116 Puppet Jade
Abu rushed ahead, much faster than the previous two days. Several people sat on its back, feeling the cold wind blowing against their cheeks, making their eyes almost unable to open.
Cheng Tianbi kept looking at the compass. After a while, he said, “This is the direction to Shijiazhuang.”
“Could it be that Zhuang Yao was taken to Shijiazhuang? It matches our direction.”
Liu Fengyu said, “I remember Yan Huiyang said that the forces in Beijing have bases in the surrounding cities, especially cities like Tianjin and Shijiazhuang. Could the people of the Fènglán Society have taken Zhuang Yao?”
Cong Xia pondered, “It’s hard to say. With the bounty in place, any faction could have captured Zhuang Yao. However, we believe that Zhuang Yao is one of the special ability users. Besides Sun Ya and Ai Er whom we encountered in Xi’an, the only others who witnessed Zhuang Yao’s healing ability were Wei Zi, the two brothers. Could they have defected to another faction?”
Cheng Tianbi replied, “Not necessarily. During our battle in Luoyang, those mutated individuals engaged in intelligence operations must have analyzed us to some extent. Only you and Zhuang Yao were left untouched by the team, making it easy for them to deduce that the special ability user is one of you two. Additionally, since there was no energy fluctuation around you, they would be more inclined to suspect Zhuang Yao. Therefore, I believe they might not have been certain that Zhuang Yao was the special ability user, but they thought he had the highest probability, so they captured him.”
The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.
Mydt Zydikw dseele, pyukdt, “R yzps vbkdj vbkp kp xsal zkjlzu. Mbkp qsalpv kp hypv yde srld, yde sdnl yzz vbl zlyhlp qyzz, vblal yal yzxspv ds scpvynzlp vs swa hkpksd. Ohld kq psxlsdl kp vaynjkdt wp, vblu oswzed’v eyal vs tlv vss nzspl. Ebld ol przkv wr, Gcw kp vbl xspv vaynjyczl yde zsnyvyczl sdl, obkzl vbl svblap nyd lypkzu bkel kd vbl qsalpv, xyjkdt kv wdzkjlzu qsa vblx vs cl qswde. Tldnl, vblu vyatlvle Hbwydt Zys qkapv.”
Usdt Dky osaaklezu pyke, “Rd vbyv nypl, obyv kq vblu’hl nyrvwale vbl oasdt rlapsd…” Tl clnyxl kdnalypkdtzu wdlypu, yde Hbwydt Zys’p elzknyvl zkvvzl qynl jlrv yrrlyakdt kd bkp xkde. Tl qlyale psxlvbkdt bl nswzed’v clya oswze byrrld.
Ubldt Mkydck alyppwale, “Rv osd’v byrrld. Hbwydt Zys xwpv byhl y oyu vs rasvlnv bkxplzq.”
Pldt Dkys nswzed’v pvyde kv yde pbswvle, “Gbb! Mbkp kp eakhkdt xl naygu!”
Usdt Dky pktble, bkp lulp qkzzle okvb ydmklvu.
Gcw nyaakle vblx qsa shla lktbvu jkzsxlvlap yde vbld pvsrrle yv y rzynl, vwadkdt yaswde yde clzzsokdt zswezu vsoyaep vbl dsavb.
Nkw Wldtuw qasodle, “Ebyv eslp vbkp xlyd? Pke vblu zspl vaynj sq wp blal?”
Usdt Dky zssjle yv vbl xyr, nsxryakdt vbl nsxrypp yde vbl kvkdlayau alnsae. “Yspv zkjlzu. Fbkfkygbwydt kp zlpp vbyd voldvu jkzsxlvlap yoyu qasx blal, yde vbkp elpszyvl yaly nyd’v ynnsxxseyvl rlsrzl, ps vblu xwpv byhl vyjld Hbwydt Zys kdvs Fbkfkygbwydt.”
“We should go to Shijiazhuang and inquire. A large group of pigeons flying from the sky would surely attract attention if they entered the city.”
Cheng Tianbi said, “If we want to go in and find someone, we can’t bring Abu with us.”
“Let Abu take us nearby, and then we’ll go into the city on our own.”
Deng Xiao asked, “Will Abu obediently wait for us?”
“We can only force it to wait. With its size, everyone in the city will notice if it enters.”
Abu continued to lead them for more than ten kilometers before they got off its back. Cong Xia touched Abu’s face and said, “Abu, wait for us here. You’re too big to come with us. We will rescue Zhuang Yao and come back after dark. If you go in, our presence will be exposed.”
Abu restlessly scratched the ground with its paws, letting out a whimpering sound.
“Abu, be good, wait for us here. We’ll be back after dark.” Cong Xia patted it and turned to the others. “Let’s go.”
Cheng Tianbi said, “Deng Xiao, take Liu Fengyu. I’ll take Cong Xia. We need to move quickly.”
“Alright.” Deng Xiao immediately transformed into an amphibious form and carried Liu Fengyu on his back. Cheng Tianbi also carried Cong Xia, and Tang Yanqiu flew at low altitude, leading the way. The five of them rushed toward Shijiazhuang at an incredible speed.
