The Demon Lords

Chapter 539 48 Malice_1

"Hey, hey, hey, Brother Zheng, Brother Zheng, I was just kidding, just kidding."

Zheng Fan remained unmoved.

Mr. Chen drew his sword and placed it on his neck, appearing ready to commit suicide at any moment.

"Brother Zheng, I happen to have a treasure on me. Since you've called me 'older brother,' let this old brother give you a welcoming gift."

"Mr. Chen, what are you doing? I was just joking with you. Why would you take it so seriously!" Zheng Fan said.

Mr. Chen was speechless.

Zheng Fan turned to Yao Zizhan.

Yao Zizhan chuckled and said, "Brother Zheng, you really are down-to-earth."

"People are born with their feet on the ground, naturally connected to the earth's energy. Those who appear otherworldly are merely floating; sooner or later, they're bound to fall."

"What Brother Zheng says is quite true. It's a pity there's no wine here, or I'd drink a large cup to that."

"That can be easily arranged."

Zheng Fan held out his hand and shouted to A Ming, "Bring the wine!"

A Ming passed the waterskin to Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan presented the waterskin to Yao Zizhan, saying, "Drink hearty!"

"Haha, delightful!"

Yao Zizhan, affecting a heroic air, took the waterskin and, without hesitation, tilted his head back and took a large swig.

Then...

VOMIT!!!!!

A Ming stepped forward, took away the waterskin, and frowned at Yao Zizhan, who was crouched on the ground, vomiting uncontrollably.

Zheng Fan waved his hand at A Ming, saying, "Don't worry. We'll find a village of uncivilized men on the way, and you can go hunting again."

A Ming nodded and walked back. Fortunately, not too much blood in the waterskin had been wasted, and he could continue to drink it.

At this very moment, the great cultural figure of the Qian State, the sage in the hearts of scholars across the land, the dream lover of courtesans everywhere, was on all fours, blood smeared across his face, nearly vomiting up his gallbladder.

After a long while, Yao Zizhan finally recovered. He took a real waterskin and began to rinse his mouth frantically.

"Brother Zheng, your jest almost cost me half my life," he said.

That wasn't wine at all. The moment it entered his mouth, it was warm, viscous, and reeked heavily of something foul.

"Don't you Qian people always claim we Yan folk are savages who devour raw flesh and drink blood? So, shouldn't we be drinking blood?"

"Oh, Brother, Brother, that's what they say, not me! I've never said such a thing. In my heart, the Yan people have always held a certain... special sentiment."

"When I was young, I traveled through the Yan State and even went to Beifeng Prefecture, where I lived with a northern woman in a humble cottage for half a year. To this day, I haven't forgotten her."

"So, to me, Yan State really has…"

"Let's talk about the welcoming gift instead."

Zheng Fan really wasn't interested in hearing about this literary gentleman's romantic escapades. He also believed that Yao Zizhan must have been a sensation among the famous courtesans in his youth, much like Liu Yong from another era he was familiar with.

"Ah."

Yao Zizhan pulled out a box from his sleeve. The box was small, about the width of a ring box from later generations, but very thin, so it could easily be tucked into a sleeve.

"What is this?"

Jade? No, there's no jade this small and flat. Gold? What good would such a tiny piece of gold be?

"Don't rush, don't rush."

Yao Zizhan carefully opened the box. Inside was a purple item, like a folded piece of paper.

"This is an evil-warding talisman, a gift from Master Zang back in the day. It specializes in subduing malevolent entities. Carrying this talisman will protect one from being plagued by such things."

"Master Zang?" Zheng Fan pondered the name, then remembered. "Could that be the Qi cultivator who once went to our Yanjing to confront His Majesty, demanding to cut the Dragon Vein?"

If Yao Zizhan is considered a leader in the literary world, then Master Zang is considered a "god" among Qi cultivators in the Qian State. The Qian Emperor treats him with the deference due to a teacher. There are even rumors that this generation's Qian Emperor was taught breathing and Qi cultivation techniques by Master Zang from a young age.

After retreating from Qian State following the war, Zheng Fan had heard about this incident in Nanwang City. It was said Master Zang and Baili Sword once went to Yanjing. Master Zang threatened to cut the Yan State's Dragon Vein to compel the Yan Emperor, His Majesty, to cease hostilities and end the war. However, the Yan Emperor, Ji Runhao, wasn't swayed by this. In the end, Master Zang suffered a grievous backlash from cutting the Dragon Vein, and his life or death became unknown.

Seemingly detecting the carelessness in Zheng Fan's words, Yao Zizhan shook his head and said, "Some things you see may not be true, but then again, some things you hear may not be entirely false either."

"Master Yao, I have no interest in engaging in cryptic wordplay with you here."

"I stake my reputation on it: this was indeed a gift from Master Zang. I've carried it on my person, and I've never once run into any fox spirits or ghostly apparitions."

"Sounds like quite a pity, doesn't it?" Zheng Fan said, laughing.

Yao Zizhan nodded, saying, "Indeed."

As a scholar, and a scholar among scholars at that, he had long grown weary of the powder and perfume of courtesan houses. When one tires of human company, one naturally thinks of trying... other tastes. A romantic scholar paired with a fox spirit or a ghostly beauty—that's the kind of delightful tale that scholars and the common folk alike enjoy hearing about in their leisure time.

