Chapter 82: Countless Movements Became Sinister
Back at the scavenger basecamp, Xu Qing had often charged a fee to provide help to others. Although his rate was a bit dramatic on this occasion, he didn’t feel uncomfortable about it at all. He was under no obligation to provide help, and therefore, it made sense that he would charge more money to someone who gave him an attitude.
Upon hearing his words, Elder Sister Ding looked thoughtful, while Zhao Zhongheng’s expression turned grimmer. Zhao Zhongheng even seemed inclined to say something in response, but didn’t. In the past, he would definitely have made a sarcastic comment, but right now, he was hesitating.
Xu Qing looked over the group, and when it seemed like they weren’t going to pay him, he didn’t say anything further, and just turned his boat around to leave. However, that was when Elder Sister Ding spoke up.
“No problem!” she said. Waving her hand, she summoned her own dharmaboat, a beautiful craft that resembled a willow leaf and pulsed with impressive spirit power. Leaping onto it, she sent it toward Xu Qing.
Stunned, Zhao Zhongheng stammered, “Elder Sister, y-you....”
Elder Sister Ding didn’t spare a second glance for Zhao Zhongheng. As she neared Xu Qing, the creeping vines in the area swarmed toward her. In the blink of an eye, she seemed to be in great danger.
Xu Qing waved his hand, sending out a black bolus to land right in front of Elder Sister Ding. Instantly, the vines backed away, allowing her clear passage. Once she was next to him, she jumped onto his dharmaboat and collected her own back up. Of course, she was actually standing precariously on top of his dharmaboat’s defensive shield.
Frowning, Xu Qing looked at her.
“Thank you for your help, Junior Brother. I’m Ding Xue. I’m fairly certain I’m older than you, so you can call me Elder Sister. My dharmaboat isn’t suited to travel in this area, so I’d really like to spend an additional twenty spirit stones for safe passage with you.” [1]
Elder Sister Ding was already getting a sense of Xu Qing’s personality. With a sweet smile, she produced a Sixth Peak spirit note worth 40 spirit stones and offered it to Xu Qing.
Xu Qing glanced at the note, scanned Elder Sister Ding’s cultivation base, and then quickly studied her throat. Finally, he created a small opening in the defenses, allowing her to drop down onto the deck. Then he waved his hand, causing the spirit note to fly over to him.
After confirming it was authentic, he didn’t say anything further. He put the note in his sack, then got his dharmaboat moving again. He wasn’t worried that she had any ill intentions; after all, the moment she stepped onto his boat, she was infected by his poison. That said, the poison required interaction with other poisons to become active.
As the setting sun shone over Xu Qing’s dharmaboat, he stood tall and straight, looking incomparably handsome. Next to him stood Elder Sister Ding, slender and beautiful, her hair swaying in the wind. It was an amazing sight.
Meanwhile, back on Zhao Zhongheng’s boat, there was no such beautiful image. Furthermore, the wind caused Elder Sister Ding’s tender voice to float right back to Zhao Zhongheng.
“What should I call you, little Junior Brother? This dharmaboat of yours is amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it. Say, little Junior Brother, what department do you work for?”
Zhao Zhongheng was already getting very anxious. After all, he had expended painstaking effort just to get Elder Sister Ding out onto his boat. Feeling very frustrated, he gritted his teeth and took out a red paper talisman.
Shockingly, it was a talisman treasure!
Seeing that Elder Sister Ding was leaving with Xu Qing, he threw the talisman out onto the water. It instantly ignited, releasing a huge wave of energy that rolled out in all directions.
The vines surrounding The Phoenix were caught in the explosion; many of them directly collapsed, while the others retracted rapidly.
Taking advantage of the moment, Zhao Zhongheng shouted, “Elder Sister, wait for me!”
As the words left his mouth, he sent The Phoenix shooting off at top speed, not holding anything back. As for his friends in the other boats, they all started crying for help.
“You wait here,” he yelled back. “I already contacted my grandfather, he’ll send people soon to save you.”
Having no more time to waste on them, he left them behind. Unfortunately, there were just too many creeping vines in the area, and they quickly started entangling him again. Heart aching, Zhao Zhongheng threw out more talisman treasures.
As the talismans exploded, clearing a path through the vines, he got closer to Xu Qing.
The sound of the explosions finally caused Elder Sister Ding to look away from Xu Qing and over her shoulder. When she saw The Phoenix and Zhao Zhongheng, as well as all the explosions, she laughed coldly.
“I didn’t ask you to follow me, Zhao Zhongheng. You offered to take me to the Westcoral Archipelago. I told you to take a different route, but you insisted on going your way. I could have dealt with being stuck, especially since you said there was nothing you could do about it. But as it turns out, you did have a way to get us free. You just didn’t want to use it!”
Zhao Zhongheng looked at her bitterly. The bravado he’d shown when first going out to sea was completely gone.
“You don’t understand, Elder Sister,” he said. “My grandfather... he gave me these life-saving talismans for emergency use only. I hardly have any left....”
