Stranger Danger

“A nobody? You’re telling me that a nobody killed Duanmu Longhua?” Xiang Weilong scoffed.

“He may be a nobody, but he is hardly powerless.” The black-robed person explained, “Joyless Ye is born from the humblest background, but he is extraordinarily talented and fortunate beyond imagination. Somehow, he was able to perfect Chaos Demon Ape Body and become a Grandmaster via his physical body through his and his power alone.”

“Chaos Demon Ape Body? Does he practice the ‘Chaos Demon Ape Body Tempering Sutra’?” Xiang Weilong asked.

“That is correct,” the black-robed person confirmed. “However, he has only recently become a Grandmaster.”

“Hmm?” Xiang Weilong grew puzzled. “If he has only recently become a Grandmaster, then how on earth did he kill Duanmu Longhua and even slay the three goddesses?”

“For one, Joyless Ye is no ordinary Grandmaster. Although his ascension is recent, he is much stronger than your average Grandmaster. But as you say, there is no way someone at his level could’ve killed Duanmu Longhua, much less slain the three goddesses. It was Wen Anran who helmed the operation that eventually resulted in their destruction.”

The black-robed person explained, “Wen Anran used Joyless Ye as bait to keep Duanmu Longhua and the three goddesses busy. During this time, she used her ‘True Martial Demon Subjugation Sword Scripture’ to destroy the Goddess Wall Paintings. As the three goddesses’ lives were tied to the Goddess Wall Paintings, its destruction led to their demise as well.”

“As for Duanmu Longhua, she suffered a grievous blow after the three goddesses died because her power was intricately tied to them. That was how Joyless Ye was able to pull off the impossible.”

“I see!” Xiang Weilong nodded. “And what is the connection between Wen Anran and Joyless Ye?”

“Is that so? Is Joyless Ye such a righteous man that he would risk his life to save a stranger he barely knew?” Xiang Weilong chuckled. “No, it’s probably because his third leg took command of his brain.”

The black-robed person shook his head. “I believe he did it because of greed.”

“Ah, right. Goddess City’s treasury,” Xiang Weilong exclaimed in realization.

“Exactly.” The black-robed person nodded. “Although the operation was helmed by Wen Anran, she apparently did not take a single dime from their treasury. She had given it all to Joyless Ye.”

“How generous of her. Then again, she is the disciple of the True Lord of the World.” To Wen Anran, the items in the treasury were probably just a waste of space.

Xiang Weilong then said casually, “You seem to know a lot about this incident!”

“This incident was witnessed by countless. It did not take much effort to find out the whole picture,” The black-robed man replied calmly. “In any case, there is no need to worry about Wen Anran, much less risk offending the True Lord of the World. We simply need to kill Joyless Ye to have everything. What do you say?”

“It sounds great,” Xiang Weilong rubbed his smooth chin, “but how do I know you’re not lying to me?”

“The incident is hardly a secret. You simply need to ask around to know that everything I told you is the truth,” the black-robed person answered.

“Hmm…” Xiang Weilong did not respond to that. “Joyless Ye sounds like a powerful warrior, but he is ultimately just a Grandmaster. With your skill, I am sure you could’ve recruited a handful of warriors and killed him yourself. Why come to me?”

“Because your strength is reassuring, of course. And most importantly, you are a man of your word,” The black-robed person answered honestly. “If I work with you, I don’t have to worry about being stabbed in the back. No one else can provide such assurance.”

Xiang Weilong was anything but a good person. He had kidnapped, killed, pillaged, raped. Hells, he was a wicked soul who deserved an eternity of torment in the Yellow Spring. But if there was one thing good about Xiang Weilong, it was that he had never broken his word or committed an act that would put his integrity into question. It was to the point where people nicknamed him the “Malevolent But Trustworthy Dragon” in the jianghu.

“Hahaha… I like your honesty.” Xiang Weilong was obviously delighted by the black-robed person’s praise. “I like dealing with honest people. So, when do you plan to take action?”

The black-robed person replied, “Joyless Ye just parted ways with Wen Anran and left Goddess City this morning. In other words, we can carry out the plan immediately. In fact, I would advise that we move forward with due haste. The longer we wait, the more likely that new variables will be involved.”

