Chapter 21: The Earth Dog Star
Thanks to Shi Hao’s meticulous care, after another day, Du Yuejiao’s condition significantly improved.
If not for his eighth-rank foundation and orthodox Taisu Immortal Pavilion techniques, her recovery wouldn’t have been so swift.
Du Yuejiao’s internal energy had mostly recovered, and although her body was still weak, she could move around with the help of her own power.
However, several of her meridians were still blocked, requiring many more days to heal completely. The villain’s finger techniques were truly brutal, and even Daoist true energy needed time to dispel the lingering effects.
That evening, Du Yuejiao, wearing the young man’s robe and a makeshift grass rope belt, sat under a tree, watching him barbecue with great interest.
Shi Hao’s skills seemed quite impressive. He carefully collected the dripping grease in a plate, mixed it with spices he carried with him, and brushed it onto the roasting meat repeatedly.
This was the first time Du Yuejiao had witnessed such a scene of outdoor cooking.
Having dedicated herself to cultivation in the Chongxian Sect, she had never needed to concern herself with such mundane tasks.
Now, watching him work so meticulously, she found it strangely captivating.
Shi Hao used his sword to cut into the half-cooked pheasant, allowing the marinade to penetrate deeper with the hot grease.
After a while, the pheasant was perfectly roasted, crispy on the outside, tender on the inside.
He tore off a leg, carefully removed the slightly charred outer layer, and then sliced the tender meat into thin strips with a small knife before offering it to the girl under the tree.
Since she was recovering from a serious illness, she couldn’t eat anything too greasy.
His attentiveness touched Du Yuejiao.
As night fell, Du Yuejiao, having rested for a while, felt much better, her energy mostly restored, and wanted to walk around.
Shi Hao accompanied her on a stroll through the forest.
The new moon hung in the sky, a thin crescent.
The stars, in the dim moonlight, shone brightly.
Shi Hao remained mostly silent, not asking too many questions or doing anything unnecessary, simply accompanying her quietly.
Du Yuejiao couldn’t help but wonder what kind of person he was.
She recalled their first encounter, his arrogance and defiance, his refusal to yield.
Why was he so gentle now? This silent protection, this unspoken consideration, was completely different from the arrogance she had seen before, but it was precisely this difference that touched her even more.
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept past, and the young man behind her grabbed her wrist.
Du Yuejiao looked at him in surprise.
Shi Hao whispered, “There’s someone down there!”
He pulled her behind a tree, hiding in the shadows, and looked down the slope.
They saw a group of people escorting a number of children through the wilderness.
The men were dressed in grey tunics, armed with swords and sabers, their faces covered. The children, mostly frail and weak, looked like they came from poor families. Some, unable to keep up, collapsed.
The men in grey would roughly pull them up, yelling and forcing them to continue. If a child was truly unable to walk, they would carry him, not wanting to slow down.
Du Yuejiao whispered, “Who are they? What are they doing?”
Shi Hao whispered, “I heard there’s a group abducting children. It seems these are them. I didn’t expect to find them here.”
He thought to himself, “With so many refugees in the central plains, such incidents are inevitable. But both Dark Thunder and the barbarian court have noticed this trend. It must be quite widespread for even the barbarian court to pressure the Six Gates to investigate.”
He observed that the men in grey were organized and trained in martial arts.
Although most were unranked, there were at least three ninth-rank experts among them.
These were definitely not ordinary traffickers, but an organized gang.
He looked at the direction they were heading, even more puzzled. They were going northwest.
Even for child trafficking or smuggling, they should logically be heading south, towards more prosperous regions.
West Shu Province was already remote. Further northwest was desolate wilderness. What were they doing taking these children there?
Shi Hao knew that if it was just business, the children would at least be kept alive.
Although their fate might not be good, sold to brothels or beggar gangs, they would at least survive for a while.
But if they were needed by the demonic sects, even survival was uncertain.
Shi Hao himself was still worried about how he would obtain one hundred “living souls” to advance his demonic cultivation after he mastered the Mysterious Charm Technique.
Similarly, if someone’s advancement ritual required the blood of children… it was entirely possible.
He remembered the Enchanting Fire Witch Su Mei’s casual words, “The price isn’t your own,” and “Just find an unnoticed village and slaughter everyone,” her tone indifferent.
For the demonic sects, such things were perfectly normal.
Shi Hao turned to Du Yuejiao and whispered, “Miss Du, they’re moving so quickly. They must have a base nearby. I’ll follow them and see which sect they belong to and where their base is, so I can inform the Six Gates. You…”
Du Yuejiao blurted out, “I’ll go with you.”
Shi Hao shook his head, “You haven’t fully recovered yet, Miss Du. You shouldn’t exert yourself. Rest in the cave. Don’t worry, I’ll find out who they are and return quickly.”
Du Yuejiao opened her mouth, then lowered her head and nodded slightly.
Shi Hao left the cover of the trees, preparing to descend the slope. Behind him, the girl’s voice came again, “Wait.”
Shi Hao turned and looked at her.
The girl, looking slightly embarrassed, fidgeted with her hair and whispered, “Just… call me Yuejiao.”
Shi Hao nodded, “Miss Yuejiao… Yuejiao, wait for me.” Worried that the group might get too far away, he used his movement technique and sped off.
The girl watched him disappear into the darkness, thinking that he was not only willing to protect her, despite their previous animosity, but also concerned about those unrelated children.
She thought to herself, “He’s actually such a good person…”
Shi Hao secretly followed the grey-clad martial artists.
He hadn’t specifically trained in light-foot techniques, and he didn’t dare to use the Soul Chasing Locking Steps casually.
He had set a rule for himself: only use the Mysterious Charm Technique, Soul Chasing Locking Steps, and Severing Meridian Burning Heart Finger when disguised with the Evil Shadow Disguise Technique.