Elder Sister Ding snorted coldly, looked away, and completely ignored him.
Zhao Zhongheng was getting even more anxious, as he didn’t dare to offend Elder Sister Ding. And the more he looked at Xu Qing’s dharmaboat, the more he disliked it. However, he could tell that Xu Qing was strong, so therefore, he suppressed his anger and threw out a few more talismans. Finally, he broke free and was able to get close to Xu Qing’s dharmaboat.
“Elder Sister, please, come back and join me,” he said. “I know I messed up....”
It seemed as if Elder Sister Ding hadn’t even heard him. Smiling sweetly at Xu Qing, she said, “Junior Brother Xu, are you hungry? I have some snacks here.”
With that, she took out a small box from her bag of holding.
Face completely expressionless, Xu Qing shook his head and looked over at her. “Elder Sister Ding, we’re free from the creeping vines now. Please disembark.”
Hearing his words, Zhao Zhongheng started to get excited, and mused to himself that Xu Qing apparently did have some tact. Then he looked at Elder Sister Ding with high expectations.
“Where are you heading, Junior Brother Xu?” Elder Sister Ding asked sweetly. “Maybe the two of us are going in the same direction?”
Zhao Zhongheng’s expression turned unsightly again.
Xu Qing frowned.
Seeing Xu Qing’s reaction, Elder Sister Ding’s eyes narrowed slightly. After a moment of thought, she hesitantly continued, “Let me explain, Junior Brother Xu. I’m heading to the Westcoral Archipelago. It’s about five days from here. If it’s too far out of your way, we can part ways. But if it’s convenient for you, I’d like to offer 200 spirit stones for safe passage. Does that work for you, Junior Brother?”
With that, she pulled out two spirit notes and looked at Xu Qing, her beautiful eyes glittering.
Xu Qing looked at the spirit notes and his heart started to beat a bit faster. He never could have guessed that his sea outing would result in making so many spirit stones in one day. He was heading to Sealizard Island, which was so close to the Westcoral Archipelago it was almost part of it. So naturally, it would be convenient to give her a ride. If she had simply asked for free passage, he would have refused. But since she was offering 200 spirit stones....
Although 200 spirit stones was a lot of money, this was his boat, and according to the traditions of the sect, he was responsible for the safety of anyone onboard. In other words, giving Elder Sister Ding passage was like accepting a temporary mission. The open sea was a dangerous place, and this mission was somewhat urgent. Therefore, it wasn’t unusual at all that he would charge a spirit stone fee.
Having reached this point in his train of thought, he nodded.
Elder Sister Ding’s smile became even more radiant as she handed the spirit notes to Xu Qing. Meanwhile, back on The Phoenix, Zhao Zhongheng looked completely miserable. Though he knew that Xu Qing was an extraordinary person, he couldn’t keep the fury from showing in his eyes.
Xu Qing completely ignored Zhao Zhongheng’s glare, and just sent his dharmaboat speeding forward.
Xu Qing was actually in a great mood. 200 spirit stones was a very tidy profit. However, he felt a bit out of sorts as Elder Sister Ding just kept talking and talking, asking all sorts of questions. In fact, there seemed no end to her questions, and most of them revolved around personal information. Also, she kept staring at his face, which he found somewhat annoying. For the most part, he ignored her.
However, the more he ignored her, the friendlier she got. All he could do was try to get a bit more speed out of his dharmaboat in the hopes of ending the journey sooner.
Meanwhile, Zhao Zhongheng felt like he was going to explode. The fire in his eyes and the fire in his heart seemed like they might erupt into real flames. That was especially true when he thought about all of his hard work, including asking his grandfather to talk with Elder Sister Ding’s family to allow the two of them to go out alone.... And now an Offpeak disciple was reaping all the rewards. He felt like he was going mad, like all the frustration within him was about to erupt from within his heart.
That stinking shrew! I let her on my boat for free, but now she’s throwing away money to ride with some pretty boy? It’s obviously because she likes him. Is she blind? I’m obviously exponentially better than that little punk!
Spirit stones? I have too many to count. Status? I’m a conclave disciple! Background? My grandfather is an elder on the Seventh Peak! That brat can’t compare to me at all. In fact, he can’t even compare to a single hair from my head.
What’s impressive about him, other than that Forbidden Sea dragonwhale? He’s got nothing! He’s just some Offpeak egghead. So what if he’s good-looking? Being good-looking doesn’t put food in your stomach!!
As Zhao Zhongheng stewed in his jealousy, the sun sank toward the horizon and dusk spread.
When the sun set over the sea, everything became more profound and mysterious. There was still a faint red glow on the horizon, illuminating the waves, making the scene look like a beautiful painting. The glowing light made the waves seem like rolling flames, one cresting the other.
Eventually, the fire in the sky faded away, and the flames on the water died out. Everything turned dark. The waves subsided into ripples, and the wind eased, making everything very quiet and peaceful.
