Chapter 39: Unorthodox Methods
The oasis was a sacred place for all desert travelers, and the oasis Wulanbaer had taken Rong Feijun to was the most sacred of all, because it had a mountain. A mountain in the desert—it was a miracle of the century! Therefore, this place was also called the Sacred Forest, or “the palace where Tataliya resides.”
It was cold in the desert at night, and even colder in the oasis. Rong Feijun was glad he had brought his cloak. The wind in the desert was always strong, and the leaves of the trees seemed to dance gracefully, making a rustling sound.
Wulanbaer led him to a small sand dune to sit.
“Your Majesty shouldn’t mind, right?” he said, patting the sand.
“And if I do mind, what will you do, King of Shahan?”
Wulanbaer thought for a moment and said seriously, “Go back and have a servant carry over a chaise lounge?” And while he was at it, bring some fruits and maybe even hire some dancers.
Rong Feijun smiled faintly and sat down beside him.
Here, the sky was blue and the ground was yellow. Now, with green suddenly appearing before his eyes, he felt his mood lift considerably. On the undulating sand dunes were rows of sand willows and palm trees. Further in the distance, there was a lush green vegetable garden, full of life.
To survive, these plants had special leaf structures, and their roots, in search of water, were deeply embedded in the sand, some stretching for dozens of meters. “The life that forms in the desert is very strong,” Rong Feijun remarked, “and very hard to destroy.”
Not just plants, but people too. He couldn’t help but glance at the man beside him.
“Some life is strong, even if it doesn’t form in the desert,” Wulanbaer said.
Dazzlingly bright, and captivating, like you.
Not the beast-like strength of my own people, but a hidden, contained power.
Wulanbaer lay down flat on his back, his hands crossed behind his head to rest.
Rong Feijun hesitated for a long time before awkwardly setting aside his imperial demeanor and also lying down on his side.
“Your Majesty, there’s a lake here too. I’ll take you to see it later.”
“Mm.”
Wulanbaer glanced at him and finally couldn’t resist asking softly, “Unhappy?”
Rong Feijun didn’t speak.
“Why are you unhappy? You are the Emperor.”
“What good is being the Emperor?” Rong Feijun said. “Even an emperor has no way to cure the Flower Moon Gu.”
After a long while, he said, “Yunzhi and I grew up together. He was my first vassal.”
“But I never knew his situation, nor did I know he had such a dangerous Gu poison in his body.”
“I used to think that when we were both old, we could sit in the imperial garden and drink tea and chat. Yunzhi would also be my crown prince’s teacher.”
Wulanbaer thought for a moment and reached out to pat his head.
Rong Feijun’s eyes widened, and he looked at Wulanbaer in surprise.
Wulanbaer withdrew his hand, his expression a little awkward. The atmosphere was a bit stiff, but what broke the awkwardness was a hissing sound from the deep forest. The two of them immediately became alert, getting up abruptly and scanning their surroundings. If they hadn’t misheard, it was the sound of a snake!
Hiss…
Hiss…
Wulanbaer searched the area, cautiously parting the grass and bushes, but found nothing.
“We didn’t mishear, did we?”
Before his voice had even faded, with a boom, the sand dune behind him suddenly exploded. Trees flew into the air, and the force of the sand and branches even sent Wulanbaer flying. Then, a giant snake appeared in their sight!
The snake flicked its red tongue. Its size was unbelievably huge, and its grayish-white eyes stared blankly at them. Rong Feijun felt as if the sky had been completely blocked by its body. The surroundings instantly darkened, and the moonlight was gone.
Wulanbaer looked at the snake’s body. It was covered in shining scales. It seemed a sword would have a hard time piercing it. And its size… the two of them alone could definitely not handle it!
“Run!” Wulanbaer shouted, grabbing Rong Feijun’s arm.
The two of them took advantage of the fact that the giant snake hadn’t reacted yet and ran with all their might. Wulanbaer took out a few tubes from his robes and asked Rong Feijun, “Did you bring a signal flare?”
Rong Feijun nodded.
They fired several signal flares into the sky one after another. For a moment, the sky was a riot of color. The symbols of Shahan and Langxuan shone against each other. Though beautiful, it was a sign of danger.
The snake let out a sharp hiss and dived towards them.
It only needed to move its body slightly to catch up to them. They couldn’t outrun it. So, Wulanbaer drew his sword and said fiercely, “Let’s fight it!”
In Li City, Fu Yunzhi lay pale on the bed, with Mu Linglong treating him.
Qi Xiao stood by the bed, his face full of anxiety, hating himself for being useless and unable to protect the one he loved.
“That kind of monster is unheard of,” Shen Linye said, patting his shoulder. “Something like this was unavoidable.”
After tying the bandage, Mu Linglong turned around. “Master Fu is fine. It’s just a flesh wound. It will heal after a few days of applying medicine. There was also some corpse poison, which I have already cleared out.”
Qi Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.
“But…” Mu Linglong hesitated.
The heart that had just settled in Qi Xiao’s chest was once again lifted. “What is it? If there’s something, just say it frankly.”
“The corpse poison is nothing, just a common poison. But when it’s mixed with the Flower Moon Gu poison in Master Fu’s body, I don’t know…”
“Are you saying Yunzhi is in danger?” Qi Xiao asked nervously.
“I can’t be sure,” Mu Linglong said. “Perhaps the corpse poison will stimulate the Flower Moon Gu and worsen his condition, or perhaps it won’t.”
“What if Yunzhi can have intercourse with someone who has the master Gu right now?”
“That would not only slightly alleviate the Flower Moon Gu, but the corpse poison would also be of no concern.”
“Cult Leader Mu,” Qi Xiao said firmly, “implant the master Gu in my body.”
“Do you know the consequences of using the master Gu?” Mu Linglong frowned. “Master Fu would not be willing either.”
“I would rather share a quilt in life and a coffin in death than be left alone with white hair. I have already made up my mind.”
A life without Yunzhi is not worth living.
Mu Linglong sighed. “Tomorrow, I will go find the materials to cultivate the master Gu. It should be ready for you the day after tomorrow. For now, let’s treat this as a temporary measure. I will do my best to find a way to cure the Flower Moon Gu without using the master Gu.”
The three of them sat down at the table, and Mu Linglong explained, “According to your description, General Qi, that monster should be a living dead.”
“A living dead?”
“The Miao people implant the ‘Rebirth Gu’ into a corpse and, with some secret techniques, allow the corpse to regain its ability to move,” Mu Linglong said. “But these corpses have already lost their souls, so they will only blindly attack living creatures and have no consciousness. They are commonly known as the living dead.”
“The Miao people… Junce…” Qi Xiao frowned. The remnants of the Miao people had been secretly rescued by the King of Junce. Although Langxuan had found out afterward, they couldn’t get them back. They couldn’t go to war with Junce over this. But he never thought…
Now that Mu Linglong had said this, Qi Xiao felt that the King of Junce had ulterior motives. Why would he violate human ethics and train these living dead for no reason? Unless it was for war!
“This is no small matter,” Qi Xiao frowned. “I must report it to the Emperor tomorrow.”
Just as he was speaking, with a bang, a strong light flashed outside the window, illuminating the room. Qi Xiao walked to the window and saw the distress signal flares of Langxuan and Shahan blooming in the sky, one after another.
To release so many signal flares at once…
That’s the King of Shahan and Rong Feijun! Qi Xiao’s gaze sharpened. He turned to ask Mu Linglong to take good care of Fu Yunzhi, then grabbed his sword and hurried away. The signal flares were so urgent and numerous; it must be a serious matter. He needed to gather some men.
I just hope nothing else happens…