When appearing as himself, he would only use his Daoist foundation and the swordsmanship taught by the Holy Jade Immortal.
Dual cultivation of Daoist and demonic arts should be his hidden trump card, not to be revealed lightly.
It was the clever Enchanting Fire Witch who had anticipated this and taught him the Evil Shadow Disguise Technique.
Although the stars shone brightly, the faint moonlight of the new moon cast the surroundings in darkness.
The men were moving quickly, occasionally startling nocturnal animals in the desolate wilderness.
Although he hadn’t trained in specific light-foot techniques, the “Six Immortal Lightning Strikes” included movement techniques that complemented the swordsmanship. Using these techniques, Shi Hao was able to move swiftly through the forest, his feet barely touching the ground.
They continued deeper into the mountains, entering a desolate, ancient forest, a place rarely visited even by hunters.
He saw them ascend a mountain peak. That must be their destination.
The children, exhausted, were being carried by the men in grey.
Even the men were panting.
The mountain wasn’t tall, but the trees were dense, obscuring what lay within.
Shi Hao, not daring to be careless, followed them stealthily, staying close to avoid losing them.
A strange cooing sound echoed from ahead. Shi Hao quickly hid behind a tree.
The sound stopped abruptly. He peeked out but couldn’t see them anymore.
They had vanished into the dim forest.
Unwilling to give up, he flickered forward, using the trees for cover.
A dark figure dropped from a tree.
Shi Hao almost collided with a man with a sharp, monkey-like face.
The man, startled, let out a shriek.
He hadn’t noticed Shi Hao either, simply moving quickly through the forest, patrolling the area. He had almost bumped into him by accident.
His shriek alerted the others. Someone shouted, “Something’s wrong!”
A flurry of sounds followed.
Shi Hao thought, “This is bad,” and quickly retreated.
The short man with the sharp, monkey-like face darted around him. Shi Hao watched him leaping through the trees without making a sound.
This bizarre sight made him realize why he hadn’t detected him earlier… This was a supernatural ability user.
He wasn’t using some advanced light-foot technique, but a supernatural ability.
The man leaped from one tree to another, without even the slightest whoosh of wind that should accompany such movement, appearing beside Shi Hao instantly.
A blade flashed, attacking Shi Hao from the side, the angle cunning and unpredictable.
Shi Hao knew the man was trying to stall him, waiting for his companions to arrive. He wouldn’t be entangled.
He deflected the blade with his sword, his second strike carrying a chilling icy aura, aimed at the man’s throat.
The short man, startled, kicked off a tree and, with seemingly nothing to push against, abruptly changed direction, appearing on another tree in the distance.
Shi Hao was now certain he was a supernatural ability user… Changing direction mid-air without any support. If this was a martial arts technique, how powerful was this man?
He wasn’t even sure if the Holy Jade Immortal or the Enchanting Fire Witch could achieve such effortless movement.
Unwilling to engage, Shi Hao turned and used his movement technique to rush down the slope.
The man harassed him from behind, using his ghostly movements to attack and slow him down.
Shi Hao’s speed decreased, and the sounds of pursuit grew louder, closing in on him.
Just as the short man thought he had him, Shi Hao’s sword flashed, flying through the air – the “Mysterious Firefly Flying Sword” from the Six Immortal Lightning Strikes.
The sword energy, like a fleeting firefly, struck the man’s shoulder, drawing blood.
Shi Hao grasped his hand, and the sword flew back to him, its speed increasing, quickly leaving his pursuers behind.
Without the interference of the short man with the strange supernatural ability, the others couldn’t catch up. They could only watch as he disappeared into the darkness.
Shi Hao took a detour and returned to the cave just before dawn.
He saw a bonfire burning before the cave, and Du Yuejiao sitting beside it, looking anxious.
She sighed in relief when she saw him emerge from the forest and whispered, “What happened?”
Shi Hao shook his head helplessly, “I wanted to find their base and then secretly inform the Six Gates. But they have a supernatural ability user among them. His power is bizarre and unpredictable, not only incredibly fast but also completely silent.
“Although I was careful, I couldn’t detect him in advance, and my plan failed.
“Now that they know their location has been compromised, they’ll definitely move tonight. That mountain is far from here, even further from the city. Even if I inform the Six Gates now, it’ll be too late. Besides, the city gates are closed; I can’t enter the city.”
Du Yuejiao thought for a moment and said, “You’re probably talking about the ‘Earth Dog Star.’”
Shi Hao asked, “Earth Dog Star?”
Du Yuejiao said, “The Chongxian Sect has records of all the known divine crystals and the supernatural abilities they grant. The person you described has likely absorbed the ‘Earth Dog Star’ divine crystal. It’s an Earthly Fiend type, extremely suitable for assassination and stealth.
“It’s good that you returned safely after encountering such a supernatural ability user in the dark.”
As she said “It’s good that you returned safely,” she looked up at him, her eyes glistening.
Shi Hao thought about it and felt a sense of relief, “I was indeed careful. Although I didn’t detect him in advance, he didn’t notice me either. If he had seen me first, I probably wouldn’t have escaped his assassination.”
He realized the true power of supernatural abilities.
Like his Earthly Valor Tiger, which contained the Earthly Valor Star divine crystal.
As a magical weapon, its power could only be used once a day. But if he absorbed the divine crystal and became an Earthly Valor Star supernatural ability user, he could use the divine form and power at will, significantly increasing his strength.
The thought alone was tempting.
Although becoming a supernatural ability user meant he could no longer use any other magical weapons, a significant drawback, many people still couldn’t resist the temptation.
After all, the ability to use a supernatural power at will was incredibly alluring.
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