"Look, there are no fox spirits or ghosts around here for me to test this on. Oh well, I'll just have to trust your integrity, Master Yao."

Though, judging by how you directly plundered Helian Xiongbi's treasury to save your own skin, it seems you don't have much integrity to speak of. But Zheng Fan was just looking for an out. He wasn't some die-hard loyalist of the Yan State, so he wasn't overly sensitive to Yao Zizhan's supposed conjectures, nor did he feel compelled to kill him to ensure his silence. This old fellow was actually rather interesting.

"That's more like it. You must take good care of this. It's quite valuable, this thing."

"Alright, alright, I understand."

Zheng Fan reached out, took the small box containing the talisman paper, and casually stuffed it into his inner pocket.

Then, Zheng Fan turned to Mr. Chen, intending to tell him to lower the sword from his neck, but he heard Yao Zizhan shout, "Brother Zheng, Brother Zheng, it's smoking!"

Huh? Smoking?

Zheng Fan looked down and found that smoke was indeed seeping from the seams of his clothes. Wisps of white smoke were escaping, accompanied by a wave of intense heat.

HISSS!

Zheng Fan immediately reached into his clothes to pull out the box.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Mo Wan's resentful shriek echoed from the depths of Zheng Fan's heart.

"Damn it, son! Your old man truly had no idea this talisman paper actually worked!"

Zheng Fan immediately threw the box away, right in A Ming's direction.

A Ming, still drinking from the waterskin in his left hand, caught something his lord tossed to him out of the corner of his eye, without getting a clear look at what it was.

Then, he continued to drink.

A moment later.

Huh?

A Ming frowned as he looked down, noticing his right palm was turning red. It wasn't like holding a box; it felt as if he were directly gripping a red-hot soldering iron.

A Ming leaped to his feet and threw the object towards Fanli.

Fanli reached out his hand; compared to the small box, his hand was like a tennis racket to a tennis ball.

After clutching it, Fanli curiously observed it for a moment.

Then, "HISSS... OW, OW, OW!"

Fanli flung the thing away.

Xue Three asked curiously, "My lord has Mo Wan, and A Ming is of the Blood Race, so it's understandable they'd fear this. But why Ah Li too?"

The falling box was enveloped by Blind Man's mental force and drawn into his hand. He leisurely blew a breath towards the box while answering Xue Three, "Ah Li has non-human ancestry—Demonic Tribe or perhaps some kind of Barbarian Tribe. That was established a long time ago. It's just that Ah Li hasn't recovered enough of his strength for it to manifest yet. The Barbarian Tribe ancestry I'm referring to here isn't the same as the Barbarian Tribes of this world; it's more akin to the racial bloodline settings in games from a later era. However, it's clear that even if unmanifested, Fanli's bloodline is real. So, it's quite normal for the talisman paper to consider him a malevolent being."

"Oh, is that so?" Xue Three nodded thoughtfully, then tilted his head and looked at Blind Man. "Blind Man, you seem to have forgotten something."

"What's wrong? I don't have any miscellaneous bloodlines."

"Your whole character setup is someone who revived by possessing a corpse!"

Blind Man was speechless.

HISSS!

Blind Man's palm was also burned, forcing him to throw the box away again.

The box flew directly towards Xue Three.

Xue Three was so scared he scrambled up a tree.

"Damn it, Blind Man! You messed up, and now you're trying to drag me down with you!"

"You're just a dwarf."

"Nonsense! In the past few 'episodes,' I've been eating all sorts of game and strange creatures. Heaven knows if my body even counts as purely human anymore!"

The box finally landed on the ground, looking somewhat lonely.

As for Yao Zizhan, he first looked at Zheng Fan, then at A Ming, then at Blind Man, and finally at Xue Three, who had darted up the tree in fright. He raised his hand, pinched his own face firmly, and then looked at Zheng Fan, somewhat dazed.

"Brother Zheng, am I... dreaming?"

This whole group... are they all malevolent beings? Heavens, what kind of people have I gotten myself mixed up with!

Now Yao Zizhan began to question life, or perhaps... question this world.

He had gone his entire life without encountering fox spirits or ghostly apparitions, but he never imagined that today, the day he decided to gift this talisman paper, he would encounter a whole group of them!

"Mr. Chen, tell me, am I dreaming, or are my eyes playing tricks on me?"

Mr. Chen wasn't too surprised. He had witnessed the secret weapon hidden deep within Green Willow Fortress: that powerhouse who had clearly died in battle was actually still existing in another form, and had nearly killed him.

Mr. Chen was an honest man and answered directly, "No, you're not dreaming. This is real."

"Nonsense! You brat, now you've even learned to lie to this old man in my dreams!"

Zheng Fan stood up, preparing to explain to Yao Zizhan. Who would have thought this movement would startle Yao Zizhan? The old man immediately leaped up. As he backpedaled and landed, he twisted his ankle and, with a PLOP, fell to the ground. He saw stars and trembled several times, a clear sign the fall was quite severe.

Just as Zheng Fan was about to step forward to help him, Yao Zizhan propped himself up on his elbows and raised his head. Seeing Zheng Fan approach, Yao Zizhan asked, somewhat confusedly, "Brother Zheng, how did I fall asleep? I just had a dream... I dreamt that you were…"

Zheng Fan leaned over, looking at Yao Zizhan. Usually smiling, he suddenly shouted, "Ghost!!!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"