Chapter 502: I’m Right Here, Little Junior Brother!! (part 1)
The grand army passed through the lands, imbued with a spirit that could conquer mountains and rivers. Any evil elements in Sea-Sealing County scattered in front of it. Intense rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth, and a somber and desolate aura spread out in all directions. Tens of thousands of massive flying ships blasted through the clouds.
Xu Qing flew off of Qingqin’s right head and landed on the largest flying ship of them all, the Swordsage Court’s, which headed up the procession. Sir Bloodsmelter was there as well. Xu Qing had come to ask him about Forbidden by the Zombie. After all, the golden hand he’d seen stretching out of that bronze door had made a lasting impression on him. [1]
“Forbidden by the Zombie is like the other forbidden grounds,” Sir Bloodsmelter explained. “All were created when the eyes of the broken face of the god opened a second time. According to the information we have in the ancient records, it was countless years ago that the god looked into the depths of the Forbidden Sea at an ancient bronze door, transforming everything around it. The second gaze was also cast upon that door.
“Truth be told, it’s not just forbidden grounds that are like this. It’s the same with forbidden regions. They all have an object as their foundation. That’s why people will usually try to figure out what the broken face of the god was looking at. And that’s also why people have come to the conclusion that the broken face of the god is carrying out some sort of selection process. As for any details beyond that, nobody knows.”
If any other person had asked for this information, Sir Bloodsmelter wouldn’t have gone into such detail. But things were different when it came to Xu Qing. He took his time to explain everything. That was simply how he treated his grand-apprentice.
Meanwhile, the explanation so far caused Xu Qing to think about the forbidden region he had visited during his early days in Seven Blood Eyes, which was next to the scavenger basecamp in South Phoenix. Upon peering into its depths, he’d seen a dilapidated zither. [2]
Sir Bloodsmelter looked at Xu Qing and continued, “The emperor of Forbidden by the Zombie was created by the energy sent out into the forbidden ground by that ancient bronze door, which became part of the surrounding mutagen over many years.
“That’s why, when that bronze door opened, even just a little bit, the emperor was incapable of resistance. He was devoured. In some ways, you could consider that forbidden ground to be like a giant pantry.
“The emperor acted like the pantry custodian, except the reality is that he was standing in for someone else, and was himself nothing but food for the taking. The real pantry custodians are asleep.
“And they’re waiting for the eyes of the broken god face to open a third time. When that third time happens, they’ll awaken, and that area will turn into a god domain.”
“What about Forbidden by the Phoenix?” Xu Qing asked.
“Forbidden by the Phoenix... is different.” Sir Bloodsmelter shook his head. “The foundation of that forbidden ground isn’t an object. It’s Flame Phoenix himself. And Flame Phoenix isn’t asleep. He’s always been awake. Flame Phoenix could wait for the god’s eyes to open a third time, or he could decline to wait and ascend to a higher level of his own volition. That’s why Flame Phoenix is different.”
“CAW!” called out Qingqin proudly from outside the flying ship.
Surprised, Xu Qing looked out at the huge bird.
Qingqin was actually a bit lazy. He had grabbed onto the bottom of the ship with his claws and was hanging there upside down, his three heads swaying as he inhaled and exhaled the clouds. Noting Xu Qing’s gaze, he lifted his right head. He looked a bit frustrated. Xu Qing knew exactly what that expression meant. Qingqin wanted to exterminate a species....
“Just be a little patient, Senior,” Xu Qing said quickly. “You’ll get your chance!”
His right head dropped back down and continued inhaling and exhaling the clouds. He seemed quite bored.
Sir Bloodsmelter noted the exchange. Looking thoughtful, he sighed. “Your Master has some real skills. He’s really blessed to have taken in you and your Elder Sister as apprentices. It’s also a blessing for you two. You’ve got to stay alive and keep getting stronger. Don’t worry about anything else. As long as I’m alive and kicking, I’ll make sure to watch out for you!”
The praise in his words couldn’t have been more clear.
