Chapter 115: Situation, Rescue

Wu Jin, in Wa Valley.

Wu Jin, still alive.

Wu Tie felt as if a cannon had been fired straight at his forehead, his ears ringing nonstop, golden stars flashing before his eyes, his whole body weak and sore.

His throat was dry, as if stuffed with a ball of scorching sand.

Wu Tie suddenly raised his hand, fingertips pointing fiercely at Lao Bai.

Lao Bai hastily untied a waterskin from his waist, nimbly stepping on Wu Tie's belt to climb up to his face, and brought the waterskin to his mouth.

The waterskin held strong liquor, very strong liquor.

Not only was it strong liquor, but it was also mixed with some unknown substances that could stimulate qi and blood, excellently invigorating the spirit and relieving fatigue.

Whatever the case, it was very effective.

The buzzing in his ears faded, the blackness before his eyes vanished, and Wu Tie's weak, weary heart beat strongly once more. He straightened his back, hands on his waist, staring fixedly at Lao Bai as he landed back on the ground.

"Where is Wa Valley?"

"My mother is in Wa Valley? What does she do?"

"What does my clan do?"

"Why is Wu Jin there?"

"How is he doing now?"

A barrage of questions left Lao Bai with a bitter face, spreading his hands. He looked helplessly at Wu Tie: "You'll have to ask someone yourself, Xiao Tie. I don't know; I just got some news and asked the rat brothers of Cangyan Realm to help find you."

"Here, you're valuable—since I found you, I can get a hundred Gold Snake Stones."

Lao Bai smiled at Wu Tie: "Gold Snake Stones are said to be minted by the master of Wa Valley—shiny, sparkling, lovely coins… far better than the coins cast by those black-heart families, containing no copper or lead, pure gold."

Wu Tie drew a deep breath, silently practicing the breathing harmonization method from the Primordial Classic, gradually calming the surging, chaotic qi and blood. He regained his composure, his mind filled with tranquil peace.

He lifted his head to the dark dome, Wu Tie nodded: "Then let's go to Wa Valley… in Cangyan Realm there's nothing to linger for. I want to go to Wa Valley, I want to find Wu Jin, I… I want to find Wu Jin."

For no reason, Wu Tie's eyes felt sore and swollen.

Even with the Primordial Classic harmonizing his qi and blood, as Wu Tie spoke he couldn't help but shed two lines of hot tears.

At bottom, he was just a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy… merely a child, yet both his body and soul had endured far too much.

Even though a speck of essence within the Formless Relic inside the Formless Divine Cauldron had repaired Wu Tie's heart, riddled with a thousand wounds, his mind remained shrouded in immense shadow and pressure.

Hearing news of Wu Jin, hearing news of his mother, knowing he still had living relatives.

The gloomy clouds dispersed, warm sunlight showered his heart, Wu Tie's body brimmed with vitality, he couldn't wait to see Wu Jin. Preferably right now, preferably immediately…

Besides Wu Jin…

And his mother.

That word felt strange… yet Wu Tie inexplicably wanted to see her.

In his short dozen years of life, on many cold, dark nights, when he awoke from the empty rooms of the Shi family's Shibao, his heart would inexplicably call out for a silhouette.

Back then, if his mother had been by his side… instead of Grey Master's furry wolf head, how wonderful that would have been.

"Father." The Wu girl reached out her small hand, gently wiping Wu Tie's tears clean.

Tears kept sliding from Wu Tie's eyes, and the Wu girl continually wiped them away.

"Lao Bai, if you received news from Wa Valley, you must know how to get there." Wu Tie looked seriously at Lao Bai: "Take me to Wa Valley, I'll give you greater rewards… for instance, I'm actually a skilled apothecary."

Wu Tie recalled the full process of concocting his Foundation Establishment elixir, which was far more complex than Lao Bai's ancestral rotten bone marrow poison.

Wu Tie should now be a competent apothecary; he could fully help Lao Bai standardize the rotten bone marrow formula, enabling the sky-fed Lao Bai to truly master a mature, safe, mass-producible rotten bone marrow preparation method.

"Also, writing, knowledge, coins, primordial herb… or some powerful cultivation method." Wu Tie gazed at Lao Bai with utmost sincerity.

If Lao Bai had no objection, Wu Tie could impart the Formless Bone Devil Classic to him.

Wu Tie himself would never cultivate the Formless Bone Devil Classic; better to let it rot in his hands than not, he could instead create a few powerful allies on good terms with him.

As long as he could reach Wa Valley as quickly as possible, there was nothing he wouldn't sacrifice.

