122: Chapter 121 Tracking Clues [Subscribe for monthly ticket requested] 122: Chapter 121 Tracking Clues [Subscribe for monthly ticket requested] Hou Niao started healing his injuries again, still external wounds.
One where a blade got caught in his shoulder blade, another in the thickest part of his buttocks, still on the back.
It seemed not entirely coincidental?
He estimated by himself that when his current injuries had healed, it would probably be time for Xiang Zhiwen’s three-month deadline.
It would all fit perfectly, without any delay.
This time, the gain was not in slaying demons but in the faint traces that could be followed.
He didn’t believe that everything the Town Government had encountered was unrelated to the recent counterattack of the Demon Clan.
There must be an internal connection, a part of the whole plan, very concealed, but naturally connected.
He had already made some suggestions to Xiang Zhiwen about these speculations through spiritual letters.
Limited by the lack of evidence, he couldn’t be too certain, but with Xiang Xunyou’s experience, he would obviously have a clearer grasp of this.
After all, he had only seen a fraction of what was happening at Yinyue Castle, while Brother Xiang had seen the entirety of Yinling.
The information was not equal.
Even without specific instructions, once he returned to regular patrol duties, he wouldn’t go back to West Mang Mountain to hunt for Soul Beads.
He couldn’t mix responsibilities and personal matters—patrolling was meant for areas inhabited by humanity, not where Soul Ghosts gathered.
Of course, there was another important reason; he wasn’t sure whether those two ghosts and specters would stay there waiting for their prey?
When it comes to cultivation, one must avoid greed; going to extremes is not advisable.
What he had gained before was due to the right time and place and fortune; to go now would be far-fetched.
Thus, he didn’t want to, and the Monk didn’t mention it either.
It was a mutual understanding regarding the transaction.
Did he take advantage of the situation?
He did, and now it was time to stop.
That was the proper measure for a cultivator.
What was different about Hou Niao’s healing this time compared to last was that he was eating better.
Every household in Yinyue Castle would send him a portion of whatever delicacies they made.
There were hundreds of homes, and even with his big appetite, he felt quite overwhelmed.
He gladly accepted the kindness of the ordinary mortals.
This was the operating principle of the Demon Sect, to clear the debts on both sides.
One day, an unexpected visitor came to see him, bringing freshly made date cakes.
Hmm, the Monk would eat these too.
Ruan Erjie got straight to the point, “I’ve come to ask if the Quanzhen Sect has any plans for the human living environment in Yinling.
We all understand you could save Yinyue Castle once, but you can’t protect it for a lifetime.
Isn’t there a permanent solution?”
Hou Niao was also forthright, “I don’t know, you’re asking the wrong person.
In Yinling, I’m a high and mighty Patrol Envoy, but on the Tianfeng Plain, I’m nothing; in the Quanzhen Sect of Shan Country, I’m just an ant; on the Jinxiu Continent, I’m not even an ant.
So you’re asking me about the plan?
In the eyes of the heavens, there’s no difference between you and me.
Ruan Erjie frowned, “So we just do nothing?
Leave these ordinary mortals to live day by day in uncertainty?
And it’s not just Yinling.
There are Bimu Hill and Black Swamp on Tianfeng Plain; there are even more in Shan Country, countless more on the Jinxiu Continent…”
Hou Niao smiled slightly, “So you know about Bimu Hill and Black Swamp, and that there are too many such places in this world.
Then you should understand, this world is meant to be shared by humans and other races.
You’re a human who feels aggrieved by life.
What if you were a member of the Demon Clan?
Would you try to overthrow this huge mountain of humanity?”
Ruan Erjie was somewhat flustered.
Was it her own fault for being born in the wrong race?
What kind of logic was this?
“Are you saying that these mortals should just accept their lot?
Be content and happy?
Everyone should stay within their walls, celebrating that they are human and not a demon?”
Hou Niao shook his head, looking her straight in the eye, “Maybe this is the accumulated resentment of Yinling’s mortals over the years?
I can tell you, such resentment is everywhere!
Yinling has it, Bimu Hill and Black Swamp have it too!
Shan Country has it, Anhe is the same, and the entire continent has this pattern!
I’m from Anhe, I’ve lived in fear of Water Demons since I was a kid!
But I won’t complain!
I will strive, rack my brain to strengthen myself, climb upwards, disregard my life, until I have the power to decide it all!”
Calmly, “Since the whole Continent, all of humanity, is facing difficulties, then everyone has to bear it.
No one can escape, not just cultivators who should do this or that!
To complain about injustice, to blame the heavens and others, to take out one’s anger on someone else.”
He approached Ruan Erjie, “What we really can rely on is ourselves!
Just like you’re doing, find a partner, broaden your horizons, strengthen yourself, and walk out of Yinling!”
Watching the woman leave, clearly realizing something, he felt a bit of schadenfreude.
This woman was extraordinary!
Beneath her bluff exterior, she hid a restless heart.
Fortunately, she had chosen the Monk and passed over the Swordsman.
Otherwise, Hou Niao really would have had difficulty trusting his own willpower.
Of course, this also showed that her discernment was sharp.
She had preyed on the Monk’s eagerness to recover, a vulnerability he didn’t have.
The Monk would suffer later, of course, although the likelihood of taking her back was virtually nonexistent.
It just remained to be seen how they would end things?
That’s the world of adults—no endless romantic fantasies, more the struggles and calculations required to survive.
Hou Niao set aside these matters and people, returning to his cultivation.
He was well aware that with his current realm, it was totally impractical to consider such a mess; he was doing quite well if he could take care of himself, much less trying to benefit all under heaven.
Several days later, a swallow delivered a letter from Xiang Zhiwen.
The reply was detailed, including the situation at Fang Family’s Castle and the movement of the Demon Clan in various parts of Yinling as well.
Fang Family’s Castle was simmering with undercurrents, but Xiang Zhiwen didn’t delve too deeply, as the letter sent by swallow wasn’t a very secure method of communication.
He just mentioned there were gains without specifying.
Just like at Yinyue Castle, there were several other places in Yinling that had been besieged by the Demon Clan, with both successes and failures, but all involved smaller fortresses with a few hundred residents at most.
Yinyue Castle was among the largest; fortunately, he was there.
Xiang Zhiwen’s rumors had already acknowledged his merits, but whether that was true or false?
The letter also addressed his subsequent specific duties.
The principle was that he needn’t return to West Mang Mountain but patrol the area outside of it, designating a rough range with over a dozen forts, big and small, which he was to safeguard.
Additionally, he was told to continue investigating the clues he found, to see if he could uncover something unexpected.
There was no set deadline, which let him guess that the so-called gains at Fang Family’s Castle were probably not significant—at least there was no plan to wrap things up yet.
It wasn’t his concern.
He’d better look after his own patch of ground.