Stranger Danger

“It’s already quite late, elder one. It’ll probably be completely dark by the time we finally make it to the Jade Dragon Lake.”

After catching up to the group, Ye Qing immediately implored Prayer, “Little August Hill is already a dangerous place, but it’s even more dangerous during the night. Why don’t we leave on the crack of dawn instead?”

“No need to be so formal, lad. Just call me Prayer!” Prayer smiled warmly. “And don’t worry. Everything will be alright with me around.”

Behind them, Granny Snake suddenly let out a creepy giggle and said, “You have nothing to be worried about, lad. Prayer’s abilities are far beyond your imagination. You just guide us there and leave the rest to us!”

You’re not helping! Ye Qing complained in his head, but he wisely stopped pressing the issue.

The group came to a sudden stop when they reached the foot of Little August Hill. While stroking his goatee, Prayer stepped out and started walking circles around the area. First, he closed his eyes as if taking a small break. Then, he looked to the distance as if admiring the view. Later, he lowered his head as if absorbed in thought, and finally, he started mumbling something they couldn’t hear under his breath.

“What is Prayer doing?” Ye Qing asked curiously.

The red-haired and bearded Chi Long answered, “He’s checking the fengshui of this place!”

“Fengshui?” That surprised Ye Qing. Was fengshui a thing in this world as well?

It was at this moment Prayer stopped mumbling and opened his eyes. Then, he took three steps forward. As if a mysterious force was empowering his steps, each step seemed to strike a chord with everyone’s heart. On the third step, his surroundings trembled as if he had stepped on some sort of confluence, and a cool breeze started circling around Prayer. He looked every bit like a fengshui master right now.

Next, Prayer produced a palm-sized censer that looked to be carved from some sort of jet black wood out of seemingly nowhere. It gave off a cold, eerie presence. Then, he produced three vibrant-colored incense sticks in the exact same way and lit them all up. When the scent of the incense sticks entered Ye Qing’s nostrils, he immediately felt refreshed as if he had just taken a cold bath. Even his head felt clearer and sharper than normal.

After lighting the three incense sticks, Prayer raised them over his head and bowed to the heavens. He said, “My first prayer goes to the celestials and Buddhas above! Bless me with auspicious luck!”

Then, he bowed toward the earth and said, “My second prayer goes to the ghosts and deities of Fengdu [1]! Rid me of all evil spirits and monsters!”

Finally, he bowed toward Little August Hill. “My third prayer goes to the untold creatures of the mountains! Protect me from all illness and ill fortune!”

Prayer carefully planted the three incense sticks in the censer. Then, he just stood there as if he was waiting for something. When nothing did, he sucked in a deep breath and cracked a smile on his face. While picking up the censer, he beckoned, “It’s done. Let us continue!”

Everyone in the group except Ye Qing seemed to know what just happened. They also seemed to have complete trust in Prayer’s ritual, whatever it was. There was clear ease and confidence on their faces.

“Er…” Ye Qing looked left and right like he was hoping that someone would step up and explain things to him.

Noticing his confusion, Chi Long cracked a derisive smirk before asking, “Are you confused, boy?”

When Ye Qing gave him an obedient nod, Chi Long answered, “It’s no secret, but the incense sticks Prayer just used are no ordinary incense sticks. They are called the Incense of Worship. The first prayer to the heavens blesses us good luck, the second prayer to the earth wards us from evil, and the third prayer to the spirits protects us from any accident. If the Incense of Worship does not go out at the end of the ritual, it means that our prayers are accepted, and that the gods and spirits would ensure that our journey will be smooth and successful.”

“... You’re not kidding me, are you?” Ye Qing was a bit skeptical, to be honest. Why even cultivate and practice martial arts if prayers were enough to protect one from everything?

Chi Long sneered. “How do you think Prayer got his moniker? It’s because he owns all kinds of miraculous incense sticks that can bless someone with good fortune, ward them from evil, uncover hidden secrets and more. Just wait and see if you don’t believe me.”

