Chapter 138 - 111: He Just Wants to Farm, Not to Kill
Chapter 138: Chapter 111: He Just Wants to Farm, Not to Kill
Now, they just had to wait for Lame Monkey and the others to rest a little while longer before they could set out.
The Ghost Fire was secured on the carriage for the overnight journey.
The Nine-Five Dragon Carriage’s only combat form was the "Heaven and Earth Chessboard." It couldn’t attack while traveling on land. However, the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage had the defense of a Level 2 City Wall and was three times faster than a Skeleton Horse.
Ordinary Ghost Objects in the eternal night wouldn’t be able to catch it.
The rainy season had passed.
It would be difficult for another large-scale Ghost Tide to form.
Food should be eaten hot.
Enemies should be killed quickly.
Chen Fan didn’t return to the cave. Instead, he lay sleepless in the driver’s seat of the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage, gazing up at the Celestial Pit, now shrouded in darkness, and murmured to himself.
"It’s been so long since I’ve seen the stars..."
’All I wanted was to find a safe place to live out the rest of my days.’
’So why did people always have to push me?’
’I just want to farm. I don’t want to kill.’
...
But Chen Fan wasn’t the only one lying awake tonight.
「Pill Sect.」
This sect wasn’t located on a mountaintop. Instead, it was a small city built on the plains, inhabited only by its own members. A larger city stood beside it, where traveling merchants could stay.
Inside a room in that small city,
an old man with a grim expression picked up a Sound Transmission Talisman and began issuing a relentless stream of commands.
"The rainy season in Jiangnan is over. The Dark Hall is to spare no expense and dispatch agents to Jiangbei. They are to carry out a highest-level assassination on Chen Fan, the Sect Leader of the Mortal Sect! His subordinates are on the list as well."
"Business Hall, hear my command! Pressure the Jiangbei Commerce Association. Refuse all Exotic Treasures from the Mortal Sect. I want every single thing they harvested during the rainy season to be unsellable, left to rot in their Warehouse."
"Pill Hall, listen up! Send a message to all powers friendly with our Pill Sect. After the rainy season, if the Mortal Sect dares set foot in Jiangnan, they must be stopped before they can enter.
"External Propagation Hall, make this public announcement: Any power that befriends or does business with the Mortal Sect will be considered a sworn enemy of the Pill Sect."
"Array Hall, your orders are as follows..."
After issuing more than a dozen commands in a row,
the old man finally leaned back in his chair. His eyes flashed with malicious glee as he stared at the Ghost Map on his desk. He muttered to himself, "Trying to play games with me? A fledgling Jiangbei power that just popped up during the rainy season wants to go against my Pill Sect? I’ll make sure you don’t even know what hit you."
He would force Chen Fan to come to the Pill Sect in utter despair, to kowtow and beg for forgiveness.
Then, he would invite a host of other powers to watch as he executed Chen Fan on the spot.
He would show everyone the price for offending the Pill Sect!
...
Jiangbei City was exceptionally lively tonight.
Many powers, having returned from Nameless Mountain, had taken up lodging in Jiangbei City. They were preparing to head to Ping City the next day to scavenge the aftermath, and they had all received orders from their respective sects.
The message was essentially the same for all of them.
Observe. Do not interfere.
The two words "Pill Sect" still carried enough weight.
"Father."
Qi Feng, holding a Sound Transmission Talisman, asked anxiously, "Are we really not going to get involved? With the Mortal Sect’s strength and our Medicine King Valley combined, we could definitely crush the Pill Sect."
"The Mortal Sect’s strength?"
The hoarse voice of an old man replied through the Sound Transmission Talisman, "What strength does the Mortal Sect have? He’s powerful in his own territory, sure, but what about outside of it? He won’t even be able to get near the Pill Sect before they play him to death."
"A faction’s true power isn’t measured just by how strong it is on its home turf."
"It’s about how far its reach extends."
"The Mortal Sect is still too green. It lacks the ability to project its power. Unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless Sect Leader Chen shows some real grit and has his Night Watchers go to the Pill Sect on a suicide mission. If he did that, Medicine King Valley would absolutely be willing to stand with the Mortal Sect against them. He has to make the first move. Only then can we help him. Otherwise, we’d just be taking the fall for them."
"Father."
Qi Feng took a deep breath, his expression earnest. "I had a very good conversation with Sect Leader Chen today. He absolutely has that kind of courage. If we declare our support for him now, instead of waiting for him to make a move, wouldn’t the rewards for Medicine King Valley be even greater?"
"Weren’t you the one who said we should build a good relationship with the Mortal Sect?"
