Blade - Unbound

So the animals have truly gained intelligence.

Li Yan narrowed his eyes, and didn't dare make the slightest movement. Since ancient times, folk tales had spoken of intelligent beasts cultivating. He had heard stories of foxes worshipping the moon, wolves howling at the moon, snakes breathing mist, turtles practicing long breaths, and rats listening to scriptures.

Li Yan had once asked Wang Daoxuan about such things, but the world itself didn’t possess so-called spiritual qi. No matter how much beasts cultivated, they couldn't fundamentally change the nature of their existence.

According to Wang Daoxuan's explanation, animal cultivation wasn't about transforming into humans. Instead, it resembled the human practice of Spirit Visualization. Once their souls became powerful enough, they could borrow killing qi to perform certain moves.

These abilities arose from instinct. However, some were weak while some were strong.

Weaker examples included weasels dancing to mesmerize rabbits into dancing with them before easily catching and eating them. Stronger examples included ancient foxes haunting graveyards to beguile travelers, mountain kings creating ghost servants, and old serpents summoning clouds and mist.

As for creatures like the Crowned Serpent Spirit, they were entirely different. They were born as supernatural species, much like heavenly treasures. Created in places where astral qi and killing qi converged, they were among the most terrifying of beings.

According to the intelligence he had gathered, Lu San excelled at controlling beasts. But from what Li Yan was seeing, the man clearly understood the language of birds and animals. That usually meant awakening a hearing divine ability.

Historically, such individuals weren't uncommon. For example, there was once a ruler of a small Eastern Yi kingdom named Jie Gelu. While visiting Lu, he heard a mother cow's mournful cries and immediately knew that three calves had been selected for sacrifice.

The Rites of Zhou also recorded: "The Yi Servants manage herdsmen, raise cattle and horses, and converse with birds... The Mo Servants oversee beast tamers, raise animals, teach them obedience, and converse with beasts."

In other words, during the Western Zhou Dynasty, there had once been official positions known as the Yi Servants and Mo Servants. The former managed cattle and horses and could communicate with birds, while the latter specialized in taming animals and speaking with beasts.

Awakened divine abilities were never limited to a single function. Even among sight divine abilities, some could observe qi while others could distinguish yin and yang. Most hearing divine abilities enhanced hearing, allowing one to detect the faintest sounds, but some could understand animal speech. Others could hear the whispers of ghosts and gods.

Lu San was extraordinary indeed. While Li Yan was pondering these matters, Lu San finally crawled completely out of the grave.

He was of average height, and despite the chilly autumn night, he wore only a thin layer of clothing. His complexion was somewhat dark, and his appearance was unremarkable. Yet his eyes were bright and lively. When he smiled under the moonlight, two dimples appeared on his cheeks, painting the look of innocence.

He looked like a carefree child.

He dusted the dirt from his clothes and burst into laughter upon seeing the old fox worshipping the moon. "Second Uncle, you're just putting on an act. Your heart isn't sincere at all. How can you possibly succeed?

"That skull is saturated with killing qi. Be careful it doesn't muddle your spirit instead."

Before he even finished speaking, the old fox began swaying like it was drunk.

Then...

Thump!

... It collapsed to the ground as the skull rolled away with a rattling sound.

Instantly, all the foxes erupted into chaos. Lu San laughed so hard that he nearly doubled over.

Watching the scene, Li Yan thought to himself, “So foxes worshipping the moon isn't that simple after all.”

It was already difficult for animals to develop intelligence. They also required skulls saturated with dense killing qi. One mistake, and their spirits would be overwhelmed instead.

Since Li Yan had completely concealed his presence, Lu San never noticed him. The young man jumped down from the burial mound and first, helped the old fox to its feet and moved it to the side. Then he crouched down and tilted his head as though listening carefully.

At the same time, he muttered to himself, "Oh... A water ghost appeared on the southern bank of Money River. Someone's fighting in the western mountains. A merchant caravan buried silver and gold underground?"

