Chapter 39: The Fake Fire Lures the Enemy, the Real Secret Lies with the Group Lurking in the Inn...
After the fire was extinguished, the group lurking in the inn wore cloths soaked in medicine on their faces, each carrying a knife or sword. Almost all of them were burly and fierce-looking. Compared to the old man and Chen Tangke, the others seemed more like carefully selected, well-trained assassins, lacking any of the swagger of ordinary mine thieves.
There were dozens of such people.
The old man took out the medicine Yan Chao had given him, swallowed three pills, and said, "You know what, the medicine this girl gave me really works! It's such a pity they died inside."
Chen Tangke stroked his beard and said, "You ignorant old fool. A woman gave you a few pills, how can that be worth the gold and silver mines in these mountains? Once we open the mine, let alone life-extending medicine, we could buy an entire country without a problem! Consider those few people as scouts for us."
The old man swallowed hard with excitement at the thought of soon obtaining the mountain of gold, but the thought of the two diseases still made him uneasy. He asked, "Are they really all dead? Are we really not going to get infected?"
Chen Tangke spat and said irritably, "Why do you ask so many questions?! Do you still want to keep mining?"
The old man immediately replied respectfully, "Yes, yes! I'm just worried that if it's not handled properly, it might cause us further problems, which would be a loss."
Chen Tangke laughed a few times and said, "You don't need to worry about that! Lord Jin Xin helped us instigate the Mad Wood Plague and the Blood Spider Plague. With both plagues raging simultaneously, there is no cure, and no one can escape unless a god appears. But as long as we burn them to ashes afterward and use these cloths soaked in the medicine, we don't need to worry about getting infected. Without an eyesore, all these mines are ours!"
Upon hearing this, the old man covered his face with the cloth even more tightly.
At Chen Tangke's command, everyone, carrying swords, baskets, and digging tools, set off into the forest.
It snowed all night yesterday, and the heavy snow covered the charred trees and animal carcasses, concealing the traces of the fire. From a distance, it was impossible to tell anything was amiss unless one stepped into the forest. But when they entered the forest, chaos reigned; fallen trees, corpses littered the ground, and the air still smelled of burning and wisps of black smoke. The thick snow on the ground made their path extremely difficult to traverse.
The group went straight to the settlement of the Keqiang people, which was also a ruin, with charred corpses scattered everywhere. Among the corpses, Chen Tangke found Labutan, who wore a necklace made of animal bones around his neck, a necklace that only Bimo (priests) could wear.
Chen Tangke laughed wildly, "Hahahaha! You old codger, you've finally kicked the bucket! You and your people suffered from the plague and the scorching fire; your death must have been incredibly painful. I've heard that the Mad Wood Plague turns people into tree people, and you became living firewood, lighting our way—that's quite a feat. Just watch as we slowly hollow out the forests you've been so devoted to protecting!"
Chen Tangke waved his hand and said, "Go and check to see if anything is missing. While you're at it, tidy this place up, and we'll head to the mine immediately!"
"Wait a minute!"
Yao Xu's voice suddenly came from behind everyone.
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, and the old man's face changed. He pointed at Yao Xu with trembling hands and exclaimed in shock, "...You! How come you're not dead?!"
Yao Xu tilted his head and smiled, "Sorry to disappoint you. Not only am I alive, none of us are dead!"
Chen Tangke said in a deep voice, "What do you mean?"
Yan Chao suddenly stood up and said, "What I mean is that I not only cured the Mad Wood Plague and the Blood Spider Plague, but everyone here is alive and well."
Mi Qing said, "Moreover, everything you are seeing now is an illusion."
"What..." Chen Tangke had barely opened his mouth when Feng Xi suddenly appeared and lifted him up. Feng Xi pressed his neck, as if he were a toy, his cold fingertips brushing against his skin; a single press would be enough to kill him instantly.
