Chapter 79: with title translation and glossary list

Big Stone City.

A specially designated area for the residences of externally recruited stewards, in a medium-sized courtyard neither big nor small, Old Bai squatted at the center of the courtyard, carefully dropping a few drops of black-ringed snake venom into a large stone bowl.

The mouth of the stone bowl was two chi in diameter, and it already contained more than half a bowl of pale blue translucent liquid.

As soon as a few drops of viscous black-ringed snake venom fell in, the pale blue liquid sprayed out tiny foam, accompanied by a faint 'papapa' cracking sound.

Old Bai even did a backward somersault right where he stood, rolling and crawling tens of meters away before crashing headfirst into a room.

Several rat-people swiftly shut the door, stuffing the gap with damp fur to seal it tightly.

The pale blue liquid inside the stone bowl quickly turned light black, then suddenly boiled. A large amount of liquid splashed out, with much of it landing on the ground outside the bowl, sending up wispy trails of faint black smoke that drifted into the air.

From afar, a cold wind blew from several large passageways.

The strong wind swept over Dashicheng, over this courtyard, blowing away the faint black smoke that had already merged into the air and become invisible to the naked eye.

After a full quarter of an hour, the tightly closed door quietly opened; Old Bai poked his head out of the crack, half his head showing, and cautiously gazed toward the stone bowl for a while before flinging the door open.

With his hands behind his back, swaggering, Old Bai walked toward the stone bowl, stepping and swaying, and as he walked he smiled at the dozen or so juniors following behind, saying: 'Actually, when it comes to concocting poisons, one needs boldness and meticulousness, and most importantly, to remain completely calm in the face of major events…'

No sooner had his words finished than a tiny bubble inside the stone bowl burst, emitting a crisp 'pop'.

Old Bai and the dozen or so rat-person juniors turned and ran, tumbling and scrambling into the house in a chaotic flurry, and slammed the door shut with a 'thud'.

After another quarter of an hour, Old Bai finally led the group of juniors out, trembling with fear.

Standing far away and staring at the stone bowl for a while, Old Bai then patted his chest and gave a 'hehe' laugh. Turning around, he solemnly lectured the juniors: 'When wandering the jianghu, safety comes first… face? Heh, not important.'

A group of rat-person juniors looked at Old Bai with reverence, nodding vigorously.

Old Bai smiled satisfiedly, bringing the juniors to the edge of the stone bowl, he carefully examined the remaining black liquid—more than half a bowl—and nodded with satisfaction: 'Well, it succeeded, quality not bad… it's almost on par with the "rotten marrow" your great-grandfather, that is, my father, used to concoct.'

As he spoke, Old Bai narrowed his eyes.

He glanced at the juniors beside him, then reached out and patted the head of a young, sturdy rat-person.

'Old Nine, remember the order in which I just added the various ingredients, as well as the approximate dosage… This time I, your father, am doing the mixing; next time it will be you… If you die, then it will be Old Ten, Old Eleven, Old Twelve… taking turns one after another…'

Old Bai's heart was filled with extreme anguish and helplessness, yet also brimming with a tranquil resignation that came from having seen through the ways of the world.

Rat-people are weak in strength; for a rat-person tribe to survive, it must possess a unique self-defense skill. Old Bai's tribe's hereditary livelihood skill is precisely this extraordinarily vicious 'rotten marrow' poison.

Even a Chonglou Realm expert, if his skin is merely nicked by it, will have his flesh rot straight down to the marrow, ultimately rotting completely and dying in agony.

But…

Concocting 'rotten marrow' is extremely perilous; even someone as experienced as Old Bai succeeds at most once or twice out of ten attempts, let alone these novices who have never mixed it before.

There is a good chance that Old Nine will die from poisoning due to an accident during the mixing.

Afterward, it is likely that several of his brothers—in other words, a few of Old Bai's sons—will die one after another.

But… this damned world…

What are a few dead sons? The whole tribe has so many children who need to live.

Old Bai carefully lifted the stone bowl and, with a group of juniors, walked into the small building.

From time to time, sneaky rat-people slipped into the small courtyard, bringing bundle after bundle of poorly forged, low-quality concealed weapons and small daggers.

Old Bai instructed his dozen or so sons, carefully applying the deadly rotten marrow poison to these weapons.

One must ensure these weapons carry enough poison while avoiding waste of the venom; these skills are likewise fundamental to the survival of a rat-person tribe.

Old Bai let out a long sigh.

This is unavoidable; the materials needed to concoct rotten marrow are hard to gather, and hunting a single black-ringed snake may cost the lives of dozens of tribesmen. Thus, producing a dose of rotten marrow poison requires a great deal of time and effort, and Old Bai himself must take considerable risks.

