Ch. 28
Chapter 28: The Three Solutions in the Demonic Fiend Bestiary
By all logic, a vicious fiend of the Grudge-Bearing Demon Ape’s level ought to have gathered deep within the Ten Directions Marsh, where demonic qi soared to the heavens and resources were abundant.
That was the territory befitting their status and strength.
For them to appear here was like some wealthy landlord worth ten thousand gold suddenly abandoning his grand estate to sleep in a manure-filled stable in the backwoods.
It completely defied reason and logic!
Chen Guan glanced at Li Fei again and muttered inwardly, “Could there be some connection between the two?”
At first, he had thought Li Fei was after money...
If that was not the case, then things would become troublesome.
Because that would mean someone had somehow brought these Grudge-Bearing Demon Apes out from the Ten Directions Marsh and deliberately set them against Luo Li.
“Impossible!”
He shook his head again, rejecting the thought in his heart.
Anyone capable of bringing demonic fiends out of the Ten Directions Marsh was no ordinary figure. Was not this little girl merely some mountain-born local?
What sort of status could she possibly possess, for someone to bring out demonic fiends from the depths of the Ten Directions Marsh just to deal with her?
“I’ll just have to take things one step at a time.”
Casting those thoughts aside, Chen Guan looked again into Luo Li’s fear-filled eyes and, for once, deliberately softened his tone as he comforted her.
“You needn’t worry too much. As long as I’m here, the heavens won’t collapse. There are many ways to deal with this. We simply need time.”
In truth, the 【Demonic Fiend Bestiary】 recorded three methods for resolving this tracking mark.
It was just that each of those three methods was cruder and more straightforward than the last, and each one was harder to achieve than the last.
The first was to cut the weeds and pull out the roots.
Wipe out the entire Grudge-Bearing Demon Ape tribe, kill them until their bloodline was severed. Once the source of resentment was gone, the mark would naturally dissipate on its own.
The second was to break the method with brute force.
If the marked person’s cultivation reached a high enough level, they could directly refine the mark away by force using overwhelming true qi.
The third was peaceful negotiation.
Find the king of this ape tribe and properly “discuss” the matter with it, making them withdraw the mark of their own accord.
He had already tried the third method just now. That leading ape had refused to give him face.
The second method was equally unrealistic.
Though Luo Li possessed the cultivation of the middle stage of the Xiantian Realm, she seemed completely ignorant of actual cultivation. She could not even mobilize true qi, let alone refine away a strange resentment mark like this.
And beyond that, to refine the mark by force, one’s realm had to surpass the bloodline of the ape in question—in other words, surpass the Demon Ape King who had yet to appear. That made the matter even more difficult.
So for the moment, the only path left before him seemed to be that single road of blood—
Kill them all!
Or find a fourth road to survival.
At present, Chen Guan’s goal was fixed on finding that fourth path.
It was not that he was afraid to fight.
If he were alone, he was absolutely confident that he could slaughter this Grudge-Bearing Demon Ape tribe down to the last one.
But he had no confidence that, amid such a chaotic bloodbath, he could still guarantee that this little girl without even the strength to truss a chicken would remain completely unharmed.
He was an Escort Master, not a demon-hunting cultivator. His duty was to protect this girl.
And besides, those demonic fiends were highly intelligent.
The moment they realized he was difficult to deal with, they would immediately shift their focus and pour all of their madness and killing intent onto this fragile “source of the mark” instead.
Unless there was no other choice, that path would always remain the worst of the worst.
Attack what the enemy must save. Besiege the point in order to strike the reinforcements.
That was the true terror and cunning of demonic fiends.
And besides, sometimes people were more frightening than beasts.
...
The moon hung high overhead, and the mountain wind howled through the cliff pass the entire night.
Though the nights in the deep mountains were far livelier than the days, their experience as escort masters allowed them to lay out proper precautions in advance, and so they managed to pass the entire night in relative safety.
At first light, Luo Tong began reorganizing the convoy.
The two severely wounded escort masters in the group had, after a night of treatment and healing, at least stabilized their injuries. Though they could no longer fight, their lives were not in danger for the moment.
