Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon
Outside the city of Heightened province.
The county governor and company were standing before the Jia family’s ancestral grave. A new tombstone had been erected which was for Jia Huairen’s Uncle Qian.
“Uncle Qian.” Jia Huairen was dressed in funeral garbs, a way to show his filial piety. He was kneeling in front of the grave with tears brimming in his eyes.
“A demon served two generations loyally. All he wished after his death was to be buried beside his old master. Such a loyal demon.” The county governor said with a sigh.
Commander Fang nodded. “It’s indeed rare.”
Qin Yun looked at the tombstone in silence.
“For Jia Huairen to don funeral garbs for Elder Qian, it shows that he has a conscience.” Yi Xiao transmitted her voice to Qin Yun.
“He was raised by Elder Qian after all.” Qin Yun replied with a voice transmission. “Not only should he be grateful to Elder Qian for raising him up, he should also be grateful that Elder Qian helped him embark on the path of cultivation. With that attitude of his, Elder Qian must have paid a heavy price for him to knock open the gate of immortality.”
Yi Xiao nodded.
“Jia Huairen, although you escaped alone, your loyal demon servant had played a major role in this mission. The Hundred Poisons Blood that I promised you will be sent to you in a few days,” said the county governor.
“Thank you, Lord County Governor.” Jia Huairen turned his head to thank the county governor while kneeling in front of the grave.
“Okay. My condolences.”
After saying that, the county governor turned and led his men away.
Qin Yun and Yi Xiao departed together with them.
Soon, Jia Huairen was the only one left at the grave. It was summer and the winds were scorching hot. Jia Huairen’s expression turned heavy.
“Uncle Qian, you served my Jia family for decades and enabled me to knock open the gate of immortality. I owe you greatly and I have don funeral garb for you. I will not forget to burn incense and hell money for you every year.” Jia Huairen said in a deep voice. “Have a good rest here.”
“Hmph!”
Jia Huairen stood up and glared at the direction in which the county governor and company had left. The group had long disappeared from the road. “If not for Great Demon White Tiger, Uncle Qian would not have died! Then, a set of Hundred Poisons Blood would have been quite an adequate reward. Now that Uncle Qian is dead, to think that, he, a county governor, still only rewards me with one set of Hundred Poisons Blood? How can one set of Hundred Poisons Blood be comparable to Uncle Qian? Even ten sets of Hundred Poisons Blood is not enough!”
“Without Uncle Qian, I have to be careful in the future.” Jia Huairen’s pupils narrowed. “I have always been overbearing in the past but now, I have to keep a low profile.”
“In terms of strength, the strongest cultivators in Grand Dominance County are the two Connate False Core realm cultivators, Commander Fang and Master Meixia. Now, there are three. The third one has to be that Young Master Qin. His strength is comparable to White Tiger’s. Commander Fang and Master Meixia might not even be his match.” Jia Huairen frowned. “If our relationship were extremely good, I would have a better life in the cultivation circles around here.”
“However, I annoyed him because of Yi Xiao. I later realized that she doesn’t even care about me. I had no chance at all. Annoying Young Master Qin wasn’t worth it.”
“Regardless, we had the ties of storming Green Tooth Mountain together! Also, no one knows of Young Master Qin’s displeasure towards me. As long as I appear to have a good relationship with him on the surface, it will be quite a deterrent if it’s known.” Jia Huairen pondered as he began imagining things.
Previously, although he had coveted wealth, sex, and acted arrogantly, he knew it was because he had Uncle Qian backing him.
Uncle Qian’s strength was nearly invincible in all of Grand Dominance County below the Connate realm! He naturally had what it took to act wantonly.
But in fact…
He was thirty-six years old after all! For him to be able to knock open the gate of immortality, he naturally wasn’t silly.
Furthermore, even if Uncle Qian did not know how to raise him, he had hired private tutors. After Jia Huairen entered a cultivation sect, he had been influenced by the other cultivators in the sect. He also looked at the mortal world with the eyes of an immortal. The mindset of cultivators was… to pay attention to strength! For example, Qin Yun did not care if one came from a rich family. In Grand Dominance County, the factions that Qin Yun even thought anything of could be counted on one hand.
Jia Huairen was also a cultivator. He naturally saw things that way too. This was why he was willing to stay in Heightened province.
In Heightened province, he was the strongest!
******
The convoy of hundreds of people rushed back to Grand Dominance City. There was one additional horse carriage in the convoy but no one was riding it. There was only a large axe secured within it! The axe was too heavy at nine hundred kilograms. Now, it was being wrapped and secured to the carriage. The tiger claw was also tied to it.
The convoy proceeded on the main roads.
Qin Yun suddenly frowned as he looked into the distance. There, he saw a pursuit. Twenty to thirty people were chasing after a family of four.
A couple was carrying a child each, dashing across the fields.
“Stop, Brother Er, you won’t get away!”
“Brother Er, stop running!”
