Stranger Danger

Chapter 556: You Were On The Path To Heaven

The person in black was moving very quickly, but Ye Qing wasn’t slow himself since he had mastered the “Illusionist’s Grace”. But of course, he did not follow his quarry too closely. He did not dare to push his movement art to its fullest potential either. He made sure to withdraw his aura as best he could and keep a good distance away from his quarry. This way, he could make his escape even if his quarry somehow discovered that something was amiss.

The pursuit continued for a bit when suddenly, the person in black paused for a moment and turned his head sideways. Then, he continued to dash forward as if nothing was amiss.

Ye Qing took two steps forward when his instincts suddenly screamed at him to stop. It was like someone was pressing a blade against his back, or he had entered the sight of some ancient monster.

Once you had reached a certain level in martial arts, sixth sense was no longer just a superstition. Ye Qing narrowed his eyes a little as he recalled the person in black’s sudden pause and head turn. In and of itself, the movement was perfectly ordinary. But considering the circumstances...

Did he notice me?!

As soon as the thought flashed through Ye Qing’s mind, three of his left fingers immediately exploded without a sound. His flesh and blood then transformed into a giant maw that swallowed him whole.

Three breaths after Ye Qing was gone, waves of shadows abruptly crashed into the spot he was a moment before from every direction. For a moment, the darkened forest turned pitch black, the peace and tranquility of the night disappeared in the blink of an eye, and all light disappeared from the world.

For a moment, the all-encompassing shadow writhed like it was a living being. Then, it abruptly evaporated into thin air. Moonlight shone through the gaps between the leaves and branches, and it was almost as if nothing had ever happened.

Inside the Stomach of the Finger Eating Grandma, a pale-faced Ye Qing let out a huge sigh of relief. Despite the Strange Artifact’s disgusting gastric juice and vomit, he was smiling to himself and patting his chest to calm down his racing heart.

The shadow had felt as deep and unfathomable as the abyss itself. He had no doubt that it would devour and put him in grave danger if he had leaked even a hint of aura.

He was glad he hadn’t hesitated to use the Stomach of the Finger Eating Grandma or made the wrong choice of running away either. The consequences would have been unimaginable.

Assuming he chose to run, he was sure he would have run into the shadow no matter which direction he tried to escape to. Its range had completely exceeded his expectations. However, not running wasn’t an option either. He would have just died on the spot.

Luckily for him, he obtained the Stomach of the Finger Eating Grandma yesterday and did not hesitate to use it when the time was right. Thanks to a combination of luck and decisiveness, he was able to survive this potentially fatal crisis.

Besides that, the shadow attack confirmed one thing for him. The person in black probably noticed that something was amiss, but he wasn’t sure if someone was following him. That was why he used a massive, wide-ranged attack in an attempt to catch him out.

The fact that it only remained at the spot for a few breaths proved that it was just a cursory search; an effort to confirm or deny his suspicion. If they knew where he was or even just a rough idea of his location, then it would have lingered in the area for much longer. The person in black might even show up themselves. Had that happened, he wasn’t sure that the Stomach of the Finger Eating Grandma could continue concealing him at all.

Should I continue following them?

After he had calmed down completely, Ye Qing reconsidered his decision to follow the person in black. At this point, he was certain that they were plotting something malicious. They would not have gone so far over a sliver of suspicion otherwise. Moreover, judging from the scope and depth of their power, there was an extremely high chance that they were a Grandmaster.

He had just survived one fatal crisis. Logically speaking, now was the time he gave up on his impulsive venture, returned to his lodging, and pretended that nothing had ever happened. He was just a partygoer after all. Once the Trueman feast was over, he could just pat his bum and put this all behind him. Whatever happened to the Buddhist Hall of Joy afterward had nothing to do with him.

But you see, humans were irrational by nature. God could personally lay down a path to heaven for them, and a good number of them would spurn it and challenge the gates of hell instead. That was just how humans were.

Of course, Ye Qing wasn’t hesitating just because of a moment of irrationality. He had the feeling that whatever the person in black was plotting would involve him as well. And how did he know that? It was because the person in black was heading for the Blissful Spring.

The Blissful Spring was one of the Three Wonders Miaoyin had mentioned to him earlier. It was said that a single drop could induce a feeling of extreme bliss within the drinker.

