Chapter 15: Keeping Watch (Please Collect!)

Swish—swish—

The night sky was cloudless for ten thousand li.

The pure moonlight poured down, covering the entire mountain region with a thin veil of snow‑white gauze.

Amid the gently swaying grass, a figure covered head to toe in mud, dead leaves, and roots struggled to crawl out.

"Hoo—hoo—"

The figure crawled onto relatively flat ground and collapsed there.

In the moonlight, it was clear that he was not only in a sorry state, but his whole body was covered in swollen pustules, especially on his face.

However, if someone familiar saw him now, they could still barely recognize him.

The cultivator surnamed Shi!

He actually survived the siege of that huge swarm of black‑ring hornets.

Recalling that scene, the Shi cultivator felt a lingering fear.

With so many black‑ring hornets, even if each was weak, their gathered terror was such that even a late‑stage Qi Refining cultivator, unprepared, could only avoid their sharp edge.

His luck was not bad.

While being besieged by the black‑ring hornets, he repeatedly used several Protective Talismans to preserve himself.

In his panicked flight, he had merely intended to dive into the thicket for cover, not expecting that behind the thicket lay a slope covered in mud.

Then he sprang to mind, using the mud as cover, adding a Converge Qi Talisman and a Turtle Breath Talisman, and managed to escape by luck.

Using so many talismans in one day made even a mid‑stage Qi Refining cultivator's heart bleed.

But fortunately,

He survived!

"Yunhe!!!"

These two words were practically squeezed from the Shi cultivator's teeth, the hatred in his tone going without saying.

Gripping the longsword in his hand, he staggered to his feet, swaying a few times before finally standing firm.

"Heaven itself let me live, so it should be yours"

Buzz—buzz—buzz—

Before the Shi cultivator finished his grit‑teethed words, he suddenly heard the sound of vibrating wings.

He shuddered violently.

"How is that possible?!"

His body almost reflexively trembled, and he quickly turned his head to look.

Didn't I already shake them off?

Under the moonlight, what he saw was not the black‑ring hornets.

but dozens of strange spirit bees with red patterns on their abdomens!

What kind of bee is this?

Before he could react, those dozens of Red Pattern Spirit Bees lunged at him.

Their stingers flashed with a cold light.

The Shi cultivator's expression turned grim.

If he were at his peak, he wouldn't fear these few mutant spirit bees, but now

He clenched his mouth, held his breath, mobilized the little remaining mana in his body, and swung his longsword.

Swish!!

One sword strike down, and a mutant spirit bee was instantly cleaved in half.

"Ah!!"

But the remaining spirit bees, seemingly quite intelligent, split into two small groups, avoiding his front blade and attacking from both sides.

Their stingers pierced his skin.

The areas already covered in pustules were punctured, and pus spurted out instantly.

The intense pain almost made the Shi cultivator pass out outright.

Swish——

In the pain, he swung his sword again.

But this time the spirit bees became even more agile, as if adapting to his attacks.

In the hasty counterattack, at such close range, he actually missed!

Several successive swords had little effect.

Only then did the Shi cultivator belatedly realize.

Although this swarm of mutant spirit bees lacked the killing power of the black‑ring hornets, they were extremely agile and possessed considerable battle awareness.

Especially the one among them bearing five red lines on its body.

Not only were its movements swift, but it seemed to understand tactics like a cultivator!

It would retreat to advance, luring the enemy deeper.

In a short while, the Shi cultivator found he could inflict no further significant casualties on this swarm of mutant spirit bees.

On the contrary, he grew ever more fatigued.

"They're... draining me?!"

Finally.

The Shi cultivator, whose sword strike had missed again, widened his eyes, full of astonishment.

How could a swarm of spirit bees understand these things?

Buzz buzz buzz—

Just when he couldn't believe it.

In that stunned instant, all the mutant spirit bees seemed to lose their formation and swarmed toward him all at once.

Swish, swish, swish—

At the same time.

In an extremely concealed spot behind him, three jet-black tail spines shot out.

The Shi-surnamed cultivator's attention was completely drawn by the mutant spirit bees, and with his severe injuries, he simply couldn't react.

All three tail spines plunged into his body!

Thud.

Footsteps sounded.

The Shi-surnamed cultivator clutched his chest, coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood, and with difficulty turned his head, seeing a figure that made his eyes almost burst.

"Yun, Yunhe?!"

How could this be?

Someone's coming.

It was Yunhe, who had been lying in wait here for nearly an hour!

Since the Shi-surnamed cultivator could investigate him, he naturally could also investigate the other party.

Yunhe, who had early on grown wary of him, also tried to obtain more information about him.

