Mutated Tao

Sun Baolu’s words confused Yang Xiaohai.

“Senior Bai took in a lot of foster children, so they were almost full. What’s wrong? Do you want to come and stay with us?” Yang Xiaohai asked.

Sun Baolu looked at his tribesmen and whispered, “Our leader thinks we are not in danger, but I disagree. If Hou Shu falls, Qing Qiu will be next. Even though the tribe leader said that they will help Hou Shu, I still think that we have a low chance of succeeding. The Yu’er Kingdom is strong, and if the Liang Kingdom doesn’t help, we might not be able to win. I want a safe place that my fellow tribesmen can go to.”

Sun Baolu frustratedly said, “I wonder what that useless Emperor of the Liang Kingdom is thinking. Doesn't he know that everyone needs to work together to defeat the Dharma Sect? If they don’t help Qing Qiu and Hou Shu, the two nations will collapse and get taken by the Yu’er Kingdom. By then, they will have to face the massive army by themselves.”

“Baolu, the Emperor you are scolding is Gao Zhijian.”

Sun Baolu was shocked. “Is he really the emperor? I thought you were joking!”

“I don’t lie nor joke.”

Sun Baolu smacked his head with regret. “Jeez! What’s happening to the Liang Kingdom? Why did they choose a mentally challenged person like Gao Zhijian to become the emperor? No wonder they haven’t sent any soldiers to help us. Where else can we go if the Liang Kingdom falls?”

“Sun Baolu, don’t be so negative. Maybe the Yu’er Kingdom is not as strong as you think?” Yang Xiaohai was very optimistic since he didn’t know what happened in the Liang Kingdom.

“Qing Qiu’s grass has turned yellow. This means that the Immortal Heaven is angry. Ever since the last Natural Disaster, the Earth Dragon has moved numerous times in Qing Qiu. My mother is right in saying we need to prepare more. It doesn’t hurt to have backup plans. That said, just what is Senior Li doing?”

Even though Sun Baolu sometimes thought Senior Li might be crazy, he always solved their problems in the end.

Yang Xiaohai wasn’t sure what to say. “I don’t know. When I set out, Senior Li had a lotus root in place of his head. He was still receiving treatment in the village back then.”

“Alright. I hope I can contact him by letter. You have a safe journey, alright? If you can’t endure it, then you should return as soon as possible.”

Sun Baolu cheered him up and wished him a safe journey. Yang Xiaohai nodded, and his carriage soon started to move again.

Sun Baolu’s mother had actually hoped that Yang Xiaohai would stay for a meal, but having learned that his family was in danger, Yang Xiaohai set off as soon as he could.

When he and his wife left the tents, there were several goats attached to the back of their carriage. They were gifts from Sun Baolu and were meant to serve as food during their journey.

Yang Xiaohai naturally would not accept it without reciprocating. He asked Zhao Xiumei to silently place the gold bars from earlier into Sun Baolu’s tent.

They traveled for several days as Yang Xiaohai followed the map. Getting their bearings was challenging, as yellow grass stretched as far as the eye could see.

Sun Baolu was clear in his explanation, though. All he needed to do was to find the border wall between Qing Qiu and Hou Shu—the landmark he could use to locate the sea

“We should be there soon,” Yang Xiaohai remarked when he saw jagged rocks in the distance amid the sea of yellow grass.

He stroked his newly grown beard a little apprehensively.

“Xiaohai, come and have some goat soup. The goats here are very nutritious.“

Zhao Xiumei handed him a warm bowl of soup.

Yang Xiaohai took the bowl and drank the soup. It warmed his cold body, and even though it was only seasoned with coarse salt and wild vegetables, the delicious goat meat of Qing Qiu still made the meal amazing.

“Carefully wrap the unfinished goat meat and drain the blood. Even though the weather is cold and it probably won’t spoil, the stench of blood might attract beasts,” Yang Xiaohai said.

“Alright.”

Zhao Xiumei was always impressed by Yang Xiaohai's cooking skills. That was why she chose him as her husband. She fell in love with how focused he looked when preparing his meals.

After finishing their simple meal, they resumed their journey again. However, they had only traveled a short distance when the horses began bucking wildly as they tried to run away. Even the goats that had been following their carriage without any issues tried to run away.

“What is happening?” Yang Xiaohai exclaimed, unsure of how to deal with the sudden chaos. He was about to say something when the ground started shaking violently.

“The Earth Dragon is moving! Get down!” Zhao Xiumei shouted, pushing Yang Xiaohai beneath her.

The weather changed. The two of them shrank in fear as they waited for this horrifying event to pass. Once the tremors subsided, Yang Xiaohai squirmed out from underneath Zhao Xiumei. He looked around and saw an incredible sight: the grass fields were moving like the sea, and Qing Qiu was almost like a yellow ocean! Yang Xiaohai’s gaze was fixed on this sight when suddenly, a large crack opened up towards them!

The crack split apart, and the two of them fell into the ravine—it was as if Qing Qiu had been split apart.

A long time passed before Yang Xiaohai woke up. The first thing he remembered was his wife, Zhao Xiumei. He tried to look around, but it was so dark that he couldn’t even see his fingers.

“Xiumei! Xiumei!”

His voice echoed loudly, but the space around him was vast. Yang Xiaohai looked up and saw that it was completely dark. He suddenly realized he was underground.

Yang Xiaohai’s voice trembled as he called out. “Xiumei, where are you?!”

He knew what was underneath Qing Qiu. He carefully reached into his shirt, only to find that the scepter Li Huowang had given him was gone.

Yang Xiaohai panicked. He learned from Sun Baolu that the Earth Dragon had recently moved a lot in Qing Qiu, but he had never imagined it would end up swallowing them!

As he fretted over what to do, Yang Xiaohai heard something from his left. He didn’t even want to think about the kind of monstrosity that might be lurking underneath Qing Qiu.

He tried to scuttle backward when he heard a familiar voice. “I remember this voice. Are you Yang Xiaohai?”

Yang Xiaohai calmed down a little upon hearing that the other person had recognized him, but he didn’t let his guard down.

Yang Xiaohao asked, “Who… Who are you?”

“It’s me.”

The person approached Yang Xiaohai.

Yang Xiaohai soon saw the familiar face. It was Lu Juren! But his face was oddly greenish.

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