Chen Tangke was nearly suffocating, but under his oppressive aura, she forgot to resist.
Feng Xi controlled his strength very well, so that he could neither break free nor dare to struggle, and could only obediently submit to being dealt with.
The others were stunned for a moment by Feng Xi's sudden appearance. Just as they were about to draw their swords to slash at him, Feng Xi glanced at them coldly and a wind blade shot out, instantly knocking dozens of people to the ground unconscious, leaving only the old man unharmed.
Seeing that he was completely unharmed, the old man sat on the ground, grinning foolishly for a long time, saying, "I'm not dead... Hahahaha! I'm fine..."
Yan Chao suddenly said, "Who said you were alright? Old man, didn't I tell you to act within your limits? Don't get involved in these fights, or you'll lose your life!"
Yan Chao's voice came from above. The old man slowly raised his head, and Yan Chao was looking at him with a smile.
The old man chuckled dryly and said, "You're alive too." Then he convulsed and collapsed to the ground.
Yan Chao thought to himself, "They're afraid of death and still dare to steal mines. They really have a death wish."
Yan Chao squatted down, pulled off the cloth covering his face, smelled it, chuckled, and said, "You really hit the jackpot by accident."
Yan Chao went to check on the masked men who had fallen to the ground, and sure enough, they were all dead.
But something felt off.
Yan Chao said, "Feng Xi, come and take a look at these people. I feel something is wrong with them."
Feng Xi casually tossed aside Chen Tangke, who had already fainted from fright, wiped his hands with disgust, and gave Yao Xu a wink, signaling him to keep an eye on the two of them. He stepped forward, looked them over carefully, and said, "It seems that the thing in Shengchun Town wasn't an isolated case."
Yan Chao asked, "Are they ghosts too?"
Feng Xi said, "No, they are people. But they have been modified."
Yan Chao paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "This is really interesting. First, a modified ghost appeared, and now there's a group of modified humans. I wonder if a modified god will appear later?"
Feng Xi raised an eyebrow and said, "It's really hard to say."
Mi Qing dispelled the illusion, and the forest returned to its original state. The Keqiang people also returned.
The clansmen looked at the people lying on the ground in front of them, and especially when they saw Chen Tangke, they were filled with rage when they thought about what they had done. They picked up wooden sticks and were about to beat them up.
Yao Xu stopped them, saying, "You mustn't act rashly! These two people, especially this Chen Tangke, can be dealt with as you see fit after we find out the truth."
Rabtan said, "I'll have them locked up right away." Then, looking at the masked men, he asked, "What should we do with them?"
Yan Chao said, "Burn it. It was already dead anyway." Yan Chao looked at Mi Qing beside him and said, "Mi Qing, can I ask you for a favor?"
Mi Qing said, "No problem."
Yan Chao said, "When you burn them, please play a cleansing song so that they can rest in peace."
Seeing her somber expression, Mi Qing guessed that she had been thinking of something sad, and said, "Don't worry."
The tribesmen placed the dozens of people in an open space and built a wooden frame. Everyone lay on the frame. The moment the fire was lit, the soul-cleansing music played, and Yan Chao stood at a distance and watched.
This scene was repeated before her eyes once again.
This time, she was still at a loss.
Feng Xi walked to her side and whispered, "Chao Chao, are you alright?"
Yan Chao didn't look at him, but said, "I can cure the mad wood plague and blood spider plague that people fear, but I can't understand a person who has been modified. It's really laughable."
Feng Xi said, "Though the road is long, you will reach your destination. You will do it."
Yan Chao turned to look at him and smiled, "I will definitely do it. Because I still have a long way to go."
After the cremation, the three returned together to the place where Chen Tangke and the old man had been imprisoned. To prevent the two from colluding, Rabutan had kept them in separate places, and the two had now woken up.
Yan Chao and Feng Xi went to interrogate Chen Tangke, while Yao Xu and Mi Qing went to interrogate the old man.