Although what he ultimately gained wasn't much, what was needed now actually didn't require much.

All he needed to know was the approximate direction of the Shi-surnamed cultivator's residence, and the location where he was surrounded and intercepted by the Black Ring Wasps.

Then, along the route between the two points, he scattered the Red Pattern Spirit Bees at a distance as close as possible to the Black Ring Wasp swarm without drawing their notice.

Finally.

He locked onto him here!

Yunhe wasn't sure whether the Shi-surnamed cultivator could survive the Black Ring Wasp swarm's assault, but he still chose to search for him.

If the Shi-surnamed cultivator died directly at the hands of the Black Ring Wasp swarm, that would be fine.

But if he managed to survive by luck, then Yunhe would later have to face the frenzied retaliation of a mid-stage Qi Cultivation cultivator.

He didn't want to bear such a risk.

So even though it was dangerous outside the market town, he prepared himself to keep watch all night.

Of course, there was also a chance he wouldn't manage to keep watch.

However, when a person faces extreme danger and must flee in panic, they often run toward the direction they know best.

This has nothing to do with choice; it's instinct.

Moreover, the Red Pattern Spirit Bees effectively increased Yunhe's search and surveillance range.

After all, the Shi-surnamed cultivator looked down on Yunhe, a mere early-stage Qi Cultivation spirit-bee farmer, from the bottom of his heart.

The facts proved Yunhe's caution was correct.

The Shi-surnamed cultivator really did manage to survive by luck and fled in this direction.

Yunhe drew a slight breath, and his gaze turned exceptionally icy.

With both hands forming seals, his spiritual power flowed.

"Wait, wait!"

Now the Shi-surnamed cultivator really panicked; his magical power had long been exhausted.

"I know, I know a secret! I can tell you, River Stream Market will soon, soon."

Pfft!!

A water arrow tore through the air, and the Shi-surnamed cultivator's head exploded with a bang.

Yunhe stepped forward, picked up the long sword from the Shi-surnamed cultivator's hand, and stabbed fiercely several times into his chest.

A night breeze blew, Yunhe shuddered, and slowly came to his senses.

Looking at the Shi-surnamed cultivator lying dead on the ground, he let out a long breath.

"Huh—"

'What will the market town soon—?'

The Shi-surnamed cultivator hadn't finished speaking, but he didn't want to listen.

Some things, if delayed, will change; even an extra word could merely add complications.

Even if this sentence is very important.

'It's time to go.'

He then quickly gathered the Red Pattern Spirit Bees.

He collected the valuables on the Shi-surnamed cultivator's body.

"Is this a storage bag?"

Yunhe took from his waist a small cloth bag that looked very plain, feeling somewhat surprised.

He immediately tucked it into his bosom, without bothering to inspect it, and turned to leave.

This place isn't safe; keeping watch for over an hour is already a very risky endeavor, let alone after a fight broke out.

As for the Shi-surnamed cultivator's corpse.

In this wilderness, it won't last a single night.

He returned to his dwelling in the market town's shanty district.

Yunhe jogged back to his residence, closed the door, and sat silently on the futon in the cultivation chamber for a good while.

He patted his cheeks, and the throbbing heartbeat in his ears finally gradually faded.

"Whoosh—"

He let out a long breath again.

"This time the losses are terrible."

Yunhe lightly tapped his forehead a few times, somewhat vexed, and rubbed the corners of his brows.

Ordinary spirit bees suffered heavy losses, more than half gone—from fifty-five only twenty-five remained, and even three Red Pattern Spirit Bees were lost.

"Fortunately, both ordinary spirit bees and Red Pattern Spirit Bees can be replenished. It's just that the 'Red Flame Talisman'."

"The 'Red Flame Talisman' costs a whole low-grade spirit stone, and he only has three low-grade spirit stones left—this is equivalent to losing a quarter of his net worth."

But he quickly cheered up.

"After this battle, it's proven that Red Pattern Spirit Bees have a certain combat capability; with a cultivator directing and controlling them, they should be able to contend with a cultivator at the peak of early Qi Refining for a round or two. If we increase their numbers, enhance the individual strength of the Red Pattern Spirit Bees, or find a formation suited to the bee swarm, their power could be raised several tiers."

"If it weren't for the Red Pattern Spirit Bees drawing attention, even though the Shi-surname cultivator was already badly wounded, wanting to finish him off that quickly would not be an easy task."

"Moreover, he didn't come back empty-handed."

He took out the things he had obtained from that Shi-surname cultivator.

"Especially that magical artifact long sword!"

