Chapter 22: Shortened Distance; Adrift in Sandstorms (Part 2)

The scorpion tail!

Yet, because of the sting, Xie Lian was able to grab hold of the tail and capture the snake properly. He squeezed it down hard until it became unconscious. Even having been stung, Xie Lian's face never changed, and he tossed it to the ground indifferently, "Everyone be careful, there may be more snakes around..."

He felt a tightening on his wrist before he finished his words and looked to see it was San Lang who caught hold of him. "San Lang?" Xie Lian looked at the young man, puzzled.

The reason he sounded confused was that at this very moment, the expression on this youth's face was quite off; it was indescribably frosty to the point of frightening. His eyes were focused intently on the wound on the back of Xie Lian's hand that had now ballooned thanks to the vicious venom. The small puncture wound became visibly enlarged to the size of a knife cut because of the angry swelling.

With a dark expression, San Lang wordlessly snatched Ruoye from Xie Lian's arm and immediately knotted it firmly on his wrist, preventing the venom from advancing. While Ruoye enjoyed snuggling up to Xie Lian, it wasn't that well-behaved either, yet in San Lang's hands, it was so compliant it was like it was dead.

Ever since they had known each other, Xie Lian had never seen San Lang looking like this. He opened his mouth to speak, but San Lang turned to pull a dagger from the waist of one of the merchants. Nan Feng saw and knew instantly what San Lang was about to do, so he ignited a palm torch. Without sparing any looks, San Lang burned the tip of the dagger to disinfect it before turning back to Xie Lian and drew a cross on the mouth of the puncture wound.

Just as he was about to lower his head to the hand, Xie Lian hurriedly said, "It's ok. The venom is aggressive, sucking it won't do much. I don't want you to get poisoned..."

San Lang ignored him, tightened the hold on Xie Lian's hand, and placed his lips upon it. His hand trembled slightly, and Xie Lian couldn't explain why.

Next to him, Fu Yao said in disdain, "I can't believe you went and got yourself pricked. What are you doing catching the snake when the kid might not even get bitten? You're just making trouble needlessly."

His words were probably true. Xie Lian recalled the airy way San Lang played with the snake in the cave; he probably wouldn't have even cared for any attacks and wouldn't have gotten bitten. But just in case. Just in case San Lang didn't notice the snake and got bitten, it'd be too late then.

Xie Lian waved his good hand, "Don't mind it. It's not like it hurts, and I won't die from it."

"You're really not in pain?" Fu Yao asked.

"Really. I don't feel pain anymore." Xie Lian answered truthfully.

Since Xie Lian possessed the worst of luck, every time he ventured deep into the mountains, eight times out of ten he would step onto vipers or run into poisonous insects, and get bitten, stung, jabbed, or poisoned in thousands of ways. Perhaps it was because of his heavenly status, he couldn't die, so at most, he'd run a fever. After three days and three nights of fevers, he'd be right as rain when he woke and continue on as if nothing happened. Gradually he became less and less sensitive to pain and just lived with it.

Right after the words had left his mouth, San Lang finally looked up. The red swelling on the back of Xie Lian's hand had gone down, a stain of blood red on San Lang's lips. His eyes were extremely cold, and he moved his glare to the unconscious snake on the ground.

BOOM! The snake abruptly exploded into a pool of blood and flesh.

The sudden blast surprised everyone, but no one knew who did it. Even if the blood didn't splatter onto anyone, there was still a blanket of unease. Tian Sheng, who still remembered that Xie Lian also got stung, asked worriedly, "Gege, you got pricked too! What will you do?"

Xie Lian felt the bandage on his wrist and smiled, "Don't worry, little one. We'll still stick to the plan of going to the BanYue ruins and search for the ShanYue fern."

Another merchant asked, "You guys are going? What about us? Should we also send someone to go with you?"

"You can all stay here. BanYue territory is a dangerous place; the more people there, the more mishaps that can happen. We will find the fern and bring it back to you within twenty-four hours." Xie Lian said.

