Though he had been gone for less than ten days, Su Mo felt as if he had lived an entire lifetime.
He tried to retrace his steps back from Death Mountain based on memory, but he couldn’t find the way no matter what he did, as if trapped by a ghost wall.
Death Mountain, true to its name, was perpetually deathly still.
The moon in the sky was originally the only source of light here, but its light was like water—not just soft, but crucially, icy—always giving the feeling that “this is the underworld.”
Su Mo sent a palm strike of Yin Fire forward, and a sneaky wraith instantly turned to ash, leaving no trace.
“This trip was quite fruitful. Not only did I comprehend Sword Intent, but I also learned a technique like Quenching Flame Art, which suits me perfectly,” Su Mo muttered to himself.
Erha followed listlessly behind him, its dejected appearance resembling a child who had done something wrong.
The two were lost in their own thoughts, not disturbing each other.
Suddenly, intense sounds of fighting came from ahead. Su Mo pinpointed the direction and sprinted towards it, not forgetting to remind Erha: “Keep up!”
After running for a full two hours, the sounds of fighting grew closer, yet the source remained elusive.
A faint sense of wrongness crept over Su Mo. A wisp of Yin Fire flickered to life in his palm.
Governing souls and piercing through illusions were inherent properties of Yin Fire.
Strangely, it had no effect whatsoever.
Could this not be an illusion or false reality?
Just as he was puzzling over it, Erha spoke up beside him: “Could it be that your Yin Fire’s grade is too low to be effective?”
Su Mo was taken aback, suddenly thinking Erha made a good point.
All along, Yin Fire had been his ultimate trump card. With it around, things like illusions and mental corruption were completely useless, fostering a feeling that Yin Fire was invincible.
But how could there truly be anything invincible in this world?
There’s always someone better, a higher heaven beyond this one.
Su Mo realized he had made a very basic mistake.
His mind raced, and a new idea struck him: If his current Yin Fire isn’t working, what about the purified version?
While practicing the Quenching Flame Art, he had discovered that if he purified only a small portion of the Yin Fire in his second energy sea, it would turn into a jet-black liquid. Logically, this should be a more refined form of Yin Fire.
Since it was more refined, its grade should presumably be higher as well.
Thinking this, he extracted the previously purified black liquid. A cluster of black flame immediately ignited on his fingertip.
“Hiss, that’s a good grade! I didn’t expect you to have so many hidden cards. Just looking at it makes me uncomfortable, like my soul is being watched by a hunter,” Erha exclaimed in admiration.
Earning the approval of an A-level pow— A-level Husky meant the black Yin Fire was indeed impressive.
Sure enough, the surrounding space twisted slightly.
Su Mo followed the sound again and, indeed, found the area near the Bronze Hall within ten minutes.
Thank heavens, I’m finally back!
There were lighting facilities around the Bronze Hall. From a distance, Su Mo saw two groups of people arguing in front of the hall. One group consisted of Ye Qingyu’s subordinates, while the other was actually made up of foreigners—both white and black.
After all this time, they were still here?
Su Mo didn’t approach immediately but watched from afar.
“This is too much! You promised to let us go after three months of hard labor! Three months, then another three, and another… it’s been nine damn months now, and you still won’t let us leave! Are all you Xia people this untrustworthy?” A white man with decent Chinese spoke indignantly.
“What, do you really think you still have a chance to get out?” a member of Beidou sneered. “This place is full of our nation’s secrets. Letting you go is no different from betraying the country.”
The white man gritted his teeth. “You’re breaking your word!”
“There’s no need to keep promises with enemies.”
Just as a fight seemed imminent, a middle-aged man who appeared to hold a relatively high position approached from a distance, his gaze sweeping over the foreigners.
“Wang Xiefeng, ISO will not let this go. Your country will pay for this,” the white man said, eyes red, glaring venomously at the middle-aged man.
The man called Wang Xiefeng ignored him and looked at the other staff nearby. “What’s going on with them?”
The person who had been confronting the white man earlier replied, “They demanded better rations. Just because we refused, they even threatened to go on strike.”
Wang Xiefeng’s eyes turned cold. “Elder Nangong and Sister Ye spared your lives back then, not so you could waste provisions here. If you can work, work. If you can’t, we might as well just kill you.” As he spoke, a faint killing intent emanated from him; he didn’t seem to be joking.
“You wouldn’t dare! My country will—”
Wang Xiefeng cut him off disdainfully. “Illegally infiltrated Xia territory, ultimately perished in the ruins… what does that have to do with me, Wang Xiefeng?”
Then he added, “Besides, you’ve all been ‘dead’ for so long now, and we haven’t seen anyone come to rescue you. Please face reality. Our Xia nation is not to be bullied. We were just dealing with some pesky insects before, causing a bit of a mess, but we haven’t fallen yet.”
