Chapter 110 - 107: Mission Over
Chapter 110: Chapter 107: Mission Over
The next few days were not peaceful for the He family’s main compound.
Demon Beasts came almost every day.
Sometimes it was during the day, when two or three Tier One Low Grade Gray Iguanas would climb over the northern wall, screeching and scurrying about after being discovered by the on-duty He family Cultivators. Other times it was at night, with Tier One Middle Grade Iron-Spine Hyenas ramming the stone walls, their claws scraping white marks into the surface.
On another occasion, three unidentified Cultivators snuck to the outside of the He family’s eastern perimeter wall under the cover of darkness. After being spotted by the Investigation Array, the two sides clashed at the base of the wall. The attackers fled, abandoning a wounded Qi Refining Third Level comrade.
Li Yuan was always swift to act.
He had already familiarized himself with the layout of the He family compound. He knew by heart which direction saw the most intruders and the distances from his stone house to every part of the perimeter.
The Fireball Technique and Fire Arrow Skill remained his mainstays. A single blast was enough to deal with a Tier One Low Grade Demon Beast, while two or three were sufficient for a Tier One Middle Grade one.
The real headache for the He family Cultivators wasn’t the difficulty of any single battle, but the frequency.
The attacks were nearly incessant, with a new wave arriving every so often.
The He family Cultivators took turns on guard duty, their expressions worsening with each passing day. Two young Qi Refining Second Level clansmen were already showing signs of Spiritual Power exhaustion.
Li Yuan, however, was unaffected. His Spiritual Power reserves were far more abundant than anyone in the He family, and his recovery rate, boosted by his various unique traits, was also fast. After several battles, he was barely even out of breath.
But he wasn’t idle either.
After killing a Demon Beast, Li Yuan would always do one extra thing.
He would take out a few small porcelain vials he had prepared in advance from his storage bag, crouch beside the Demon Beast’s corpse, slice open the flesh of its neck with a short blade to find the main blood vessel, and collect the dark blood that gushed out into the vials.
The Gray Iguana’s blood was on the colder side, with a raw, earthy, and metallic tang.
The Iron-Spine Hyena’s blood was thick and dark, and its temperature was considerably higher than that of the lizards.
The Horned Lizard’s blood was the darkest in color, almost pure black, and had a pungent metallic smell if you got close.
There was also a Unihorned Snake Badger that had charged in from who knows where; its blood had the faint scent of sulfur.
He collected a small vial of each, sealed them with stoppers, marked them, and stored them in his storage bag.
After five days, Li Yuan had collected the blood of four different Demon Beasts.
On the morning of his fifth day on guard duty, He Qing appeared at Li Yuan’s door.
Unlike the previous times, he wasn’t in a hurry. In fact, his steps had slowed.
The weariness was still on his face, but the taut anxiety that had always been present had faded.
Li Yuan pushed open the door and saw He Qing standing on the steps outside, with two other people next to him.
They weren’t from the He family.
The two Cultivators wore bluish-gray robes, their auras calm and restrained—Late-stage Qi Refining.
People from the Wang family.
He Qing nodded at Li Yuan.
"You don’t have to stand guard anymore."
His voice was no longer hoarse, but it held no sense of relief.
"The family has discussed it. We’re preparing to move."
Li Yuan looked at him.
He Qing took a step back and gestured with his chin toward the meeting hall deeper in the courtyard.
"People from the Wang family have arrived. They’re talking with the Patriarch now. The entire clan is moving to a place under the Wang family’s protection. We’re abandoning the Spirit Fields, the medicinal gardens, the Arrays... all of it."
He said this in a flat tone, as if stating a matter that had already been settled.
Li Yuan didn’t reply.
He Qing didn’t explain further, simply adding another sentence.
"We owe you our thanks for these past few days."
Li Yuan grunted in acknowledgment.
One of the two Wang family Cultivators took two steps toward Li Yuan and clasped his hands in a formal salute.
"You are Li Yuan?"
"I am."
"Your guard mission ends today."
The Cultivator took a thin document from his sleeve and handed it over. "This is the settlement for your service and your additional reward. You can collect the Spirit Stones and Contribution Points at the administration office. Also—"
He paused for a moment.
"The clan has approved a spot for you. You may go to the Scripture Pavilion and choose one Cultivation Technique."
Li Yuan took the document and glanced at it. It bore the Wang family’s seal, and its contents matched what the man had said.
"When can I go?"
"There’s no rush. The spot is reserved for you; you can go whenever you like."
Li Yuan put the document away, nodded at He Qing, and turned to go back into his room to pack.
He packed his storage bag and left the stone house tidy.
When he walked out of the He family’s courtyard gate, the yard was already a hive of activity. The He family’s Cultivators and mortal clan members were hauling trunks and cages, piling them near the entrance. A few small children, holding their parents’ hands, stood in a corner, their wide eyes watching the surrounding chaos.
