Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 142: The Mystery of Vicious Blood

“Benefactors, please leave,” said an elderly nun, lowering her head. “The vicious qi has already entered Young Master Lu’s mind. He has lost his rationality. We fear that he may bring harm to others. Moreover, the two of you have brought a saber and sword, which could serve to exacerbate the situation. Please do not come any closer.”

Tang Buqi hesitated for a moment. In fact, when he saw Lu Shaoxiong’s bestial appearance, he began reconsidering his actions. It was not that he was afraid, but rather he wanted to figure out what was going on with the young master of the Lu Clan, and he wanted to do so by communicating with him. But with the other party in such a state, how were they to communicate?

He turned his gaze to Zhao Changhe, wanting to see his opinion, but he was stunned by what he saw.

Zhao Changhe had unstrapped the saber on his back and held it tightly against his chest. It looked as if he was struggling in a tug-of-war. “Don’t make a mess! Damn it, you’re still shaking? If you shake again, I’ll smack you!”

However, Dragon Bird only began shaking even more vigorously.

Tang Buqi: “...”

Sisi, who was standing beside them, stroked her forehead as she sighed inwardly. She had barely been a maid for a short while, but not only had she changed masters once, both her old and her new master were fools.

Clang!

Zhao Changhe grabbed the saber tightly, but Dragon Bird unexpectedly slipped out of its scabbard on its own. This startled Zhao Changhe, and he hastily grabbed its hilt and shoved it back into its scabbard. He then tightly held onto both the hilt and the scabbard before turning around and running away.

“Be good! Don’t cause trouble! You’ve been so good this entire time. Next time I see that old Emperor... Ah, I mean Old Yellow[1], I’ll praise you nicely in front of him, okay?”

“Roar!”

A furious roar came from behind him, along with the loud clang of the iron chains being torn off. The young master of the Lu Clan had broken free from his restraints and came barreling through the nuns who tried to stop him. Then, he threw himself fiercely at Zhao Changhe.

Zhao Changhe shot a swift roundhouse kick and sent the crazed young man flying back into the hall. He crashed through the doors and windows along the way, raising a cloud of dust.

Tang Buqi and Sisi were stunned.

Why did it look as if Lu Shaoxion was trying to fight Zhao Changhe’s saber, and Zhao Changhe was in the middle trying to break up the fight?

No, wait, it was more like he was joining the fight!

Lu Shaoxiong was kicked away, but it seemed that he was not hurt at all. He jumped up frantically, and then he attempted to lunge forward. But the next moment, Zhao Changhe’s huge sole suddenly appeared before his eyes, kicking him back into a corner.

A group of nuns rushed over, pressed Lu Shaoxiong firmly to the ground, and said urgently, “Benefactor, please leave quickly!”

With his hand on the hilt of his saber, Zhao Changhe vanished in a flash, shouting, “Can one of you come out with me? I’ve got something I want to ask!”

It was not until they were three or four li away from the Tranquility Hall that Dragon Bird finally calmed down. However, it seemed slightly resentful and aggrieved.

Zhao Changhe was speechless. No wonder they said that Dragon Bird could replace the Qinghe Sword, which was a sword that could actively kill evil... I never knew what that really meant, it didn’t seem like it could actually move on its own and kill people, but now I understand.

When he had faced Iceheart at the Ancient Sword Lake back then, Dragon Bird never acted on its own, nor did it show any signs of dissatisfaction or desire to fight against Iceheart. Because of that, Zhao Changhe felt as if Dragon Bird’s spirituality was inferior to that of Iceheart.

Unexpectedly, its first outbreak had occurred here. It appeared that not only was it sentient, but it was actually capable of actively attacking people as well. It was not much inferior to the Iceheart in this aspect.

Dragon Bird is the weapon of this era, right? It was created by Xia Longyuan, and its full name is the Dragon Bird of Great Xia. On the other hand, Iceheart is a divine sword of the previous era. Does this prove that Xia Longyuan has actually already touched upon the power of the gods and buddhas of the previous era?

But it’s really strange... Dragon Bird does not actively respond to vicious qi. Otherwise, when I use No Man’s Land, it should attack me right away, no? It seems particularly sensitive to killing intent, and it reacts when it feels “offended” by it. But why does this indiscriminate madness born from vicious qi seem to trigger it and make it shake like this...

Zhao Changhe squinted his eyes and looked at Dragon Bird thoughtfully.

“What’s wrong with your saber?” Tang Buqi flew over behind. “I told the guards at the entrance that there was no way that our weapons would cause any trouble, and here you are, slapping me in the face.”

Zhao Changhe looked at Tang Buqi’s face and then at his own hand that was holding his saber. He felt a sudden itch in his palm.

Tang Buqi took a step back.

Sisi, accompanied by an elderly nun, ran over panting, “Master, I’ve come with the abbess.”

Zhao Changhe was amused by Sisi’s performance, nodded, and said, “Well done, Sisi.”

Sisi lowered her head shyly, “I am merely trying to take some burden off of you, Master.”

