Chapter 65: Looking for the enemy’s trail
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This was the first time Song Shuhang noticed this folder. In the past he only cared about reading the chat logs, and didn’t notice that there was such a folder which existed within the group.
These were probably for senior cultivators to assimilate into modern society after exiting closed door cultivation. However, they all looked very deceitful, they could just produce legal ID and personal info? The secret powers of Nine Provinces (1) Group includes affecting the rest of the world.
“Senior, who is this Charitable Resident Scholar?” Shuhang pointed at the last document, and curiously asked. Just what kind of tragedy happened?
When Medicine Master heard the question, he had a regretful face, “Ah, that’s a senior with great power.”
“Approximately two hundred years ago, Senior Charitable secretly found an uninhabited place for his closed door cultivation. When he had been in closed door cultivation for over a hundred years…… right when he was having a great time in closed door cultivation, there was suddenly something called an atomic bomb which fell right on top of where he was going through closed door cultivation.”
“How should I put it, it was really dangerous then! If it wasn’t because Senior Charitable was so powerful, along with the defensive arrays he had set up for his closed door cultivation which numbered over a hundred, perhaps he would’ve been fried to death then. Furthermore, even though he preserved his life, that senior had to rest for ten years to gradually recover. The words atomic bomb are still taboo in front of him. If anybody dares utter these words in front of him, he would fall out with them.”
Song Shuhang believed that that Senior Charitable was definitely a senior who lingered between kick R and kick T. This senior received a direct hit from the humanity’s undisputed ultimate weapon; a nuclear warhead, yet he still lived. Shuhang could only bend a knee towards this senior in his heart.
[TL: To explain the joke, in the raws it’s written between ‘牛a和牛c’ meaning between ‘NewA and NewC’ = Newbee, which loosely means kickass/OP. So, to make this readable I changed it to between ‘kick R and kick T’ = kickass.]
At this point, Medicine Master still had a little lingering trauma as he said, “For the last few decades, humanity has been progressing too quickly. This makes us cultivators who casually enters closed door cultivation for decades, or centuries, have difficulty keeping up. Many fellow daoists who emerge from their closed door cultivation nowadays have to spend many days acquiring general knowledge. Developing in tandem is humanity’s ability to invite death, it’s getting stronger everyday. I heard that right now, all of the nuclear warheads on the earth would be enough to wipe out humanity dozens or even hundreds of times? That would still be fine; what makes many worry is, perhaps someday while we are in closed door cultivation in bliss, there would suddenly be several hundred nuclear weapons falling from the sky, and we end up dying without even knowing why.”
Several hundred nuclear warheads? I doubt it, no matter how crazy humanity becomes, they wouldn’t throw so many nuclear warheads at one spot. Song Shuhang was just thinking of saying that, when suddenly he thought of the special situation of ‘clearing nuclear weapon arsenal’.
One can’t say for sure that there wouldn’t be a situation where many nuclear warheads were assembled to one place to be cleared, then *boom boom boom* they all blow up?
“……” At this point, he truly didn’t know what kind of expression he should have when facing Medicine Master.
He kept feeling like ever since he had come into contact with fellow daoists from the Nine Provinces (1) Group, the image of the ‘cultivator’ he had envisioned kept shattering. What was supposed to be the image of a great person beyond worldly matters, and what was supposed to be the graceful and immortal-like cultivators, are nowhere to be found.
“I’ve found it, this is it.” Medicine Master scrolled through the folder for a long time before finally finding a document.
《Regarding Mental Energy’s initial uses’ study, discussion, collation; Drunk Moon Resident Scholar》
Medicine Master: “Here is the method you can use to search for ambushers or stalkers via mental energy. There’s also a way stated for foundation building cultivators to enhance their senses. It’s easy to grasp, you can go back and take a look, and try it. This document is provided by Drunk Moon’s Resident Scholar, free of charge, you need not pay a cent.”
Because everybody here are experts, this kind of mental energy utilization is too elementary for them. Just like Medicine Master who publicly offered the ‘Simplified Body Tempering Liquid’, those who had use for it would owe him one, but those who have no use for it, could just take a look.
