Stranger Danger

Chapter 113: Blood Jade Lotus

Rumble!

The bridge of fishes was smashed into pieces in the blink of an eye. Due to Xiao Yang’s power, the rain of blood and gore had burned into dust by the time it landed in the lakewater.

The lake bogey standing on the bridge was furious, of course. It brought down its mallet on the golden sun immediately.

The mallet looked no different from your ordinary mallet, but it easily shattered the Purple Sun Gold Flame and hit Xiao Yang directly on his fist. As if struck by a lightning bolt, he shuddered and lost control of his true qi in an instant. Not only was his attack dispelled, he was smashed deep into the ground.

“Spit… It’s stronger than he looks!”

The lake bogey thought it was over and got ready to leave, but Xiao Yang shot out of the pit and appeared behind it in the blink of an eye. He then unleashed another mighty punch that was hot enough to wither the surrounding plants and boil the air. However, the lake bogey hugged its head so that only its turtle shell was exposed. There was a loud bang and a terrific shockwave that spread across the entire lake and more, but the lake bogey itself was perfectly unharmed.

The lake bogey immediately raised its right leg not unlike a dog who was taking the piss and kicked Xiao Yang in the stomach. The Astral Refiner left a deep gorge on the ground as he was sent flying once more.

“Spit spit! Sonuvabitch! I’m a Patrolman of the Pacification Bureau of Luo Shui! No bloody way I can’t beat a mere lake bogey like you!”

Xiao Yang was extremely tough, however. He seemed almost unharmed despite taking two solid hits from the lake bogey. Without hesitation, he leaped into the air and battled the Stranger once more.

While this was going on, Ye Qing was sneakily escorting the mindless villagers back into the village. However, he had just finished escorting the last villager when suddenly, he sensed something that made his heart skip a beat. He immediately floated backward like a feather just in time to dodge a devastating mallet attack. It was the lake bogey!

Why is it here? Where is Xiao Yang? A million thoughts raced across Ye Qing’s head.

The failure did not deter the lake bogey. It simply disappeared and reappeared behind Ye Qing almost like it had teleported and pressed the attack—or at least it tried to. Ye Qing had detected his intention before it even moved and dashed away, so by the time the lake bogey showed up he was already gone.

The lake bogey kept chasing, and Ye Qing kept escaping from its grasp. For a time, afterimages kept appearing and disappearing in the sky like a light show. If the river bogey was like a ghost that could teleport everywhere, then Ye Qing was like a colored smoke that could clearly be seen, but could not be grasped no matter what the river bogey tried. It was speed and unpredictability versus transience and mysticism.

A while later, after failed attempt after failed attempt, the lake bogey finally lost its cool and let out a terrifying screech. Then, it smacked the gong it was holding.

Tang!

The beat was loud and deafening a thunderclap, but it was also infused with a kind of strange, distorted energy that sounded like a million people whispering beside one’s ears at the same time. It wasn’t just irritating to the max, it wiped one’s memory like a giant eraser as well.

Ye Qing’s mind turned blank for an instant. For a moment, he could not tell where he was, what he was doing, or even who he was. His movements slowed. Clearly, the gong beat was an attack that targeted the mind.

Pleased that its tactic had worked, the lake bogey appeared behind Ye Qing once more and aimed its mallet at the back of Ye Qing’s head. If it landed, it would shatter Ye Qing’s spirit and extinguish his mind without fail. But right before the mallet would make contact, a smirk suddenly spread across the young man’s lips. He spun around and caught the mallet firmly in his hands.

.

“Ggrrk!?”

The lake bogey was astonished. It could not understand why Ye Qing wasn’t affected by its gong beat. Before it could react, Ye Qing grabbed the lake bogey with his left hand and unleashed the Netherflames!

“Graaah! Graaah!”

There was nothing the Netherflame could not burn. The lake bogey screamed in pain as the Netherflame spread throughout its body in an instant.

Tang! Tang! Tang!

This time though, the Netherflame had met its match. Every time the lake bogey smacked its gong, the bluish black flames would weaken considerably. Just three gong beats later, the Netherflame abruptly vanished like it never was.

Not done yet, the lake bogey abruptly withdrew its head into its turtle shell. Then, it actually flew out of its shell and leaped far, far away from Ye Qing. In the air, it sucked in a deep breath and struck its gong with all its might.

There was no sound, but the chunk of land Ye Qing was standing on abruptly rippled like a piece of cloth before shooting into the air. It spun like a dragon and threatened to tear Ye Qing into pieces.

Ye Qing narrowed his eyes and raised both hands. Every time they moved an inch upward, his sleeves would swell a little bigger and become much heavier. By the time his hands had moved a meter from its original position, it was like he was carrying an entire lake in his hands.

What better way to crush a dragon than to drop a lake on top of it?

The chunk of land exploded into smithereens as soon as Ye Qing brought down his sleeves, but he wasn’t done yet. He turned toward the lake bogey, opened his mouth, and let out a mighty roar that was infused with an immense amount of spiritual power and true qi. It shook the earth and the sky like the wrath of the heavens themselves.

After using its mysterious powers to manipulate the people of Jade Spring Village for so long, the lake bogey had finally gotten a taste of its own medicine. The roar not only stunned it, blood spurted out of its eyes, ears, mouth and nostrils like a waterfall. Before it could recover, a lightning bolt cut through the darkness and pierced right through its forehead.