“Makes sense. In that case, I shall make the preparations immediately.”

Xiang Weilong got up to his feet and walked toward the exit, but right before he would leave the door, he recalled something and turned around. “I almost forgot. How should I address you?”

The black-robed person slowly looked up and removed his hood, revealing a tattered, broken face. He answered, “I am Chen. Chen Cang[1].”

Chen Cang’s face was covered in countless scars like a mirror that had been shattered into a million pieces. However, those scars were bleeding not blood, but something that looked like sticky black qi, eerie and horrifying. However, the qi was also sharp like a sword qi.

Just looking at the black qi caused Xiang Weilong’s pupils to hurt, and his goosebumps to crawl all over his skin. He cursed mentally, there really is no one from Swordsgrave who looks even remotely normal.

Chen Cang then cracked a grin that only made him look uglier and more horrifying than he already was. “But these days, I prefer to be called… Sword Ghoul.”

“Sword Ghoul, huh? The nickname certainly suits you to a T.” Xiang Weilong snorted. “Well, I’ll be back.”

Chen Cang, or rather, Sword Ghoul’s grin did not disappear even after Xiang Weilong was gone. If anything, it was growing wider and crazier by the second. “You have no idea how happy I was to learn that you’re still alive, Ye Qing. No idea.”

“Finally, I’ll be able to claim vengeance with my own two hands.”

……

“Is this the Marsh of Eternal Rain?”

Ye Qing stared at the rainy, misty marsh ahead of him. It looked as if the world before him was shrouded by a layer of mist and rain. What was strange was that where he stood was warm, sunny, and devoid of rain. The ground was perfectly solid as well. But if he took just one step forward, then he would enter a world where the rain and the marsh were eternal. It would be as if he had crossed into a completely different world.

The marshland in front of him was one of the most famous Anomalies in Yan, the Marsh of Eternal Rain. Legend had it that an Ancient-class Stranger named the Rain Master once summoned a terrible storm that transformed everything within tens of thousands of kilometers into a water-logged marsh, killing countless humans and creatures in the process.

Unable to tolerate the loss of life, a Sage intervened and attempted to suppress the Rain Master. Unfortunately, the Ancient-class Stranger proved to be more powerful than he imagined. Although the Sage ultimately managed to suppress the Rain Master, he himself perished from sheer exhaustion. As a result, the area where the Rain Master and the Sage perished spanning fifty kilometers in diameter gradually transformed into an Anomaly.

Within this Anomaly, the rain fell eternally and independently from the outside world. That was why it was called the Marsh of Eternal Rain.

The Marsh of Eternal Rain was an Anomaly, so of course it was dangerous. Any living being who entered the Marsh of Eternal Rain would progressively lose their memories and their soul. If they stayed in the Marsh of Eternal Rain for too long, then they would transform into walking dead with no souls, doomed to roam the rainy marsh for eternity. The people of Yan called them the Rain People.

But why were they called the Rain People instead of just zombies, the living dead, or other generic terms? That was because of a taboo that lived within the Marsh of Eternal Rain. They called it the Lord of Eternal Rain.

The Lord of Eternal Rain was a Stranger born from the deaths of the Rain Master and the Sage. Although its origin and its existence were most anomalous, the Lord of Eternal Rain usually slumbered deep within the Marsh of Eternal Rain and posed no threat to anyone. However, if anyone killed the soulless dead roaming the marshes, then it would awaken and hunt down their killer.

It was as if the Marsh of Eternal Rain was a kingdom, the soulless dead that roamed the land were its citizens, and the Lord of Eternal Rain was its king. That was why the soulless dead came to be known as the Rain People.

It was not difficult to pass through the Marsh of Eternal Rain safely. Travelers simply needed to one, get out of the marsh before they lose their memories and soul completely, and two, avoid killing the Rain People. That was why the Marsh of Eternal Rain wasn’t a particularly dangerous zone despite being an Anomaly, and why a good number of traveling merchants and wanderers used it as a shortcut all year long.

It was the same for Ye Qing. The reason he came to the Marsh of Eternal Rain was to use it as a shortcut and get to his next destination faster.

1. HE HAS RETURNED! ☜