sonovelo Chapter 654: Senior Brother Chu, I Did It!
Chapter 654: Senior Brother Chu, I Did It!
Chapter 654: Senior Brother Chu, I Did It!
The crackling flames resounded incessantly through the forest. Half of the forest had been burned down, reduced to charred remains. The ground was littered with corpses.
A few people wandered through the aftermath, searching for any surviving enemies.
The young man who had shouted confidently at the imperial soldiers earlier now sat crouched on the hillside with a hollow gaze.
His long hair was disheveled, and his face was pale and gaunt. Though he had emerged from the bloody battle unscathed, he was covered in the blood of others. The fierceness he had displayed before had disappeared; only confusion remained in his eyes.
"Big Brother Jiangtong!" a child called out from behind him.
The young man turned his head and saw a frail, emaciated little girl holding a bundle of dry rations.
"Yaoyao?" Lu Jiangtong, the young man, regained his composure, life returning to his eyes. He turned around fully to face her. "What's the matter?"
"We found a lot of food. Mother told me to bring this to you first," Yaoyao said, offering him the food.
"I'm not hungry. You eat it, Yaoyao," Lu Jiangtong replied, gently patting Yaoyao's head.
"Mother said you haven't eaten for many days, and you just fought a battle. You can't go hungry," Yaoyao insisted.
"Heheh." Lu Jiangtong chuckled. "My cultivation level is high, and my demon blood is pure. I can survive on spiritual qi alone, but you and the others can't. You need this food more than I do. Go on back now. It might still be dangerous here."
After sending the little girl back down the mountain, Lu Jiangtong turned back to face the burning forest.
At this moment, a black-robed figure appeared before him. The figure's face was obscured, making them unidentifiable.
"Lu Jiangtong?" the black-robed figure asked.
"That's me," Lu Jiangtong answered, frowning. "You guys changed the contact person again? Why do you appear and disappear like deities and ghosts?"
"It isn't easy to provide you with support. If we hadn't been discreet, the Imperial Supervisory Bureau would have caught us a long time ago," the black-robed figure said, tossing a jade slip over.
Thud. Lu Jiangtong caught it midair.
The black-robed figure explained, "That has your next destination and enough supplies to get you there. Once you leave Mount Mang, someone will guide you to your destination. Make sure your men stay in line. If even the slightest bit of information leaks, no one will be able to save you."
"It's just food again..." Lu Jiangtong muttered. "You want us to fight the imperial court, but we need weapons, enchanted tools, and mounts. We, the people of Mount Mang, fear nothing. But with the right supplies, fewer of my brothers would have to die."
"Acquiring things like that leaves a paper trail. You'll have to seize them yourselves. Understand this—food is the most precious resource right now in the Yu Dynasty."
"Of course, I know that," Lu Jiangtong said, smiling bitterly.
The black-robed figure added, "One more thing... and this is crucial. If anyone starts turning into a demon, you must not hesitate. Kill them on the spot. The demons in the Southern Regions are stirring up a lot of trouble. If this continues, they'll likely come for you. You're already a great enemy of the imperial court. If you align with the demons, the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten will take action..."
Lackey B gave a thumbs-up as he introduced the Red Moon Pavilion's top dishes.
Lackey B's real name was Meng Shouyang, but his nickname was Mountain Tiger—known as one of the famed Four Overlords of Mount Shu, a food and beverage magnate with shops across the world of immortal cultivators, and the dream lover of many young women.
Despite his rise in status and wealth, he remained true to his roots, tasting every new ingredient that was to be used at Red Moon Pavilion. No one knew Red Moon Pavilion's offerings better than him.
The friends and family of Silver Sword Peak had gathered at the peak to celebrate Chu Liang's return. Lackey B had personally selected all the dishes and brought them over from Red Moon Pavilion. Only the finest dishes made the cut.
Lackey B continued, "This meat comes from the Red-Tailed Ox. It's worlds apart from regular beef...
"And this. It's fresh from the Western Regions—a demonic beast that looks like a plant but has blood vessels. Locals call it the Man-Eating Demon Flower. I thought, 'It can eat people, but can people eat it?' Turns out, it tastes pretty great."
After Lackey B had finished serving and introducing the dishes, Shang Ziliang sighed. "Many places across the nine provinces have been suffering from famine in recent years. We are truly fortunate to be able to sit here and feast."
"Famine?" Chu Liang raised his eyes. "With Yao Dengxian overseeing things, shouldn't the harvests be unaffected?"
At the mention of Yao Dengxian, Lin Bei sighed. "Haaa... It's not that simple. The Great Dao of Cloud Dominion can alter meteorological phenomena, mitigating natural disasters like droughts and floods. But earthquakes, wildfires, tsunamis, landslides, gales, blizzards, locust swarms... these disasters strike relentlessly. They won't all be resolved simply by altering meteorological phenomena."
"How could this happen?" Chu Liang frowned. "After the Golden Dragon left, did the Yu Dynasty not find a new fate-suppressing beast?"
Shang Ziliang explained, "This isn't just about the fate-suppressing beast anymore... The auspicious celestial beasts of the four seas appeared across the nine provinces, probably rushing to suppress the declining fate of the Yu Dynasty's empire. But soon after, the fate of the empire entered a steep decline... I do not dare vouch for the validity of this information, but I heard that the celestial beasts that had rushed over and fought over who would be the one to suppress the empire's fate... they all left when the empire's fate started to decline rapidly."
The weakened fate of the empire heralded chaos and unrest. Chu Liang couldn't help but worry. This was not a good sign.
Lin Bei added, "As the world descends into chaos, evil entities and strange cases have increased in number. In recent years, the number of missions available at the Sword Exchange Pavilion missions has skyrocketed. Eldest Senior Brother leaves the mountain frequently to handle them. We rarely see him on Mount Shu these days."
The "Eldest Senior Brother" that Lin Bei referred to was, of course, Xu Ziyang. It had been two days since Chu Liang returned to Mount Shu, but he hadn't seen any sign of Senior Brother Xu this whole time.
"Red Cotton Peak's swift rise in popularity was partially due to this wave of chaos," Chu Yi chimed in. "As the world descends further into chaos, cultivators have become more concerned about their safety. It's with our delivery service that we surpassed Taotie City. Without this instability in the world, we wouldn't have dominated the market so quickly."
Despite Chu Yi pointing out the silver lining of the grim state of the world, Chu Liang couldn't feel the slightest bit of joy.
Cultivators stood high above the common folk. If even they feared for their safety, how much harder would life be for the ordinary people?
After a moment of thought, Chu Liang asked, "Should we organize some disaster relief efforts? Red Cotton Peak has earned quite a bit over the years. We have some funds to spare for that, right?"
Chu Yi replied, "Actually, it's always been very tight financially because we've been competing with Taotie City and the Immortals' Square, both overtly and covertly. But if we halt our expansion and focus on maintaining our current share of the market, we should be able to free up some money very quickly."
Lin Bei wanted to say something. "I heard the Buddhist Cloud Monastery is hosting a banquet in a few days—"
"Senior Brother Chu!" Wen Yulong called out as he burst in.
He was clearly late to the meal, but he paid no attention to the food on the table.
His face lit up with excitement. "I did it!"