Although the Blissful Spring was useless to a warrior’s cultivation, life was about all seeking out new colors and sensations. An item that could produce such an effect was rare and thus valued by many. Luckily for the Buddhist Hall of Joy—or perhaps that had founded their sect at Blissful Mountain precisely because they knew that it possessed such a natural resource—the Blissful Spring was an endless source of bliss-inducing water. They utilized it well and often served it to their guests.

Ye Qing knew that the person in black hadn’t gone to the Blissful Spring to sneak a drink. After all, the Buddhist Hall of Joy would be serving every guest a jar of Blissful Spring tomorrow. If the first day of the Trueman feast was all about the guests congratulating the host on their success and giving her gifts, then the second day was about the host repaying the favors she received. Reciprocity was a key part of any and all relationships after all.

Tomorrow, the Buddhist Hall of Joy would serve their guests all sorts of delicious food and drinks and entertain them with all sorts of events. Of them all, the tasting of the Blissful Spring was one of the most important events. Every guest participating in the Trueman feast would get to enjoy the highest quality of Blissful Spring and experience what ultimate bliss felt like.

Everyone knew this, and so did the person in black. There was absolutely no need for them to head over to the Blissful Spring and sneak a drink, which meant that they were plotting something else.

Every guest would be supping on the Blissful Spring tomorrow, and he was no exception. Assuming that the person in black was plotting to tamper with the spring water, then he would certainly suffer the consequences as well.

For his own sake, he had to follow the person in black and find out what the hell they planned to do with the Blissful Spring.

Finally, if this really turned out to be a massive conspiracy, he could inform Joy Bodhisattva about this. He would be improving his relationship with her, and she would owe him a huge favor. It would not be anything like the artificial favor she had forced upon him either. It would be a real favor.

Favor was a timeless currency. It was valuable and applicable across all places and times. Ye Qing wished to build a faction of his own in Northern Xinjiang, and that journey was guaranteed to be long and thorny. Therefore, every faction he could befriend, every good karma he could create, and every favor he could call upon would ensure that he was one step closer to his goals.

The reward was massive, but was it really worth the risk? After a moment of careful consideration, Ye Qing believed that the answer was yes.

For one, he had the Stomach of the Finger Eating Grandma. He could hide himself and even escape from the area at a moment’s notice, so his chances of being discovered were pretty low.

Two, the person in black had already acted upon his suspicion once and found nothing. Even if they were the paranoid type, they would be less paranoid for the moment.

In summary, he should be safe as long as he didn’t grow careless and screw himself over.

He thought for a moment longer before sacrificing another two fingers to the Stomach of the Finger Eating Grandma. Then, he moved the Strange Artifact toward the Blissful Spring without popping back into reality.

There was no chance he was getting out right now. The stench alone would alert every living creature within five kilometers of his vicinity, much less a Grandmaster. For now, he had no choice but to stay inside the Strange Artifact.

Luckily for him, the Strange Artifact could theoretically function forever so long as the user provided it with enough fingers, and this drawback wasn’t a drawback for him at all. With his vigor and tenacity, he could regrow even limbs instantaneously, much less a couple of fingers. He could remain inside the Strange Artifact for weeks if he wanted to.

Although he had lost sight of his quarry due to the delay, it didn’t matter because he already guessed their destination. It took him only a moment to arrive at the valley where Blissful Spring was located.

The valley pass leading to the Blissful Spring was guarded since it was a precious resource, but the disciples guarding the place all looked listless, sleepy, and inattentive. It was because what was a rare and invaluable resource to outsiders was nothing to them. After all, they lived here and got to enjoy the spring water every day.

Besides, they were all exhausted after working non-stop for almost the entire day, so it took Ye Qing almost no effort whatsoever to slip past them. He continued along the path leading to the Blissful Spring until he arrived at a cave entrance. There were no guards inside or outside the cave.

The cave wasn’t deep. A handful of night pearls and glowstones were embedded into the walls and the ceiling so that it would be fully illuminated even during nighttime.

It was exactly as Ye Qing had predicted. He saw the person in black as soon as he entered the cave. They were currently standing in front of the clear, bluish pool and thinking about something.

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