Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen: A Ruin

The two looked at the Thunder Python's charred corpse in unison, then at each other — was the sound just now an illusion? On this scorched black ground before them, nothing else existed. Ning Ze pointed at the corpse and said, "Was it the corpse making the sound? Struck dead by lightning, could the demon beast have returned as a vengeful spirit? Go check it out?" The fortune-telling old Daoist had never encountered such a situation either; staring at the massive python corpse, he couldn't make heads or tails of it for a moment.

"Crackle—" The sound came again. The two crept up to the Thunder Python like thieves; the fragrant meat aroma made them involuntarily swallow their saliva — this was essence, greatly nourishing. Demon beasts were cultivation bodies to begin with, absorbing the essence of sun and moon, plus passing the lightning tribulation to discard the dross and keep the essence — a truly nourishing good thing. Ning Ze had already made up his mind that this was his. The two found the source of the sound; the charred skin sloughed off, and something inside seemed to be struggling to break free.

Could it be the Thunder Python's offspring? Ning Ze's thoughts burned hot; he took his knife and sliced open the flesh. A snow-white little snake wriggled out. Ning Ze's eyes instantly lit up — could I be the legendary protagonist, the demon beast passes tribulation, I pick up its offspring and raise it? With a fawning grin he said to the little snake, "Come here, little guy!" The fortune-teller looked at Ning Ze speechlessly and directly gave him a hard flick on the forehead, saying helplessly, "What are you thinking? Wipe your drool, look clearly — this is that Thunder Python from just now, no, it's a Thunder Jiao."

Ning Ze put away his fantasy and carefully observed the little snake before him. It had a horn on its head, its whole body translucent white and bright, as if strands of electricity wandered over it; as its forked tongue flicked, faint lightning flashed. The Thunder Jiao rolled its eyes in a strikingly human way, looking at Ning Ze like an idiot, then shot lightning from its horn, making Ning Ze's hair stand on end.

The fortune-telling old Daoist gloated from the side. The Thunder Jiao felt he looked like he needed a beating and shot lightning again — the old Daoist got caught in it too. The two recovered for a good while before they came to their senses, finally realizing this little Thunder Jiao was not to be trifled with.

Ning Ze was bold; he spat out a mouthful of thick black smoke and said, "Thunder Jiao, anyway I saved your life just now — how can you treat your savior like this? Got any heaven-and-earth treasures or the like? Give me some to soothe my feelings."

The fortune-telling old Daoist marveled at Ning Ze's brain circuits — you just got zapped and still have the nerve to ask for benefits; the demon beast not swallowing you whole is already lucky. The Thunder Jiao understood Ning Ze's words, tilted its snake head as if pondering, then burrowed into the corpse. The massive Thunder Python corpse rapidly shrank; the huge black shell turned to flying ash. The Thunder Jiao continuously inhaled the Thunder Python's blood and flesh essence — unimaginable, that enormous mass of spiritual flesh all stuffed into the finger-thick Thunder Jiao. Ning Ze's face showed heartache — this was originally his, now it's all gone. Fortunately the Thunder Jiao wasn't entirely heartless; after absorbing it all, it left behind a piece of meat, pointed its tail at the meat, then at Ning Ze.

Ning Ze asked in surprise, "This is for me?" The Thunder Jiao nodded. The fortune-telling old Daoist watched Ning Ze get a benefit and his eyes reddened; he just opened his mouth to ask the Thunder Jiao. A bolt of lightning struck the old Daoist stiff, and he fell to the ground.

Seeing the old Daoist's fate, Ning Ze didn't dare ask for benefits either; he felt he should quit while ahead and said, "Brother Thunder Jiao, then we'll part ways here; if fate allows we'll meet again." Finished, he took the meat and dragged the old Daoist away. At this moment, the Thunder Jiao darted onto Ning Ze's wrist like lightning, head meeting tail to form a wrist ring, motionless.

Ning Ze was baffled by this — what the hell is this? He called a few times, no reaction; he could only head back first.

After questioning the fortune-telling old Daoist, they guessed at a possibility: after the Thunder Jiao passed its tribulation, its body hadn't had time to adapt, plus it absorbed a massive amount of blood and flesh essence, so it directly fell into a deep sleep to metamorphose. As for why it chose to sleep and metamorphose on Ning Ze, the only explanation was that Ning Ze had saved its life.

Returning to the hiding place, following the fortune-telling old Daoist's words, they cut a very small piece of Thunder Python meat to cook and eat. Han Er's injuries directly healed; the others felt feverish all over, full of vitality. While Ning Ze was out, the Jiao horses left by the Black Cavalry were captured by Han Xian and the others. Now Han Er's injuries were also healed, and everyone urgently wanted to return to the village to see.

Thirteen people rode the Jiao horses back. At the place where they first encountered the Black Cavalry, the surroundings were a mess; bloodstains still remained. Han Xian's emotions surged; he searched frantically everywhere, finally finding a corpse behind a broken tree. Han Xian knelt on the ground, hugging the corpse, head lowered, shouting, "Father, didn't I tell you not to die? Father!" Han Xian's father was covered in wounds, his chest caved in. This leader of Bei Cang Village, in the end, chose to die to block the enemy for the children. Han Xian's tears fell unceasingly; pain and regret scourged his heart. The rest found two more corpses, took them along, and hurried toward the village again.