Li Yan's heart skipped a beat.

Good heavens.

His divine ability was truly remarkable.

By maintaining good relationships with animals, Lu San effectively possessed a natural intelligence network. No wonder Qiao Sanhu's men could never do anything to him.

After thinking for a moment, Li Yan stopped concealing himself. Then he cupped his fists and called out loudly, "Are you Mister Lu San? I have a matter for which I seek your assistance..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lu San turned and ran.

Li Yan simply stood there, dumbfounded.

What the hell? Why is this guy so timid? I'm still far away from you!

There was no time to think further. Li Yan immediately burst out of the forest to give chase.

Yip! Yip! Yip!

The foxes panicked. They bared their teeth and surrounded him, but none dared actually attack.

Seeing Lu San rapidly increasing the distance between them, Li Yan had no choice but to accelerate. At the same time, he pressed his hand against the hilt of his blade and activated the Three Talent Demon-Suppressing Coin tassel.

Murderous intent burst forth, causing the foxes to scatter in terror. As they shrieked and fled, several of them repeatedly released foul-smelling gas.

Li Yan nearly stumbled from the stench, and shouted, "Piss off!"

His divine ability was powerful, but it also came with drawbacks. Although he could regulate it with Yin and Yang Seals, his ordinary sense of smell was still vastly superior to that of normal people. As a result, he hated foul odors. He had even developed a slight obsession with cleanliness.

To him, a fox's fart was practically a concealed weapon. Fortunately, he was fast enough to escape the area quickly. Hidden force surged through his legs as he leaped forward every three steps. His speed increased, and ahead of him, Lu San had apparently heard the foxes' warnings.

Growing even more nervous, he suddenly dropped onto all fours and began running like a wild beast. His speed was astonishing.

At the same time, he casually shook a leather pouch hanging from his waist and a shower of iron caltrops scattered across the ground behind him.

What kind of move is this?

Naturally, such petty tricks couldn't stop Li Yan. He easily avoided them. Still, he was intrigued by Lu San's movement technique. He had never seen anything like it before.

A sheer cliff lay beyond Black Wind Ravine, and Li Yan had assumed he would eventually corner the fellow. Instead, Lu San suddenly reached into the grass and pulled out something unexpected.

It resembled a glider made of wood and animal hide.

This guy is way too slippery!

Seeing Lu San about to escape, Li Yan grew anxious and yelled, "I brought Wu Laosi's body back to his homeland! I only came to ask for directions and mean no harm!"

Lu San froze before he spun around abruptly. He barked, "Stop right there!"

He stayed beside the cliff, holding the glider. His face, now illuminated by moonlight, looked dull and expressionless. His eyes were cold, and the innocent smile from earlier had vanished completely.

"Fine. I won't move." Li Yan immediately stopped. He even raised both hands to show he held no hostile intentions. He quickly explained everything that had happened.

But even then, the suspicion in Lu San's eyes remained. "You came all this way, and went through all that trouble just to bury Uncle Wu?"

Li Yan frowned. "Not everyone in this world pursues profit and abandons righteousness. If something ought to be done, then it ought to be done. Is that so strange?"

He could tell that Lu San treated animals with complete sincerity. But he was extraordinarily wary toward people.

Lu San fell silent for a moment before asking, "If I simply tell you where to go and let you find it yourself, would that work?"

"Yes." Li Yan agreed immediately.

He had no interest in bothering Lu San. His priority was learning the location and burying the deceased as quickly as possible. He had no time to waste.

Lu San seemed surprised by how readily he agreed. After studying him for several moments, he finally spoke. "The Wu Family Gully ancestral graves are on the southwestern mountain. When you see the large pine tree on the summit, the cemetery lies below it. After Uncle Wu's family died back then, many unpleasant rumors spread through the village.

"The villagers refused to let them enter the ancestral graveyard, so they were buried in the ravine behind it."