Everything must be used sparingly, everything must be used sparingly…

This bowl of poison may look small in quantity, but it contains the lives of about two hundred tribesmen.

Even though rat-people breed prolifically, such a loss is enough to break Old Bai's heart… we must use it sparingly.

'If our tribe could produce a true alchemist, that would be wonderful.' While urging his sons to apply the poison, Old Bai murmured: 'Legend says that an alchemist concocting medicines… never fails, and the medicinal potency can be brought to its fullest.'

'If there were a true alchemist…' Old Bai watched his sons busily at work, then said softly: 'Your few older brothers…'

With his hands behind his back, Old Bai paced uneasily around the room.

Taking the risk to mix a batch of rotten marrow—this, too, is unavoidable.

All rat-people under heaven are one family, yet over the past few days Old Bai has heard nothing but bad news from various channels.

It seems that something unpleasant is about to happen within the Shi Family.

We must let the children have more self-defense ability.

'Unless absolutely necessary, we'd better not move… It's rare to find a generous host who provides meals… the little ones get meat every day.' Old Bai sighed wistfully: 'For the youngsters to eat meat every day… it's worth risking our lives.'

He smacked his lips, took out a small piece of dried meat from his sleeve, stuffed it into his mouth, and Old Bai, looking blissful, chewed the slightly rancid jerky, nodding in satisfaction.

'Ah, Steward Xiao Tie actually went to that damned place… and Elder Shixi even took people there… Xiao Tie, Xiao Tie… you'd better not get into trouble; I, an old man, rarely take a liking to someone who isn't a rat pup.'

'Heipi, Duyan'er, Tie Babashi—they're no good… only you, old me, find you pleasing to the eye.'

Old Bai muttered under his breath, pacing twice around the room, then suddenly stomped his foot.

He sighed at a cluster of shadows in the corner of the room, shook his head, and said: 'Go on, go on, take a few brats and keep watch outside the Demon Abyss Mine… see what's happening over there… if you encounter Steward Xiao Tie and he's still alive, lend a hand, lend a hand…'

Spreading his hands, Old Bai sighed helplessly: 'Rat-people have a hard time surviving… we've only got this much ability, just this much ability…'

Lifting his head, Old Bai gazed at the ceiling and murmured: 'Ah, the legends left by our ancestors—surely they aren't deceiving us grandchildren? Did our rat-person forebears ever live on the stars?'

'Stars? Those bright, twinkling things hanging in the sky—are they real?'

'False Sun rat… our rat-person ancestors were once glorious!'

Old Bai laughed until his face creased, with a somewhat lingering feeling. He then took out another tiny piece of slightly rancid jerky from his sleeve, placed it in his mouth, and chewed it slowly.

That patch of shadow he had just mentioned seemed to have faded somewhat, and the small daggers and assorted concealed weapons that had already been poisoned and placed on the table appeared to be missing several dozen.

'If only we had an alchemist… if every child's claws could be coated with rotten marrow… tsk tsk.' Old Bai sighed, then let out another heavy sigh.

'Thooom~~~'!

The lingering bronze bell sound spread throughout the entire Stone City.

The rat people bustling inside the house simultaneously pricked up their ears, each one vigilantly looking around.

Translation: "The rat people busy inside the house all perked up their ears, each one warily looking around."

We need to keep as single line.

Old Nine, whom Old Bai had just instructed, nervously asked: "Are the kids stealing things again? Are we going to lock the door and catch people again?"

Translation: "Old Nine, whom Old Bai had just instructed, nervously asked: 'Did the kids steal something again? Are they going to lock the door and come arrest people again?'"

Another rat person widened his eyes: "Did they steal food or money? Tsk, I warned them not to do business on the Stone family's turf…"

Translation: "Another rat person widened his eyes: 'Did they steal food, or steal gold coins? Tsk, we warned them, they're not allowed to do business on Shi Family territory……'"

Moreover, a rat person suddenly grabbed a poisoned dagger and nervously shouted at Old Bai: "Grandfather, are you coming to seize us? Hurry, let's go… Grandson, bring the brothers to cover the rear, grandfather and uncles go first…"

Translation: "Yet another rat person suddenly grabbed a poisoned dagger, nervously shouting at Old Bai: 'Grandfather, are they coming to arrest us? Hurry, shout, let's go…… Grandson will bring the brothers to cover the rear, grandfather and uncles go first……'"

Old Bai gritted his teeth and slapped a barrage of ear slaps at the group of nervous grandchildren.

Translation: "Old Bai gritted his teeth and slapped a bunch of nervous grandchildren across the face."

