Stranger Danger

“That was the last one? Oh well. I suppose I’ll just dig a hole then!”

Ye Qing had found two bottles of spirit snake ointment, three silvers, and an unknown book that was wrapped in a strip of a calfskin from Fang Nianshui's body. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to find what he was looking for.

Ye Qing had been hoping to burn Fang Nianshui to ashes with a fire talisman. It would be the cleanest and most painless way to handle the body. Just leaving it in the wilderness wasn't an option because there was a chance it might attract a Stranger. Worst case scenario, it would be a Stranger far beyond his ability to handle and one that was hell bent on hunting him down because why not? That was why he decided to bury the body. All he needed to was to dig a hole, dump the body inside, and cover it back up. With his strength, he could’ve dug out the earth with his bare hands and still be done in a matter of minutes.

Without further ado, Ye Qing grabbed Fang Nianshui’s saber and dug a pit that was about six meters deep. He filled it up once he had dumped the body inside.

A six-meter deep pit was deep enough that most people would not discover the body. Once a subterranean Stranger had consumed it maybe two days later, no one would ever find out exactly what had happened to the man.

“Phew! It’s done!” Ye Qing sighed in relief after finishing his dirty work and confirming that nothing was out of place. He was just taking a small break when suddenly, a series of rapid footsteps came from the distance. He turned around just in time to see Lin Hu and a couple of watchmen running toward him. They came to a stop when they were about six meters away.

“Ye Qing?” Lin Hu asked warily.

Ye Qing was watching Lin Hu’s squad warily as well. Judging from their disheveled, wounded state, it was clear they had just fought a difficult battle. “It’s me, captain!”

“Did you encounter the human skin Strangers as well?” asked Lin Hu while glancing at the severed human skins on the ground.

Ye Qing replied seriously, “Yes. Boss Fang and I were doing the rounds when suddenly, we heard Uncle Ma screaming on top of his lungs…”

Ye Qing proceeded to tell Lin Hu the first half of everything that had happened.

Lin Hu’s eyebrows were locked so tight they were practically inseparable. “Speaking of which, where is Nianshui?”

Ye Qing’s heart skipped a beat, but he kept his cool and explained, “Boss Fang told me to stay here after we took out all the human skin Strangers. I think he found something, but he didn’t want to bring me probably because he thought that I would only be a burden to him.”

Lin Hu exclaimed in realization, “Nianshui must have found the Strangers’ true body. Even so, that is too reckless of him!”

Lin Hu never suspected that Ye Qing was lying to him. In his opinion, there was just no reason for him to do such a thing.

“Did you and your squad fight against the human skin Strangers, captain?” Ye Qing asked.

Lin Hu let out a deep sigh. “That’s right. A lot of villagers have died and transformed into human skin Strangers today. I wonder what Stranger could possibly be behind this slaughter…? Never mind. Ye Qing, you’ll join my squad temporarily and assist us in taking out all the human skin Strangers still lurking around the village. Otherwise, all our farmers would be in danger,” Lin Hu ordered.

“Yes, captain!”

And so Ye Qing and Lin Hu’s squad searched the farms thoroughly to hunt down every human skin Stranger they could find. Strangely though, they found nothing at all despite hours and hours of searching.

“Strange. There were a ton of human skin Strangers earlier. Where did they go? There's no way we've chased them all away or killed them all, right?” A watchman voiced his puzzlement.

Lin Hu was frowning as well. “We mustn’t let our guard down. These human skin Strangers are even more abnormal than the ones we usually encounter around the village. I’m willing to bet that none of them are its true body.”

No one saw any reason to deny his sound logic.

Suddenly, a close acquaintance of Fang Nianshui spoke up, “By the way, we should have encountered Nianshui by now. He couldn’t be…”

Although he did not finish his sentence, his meaning was as clear as day. The atmosphere turned darker in an instant. A long and painful silence later, Lin Hu finally said, “He may have gone back to the village before us. We’ll know once we’ve finished our rounds. If he hasn’t… well, he should’ve known what could happen when he chased after a Stranger all by himself.”