After speaking, he immediately turned to launch himself off the cliff. His glider caught the wind, carrying him off into the night sky.

In the distance below, the lights of Manchuan Pass glittered brilliantly as Li Yan watched him glide away.

"He's as timid as a mouse..." Shaking his head, he turned and left.

After he departed, the old fox that had supposedly fainted secretly opened its eyes. It crept over to the skull and hurried away with it in its mouth.

Now that he had obtained the information he needed, Li Yan had no desire to linger in Manchuan Pass. Though the town was prosperous, he had no time for sightseeing. After retrieving his horse from the stable on Qin Street, he immediately departed into the night.

But he didn't notice the several rats emerging from the grass beside the official road. They remained motionless, staring in the direction he had gone.

***

Before dawn the next morning, everyone was awakened by the sound of hoofbeats.

Sha Lifei hurried outside, where he was surprised to see Li Yan riding toward them. His body was covered in frost and travel dust, and dew still dripped from his bamboo hat.

He hurried over to take the reins. "You’re back already?"

"I got lucky." Li Yan replied as he jumped down from the saddle. He patted the exhausted horse’s neck. "Poor thing's worn out. Tell Uncle Meng to give it some extra feed."

After the horse was settled, Li Yan and Sha Lifei briefly discussed everything that had happened the previous night.

Sha Lifei laughed. "Lu San's a strange one. You say he's timid, yet he dares to oppose Qiao Sanhu all by himself. You can call him brave, but the slightest disturbance makes him run. Good thing you went to find him. If the rest of us went, we never would've found him."

"He has no choice but to be cautious." Li Yan shook his head. "Anyway, we already know the location. There is no point in delaying. Daoist Wang, let's head into the mountains and find the graves."

Wang Daoxuan knew exactly why Li Yan was so eager. "Agreed."

Without wasting words, he grabbed his prepared pack and followed Li Yan up the mountain.

Their trip had two objectives. The first was to find the graves of Wu Laosi's wife and daughter, and the second was to locate a proper burial site for Wu Laosi himself.

Sha Lifei and the porters remained behind in the village.

Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan followed Lu San's directions along a dried riverbed. Sure enough, they eventually found the large pine tree atop the southwestern mountain. It stood alone upon the summit.

Its green needles looked vibrant and alive under the morning sunlight. But when they reached the graveyard, both men froze. Village cemeteries were usually clustered around family groups. The fengshui wasn't exceptional, but the scenery was generally pleasant. But most of these graves had been destroyed. Tombstones lay shattered, and burial mounds had been dug open. The bones of the dead were also exposed to the elements.

Wang Daoxuan sighed and shook his head. "What a sin..."

Li Yan's expression darkened as anger rose within him. He already had a good idea who was responsible. The villagers possessed nothing worth stealing, and tomb robbers would never target such graves. Most likely, that was Qiao Sanhu's doing.

Digging up someone's ancestral graves wasn't merely an insult. Acts of revenge involving exhumation and desecration were not uncommon. Judging by the condition of the graves, this destruction had occurred recently.

Perhaps Lu San had frustrated Qiao Sanhu at Manchuan Pass. Unable to find him, the man had resorted to this despicable method of revenge.

"Let's go." Wang Daoxuan's face was filled with anger as well. "This Tiger of Fengyang truly deserves no respect. I originally intended to arrange a proper funeral in Fengyang. But now, we should keep things low-profile. The burial site must also remain hidden. If we bury him here, Qiao Sanhu's men may return after we're gone and destroy it again."

Li Yan nodded. "Agreed."

The two continued down the slope, searching for the graves of Wu Laosi's wife and daughter.

***

Not long after they left, a figure emerged from the tall grass near the ancestral cemetery.

As Lu San stared at the ruined graves, shock filled his eyes, but they were quickly replaced by sorrow, followed by endless rage. He clenched his fists till his knuckles went white as his teeth ground together loudly.