Heavy hearts filled everyone. When they saw the village, the youths' emotions could no longer be suppressed. A ruin of a village, charred corpses piled in heaps. Ning Ze's eyes were bloodshot; he kept digging through the corpses, the more he dug the colder his heart grew, his hands digging until they were bloody, oblivious to pain, roaring at the sky. Perhaps heaven pitied Bei Cang Village's plight; fine rain slowly fell. Ning Ze could no longer tell whether the wetness on his face was rain or tears. Two hundred thirty-five corpses in total. This was the village he had lived in for twelve years; every villager was closer than kin. He vaguely remembered being cared for by many villagers as a child — those concerned aunties, the sharp-tongued but soft-hearted Fat Auntie, the kind and amiable village elder, the uncles who bragged daily and feared their wives, the little brats who followed behind calling him big brother... everything was gone, all brutally killed by those Black Cavalry.

The corpses were already charred black from burning. Ning Ze felt their unwillingness before death — why suffer such a calamity? Pangdun found his mother's corpse; he didn't shout or wail, just knelt on the ground staring straight at it; his usually honest appearance turned fierce. He kowtowed three times with loud thuds, picked up his knife, and prepared to leave the village straight away. Ning Ze shouted to stop him: "Pangdun, stop! Going to your death with a knife? Believe me, even dead, Fat Auntie wouldn't want you to throw your life away!" Wang Pangdun halted his steps; with a clang the knife fell to the ground. This honest child knelt heavily, knocking his head deep into the earth, weeping bitterly: "Ning Ge, before Mother went up the mountain she still told me to listen to you, our two lives were given by you, if danger came I'd use my life to block for you — why didn't I go first, why did Mother go first! I hate it!"

Liu Lü'er hugged her grandparents' corpses, crying into a tearful mess, mouth incessantly murmuring something, her hands likewise mangled with blood and flesh, who knows how long she dug before finding them. Fatherless and motherless from childhood, she hadn't yet had a chance to care for her grandparents, yet they left first. The usually gentle but inwardly strong Liu Lü'er, bloodied hands caressing the corpses' cheeks, cried until her voice broke, until she fainted.

These children who had not yet come of age, suddenly struck by such a cataclysm — everything they held dear destroyed. Facing all this, some went mad, some in agony; sorrow and hatred pressed deep in their hearts. The fortune-telling old Daoist watched this group of children quietly from afar; after a while he turned his gaze to the sky, his eyes revealing a kind of bewilderment.

The rain kept mocking them. The twelve buried all the corpses; two hundred thirty-five lives now weighed on their hearts. The twelve knelt before the graves and kowtowed three times. Afterward Ning Ze stood up directly and walked before the fortune-telling old Daoist, saying, "I know you can help us. You said to get something you must pay a price. The Thunder Python meat I'll give you; you teach us cultivation. As for entanglements, our lives are almost gone — we're not afraid of entanglements."

Finished, Ning Ze prepared to kneel and beg the fortune-telling old Daoist, but the old Daoist held him up. The other eleven also understood; they all walked over and knelt before the fortune-telling old Daoist. The old Daoist closed his eyes, pondered for a long time, and said with difficulty, "Do you know what you'll face following me? Ning Ze wants you to have the strength to survive and take revenge, but this might be another dead end."

Ning Ze wiped the rain from his face and roared, "I don't care what terrifying existence we face — at least we can face it. Right now we don't even have the qualification to know the enemy; living without hope, what's the difference from a stinking bug by the roadside?" Ning Ze was somewhat hysterical; he didn't understand why Bei Cang Village had to suffer such treatment; now he desperately yearned for power to take revenge.

The fortune-telling old Daoist sighed and said helplessly, "All rise. Bei Cang Village's calamity is connected to our existence. Agreeing to you today, I don't know if it's right or wrong — I cannot guarantee. At the same time I truly cannot teach you; I'll take the Thunder Python meat. You follow me, I'll take you to find masters suitable for you. Hope you don't regret this path."

Expectation rose in the eyes of Ning Ze's twelve. When they collected the corpses they examined the traces; the ones who slaughtered Bei Cang Village were far more than three Black Cavalry. Moreover, according to the old Daoist's description, those were just small fry.

The fortune-telling old Daoist continued, asking, "Do you know how precious Thunder Python meat is? You traded it away — you could have lived without worry for a lifetime. Worth it?"

Ning Ze gazed over the whole mountain village, then at the grave mounds not far away, finally sweeping his eyes over his companions around him, and answered, "I only want everyone to have hope. I don't want everyone to live in pain for a lifetime. Perhaps we're weak, but we can become strong — kill those wantonly slaughtering lackeys to the last man, let them taste what it's like to be weak!"

As his words fell, heavenly thunder boomed. The fortune-telling old Daoist looked at the sky with a sense of resonance.

Xia Yu City, City Lord's mansion. The City Lord wrote a letter, placed it on a message falcon, and released it in the rain until it vanished from sight. Then he summoned the steward and ordered, "Go check that village, see what the Black Cavalry did there. Leave no traces — I don't want to see those fellows come looking for trouble again." At the window, the Lord of Xia Yu City gazed at the sky.

On a distant official road, the Black Cavalry leader was leading his men away on horseback. Lightning flashed in the sky; he turned back, reined in his Jiao horse, and asked, "The three still haven't caught up? Trash — looks like they've met with mishap. You eight go again; absolutely cannot fail. Before reporting back, you'd best be seen." His icy voice froze the raindrops; immediately eight Black Cavalry broke off and departed.