Chapter 831: A Moment to Savor (6)

If you ride the main road southeast from Gaegu County for a long stretch, you reach Hekou County—a city wedged between high mountains to the left and right.

Hekou County is a border city split cleanly in half by its long, vertical shape: the north belongs to the Central Plains, and the south belongs to the Great Yue Kingdom.

In this era, borders are usually made of rugged mountain ranges or great rivers that people can’t easily cross, so of course high mountains spread out on both sides.

And the high mountain sealing off the west is Dochae Mountain.

That was the mountain Qing had to cross.

If you draw a straight line west from the Red River at the entrance to Hekou County, you hit Jinping County—where the Five Poison Sect was located—sitting inside a basin enclosed by Dochae Mountain.

The problem was that Dochae Mountain had a fairly nasty reputation in southern Yunnan Province.

Part of it was the brutal terrain, but more importantly, from here southward, the true jungle began in earnest.

To be honest, martial artists from the Central Plains tended to look down on jungle.

The Central Plains had harsh mountain ranges everywhere—martial artists who’d leapt over sheer cliffs and conquered them with their own feet.

So what about a jungle?

What’s so dangerous about a forest that’s merely dense?

And Qing’s homeland had an even worse tendency—people there practically looked down on mountains themselves.

Back home, the slopes were low and gentle, so “getting wrecked by the mountain” didn’t happen much.

In short, since the country didn’t really have truly dangerous mountains, “mountains” were treated as a spiritual hometown—something people even praised as the best place to build company bonding and friendship.

And Qing belonged to both groups.

As a transcendent Transformation-Realm master with a body that had Myriad-Poison Immunity, what danger could a mere tropical rainforest possibly hold?

And so Qing steps onto Dochae Mountain.

Today’s concept is: a village woman who came out to gather medicinal herbs.

She throws on shabby clothes and straps a woven basket to her back.

If she runs into someone, it might all end up in Blood Cult ears later.

Even aside from that—when she reaches Jinping County, if some martial artist comes walking down out of a mountain with no paths at all, isn’t that suspicious as hell?

But herb gatherers are everywhere.

Qing worried about her identity getting exposed, sure—but she didn’t think the jungle itself was dangerous in the slightest.

Of course.

Is that really how it’s going to go?

The tropical rainforest is never easy!

First: terrain that grinds people down.

The damp ground and piled leaves force enormous stamina loss just from walking, and the droplets clinging to every leaf soak your clothes in no time, making your body heavy.

On top of that, the air is humid and hot—walk only a little and sweat pours off you while your breathing turns harsh and tight.

That was why, in far-off western lands, they called this kind of jungle a green hell.

So how will Qing endure this extreme climate—where merely breathing makes your irritation multiply by a million and your discomfort meter peg out?

“Ugh... my chest is freezing...”

The steel chest brace is unbelievably cold.

Normally, the chill she circulates through her whole body with her Ice-Jade Divine Art would move beneath her clothes—but since she’s bound her chest tight, the cold sinks into the steel and turns it into a slab of ice.

Yeah... she didn’t expect this side effect.

Seomun Cheong versus tropical rainforest—Seomun Cheong, one win!

But that isn’t all the rainforest has.

The rainforest is a paradise of poisonous things.

According to scholars back home, it evolved this way to survive in barren soil—developing toxins as a means of endurance, or something like that.

Countless kinds of poisonous animals and plants threaten humans in the jungle.

In the jungle, never put something in your mouth unless you’re absolutely sure—no, even if you are sure, don’t put it in your mouth, because jungle things might be different.

A paradise of poisonous things.

And thus the far-off western lands (omitted) called it a green hell.

“Oh. What’s this? Looks tasty.”

Qing plucks a nameless red berry—cherry? raspberry?—and, without a shred of fear, pops it into her mouth.

And the moment she bites—

A festival of sourness, astringency, and spicy bite bursts out, crushing her face into a grimace!

“Ptoo! Ugh—this has poison in it. It tastes awful. Ugh, I ruined my appetite.”

Qing digs through her pouch, yanks out a strip of jerky in an emergency, and chews it to cleanse her tongue.

After all, Qing was originally the lowest of the low among beggars—the grandmaster of eating anything she found.