Except the Primordial Classic.

This was Lao Tie's repeated warning—must never be leaked.

Lao Bai swallowed his saliva mouthful by mouthful; the things Wu Tie said moved him immensely. Even if not all, just the improved method for refining rotten bone marrow, he could spend hundreds of his clansmen's lives for it.

Wu Tie, he actually is an apothecary.

He actually is willing to trade knowledge.

Knowledge, in this era, even the crudest knowledge is immensely precious.

The method for preparing rotten bone marrow cannot be considered crude; it is highly precious, rare, and can serve as the fundamental treasure of a family's inheritance.

Lao Bai suppressed his excitement, looked at Wu Tie, and said seriously: "Xiao Tie, one word is enough—I'm not greedy either. Take me to Wa Valley; give me whatever you wish, according to your heart."

After taking a breath, Lao Bai spread his hands, helplessly looking at Wu Tie: "But now, it's impossible… we can't leave Cangyan Realm."

Wu Tie stared at Lao Bai in astonishment: "Why?"

Lao Bai's face darkened as he sighed deeply: "The Grand Elder of the Changsheng Sect, Zhu Zixi, is terrifying. Together with the Lu, Shi, and Yan families, the elders who had defected to the Changsheng Sect from those three houses, in just a few short days he brought the three great families under his control."

Lao Bai gave a wry smile: "If it weren't for the giant clan allied with the Shi family, and an old ancestor at half-step Command Pool holding the line, barely preserving a few core members of the three great families… Cangyan Realm would already be wholly under the Changsheng Sect's sway."

Spreading his hands, Lao Bai said helplessly: "Even so, Cangyan Realm now runs only on the Changsheng Sect's word."

"The sole passage to the outer realms has been completely sealed off by the Changsheng Sect."

Lao Bai blinked at Wu Tie: "Of course, various transport convoys can come and go… someone as insignificant as me, for example, we rat people can sneak through mixed in the convoys… but someone like you would have to force a breakthrough."

"Force a breakthrough?"

Wu Tie wiped his face dry with his sleeve and sat back by the campfire.

After pondering, Wu Tie spoke in a low voice: "Lao Bai, what is the current state of the three great families in Cangyan Realm?"

Half a month later, outside the Shi family's ancestral grounds, Black Stone City.

Outside, the black stone monoliths remained grand and towering, the city walls now flying the Changsheng Sect's black banner emblazoned with blood-red characters.

Two powdered-and-rouged pretty boys stood there, delicately twisting, leading a squad of elite Foundation Establishment ox-tribe warriors, scrutinizing critically and strictly all creatures entering and exiting the gate.

A transport convoy was entering the city, sturdy gray-rock lizards pulling a heavy double-wheeled wagon, its frame piled with various supplies, while over a thousand stone dwarf slaves guarded the convoy as it slowly and orderly entered the city.

The two pretty boys, heads held high, leisurely strolled past each wagon, small whips in hand.

As they passed a wagon loaded with refined copper ingots, the gray-rock lizard pulling it suddenly let out a loud fart, and with a "pūpū" sound it happily expelled a large puddle of loose dung.

Dung splattered everywhere on the ground, and more importantly, it sprayed countless drops onto the boots of the passing pretty boys.

The pretty boys shrieked, swinging their whips hard at the few stone dwarves in charge of that wagon.

The stone dwarves dared not dodge; they lay prone on the ground, allowing the pretty boys' whips to lash their bodies.

Each whip strike left a bloody mark, deep enough to reach the bone.

Both pretty boys were at the Ganxuan Realm, and after just a dozen lashes, several stone dwarves were beaten to death on the spot.

Above the city gate, a coarse laugh rang out: "Hahaha, pretty boys, what's the point of beating these little guys? If you've got the guts, come kill your grandfather me! Come on, if you've got the guts, hit me!"

Above the city gate hung a cage welded from steel bars; the tendons in his wrists and ankles had been torn out, his knee menisci excised, his shoulder blades removed, and a segment of his spine shattered, leaving Shi Meng lying inside like a puddle of mud.

He was stark naked, covered in blood, with festering wounds everywhere.

Shi Meng's left eye had been gouged out, his right eye swollen shut, blood continually oozing from it.

He strained desperately, half his face protruding from the iron cage's gaps, taunting the two pretty boys: "Hey, pretty boys, are you even men? You only dare to bully these little guys—is it because what's in your pants is useless?"

After a few shouts, Shi Meng nodded solemnly: "I'm sure that's it…… you Changsheng Sect pretty boys, each of you is just like a woman…… otherwise, pull down your pants and let Grandfather have a look to see if you still have a cock."