Luo Li had curled up inside the carriage the entire night. She was woken by the commotion outside.
Pinching her nose, she jumped down from the carriage, and the first thing she did was run to the wagon at the rear and carefully inspect the goods she had brought along.
Fortunately, yesterday’s desperate flight had caused no real damage to the cargo, and that let her breathe a small sigh of relief.
She turned her head and glanced aside.
Chen Guan was standing at the edge of the cliff, both hands braced atop that exaggerated-looking horse-cleaving saber, his eyes fixed on the abyss below, seemingly watching something.
Whether it was only her imagination or not, ever since Li Fei had slain that first demon ape yesterday, Chen Guan had seemed colder and sharper than when she first met him, like a blade slowly being drawn from its sheath.
After confirming that the goods were intact, Luo Tong finished arranging the convoy and came to the cliffside, cupping his fists toward Chen Guan.
“Escort Master Chen, the convoy has been reorganized. Since the sky is only just brightening and the demon fiends have not yet fully returned to their lairs, let us make haste and depart.”
Chen Guan turned around and swept his gaze across the group. After a night of rest, even the horses, which had previously been exhausted, had recovered a few degrees of spirit.
He nodded and said gravely, “Good. Prepare to head deeper into the mountains.”
“Deeper into the mountains?”
Luo Tong asked with a puzzled expression,
“Escort Master Chen, what do you mean?”
“The lair of these Grudge-Bearing Demon Apes is obviously somewhere deep within the Qingcang Mountains. If we go farther in, won’t we be walking straight into the net and throwing ourselves into their ambush?”
Hearing Chen Guan’s arrangement, Li Fei and the others also gathered around. Though none of them spoke, the doubt in their eyes was clear. They were all waiting for Chen Guan to provide a reasonable explanation.
Chen Guan did not keep them in suspense. Pointing toward the only road leading down the mountain, he explained,
“If we descend along the original path now, then in less than half a ke, those beasts will surround us from every direction and drive us back into the mountains once again.”
“And their attack will undoubtedly be stronger and fiercer than last time. With the manpower we have left now, do you think we can withstand that?”
Hearing this, Luo Tong and the others immediately fell silent.
The logic was undeniable. In their current state, they simply could not endure a second full assault.
The only option was to go against common sense and follow the enemy’s desired direction for the moment, buying themselves time to search for some other opening.
“Fine. Then we do it that way.” Luo Tong gritted his teeth and nodded in agreement.
“Um...” Luo Li walked over at this point, her little face shy, though her gaze remained as cold and composed as ever.
“Brother Chen, you’ve been exhausted all night too. Why don’t you... why don’t you ride in the same carriage with me and rest for a while?”
Chen Guan turned his head, and before she could finish speaking, he rejected it directly.
“No need. There won’t be any danger on the road for the moment.”
Luo Li froze, then raised her voice a little.
“Is the carriage really that uncomfortable? Do you insist on riding that scrawny horse out in the cold wind?”
Chen Guan rolled his eyes at her and answered calmly,
“Women only slow down the speed of my draw. I’m better off outside.”
Luo Li froze.
At once, her face flushed red, and the corners of her brows twitched. She swallowed all the words she had wanted to say.
Of course, she also knew that in this entire group, Chen Guan had the greatest strength and the sharpest senses. With him outside, he truly could respond better to sudden danger.
So in the end, she could only turn and walk back toward the carriage.
As she passed the two wagons of goods, she seemed to remember something and called out to Li Fei,
“Uncle Li, keep an eye on the last wagon. Two of the sacks have split open. Tie them again properly so they don’t come apart halfway down the road.”
“Yes, Young Miss. Rest assured.”
Li Fei respectfully nodded in response, then immediately stepped forward and retied the two sacks.
Yet the moment Chen Guan heard the words the sacks have split open, he instinctively glanced at those two wagons. Then a spark flashed through his mind, and he looked toward Li Fei.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
Then he cast another thoughtful glance at Luo Li’s delicate carriage.
“So that’s how it is.”
Chen Guan muttered that inwardly, then sprang lightly into the air and landed firmly atop that seemingly dull and slow-witted old horse.