Chapter 34 – Impossible to unravel
“Martial Brother Li, was that not the original agreement between Minister Diwu and you?” The black outfit leader asked laughingly, “We help Minister Diwu depose Wu Yun Liang, eliminating an opposition. We will protect Beyond the Heavens Sect, making it an imperial sect. Your disciples can become officials of the court with glorious future and make their family proud!”
He smiled and continued, “Such a wonderful position, even the leader of the Sects’ Alliance would be extremely touched! How could you possibly feel that a few pieces of information such as this is worthy of a lifetime of riches?”
Li Jinsong became livid, each word was filled with anger, “The lives of my entire household are in your hands. Why bother with talk of riches?”
The black outfitted person thought for a moment and eventually lowered his voice, “In truth, Martial brother Li, I dare not hide the facts. You wanted a Thousand Year Old Crystal Mushroom… it’s really too hard to find. The Minister sent eighteen teams to search everywhere. Once it is found, it will be brought to you immediately.”
He continued with a cheerful tone, “The Minister knew you are currently most concerned with this! Martial brother Li, you are one romantic person… such a rare and mysterious treasure between heaven and earth is the stuff of dreams and not always achievable. If Martial Brother Li does not have the patience, there’s nothing we can do.”
With a humph, Li Jinsong said angrily, “I can wait, for a hundred years even. However, my wife cannot. She depends on it to save her life!”
“Of course, of course. That’s why even though Minister Diwu cannot send a Thousand Year Old Crystal Mushroom, he gave us Thrice-Born Pills to bring to you.” The black outfit person laughed contentedly, “Three!”
Li Jinsong perked his head, “Really?”
Not only him but even Chu Yang, who was secretly listening was a little shocked. Thrice-Born Pills! Thousand Year Old Crystal Mushroom! These were things you could not hope to find. Why would Li Jinsong need them?
Thrice-Born Pills were not actually medicine pills but a kind of fruit from a strange tree. This tree would sprout and grow branches, but then would wilt after ten years. After twenty more years, it would sprout more branches for fifty years, making itself a small tree. At that time it would wilt for a period of fifty years, and after that, it would sprout for a third time. This time it takes two hundred years to become a fully grown tree and bloom a kind of poisonous flower. The fruits from these flowers are Thrice-Born Pills!
These fruits were the size of a grape. As for the tree, it would immediately wilt and never recover again.
Thrice born for a total of 330 years to have fruits just once. The value of such fruits was obvious, but the effectiveness as a medicine was even more so. It could be used to end chronic illnesses, to keep incurable diseases at bay, to treat serious injuries, increase internal energy, and increase life expectancy!
As for thousand years Crystal Mushroom, that was the stuff of legends… under the heavens, it was the ultimate medicine! It was said that it could save lives, regrow muscles, bones, etc… as for the specifics, even Chu Yang did not know.
However, both of these are similar in that they cure illnesses. Is it possible that Li Jinsong’s wife is sick?
This Minister Diwu was really generous. He gave Li Jinsong three Thrice-Born Pills in one shot!
“Three Thrice-Born Pill fruits, enough to keep my wife safe for three years!”
There appeared a jade box in the black outfit person’s hand. He said, “Minister Diwu said that if he cannot find Crystal Mushroom in three years, he will definitely find other ways to compensate for your loss!”
He raised his voice and said, “Minister Diwu was clear on this matter. For a thousand times, he would not deceive you in this matter! The minister said that even though both sides are in this for their own benefits, frankness and earnestness are critical! These words came straight from the minister’s mouth.”
Li Jinsong bowed his head and said in a low, serious voice, “Thank you for the minister’s frankness and sincerity. Li Jinsong understands!”
His head was bowed down when he said this. The sky was also dark so his facial expression could not be seen… but Chu Yang, who was hiding behind a boulder sneered internally. By the sound of it, this Minister Diwu seemed great. However, adding on Li Jinsong’s words from earlier, “The lives of my entire household are in your hands. Why bother with talk of riches?” all of his praises became rotten.