As soon as the former entered the tent, he saw Chen Tangke bound hand and foot and thrown on the ground, guarded by two men. The two men bowed respectfully to Yan Chao and Feng Xi and then withdrew. They nodded in acknowledgment, leaving only the three of them.
Yan Chao sat down cross-legged, looked Chen Tangke up and down, and said, "I didn't expect you to be so skinny, but you have such commendable courage. You dare to instigate a plague and set fire to the forest. I wonder if the mine will be grateful for all the trouble you've gone to?"
Chen Tangke glanced at Yan Chao with a mocking expression and said, "I'm unlucky to have been caught by you today. Even if it wasn't me, there will be thousands upon thousands of me in the future. Can you stop me for a while, or for a lifetime?"
Feng Xi sneered and said, "It seems you knew all along that you were destined to die here today?"
Upon seeing Feng Xi, Chen Tangke instinctively shrank back and asked, "What do you mean?"
Feng Xi took out his cloth and said, "The people who helped you must have said that as long as you wear this, you won't get infected, right?" Feng Xi chuckled and added, "He's right, you won't get infected, you'll just die." As he spoke, he made a throat-slitting gesture.
Chen Tangke's pupils contracted slightly, and he shook his head in disbelief, saying, "Impossible... We clearly agreed on this. How could he lie to us?"
Yan Chao deliberately provoked him, saying, "You don't believe me? That old man is already dead. He never intended for you to get this mine from the beginning. Come to think of it, with so many mines, you couldn't spend them all in several lifetimes. How could he let you enjoy them all by yourself?"
Chen Tangke grew increasingly agitated as he listened, twisting his body and his chest heaving as he shouted, "Those mines are all mine! Mine! Nobody can take them away!"
Taking advantage of the situation, Feng Xi asked, "Then who ordered you to do this?"
Chen Tangke blurted out: "Jin Xin".
The two were startled upon hearing this.
How could it be Jin Xin?
The evil Taoist Jin Xin, hasn't he been dead for three hundred years?
The two exchanged a glance, their expressions grave. Yan Chao's eyes trembled, and in her shock, she asked again, "Are you sure that person is Jin Xin? That poisonous sorcerer?"
Chen Tangke was already overwhelmed by the stimulation and spoke without any restraint, saying, "What sorcerer? I don't know! I only know that his name is Jin Xin, and he is the one who gave me the medicine that caused the plague."
Yan Chao asked, "Were those dozens of people who came with you also sent by him?"
Chen Tangke said, "That's right."
Who exactly is Kim Shin?
He is the Netherworld Master, one of the two masters of the Xi and Ming schools, alongside He Dian. He is listed as one of the two masters because of his infamous act of creating an evil sect, taking in orphans, and crafting deadly weapons.
Jin Xin and Yan Tingwen, who ascended to immortality through invention, were from the same school. However, Jin Xin was born with a gloomy personality, and his research was all unorthodox and heretical. After his master's repeated attempts to teach him failed, he was expelled from the school in a fit of anger.
After Jin Xin left, he showed no remorse whatsoever; on the contrary, he became even more wicked and committed many unjust acts.
He traveled far and wide, finding many orphans without parents. He gathered these children in a deep mountain, providing them with food and drink. He transformed these children into cold-blooded killing machines devoid of thought and consciousness.
Jin Xin, having learned some evil magic from who-knows-where, could alter the structure of the human body. He manipulated the once neatly arranged organs at will, as if stirring up a pile of rotten mud. He turned discarded children into medicinal human figures. He cut off their hands and feet, turning them into human pigs, or into specimens of various shapes.
The victim's body swells and contorts like a ball, its skin gradually turning a bizarre bluish-purple, covered with blue veins that writhe like earthworms, and pus constantly oozes from ruptured blisters, emitting a nauseating stench. The tongue moves and the throat makes a gurgling sound, like the wailing of ghosts.
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