It resembled an empty bamboo, shaped like a willow leaf, about one foot three inches long and one and a half inches wide; the blade was narrow and sharp, giving the feel of grasping bamboo when held, yet it felt considerably heavier than imagined, its density seeming higher than ordinary metal, and faint magical markings were etched onto the sword body.

Yunhe tentatively infused his spiritual power into it; at first it was a bit sluggish, but then it became smooth.

In a haze, a name surfaced in his mind.

"Empty Bamboo Sword"

He lightly turned his wrist.

The blade trembled slightly, emitting a 'hum'.

With a casual swing,

As the blade's edge swept across the wooden wall, it left a fine, long scratch as silently as a hot knife cutting through butter, making the hairs on one's arms stand up faintly.

"Fine sword!"

Yunhe smacked his lips.

"It's just that it consumes a bit too much spiritual power."

He gently stroked the blade, as if caressing a piece of gold.

"Although it's a first‑rank low‑grade magical artifact, the quality of this sword is truly not bad."

"Don't look at the Shi‑surname cultivator being a middle‑stage Qi Refining cultivator yet possessing only a low‑grade magical artifact; many middle‑stage Qi Refining cultivators don't even have a magical artifact."

'"He's obviously so rich, yet he still comes to covet me."'

Yunhe shook his head and sighed, somewhat unable to understand.

"But upon further thought, if he had indeed discovered a stalk of 'Twin‑stem Thunder Juice Fruit', its value would indeed be far greater than this magical artifact."

"Moreover, it might be precisely because the Shi‑surname cultivator habitually sneaks around committing banditry; even if he robs poor spirit farmers like him, the small gains add up, allowing him to accumulate a fair number of spirit stones."

"Robbing spirit farmers is also far safer than robbing other cultivators."

'"But we can't say that—didn't he just fail this time?"'

"He who often walks by the river will inevitably get his shoes wet."

"For those who practice banditry, a single mistake often leads to a fatal outcome."

'"At the very least, that's twenty‑plus low‑grade spirit stones."'

Yunhe once again fondly stroked the sword's body.

But soon he showed regret.

'"What a pity—this is a wood‑attribute magical artifact, suited to the Shi‑surname cultivator's wood spirit root, but not ideal for my gold‑water spirit root. If it were a metal‑attribute magical artifact long sword, it would be perfect."'

'"Besides, the Shi‑surname cultivator surely has friends in the market town; many people have likely seen his magical artifact, and if any of his relatives or friends spot it in my hands, trouble could ensue."'

"It looks good and is valuable, but it doesn't match my spirit‑root attribute, and I can't bring it out to use."

"It feels somewhat unpleasant."

'"There's still another good thing."'

He produced a palm‑sized, inconspicuous gray‑white cloth bag.

"Storage bag!"

'"First a magical artifact, then a storage bag—are bandits really this rich? It's making me feel a bit impulsive."'

He made a self‑deprecating joke.

Yunhe poured his spiritual power into the storage bag, circulated the Gold Water Element Classic, and used his own magical power to erase the original owner's seal.

"Removing the seal took a little time, but fortunately it was a matter of gradual effort."

"After half an hour, the storage bag in his hand trembled slightly, and its original magical imprint was dispersed."

"At the same time, Yunhe unhesitatingly left his own magical imprint."

"Thus, the storage bag now belonged to him."

"Through the storage bag, his spirit sense could extend outside his body, feeling a cramped space elsewhere."

'"A half‑cubic space is the smallest capacity storage bag on the market."'

"But even the smallest‑capacity storage bag is worth at least ten low‑grade spirit stones."

"Clatter——"

He dumped out all the items inside.

"A pile of gold, silver, and jade ware, which would be quite valuable in the mundane world, is essentially worthless in the cultivation world."

"Besides that, there were eight low‑grade spirit stones, roughly thirty spirit crystals, and various assorted trinkets in bottles and jars."

A first-rank low-grade Magical Artifact longsword, a half‑square storage bag, and eight Low‑grade Ling Stones—how could I not feel like I've struck it rich?

What he didn't want, ah, was that the Shi‑surname cultivator forcibly shoved it onto him.

Yunhe couldn't suppress the joy on his face, and he couldn't put the storage bag down.

Although that Magical Artifact is the most valuable here, his favorite is still this storage bag.

The harvest is great, but it's indeed very dangerous; one misstep and you'll lose your life, becoming nourishment for someone else's cultivation path.

There are still many things to be careful about; from now on, when hunting Black‑Ring Hornets, we must be more careful.

In safety, think of danger.

This experience gave him a good lesson.

It let him realize many areas where he fell short of perfection.

However, this means we really have to go to the black market.

(End of chapter)