“Speaking of which, I’m sure you’re all tired and eager to go home already, so let’s end things here!”

The squad stepped in front of Heavens’ Eye after they returned to the village. They entered only after the relic had confirmed that they weren't Strangers.

Lin Hu asked a watchman who was guarding the entrance, “Has Fang Nianshui come home yet?”

The watchman shook his head. “No. What’s wrong?”

Lin Hu’s eyes dimmed as he deflected the question, “It’s nothing. Thanks for your hard work!”

Despite what he said, Lin Hu knew full well that Fang Nianshui was probably dead. The others clearly shared his sentiment as well. For a while, the atmosphere was somber until Lin Hu rubbed his aching forehead and said wearily, “Alright, enough. You’ve all worked hard for the entire day, so go catch some rest already. The threat is still out there somewhere. The village will need you at full strength when tomorrow comes.”

“Yes, captain. You should catch some rest as well, captain. It would be bad if you overexert yourself!” A few watchmen responded before taking their leave one after another.

Ye Qing was about to do the same when suddenly, Lin Hu called out to him, “Wait, Ye Qing! I need to speak to you about something!”

Ye Qing’s heart skipped a beat, but again he did not allow his trepidation to show on his face. He asked, “What is it, captain?”

“Since Nianshui hasn’t come home yet, there’s a high chance that he’s… no longer with us. If he doesn’t show up by tomorrow, then I want you to join Tian Hong’s squad instead,” Lin Hu instructed sorrowfully and regretfully.

Fang Nianshui wasn't just a warrior who had reached the adept level of the Body Tempering stage in his thirties, he had begun to invoke true qi as well. Out of everyone in the younger generation, he was easily the one with the highest chance to enter the Qi Invocation stage. How could Lin Hu feel nothing when it was all but confirmed that August Hill Village had lost one of their brightest stars?

It was then Ye Qing surprised him by saying, “It’s okay, captain. I think I can handle a simple patrol on my own.”

The captain temporarily forgot his sorrow and frowned. “You what? Unacceptable! It’s too dangerous!”

Ye Qing smiled. “Don’t worry, captain. I’ve already reached the journeyman level of the Body Tempering stage. I think I can handle this.”

“You what?” Lin Hu repeated himself like a parrot, “But I thought you’ve only started tempering your body two days ago! How did you grow so quickly?”

Ye Qing rubbed his nose as if embarrassed. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m a born-genius?”

“...” Lin Hu looked like he was considering Ye Qing’s proposal seriously. “Even so, it’s too dangerous especially since the human skin Strangers are on the prowl…”

He did not ask how Ye Qing had managed to reach the journeyman level of the Body Tempering stage so quickly. Everyone carried their own secrets, and to dig too deeply was to provoke even the most amiable soul into conflict.

Ye Qing assured the captain with a confident smile, “You really don’t have to worry about me, captain. Nothing should be able to surprise me as long as I keep my eyes open, and aren’t we short-staffed right now? If I don’t do Boss Fang’s job, it’ll be even more dangerous for our farmers.”

Lin Hu opened his mouth as if he wanted to argue, but in the end he could only let out a tired sigh. It was true that the watchmen were sorely under-staffed right now. So many Strangers had attacked them in recent times that it was a miracle that they were still functioning. If he were to send Ye Qing to another squad, Fang Nianshui’s responsibilities would only fall on another squad’s shoulders, which would increase their burden and the dangers they might face. One could say that Ye Qing had hit the nail on the head.

In the end, Lin Hu had no choice but to agree. “Very well.”

“Thank you for agreeing to this, captain,” Ye Qing replied respectfully. He knew Lin Hu would agree not only because the watchmen really was that short-staffed, but also because he had revealed himself to be a journeyman Reforged. While he wasn’t the strongest combatant among the watchmen, he certainly wasn’t the weakest either. He was just strong enough that he could be trusted to carry out a patrol by himself.

