Chapter 35: Men in black
While in that state, Xiao Chen finally woke up after an unknown period of time. After doing his best to open his eyes, he eventually managed to do so and discovered himself lying on a wooden bed.
After observing his surroundings, Xiao Chen could recognize that he was in a wooden hut. The sunlight shone in from the outside, filling the hut with warmth.
Not far away from the bed, there was a table. On the table were a bundle of roses and, besides it, was some home cooked food. It was all vegetarian but was still very fragrant, causing anyone who smelt it to look forward to eating the dishes.
Where is this? Why am I here? Xiao Chen thought in suspicion.
He remembered that he was severely injured and had fainted after obtaining the red jade pendant on that day he executed the Return Of The Azure Dragon. How did he end up here?
Was he rescued by someone or captured by someone?
Screw it! I’ll get up first.
Xiao Chen pushed away the quilt unveiling his entire body which had been covered in bandages. There was the faint fragrance of medicine coming from the bandages and he suddenly felt that his skin was soft and itchy, signifying that his wounds seemed to be almost healed.
Rising up, Xiao Chen entered into a state of cultivation after some difficulty. He sank his consciousness down and slowly circulated the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation. He then noticed something that he had not expected; his meridians, which should have been severely damaged, had actually almost completely recovered as well.
This could only be the effect of consuming a medicinal pill. It seemed like, not only did the person who brought him there had bandaged him up, he had even wasted a medicinal pill on him.
After a while, Xiao Chen came out from his state of cultivation and removed the bandages layer by layer. As he removed them, his face slowly turned red, for even his private areas actually had a few layers of bandages on. If the person who bandaged him was a male…… he would rather die...
After removing all the bandages, his pale skin was exposed and Xiao Chen began to relax. The medicine smeared on the bandages must have been very good as there were no scars left behind, so he did not have to worry about being disfigured.
There also laid a set of brand new men’s clothes at the head of the bed. Xiao Chen felt consoled in his heart, this person had even prepared clothes for him. After he putting on the clothes, Xiao Chen impatiently went for the food on the table.
Although after consuming the Fasting Pill, he did not need to eat or drink, after a long period of not eating or drinking, he had missed doing so. When he saw the table full of delectable food, Xiao Chen could no longer resist.
Looking at the current situation, he was definitely saved. If he was captured, the enemy would not have used such good medicine or even prepare clothing for him to wear.
With an incredible speed, Xiao Chen rapidly finished all the food on the table. Even though there were not fine cuisines, he felt that they had tasted even better.
“Hey, Cousin, you’re awake already,” the door of the wooden hut gently pushed opened and a pleasantly surprised voice could be heard.
When Xiao Chen, whose mouth was full of food, looking extremely unsightly, suddenly saw Xiao Yulan outside the door, he was startled and accidentally choked on the food, coughing continuously.
After a long time, Xiao Chen recovered, “Cousin Yulan, Why… why are you here?” he asked in an indistinct manner.
Seeing Xiao Chen’s appearance, Xiao Yulan giggled, her face looking as pretty as blossoming flowers. She asked in a gentle voice: “Cousin, take your time to eat. If it is not enough, I can make more for you.”
Hearing these words, Xiao Chen finally understood. It was Cousin Yulan who had saved him. Casually wiping his mouth with his hands, he did not pick up the chopsticks and continue eating. After being seen eating in such a manner by Xiao Yulan, how could he dare continue eating?
Suddenly, he remembered that his private areas were bandaged up as well. He looked at Xiao Yulan, he pretended to ask in a nonchalant manner: “Cousin Yulan, did you help bandage me up?”
Xiao Yulan nodded her head, she did not notice that something was wrong, “I happened to be coming back from the inner mountain that day when I heard an explosion. By the time I rushed over, I saw you lying on the ground, severely injured.
Xiao Yulan suddenly blushed, as though she remembered something, “I practice the way of cultivation, there is no need to sweat the small details. I have a need to be magnanimous, both mentally and physically.”
Magnanimous, both mentally and physically. Cousin Yulan, you sure are bold and unconstrained, Xiao Chen smiled bitterly in his heart. “Right, Cousin Yulan, how long was I unconscious for?”
“For two days already. Yesterday, the Third Elder even came to visit you. Seeing that your meridians were injured, he gave you a Jade Cloud Pill. If it were not for that, then your internal injuries would not have healed as fast,” Xiao Yulan quickly said, telling him the details of the Third Elder’s visit as well.
The Third Elder—Xiao Tian. The matters of the Xiao Clan’s Seven Horn Mountain were all managed by him. With such a big commotion in the forest, it was not strange that he was aware of it.
What caused Xiao Chen to be surprised was that Xiao Tian actually took out a Jade Cloud Pill to treat him. This Jade Cloud Pill was a Grade 4 pill. Within the entire Qizi County, it was impossible to find an alchemist that could refine one. Such a pill that could save one’s life in an emergency was worth thousands of gold.
When he has an opportunity, he would have to repay this kindness. The next time he refined medicines, he would give a bottle to him. Xiao Chen etched everything in his heart.
Xiao Yulan took out a red jade pendant and asked with a few suspicions: “Cousin Xiao Chen, where did you get this Spirit Blood Jade from?”
Spirit Blood Jade, so that was the name of this red jade pendant. He made a very quick decision and told Xiao Yulan what had happened that day, using many half truths.
Aside from hiding the Heaven Ranked Martial Technique—Dragon Subduing Slash, he had made no other discrepancies. He only said that he had expended a lot of energy before ending Tang He in mutual destruction. This red jade pendant was obtained from his body.
