Chapter 74: Is It Him…?
Translator: Mogumoguchan/Zenobys Editor: - -
The moment the green blood touched the center of his brows, Su Ming immediately felt a strong presence. That presence was filled with death. It was as if there was a countless number of moaning voices echoing in his head. At that moment, the green blood seemed to have been revitalized and wanted to struggle out of Su Ming’s hands before rushing into the center of his brows, then entering his body.
Su Ming narrowed his eyes in concentration. The Qi in his body circulated and immediately dissipated the presence of death from the blood while also blocking the green blood that was trying to enter his body. He held the ball of blood in his right hand and lifted it away from his brows. The moment it left, a look of surprise appeared in Su Ming’s eyes.
This thing should have been made with a special Berserker Art. It’s incredibly important to the practitioner, but to those who don’t practice it, it would only cause them harm. Su Ming was silent, sinking into his thoughts and making his decision. With the analysis he made by tying up Wu Sen’s weakened state to the loss of this blood, his certainty towards his theory rose up by another thirty percent from its initial fifty percent. He may not be completely certain still, but eighty percent was enough.
In truth, his guess was correct. If others had forcefully absorbed the Blood of Corpses, then it would cause them internal injuries. Even if there would be benefits obtained from it, after comparing the pros and cons, there would be more losses compared to gains.
Su Ming placed the blood back into the bottle and waved his right hand towards the bottle. Immediately, a ray of moonlight appeared and turned into strings that surrounded the bottle. He placed the bottle into his bosom and stood up before leaving the room.
The moon in the sky was not in a crescent shape. It was slightly rounder. By the looks of it, within a few days, the moon would be full.
Su Ming took in a deep breath. He played out the idea in his head once again, and his eyes flashed briefly. He walked out of the house in the middle of the night. It was quiet in the area, and there was absolutely no sound around him.
The moment he walked out of Dark Mountain Tribe’s lodgings in Wind Stream City, Su Ming’s heart jolted. At that moment, a cold voice came from behind him, "It’s late. Where are you going?"
Su Ming stopped. He turned around and saw a man walking out from the dark part of the big door. He looked average, but there was a cold glint in his narrowed eyes. He was Dark Mountain Tribe’s Shan Hen!
"Greetings, chief of the hunters." Su Ming’s face was passive and unmoving as he watched Shan Hen walking towards him.
"I asked you a question." Shan Hen moved towards him slowly and stood ten feet away from Su Ming, looking coldly at him.
"I heard from Bei Ling that Wind Stream City is lively at night. That’s why I wanted to go take a look." Su Ming was on guard, but there was fear on his face. He spoke quickly.
Shan Hen looked at Su Ming for a long while before he nodded his head slowly.
"It’s not too safe during the night. Don’t cause any trouble and come back soon," Shan Hen said slowly. He was the chief of the hunters in the tribe. He was also a powerful Berserker who chose to follow the elder during this journey. Protecting the members of the tribe was his responsibility. For him, saying those words was normal.
Su Ming agreed to it. After bowing to Shan Hen, he slowly walked backwards before turning around and walking into the distance. He could feel that Shan Hen was still watching his back.
He only took a few more steps forward when all the hair on his body rose suddenly. He could feel a strong pressure pressing on on him. The feeling turned into a sense of danger that screamed at him that someone was targeting him.
The Qi in his body seemed to be on the verge of losing control and was about to circulate on its own to resist against the pressure. Su Ming knew that it was a reflex that belonged to Berserkers. Due to the Qi within their bodies, if they were suddenly met with an attack, then it would be very difficult for them to hide their Qi because they would automatically resist against it.
If it was a normal tribe member, then the pressure they felt would not be so strong. Only Berserkers would feel the pressure clearly. This was a way to test whether the people around them were hiding their powers. Yet this was a technique that was only useful if it was used by Berserkers in the high level of the Blood Solidification Realm against those who had lower levels compared to them.
Shan Hen’s strength was far greater than Su Ming’s. If this sudden act had been used on Su Ming before he went through the test, then he would not have been able to resist it. Yet it would still not bring about too much attention, because the elder had cast an Art on him to disguise his Qi. Even if the Qi in his body was forcefully activated, no one would be able to notice it.
However, as of then, Su Ming could already control the Qi in his entire body through fine control by keeping his mind still. He did not hesitate. The moment the Qi in his body was about to be activated, with a single thought, Su Ming calmly dissipated the activation of his Qi. This was something that would be difficult for other people to do, but for Su Ming, who had already understood the method of entering fine control by using his mind, it was not hard.
However, while Qi could be hidden and kept still, the body’s instinctive movements when a person was faced with sudden danger would usually be the part where other people chose to observe.
Shan Hen was looking for that.
Nevertheless, he underestimated Su Ming. More accurately speaking, he had never paid too much attention towards Su Ming, hence he did not understand Su Ming. The moment the sense of danger arrived, Su Ming did not stop. It was as if he was completely unaware of it and continued walking forward at an unhurried pace until he gradually disappeared into the night.