"For... for real? Thank you so much! –"

"How can we possibly ever..."

A number of merchants started stuttering their thanks, but then their faces changed when Xie Lian continued to speak, "In order to reach BanYue as soon as possible, I want to borrow your guide temporarily, if that's alright."

Naturally, Xie Lian meant A-Zhao. The merchants went from grateful and relieved to hesitation. Xie Lian knew where they were coming from. They were afraid that Xie Lian might run off with their guide once he finds the ShanYue fern, and even if A-Zhao didn't run away, timing would still be delayed. Nevertheless, none of them wanted to venture into that wicked place where 'at least half goes missing'. Their worries were entirely understandable, so Xie Lian added, "And just in case anything else comes to attack you, Fu Yao will stay until we return."

A man for a man; now there was insurance that Xie Lian would come back. The merchants finally agreed and nodded, "Alright. As long as A-Zhao is willing."

Xie Lian turned to A-Zhao, "Are you open to giving us a hand, my friend? If not, that's ok too."

A-Zhao nodded and said, "Yes. But the BanYue ruins are actually not hard to get to; just keep heading in this direction."

After bidding the merchants farewell, A-Zhao took the lead with Xie Lian, San Lang, and Nan Feng following right behind. A while later, Xie Lian inquired, "A-Zhao, do the scorpion snakes appear frequently in this area?"

"Not frequently. This was my first time seeing them too." A-Zhao replied.

Xie Lian nodded and had no more questions. Truthfully, he did live in the BanYue area for a number of years, and this was also his first time seeing a scorpion snake. A-Zhao's answer was not out of place. Nan Feng realized Xie Lian's intentions and asked in a low voice, "You're suspicious of this A-Zhao?"

Xie Lian responded in a whisper, "Either way, we've brought him out. Just keep an eye on him."

In the past, it was usually San Lang who would talk to him first, but since the incident earlier, the boy hadn't looked approachable, walking stoically and silent. Xie Lian couldn't figure out what was going on and didn't know how to talk to him, so he kept on walking too.

The four continued to trek through the vast Gobi desert; the windstorm had long passed, and without any obstructions, they advanced quickly. Soon, they could see ragged weeds here and there growing in the cracks of rocks and sand. By the time the sun was setting, Xie Lian finally spotted an ancient fortress in the horizon.

The fortress was difficult to see because it was the color of sand, camouflaged in the yellowness and becoming one with the desert. Some parts of the fortress walls were also caved in and buried. As they approached, they found the fortress walls were extremely high, towering at over hundreds of feet. It wasn't hard to imagine its past magnificence, how grand it must've been.

Passing through the barbican, the four formally entered the Kingdom of BanYue.

Past the gates was a wide and empty city street, dilapidated houses on each side; rotten beams, broken bricks were strewn about. Out of habit, A-Zhao cautioned the others, "Please be careful and don't leave the group on your own." The other three didn't need that reminder. The actual BanYue fortress was probably different than imagined, and Nan Feng wondered, "This is the Kingdom of BanYue? It's smaller than a capital!"

"A desert country is only as big as the oasis it's built on," Xie Lian explained. "At its peak, the population was only just about ten thousand. It's actually pretty lively in a small fortress like this."

Nan Feng continued to observe the surroundings, "It would probably only take a few days to siege a country of this size."

Xie Lian shook his head, "Not necessarily. Don't underestimate the people of BanYue, Nan Feng. Even if their population wasn't more than ten thousand, they kept the number of soldiers at an average of four thousand. There were more males than females; aside from the sick and old, and the farmers, most men joined the army. Besides, most of those soldiers were over nine feet tall, each more violent than the next. With a mace in hand, they would keep fighting even with swords through their chests. They're very hard to fight."

A-Zhao was surprised and glanced at Xie Lian, "This young master seems to know a lot."

