Chapter 127: Interrogation
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
The mountain warriors were all running away frantically from the swarms of snakes at their heels. There was no order nor discipline in their retreat as they each ran as fast as they could down the mountain. Pei Zi Yun swept his glance across the warriors and picked out the black robed Priestess.
Pei Zi Yun was filled with killing intent, as he ran after her in hot pursuit. He had already spotted her from some distance away and was resolved not to let her escape. Seeing the multitude of warriors in front of him fleeing he laughed, "Are you still trying to escape?"
"Ssssss sssss sssss" Pei Zi Yun started hissing, and all the venomous snakes rushed toward them with renewed energy. Everyone who had been attacked by these snakes started screaming out in agony.
These snakes seemed to be spurred on by the presence of Pei Zi Yun, and his hissing clearly filled them with urgency as they craved for the blood of their foes. A mountain warrior was running when he turned back and saw Pei Zi Yun chasing him down. A large army of snakes in front of him. He then started screaming in fear, "Demon, he’s a demon."
Before the warrior could run much further, a snake leapt up and bit him viciously on his shoulder. The wound immediately started oozing black blood. Before long, he felt his entire head spin as he fell to the ground, his face pale and his eyes had a look of resignation. It was evident he wasn’t going to survive.
'The world I came from had venomous vipers which, with a single bite, would cause the bitten area to swell rapidly. Following that, it would coagulate the victim’s blood making it hard for it to flow. The person’s blood would become semi-solid, and turn black. Within four hours, if he hadn’t received any medical attention or an antidote he would die due to heart failure or shock. Killing a person would require at least an hour.'
But the snakes before him were extremely horrifying. Based on the way they were killing people, they could entirely subdue a fit, strong man in under ten minutes.
'It’s no wonder when the High Priest set out on his expedition and released these snakes, everyone catered to him. Even if it was myself, I would find it hard to survive after being bitten.'
"Ah!" As Pei Zi Yun caught up with the warriors, screams of agony could be heard in all directions. One of the warriors had a crazed look in his eyes, "Devil, die under my sword."
As he spoke, he jumped up to avoid a snake, his eyes were red will killing intent as he rushed toward Pei Zi Yun.
Pei Zi Yun watched as the man charged towards him, the gleam of his opponent’s blade reflected within his eyes. He nimbly drew his sword and counterattacked with a single stroke, just as the warrior rushed towards him. The second he reached, the warrior’s eyes gaped wide open in disbelief. A single red horizontal line formed on his forehead.
The blood from the vicious strike had started to drip out from his forehead, forming a line as he fell to the ground, blood oozing out. A single viper wrapped itself around the victim before opening its jaws and biting the warrior on in the face.
As Pei Zi Yun was hunting down the Priestess, she gradually pulled away from the masses of fleeing troops. With her staff in her hand, she turned back, "Why are these poisonous vipers still following us? It must be that the person controlling them is chasing us as well. It would be extremely difficult to escape this way. We have to ambush and attack him."
"But Priestess, these are magical snakes. Once you’re bitten, death follows closely behind." Someone answered fearfully. Many warriors were not afraid to fight and die in battle, but to die in such a poor way to these venomous vipers was extremely undesirable.
The black robed Priestess pulled out a small vial from her robes. It was clearly valuable to her, as she grimaced, clearly not wanting to use it, "These pills make anyone who takes them immune to the viper’s venom. All of you should take one each. These snakes would not dare to bite you then. We should hide here and ambush him when he passes, then we can kill him."
"Priestess, the High Priest has been revived. How can we be of a match to someone who has been revived from the dead." The warrior’s eyes were filled with evident fear, having been broken by the venomous snakes hot on their heels. They had listened to the rumors and believed them, thinking that the High Priest had returned.
"Hm, idiot. The High Priest had been dead for almost twenty years. How could he could revive. Even if he did return, it’ll be as a useless skeleton. It must be that Young Chieftain who has acquired the skill of controlling the snakes."
"Damn it. That year when the High Priest died, didn’t we kill off his sons and daughters as well? How could there be someone with such abilities?"
The High Priestess said coldly. She knew the arts of sorcery as well, and deep down, she knew that it was impossible for the dead to be revived. Earlier on, she had been intimidated by the snakes and assumed that the High Priest had returned. Now that she had time to think, she realized her folly.
