Chapter 4: Qinghe Sword Sect, the Number One Under Heaven

The firewood crackled and popped as it burned, and the wolf meat in the pot gave off waves of a strong, gamey, fishy odor.

Wild beast meat is inherently unpleasant to begin with, and wolf meat is especially tough and dry; if the blood is not fully drained, that fishy smell can shoot straight to the brain.

However, for someone starving to the extreme, this pungent scent was an irresistible temptation.

Chen Ye ladled out the meat soup and distributed it to the family of three, not forgetting to instruct: "Do not eat large mouthfuls of meat after starving for so long; drink some meat soup first, then eat some minced meat."

They thanked him hurriedly, disregarding the scalding heat, and lifted their bowls to gulp it down. They were truly starving and desperate; after finishing, they even licked the broken bowls clean, still unsatisfied.

After gulping down more than half a bowl and feeding a few mouthfuls to the child, this family of three seemed to have been pulled back from the Gates of Hell, showing a bit of life.

Chen Ye observed them silently; although the three were covered in filth, any clear-eyed person could see they were not ordinary poor commoners.

The man was dressed as a scholar; though his long gown was torn in several places, the fabric was clearly no ordinary material; the woman was dressed as a peasant woman, yet her skin was fair and tender, completely unlike someone who labored in the fields year-round.

With such an appearance, how could they have fled in such a wretched state to this desolate temple in the wilderness, as if fleeing a famine?

Sensing Chen Ye's gaze, the man finally summoned the courage to cup his hands and bow to Chen Ye, saying earnestly: "The kindness of a single meal, I shall never forget in my life; in the future, I will surely repay you generously."

"You overstate it; we are strangers who met by chance, just a pot of meat soup." Chen Ye's eyes showed curiosity as he asked: "Judging by your appearance, you do not look like refugees; how did you end up deep in these mountains?"

In the eyes of mortals, ascending a mountain is never easy; in these times, mountain paths are trodden out step by step by people; even walking during broad daylight is quite arduous, and a single misstep could cost one's life.

Unless they were woodcutters or hunters, ordinary people rarely ventured into such desolate mountains and wild ridges.

The man hesitated for an instant, then explained: "I am Zhao Hezhou; my family of three are originally from Cui Xian. Recently, the county suddenly ordered the conscription of three thousand children under the age of ten to be sent to the Qinghe Sword Sect for cultivation. Our child has just turned one year old, yet he too cannot escape this fate. How could we, as husband and wife, bear to be separated from our flesh and blood? But the county magistrate insisted on forcibly seizing our son. With no other choice, we fled in the dead of night and ran all the way here."

"The Qinghe Sword Sect? That is no ordinary immortal sect." Chen Ye heard this and frowned slightly.

He had heard the name of the Qinghe Sword Sect far too many times. The number one figure of the Righteous Path today is the Qinghe Sect's Sect Master; previously, when those eighteen Demon Lords slaughtered each other, thirteen died, and among the remaining five, two fell beneath this Sect Master's sword.

Rumor has it that a sword mark left by the Qinghe Sect's Sect Master still remains on that battlefield; eight hundred li of the sky were forcibly cleaved open, and even after several hundred years, it has not yet healed.

Chen Ye's master, Hearing Mo Ci, was also repeatedly beaten to the brink of death by juniors of the Qinghe Sword Sect, forcing him to frequently possess others, which exhausted his lifespan far too early. Among the Demonic Path, whenever they encountered cultivators of the Qinghe Sect, regardless of whether they could win or not, they would flee without a second thought. No matter how powerful one is, can one compare to the Sword Venerable? This figure is famously protective of his own; previously, those two Demon Lords merely killed some juniors of the Qinghe Sect, and he marched straight to their doors, fighting until the heavens collapsed and the earth cracked.

Precisely because of this, the Qinghe Sword Sect selects disciples with extreme strictness; the number of members is small, and it is said that including those who have already perished, there are not even a hundred in total.

Hearing Chen Ye speak thus, Zhao Hezhou's face showed surprise: "Could this truly be an immortal opportunity? Could it be that we, as husband and wife, have done wrong?"

Chen Ye glanced at Zhao Hezhou and thought to himself: Why is this person so indecisive, swayed by just a casual remark from others?

Zhao Hezhou's wife, however, was sharp; hearing the change in her husband's tone, she hurriedly reminded him: "Even if this truly is an immortal opportunity, do you not know the character of that county magistrate? If there were truly a good thing, would he so eagerly offer it to others?"