There were two reasons why Ye Qing wanted this. One, he wanted to make damn sure that this was the first and last time Chen Zheng sent an assassin to be his “comrade”. Two, he didn’t want anyone else discovering his secret like Fang Nianshui. Despite his best efforts, the hunter had managed to identify some inconsistencies in his actions and conclude that he carried something exceedingly valuable. All things considered, the best way he could keep his secret was to operate alone.

As for his questionable rise to “journeyman Reforged” in just the short span of “two days”, he wasn’t worried that Chen Zheng would suspect anything. As proven by Lin Hu’s somewhat lukewarm reaction, it wasn’t that unusual for a talented warrior to reach that level in a short time. Worst case scenario, Chen Zheng would be a little more wary of him, but that was it. There was just no reason for him to throw all caution to the wind and attack him with everything he got, damn the consequences.

It was due to this consideration that Ye Qing dared to reveal just a hint of his true strength.

“I’ll speak with Granny Xia about this. Tomorrow, you can visit her and collect some talismans from her. If you run into any danger during your patrol, do not try to handle it yourself. Launch the emergency signal and request for reinforcements immediately,” Lin Hu instructed.

Ye Qing nodded. “I will.”

Granny Xia wasn’t just one of the three esteemed martial artists in August Hill Village, she was also a talisman maker. Every single talisman circulating within the village had been created by her. Of course, it took an enormous amount of materials and mental energy to create them, so only those who were squad leaders or higher were allowed to receive them. Not only that, they could only receive a very limited number of talismans.

The fact that Lin Hu had given Ye Qing permission to get them meant that he was now a squad leader in power, even if not in name.

"If there is nothing else, I shall be taking my leave. I wish you a good evening, captain,” Ye Qing saluted Lin Hu before walking away.

……

Outside the village, a chilly wind mixed with something dark and unspeakable blew across the fields. The Wind Children dancing in the wind were gone all of a sudden, and the few Strangers roaming the outskirts had disappeared without a trace as well. It was as if they had sensed some grave danger and decided to flee. All that was left on the empty fields were deathly silence.

Rustle rustle.

Suddenly, what sounded like tree leaves brushing against one another or someone rubbing sand between their fingers broke the silence. The next moment, a fresh patch of soil on the ground started swelling unnaturally as if something was trying to break out. Then, a withered hand abruptly burst out of it before pushing away the soil. It wasn’t long before the arm, the torso, and finally the whole body had crawled out of the earth.

If Ye Qing was here, he would have recognized the man instantly as none other than the man he had killed, Fang Nianshui.

Something was off with Fang Nianshui, however. Excluding the fact that he had literally crawled out of the earth despite being very dead, his expression was perfectly blank as if he did not have a mind of his own. Suddenly, a crack appeared on his forehead, and it grew wider and wider until his skin was completely peeled from his flesh. Then, as if receiving some sort of signal, it trembled a little before breaking into a run toward August Hill Village.

He wasn’t the only one. Many, many more human skins had risen from the fields and were running toward August Hill Village as well. From a distance, they looked just like a black swarm of death.

……

The first thing Ye Qing did after returning to his house was to cook himself a quick meal and warm up some buns. Once he was satisfactorily full, he immediately threw himself into cultivation once more. It was evening by the time he finally finished refining Fang Nianshui’s blood.

Ye Qing muttered with a frown after he was done, “I think it's time I enter the Qi Invocation stage.”

His body was extremely powerful thanks to an overwhelming amount of vigor and a ridiculously solid foundation, but although he was still growing in power, his progress had clearly slowed down to a snail’s pace. If he continued to cultivate this way, it would cost him an exorbitant amount of time and resources just to further his power by a sliver. That was why he should start considering entering the next level of cultivation, also known as the Qi Invocation stage. Only then could he defeat Chen Zheng and truly be free from his shadow.