After a long silence, the old man’s weary voice came through the Sound Transmission Talisman.
"Qi Feng."
"You must remember, for a sect to endure, the goal isn’t to chase the greatest possible reward. It’s to secure a reasonable return while minimizing risk. As long as a sect survives long enough, it will inevitably grow."
"In any case, you must remember this!"
"As long as the Mortal Sect doesn’t make a move, Medicine King Valley will show no sign of support. But the moment the Mortal Sect dares to risk it all and fight, Medicine King Valley will raise its banner and back them without hesitation."
With that,
the connection to the Sound Transmission Talisman was severed.
Qi Feng sat in silence by the window of the inn, saying nothing more. He was born to a high station; the Young Master of the Pill Sect had never oppressed him like this. He had heard stories of how the Young Master enjoyed bullying the weak, but he had never felt much about it. Seeing it firsthand today, he finally understood.
He put himself in Chen Fan’s shoes, and the mere thought of it filled him with despair.
To have overcome countless crises during the rainy season, to have risen up and founded the Mortal Sect, to have ten thousand sects come to offer their congratulations... This grand occasion was the reward for a month of struggle. It should have been a day of triumph and high spirits.
And yet, the Young Master of the Pill Sect showed up at his door to stomp all over his glory.
If he didn’t retaliate, he’d never be able to hold his head high again.
But while a moment of fury might be satisfying...
...how could he possibly handle the ensuing crisis from the Pill Sect?
He didn’t know.
It was this feeling that made him so desperate to help Chen Fan.
"Young Master."
Just then, the old man who always followed him pushed the door open, entered, and walked up behind Qi Feng. He spoke softly, "The Valley Master sent me to talk to you. Your greatest weakness, ever since you were a child, has been that you empathize too easily."
"The Valley Master forbids you from leaving the valley because he’s afraid you can’t accept the way the world is. But you are destined to inherit Medicine King Valley one day. Your heart needs to harden."
"There’s no need to project yourself into Chen Fan’s situation."
"You will never suffer such humiliation in your lifetime."
"Everyone has their own destiny."
"Everyone walks their own path. Meddle too much in another’s fate, and not only will you fail to save them, but you will also bring ruin upon yourself."
"Elder Xu."
Qi Feng turned to the elder behind him. "If the situation becomes truly dire, could you step in and save Chen Fan?"
"I cannot."
The old man shook his head. "It’s not that I’m unwilling, but that my strength won’t permit it. The Pill Sect’s revenge won’t be what you imagine. It’ll be like boiling a frog in lukewarm water; Chen Fan will be cooked to death before he even realizes it. His only way out, really, is to launch a suicide attack on the Pill Sect right after the rainy season in Jiangnan ends, before they have all their schemes in place."
"Otherwise, he’ll just be played to death."
"By the time he realizes what’s happening, he’ll be powerless to fight back."
"Get some sleep."
Qi Feng was silent for a long time. He didn’t say a word, simply continuing to stand by the window. ’Why do people like the Young Master of the Pill Sect even exist in this world?’ he wondered. ’Why do they have to bully others, especially when those people have done nothing to harm them?’
...
Inside an inn in Jiangbei City, Gongyang Yue leaned against the Jiangbei Old Demon and whispered, "Do you think the Mortal Sect can withstand the Pill Sect’s retaliation?"
"It’s hard to say."
The green-robed man shook his head and spoke softly, "It would be very difficult for the Pill Sect to breach the Mortal Sect’s defenses with a direct assault. The real fear is that they’ll resort to dirty tricks."
"Then can you save him? He respects you a great deal. Of all those people, he was the only one who called you Senior."
She liked anyone who showed respect to the Jiangbei Old Demon.
"I could."
The green-robed man paused for a moment before nodding. "I could save him. If he’s willing to leave this place with me tomorrow and find a new place to put down roots, he can escape this disaster. But..."
"But what?"
"But he probably won’t be willing. After working so hard to build a foundation, no one would be willing to just throw it all away."
...
Time ticked by.
Two hours passed quickly.
It was the middle of the night.
Lame Monkey and the others began to wake up. They gathered at the cave entrance, ready to depart.
Chen Fan leaped down from the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage and looked at Wang Kui. "You will stay behind and guard the base. This Token grants temporary authority over nearly all of the Mortal Sect’s structures. Allow no one to trespass on the Mortal Realm Territory. Violators are to be killed on sight."
"Everyone else, with me."
Without a moment’s delay,
Zhou Mo and the others filed into the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage. The interior was massive, roughly half the size of the Celestial Pit, and more than spacious enough to hold them all.