First of all, Merry Christmas! Something that I drew for this couple to celebrate this holiday:

Secondly, thanks for your patience! 🙂

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The scorpion tail!

However, after the sting, Xie Lian managed to capture its tail, restricting the entire body of the scorpion-tailed snake. Using a burst of force from his hand, he knocked it out cold. While Xie Lian had been stung, his expression and colour didn’t really change, and he simply threw the snake to the ground, saying, “Everyone, be careful, there may be more snakes around…”

He hadn’t finished speaking when his wrist was suddenly tightly gripped. He raised his head to see that it was San Lang. Xie Lian cocked his head. “San Lang?”

Xie Lian had to ask because the expression on San Lang at the moment wasn’t quite pleasant. He didn’t know how to describe it, but it would make one shudder in inexplicable fear.

The young man stared intensely at the tiny wound on the back of Xie Lian’s wrist. It truly looked like nothing more than a prick from a needle, but because of how violently and quickly the poison acted, a solid, purplish-red lump soon swelled around the punctured skin, and the wound enlarged as though it were slashed open by a knife.

San Lang appeared calm and collected, and without a word, he grabbed Ruoye and used it to bind Xie Lian’s wrist real tight, stopping the flow of poisoned blood. Ruoye may act childishly and was generally disobedient around Xie Lian, but in San Lang’s hands, it was submissive and almost seemed like it was dead.

Since the two had met, Xie Lian had never seen him with this expression before. Just when Xie Lian wanted to speak, San Lang took out a dagger. Nan Feng seemed to understand his intentions as soon as he saw this, and once again lit up a palm fire. San Lang spared him no glance as he heated up the blade on the fire, before turning back around to Xie Lian and, with a light and quick wrist, sliced a cross on top of the swelling.

San Lang began to bend down towards it when Xie Lian quickly interrupted him. “There’s no need to do this. The scorpion-tailed snake’s poison is extremely strong. Sucking it out won’t help. You might get poisoned as well…”

The young man did not care for his protests, holding Xie Lian’s wrist tightly and bringing it up to his lips. For some reason, Xie Lian felt his wrist tremble a little in San Lang’s hold.

On the side, Fu Yao said, “If even you can get stung like this, then it must really be poisonous. He might not even have gotten bitten back there, what the heck were you doing trying to catch it? What a mess.”

He was on point. In truth, now that Xie Lian thought about it, the nonchalant manner with which San Lang had been playing with the snake and tying it into knots back in the cave made Xie Lian believe that the young man most likely wouldn’t have let himself be stung. And even if he had been stung, he probably wouldn’t care at all.

But it was better to be safe than sorry. If the young man had truly not paid attention to the snake and gotten himself stung, what use would it be to regret then?

With his good hand, Xie Lian waved it a bit and said, “It doesn’t hurt and it won’t kill me anyways. No need to worry.”

Fu Yao asked, “It really doesn’t hurt?”

Xie Lian answered honestly, “Really. I can’t even feel it anymore.”

He spoke the truth. Because Xie Lian was Xie Lian, his luck was consistently horrible. If he walked around in a mountain, eight times out of ten he’d step on a poisonous snake or be woken up by a poisonous bug. Thus, Xie Lian has had a taste of hundreds if not thousands of types of poisons already. His body was stubborn and just wouldn’t die, at most getting a fever for three days and three nights before waking up the day after like a completely healthy person. Moreover, his pain threshold was practically nonexistent. If he did get pain, he eventually got used it.

After he’d finished speaking, San Lang finally raised his head. The back of Xie Lian’s wrist was no longer red and swollen, and San Lang’s lips were smeared with blood red. His eyes were extremely cold, and they shifted to the side and down to the ground where the body of the scorpion-tailed snake lay. There was a “bang!” and the purplish-red snake exploded, becoming a puddle of purplish-red meat sauce.

When everyone saw that the snake had exploded, they were all frightened, but did not know who had done it. While none of it had splashed on any of them, the sight was still terrifying.

Tian Sheng remembered that Xie Lian had been stung, and said worriedly, “Gege, you got stung as well? What are you going to do?”

Xie Lian tightened the bandage on his wrist, and smiled. “Good child, I’m all right. Just as we planned before, we’ll enter the town and find the Shan Yue herb.”

A merchant spoke up. “You’re all going? Then what about us? Should we send someone, too?”

Xie Lian replied, “No need for you to go. The Ban Yue country is a dangerous place, and adding a person to our group is tantamount to adding accidents. Once we find the Shan Yue herb, we’ll return within ten days to give it to you.”

