Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 475: Gradually Converging Lines

Chapter 475: Gradually Converging Lines

The corpse demon’s thinking at the moment is somewhat simple. When asked a question, it answers directly, and its emotions—whether joy, anger, or fear—are straightforward. This is the best time to enter a cooperation with it.

Nonetheless, it definitely isn’t something good. The things it committed in Jiangnan alone are unforgivable, worthy of death a hundred times over. There’s no way I would ever completely trust it. Moreover, it’s rather repulsive. But right now, when its mind is hazy, is precisely the time to resolve the issue the Spirit Tribe is facing. Everything else can wait.

After all, it’s really quite formidable. Even though there’s no way I’d dare release it, its knowledge of the Spirit Tribe should be top-notch, at the very least. Even if it can’t solve the problem that the Spirit Tribe has with the forbidden land, it should at least be able to help me exchange for something like the Solaris Nimbus Leaf with the Spirit Tribe.

But once it regains its former awareness, it’ll be a huge problem again.

There’s no time to lose. Zhao Changhe lifted the tent flap, then stepped out and said, “Arrange a carriage to take us to the sacred mountain.”

Someone had to lead the way; otherwise, they would not even know where to go. Directly asking would obviously raise suspicions, as no envoy would go on a mission without knowing their destination. Asking for a carriage with the appearance of seeking comfort would not arouse suspicion.

The Spirit Tribe leader quickly ordered someone to arrange a carriage.

Han Wubing watched from behind and sighed.

Now I understand how this guy has managed to do so well. He might look like a big bear, but he’s actually a cunning fox. Batu must be your good brother, eh?

Zhao Changhe turned to him, his expression serious. “Stay here and be careful of everything.”

Han Wubing replied, “I won’t stay here.”

Zhao Changhe was stunned. Han Wubing continued, “Since you’ve treated me, I now have the strength of a normal person. I’ll go into the wilderness. I have my hands and feet; I can survive on my own. Staying here would only lead to suspicion, and it could hinder your future plans.”

Zhao Changhe gave him a deep look but said nothing more, only cupping his fist in farewell.

Han Wubing returned the gesture.

The carriage arrived, and Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling got on, heading straight out of the village.

Yue Hongling lifted the curtain to take a look. Han Wubing had already disappeared from the village, his whereabouts now unknown. She sighed, lowered the curtain, and whispered, “Are you really confident you can heal him? With my knowledge of martial arts, the chances are slim. This isn’t just a matter of damaged meridians or dantian; his foundation is destroyed.”

Zhao Changhe shook his head. “I’m not confident... Initially, I thought he could definitely have been treated, but after checking his pulse, I can’t say for sure.”

“But you didn’t tell him that.”

“He needs that confidence... And I will definitely find a way to help him.” Zhao Changhe looked toward the distant mountains. “This isn’t just a world of martial arts; it’s a world with gods and demons. Not everything can be explained with the principles of martial arts.”

In his mind, he asked the corpse demon, “Did your ancient people have any way of starting over their cultivation after abolishing everything?”

“Use gu to rebuild, of course,” the corpse demon said matter-of-factly. “What else would you expect? If a mirror shatters, no matter how you try to repair it, it’ll never be the same as before. When I take over a body, I also need to find a good one. Can a celestial maiden’s body fight?”

Gu, huh? Zhao Changhe shook his head and did not respond. The thinking of those of the Central Plains and those of the Spirit Tribe were clearly different. What seemed natural to the corpse demon was not something Zhao Changhe was fond of, and he figured Han Wubing would not like it either.

Still, it could be an alternative, at least as a fallback option.

The ideal solution would be to find a divine art—something like the Dowry Divine Art[1] or the Great Sun-Changing Art[2], both of which were much more in line with the aesthetics of the Central Plains.

* * *

“Has the forbidden land sent envoys again?” An elder in the Sacred Mountain sighed upon hearing the report. “They come around every year near the Dragon Boat Festival. Judging by the days, it’s about that time again. They’ve arrived a bit earlier this year.”

“It seems their early arrival is due to them pursuing a traitor,” reported one of the tribesmen. “The envoy instructed us to keep an eye out for a white-robed swordsman, and it’s true that he was spotted near the Thousand Snakes Village. Moreover, when She Shan and his men tested him, the white-robed swordsman showed no awareness of being an envoy and was very surprised by their attitude. This comparison alone makes it clear that the two men and one woman are the real envoys. The white-robed swordsman is definitely not here on an official mission.”

The elder nodded. “Even if he’s not here as an envoy, internal matters of the forbidden land are not something we can interfere with. When the envoys arrive, we will follow their orders.”

The tribesman hesitated for a moment and then asked softly, “Can we not think about this another way?”

The elder squinted his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Why not work with the traitor of the forbidden land and overthrow them...”

“Silence!” the elder roared angrily. “You know nothing of the power of gods and demons! You’ve been led astray by Sisi’s incitement. Foolish beyond measure!”

The tribesman fell silent, trembling, but in his heart, he sneered.