"What potential, look at your little bit of potential… huh? Does ringing the alarm bell definitely mean they're coming to catch us? Show some spirit, will you?"

Translation: "'Promise, look at your little promise…… Huh? Does ringing the alarm bell definitely mean they're coming to arrest us? Have a bit of promise, will you?'"

Old Bai flung the door open and nervously peered outside: "But surely it's not the kids causing trouble again, is it? They just took some food, drink, and shiny things… Do we really need to beat gongs and drums over this? Do we really need to beat gongs and drums over this?"

Translation: "Old Bai flung the door open, nervously looking out: 'But, could it really be the kids causing trouble again? Isn't it just taking some food, drink, and shiny things? Do we really need to beat gongs and drums for that? Do we really need to beat gongs and drums for that?'"

Heavy footsteps approached, and a dozen or so warriors clad in heavy armor burst into the courtyard.

Translation: "Heavy footsteps sounded, and a dozen or so heavily armored warriors stormed into the courtyard."

Old Bai shouted loudly, swiped his hands across his belt, his claws loaded with sharp poisoned iron needles ready to throw, when the leading warrior bellowed in a low voice: "Is Old Bai the steward here? How many able-bodied youths do you have at your disposal? Take your clansmen to the armory to get bows and crossbows… prepare for battle!"

Translation: "Old Bai shouted, swiped his hands at his belt, his claws loaded with sharp poisoned iron needles ready to throw, when the leading warrior already growled low: 'Is Steward Old Bai here? How many able-bodied youths do you have under you? Take your clansmen to the armory to get bows and crossbows…… Prepare for battle!'"

Old Bai strained his eyes, while a group of grandchildren stood in a neat row behind him, desperately trying to shield the bowl of poison and a heap of miscellaneous items behind them.

Old Bai desperately blinked his eyes, while a group of grandchildren stood in a neat row behind him, desperately trying to shield the bowl of poison and a heap of miscellaneous items behind them.

A group of rat people grinned, forcing themselves to wear harmless expressions.

Translation: "A group of rat people grinned, forcing an innocent expression."

"Preparing for battle… who are we going to fight?" Old Bai's voice trembled: "The Eternal Life Cult? Surely not? If we really have to face them, that's a bunch of monsters…"

Translation: "'Prepare for battle…… who are we supposed to fight?' Old Bai's voice trembled: 'Changsheng Sect? No way? Really going to face them? That's a bunch of monsters……'"

All rat people under heaven are one family; Old Bai naturally had heard from various channels about the Eternal Life Cult's wickedness and terror.

Translation: "All rat people under heaven are one family; Old Bai naturally had heard from various channels about the Changsheng Sect's wickedness and terror."

"Eliminate the traitors." The dozen or so warriors who had stormed the small courtyard glared at Old Bai with twisted expressions.

Translation: "'Eliminate the traitors.' The dozen or so warriors who had burst into the small courtyard glared at Old Bai with twisted faces."

The door was half open, Old Bai poked his head out of the crack, looking sneaky and cautious… those warriors really wanted to kick him in the face.

Translation: "The door half-open, Old Bai poked his head out from the crack, looking sneaky and cautious; that expression… those warriors really wanted to kick him in the face."

With his shifty, rat-like eyes, they really wanted to give him a beating!

Translation: "With his thief-like brows and rat eyes, they really wanted to beat him up!"

"Eliminate the traitors… this is an order from the Sixth Lord!" The leading warrior turned and headed out of the courtyard: "Although you rats are useless, you could at least hide in the back and fire arrows, right? Hurry to the armory… bring all your able-bodied youths."

Translation: "'Eliminate the traitors…… this is Sixth Master's order!' The leading warrior turned and headed out of the courtyard: 'Although you rat scum are useless, you can at least hide in the back and shoot arrows, right? Hurry to the armory…… bring all your able-bodied youths.'"

Old Bai's eyes suddenly lit up.

Translation: "Old Bai's eyes suddenly lit up."

His grandchildren's eyeballs also instantly turned bright and shiny.

Translation: "His group of grandchildren's eyeballs also 'whoosh' turned bright and shiny."

"Going to the armory to get crossbow bolts… free of charge, right?" One of Old Bai's sons poked his head out from under Old Bai's arm and loudly asked the warriors who had already left the courtyard.

Translation: "'Go to the armory to get crossbow bolts…… free of charge?' One of Old Bai's sons poked his head from under Old Bai's armpit and loudly asked the warriors who had already left the courtyard."

The warriors' bodies jerked, they turned back with confused looks, and gave Old Bai a deep stare.

