Xi Yunqing was the first to notice something amiss. Without stopping, he sped ahead. Only then did Du Rong realize what was happening and called out, "Something's wrong!" He quickly followed. Chen Xiao, still unaware, only started running after the two of them had already reached the rocky shore.
"What's going on?" Chen Xiao asked when he arrived. Du Rong had already taken off his pack and was crouching down to inspect something. Chen Xiao, slightly out of breath, felt the added burden on his body weighing him down, running took more energy than before. It seemed he would need more time to adjust.
"It's a corpse," Du Rong said grimly.
At first, all Chen Xiao saw was a scrap of cloth with some color. He hadn't fully processed what it was. But when he got a clear look at the remains among the shattered rocks, an uncontrollable wave of nausea surged through him. His face turned pale instantly, his throat tightened, and he swallowed hard, desperately suppressing his urge to vomit.
Xi Yunqing immediately noticed his discomfort and raised a hand to block his view. "It's always hard the first time. Don't stare too long," he advised.
Hearing the immortal master speak, Du Rong finally noticed Chen Xiao's uneasy expression. He nudged him aside, guiding him toward their packs. "Boss, don't look for now. Drink some water first."
In his past life, Chen Xiao had never witnessed such a gruesome scene. Even at funerals, the deceased were always prepared with dignity. After resting for a moment and drinking some water to suppress his nausea, he gritted his teeth and stood up again.
He had to learn to adapt to this. If he wanted to survive in this world, in the cultivation realm, he had to live as they did.
To minimize the overwhelming impact, Chen Xiao covered his mouth and nose, blocking out the stench of decay. That helped somewhat, it wasn't so unbearable now. Still, the sight itself was too much. He had to avert his gaze frequently just to keep himself steady.
"How long has it been dead?" he asked, his voice slightly muffled.
Du Rong glanced at him with concern before answering, "At least two months."
Xi Yunqing studied him for a moment before grabbing his arm and pulling him away. "That's enough. You've seen what you need to see."
Du Rong quickly followed suit. Even though they were used to this kind of life, it didn't mean they felt nothing when faced with such a horrific sight.
The three of them moved to another spot, where the air was clearer, free from the stench of decay. Only then did Chen Xiao take a few deep breaths. Neither Xi Yunqing nor Du Rong told him to avoid looking at the remains. That wouldn't help him, it might even do more harm. If he was going to learn, he had to get used to gathering useful information from such scenes.
"A corpse left for two months… could this be the work of that beast?" Chen Xiao asked, his face still slightly pale. "The direction matches, it should have come from the same path as the beast. And I remember that Black-Eyed Azure Serpent had a particularly strong, fishy stench..." He stopped abruptly. Thinking about it too much made his stomach churn again, after all, the last time he had smelled it, Black-Eyed Azure Serpent had just eaten a person.
Du Rong gave him an approving glance. "That's likely the case."
Xi Yunqing pondered for a moment before nodding. "The direction and distance match. Black-Eyed Azure Serpent probably killed this person before continuing on its path."
Du Rong frowned. "But why would a beast hold such a grudge? Beasts rarely leave their territory unless they're searching for a mate or protecting their young. And even if it had offspring, it wouldn't stray this far. Beyond this point is the road to Hanshan City. A beast of that intelligence should know better than to go there, it would only invite disaster."
When selecting this mission, Du Rong had deliberately chosen an area that had long been cleared by cultivators, ensuring there were no known ferocious beasts or wild animals. Beasts like Black-Eyed Azure Serpent should have remembered that this region was dangerous for them. Entering it meant risking extermination by cultivators.
Xi Yunqing glanced at Du Rong. "Reports say the Black-Eyed Azure Beast is male and not in mating season."
A silence fell over them. After a moment, Chen Xiao hesitantly asked, "Could the Black-Eyed Azure Serpent be a male… raising offspring?"
Xi Yunqing's eyes flashed with amusement, while Du Rong burst out laughing. "Impossible! I've never heard of a male taking care of a young!"
Chen Xiao pursed his lips, lowering his gaze slightly as if embarrassed by their laughter. But inside, he thought differently. Why was it impossible? In his past life, weren't there male penguins that raised their young? Who was to say this world didn't have something similar?
After laughing for a while, Du Rong composed himself and said, "If it wasn't mating or protecting offspring, there's only one possibility the Black-Eyed Azure Serpent was provoked."
Xi Yunqing nodded. "That's the only explanation."
Du Rong thought back, a hint of unease in his expression. "That beast has a violent temper to begin with. I wonder what could have provoked it enough to chase someone all the way here."
Chen Xiao turned to Xi Yunqing. "Immortal Immortal Master Xi, since Zhishi Hall issued this mission, did they provide any useful information?"
Xi Yunqing hesitated before answering slowly, "I was the one who reported this case. Whenever a beast behaves abnormally and enters an area where it doesn't belong, it is the duty of cultivators to report it. That way, stronger cultivators can be sent to eliminate the threat, while weaker ones know to stay away to avoid casualties."
Chen Xiao let out an "Oh" and said, "So the information came from Immortal Immortal Master Xi, and Zhishi Hall didn't have much intelligence on this. No wonder they issued an investigation task."