Xie Lian maintained his smile and was about to converse some more when Nan Feng posed a question, "What's that wall?"

He was indicating a giant mud-yellow building in the far distance.

Building wasn't quite the right word to describe it because it was a giant enclosure formed by four massive mud-colored walls without neither doors nor roofs. Each wall was over a hundred feet, and on the very top, there was a pole, with something tattered attached, flying in the wind. It was a chilling image.

Xie Lian turned his head to take a look, then said simply, "That's the Sinners Pit."

By the sound of the name alone, it was obvious it wasn't anything good. "Sinner's Pit?" Nan Feng frowned.

Humming gravely, Xie Lian explained, "You can think of it as a jail. It's made specifically for imprisoning criminals."

"How does it imprison if there isn't even a door? Throw them in from the top?" Nan Feng wondered.

Xie Lian was just hesitating in answering when San Lang suddenly spoke up, "They get thrown in. And the pit is full of poisonous snakes and starving beasts."

Hearing him finally speak, Xie Lian felt relieved, but when he looked over to San Lang, the boy met his gaze and turned away. Nan Feng swore, "That's no fuckin' jail?! That's torture! How cruel! Those people of BanYue were either sick in the head or savage psychos!"

Xie Lian rubbed his forehead, "Not all of them. Some of them were quite endearing..." He paused suddenly, his brows stiffening, "Wait."

The other three stopped, and Xie Lian pointed upwards, "Look at that pole up on the pit. Is that a person hanging from it?"

In the dimming light of the setting sun and with such distance, it was difficult to see what exactly was hung on the pole. But going closer and scrutinizing the shape, it became obvious it was a scrawny little person in black, their clothes unkempt, dangling in the wind like a ragdoll.

"It's a person," San Lang confirmed.

When A-Zhao saw the hanging person, his face paled. This was such a chilling and peculiar display that even a calm individual like him couldn't bear the sight of it. Just then, San Lang tilted his head and said in a low voice, "Someone's here."

He wasn't the only one who noticed. Xie Lian also heard feather-light footsteps approaching. The four immediately moved to hide in the many decaying houses on the roadside. Xie Lian and San Lang entered one house, and Nan Feng and A-Zhao hid in the one across the street.

Soon after, at the end of the broken street, the woman cultivator in white revealed herself. The woman was dressed in a light white robe, a whisk in her arm, roaming along the street, peering here and there, her eyes bright and observant, as if she was in her own backyard garden and not the BanYue ruins. Strolling right behind her was another woman clad in black, her hands behind her back.

The black-clad woman was beautiful yet cold, her eyes piercing, her raven hair long and free, as if radiating chill from her very person. Although she was walking behind the woman cultivator, no one would have mistaken her as a subordinate. It was the same two women they saw outside the abandoned inn at noon.

At the time, they passed by too fast, and Xie Lian couldn't make out the details of the lady in black, but he now saw clearly that she was indeed a woman. If the one in white was the Guoshi of BanYue, then who was the one in black?

The Guoshi swished her whisk leisurely and spoke, "Now where did those people go? We were careless for one moment, and they all disappeared. Do I have to dig them out and kill them one by one?"

As Xie Lian had thought, they were watched the moment they stepped foot into the fortress.

The lady in black approached and stoically said, "You can call your friends to help you kill them."

Those 'friends' must have meant the soldiers of BanYue. The Guoshi of BanYue laughed, "Ha! I don't like calling other people. I like calling you. Aren't you glad?"

The lady in black ignored her completely and said coolly, "There's nothing agreeable about being called out by the likes of you for something like this. Just go."

The Guoshi of BanYue arched her brows but still sped away. Listening to them, it sounded as if they were close. They were no ordinary folks, so the lady in black must have some renown. Someone who would be close to the Guoshi of BanYue? A mysterious fellow cultivator? Or was there a queen or general they didn't know about?