Translation: "The dozen or so warriors' bodies jerked, they turned back with confused looks, and gave Old Bai a deep glance."

Old Bai quickly broke into a grin, revealing two shiny big front teeth.

Translation: "Old Bai hastily grinned, revealing two big shiny front teeth."

"Of course… free of charge." The leading warrior said with a grin: "As long as you loyally serve the Sixth Lord, what good things can't you get?"

Translation: "'Of course…… no charge.' The leading warrior said with a grin: 'As long as you loyally serve Sixth Master, what good thing can't you get?'"

"Free of charge!" Old Bai laughed.

Translation: "'No charge!' Old Bai laughed."

"Free of charge!" Old Bai's grandchildren laughed.

Translation: "'No charge!' Old Bai's group of grandchildren laughed."

In the time it takes to finish half a cup of tea, over two thousand rat people surged into Big Stone City, chittering as they ran toward the armory.

Translation: "In the short time it takes to finish half a cup of tea, over two thousand rat people surged into Dashicheng, chattering as they ran toward the armory."

The armory of Big Stone City stood open; stewards like Blackskin, One-Eye, and Iron Eighty-Eight, who had been recruited from outside, had already brought their clansmen and subordinates to pick weapons they liked.

Translation: "The armory of Dashicheng stood open; Black Skin, One-Eyed, Iron Eighty-Eight and other external hires had already brought their clansmen and subordinates to pick weapons they liked in the armory."

Stacks of armor were piled in the storeroom, and stacks of weapons were neatly stacked on the shelves.

Translation: "Piles of armor were stacked in the storeroom, piles of weapons neatly stacked on the racks."

The armaments stored by the Stone family may not all be top‑grade, but at least they are all of second‑rate quality.

Translation: "The armaments stored by the Shi Family, while not necessarily all top‑grade, are at least second‑rate."

There were leather armor made of lizard skin, heavy armor of refined steel, various leather boots, and assorted swords, spears, longbows, strong crossbows, as well as short swords and daggers, etc.

Translation: "Lizard‑hide leather armor, refined‑iron heavy armor, various leather boots, plus assorted swords, spears, longbows, strong crossbows, and even short swords and daggers, etc."

The weapons stored in Big Stone City's armory are enough to equip an army of five thousand.

Translation: "The weapons stored in Dashicheng's armory are enough to equip a 5,000‑person army."

Although Second Lord Stone recently recruited so many hands, the armory of Big Stone City is sufficient to fully equip everyone down to the teeth.

Translation: "Although Shi Second Master recently recruited so many hands, Dashicheng's armory is also enough to fully arm everyone to the teeth."

Old Bai eagerly led all the clan's youngsters who could run and jump, cheerfully charging into the armory.

Translation: "Old Bai enthusiastically brought all the clansmen's youngsters who could run and jump, happily charging into the armory."

The already bustling armory instantly became a murky, chaotic scene; anyone who hasn't witnessed it cannot imagine the sight of over two thousand, nearly three thousand rat people about a meter tall scrambling all over the ground.

Translation: "The already bustling armory instantly became a chaotic haze; those who have never seen such a scene can never imagine the sight of over two thousand, nearly three thousand rat people about a meter tall scrambling all over the ground."

How magnificent!

Translation: "What a magnificent sight!"

"What a pity, why isn't there armor specially made for the youngsters?" Old Bai stood at the armory door, looking at the oversized armor that was too big for rat people, and sighed helplessly.

Translation: "'What a pity, why isn't there armor specially made for the youngsters?' Old Bai stood at the armory door, looking at each piece of armor that was too huge for rat people, and sighed helplessly."

Heavy footsteps approached as a group of tall, sturdy ox‑tribe warriors escorted a burly youth forward.

Translation: "Chaotic footsteps sounded, and a dozen or so tall, sturdy ox‑tribe warriors swarmed in around a burly youth."

The youth brandished a whip and lashed out at the wolf‑tribe warriors under Blackskin at the armory door: "Rebelling? Rebelling? Who let you lowly savage breeds come here?"

Translation: "The youth brandished a whip, lashing at the wolf‑tribe warriors under Black Skin at the armory door: 'Rebelling? Rebelling? Who let you lowly wild beasts come here?'"

"Rebelling? Have you rebelled? What do you want? Who let you come here?"

Translation: "'Rebelling? Have you rebelled? What do you want to do? Who let you come here?'"

A deep, muffled roar suddenly erupted from nearby.

Translation: "A deep, muffled roar suddenly erupted from nearby."

An iron dwarf sprang out from nowhere, an axe struck the youth's head, Blood Light sprayed in all directions, and half of the youth's body was split open by an axe.