It wasn’t safe for boats to move about at night. There were far more dangers than during the day, and therefore, Xu Qing stopped and lay anchor. Meanwhile, Elder Sister Ding pulled out some food, smiled sweetly, and offered him some.
Xu Qing declined her offer, went into the cabin, and activated the cabin’s defenses. Elder Sister Ding didn’t seem the least bit offended by Xu Qing’s cold demeanor. In fact, she smiled, sat down cross-legged in front of the cabin, and said, “Junior Brother Xu, you’re going to work on your cultivation? I’ll sit as dharma protector for you!”
On The Phoenix, Zhao Zhongheng once again felt like he was going mad. Looking over at the beautiful Elder Sister Ding, he called, “Elder Sister, I have some fresh fish that we could—“
“Not interested,” she interrupted coolly.
“Elder Sister, I—“
“Don’t need it.”
“I—“
“Could you keep it down?” she said, glaring at him impatiently. “Don’t interrupt Junior Brother Xu’s cultivation.”
Zhao Zhongheng’s face darkened, and he gnashed his teeth as he glared at the cabin. By now, the madness in his heart was at a peak level. However, there was nothing he could do but sit down in a huff and start meditating. And thus, time passed, until it was deep in the night.
Being wrapped up in meditation, the three of them didn’t notice something very unusual happening.
It seemed like countless twinkling stars on the surface of the water, slowly transforming into shadowy figures. It was almost as if... the darkness of the Forbidden Sea was set aside for these figures as a profound and mysterious realm of dream.
However, as the shadowy figures rose into the sky, their expressions turned vicious, until they were like evil ghosts. Some seemed to be people who had died of drowning. Others looked like rotting beasts. Before, they had been resting peacefully, but now they had become vicious, and they released piercing cries that shook the soul. Anyone who heard their miserable cries would feel their scalp tingling from shock.
Soon, the dream... became a nightmare!
Everyone opened their eyes.
Zhao Zhongheng looked around, his pupils constricting, while Elder Sister Ding appeared somber as she rested her hand on her bag of holding.
Xu Qing walked out on the deck, looking around sharply. What he saw was countless evil ghosts, madly flying high into the sky, almost as if they had been summoned.
Hordes of them. Filling the area.
Gloomy and sinister. Strange and gruish.
It was a case of... ghosts haunting the night.
Xu Qing looked up at the numerous evil ghosts letting loose piercing cries. As he did, he recalled a passage in the sea annals which described this phenomenon..
“There is a fantastic symphony in the endless sea; mortals are unable to hear it; it accompanies Crimson Yang the golden crow; countless movements become a song; it is called Natural Sounds Welcome the Moon.
“The god loved it; the god's eyes gazed upon it; the endless sea became forbidden; countless movements became sinister.
“Disciples of our sect who encounter it, shall not engage, shall not touch, shall not disturb....” [2]
The sea annals went on to recount a story that taught Seven Blood Eyes disciples that the sea surrounding the continent of South Phoenix was originally called the Sea of Endlessness.
Many years in the past, before the broken face of the god came to the dome of heaven, a strange symphony could sometimes be heard on the never-ending sea. It was a very unusual symphony that ordinary people couldn’t hear. Only cultivators could catch snippets of it drifting across the water.
The story explained the details of the symphony’s origin.
The sun in the sky wasn’t a star, it was actually a huge golden crow. A divine bird. Its name was Crimson Yang, and every day it would fly out from its palace in the depths of the Sea of Endlessness. At night, it would return to the same place. That cycle continued endlessly. It was as if the divine bird had been given a mission it would never deviate from.
Every night when it returned to its palace, the musicians there would play a symphony. That music contained countless symphonic movements that combined into a dreamlike illusion. The name of the symphony was Natural Sounds Welcome the Moon.
When the symphony played, the moon would rise into the sky, and would take Crimson Yang’s place to patrol heaven and earth.
One day, the broken face of the god arrived. The god heard the symphony and liked it. Then the god’s eyes half-opened looked in the direction of the music’s origin. That gaze caused the Sea of Endlessness to boil as unimaginable levels of mutagen erupted there. As the Sea of Endlessness filled with mutagen, it changed into the Forbidden Sea.
The countless movements that made up the symphony also came under assault. The music became sinister, deathlike. Ghostly.
That was why it came to be that countless ghosts would occasionally haunt the night.
1. Ding Xue: Ding is listed #48 on the 100 most common Chinese surnames. Her surname is the same as Ding Xiaohai (the number one figure from the Seventh Peak, the same one Zhou Qingpeng recently started working with). Xue means “snow.” Being a two-character name with common characters, it’s not very unusual, and Madam Deathblade says it sounds “cute.” The fact that Ding Xue and Ding Xiaohai share a surname indicates they could be related. Or they might not be. ☜
2. Just in case you’re aren’t familiar with symphony nomenclature, a “movement” is a musical subsection of a symphony. ☜