It was true that Li Jinsong was greedy. However, he did not voluntarily do this; he was certainly being threatened.
The person who threatened him was the one talking about trust? If Li Jinsong truly believed in it then he must be the number one idiot under the heavens!
“Thrice-Born Pills is extremely precious. If you want to preserve them well, then just leave them in this box. Only open it when necessary… you should know that each time you open this box, the potency of the Thrice-Born Pills will decrease.” (TLN: Hmm, sounds suspicious…)
The black outfit person solemnly instructed and continued, “About Iron Cloud, we need to quickly report this to Minister Diwu. The minister will certainly have some plans for this. Martial Brother Li, we bid farewell!”
With an authoritative voice, Li Jinsong said, “I won’t see you off then…” And with that, he carefully pocketed the jade box into his robe.
The three people in the black outfits had gone far away, yet Li Jinsong still remain standing in the same place. With a heavy sigh, he went back with the jade box. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared in the darkness.
Chu Yang continued to stand still in his hiding place behind the boulder. His breathing was maintained without any changes.
As expected, the sound of the wind rose, Li Jinsong appeared once again. He made a few rounds of the surroundings, and when he was sure there was no one was around to spy on him, he flew away.
“He finally left”, Chu Yang sighed inwardly. He knew that the secrets he heard today were closely related to the survival of Beyond the Heavens Sect. This was extremely important! If he were discovered, then surviving would be as difficult as flying to heaven!
Cannot be too careful!
No one could imagine that the mole in Beyond the Sects was the second ranking member of the sect, the all powerful Li Jinsong!
Chu Yang wanted to move and stretch his arms and legs which seemed to have hardened when suddenly his whole body stiffened. He quietly looked up ahead.
In the place where the four were just talking, there unexpectedly appeared from out of nowhere, an apparition of a black outfitted person!
Chu Yang’s scalp became a little numbed because he couldn’t believe that he completely did not detect when this person had come!
This person was dressed in black. His tall and slender stature stood motionless… after a moment, he suddenly sighed and said casually, “Chu Yang, come on out!”
The hair on Chu Yang’s nape stood on its ends. It seemed this person clearly knew where he was. Moreover, who he was!
It was too late for escape now. Plus, from the sound of his voice, it did not seem he had any malicious intentions. Chu Yang decided to come out. He walked forward step by step.
“You heard everything?” That person asked with his hands clasped behind his back. With his back toward Chu Yang, he asked in a leisurely manner.
“Yes, you heard everything as well? Moreover, compared to me, you probably heard even better, right?” Chu smiled slightly as he narrowed his eyes and asked back.
The other person let out a deep laugh as he slowly turned around. The darkest period has now passed, and the sky slowly brightened. The early morning sun rays from the horizon weakly shined on the face of this person. His black beard loosely hung in front of his chest, his face straight and serious, letting out an aura that demanded respect…
After seeing him, Chu Yang could not help but become even more shaken. He was so surprised that he was speechless.
This person, unexpectedly, was the Sect Master of Beyond the Heavens Sect – Wu Yun Liang!
Why was he here? If he was here, then he definitely already knew what Li Jinsong was up to… why didn’t he stop him?
At the moment, a curtain of doubt was raised inside Chu Yang… he only felt hazy and confused. Even a person who lived two lifetimes like him could not make sense of this entanglement.
“Follow me.” Wu Yun Liang said, looking at brightening sky. Suddenly, he grabbed Chu Yang’s sleeve and pulled him. They ran quickly, turning east and west until they got to a crevice in the mountain not too far from Purple Bamboo Garden.
This crevice was not especially secluded but it was relatively empty and deserted. This was because there was nothing of interest in this crevice so Chu Yang and the others normally did not bother to come here.
On the wall there was a spot that had collapsed making a perfect little cave almost two meters deep.
“Come in.” Wu Yun Liang entered first.