Medicine Master then said, “if there’s anything you don’t understand, ask me. I’ll clean up the pill refining room during the morning, when you have time in the afternoon, help me do some tests for the Body Tempering Liquid recipe.”
“Thanks Senior.” Song Shuhang said, then his gaze landed on the author’s name ‘Drunk Moon Resident Scholar’, “Come to think of it, the name ‘Drunk Moon Resident Scholar’ sounds very familiar.”
I faintly remember, this is a senior who pops up in the group often, but why can’t I seem to remember him?
“Haha, you need not mind the matter with Drunk Moon Resident Scholar. If one day you manage to remember him, he’d be addressed as ‘Drunk Moon Sage Monarch’.” Medicine Master said with a laugh.
“Sage Monarch? What kind of stage is that?” Song Shuhang asked, he knew that the seniors in the group had names which corresponded to their cultivation levels. For example, the group admin Mt. Yellow’s True Monarch, sub-admin Seven Path’s Respected Sage, and Soft Feather’s father who’s addressed as ‘Spiritual Butterfly’s Respected Sage’.
“That is a stage where I could only hope for, yet wouldn’t know if I would ever each it. A saint amongst humans, 8th Stage – Mysterious Sage. Which is also the stage where the seniors in the group who hold the title Respected Sage are pursuing.” Medicine Master laughed and said, “That stage is still worlds away, don’t think too much about it for now.”
Song Shuhang nodded, he checked the time, and it was already 6:37AM. It was about time for him to begin his morning classes.
Before leaving, he inquired, “By the way, Senior, I wanted to ask if actual combat has any benefits for my current stage? I fought someone yesterday, although it was only two moves, I feel that through the process of battle, my understanding of the 《Vajra Foundation Building Fist Technique》 has deepened.”
“Actual combat indeed could deepen your understanding towards fist techniques, just like a person who only studies could only theorize. You should study to make use of it, actual combat could bring you many benefits. If you have free time, go through more real combat.” Medicine Master endorsed.
“Thank you Senior, I’ll be leaving now then!” Shuhang waved him goodbye.
When he walked to the door, he suddenly thought of something else. He returned, and apologetically smiled at Medicine Master, “Erm, Senior, I wanted to ask you one more thing. After being inflicted by your poison, would one need to go to an ordinary Chinese pharmacy to buy herbal medicine?”
Medicine Master questioned back, “You’re thinking of using this trail to look for the assassin who was poisoned? However, since that assassin had been poisoned, he’s already dead by now.”
“But that assassin may have companions. If I am his companion, under the knowledge that my companion had been poisoned, I would definitely put up my guard against this acute poison. I would then look for a way to alleviate this poison, just in case!” Song Shuhang pondered and said, “And if I could find that companion, I might be able to follow the clues and find the mastermind. Also, this companion could be the mastermind!”
“When encountering a matter, to be able to calmly analyze the situation, this is a good habit. Keep it up.” Medicine Master laughed and said. As he spoke, he took out a pen from his side, and speedily wrote a string of medicine names.
“As long as it’s a cultivator with some knowledge of medicine and poison, when encountering my acute poison, they would at the very least collect these four medicinal ingredients; but of course, these four medicinal ingredients wouldn’t even make a bit of a difference.” Medicine Master proudly said.
His proud work couldn’t possibly be that easy to deal with. The opposite party could think of these medicinal ingredients, but those are just traps he had laid out in the open. Among the four, there were two which would in fact cause a negative reaction and even cause the poison’s toxicity to intensify.
“Furthermore, these four medicinal ingredients aren’t commonly seen, I reckon that in the whole of Jiangnan Region, there aren’t many Chinese medicinal pharmacies who possesses them, this would also make it a lot more convenient for you to find the person buying them. If the opposite party really goes to purchase these medicinal ingredients, they would leave behind a clue.” Medicine Master added.
“Thank you, Senior.” Song Shuhang received the piece of paper.
In a situation where he didn’t know where to begin, he at least had this clue. Next, he would have to hold on to this clue, and find that damned mastermind in the background.