Suddenly, Prayer chuckled from the front. “You seem to know a lot about me, Chi Long.”

Chi Long’s smirk visibly stiffened on his face before he apologized profusely, “They’re just rumors I picked up here and there, Prayer! I swear I don’t mean anything by it!”

He then glared daggers at Ye Qing as if he was the reason behind his embarrassment.

Of course, Ye Qing was having none of it. Why are you glaring at me? You’re the one who wanted to answer my question!

“If you’re really curious about my incense sticks, we can talk about it after business is over!” Prayer ignored Chi Long and said to Ye Qing in a friendly tone.

“Sure. Thanks, Prayer!” Ye Qing saluted the old man.

Suddenly, Granny Snake interrupted without warning, “I wouldn’t be so sure about that, lad. As far as I know, everyone who has spoken to Prayer about his incense sticks have turned into incense sticks themselves!”

Ye Qing shuddered immediately. He didn’t even have to fake it.

Prayer did not take offense though. He turned to look at Granny Snake and smiled. “Why are you making up stories, sister? You’re scaring our lad for no reason here! Lad, don’t listen to her nonsense, you hear? I promise you I’m the most humble, cultured, and honorable old man you’ll ever meet in your life!”

Yeah, like hell I’m going to believe that!

Ye Qing kept a tight lid on his real thoughts and forced out a grin. “R-right!”

He already had a feeling, but there really wasn’t a single good person in this group. Even the friendliest of them all—assuming that Granny Snake was telling the truth—hid a dark side as well.

Suddenly, Zheng Tianyuan declared from the center of the group, “Enough. We’re entering the mountains now. I want everyone to keep your wits about you!” No one objected to his order.

The first part of their journey was mostly peaceful until a bunch of catkins suddenly appeared in front of them. Ye Qing immediately cried out in warning, “Watch out! That’s the Catkin’s Lie! You mustn’t touch it no matter what!” Liu Jinshui’s horrifying death three days ago was still fresh in his mind.

Prayer did not seem perturbed in the slightest, however. He simply said, “It will be fine!” before raising his censer and continuing forward, giving Ye Qing no choice but to follow. Right before they would make contact with the Catkin’s Lie, a gust of wind suddenly appeared out of nowhere and blew them out of the way. Just like that, they were safe.

“Stop jumping at every shadow, boy! Nothing would happen with Prayer around!” rebuked Pao with a dissatisfied expression.

What else could Ye Qing say? He simply let out an awkward chuckle and moved on. Ye Qing would soon learn that the effects of the Incense of Worship. One time, they encountered a horde of Bone Rats. Bone Rats were gregarious, carnivorous Strangers that feasted on any flesh-and-blood creature until nothing but bones were left, which was how they had earned their name. In fact, the Bone Rats had eaten a Red-class Winnowing Leopard into a skeleton right before their eyes. But for some reason, the Bone Rats just ran past them even though they were right in front of them.

Later, they stumbled upon a massive horde of Red-class Headless Lanterns. It was a Stranger that hunted and killed any living being that was illuminated by its candlelight. Specifically, they would descend on the target’s head and remove it. Unlike the Bone Rats, the Headless Lanterns actually responded to their presence and tried to kill them, but a rain suddenly appeared out of nowhere and extinguished the candle flames inside the lanterns. Without the candlelight, the Headless Lanterns seemed as blind as a blind man. They soon flew away and were out of sight and mind in no time.

The fourth Stranger they encountered was a little more dangerous than the previous three. It was a Smilodon, a Malice-class Stranger who charged them immediately after it saw them. However, another Malice-class Stranger—an Armored Armadillo—just happened to crawl out of the ground at the wrong place and the wrong time and accidentally struck the Smilodon’s belly. Naturally, the two Strangers started beating the shit out of each other and forgot about the humans entirely.

These incidents would continue to happen as they trekked through Little Azure Hill. It was easily one of the most amazing things Ye Qing had witnessed.