The two Changsheng Sect disciples guarding the gate trembled with rage.

Though their duty prevented them from confronting Shi Meng, several gray dwarf warriors on the city wall laughed and "accidentally" dumped a bucket of boiling water.

The scalding hot water splashed onto Shi Meng's left leg.

Shi Meng let out a muffled groan from the pain.

Several gray dwarf warriors laughed hysterically, pointing at Shi Meng and bursting into laughter.

From their jeers, these gray dwarves were direct subordinates of the Shi Family, once low-ranking soldiers who had obeyed Shi Meng.

But now, the elder they follow has seized control of the Shi Family.

Shi Meng had become a prisoner, and they could do as they pleased.

Shi Meng kept drawing in cold breaths, straining to keep from crying out in pain. He gritted his teeth, doing his utmost in front of these traitorous low-ranking soldiers to preserve the last shred of dignity of the Shi Family's legitimate heir.

A few li away, amidst a scatter of rocks, Wu Tie stared blankly at the horribly abused Shi Meng.

"Shi Liuye…"

Wu Tie muttered to himself.

After spending over half a month taking a detour from the vicinity of Great Stone City to Black Stone City, although Lao Bai had already filled him in on the Shi Family's current situation, Wu Tie was still shocked by what he saw and heard.

He plopped down among the rubble, watching a patrol of the Changsheng Sect ride past on giant hunting spiders, their cries wailing, and Wu Tie shook his head.

"Where is Zhu Zixi?" Wu Tie asked Lao Bai after a long silence.

"What are you up to?" Lao Bai eyed Wu Tie warily: "Xiao Tie, don't do something stupid…"

Wu Tie smirked, ignoring Lao Bai: "All ratfolk are one family; there must be your kin in Black Stone City… Besides, didn't you say your rat kin have all obediently defected to the Changsheng Sect? You old traitor."

Lao Bai gave an embarrassed grunt, nothing more than platitudes like "the survival way of the ratfolk" or "the survival philosophy left by our ancestors".

Wu Tie tapped Lao Bai on the head with a finger, his voice cold: "So there must be your kin in the city… Find out clearly where Zhu Zixi is."

Lao Bai looked at Wu Tie helplessly: "What do you want to do? You're worth a lot of gold snake stones right now."

Wu Tie snorted, then pulled out a fist-sized nugget of natural gold and tossed it to Lao Bai.

This was still in the Yan Family's origin cave; Wu Tie had looted this trophy from the body of the fire crocodile chieftain Ga Lu. At that time everyone's attention was on various yuan herbs, who would care about a lump of gold?

The nugget was of decent purity; a fist-sized lump could be smelted into at least a dozen large gold coins.

Lao Bai broke into a grin as he pocketed the nugget, then glanced toward Black Stone City and up at Shi Meng hanging from the city gate, before sighing: "Xiao Tie, hear an old man's words… judging by my many years of stealing… many years of waste‑recycling experience, Shi Liuye, this is probably a bait…"

Wu Tie remained silent, merely watching coldly as Shi Meng, locked in the cage, hung from the city gate.

Beside Shi Meng hung a string of over a hundred heads.

Among them were those Wu Tie knew—Shi Meng's trusted aides from Great Stone City, the squad leaders; the unfamiliar ones were likely close kin of Shi Meng's branch of the Shi Family.

The Changsheng Sect never knew what it meant to show mercy.

Those who opposed them were simply killed; they never cared how many died.

"Go." Wu Tie waved his hand.

Lao Bai shook his head.

Above Black Stone City, the twelve False Suns gradually dimmed, Lao Bai's form melting into a shadow and soon vanishing without a trace.

Time passed slowly; Lao Bai did not return, but several of his rat kin who had likewise awakened the Shadow Evasion talent kept going back and forth, relaying message after message.

These rat kin trudged back and forth, looking rather weary, so Wu Tie gave them another large lump of gold.

Zhu Zixi was not in Black Stone City; he led a contingent of Changsheng Sect experts, along with a heap of elders from the Shi, Yan, and Lu families, rushing to the gathering place of the giant clan allied with the Shi Family, intending to utterly eradicate the last resistance in the Cangyan Realm.

Shi Meng, hanging from the city gate, seemed not to be bait; this was not a trap.

Five hours after the False Suns had gone out, Wu Tie quietly arrived outside Black Stone City.

The witch gripped the Wind and Cloud Banner in her left hand and the Moon Mark in her right, her short legs pattering as she closely followed behind him.