Deng Xiao’s transformed speed was impressive, and Cheng Tianbi ran as fast as the wind, almost floating along. They covered a distance of seven to eight kilometers in less than twenty minutes.
Deng Xiao and Tang Yanqiu returned to their human forms, and the five of them put on hats and adjusted their clothes to blend in as much as possible. Then they headed into the city.
Once inside, they noticed there were still quite a few people in Shijiazhuang. There were many homeless and starving people at the city’s outskirts, walking past lifeless bodies without even sparing a second glance. It was evident how common death had become in this desperate era.
Their appearance attracted some attention since, at this time, people who still wore clean clothes and were in good condition were mostly mutants. Moreover, they were all tall and strong young men, representing powerful strength, which made them very eye-catching.
Liu Fengyu deliberately covered his face with a scarf. Among their group, besides Abu, he was the next most recognizable, and his picture was even on the wanted posters.
Facing many curious glances, they walked towards the city center. When passing through a street, they noticed a few teenagers squatting on the roadside. They were wearing ragged clothes, looking thin and unhealthy, with a somewhat rebellious aura. As they walked by, one of the boys approached, trying to please them, “Hey, big brothers, you’re from out of town, right?”
Cheng Tianbi glanced at him and asked, “What’s it to you?”
“Would you like to find a place to rest? I can take you to a nice place – clean, warm, with food and drinks, and many beautiful girls.”
“No, thanks.”
“Big brother, don’t worry. It’s very safe there, a place exclusively for mutants. They strictly follow the rules. Our brothers haven’t eaten for days. If you let us introduce a few people, we can get two steamed buns each. Please, big brother…” The young boy pleaded, looking at Cheng Tianbi.
Cong Xia said, “If you want to eat, help us with something.”
The boy’s eyes lit up at the mention of food and asked, “What do you need us to do?”
“Last night, around midnight, did a large group of pigeons fly into the city?”
“Yes, they were from Jiujian County. Those pigeons belong to the Sijiangmen.”
Cong Xia was puzzled and asked, “What’s Jiujian County, Sijiangmen?”
The boy smirked, saying, “Big brother, I’m too hungry; I can’t remember clearly.”
Cong Xia patted Deng Xiao. “Give me something.”
Deng Xiao blinked. “How did you know I had something?” He then took out a bag of beef jerky from his pocket.
“You always have something to eat.” Cong Xia took the beef jerky and dangled it in front of the boy, “Answer our questions, and this is yours.”
The boy gulped.
Cheng Tianbi looked around and felt there were too many people around. “Do you have a place to stay? Let’s talk inside.”
“Yes, yes, please come in.” The boy led them upstairs, and his companions followed.
Upstairs was a dimly lit dwelling with bare walls and an unpleasant smell. A few children eagerly brought chairs for them.
Cong Xia said, “That’s alright; we’ll leave after we finish asking.”
The boy insisted, “Big brother, go ahead and ask.”
“You mentioned Jiujian County and Sijiangmen. What are they?”
“Jiujian County is a gang from Beijing, probably the largest one with nine branches, from the First Jiangmen to the Ninth Jiangmen. The one stationed here in Shijiazhuang is the Sijiangmen.”
Cong Xia said solemnly, “How many major gangs are there in Beijing?”
“There are quite a few,” a short boy said proudly and continued, “My dad has been to Beijing, and he told me that there are over a hundred large gangs there. Among them, the most powerful four are the Dragon Blood Clan, Jiujian County, Fènglán Society, and Liùdào Huángquán. The leaders of these four gangs are all natural force-evolved individuals. The Dragon Blood Clan specializes in fire, Jiujian County in water, Fènglán Society in lightning, and Liùdào Huángquán in earth. All four of them are extremely formidable. I think the most powerful one is the lightning user; they can instantly turn people into ashes.”
“Nonsense, the most powerful should be the fire user. Have you heard of it? The leader of the Dragon Blood Clan can even transform into a monster.”
“I heard that the leader of Liùdào Huángquán is the most fearsome, burying people without any effort.”
“Water can encompass all things; water is the most powerful…”
The boy who initially spoke yelled, “Damn it, stop arguing! Have any of you heard of the team they put a bounty on? Let me tell you, Wind is the most badass one. They can create massive tsunamis and drown everything in their path.”
Cong Xia felt a headache coming on and scolded lightly, “Enough, stop arguing about this.”
Hearing about so many natural force-evolved individuals with abilities like fire, water, lightning, and earth, it sounded overwhelmingly powerful. They seemed to be the worst off, only six people and a cat.
The children fell silent, and the young boy awkwardly scratched his head, “Big brother, what do you want to ask?”
Cong Xia said, “The pigeons. Tell us more about the pigeons you saw last night.”
“Oh, those pigeons belonged to Jiujian County, the Sijiangmen. They were led by a pigeon-type mutant, a beautiful lady. Are you looking for her?”
“Yes, where can we find her?”
“They live in a city village to the east. The whole village has become the Sijiangmen’s base.”
“Have you heard of any unusual activities from Sijiangmen in the past few days?”
The boy tilted his head and thought, “I’m not sure.”
“Are there any powerful individuals in Sijiangmen?”
“The leader of Sijiangmen is a horse-type mutant; he likes to transform into a half-human, half-horse appearance, just like in games. It’s really cool. I heard he used to be a soldier and always carries a bunch of weapons, like a huge machine gun.” The boy exaggeratedly gestured, “He’s very formidable.”
“What about others?”
“We don’t know much about the others; these are things we heard from others.”
Cong Xia said, “That’s right.” He tossed the beef jerky to the young boy, “Draw us a map and tell us how to get to that city village. Then, act as if you’ve never seen us, understood?”
“Understood, understood!” The children beamed with joy, holding the bag of beef jerky as if it were a precious treasure. They eagerly drew the map for them.
After receiving the map, they didn’t waste any time and left immediately.
Following the map’s directions, they headed east toward the city village. The village was easy to find; it had a large gate guarded by people with guns. A blue flag of Jiujian County was hung on the gate, with small flags of Sijiangmen on the sides.
If the information from those boys was accurate, then the water natural force-evolved individual who had returned injured after attempting to collect the puppet jade at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda was the leader of Jiujian County. Did that mean the horrifying individuals seen in the video were also members of Jiujian County?
The group entered a nearby office building with seven floors. Upon reaching the top floor, they could observe the entire city village and see people patrolling and moving around inside.
Cheng Tianbi said, “Put your weapons on the ground, and let me check them.”
Cong Xia had two handguns and a military knife on him, and the others also had at least one military knife. They placed their weapons on the ground as instructed.
Cheng Tianbi counted, “Thirty-six rounds of ammunition left. Except for Cong Xia and Liu Fengyu, the rest of you don’t need to carry guns. We have limited resources. After dark tonight, we’ll take action. Cong Xia and I will form one team, Tang Yanqiu will go alone. We’ll infiltrate the city village first. You two should not act without orders. When you find Zhuang Yao, we’ll launch signal flares, and you can come to rescue us based on the flare’s location.”
“Okay.” They all nodded in agreement.
Cong Xia looked down from the top floor, praying for Zhuang Yao’s safety.
Suddenly, Deng Xiao asked, “Those gangs in Beijing sound so cool. Are they really that powerful? The Dragon Blood Clan, the Liùdào Huángquán, they all sound badass. Are they stronger than Big Brother Cheng?”
Cong Xia said, “Since they are also natural force-evolved individuals, they should be quite formidable too.”
Liu Fengyu added, “We have a unique cultivation method. Cheng Tianbi’s level of evolution must be higher than theirs.”
Cong Xia nodded and said, “That’s indeed our advantage, but they had access to the puppet jade several months earlier than us. Their level of evolution might not be lower than Cheng Tianbi’s. Moreover, highly evolved mutants, once they can control the energy flow within their bodies, discovering energy cores is just a matter of time. Even if they don’t know the cultivation method provided by Ancient Jade, they might know other things. In any case, mutants strengthened by the puppet jade are extremely powerful.”
Deng Xiao frowned, “I still believe Big Brother Cheng is stronger than them.”
Cheng Tianbi said calmly, “We’ll only know for sure when we’re in a real conflict.”
Tang Yanqiu added, “If we only go by descriptions, all these natural force-evolved individuals sound incredibly powerful, including Wu Yu. Now we know of six natural force-evolved individuals, and four of them are in Beijing. There might be more in the future, and the situation in Beijing is definitely tense.”
With so many mutants around, but only a few standing at the pinnacle, each ruling their own territory, it’s no wonder the situation is tense. Perhaps it’s because of the government and military suppression that these gangs can barely maintain a balance. At least from the rumors they’ve heard about Beijing, it seems relatively stable.
Cong Xia said, “I’m curious about the people we saw in those videos. Are they from Jiujian County? If the last group that entered the Big Wild Goose Pagoda were water natural force-evolved individuals, then it’s highly likely that those who followed were his people.”
“Very possible.”
Deng Xiao sneered, “It seems that the water natural force person isn’t that formidable after all, as they couldn’t conquer the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.”
Cong Xia smiled wryly, saying, “Those worm creatures are too powerful. Besides one missile leveling the place, I can’t think of anyone who could take the puppet jade out from inside without destroying the pagoda.”
Cheng Tianbi said, “Once we reach Beijing, let Professor Cong study the videos.”
Cong Xia sighed, “Yes, maybe it can help them unravel the mystery of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Those creatures always make me feel uneasy. I believe one day the pagoda won’t be able to contain them. Xi’an is a thousand-year-old ancient city; it shouldn’t be destroyed by a bunch of worms.”
After chatting for a while, they each started their own training, quietly waiting for nightfall.
***************
Other Novels:
Managing a Divine Beast Kindergarten in the Immortal Realm
Second Life Translations' Comment Policy
1. Be kind and respectful. Comments with curses will be put under moderation.
2. No links to other websites or asking for links.
3. No spoilers!