Some time later, Prayer snapped Ye Qing out of his amazement with a question, “How much longer until we get to the Jade Dragon Lake, lad?”

Ye Qing came back down to earth and examined his surroundings. “We’re close. Once we get past this hill, we’ll be there in two or three hours at most!”

“Good. For your own sake, I hope you aren’t lying to us!” The arrogant Zheng Tianyuan said indifferently before ordering, “Let’s take a break here, everyone!”

Pao immediately pulled out an animal-skin blanket from what looked like a shell-like object and spread it across the ground. He then placed some jerkies, candied fruit and delicious wine on the blanket before apologizing, “My deepest apologies, young master. This is the best I can do given the circumstances.”

“It’s no problem!” Zheng Tianyuan answered before sitting down on the blanket and enjoying his meal. If Ye Qing didn’t know better, he would have thought that they were out for a night picnic.

Noticing that Ye Qing was extremely interested in the shell-shaped object Pao was holding, Prayer explained while walking to his side, “That is what we call a Nature’s Shell. The Nature’s Shell is a unique Stranger with a pocket dimension in its body. It can be used to store any non-living thing. With proper refinement, it can easily be made into a high quality storage artifact!”

“Nature’s Shell, you say?” This old man thinks I don’t know what a spatial artifact is? Pshaw! When Ye Qing recalled that Prayer had seemingly conjured his censer and incense sticks out of nothing as well, he asked, “Do you have one too, Prayer?”

“I sure do!” A shell about the size of a baby’s hand fell out of his sleeves and into Prayer’s palm. Seeing as it was an entire size smaller than Pao’s, Ye Qing reckoned that its quality was slightly inferior as well. “My Nature’s Shell is made using an undersized Nature’s Shell, which is why it can only hold so many items. In the markets, it would be rated as an inferior quality item. On the other hand, Scion Zheng’s Nature’s Shell is both mature and very well-bred. You can tell it’s a superior quality Nature’s Shell at first glance.”

“It’s just a Nature’s Shell!” Despite his humble words, Zheng Tianyuan’s expression was anything but humble. He said, “Just tell me if you wish to upgrade your Nature’s Shell, Prayer! I’ll give you a better one as soon as we return home!”

“Haha! Thank you for your generosity, Scion Zheng!” Prayer said with a chuckle.

Suddenly, Granny Snake interrupted, “Quiet, all of you! Do you hear that?” The old woman had been meditating in silence until something caught her attention.

Ye Qing listened closely. He quickly heard what sounded like festive noises coming from deep within the forest.

Are those… suonas and drums? Ye Qing thought before declaring, “It sounds like someone is celebrating something!”

“It’s a wedding procession song!” Prayer added with sudden gravity.

“A wedding procession song? You must be joking, Prayer! We’re in the middle of nowhere! It must be the wind you’re hearing!” Pao taunted instinctively, but as soon as he fell silent he heard the suonas and drums as well. The blood immediately drained away from his face.

Prayer grabbed his censer tightly. “Be on your guard, everyone. We’re probably dealing with multiple Strangers!”

Granny Snake suggested, “It sounds like it’s still some distance away. Why don’t we hide until whatever’s causing those noises are gone?”

Unfortunately, as soon as she finished her sentence, the festive noises suddenly increased in volume until it felt like whoever was creating it was right there with them. And they were. The next moment, a bunch of people wearing red clothes and carrying a wedding carriage suddenly appeared in front of the group.

As it turned out, the people weren’t humans at all. They were a bunch of oddly-shaped Strangers. A quartet of stout toads with pimple-like warts all over their faces and extraordinarily large mouths were standing in front of the wedding carriage and blowing the suona. Their large mouths were probably why it sounded like an entire band of minstrels were supporting the procession. Right behind them were six tall, slender Strangers with six arms attached to their bodies. They were probably some sort of insect Strangers. Each insect Stranger was holding a gong in one hand and a mallet in every other hand. Their tight and rhythmic gong beats were something no human could possibly replicate without sufficient numbers!

1. famous necropolis of the underworld ☜