Chapter 10: The Yellow Skin repays kindness without any ambiguity.
Jia Boren gave a somewhat scornful chuckle...
The scars on his eyelids quivered along with it.
Suddenly, I felt that his name suited him well—Jia Boren…
His appearance was indeed unkind.
"Geez, girl, you could probably trick the likes of Uncle Lu with your act, but what can you do? Just sit tight and watch the big boys show you how it's done! Whatever unrest there is in the mountain, the big boys will settle it! Don't try to fool us here. We won't fall for your tricks!"
Lu Mingwei's face tightened, and he looked at me with some anxiety. I knew he couldn't afford to offend either side. It didn't matter if I didn't get involved; this would actually make earning the money easier.
I kept my composure, and even relaxed more, shrugging my shoulders as I replied,
"Fine. Then I'll leave it to you guys."
Since this was a major issue, Lu Mingwei personally took care of everything, double-checking every matter. The most idle people in the entire yard were me and those dressed in black.
I was very familiar with this kind of village, so while they were still discussing the plan to enter the mountain, I thought about taking a stroll outside.
Lu Mingwei really didn't feel comfortable letting me wander off alone, so in the end, he lent me his personal assistant and specifically instructed him to follow my orders.
I must say, his respect for me was genuine; you can't fake that sort of thing in your heart…
"Benefactor, just call me Heizi," he said.
This assistant was quite handsome, probably the most attractive among the men in black. No…
He would stand out as exceptionally attractive anywhere.
He looked a bit like the handsome but disreputable type, around 183 cm tall, with thick eyebrows and bright eyes, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and a black suit—a bit of an ascetic vibe. I've always had a thing for men like this since I first read novels. The only downside was his slender figure...
Pardon my bluntness, but he was a bit like a scrawny dog.
Yet, his appearance was just the type I liked. If I hadn't been trained from a young age to withstand the Three Trials of the 'Earth Horse,' I might have exchanged contact information and developed a relationship.
The Three Trials are the trials of affection, wealth, and endurance.
To put it plainly, you have to endure a complete physical, monetary, and emotional breakdown, freeing yourself from all desires and attachments before you can embark on the path of the 'Earth Horse.'
Thus, my grandmother always taught me to keep fit, not to care too much about money, and before I became an official 'Earth Horse' after graduating from university, not to fall in love.
But unexpectedly… I became a 'Horse' forcefully awakened by a hard-knock.
I skipped the Three Trials, but I wasn't planning on dating before graduating anyway.
Love complicates things.
"Benefactor, where are we heading to? Should I bring anything?"
I shook my head, explaining that if it was just aimless wandering, it wasn't necessary. Basking in the sun in the yard would be better. However, I was more interested in strolling around the mountainside to see if I could encounter any Immortals and maybe gather some information.
The group didn't trust me, but that didn't mean I trusted them completely either.
When it comes to safety, you have to rely on yourself!
"Don't ask, just stay by my side."
When we arrived at the village in the middle of the night, I was too exhausted to pay much attention to it. Now, it seemed as though Lu Mingwei had really put some thought into it; the dirt roads were now paved with asphalt and even had streetlights—it was quite nice.
They could even turn it into a holiday resort.
When we reached the mountain's edge, I tapped on Master's flask, and Master quickly ran into the mountain. In no time, he brought back a Yellow Skin.
As I saw the Yellow Skin approach, I immediately bowed and said,
"Immortal, thank you for your hard work."
Yellow Skin looked at me in surprise, then chuckled and said:
"Xiao Bai, so it was really you who turned Master into this? We haven't seen each other for so many years, and your abilities have improved a lot. You've done me a favor, so consider this a repayment of that debt."
Heizi couldn't understand what Yellow Skin was saying; he was just amazed to see this human-like Yellow Skin.
After watching for a long time, Yellow Skin felt uncomfortable under his gaze. But since I brought him, he didn't want to cause trouble and had to give Heizi a bow, which completely shocked Heizi.
Watching Heizi's reaction made me laugh, but I also didn't expect this to be the Yellow Skin I had once dealt with. Taiyin Mountain is miles away from my grandmother's village; how did it get here?
For the moment, I held back my questions and focused on finding out the important matters first.
"I want to ask if there's any great spiritual power in this mountain. I need to move a corpse here. Can the Immortal Family help me explore?"
Yellow Skin scratched his head, thought for a while, and then started speaking:
"After successfully begging for a dwelling, I've been living here for four or five years. I've only heard that there's a Barrier here, surrounded by several layers of Poisonous Miasma. The first layer is Lost Soul Fragrance, the second is Five Senses Miasma, and the last one is the deadly Undead Fragrance. There are also many poisonous creatures. Many seniors here who are cultivating say that there is something inside, but no one has said they want to go in. After all, if something goes wrong, it's all for nothing. Everyone here is a cultivator."
I had heard of these types of Poisonous Miasmas from my grandmother—true marvels of nature.
Lost Soul Fragrance can make one lose their sense of direction, and their mind fills with illusions, blurring their sense of direction.
It seems that the people Lu Mingwei sent must have been trapped at this first layer.
Five Senses Miasma can make one lose all five senses and fall into a dreamlike state. Most poisonous creatures are on this layer, and they can kill the prey lying helplessly on the ground.
Finally, the Undead Fragrance is the most dangerous. Even if one can withstand the pressure of the Five Senses Miasma and reach the Undead Fragrance, ninety-nine percent of them won't survive its warm scent.
The Undead Fragrance smells somewhat like osmanthus and starts dissolving your internal organs with a single breath.
The longer you smell it, the faster the decay and dissolution.
And the most incredible thing is that all three of these Poisonous Miasmas are natural formations, not man-made.
I never would have imagined such a place existed in Taiyin Mountain.
At this time, Master also opened his mouth to explain.
Taiyin Mountain is much less spiritually energetic compared to Changbai Mountain, but the Changbai Mountain Range has always been occupied by several major families. Hence, many successful cultivators from other branches choose to cultivate in the Taiyin Mountain Range.
Over time, the Immortal Families of the Taiyin Mountain Range have also achieved much, with many not inferior to those from Changbai Mountain.
However, they've been here for too short a time, the families are too diverse, and they can't unite to form a strong force.
Yellow Skins who encounter a bottleneck in their cultivation on Changbai Mountain prefer to come here for a holiday and rest for a few days. The scenery here is better, and they often gain new insights by coming here.
"If you want to go, it's not impossible. Prepare antidotes, but they're not easy to find... I remember several creatures in this mountain owe you favors. I'll get them to gather some antidote herbs for you as a repayment of the debt. Otherwise, if you go... I doubt you'd return. After all, I've never seen anyone make it in alive!"
I don't take this business of repaying favors seriously. Although I've been surrounded by many favors and merits, they really are an affront to heaven. Better to keep a low profile and accept the favors.
Thinking this, I bowed deeply.
"Then I'll trouble you. I'll wait here for you."
As soon as Yellow Skin left, Heizi looked at me with astonishment, gesturing wildly before finally uttering...
"You're amazing; you can actually talk to animals? Was that a Yellow Skin just now? Its every action was just like a human's. It's even scratching its head, holding its forehead, propping up its cheeks! And it bowed! Quite polite! Is it... male or female?"
Expecting Heizi to ask something profound, I couldn't help but shake my head and laugh when he asked about its gender.
Quite an interesting fellow.
"Well, you can tell Uncle Lu about what happened today, but don't mention it to anyone else. Huang Family Immortal takes revenge for the slightest offense. Be careful, or you might bring trouble upon yourself."
Heizi nodded, his whole person still not having recovered from his astonishment.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone