Chapter 919: Don’t Work With Shysters
“As for your Eldest Brother, after we finish, you can have him back.” Lan Yao spoke in a calm, light tone, but her words were so shocking that both Feng Lintao and Xu Qing reacted with visible shock.
And Feng Lintao immediately snapped, “That’s not going to happen!”
“Oh?” Lan Yao said with a sweet smile. “Could it be that you have other tactics at your disposal, Fellow Daoist Feng, plus the confidence to kill this person without ending up hurting yourself? If so, then I’m on board.”
Xu Qing said nothing. He just looked down with glittering eyes.
Feng Lintao hesitated as numerous thoughts ran through his head. But in the end, he had to admit that Lan Yao was right, and her idea seemed the best way to end the impasse. In fact, it was the perfect way to resolve things. They feared Xu Qing’s trump cards, but also couldn’t let him go. It wasn’t a simple situation to deal with, nor something that could be resolved with ordinary tactics. Fighting wasn’t the solution either. Bringing Xu Qing in as an ally seemed the best option.
As for what would happen further on down the line, that would depend on how everything unfolded.
The biggest worry Feng Lintao had was that Lan Yao had other motives. But there wasn’t anything he could do about that. Plus, he was the one who had this little punk’s Eldest Brother captive.... In other words, he had the initiative and the upper hand. After some thought, the grim look on Feng Lintao’s face vanished, to be replaced with a smile.
“That makes sense, Fellow Daoist Lan. Given this person’s battle prowess, he definitely qualifies to work with us. What do you think, human Fellow Daoist? Are you willing to join us? It will be an immense good fortune for you!”
His grip on the Captain’s neck loosened. The Captain shivered, and a frown appeared on his face, as if he were feeling pain despite being unconscious.
Xu Qing looked at the Captain and mulled the matter over. If it weren’t for the fact that he had full faith in the Captain’s acting abilities, and knew him very well, he would actually believe that the Captain was hovering on the brink of death. Of course, he gave no indication of what he was thinking. As for the current situation....Inside, Xu Qing was laughing coldly, but outside, he grimaced, making it look like had no desire at all to join them, but for the sake of a fellow disciple, he was hesitating to shoot the rat for fear of breaking the vases .
“How do I know you’ll actually let my Eldest Brother go after the job is done?” he asked.
“That’s simple,” Lan Yao said. “Fellow Daoist Feng can swear an oath.” She looked at Feng Lintao.
Feng Lintao said nothing, making it hard to determine what he was thinking. But in the end, he nodded. Looking at Xu Qing, he quickly swore an oath that came with some serious negative effects if he violated it. Of course, the oath would only go into effect after Xu Qing agreed to join them.
Xu Qing still hesitated. “How do I know you don’t have some secret ways of getting around your oath without ramifications?”
Lan Yao frowned. So did Feng Lintao.
Xu Qing’s expression of suspicion wasn’t exactly surprising. In fact, if he hadn’t said something like that, they would have found it suspicious. And either of them would have said similar things were they in his position.
That said, Feng Lintao made sure to look displeased and even angry. He snorted coldly. “Don’t push things too far! We’ve already made some concessions. If you keep being stubborn, then don’t blame me for just killing your Eldest Brother. And if it wasn’t for me worrying about getting hurt, I’d do the same to you! If you insist on trying to wheedle out more advantages, then maybe I’ll just risk injuring myself to put an end to you!”
Feng Lintao’s killing intent began to bubble along with his cold words.
Lan Yao said nothing, but her eyes turned extremely cold, which indicated her attitude.
After a long moment passed, Xu Qing said, “I guess an oath is good enough. So, what is this mission of yours, Fellow Daoists?”
Upon hearing that Xu Qing would accept the oath, Feng Lintao’s face softened a bit, and Lan Yao smiled.
“That’s good to hear,” Lan Yao said. “As of this moment, we’re on the same side. May I ask your esteemed name, Fellow Daoist?”
“Sir Firedark,” Xu Qing said quietly.
“This isn’t a good place to discuss the details, Fellow Daoist Firedark,” Lan Yao continued with a broad smile. “Why don’t we continue traveling, and we can explain along the way?”
Xu Qing sighed softly but nodded.
The three of them turned into bright beams of light that shot off into the distance. Of course, they all kept some space between each other.
Along the way, Lan Yao explained what they were doing, though it was impossible to say how much of her explanation was real and how much was fake. A few days later, the three of them reached a huge ravine in the southwestern part of Fardark County.
The ravine was massive, like an enormous black scar across the land, going down so far it was impossible to see the bottom. Mists swirled within it, and the mutagen levels were very high. Everything in the area was withered, and it was possible to occasionally hear screams echo from the ravine that would cause one’s soul to tremble.
Feng Lintao alighted at the edge of the ravine, still holding the Captain in his hand. He hadn’t loosened his grip any further during the journey. Looking down into the ravine, his eyes glittered with excitement.
“This is the place.”
Lan Yao took a few steps forward until she was standing at the very edge of the ravine. She looked down.
Xu Qing stood several dozen meters away looking at the ravine, thinking about the mission the two of them had explained along the way.
Fardark nectar, huh?
He had never heard of such a thing before. Based on what Lan Yao and Feng Lintao had said, fardark nectar came from the quintessence of the fardark fruit tree. Before the broken face came, it was considered a precious treasure, and was even more effective than the fardark fruit. It was also considered a holy object to the Fardark species.
Back then, the Fardark species built a necropolis beneath the Fardark Fruit Tree, formed from the innumerable roots of that tree. That was also the location of something called Fardark Cistern. Every hundred years, the cistern would be opened, allowing the fardark nectar to be harvested. That said, it only amounted to a few hundred drops of the nectar.
The nectar did the same thing as the fardark fruits, except that it was hundreds of times as effective: it would provide indescribable benefits to anyone seeking enlightenment of magical laws. In fact, it was so effective that, in the past, people would go to great lengths to get a single drop. Unfortunately, after the Fardark Fruit Tree was destroyed, the nectar became even more valuable.
Fardark County really was known to produce fardark fruits in the past....
As Xu Qing contemplated all that, Lan Yao spoke up.
“Fellow Daoist Feng,” she said, “if you hadn’t allowed me to take a look at the ancient slip with your bloodline legacy information, I would never have believed that precious treasures like that even existed!”
“Back before the Fardark species left Revered Ancient,” Feng Lintao said coolly, “they really did drain the cistern and destroy the tree. As a result, fardark fruits and nectar became extinct in Revered Ancient. Their plan was to take the branches of the tree and replant them in the holy lands. Unfortunately, the replanting efforts in the Fardark holy land ended up failing. As it turns out, the tree couldn’t grow outside of Revered Ancient.
“Later, Holy Ancestor Fardark unexpectedly perished, resulting in the Fardark holy land breaking up and being distributed among different parties. I’m a half-blooded Farkdark, and my paternal grandfather happened to survive the catastrophe. Only by activating my Devilbird bloodline was I able to reach the Devilbird holy land.
“What’s more, no one had any idea that I’m actually a descendant of the very same person responsible for wiping out the tree. And during the chaos of his mission back then, he secretly spared some of the tree roots.... He did it all in the hopes of staging a comeback for his line of the species. Before he passed away into meditation, he passed this secret on to someone else. Right now, I’m the only person who knows the truth.”
Xu Qing didn’t say anything as this conversation played out. Instead, he tried to determine how much of the story was true and how much wasn’t.
Meanwhile, Lan Yao nodded, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. “The ordinary fardark nectar doesn’t seem like it’s worth much, Fellow Daoist. What sounds really interesting is the holy fardark nectar you mentioned.”
Feng Lintao grinned. “I’d say there’s a high likelihood it’s here! After all, tens of thousands of years have passed, and my ancestor hid those roots very well. Unless something truly unexpected happened in the meantime, there should be a big stockpile of fardark nectar. And after it lays settled for long enough, it will turn into holy fardark nectar.”
Xu Qing’s pupils constricted.
Feng Lintao glanced at Xu Qing and then looked back at Lan Yao.
“Once we’re down inside,” he went on, “I’ll open the warding spell. All you need to do, Fellow Daoist Lan, is act as my dharma protector. Also, you need to make sure you honor the deal we made.”
Lan Yao smiled and tucked away a stray hair that the wind had blown loose. “Don’t worry, Fellow Daoist Feng,” she said in a leisurely tone. “The whole reason you came to me for help is that you needed that item of my husband’s, right? Of course I would never go back on the deal we made.”
Feng Lintao nodded. Saying nothing further, he waved his hand, causing an immense wave of force to spread out. It turned into the image of a five-colored peacock, which dropped down into the ravine.
Rumbling sounds filled the ravine as the black mist roiled to the side. A path opened.
Feng Lintao shot down into the depths.
“After you, Fellow Daoist Firedark,” Lan Yao said, looking at Xu Qing.
Saying nothing, Xu Qing walked forward and dropped down into the path through the mist. A moment later, there was no sign of him.
Xu Qing’s cautious manner caused Lan Yao’s eyes to glitter. After glancing off into the distance, she stepped forward and dropped down the path.
***
Sometime after the three of them were gone, the mist closed back up and everything went back to normal. However, the screams coming out of the mists briefly grew more intense. Then things went completely silent.
A few hours later, a figure approached the ravine from off in the distance.
It was a woman. She was beautiful and had a gentle disposition, along with fair, flawless skin. Behind her graceful frame were two wings. Her clothing was exactly the same as that worn by Lan Yao and Feng Lintao. It was black with golden embroidery. Combined with her immortal-like appearance, it made her seem unusually lofty. Especially noteworthy were her glittering eyes, and the sharp gaze with which she studied the area.
That Feng Lintao really is paranoid. He didn’t just set up void eyes here, he also left behind a will of space-demolishing, and also some Nobleplexus holy energy.... He really wants to be able to tell if anyone shows up in this area. Of course... with the preparations I’ve made, none of that will do anything.
This woman was the very same person who had previously been with Feng Lintao and Lan Yao. Her name was Yue Dong! Eyes flashing, she walked forward and dropped down into the misty ravine, where she disappeared without a trace....