As he spoke, he took out a pink wooden box from his bag, adorned with cute cartoon stickers.
It was such a cute box, yet it made the dozen or so foreign experts pale and fall silent.
“Keep talking! Cat got your tongue?” Wang Xiefeng grinned, opening the pink box to reveal an assortment of sharp torture instruments inside.
He pulled out a handful of steel needles, his smile turning sinister. “Don’t worry, there’s enough for everyone…”
Not to mention the foreign experts, even Su Mo, watching from afar, felt his corners of the mouth twitch at the sight.
Echoing screams of agony carried far into the distance.
Only after each person had ‘enjoyed’ a turn did he stop.
Su Mo thought it was over, but then Wang Xiefeng said, “Remember to disinfect them with limewater.”
Tsk tsk tsk, this guy is seriously twisted!
Su Mo almost felt sorry for them, but then he reconsidered. They had probably taken plenty of Xia lives themselves, and they came to cause trouble on Xia soil… Pah! The punishment is too light!
Erha watched, its dog jaw trembling. “That man is so cruel,” it couldn’t help but sigh.
“This is nothing. They were probably much crueler when they did their evil deeds. They’re just getting what they deserve.”
Suddenly, Erha let out a strange yelp and hid behind Su Mo.
It turned out Wang Xiefeng had spotted them and was walking over, the pink box still in his hand, not yet put away.
“Ahhh! He’s coming over! What do we do?” Erha was visibly panicked.
Su Mo was caught between laughter and tears. “You’re an A-level! Don’t be so cowardly!”
“A-levels can be scared of psychos too,” Erha said weakly.
As Wang Xiefeng drew nearer, Erha trembled even more. Su Mo couldn’t tell if it was genuine fear or an act.
“Deputy Director Wang, long time no see.”
Even though in Su Mo’s perception only nine days had passed, according to their earlier conversation, nine months had passed here, hence his greeting.
Wang Xiefeng’s eyes widened, his face full of disbelief. “Miss Qingyi! You’re alive!”
His shock seemed genuine; his micro-expressions didn’t lie.
Su Mo smiled in response. “Yes, I’m alive.”
Wang Xiefeng suddenly beamed with joy. “Sister Ye will be overjoyed to know you’re alive! Everyone thought you had died, but she never gave up searching. She looked for you in Death Mountain for a full eight months.”
Su Mo’s expression showed both excitement and heartache. He had to admire the deep bond between the sisters.
“Where is my sister? I haven’t seen her for so long, I miss her.”
“Quite a coincidence, she had business to attend to and left half a month ago,” Wang Xiefeng said regretfully.
“It’s fine, she has her own things to do. Since she’s busy, I’ll go find her directly.”
Su Mo prepared to take his leave, but Wang Xiefeng stopped him. “Miss Qingyi, there’s a letter here for you from Sister Ye. She said if you came out, you should read it first.”
???
Su Mo was baffled and skeptical. “Deputy Director Wang, are you joking with me?”
Wang Xiefeng also seemed perplexed. “I found it strange too, but that’s exactly what she told me. It’s as if she knew Miss Qingyi would definitely appear.”
Su Mo quickly opened the envelope. Inside was indeed Ye Qingyu’s handwriting.
[If You Didn’t Die]
When you read this letter, it means you’ve left that mysterious place, and I happen to be away from the ancient tomb—I’ve gone to avenge you.
You must be very curious: why would I go for revenge knowing you probably aren’t dead?
Σ( ° △ °|||)︴
Haha, of course it’s to take the opportunity to kill people! Even if your ‘death’ had nothing to do with others, I want to use this chance to teach a good lesson to those scoundrels running wild in our Xia territory.
A few have already been captured by Elder Nangong and me and are imprisoned in the ancient tomb. Remember to extort them later; I’ve saved all the good stuff for you.
Especially that islander; he has a Temple Token on him.
That’s a really good item. I guarded it carefully to prevent Elder Nangong from taking it. You must remember to get it.
Come, let your big sister give you a kiss, mua!
|(￣3￣)|
[If You Died]
Wuwuwu… my dear little sister, you died so tragically… big sister will definitely avenge you…
(*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)
After reading Ye Qingyu’s letter, Su Mo’s expression turned strange.
“My dear sister… you really are something else,” Su Mo chuckled.
“Did Sister Ye have any instructions in the letter?” Wang Xiefeng asked.
Su Mo glanced towards the direction of the foreign experts. “Are their lives under my sister’s control?”
“Of course. After Elder Nangong left, their lives and deaths are solely at Sister Ye’s discretion.”
