. He immediately saw his son being bound to his bed with a silk handkerchief in his mouth. The young boy was screaming through the cloth with a terrifying expression on his face.

“What are you doing? Why did you tie up my son?”

Furious, Zhou Fu rushed forward to unbind his son, but his wife stopped him immediately. “You mustn’t! When Hui’er woke up, the first thing he did was cry for food. When we refused, he immediately started banging his head against the wall! That’s why I ordered the servants to bind him to his bed, and the handkerchief in his mouth is to stop him from biting off his own tongue!”

“I…” Zhou Fu visibly slowed down when he heard this.

“What do we do, Zhou Gui? We need to save Hui’er somehow!” cried his wife as she burst into tears. Her expression was wrought with sadness, worry, and bewilderment. Zhou Fu looked just as lost as she was.

It was at this moment a bright voice came from behind, “I can treat him!”