Poison was just a savory little kick, a sharp bit of spice—how could it possibly harm a body that had Myriad-Poison Immunity?

Seomun Cheong versus tropical rainforest—Seomun Cheong, two wins!

But—but—but—the rainforest still has one more fear left.

The rainforest is an unforgiving realm beyond civilization, where all sorts of dangerous beasts lie in wait and the law is slaughter and survival.

A beast that survives in such extreme nature must have a nimble body, a cunning nature, and a cautious, relentless persistence that makes it hard for humans to contend with.

And thus the western lands did this, and the green hell did that...

Especially among them, the most dangerous animal is the great tiger.

Even by sheer weight alone it possesses crushing strength, terrifying biting power, and the ability to climb up and down trees at will—nature’s strongest predator and assassin, hunting defenseless prey!

And right now, from a tree branch in the dim surrounding gloom, a pair of yellow eyes stare down at Qing!

And as the great tiger launches itself at the unguarded intruder trespassing into its territory—kicking hard with its hind legs mid-leap to add speed—its front paw surges in!

And then—

THUNK!

YIPE! GYAAH—GHHK!

The great tiger rolls on the ground with a sorrowful wail.

No matter how thick its hide and muscles are, this is the first time it has ever experienced the pain delivered by a terrifying, defense-ignoring... nuclear flick to the forehead.

“Whoa. A tiger! Shh—be good. That’s it. Yeah. Easy. Why are you throwing a tantrum? Come on. Come on. Let’s shake hands.”

A pale hand reaches out and neatly catches the tiger’s extended paw.

Startled, the tiger swings its other paw—only for that one to be caught immediately too.

Before it knows it, the tiger is standing on two legs, holding hands with a human like a close friend.

It’s a sensitive, intelligent tiger.

It realizes the bizarre creature in front of it—an overwhelmingly powerful creature—doesn’t seem to be showing obvious hostility, and it quietly hides its teeth.

“Huh? You’re calm. What is this? Were you raised around people?”

Qing strokes the tiger’s dense fur.

It’s stiff, but also kind of soft?

...Although, in principle, beasts that bite people shouldn’t be left alive.

Qing looks down at the tiger.

As killing intent leaks out in a thin thread, the tiger immediately whines and flops over, belly up, acting like a cub throwing an exaggerated fit.

Qing shakes her head.

Thinking about it... this isn’t a human settlement, and if we’re being strict, I’m the one who walked into the tiger’s territory.

Qing smacks her lips and stands, then pushes on through the jungle again.

Seomun Cheong versus tropical rainforest—Seomun Cheong, complete victory!

People say humans can’t defeat nature, but that depends on the opponent.

At this point, you could say nature did as much as it reasonably could.

Because what do you even do against a human who regulates her body temperature, never gets tired, can’t be poisoned, and is strong as hell?

But the rainforest can’t just sit there helplessly getting beaten.

The rainforest’s final secret technique—

Twisting your sense of direction!

The rainforest’s trees cover the sky so sunlight doesn’t reach the ground.

And in every direction, thickets and brush pack the space so tightly you can’t see even half a sheet of paper’s distance ahead—an ideal labyrinth.

Of course, Qing occasionally climbs a tree and checks the sun’s position to regain her bearings.

But in the mountains, unless you walk with your eyes glued to a compass the entire time, it’s impossible to keep moving in a perfectly straight direction.

So she gradually loses her sense of direction and drifts off course, then corrects herself each time she climbs a tree.

And since Dochae Mountain rises higher to the south and the jungle grows denser, the farther she climbs, the more she’s forced to drift north.

So even though Qing’s original plan was to head straight west...

She starts heading northwest instead.

And at last—Seomun Cheong versus tropical rainforest, tropical rainforest victory—

No. Not victory. A draw.

Anyway, it only twisted her path a little. Qing is still going west.

But a force that makes even a transcendent Transformation-Realm master unable to walk straight—this is the fear of the tropical rainforest.

*****

Dochae Mountain’s shape resembles the character for “child,” enclosing Jinping County on the north, east, and south.

So there are two ways into Jinping County.

One is the road from the west, where there’s no mountain blocking the way.

The other is a route through a valley that gently settles down from the northern ridge.