"We have to first kill the person who could harness the High Priest’s powers first."
"If not, he could be the second High Priest."
"Yes, Priestess!" The lead warrior who was in charge of protecting the Priestess came around as well, "The Priestess is correct. We have to kill that Young Chieftain. Now that we have the pills to make us immune to the viper’s venom, these vipers cannot come near us. We should surround him and kill him."
The black robed Priestess was deep in thought. She then pointed out, "The forest is that way, and it’s extremely narrow, without much space. We shall set up our ambush there."
"Yes Priestess!" The leader started distributed the pills. When he was done, he swallowed his pill as well.
"You! Go up there with your bow. As long as he appears within sight, shoot him."
"You! Go over there and observe quietly. Don’t be seen."
"And you! Stay here, and take this torch to attract the attention of the enemy."
The leader started issuing several commands to his men. As long as the archers coordinated and timed their attack, along with the poison immune pills, they would be able to finish off this Young Chieftain easily.
Before long, a young man wielding a sword could be seen rushing forward. Seeing this young man appear, the leader who had been hiding gave a hand signal. The surrounding archers let loose their arrows.
"Pu pu" Three or four arrows shot were loosed in the deep night. Instantly, a loud groan could be heard, as he fell to the ground. The arrows had found their marks. The leader laughed coldly, "This Young Chieftain is really useless. I had thought he was some big hero. Just a simple ambush was enough to finish him off."
"You! Go and take a look." At this point, the leader was still cautious.
A warrior stepped forward and flipped his body over. Instantly, his size and facial features transformed. He turned from a young man to that of a seasoned, middle-aged mountain warrior.
"Not good, it’s a fake." The leader then shouted, "It’s an Illusory art!"
Even before his words could land, the hissing sounds overwhelmed them once again. The venomous vipers appeared before them. One of the archers who had remained hidden felt a sharp pain in his neck and screamed out before falling to the ground, his entire body twitching.
The black robed priestess then shouted, "Be careful of the snakes, do not attack them. If you do not attack them, they will not bite you, since you have taken the pills. However, if they do bite you, you will still die."
"And, that person must be here. Everyone gather!"
As soon as the Priestess finished speaking, they were surrounded by snakes. Indeed, with the pills in their bodies, the snakes remained some distance away, and did not dare to attack.
The pills greatly reduced their fervor.
Pei Zi Yun’s shadow flashed past. At this point, his body moved with such stealth and furtiveness. A faint glow was on him, as his footsteps were much lighter than ever.
"Seventeen people!"
Pei Zi Yun moved slowly as he edged towards his foes. His movements were so subtle that stealthy that it was almost as if he wasn’t there. He then reached the side of a mountain warrior, who was holding onto a bow, lying in wait. With a flash of his sword, Pei Zi Yun ran his blade across his throat. This warrior did not make any sound, and fell to the ground.
Since the forest was very dense, it could somewhat muffle the sounds of his gurgling in death. However, it could not shut out the sound of twigs snapping as the man twitched vigorously in his death throes.
"Kill him!" A warrior shouted loudly, his sword raised, no longer afraid of these venomous snakes.
When his foes blade was about to land, Pei Zi Yun moved as quick as light, as he shifted his position, and stabbed his victim in his torso, where he could hear the crunch of his internal organs.
"Kill!" Four men charged towards him with crazed expressions.
Pei Zi Yun’s feet were nimble as he shifted. All of a sudden, it seemed to the warriors as if his body had been reduced to half its size, before completely disappearing in the dark. When their blades fell where Pei Zi Yun once stood, it only connected with shrubs and snakes.
Pei Zi Yun was deft as a cat and rolled in the dark, causing them to lose vision of him. He then reappeared, "Pu" A warrior’s right leg had been severed at the knee. Blood and flesh flew in all directions as he could see his own bone protruding out of the wound. Pei Zi Yun then slashed at his abdomen, where his entrails spilled out. The warrior was desperately trying to hold his own entrails, and pushing them back in. He was doomed for sure. However, he didn’t die on the spot. Instead, he started screaming out in pain, and threw his bow down, writhing on the ground agonizingly.