Several merchants piped up. “This… this is for real?! We are truly thankful…”

“How can we possibly accept your kindness…”

But once Xie Lian spoke his next words, their expressions changed. Xie Lian said, “To find the Ban Yue country quickly, we have to inconvenience you and ask that you lend us this brother as a guide.”

He was obviously referring to Ah-Zhao. If the merchants had looked grateful and joyous before, now most of them looked hesitant. Xie Lian understood; they were worried that once Ah-Zhao found the Shan Yue herb, he might run away with it. And if he had a conscience and came back to them, the time they had to wait was a problem. But they themselves didn’t want to go to a devilish place where half its visitors die, and so they felt quite confused.

As it was human nature, it was understandable. Xie Lian added, “But since I’m afraid there could be other things that could harm you during the time we are away, Fu Yao, you’re staying behind to look after them.”

Now that they have a capable person staying behind for them, the merchants finally nodded their heads. “All right. As long as Ah-Zhao is willing to go with you.”

Thus, Xie Lian turned to him and said, “Little brother, would you be willing to help us? It’s all right if you aren’t.”

Ah-Zhao nodded. “I don’t mind. But the old country of Ban Yue is actually quite easy to find. Just follow this direction, and you’ll arrive.”

After saying farewell to the merchants, Ah-Zhao walked in front as their guide, while Xie Lian, San Lang, and Nan Feng followed closely behind. After a while, Xie Lian opened his mouth to ask, “Ah-Zhao, does this region often have scorpion-tailed snakes roaming about?”

Ah-Zhao said, “Not really. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen one.”

Xie Lian nodded and asked no more. He had lived in Ban Yue for a period of time in the past, and this was also his first time encountering scorpion-tailed snakes. Thus, Ah-Zhao’s answer wasn’t a surprise.

Nan Feng seemed to realize something. In a low voice, he asked, “You suspect Ah-Zhao?”

Xie Lian answered in a similarly low voice, “We’ve brough him along anyway. Just keep a close eye on him.”

If it had been before, the first to speak to him would have been San Lang. However, perhaps because of what had happened, right now San Lang still looked a bit ashen, and was completely silent. Xie Lian didn’t know what the matter was, and didn’t know how to ask, so he simply kept walking.

The small squad walked quickly across the Gobi for a quarter of the day. With the storm gone and no whirling sand to block their path, their footsteps were quick, and gradually, they began to see stubborn weeds growing in the cracks of rocks along the road. The sun was almost setting, and Xie Lian finally saw the ancient city along the horizon.

The ancient city was difficult to distinguish as it was yellowish and melted into the yellow landscape of the desert. The city walls were falling, some of it collapsed and buried in sand. Walking closer to it, they realized that the walls were gigantic, the tallest areas measuring around seventeen zhangs [56 metres] in height. It wasn’t difficult for one to imagine the imposing grandeur the city once had.

Through the city gates, the four of them officially enetered the old country of Ban Yue.

Once they entered, they came upon a wide, empty road, lined on both sides with ruined buildings, tattered houses, tattered stones, and tattered wood. Probably used to being a guide and warning people all the time, Ah-Zhao said, “Gentlemen, please be careful. Don’t wander about.” As if the three of them needed that warning.

The difference between this Ban Yue and the Ban Yue in Nan Feng’s mind was likely too big, and so he said doubtfully, “This is Ban Yue? It’s so small, smaller than a city.”

Xie Lian said, “A desert country is as big as the oasis it’s based in. When it was flourishing, Ban Yue’s population didn’t exceed ten thousand; it really is this small. When it was bustling with people, it was actually quite lively.”

Nan Feng looked around for a bit, and said, “Conquering this place was probably only a few days’ work.”

Xie Lian shook his head. “Not necessarily. Nan Feng, do not underestimate the people of Ban Yue. While their population may not have exceeded ten thousand, their soldiers had protected their country for over four thousand years. They had more men than women, and besides the sick, the old, and the farmers, all the rest of the men entered the army. Moreover, the soldiers of Ban Yue all exceeded nine feet in height, and were brave and belligerent in temper. They would hold a mace and continue marching forward even with swords stuck in their chests. They were an extremely difficult opponent.”

Ah-Zhao looked slightly surprised, and gave Xie Lian a glance. “This master seems to know a lot.”

Xie Lian held down his laughter and was about to make a joke when Nan Feng asked, “What’s this wall about?”