Tang Buqi’s teeth felt sore. He shook his sleeve in frustration and asked the old nun, “Have you gotten him back under control?”

“He’s indeed back under control,” replied the old nun, gasping for air. “This kind of madness born from vicious qi leaves someone bereft of the sensation of pain. They fear neither blades nor spears, and their acupoints are incredibly tough. It truly is very troublesome to keep him under control. However, he has not been able to break free from the iron chains until now. I don’t know what triggered him today that he suddenly managed to break free from the chains that bound him...”

As she spoke, she glanced at the saber in Zhao Changhe’s hand. Tang Buqi and Sisi also looked at the saber. Regardless of how the saber suddenly triggered that outburst, it’s already out of the question that it can move on its own... It’s a really great treasure, isn’t it?

Zhao Changhe felt helpless. He had not expected that Dragon Bird, which had concealed its spirituality for so long, to expose itself in such a situation. To be fair, he could only blame his own negligence. Judging from the looks these people are giving, it’s probably only Tang Buqi who doesn’t really care about my saber that much. His family probably has similar things hidden away anyway.

On the other hand, Sisi’s eyes seemed to be glowing right now, and he was rather concerned about her. He had no idea what was going through her head, and he could not predict what she would do in the future.

He could only forcefully change the topic and ask the old nun, “I have some understanding of vicious qi. While it can indeed amplify a person’s strength, the amplification is still limited by how strong that person originally was. It is impossible for someone to suddenly become superhuman from such amplification. Since he even managed to break the iron chains, just how strong exactly was the young master of the Lu Clan originally?”

Tang Buqi commented from the side, “So it really is vicious blood qi? It isn’t something else?”

“Yes, I’m almost absolutely certain. Although it’s a bit different from the type I cultivate, it’s essentially the same thing.”

Tang Buqi continued, “But isn’t it strange for the vicious qi to have also strengthened his muscles and bones to such an extent? From what I recall about Lu Shaoxiong, he barely managed to reach the third layer of the Profound Gate with the help of piles of medicine. So how could he have reached a level where he could even tear apart iron chains barehanded?”

The old nun nodded in agreement. “Indeed, Young Master Lu is at the third layer of the Profound Gate, and he is a cultivator of internal arts. He has never practiced external arts, so he should have no way of breaking the chains. He was fairly manageable before...”

Zhao Changhe fell silent. He could not help but think that if someone had secretly sawed the chains, then it would be the nuns who would be suspicious, and so there would be no point in asking them about it. He had a feeling that this accident was, in fact, not purely an accident. There seemed to be some human factor involved.

After pondering for a moment, he asked, “During Young Master Lu’s confinement, has he done anything unusual?”

The old nun shook her head. “No, he just occasionally went into fits of madness, roaring and attempting to break free, but he was unable to. During this time, even the master and mistress of the Lu Clan did not dare to visit. Even if they did come, there wouldn’t be anything they could do. Madam Lu could probably only cry. We have been reciting scriptures to help him calm his mind...”

“Don’t bother reciting those scriptures. If it really is vicious qi that’s caused him to go mad, you guys buzzing around like flies will only make it worse. If someone was reciting scriptures right by me when I’m under the influence of vicious blood qi, I would only get more furious.”

“...Our scriptures are different from others. They have an effect not unlike cultivation arts. And indeed, Young Master Lu’s episodes of madness have become much less frequent in recent days.”

Zhao Changhe was taken aback, thinking to himself that if their Buddhist cultivation techniques were really effective, he might consider becoming their disciple. However, he decided not to mention this for now and instead asked, “I heard that Lu Shaoxiong happened upon a madman attacking people at the southern part of the city, intervened, and then became afflicted himself. Is that true?”

The old nun nodded and said, “That’s indeed true.”

“Then where was the madman buried? His body was not just left to rot in the wilderness, right?”

“He was buried right behind our temple. There is a graveyard there specifically dedicated to corpses that have no family to recognize them.”

Zhao Changhe said, “Okay, take us there. I want to take a look at the body and see if I can find anything... Hey, nephew, where are you going?”

Tang Buqi slowly backed away, “This isn’t my area of expertise, and I won’t really have anything to contribute, so you guys go ahead. No need to take me with you, haha...”

As he spoke, he suddenly turned around and darted away.

“Fuck, a coward like that still has thoughts of exploring the jianghu?!” Zhao Changhe spat, but he noticed strange looks from the old nun and Sisi. Both of their faces were somewhat pale.

Sisi gulped and said, “Master, that man has been dead for at least half a month. His body is probably rotten and smelly by now... It’s different from someone you just hacked to death...”

Zhao Changhe’s expression stiffened. However, he managed to force himself to bravely say, “What’s there to be afraid of? Abbess, please lead the way.”

Sisi turned around and bolted, but Zhao Changhe managed to grab her by her collar. Sisi ran in place for a few moments before letting her head hang with tears in her eyes. “Master, please let me go. I am just a little maid from the outer courtyard. What great sin have I committed...”

1. Just a note that yellow and emperor sound similar in Chinese. ☜