When Xiao Yulan heard that this jade pendant was obtained from Tang He, her expressions changed slightly, “I originally thought that this jade pendant belonged to you and so I didn’t inform the Third Elder. It seems that the matter is more serious than I thought. We need to inform the Third Elder immediately.”
It was just a jade pendant, was it that important?
Xiao Chen’s suspicions grew deeper, and then he suddenly remembered what he overheard when he had used his Spiritual Sense. He remembered Tang He mentioning something about a plan or mission. Thus, he asked: “This Spirit Blood Jade… What is it used for?”
Xiao Yulan did not hide anything and explained to Xiao Chen the origins and usage of the Spirit Blood Jade.
When speaking of the Spirit Blood Jade, one must first start by taming beasts. With a strong Spirit Beast, one would have an advantage in battle. Thus, the cultivators of the Tianwu continent had never given up on taming Spirit Beast.
The way the earliest cultivators tamed Spirit Beast was similar to the method of taming normal animals. They took away young Spirit Beasts and nurtured them from young. After raising and training them, they established a relationship with the Spirit Beast, accomplishing their goals in taming them.
However, Spirit Beasts were different from regular animals, after all, they had high levels of intelligence. Using this method, there was no way to successfully tame a Spirit Beast that exceeded Rank 4.
It was impossible to guarantee the loyalty of Rank 4 Spirit Beasts and above. It was even quite common to see Spirit Beasts devouring their master in the middle of battle.
Furthermore, this method of taming required long periods of time. If it was considered fast, it still was a few years; if long, it might have been tens of years. Aside from this, one Spirit Beast would only be able to serve one master and there would be no way to transfer it to someone else.
This situation carried on until a genius-leveled character appeared and thoroughly changed everything. He was the person who established the Nushou Sect—Mao Yanan.
When Mao Yanan traveled around the continent, he discovered a miraculous jade. After polishing it, it was able to store Spirit Beasts within it, allowing the holder of the jade to establish a blood contract.
Following that, there was further research done on it and they had managed to unravel more of its secrets, inventing all sorts of methods to allow one piece of jade to simultaneously control tens of Spirit Beasts. Furthermore, there was no restriction on the Rank of the Spirit Beast.
Imagine a person who could control tens of high ranked Spirit Beast; think about the terrifying level of his battle prowess. Thus, when he established the Nushou Sect, he became the first great power of the Great Tang Nation.
At this point of time, everyone found out about the secrets of the Spirit Blood Jade. However, in the Tianwu Continent, only the Great Tang Nation produced Spirit Blood Jades. Furthermore, they were pretty much all controlled by the Nushou Sect. Very few of them managed to spread to other places.
It could be said that the piece of Spirit Blood Jade in Xiao Chen’s hand was one of the very few that could be found within the Great Qin Nation. Its value, worth many times more than a Moonstone.
“Does Cousin mean that the people of the Tang Clan intended to use this Spirit Blood Jade to tame Spirit Beasts that were about Rank 4?” Xiao Chen asked after understanding the crux of the problem. However, this was not really a big issue.
Xiao Yulan was able to see through the suspicions in Xiao Chen heart, “This matter is not as simple as you think. According to the arrangements set by the Three Great Clans, clans aside from the Xiao Clan can only obtain herbs and Spirit Beasts in small amounts.
“However, that arrangement also clearly stated, regardless alive or dead, Spirit Beasts that were Rank 4 and above cannot be removed from Seven Horn Mountain. This was the bottom line of our Xiao Clan, as well as the largest source of our income. Now that the Tang Clan had turned their back on this arrangement, their intentions are quite clear.”
To go back on this arrangement meant that the Tang Clan was looking down on the Xiao Clan, thinking that they could do whatever they wanted. This was quite a serious matter.
Once this had begun and if it was not managed well, when word gets out, the authority that the Xiao Clan had over this Seven Horn Mountain will be put to question. However, why did the Tang Clan dare to do this? Their strength was far lower than the Xiao Clan. Furthermore, they had always been very low-key. There was probably someone backing them for them to have acted this way.
At this moment, a dangerous aura came from afar. Xiao Chen hurriedly sent out his Spiritual Sense; he had always been very confident in his senses.
After releasing his Spiritual Sense, Xiao Chen unexpectedly discovered that the distance his Spiritual Sense could cover was now 800 meters. However, just before he had time to rejoice, Xiao Chen frowned.
Through his Spiritual Sense, he could see a group of men in clothing carrying heavy crossbows rapidly making their way over. This group of people were all Superior Grade Martial Masters and the person leading them was a Martial Grand Master.
Based on their speed, they would arrive in less than a minute. Furthermore, the crossbows in their hands were not of ordinary quality. It was likely that they were works that came from the Heavenly Craft Manor.
Recollecting his Spiritual Sense, Xiao Chen urgently said: “There is a group of Martial Masters coming towards us from the east. They should arrive in less than a minute.”
“Then let’s quickly leave,” Xiao Yulan’s expression quickly changed. She did not ask Xiao Chen where he had gotten the information from and just grabbed his hands and leaped out of the window.
Just when the two of them jumped out, there were whizzing sounds in the air. Countless arrows shot towards the wooden hut. The power of the arrows was extremely strong, so strong that soon, there were countless holes in the wooden hut.
However, the men in black clothing did not stop. After a while, the wooden hut collapsed with a boom. Xiao Yulan turned her head to look at the wooden hut she had lived in for many years, and her expression turned incredibly cold.