Pei Zi Yun then moved again, his shadow in a blur before he slashed viciously at his next target. His attack was so forceful that the warrior was split in half from his waist, as he screamed out.
"Not good, this man has killed our archers in ambush, run!" Although the black robed Priestess did not have any martial arts, she reacted instantly. Just as she took a few steps away, trying to flee, the sound of arrow whooshing through the air could be heard. It then punched into the warrior next to her. It hit him in his back, and through his heart, nailing him to a tree in front of him.
"To hell with you!"
"Pu pu pu!" Pei Zi Yun was standing on high ground, firing arrows rapidly. Several warriors fell to his arrows.
"Extinguish your torches, extinguish your torches!" The leader shouted, as he tossed his own torch down onto the ground before stepping it out hurriedly. Before long, everything around the warriors turned pitch black again.
"Hm, do you think you can run?" Pei Zi Yun gave a cold laugh.
"Run away Priestess, our forces had been broken. This Young Chieftain of Lumen Mountain really acquired the skills and capabilities of the High Priest. Maybe it’s even the High Priest who had come back to life." The leader shouted.
"Follow me." The black robed Priestess seeing her men dying before her, her eyes were filled with sadness and despair, "I shall remember your sacrifices. When I return to our stronghold, I will remember to look after your families."
"Protect the Priestess." The leader shouted. As long as the Priestess was alive, that was their only hope of dealing with the Chieftain or the High Priest. Four warriors then converged as the stood forward to escort the Priestess.
Before long, more screams could be heard coming from the forest. A young man was getting close, his hands holding a sword. It was extremely dark in the night, and yet the trail of blood dripping from his sword could be seen as he came nearer.
"You are the Young Chieftain of Lumen Mountain?" The warrior leader then gritted his teeth, "Die!"
As he shouted, he charged.
"Pu"
As they ran towards each other, their shadows entwined for a split second before breaking away. A groan could be heard as the leader fell onto his knees, blood was spilling out from his throat. Pei Zi Yun reached out his other hand and wiped the blood off his sword before continuing his assault.
The flash of his sword and his foes’ blades could be seen. The cries of people dying and blood filled up the entire area they were in. Countless of corpses lay strewn over the place. Pei Zi Yun then stopped. A middle-aged man was lying on the ground in the pool of blood. Pei Zi Yun watched him as his soul departed from his body, like sticky glue being pulled apart.
Pei Zi Yun then felt something dripping on his face. He stretched a hand out to wipe it away and realized that it was rain. He looked up as raindrops fell on his face.
At this point, the moon was concealed by the clouds and the wind was blowing furiously. Five people were running for their lives before they reached the bank of the river, which was filled with rocks and pebbles. When they looked across, they saw the currents of the river gushing unrelentingly, splashing some water about every time a wave came to shore.
The five of them heaved a sigh of relief, as they looked on and saw a boat floating nearby.
"Priestess, as long as we can board the boat and move it further into the water, it would be hard for our enemy to reach us." A warrior beside the Priestess spoke.
"Hu hu" The Priestess was old and all these running made her pant in exhaustion. Just as she was catching her breath, she felt as if someone was glaring at her. She was soaked in sweat.
"What rubbish have you been thinking about? Escaping?" An emotionless voice rang out. The black robed woman gave a look of fear as the young man raised his sword and charged towards her.
"You are not the High Priest." The black robed Priestess said with a hoarse voice.
"Yes, I’m not him. He doesn't have the powers and sword skills that I do." The raindrops pelted upon all of them. Pei Zi Yun then sighed loudly, having absorbed the Legacy, he felt extremely glad and disappointed at the same time.
'Whatever he’s learnt, I’ve managed to learn more than half. It’s just that I haven’t had as much practice as he had.'
'Firstly, the art of controlling the snakes. It’s a pity I do not wish to become Master of the Five Poisons. Having been here, to the Southern Mountains, I realized there isn’t much use for it.'
'Secondly it provided me with the orthodox methods and experiences as to how to open the gates of heaven, the Free Cloud Sect way. This itself made the entire trip worth it.'
"Okay, the time for catching your breath is over. Now tell me, who informed you of my whereabouts, or die!"