Xu Qing was very taken aback. “Wait.... Me and my Elder Sister? What about Eldest Brother and Third Elder Brother?”
Sir Bloodsmelter snorted coldly. “Them? Heh. Right. Forgot about those two. We cultivators can’t let carnal desires affect us. Your Third Elder Brother had things under control for a while. But he just had to go seduce that holy daughter from the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society. In the end, he tried to flee the marriage, but failed. The Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society gathered enough evidence to track him down and drag him back from where he was hiding overseas. [3]
“Now he’s stuck in the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society, forced to live like a normal person. How tragic! Well, that’s what you get when your cultivation base is too low.” Sir Bloodsmelter actually looked angry. “If his cultivation base was high enough, he would be more like your Master. One glare from your Master is enough to cow any daoist partner and even her family!”
An odd look appeared in Xu Qing’s eyes as he looked at the patriarch, and he started wondering if there was a hidden meaning to the patriarch's words.
“Anyway, your Third Elder Brother is in a really tragic situation, but your Master doesn’t feel like wasting the time to go save him. Me either.
“As for your Eldest Brother... I have no idea when it happened exactly, but sometime recently he suddenly became obsessed with lust. In fact, roughly half a year ago, he sent a message to your Master asking him to propose a marriage with some woman named... Tao something. He ignores his responsibilities, refuses to be a good swordsage, refuses to focus on his cultivation, and cares only about lust!”
Xu Qing blinked a few times and refrained from saying anything.
“But you, Fourth Sib, are a perfect example. It’s not that we cultivators should completely sever sensual desires. Rather, they aren’t the focus. The cultivation base is the most important thing.
“Once you reach Void Returning, you won’t have to go looking for a daoist partner. The tall ones, short ones, fat ones, skinny ones, in fact, every type of female cultivator will line up hoping you pick them. Trust me, I know a thing or two. Just take my advice and work hard!”
Sir Bloodsmelter’s words seemed very sincere and heartfelt.
However, Xu Qing, after hesitating a moment, cautiously asked, “But Second Elder Sister and Huang Yan... aren’t they—”
“That’s different!” Sir Bloodsmelter cleared his throat and looked out at Qingqin. Apparently, he was done with the conversation.
Xu Qing was a little surprised. But then he noticed what Sir Bloodsmelter was looking at, and it reminded him of the time he’d looked at Huang Yan using the Seven Blood Eyes taboo treasure, and how Huang Yan had seemingly noticed him. Even back then, he’d gotten the impression there was something unusual about Huang Yan. [4]
I remember Huang Yan saying something about having a friend in the county capital who was going to watch out for me .... Upon recalling that, an outrageous notion occurred to Xu Qing that got his heart pounding. He suddenly looked at Qingqin. Xu Qing had always been confused about why Qingqin so readily agreed to help him. After mulling the matter over a bit, he shoved it aside and decided to just ask Qingqin about it later when the time was right. [5]
In that manner, time passed.
As arranged by the Swordsage Court, the grand army of Emperor-Receiving Prefecture used a long-range teleportation to shorten the trip to Injustice Prefecture. Three days later, the army reached a point that was only about six hours from the other prefecture.
During the three days, Xu Qing spent most of his time with Sir Bloodsmelter, catching up on all the sect matters he had missed during his time away.
Other bits of time were spent with the grand elder from the Swordsage Palace, informing him of what he had learned in the Secretariat Division about the Forbidden by the Garment situation. Using that information, they formed a general strategy.
“Forbidden by the Garment in Injustice Prefecture is right next to the Garmentfolk territory,” Xu Qing said. “It’s not a jungle, but rather, an enormous pitch-black funerary garment. The funerary garment is extremely inauspicious, and is full of mutagen. Living beings who enter it find themselves in another world, a bizarre place of infinite dusk.
“On a fundamental level, this disaster comes down to that black funerary garment awakening. Those bearing the brunt of the disaster are not the human sects and the Swordsage Court of Injustice Prefecture, but rather, the Garmentfolk. The Garmentfolk aren’t an original native species of Injustice Prefecture. They’re a new species that came into existence in Forbidden by the Garment, after the broken face of the god arrived.