He was pointing at an enormous loess building in the far distance.

Calling it a building was a bit of a stretch. One could describe it as four towering walls that surrounded something inside. It had no doors and no roof. It had only four walls made out of dirt, each wall reaching ten zhangs [30 metres] in height. The top of the construct had a pole sticking out, and something tattered, possibly a flag, was attached to it, floating about in the wind. For some reason, it gave chills to one’s heart.

Xie Lian turned his head, looked at it for a moment, and said, “That’s the Sinner’s Pit.”

Just the name told one that it couldn’t be anything good. Nan Feng frowned. “Sinner’s Pit?”

After muttering to himself for moment, Xie Lian said, “You can think of it as a prison. It was especially dedicated to locking up the guilty.”

Nan Feng said, “How do you jail someone in if there’s not even a door? Don’t tell me you just threw people in from the top?”

Xie Lian was just considering whether or not to answer when San Lang suddenly spoke. “They were thrown down. And at the bottom, there were poisonous snakes and scorpions, as well as hungry beasts.”

Finally hearing San Lang speak, Xie Lian felt his heart relax and looked over at him. However, San Lang only held his gaze for a glance before looking away.

Nan Feng cursed. “What kind of fucking prison was that? It’s plain torture! It’s disgusting and malicious! Ban Yue people were either mental or naturally cruel.”

Xie Lian pinched the bridge of his nose. “They weren’t all like that. Some Ban Yue people were quite cute.”

Then, he suddenly stopped and cocked his head, his brows pinched in concentration. “Wait.”

The other three stopped. XIe Lian raised a hand and said, “Look over there at the pole on top of the pit. Is that a person hanging on it?”

With the sun setting and night falling, as well as it being quite far from their sights, it was difficult to see exactly what was hanging fom the pole. But after walking just a little closer, it was clear that the silhouette of what was hanging on the pole was a small body clad in black tatters. Above the Sinner’s Pit, it looked like a wilting doll, swinging slowly back and forth in the wind.

San Lang said, “Yes.”

When Ah-Zhao saw the hanging body, his face went white. The scene was so mournful and bizarre that even one as calm and collected as he could not bear it. At this moment, San Lang waved a hand and said in a low voice, “Someone’s here.”

Not only had San Lang noticed, but Xie Lian also heard the quiet sound of footsteps. Seeing that there were ruined buildings on both sides of the street, the squad broke up to go into hiding. Xie Lian and San Lang hid in the same broken house, while Nan Feng and Ah-Zhao hid in one across the street from them. After a few moments, at the end of the street, a woman dressed in white appeared.

The lady was dressed from head to toe in a flowing white Taoist robe, a horsetail whisk on her arm. She walked along the road while looking around, eyes bright, as though it wasn’t ruined buildings but a small garden that surrounded her. Not far from her, another lady dressed in black appeared, holding her hands together while walking slowly behind her.

The features of the black-clad lady was beautiful yet cold, like a drawn dagger, her long hair loose around her, her presence emitting a sharp, cold aura. Although she walked behind the white-clad lady, nobody would mistake her as anybody’s subordinate.

It was the two that they had seen outside the abandoned building from before.

At that time, those two figures had flitted by quite quickly, and because the black-clad person had a tall stature, Xie Lian couldn’t tell if the person was a man or a woman. He only just now realized that both of them were women. The one in white was probably the Ban Yue GuoShi, but who could be the other one?

The Ban Yue GuoShi slowly flicked her horsetail whisk about, and said, “Where are those people hiding? The moment we stop paying attention they disappear. Do they want me to find and kill them one by one?”

Xie Lian thought that indeed, the moment they’d stepped onto the road, they had been targeted.

The young woman dressed in black walked past her expressionlessly and said, “You can call your friends to help you kill them.”

Those “friends” could only be the powerful and destructive army of Ban Yue soldiers. The Ban Yue GuoShi laughed and said, “Ha! I don’t like calling for other people. I only like calling for you. Are you happy?”

The woman in black didn’t give her any face, and proceeded to reply coldly, “What’s there to be happy about, being called by you to help you with this kind of thing. Keep walking.”

The Ban Yue GuoShi lifted an eyebrow but did keep walking. It seemed from their exchange that they were quite familiar with each other.

These two were definitely not commoners. The one in black was definitely not someone obscure.  What other female person of as high repute as the Ban Yue GuoShi were there? A mysterious contemporary? Or perhaps the country of Ban Yue had a queen or a female general?