The few Late-stage Qi Refining Cultivators from the Wang family were scattered around the courtyard. Some were speaking in low tones with the He family Patriarch, while others were taking inventory of the relocation supplies.
Without looking back, Li Yuan walked along the mountain path toward the mining camp.
The gravel path crunched under his feet. The bushes on either side were denser than when he had arrived, and in some places, branches reached out onto the path.
After walking for the better part of the day, the outline of the mining camp appeared ahead.
The earthen wall was still the same earthen wall, and the wooden shed was still the same wooden shed. The entrances to the three mine shafts were dark, and the occasional CLINK-CLANK of hammering could be heard.
But there were fewer people.
Li Yuan noticed it as soon as he entered the mining camp.
Under the wooden shed, only Old Zhou was sorting ore. The post for monitoring the Investigation Array was empty, unmanned.
Steward Liu came around from the low-built house, holding half a bowl of water in his hand. He stopped when he saw Li Yuan.
"You’re back?"
"I’m back."
Li Yuan placed his storage bag in the low-built house, then came back out and sat on a stone stool under the wooden shed.
"Where is everyone?"
Steward Liu sat down opposite him, placing the bowl on his lap.
"Two more were reassigned."
He gestured toward the mine shafts with his fingers.
"Cultivator Lü and another at the Qi Refining Fourth Level were transferred to the front lines last week. The mining camp is now down to just me, Old Zhou, Sun Liang, and you. Four of us in total."
He took a sip of water.
"Oh, right. Those prisoners we were holding were also taken away. Some people from the Wang family came to collect them. Didn’t say what for."
Li Yuan grunted in acknowledgment.
"No incidents at the mining camp recently?"
"Nothing major." Steward Liu placed the bowl on the ground. "We had one Demon Beast attack—two Tier One Low Grade ones. Sun Liang and Old Zhou managed to drive them off. As for people... haven’t run into any."
He glanced at Li Yuan.
"What about you? How are things at the He family’s place?"
"They’ve moved. The whole clan moved over to the Wang family’s territory."
Steward Liu was stunned for a moment, then shook his head.
"I suppose they had no choice."
He sighed.
"A family of that size, without even a single Late-stage Qi Refining cultivator... in a chaotic situation like this, they’re at the mercy of others. Moving under the Wang family’s wing will at least preserve their lives."
"It’s strange, though. The He family is skilled with Arrays, and they aren’t a small power, yet they’ve never been able to grow."
Li Yuan brought up another matter.
"The reward for guarding the He family includes a spot for the Scripture Pavilion. I can choose one Cultivation Technique."
A flicker of interest showed in Steward Liu’s eyes. He tapped his knee twice with his finger.
"Let me tell you something, just for your consideration."
He leaned forward half a step, lowering his voice.
"Don’t be in a hurry to use that spot."
Li Yuan looked at him.
"I know you’re from the marketplace. The Scripture Pavilion there has a lot of things, but most of it is common fare. They have all the usual Cultivation Techniques, Magic, and skills, but as for the uncommon stuff, it’s hard to say."
Steward Liu rubbed his hands together.
"But if you can get transferred somewhere else later, say, to the Talisman Hall, then it’s a different story."
"The Talisman Hall has its own Scripture Pavilion?"
"It does." Steward Liu nodded. "The Wang family’s Talisman Hall is a specialized department for creating talismans. It has its own independent Scripture Pavilion, which stores only Cultivation Techniques and methods related to talisman crafting. In terms of quality and quantity, its collection on the Talisman Dao is more than just a single grade higher than what’s in the marketplace’s Scripture Pavilion."
He looked at Li Yuan.
"It’s the same if you get transferred to other places. Of course, some places have Scripture Pavilions that are even worse than the marketplace’s. It’s up to you to choose. In any case, you can save this opportunity."
Li Yuan nodded.
"I’ll keep that in mind."
Steward Liu grunted in acknowledgment, stood up, and bent down to pick up the bowl from the ground.
"Alright, you just got back. Get some rest first. Things at the mining camp can wait."
He walked toward the other end of the shed with the bowl, but after a few steps, he turned back to add one more thing.
"By the way, Sun Liang is inside the mine shaft. If you’re looking for him, you can just go straight in."
Li Yuan remained seated on the stone stool, not moving right away.
From the distant mine shaft came a muffled hammering sound, likely Sun Liang digging for ore.
The sun had shifted a bit to the west, casting several long shadows across the gravel ground.
Li Yuan took out the small porcelain vials of Demon Beast blood from his storage bag, placed them on his lap, and counted them one by one.
’Four types. Five more to go.’
He put the vials away, stood up, and walked toward the low-built house.