Xie Lian was trying to connect the dots rapidly in his mind but held his breath. Now wasn't the time to be discovered. It looked like the guoshi had an unpredictable personality; if she should find them and excitedly summon her legendary, 9 feet tall, mace-wielding BanYue soldiers, then more time would be wasted fighting them. Twenty-four hours. One hour wasted was another hour they'd sink deeper into danger.

But, there was no helping his bad luck; whatever he didn't want happening would always happen. The lady in black was passing the house Xie Lian hid in, but stopped mid-step, and her piercing gaze came sweeping over the decayed shelter.

The Guoshi of BanYue was already further ahead but noticed that she had stopped and came back around. "Hey, are you not coming?"

The lady in black didn't look at her. "You. Step back."

"Alright." The guoshi responded obediently and actually retreated. The lady in black was about to raise her hand when suddenly, a loud rumble blasted from across the street!

Across on the other side, it was the house Nan Feng and A-Zhao hid in that collapsed! The crumbling of one house led the entire strip to cave in. Dust and sand rolled into the air and clouded the whole street. Within, a black shadow leapt out, shot a streaming flame towards the guoshi, but the lady in black rushed forward and blocked the guoshi from harm. With her left hand still behind her, she flipped her right palm and easily absorbed the flames before rebounding it right back. The black shadow parried with her while escaping and soon disappeared. The guoshi immediately chased after it, but the lady in black gave the house behind another sweeping look before following after the guoshi.

'Bless you, Nan Feng,' Xie Lian thanked mentally. All of this happened so quickly, but Nan Feng had no doubt known somehow that they were about to get in trouble and created a diversion to lead enemies astray. He was the only one who leapt out, so A-Zhao must still be inside the collapsed house. After making sure the guoshi and the lady in black were indeed gone, Xie Lian dragged San Lang out of their hiding and called out, "A-Zhao, are you still alive? Are you hurt anywhere?"

A moment later, a sulky voice came from under the ruins, "…I'm fine."

Xie Lian was relieved. "Thank goodness." Although Xie Lian trusted in Nan Feng's ability to control the crash and would no doubt leave enough space for A-Zhao to stay safe, it was still more reassuring to see it with his own eyes. He raised one of the rotten beams with one hand, and after a moment, A-Zhao emerged from under, covered in dust from head to toe. He patted himself down a bit and returned to his stoic expression.

"Now there's only three of us left," Xie Lian said. "Nan Feng is running a diversion, so we must move faster. Do you know where we can find the ShanYue fern, A-Zhao?"

The young man shook his head and said, "Sorry. I only know where the fortress was, but I've never been here before, so I don't know where the fern can be found."

San Lang spoke up, "They say the ShanYue fern prefers shade, is small, its roots thin but leaves large, like a heart-shaped peach. Why don't you search near a large building?"

"A large building?" Xie Lian contemplated. If they were talking big, there was no building larger than the palace. In the legend, it was after the festivities that the queen picked a ShanYue leaf, which could mean the fern grew in the palace grounds.

The three moved their gaze to afar, and to the center of the fortress was indeed a palace built of brick and wood. From the distance, the palace had a grandiose aura, but from a closer look, it was not in much better shape than the dilapidated houses on the streets. Through the palace gates was a massive garden; perhaps in the past, it wasn't a garden but a palace square, but with years of neglect, weeds had flourished and spread.

Indeed, it wasn't sand beneath their feet but mud. This was most likely the last sign of an oasis that once was; ShanYue could very well be growing amongst all the other plants.

"Let's not waste time," Xie Lian said. "We only have twenty-four hours, but be careful of the scorpion snakes."

A-Zhao and San Lang both hummed in acknowledgment and lowered their heads to start searching through the plants. As they rummaged, it suddenly came to Xie Lian that if the Guoshi of BanYue could control scorpion snakes, there should be an abundance of them slithering about in her territory. Ever since they entered the fortress, they had not seen a single snake.

He straightened up and was about to speak when one of his hands felt up a long object. Looking down again, he found that it was a human leg.