Xie Lian’s thoughts ran lightning-fast as he held his breath. He absolutely did not want to be discovered; the Ban Yue GuoShi’s temper seemed awful, and if they were discovered, in her excitement she may call over those nine-foot-tall mace-wielding Ban Yue soldiers to fight them. That would take up time and as they only had six days to complete their mission, even half a day was too precious to lose.

Unfortunately, with Xie Lian’s kind of luck, the more he didn’t want something to happen, the more likely it was to happen. When the lady in black walked past their hiding place, she suddenly stopped and swept over the area with sharp eyes.

The Ban Yue GuoShi had already walked a few steps away, but seeing her companion stop, retraced some of her steps.  “Hey, are we going or not?”

The woman in black said, “You, move away.”

The Ban Yue GuoShi said, “ ‘Kay.”

After moving away, the woman in black seemed about to raise her hand when, across the road, there was a loud sound!

Across the road, the ruined building that Nan Feng was hiding in suddenly collapsed. Then, all the surrounding buildings began to collapse as well, raising clouds of rolling sand and dust. Within the small storm, a black shadow flitted out and volleyed a blast of flames towards the Ban Yue GuoShi.

But the woman in black turned around and moved in front of the Ban Yue GuoShi, her left hand supporting the GuoShi’s body, her right hand jerking so that the flames were caught and then immediately thrown back towards the shadow. The black shadow was also nimble, dodging the counterattack and darting away with a few fistfuls of sand^?‑. The Ban Yue GuoShi chased after it. The woman in black, after glancing their way for a moment, chased after them as well.

The entire kerfuffle happened within a split second. Xie Lian thought, “Go Nan Feng!” He knew that Nan Feng, who had been hiding across the road, had seen that they were about to be discovered, caused a quick diversion to lead the enemies away. Since only a single person had ran off, Ah-Zhao must still be hiding within the collapsed ruins.

When Xie Lian was certain that the three were far enough away, he pulled San Lang out of their hiding place and called, “Ah-Zhao, are you still alive? Are you hurt?”

A muffled voice immediately came from beneath the collapsed building. “… I’m all right.”

Xie Lian’s heart relaxed, and he said, “As long as you’re all right.”

While Xie Lian fully believed that Nan Feng had controlled the collapse of the buildings and prevented any damage from falling on the other person with him, complete relief could only be found with direct confirmation. With a single hand, Xie Lian raised a rotted pillar, and after a while, Ah-Zhao crawled out from beneath the ruins with much difficulty, absolutely covered in dust and sand. With a casual hand, he wiped it all away and looked presentable again.

Xie Lian said, “It’s just the three of us left. Nan Feng had to hightail it. We need to up our speed. Ah-Zhao, do you know where the Shan Yue herb grows in this city?”

Ah-Zhao shook his head. “My apologies. I only know where this city is located. I’ve never actually been here. I have no idea where the Shan Yue herb grows.”

On the side, San Lang said, “It’s said that the Shan Yue herb likes dark places, and grows as a small and short plant. It’s roots are thin and shallow and it has large blades, like sharp-beaked peaches^?. Why don’t we start searching besides the grand building^?.”

Xie Lian turned his words over in his mind^?. “Grand building?”

In a country, what building was grander than the imperial palace? Moreover, in the legend, the queen must have picked the Shan Yue herb from within her imperial palace.

San Lang surveyed the landscape for a few moments. He saw a palace built of bricks made out of sand and wood in the middle of the city.

The palace was quite imposing from afar, but upon a closer look, it was only a little better than the other houses on the street. Through the gate of the palace, there was a massive garden. Perhaps in the past wasn’t a garden but a square or something, but it had been deserted for years, leaving only a piece of land full of all kinds of green plants.

When they entered, they stepped not on sand but on soil. Nice. It was probably the residual traces of the oasis this place had once been. The Shan Yue herb probably grew in this garden.

Xie Lian said, “Let’s find it quickly. We only have six days. But be careful of scorpion-tailed snakes.”

Ah-Zhao concurred, and San Lang also made a noise of agreement. The three of them lowered their heads and began to search.

Then Xie Lian remembered that the Ban Yue GuoShi was reportedly able to control an army of scorpion-tailed snakes. Then, when the squad entered the city, they should have encountered many scorpion-tailed snakes. But once they had stepped into this ancient city, they hadn’t seen a single one of those creatures.

He stood up, about to say something when, suddenly, he felt something cylindrical brush against his arm.

He looked down, and saw that it was a human leg.

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