Who wants to be a slave?

Only these stubborn old fools are willing to be slaves for the sake of not abandoning the sacred land and not betraying the ancestors.

Sisi knew they couldn’t resist the forbidden land, so she sought another path, trying hard to establish a foothold elsewhere. Unfortunately, she only got limited support from the younger generation, while the older generation completely opposed her.

Fortunately for Sisi, she managed to bring back some ancient sword arts, earning major merit. Interestingly, while the tribe had always viewed the martial arts of the Xia as a betrayal of ancestral teachings, dismissing them as trash, when it came to the ancient sword arts, which actually had the same roots as current Xia martial arts, the elders suddenly found them acceptable. They claimed to have heard of the sword arts, revealing just how muddled their thinking really was.

It was thanks to that great merit that Sisi managed to secure the position of saintess, gaining some degree of influence, which allowed her to gather a group of young men and women to test the waters in the outside world. It was also through that merit that she came to hold some authority over the tribe’s resource trade.

But Sisi hadn’t been in power for long, and she had yet to fully establish her authority. The girls she had brought along still seemed to treat her more as a sister than a saintess. Most of the men who followed her did so out of admiration rather than respect for a leader.

How is she supposed to accomplish anything with how things are?

I’ve heard that she’s been aggressively recruiting people from other tribes to expand her influence, even borrowing grain from us to do so. But leaving aside the question of how that small group of people plans to annex other powers, those unreliable young girls... how could they possibly manage such a large operation? She’s obviously facing some serious challenge, and yet these old farts aren’t helping her at all.

The elder saw the tribesman lower his head in silence and sensed that he might still feel some resentment. The elder sighed, softening his tone as he said, “You should know why we call ourselves the Spirit Tribe, instead of the Miao or Yao tribes like those outside.”

“Because we can communicate with the spirit of all things, we can connect with powerful beasts to form blood ties, which strengthen our bodies and connect us with heaven and earth. Gu is just one of such beasts and became representative due to its many uses. Our true sacred beast is the ancient Blood Ao,” the tribesman replied helplessly. “But elder, there are no mythical beasts left in the world, and it’s said that Blood Ao was killed... Now we just bind ourselves to snakes and tigers...”

“Who told you the Blood Ao was killed?!” the elder said sharply. “There’s a Blood Ao in the forbidden land, and that’s the root of our veneration!”

If the elder had said this to the other stubborn elders, they would all probably bow and chant in reverence. The ancient sacred beast, after all, was the guardian deity worshiped by the entire tribe.

But the young tribesman lowered his head, hiding the disdain in his eyes from the elder.

What nonsense... Our ancestors may have raised the Blood Ao as a sacred beast to protect the tribe, but that doesn’t mean our ancestors were the Blood Ao.

Are we all supposed to be turtles’ sons now because of that?[3]

He even felt some anxiety in his heart.

Why use the title of Saintess instead of Young Chief?

A saintess serves the gods, which in our tribe means serving the spirits of the ancestors and the guardian deity.

These old ones seemed convinced that the forbidden land houses a guardian deity, or at least the Blood Ao.

Who knows if they’re just scared out of their wits and trying to justify it, or if they genuinely believe this? At this point, it’s hard to tell; maybe they’ve even managed to fool themselves.

They let Sisi take the position of saintess, not to reward or encourage her, but to suggest something else. To make her understand that she serves the sacred beast and should obediently bow to the forbidden land.

It’s bad enough if they want to be servants themselves, but they’re forcing the tribe’s promising talents to do the same....

The young tribesman answered back no further, murmuring, “Understood... The envoys are coming by carriage. They’re at most a day’s journey away. What ceremony should we prepare for the reception?”

The elder said, “First, have Sisi return. How can there be a ceremony to receive the sacred envoys without the saintess present?”

“The saintess has important matters outside. It’s said she has gathered a force of tens of thousands, rivaling the Black Hmong Tribe...”

“Tell her to come back!”

“...Understood.”

Meanwhile, Zhao Changhe was enjoying the scenery along the road from inside the carriage, looking at the distant, faintly visible mountain range and silently pondering where Yunyang Mountain might be.

But as he looked around, he suddenly felt that the shape of the mountain range seemed familiar.

Right, it’s the mountain range from the Black Tortoise’s Atlas of Mountains and Rivers!

The atlas might finally come into play!

1. This is a reference to the Jiayi Shengong (????) from Legendary Siblings (????) by Gu Long (??). This is considered to be one of the author’s strongest neigong techniques/internal arts. It was pretty much unparalleled in power but near impossible to master as a crucial step involved the destruction of one’s original cultivation. ?

2. This is a reference to The Legend of the Twin Dragons of the Great Tang Dynasty (?????) by Huang Yi (??). This was created by Yue Shan after suffering defeat. It highlights his hope to restore his strength, and it involves a philosophy of rebirth through struggle. ?

3. Reminder that in Chinese being called a turtle’s son is equivalent to being called a bastard. ?