If you want to go from Yunnan Province to Jinping County, naturally you’d pass through Gaegu County and cross Dochae Mountain.

No one would take a seven-hundred-li detour for no reason when the direct route is only two hundred li.

Which meant that if someone wanted to catch anyone heading into Jinping County, there was only one obvious ambush point.

The northern face of Dochae Mountain.

At this very moment, on both sides of the long mountain pass road leading into Jinping County—down on the foothills of Dochae Mountain’s northern face—there was a group that had been camping out for nearly half a month, eating, sleeping, and relieving themselves there.

It was a truly, unbelievably stupid thing to do.

Dochae Mountain’s northern face was “less jungle” compared to farther south, sure—but the land was still damp, and it was still a horrific place crawling with every kind of insect.

SMACK!

“Ugh, fuck—these mosquito bastards. I seriously want to set this whole mountainside on fire. Then they’d all burn to death, wouldn’t they?”

“My only wish is to change shoes. They wore through ages ago, everything’s soaked, and my feet feel like they’re rotting.”

“How long are we supposed to keep doing this? Is that Heavenly Flower Sword bitch even coming? What if those Blood Cult bastards were just talking out of their asses?”

“What? With the sect’s enemy right there—”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying. Yeah, we should tear her apart even after she’s dead. I’m saying—what if we’re suffering for nothing? Honestly, she’s treated like royalty by the Righteous Sect. Why would she even come all the way out here? Isn’t she probably eating expensive food at some fancy restaurant right now?”

It was a pretty unfair thing to say to Qing.

Anyway, with things like this, the Five Poison Sect members’ initial fighting spirit—burning hot over the sect’s enemy—goes limp in the rainforest humidity, like cotton that’s sucked up water.

Of course, would the leadership not notice that kind of mood?

“When the hell is that Heavenly Flower Sword bitch supposed to show up?! What the hell is this bullshit?!”

Five Poison Sect Leader Hu Cheonchi explodes in rage.

A few days ago, when he heard the culprit was the Heavenly Flower Sword, he’d been laughing like a madman, shouting that the time for revenge had finally come.

But the Blood Cult bastards who claimed they’d lure the Heavenly Flower Sword in kept answering with nothing but: We’re still searching.

And since then, four days—

No, they’d already been inside the Ten-Sided Ambush for nearly half a month, doing nothing but getting soaked in night dew.

The Chief Steward tries to soothe Hu Cheonchi.

“Brother, please endure just a little longer. They say that for a true man seeking revenge, even ten years isn’t long. You must bear humiliation and sharpen your sweet revenge, must you not?”

“No—aren’t you angry too? Am I the only one losing my mind? The sect members are suffering like dogs out there, and you’re sitting here spouting pretty words like this is the time for it?”

“Of course I’m angry as well, but will anything change just because we stay angry? And someone must keep a cool head.”

He isn’t wrong.

But a deep crease forms on Hu Cheonchi’s forehead.

Did anyone ask the Chief Steward to give him a lecture?

All he needed was someone to agree and say, Yeah, this is fucking awful. That’s it. Sympathy.

But it’s pathetic to say out loud, so he clamps his mouth shut and can only blast irritation from his whole posture.

“Tonight, let’s give the boys a drink. With things like this, you have to at least let them drown it with one cup so morale can rise a little. I’ll walk the camp while I’m at it—pouring for them myself. Come on. All the elders are going too.”

“And if the enemy appears—”

“It’s only one drink. Who’s getting drunk off one cup? Chief Steward, you hold the command post. I’ll do a lap with the elders and come back. Let’s go.”

With that, Hu Cheonchi exits the tent.

The sect’s elders follow behind him, leaving only the Chief Steward at the rear command post.

The Chief Steward lets out a heavy sigh.

“Where the hell is that bitch, doing what... haa. If only she’d show up right now, so we can kill her quick and go back down the mountain.”

It was just a frustrated complaint.

But haven’t ancestors, east and west alike, always said you should watch what you say?

Because it might be the kind of reckless statement that raises a flag—

No. A very reckless one.

*****

All this time, while Qing has been heading (north)west, her nostrils twitch.

Twitch, twitch.

Something... smells good?