Prompted by his wife's reminder, Zhao Hezhou nodded repeatedly: "Indeed, that county magistrate is insatiably greedy; having held office for three years, he has stripped the land bare; how could he possibly give an immortal opportunity away freely to the entire county's people?"

Chen Ye did not voice an opinion, but he also felt in his heart that this matter was likely a fraud. What immortal sect recruits disciples like this? Moreover, the Qinghe Sword Sect, known for its strictness. What use could the county magistrate have for these boys and girls? It must be that someone from a Demonic Sect is impersonating the Qinghe Sword Sect; common mortals, unaware of the truth, fall for the deception, or are coerced.

Chen Ye could not help but shake his head and sigh; there really are those who do not fear death, daring even to impersonate the name of the Qinghe Sword Sect. Fortunately, Cui Xian is still a hundred li away from here, so it should not implicate him.

The family of three, Zhao Hezhou included, were both hungry and exhausted; after eating a bit, they fell into a deep sleep on the straw pile. Chen Ye took advantage of the night to quietly slip out of the broken temple.

When Zhao Hezhou woke from his sleep, he saw two lively wild boars and several birdcages woven from rattan vines inside the broken temple; the birds inside were chirping.

And Chen Ye was busy stuffing Wolf Blood Pills into the mouths of these animals.

These Wolf Blood Pills must not only be harmful to humans; it cannot be that wild boars eat them without issue while humans suffer. Chen Ye intended to test this today.

To distinguish differences in dosage, Chen Ye specifically caught a two-hundred-jin large wild boar and a palm-sized small bird, using them respectively for testing to see if the toxicity that damages the soul is related to body size.

For this, he even drew up a detailed table, recording clearly the control groups for different times and different dosages, simply waiting to see when the Wolf Blood Pills would take effect.

Zhao Hezhou did not understand the reason and thought these wild boars and birds were food Chen Ye had caught; he felt both surprised and admiring. He thought to himself: This must be a high expert; otherwise, how could such a thin youth capture two large wild boars alive? Even if they were dead, he himself might not be able to move them.

Thinking of this, his stomach growled again. Last night's meat soup, though it pulled them back from the Gates of Hell, could not possibly fill them after starving for so many days.

However, Zhao Hezhou had fled in panic with no money; having just eaten a pot of someone else's meat soup last night, asking for more today would seem too greedy. But if they did not eat, how long could his wife and child last?

He was simply taking one step at a time; having left this broken temple, the family of three did not know where to go.

After much internal struggle, Zhao Hezhou could not bring himself to speak.

Chen Ye, however, had keen senses and had long detected his predicament; he spoke up proactively: "Yesterday, I heard Mr. Zhao speak with elegance; you must be someone who can read and write. I wonder if you could help me with a task?"

Zhao Hezhou immediately replied: "Sir, please give your orders; the lives of our family of three are saved by you. If there is any task, I will not hesitate for a moment."

"Good. Then let us have breakfast first; this matter is time-consuming and laborious. Mr. Zhao, please eat your fill and gather some strength." Chen Ye pointed to the iron pot nearby; inside was already a pot full of stewed meat, with some wild vegetables added, tasting far better than yesterday's bland meat soup.

Zhao Hezhou no longer held back; he ladled a bowl and ate in large mouthfuls. Yet as he ate, his eyes gradually turned red, and he could not help but shed tears.

Chen Ye pretended not to see; after Zhao Hezhou finished eating, he handed him several pieces of hemp cloth with writing on them.

"These wild boars and birds have been fed medicine by me to test the prescription. But I have matters to attend to outside today and cannot constantly monitor the onset of the medicine's effects. I trouble Mr. Zhao to keep watch for me; once any abnormality occurs, be sure to record it carefully; the time of onset and adverse symptoms, not a single detail must be missed."

Zhao Hezhou hurriedly took the hemp cloth and said: "Rest assured, I will record carefully and miss not a single detail."

"Then I trouble Mr. Zhao."

Chen Ye picked up the white banner and walked briskly out of the broken temple. The supply of Blood Pills was insufficient; today he had to go hunt more prey.

Just after walking a hundred zhang, the voice of Hearing Mo Ci came from within the Ten Thousand Souls Banner: "Disciple, are you keeping these three by your side to use them as test subjects for the medicine?"