Chapter 68: Seeking Help

In the forest on the northern mountain, a faint white could be seen; it could be recognized as the tents of those who rescued her.

Finally finding them, Yue Ji's lingering heart finally settled, but weapons lay everywhere on the ground. From the sheer number of weapons one could tell that at least two hundred Goblins had fallen in battle. Apart from the recent disputes over the Life Spring, she had never seen Goblins launch such a fierce attack on the small valley. Some of her people were still uneasy; they were right there, and the camp had not yet been moved, so they likely wouldn't leave anytime soon. She decided to first return to the valley to visit her own clan before going to find them.

When she entered the forest, Rui Tong, who had been ordered to scout here, saw that she had gone far, stepped out from the side, and asked, "Why did she come from that direction?" Then she sprinted toward the northern mountain.

As soon as Yue Ji entered the valley, she found it in utter disarray; several guards hung their heads in dejection, leaning against a tree. Though she hadn't intended to be seen, she couldn't help asking, "What happened? Why was the tree formation felled?"

"Yue Ji?" The guards, surprised that they could see her again after a few days, exclaimed.

Yue Ji thought their expressions meant they didn't welcome her, and whispered, "I... I saw many Goblin weapons scattered outside, and I was uneasy, so I came to look and will leave."

The guard sighed, "You needn't leave again. Now everyone, just like you, has been poisoned with corpse toxin. Last night the valley was attacked by Goblins; Elder Ning fell last night, and the whole valley has been saturated with corpse toxin. Now everyone can only await death."

"Elder Ning fell?" Yue Ji could hardly believe her ears. "What about mother?" she asked anxiously, wanting to know her mother's safety.

The guard pointed at the central tree called "Devouring Starry Sky" without speaking.

Yue Ji hurried toward it; when she reached the tree, two light coughs came from within. Suddenly a figure flashed, and the clan chief, accompanied by another elder, stepped out leaning on a staff.

"Mother..." Yue Ji whispered timidly. Her mother's complexion was pale, the former elegance gone, and at a glance one could see she was heavily poisoned.

The clan chief, however, saw Yue Ji's complexion recover, indicating her condition had indeed improved. He gave two light coughs and, in a reproachful tone, said, "Why have you returned again? Since the toxin has already been cured, you shouldn't go back into this valley full of corpse toxin; otherwise the cure was in vain. We were still hoping you, out there, could find a way to reclaim the Life Spring for our clan, but now... now..." At this point his coughing continued unabated, and he could no longer speak, regretting that he hadn't sent someone to inform her.

Yue Ji hurried to support her, sobbing, "Mother, you need not worry. The people who helped me detoxify are on the mountain opposite us; I intended to go find them for this very reason. Mother, wait a moment, and I will go ask them to come and help with the antidote."

Nearby, Elder Yan interjected, "We are children of the Celestial Deity. While we still have some strength, we should go to the Celestial Altar to request the deity's aid. Our entire clan is on the brink of disaster; the Celestial Deity would not abandon us." They had indeed come out to go to the Celestial Altar to pray to the god.

"Celestial Deity, Celestial Deity, you always say there is a deity, yet why have we never seen its shadow..." Yue Ji wasn't merely questioning their totemic god; the savior was right before her eyes, but they insisted on traveling far to the Celestial Altar. Seeing her mother's pallor, this back-and-forth would likely delay the antidote, and her impatience made her speak without restraint.

"Silence!" The undead clan's totemic deity would not tolerate anyone defiling it. The clan chief raised his hand and slapped her, coughed a few times, and looked up, saying, "If we hadn't received the Celestial Deity's aid, we wouldn't have made it this far. Perhaps we failed somewhere, which caused the deity to abandon us last night, sigh." He let out a light sigh, and with an elder's support, prepared to lead the whole clan to the Celestial Altar to pray for heavenly protection. After taking a few steps, he stopped and said to Yue Ji, "Perhaps it was your disrespect that angered the deity. For the sake of the clan's lives, you... should not go, and you should not stay here any longer..."

"Mother!"

The clan chief, without looking back, led the group slowly out of the small valley, leaving behind the most severely wounded—fewer than two hundred people—because they had directly engaged the Yellow Robe Goblin last night and were indirectly injured by its "Poison Secretion Curse". The "Bitter Poison Sea" spell, though its toxin lasts longer and can spread corpse toxin throughout the entire valley, has a smaller area of effect compared to the "Poison Secretion Curse", whose toxin lasts shorter but is several times more potent. Therefore these people's injuries were the worst, to the point they could not walk. The clan chief appeared less injured only because powerful magic sustained him.

No matter how she tried to explain, the clan chief still refused to believe her. After exiting the valley, Yue Ji, helpless, could only tell those who remained, "Tell the people inside to hold on a little longer; I will go find them and bring back the antidote. I'll be back immediately, so wait for me."

After Li Bucai killed that Yellow Robe Goblin last night, he silently went there, met up with Rui Tong and Xianghong, and washed the toxin off his body in a mountain stream. Fortunately the time was short; after using a few soapberries, he managed to cleanse the poison before his skin lost resistance. He returned to the camp, and the next day moved the tents to a clear spot so they could be seen at any time.

Yue Ji arrived here at top speed; when she reached their camp, Li Bucai and the others were grilling meat and chatting under a tree.

Yue Ji stood timidly at a distance, unable to step forward for a moment, merely hiding behind a tree and peeking quietly toward them.

"Honored Master." Xianghong pointed over there.

Li Bucai looked in the direction she indicated; a small face suddenly retreated behind the tree, seeming uneasy, then timidly stepped out from behind the tree, bowing his head low, his hands tightly clutching his collar.

"Is this..." Not yet knowing her name, Li Bucai could only echo, "How are you? Feeling better?"

Yue Ji nodded, but for a moment didn't know how to speak, still standing there.

"Come sit, the meat just grilled here, come and try it together."

Yue Ji moved forward a few steps; Xianghong fetched a seat for her and invited her to sit, but she shook her head. Li Bucai handed her a piece of meat, and she still shook her head.

In fact everyone knew why she had come; Li Bucai asked, "Is there something you need?"

Yue Ji finally nodded, and in a low voice said, "Could you... could you help me..." She had never asked anyone for anything, so her voice was so soft even she could barely hear herself.

Wan'er stepped forward to help her sit, saying, "What is it? Sit down and tell us slowly. As long as we, the Honored Master, can do it, we will certainly help you."

"The corpse toxin—my clan members are all infected with corpse toxin. Could you help my clan?" Yue Ji's gaze, almost pleading, stared at Li Bucai.

"It was caused by last night's Goblins."

"Yes." Yue Ji nodded forcefully. "Please help me again, okay?"

Li Bucai couldn't help feeling a bit conflicted: "This... might be difficult to handle!" He wasn't trying to stall; he had also taken part in last night's battle. The Yellow Robe Goblin's "Bitter Poison Sea" spread corpse toxin throughout the forest, and no one escaped. Fortunately, humans aren't as vulnerable as the undead; for humans, aside from the intense "Poison Secretion Curse", other weaker toxins only cause brief skin burns, and because they wear clothes, the poison doesn't penetrate. However, all the undead were poisoned and require fire to detoxify. With so many of them, and only two woodcutters here, they couldn't fell enough firewood in time unless they burned all the trees in the valley, which would be their lifeline.