Several rats emerged from nearby burrows and squeaked repeatedly as Lu San remained silent for a moment. After some time, he opened the leather pouch hanging from his waist, allowing the rats to scamper inside.

When they all entered the pouch, he looked in the direction Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan had gone. Without hesitation, he followed them.

***

"Where exactly is it?"

Standing in the ravine, Li Yan's expression grew increasingly unpleasant.

They had followed Lu San's directions to reach the rear ravine, yet it was overgrown with weeds. No graves could be seen anywhere.

Wang Daoxuan examined the area with his compass before shaking his head. "This isn't a good place at all. There's no life energy here, and the fengshui is bad. It’s also located in very low terrain. Whenever heavy rain comes, flash floods would pass through here. The graves were probably washed away long ago."

Li Yan sighed. "Let me try."

Li Yan prepared to form the Yang Seal at full power. Since his divine sense of smell could detect scents buried seven or eight meters underground, perhaps he could locate the remains. However, the moment he activated the ability, he frowned and looked toward the northwestern slope where a figure was descending the hillside.

The stranger was sliding down the rocky terrain towards both of them.

Wang Daoxuan asked curiously, "Who's that?"

Li Yan snorted. "That's Lu San, which means I've probably been tricked. Let's hear what he has to say."

He had finally realized what was happening. Lu San had mixed truth and lies together, and secretly followed them. Clearly, he still doubted their identities. Being cautious was understandable, but this level of paranoia was getting on Li Yan’s nerves.

Sure enough, Lu San stopped at a distance, just like the previous night.

He said expressionlessly, "They aren’t buried here. I lied to you."

Li Yan laughed in disbelief. "Is this amusing to you?"

Lu San seemed oblivious to the irritation in his voice as he continued, "I thought you might be the same people who came before."

Li Yan narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

At last, Lu San stopped hiding the truth. "I always knew Uncle Wu wasn't ordinary. The birds and beasts around the village never dared approach his home, but he always treated me well. Aunt Wu often brought me food.

"After the tragedy, I was the one who buried their family."

Li Yan's gaze flickered once. "What exactly happened back then?"

Fear appeared briefly in Lu San's eyes as he recounted the incident. "A very fierce evil ghost came and possessed Aunt Wu. Then, she killed the entire family. That night, Uncle Wu returned and dealt with the ghost, but he seemed terrified.

"He woke me up in the middle of the night and we hurriedly buried his family before he left Wu Family Gully, never to return."

It was exactly as Wu Laosi had described. That evil ghost was probably the ungrateful friend who had betrayed him.

Li Yan's expression softened slightly as he continued to ask, "You said someone else came looking for him afterward?"

"Yes." Lu San nodded. "About three days after Uncle Wu left, two outsiders arrived. They asked about Uncle Wu's family and claimed he had entrusted them with burying his relatives.

"However, they carried heavy killing intent, so I could sense that something was wrong. I secretly moved the remains, and buried them in a cave on the eastern mountain."

"You did the right thing." Wang Daoxuan nodded seriously. "Certain mystic path lineages possess tracking techniques. They can use the bloodline or the remains of relatives to locate someone. If they had found the bones, Senior Wu wouldn't have been able to flee far."

Li Yan fell into thought. After a moment, he asked, "Could those two have been members of Senior Wu's own lineage? After all, he took that item."

The item he referred to was naturally the Summoning Writ. From all appearances, it was a treasured artifact of Wu Laosi's lineage. If that was true, the situation was far more complicated than he had expected.

Li Yan had promised to return the Summoning Writ, but he had already become a living yin emissary.

Wait. Something wasn't right.

Hadn't Wu Laosi said his lineage was nearly extinct? There had even been a Cold Altar Wandering Master! Such beings only appeared after a lineage's incense offerings had been severed.

Could those two outsiders not have been fellow disciples after all?

The growing list of mysteries left Li Yan unable to make sense of the situation.

Looking at Lu San, he finally sighed. "I didn't know any of this. You did the right thing. Anyway, now, take us to the remains."