“They despise death and love beauty, so the environment of Forbidden by the Garment wasn’t appropriate for them. They split ways and became a unique species, which is why they and Forbidden by the Garment are as intolerant of each other as water and fire. It goes without saying that the Garmentfolk stand guard over Forbidden by the Garment.
“The major powers of Injustice Prefecture have teamed up, and thanks to their hard work, Forbidden by the Garment is almost completely sealed. Based on the estimates sent by the Swordsage Court, most of the work is done.”
That was the gist of the information Qing Qiu had compiled for Xu Qing back in the Secretariat Division. Though the grand elder knew some of the details, his information wasn’t as comprehensive.
“In that case,” the grand elder said, “with our help, things should go as they did with Forbidden by the Zombie. We should be able to complete the sealing fairly quickly.”
Xu Qing nodded and glanced at August Spirit Nethersprite, who had shrunk down to the size of a normal person and stood behind the grand elder. As a prisoner, she had no personal freedom, and had been required to come with the army. Seeing Xu Qing looking at her, she hmphed and looked away.
Xu Qing looked away and focused on the discussion with the grand elder. Eventually, when the army got even closer to Injustice Prefecture, he returned to Qingqin’s right head.
Right when they were about to cross the border, Xu Qing remembered the question he’d been planning to ask. Lowering his voice, he said, “Senior Qingqin. Sir... do you know Huang Yan?”
“CAW?” Qingqin’s three heads, which had all been preening each other, suddenly turned to look at Xu Qing. They all blinked a few times.
Seeing Qingqin’s gaze upon him, Xu Qing said, “Senior Qingqin, maybe we should communicate via divine will...?”
“CAW!” Qingqin’s eyes flashed with displeasure. Apparently, he was determined to speak only by means of his caws. All three heads shook back and forth, and he was about to let loose another caw when, all of a sudden, all three heads swiveled to look toward the horizon.
It wasn’t just Qingqin. The entire army immediately pulsed with the fluctuations of magical techniques, all focused on the horizon.
They had arrived in Injustice Prefecture.
There was a reason why everyone in the army was so focused on what was ahead. There was an extremely strong aura of death coming from Injustice Prefecture, so strong that it changed the color of the sky. In fact, it changed the color of everything.
Xu Qing remembered what Injustice Prefecture looked like, especially the part controlled by the Garmentfolk. The Garmentfolk occupied at least twenty percent of Injustice Prefecture, and because of them, the lands were usually very colorful and beautiful. But right now... everything looked like it was covered with an ash-colored white. It was an enormous white shroud! [6]
1. Xu Qing saw the bronze door and the hand inchapter 385 . ?
2. Xu Qing saw the zither inchapter 383 . ?
3. It was a passing comment, but the subject of Third Elder Brother running away to avoid being forced into marriage was mentioned inchapter 383 . ?
4. Huang Yan noticed Xu Qing looking at him with the taboo treasure inchapter 383 and384 . ?
5. Huang Yan mentioned his friend in the county capital inchapter 380 . ?
6. You might remember a while back in the story when Xu Qing acquired a strip of a shroud that he used to make the handle for his dagger. That’s actually a slightly different word in Chinese than this one, though they both mean the same thing. The other shroud, which first appeared inchapter 344 , uses the more common and proper word for shroud which, in Chinese, literally means “corpse-wrapping cloth.” The word for shroud in this very similar, and basically means the same thing, but uses a character that means “cover” instead of “wrap,” so directly translated it’s “corpse-covering cloth.” None of this is particularly important, but I just wanted to make sure nobody makes a connection between this shroud and the other one, at least in terms of them having the same name, because in Chinese they do not have exactly the same name. And to forestall any comments about translation choice, I know there are a handful of synonyms for ‘shroud,’ but in my opinion they’re too obscure, and in this instance, it makes more sense to use an easily understandable word. ?