When Su Ming left the place, a frown gradually appeared on Shan Hen’s face. Nonetheless, he did not continue standing there. He turned around instead and went back into the tribe’s lodgings.
His actions were not out of bounds. Even if he did it before the elder, no one would think otherwise. In fact, since he did it so straightforwardly, other people would just think that he suspected Su Ming and was just testing him.
Su Ming kept to a calm pace until he was far away from the lodgings. Then, he could no longer resist sprinting a few steps with his heart pounding rapidly against his chest. During that instant, from the feeling he got from how Shan Hen scrutinized him, Su Ming found his hidden, mysterious observer of the past few days that he felt during meditation!
‘It’s him!’
Su Ming frowned. He remembered the elder mentioning a traitor within the tribe. Even if the elder did not go into detail about it, Su Ming could tell the worrying aspects about it.
‘Is it him..?’
Su Ming was in doubt. The status of the chief of the hunters was very high, and he held great authority within the tribe. He had control over all the Berserkers within the hunting team. He also had the important duty of leading the hunting teams to hunt for food.
Throughout the years, Shan Hen had contributed a lot for the tribe in Su Ming’s memories. He may seem like an indifferent man, but in truth, there were times where Su Ming saw him walking coldly in the tribe while offering his game to the elderly members of the tribe.
He had also gone up the mountain and brought back a huge amount of beast fangs because children in the tribe loved them. Even when he distributed it to the La Sus with his usual aloof look, Su Ming could tell that there was a hint of kindness within him when he did so.
In fact, Su Ming could recall from his memories that during one particular winter, some hunters in a hunting team had been ambushed by the people from Black Mountain Tribe and escaped while heavily injured. One of them had even died. Shan Hen’s face had been ice cold as he went out of the tribe alone. When he returned the next day, he held three heads that belonged to the Berserkers from Black Mountain Tribe in his hand.
This would have incited war with Black Mountain Tribe if it were not for the elder’s incredible power during that year.
The scenes from the past appeared one by one in Su Ming’s head. He could not find a single reason for Shan Hen to turn traitor. To him, it was impossible that this sort of chief of the hunters would betray the tribe…
‘Maybe… I’m just thinking too much.’
Su Ming continued to think in silence, then sighed in relief before quietly walking forward. Gradually, his face changed, and his body became stronger. His clothes too, changed. Very soon, when he came out of the darkness, Su Ming had turned into the incredibly mysterious Mo Su, whose name now rang through all the corners of Wind Stream City!
Su Ming blasted forth into the deeper parts of Wind Stream City with shocking speed.
Wu Sen’s house was very easy to find. Once Su Ming turned into Mo Su, he would know where Wu Sen stayed once he asked around. Besides, even if he was well-known in Wind Stream Tribe, only a few hundred people had seen his face, hence he did not attract too much attention.
The Wind Stream Tribe member who had told Su Ming where Wu Sen stayed also did not know that the person before him was the Mo Su, who had been unassuming until he shocked everyone!
As for why he would tell Su Ming where Wu Sen stayed, it was because Su Ming had brought out one of the very few stone coins left in his possession. Besides, the members of Wind Stream Tribe were used to it during these last days. He knew that there were a lot of outsiders who had been fighting against each other to meet the prodigies within Wind Stream.
Yet while the number of people who wanted to see them was great, the ones who were summoned were few.
Wu Sen stayed in a house located at the eastern corner of the mudstone city. It was very quiet there, and it was especially so during the night. Night turned the entire place dark. There may be lamps around, but they were few in number and were scattered around. Su Ming could only see the outlines of the houses with the help of the moonlight.
Among the many mudstone houses was a house that took up a lot of space. It was also isolated as it stood out from among its surroundings. That was Wu Sen’s house.
As one of the prodigies in Wind Stream Tribe, Wu Sen’s status was very high. His dwelling place would also naturally be different. There were four houses in his courtyard, which let out an eerie feeling in the silence of the night.
The courtyard was very big but also deserted. It looked desolate and deathly still under the moonlight.
The four houses were dark, as if there was no one within them. In the past, it was not so. Wu Sen’s followers would usually guard this place at all times to show just how unique and special he was.
Now, there was no one in them. There was no way of telling whether those people had left because Wu Sen’s rank fell, or because he did not want others to find out that he had weakened and chased them all out.
Su Ming stood hundreds of feet away from the courtyard. He remained silent, his shadow lengthened by the moonlight until it seemed to fuse together with the darkness around him.
He looked at the courtyard before him. After a while, he slowly walked forward until he was near the door to the courtyard. Without any hesitation, he pushed it open. The moment the wooden door swung open, it made a creaking sound in the silence that spread around him.
The four houses in the courtyard were still silent, as if no one had noticed him. It felt like no one was here.
Nonetheless, when Su Ming stood outside, he felt a presence of Qi from the second house. From the strength of the Qi, Su Ming could tell that the person was around the fifth level of the Blood Solidification Realm. It may have been slightly weaker than what he had sensed when he’d returned and cast a glance at Wu Sen, but once he thought about it, Wu Sen’s weakening might be continuous. This then would be understandable.