Xi Yunqing glanced at Chen Xiao without revealing anything. Could he admit that Zhishi Hall never actually issued such a task? That he had anonymously posted it there first, then accepted it himself, just to have a legitimate reason to travel with Chen Xiao? Normally, in such cases, the beast would already be dead, and there would be little reason to investigate further. At most, cultivators passing by would be warned of unusual beast activity, that alone would fulfill their duty.
Du Rong asked, "Master, should we keep going?" The situation was unclear, and he was worried about further unexpected dangers.
Chen Xiao thought for a moment before asking, "How much longer until we reach the edge of a relatively safe area?"
Du Rong replied, "At our current pace, it'll take half a month, as long as we don't change direction."
Chen Xiao bit his lip and looked at Du Rong seriously. "I'm a little worried about Tong Nuonuo. Can we at least make it to the border of the region?" Maybe they'd run into Tong Nuonuo there, given his talent for getting lost, it wouldn't be surprising if he showed up anywhere.
Du Rong nodded. "Reaching the border won't be a problem." If Chen Xiao wanted to venture into the beast-infested region, he would do everything in his power to stop him. That Black-Eyed Azure Serpent had likely disturbed countless other ferocious creatures along its escape route. The area was still in turmoil, and recklessly entering would be extremely dangerous. But just circling the edge, there shouldn't be any major risks.
The three continued their journey. It was now late spring, with early signs of summer; the weather had warmed considerably, and greenery flourished all around, birds chirping among the lush foliage.
Along the way, they occasionally came across medicinal herbs. Remembering that they had originally taken on a task to find Stone Thread Grass, Du Rong gathered some as they walked.
Despite its name, Stone Thread Grass wasn't actually grass, it was a type of lichen that grew in the crevices of rocks. Because of its layered, thread-like appearance, it was named as such.
Seeing Du Rong collecting herbs, Chen Xiao also started searching. However, as he peered between the rocks and the mountainside, he stumbled upon yet another set of human remains. Thankfully, having already seen a corpse once before, he didn't completely lose his composure this time.
Keeping his voice steady, he called over Du Rong and Immortal Immortal Master Xi. The two examined the body carefully and confirmed that the time of death was the same as the previous corpse—two months ago.
This body was more intact than the last. Though still mangled and covered in blood, all its limbs were present, as were the hands and head. Not daring to let Immortal Immortal Master Xi handle it, Du Rong held his breath, bent down, and retrieved the deceased's identity plaque.
After rinsing it clean with water from his canteen, Du Rong handed it to Chen Xiao and explained, "When encountering victims in the wild, whether ordinary people or cultivators, it's customary to bury them and take their identity plaque. For commoners, it should be handed over to the local registration authorities. For cultivators, Zhishi Hall will keep it on record. That way, if their friends or family come looking for them, they can at least find out what happened."
The previous corpse, which had been reduced to little more than a leg and half a torso, had already been buried beneath a pile of stones. They would do the same for this one shortly.
Xi Yunqing added, "With this plaque, we can determine which group of cultivators they belonged to. Most identity plaques have records, once we verify them, we can inform their sect."
Investigating the Wu-Eyed Azure Beast was merely a side task for Xi Yunqing. His real priority was accommodating Chen Xiao's pace. Despite traveling all day, they hadn't covered much ground, just five or six mountain peaks, before deciding to set up camp for the night.
Chen Xiao, exhausted, washed his face at a nearby spring. Du Rong, despite only recently recovering from his injuries, seemed to have more energy and was busy preparing dinner.
Xi Yunqing, having taken a fasting pill as usual, did not feel hungry. Seated cross-legged a short distance from the camp, he closed his eyes to meditate. When he heard Chen Xiao's weary footsteps approaching, he opened his eyes slightly.
Chen Xiao looked drained, physical exhaustion aside, the repeated encounters with corpses had clearly taken a toll on his mind. He likely wouldn't sleep well tonight, probably waking up from nightmares.
After eating their meal by the campfire, Chen Xiao lay down on a blanket to sleep. He curled up tightly, arms wrapped around himself, his expression still troubled. Xi Yunqing remained in meditation, while Du Rong took the first watch. By midnight, when they switched shifts, Du Rong fell asleep almost instantly.
Sure enough, in the early hours of the morning, Chen Xiao woke up with a start.
Du Rong, trusting the presence of a Golden Core cultivator nearby, was in deep sleep and didn't notice. But Xi Yunqing, who had been keeping an eye on him the entire time, caught it immediately.
"You had a nightmare?" Xi Yunqing's calm voice broke the silence.
Chen Xiao turned his head and saw him watching. He sat up and moved closer to the fire, his voice heavy with emotion. "Yeah… the scenes from today were so vivid."
Xi Yunqing was not accustomed to comforting people and wasn't sure what to say. After a moment, he offered, "You'll forget soon enough. It's always like this the first time you see such things."
Chen Xiao looked at him curiously. "Immortal Immortal Master Xi… have you ever experienced this? Nightmares, and then forgetting them?"
Xi Yunqing shook his head. "I've never had nightmares. Nor have I ever woken up in the middle of the night."
Chen Xiao was immediately at a loss for words. Well, that killed the conversation.