The twenty to thirty people were shouting as they chased. Burdened by carrying their children, especially with the wife running slower, the couple was about to be caught by the men.
“Xiao E.” The stocky man turned to look at his wife.
“We can’t get away.” The wife felt indignant as well.
Sou!
Among the pursuers, a lanky man suddenly sped up and jumped, landing in front of the family of four. He said, “Brother Er, you can’t get away.”
The other men soon surrounded the family of four.
“Brothers, please spare my family.” The stocky man immediately knelt down, kowtowed, and said, “I beg you, please spare my family.”
The wife knelt down with child in her arms. “My fellow relatives and villagers, please spare my family.”
“Brother Er.” The lanky man clenched his teeth and said, “We want to spare you too. But if your family were to escape, your child would not need to be sacrificed to the demons. However, there has to be someone in the village that is willing to part with their children, right? Sacrificing a boy and girl as tribute is the rule set by Water God! If we were to violate the rule, our village would be wiped out! Everyone in the village—thousands of us—will all die.”
The stocky man said with a face covered in tears. “Children are the flesh and blood of their parents. I know it’s Water God’s rule but for him to eat our children, it’s like killing us.”
“I, He Chang’er, cannot watch our children be eaten by the demons. We can’t!” The wife pleaded as well, “Spare us, please!”
“The village has a draw every year. Whoever gets chosen is the one sacrificed! It is all fated!” The lanky man shouted. “The children chosen every year is not only limited to your family. Brother Er, this is the fate that awaits your children! Make peace with it! If your family isn’t up, other families will have to do it! If the legitimacy of a draw is ignored, how can the others in the village accept it?”
“You are forcing me.” The stocky man got up with teeth clenched.
“Brother Er, stop your nonsense. You can have another child. Also, your family will not be chosen again in the next ten years.” The lanky man shouted.
The stocky man handed the child to his wife and pulled out a knife from his waist. He growled, “If you approach any further, don’t blame me for being heartless.”
“Still this nonsense.”
The lanky man shook his head as he pulled a knife and instantly proceeded forward.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
In just three strikes, the stocky man was sent flying. He was kicked by the lanky man and fell into the fields.
“Bring them all back.” The lanky man said with a frown.
“Yes, Captain.” The other men immediately stepped forward and tied up the stocky man. Then, they grabbed the wife and led the family of four back.
“No! No—” The wife was sobbing.
The two children were wailing loudly.
The lanky man felt unpleasant from the crying. Looking at the stocky man whose eyes were red, he said with a sigh. “Brother Er, don’t blame me. If you want to blame something, blame your fate.”
“Curse the heavens!!!” The tied-up Chang’er looked up and yelled.
…
A distance away, hundreds of people passed by.
Qin Yun saw this scene and fell silent.
“Young boy and girl.” The horseback Wen Chong muttered. He too did not have a pleasant expression.
“Water God commits atrocities here. I heard that it forces many villagers in the vicinity to sacrifice young boys and girls as a tribute?” Yi Xiao said, “Every month, large numbers of boys and girls have to be delivered?”
Qin Yun nodded. His eyes were cold. “Without Water God, the imperial government’s on-site inspection office would be able to reinforce the villages, leading to them having much better days! But with Water God, he has committed atrocities in a two hundred-and-fifty-kilometer radius around Langyang River. He also controls more than half the demons in it. Outside the city, the imperial government is no match for him! For the past two centuries, countless villages and their villagers lead dark days!”
“The imperial government has always been trying to come up with a solution.” Wen Chong said immediately. “Daoist and Buddhist Connate Golden Core realm experts have come. However, Water God is extremely crafty. Whenever he notices anything amiss, he would hide into the river. It prevents us from slaying him.”
“It’s been two hundred years.” Qin Yun shook his head and did not speak further.
He was different from Yi Xiao and Wen Chong, who had only read of records from books. Before the age of eight, he lived in the villages.
…
When the skies turned dark, the county governor’s convoy finally arrived at Grand Dominance City.
The city gates had long been closed. But with the county governor, the gates were naturally opened to let the troops in.
“It’s already very late.” The county governor disembarked his carriage and said to Qin Yun. “Young Master Qin, we shall part ways here. You can return to Qin Manor for now. I will invite you again tomorrow. “Also…”
The county governor came close to Qin Yun and whispered, “Young Master Qin, I owe you a big favor for retrieving the spirit fruit. If there’s anything in the future, feel free to approach me. I will definitely do my best to help you.”
“Alright.” Qin Yun smiled.
“Miss Yi, goodbye.” Qin Yun looked at Yi Xiao.
Yi Xiao said with a smile, “I’ll still be staying in Grand Dominance City for a few more days. Brother Qin, you can come to County Governor Manor to look for me if you have the time.”
“Alright.”
The two went their separate ways.
Qin Yun rode away on a horse. Behind him, there were two County Governor Manor guards in charge of steering a horse to send the huge axe and tiger claw to Qin Manor.