“Good. My sister asked me to… give them her ‘best regards’.” Su Mo smiled warmly, his beautiful face looking very kind.
Wang Xiefeng’s eyes lit up. “Need any help?”
Su Mo’s expression froze for a moment. “…No, I can handle it myself.”
“Alright.” Wang Xiefeng handed over the pink wooden box.
Su Mo: “???”
Wang Xiefeng immediately realized his mistake, quickly retracted the box, and said awkwardly, “Such a bloody toy really isn’t suitable for Miss Qingyi.”
After saying that, he glanced at Erha hiding behind Su Mo and grinned. “Oh, this dog is shy around strangers.”
Su Mo’s corners of the mouth twitched. Is it strangers it’s afraid of?
Bro, it’s afraid of YOU.
“Haha, right, this dog is just timid. It’s afraid of everyone except me…”
Erha rolled its eyes in frustration.
Su Mo was led by Wang Xiefeng to the place where the foreign experts usually ate and slept. They had been temporarily gathered there, awaiting Su Mo’s “regards.”
When they saw Su Mo, their first instinct was to beg for mercy, but upon seeing his face clearly, they realized this woman wasn’t the fearsome Ye Qingyu.
Wait, she looks so much like Ye Qingyu… she’s… Ye Qingyi!
A look of astonishment flashed across their faces, followed by immense grievance rising in their hearts.
After all, Ye Qingyu had labeled them as the murderers of her little sister, using that as justification to torture them. And now, here her little sister stood, alive and well before their very eyes.
Oh, no!
They had been quiet initially, wanting to see what tricks these Xia people were up to now, but the appearance of “Ye Qingyi” completely broke their composure.
“You’re not dead! You’re actually not dead! You Xia people are so despicable!”
Some shouted in Chinese, some in English. Su Mo listened for a while but understood very little, quickly growing impatient. “Deputy Director Wang, give each of them a little ‘attention’! They’re too noisy!”
Wang Xiefeng’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “You got it!”
Erha hid to the side, sighing to itself: Ah, humans are indeed ruthless. So, so twisted!
Squeals akin to pigs being slaughtered erupted. Those with weaker wills were already begging for mercy, but unfortunately, Su Mo couldn’t understand what they were saying.
As for Wang Xiefeng, even if he understood, he pretended not to.
Su Mo: “What is he saying?”
Wang Xiefeng: “Probably that it feels so good he wants another turn.”
Su Mo: “Oblige him.”
Wang Xiefeng: “You got it!”
“Ah, fuck, fuck…” The man twitched on the ground, blood seeping from between his fingers.
Only after the ‘regards’ had been delivered to everyone did Su Mo leisurely say, “Take out all the valuable items you have on you.”
The white man who spoke decent Chinese was dumbfounded: “Miss, if you wanted our things, you could have just said so! Why resort to such harsh methods?”
Su Mo blinked his big eyes, his expression adorable. “I was afraid you wouldn’t give them willingly.”
“You didn’t even ask…” he started to raise his voice, but then met Wang Xiefeng’s smiling eyes. “…Forget it, take it. This is the most valuable thing I have on me.”
Su Mo raised an eyebrow slightly. “Who said I only want your most valuable thing?”
The white man was at a loss.
“Take everything out. Prisoners should have the awareness of prisoners. Since you weren’t thoroughly searched before, consider this the final clearance. Don’t make things worse for yourselves.”
At this moment, Su Mo was like a demon, tormenting both their bodies and their minds.
Under this oppressive threat, the foreign experts had no choice but to hand over all their possessions.
“We’ve done as you said. Can you treat us a little better now? We are prisoners, after all.”
“Are you proud of being a prisoner?” Su Mo shot them a disdainful look, his expression turning serious. “Even prisoners of war from open conflict aren’t treated lavishly. You came here to sneak attack our home, and you still have the nerve to make demands?”
After collecting the items, Su Mo patted Erha, who had covered its own eyes, and walked out, instructing Wang Xiefeng: “They’ve outlived their usefulness. If they can provide some valuable intel, keep them for now. Otherwise, just execute them.”
“Yes, Lord Biyewu!”
This time, the two spoke with a clear superior-subordinate dynamic.
…
Su Mo did not keep all the items for himself, only taking three things: the Temple Token, a Mage’s Training Manual, and a top-grade spirit stone imbued with fire energy.
As for the rest, he had other plans for them.
Leaving the ancient tomb, Su Mo listed three options for himself:
-
Go find Ye Qingyi.
-
Go find Ye Qingyi.
-
Go find Ye Qingyi.
After careful consideration, he ultimately chose option one.
“I wonder if that girl missed me…” Su Mo grinned foolishly.
Erha was utterly speechless.