Boom!

The lake bogey’s head exploded, the lightning burned it all before it could spread. A few seconds later, its headless body hit the ground with a soft thud.

“Finally. It sure is a formidable opponent!” Ye Qing pretended to wipe his forehead while sighing in relief. Not only was the lake bogey as quick as a phantom, and its gong could attack the mind and even affect one’s memories directly. Even the mallet could disrupt the flow of one’s qi. In a sense, it was the perfect assassin.

If he hadn’t learned the “Blood Sea Fragrance”, an excellent movement art that allowed him to stay ahead of the lake bogey’s insane speed, or practiced the “Emperor Fuxi Visualization Method”, which strengthened his mind and spirit so much that he was immune to the mental attack, he could’ve died even if he was stronger than the lake bogey in almost every aspect.

Xiao Yang was a perfect example. Twice the lake bogey had managed to bury him in dirt thanks to its treacherous abilities.

“Xiao Yang…” Ye Qing frowned the moment he recalled his companion. Earlier, they had agreed that Xiao Yang would keep the lake bogey busy while he rescued the villagers of Jade Spring Village, so why had the lake bogey turned on him?

There were three possibilities. One, the lake bogey noticed what he was doing and decided that it was more important to stop him than to take out Xiao Yang. However, Xiao Yang should’ve caught up to it almost instantly in this scenario, when in reality he hadn’t shown his face the entire time.

The second possibility was that the lake bogey had killed Xiao Yang, but this didn’t seem very likely either. While the lake bogey had proven to be a formidable and treacherous opponent, Xiao Yang was both an Astral Refiner and a Patrolman of Luo Shui. Even if the lake bogey managed to catch him off guard, Ye Qing refused to believe that he had nothing that might save him from a fatal attack. The Substitute Doll that saved his life from the Anomaly earlier was the proof of that.

Finally, if he, a Vessel Augmentor, managed to kill the lake bogey without too much trouble, how could an Astral Refiner like Xiao Yang fail to do the same?

The third possibility was that Xiao Yang had intentionally let the lake bogey escape. He wanted the lake bogey to kill him, if not injure him enough so that he would be easier to kill! This was most likely the truth of the matter!

“How curious.” Ye Qing’s eyes turned hard and unyielding. “I wonder why you want me dead, Xiao Yang?”

Ye Qing went over to the lake bogey’s corpse to pick up the gong and the mallet. Then, he vanished in the blink of an eye.

At Jade Spring Lake, Xiao Yang was floating above the blood red lotus and grinning like the devil himself. It was a very different look from the cool but somewhat foolish man he pretended to be.

“Hahaha! Who would’ve thought that a treasure like the Blood Jade Lotus would be found in a small village like this? This will surely propel to greater heights! Hahahaha!”

Xiao Yang cackled and killed a few fishes to feed the Blood Jade Lotus their blood. The strange plant immediately looked more crystalline and mystical than before.

“It’s going to mature any moment now!” Xiao Yang licked his lips greedily and shot a glance in Jade Spring Village’s direction. “Don’t let me down, brother! I’ll come get you as soon as this lotus is in full bloom!”

Forty-nine breaths later, mysterious runes appeared on the petals of the Blood Jade Lotus. It made the petals looked even more solid and exquisite than before. At the same time, an inexplicable, dreamy aura spread across the whole lake. It felt as if the whole area had transformed into the Blood Jade Lotus’ domain.

“It’s ready!” Xiao Yang’s eyes lit up. He immediately dashed forward and made a grab for the Blood Jade Lotus. But at the last moment, a silhouette appeared out of nowhere and stole the plant right before he could take it!

“Who is it!?” Xiao Yang exclaimed in shock and fury. Who’s the bastard who stole his treasure? And how did they get so close without me noticing?

Xiao Yang glared at the mysterious silhouette landing on the other side of Jade Spring Lake. When they turned around, his pupils abruptly contracted like pins, and he slowly looked up until he was staring the person in the eye. He then broke into a smile and said, “It’s you, brother? You gave me a scare, man!”

The corners of Ye Qing’s lips turned up as he threw the Blood Jade Lotus up and down like it was a toy. “I thought you were dealing with that lake bogey, brother? Where did it go?”

Xiao Yang looked around and scratched his head. “Oh yeah. Where did it go? Maybe it ran away because I was too strong?”

“Is that so?” Ye Qing chuckled. “I must have been pretty unlucky then, because it ran straight to me!”

As soon as he finished, he threw the lake bogey’s corpse over to Xiao Yang’s feet.

“Wow! That is pretty unlucky!” Xiao Yang exclaimed in surprise, but not because he didn’t know the lake bogey would attack Ye Qing. Having fought the Stranger earlier, he had believed that it was strong enough to injure Ye Qing or at least keep him busy until the Blood Jade Lotus was mature. But kill it? That was definitely not within Xiao Yang’s expectations. The bastard didn’t even look winded after the right!

Was it because the lake bogey was really a pushover, or was Ye Qing too strong?!

Who was he kidding? It absolutely was because Ye Qing was too strong. If he wasn’t, he would not have to resort to such roundabout tactics.

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