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Atop a mountain in that ‘ink painting’ sat six people.

They had split up in a very clear manner. One sat alone up front. One sat in the middle. Four sat in the back. The person sitting up front was the Captain. He looked very pleased with himself as he looked back at Xu Qing, then the four other people further back. Those four were Kong Xianglong, Sir Mountain-River, Wang Chen, and Duskspirit. They seemed to be mostly ignoring the Captain, and were focusing primarily on Xu Qing. All had curious expressions on their faces.

This was the spot where Xu Qing and Kong Xianglong had agreed to meet. The latter was going to help out with the ‘show’ that Xu Qing and the Captain needed to put on.

“Alright, everybody ready to get started?” the Captain said coolly.

Xu Qing nodded.

The Captain tilted his chin up proudly as he produced two medicinal pill bottles. He gave one to Xu Qing.

“Each bottle has a single shadeheaven demonmoon tablet in it. After we consume them, our body structure will change, and even our flesh and blood will transform. Once we become Nightshades, it will be very difficult for anyone to see through the disguise.”

The Captain’s words caused Kong Xianglong’s eyebrows to shoot up in surprise. Next to him, Sir Mountain-River inhaled sharply.

“Shadeheaven demonmoon tablets? Those are top-secret pills from the Garmentfolk. They’re very expensive and extremely rare. I’ve heard that the primary ingredient for each pill is actually a Garmentfolk!”

Wang Chen and Duskspirit also looked in shock at Chen Erniu.

The Captain looked extremely casual as he said, “They’re alright. I had something better in mind, but I happen to know a Garmentfolk who owes me a favor. Upon finding out what I needed, that Garmentfolk raced across multiple prefectures to meet me here in the county capital. After seven days and seven nights of pleading.... Ai. It’s difficult to refuse generosity, so in the end, I agreed.”

An odd expression could be seen on Xu Qing’s face as he took the medicinal pill bottle. Glancing at Kong Xianglong and the others, he could tell that none of them believed the Captain’s story.

The Captain shook his head and sighed, as if he wasn’t inclined to go into further details. Then he took the pill out of the bottle. It emanated a dazzling, blinding redness, and emitted a fragrant aroma. Even just smelling the pill, Xu Qing felt like his flesh and blood was wriggling. This pill was clearly amazing.

As everyone watched, the Captain consumed the pill. A moment later, he shook from head to toe. At the same time, a garment spread out to cover him. It was completely gray, and it covered every inch of him. Then it shrank down tight over him, whereupon the Captain started to transform. His limbs became skinnier, he became shorter overall, his head got larger, his eyelids vanished, and his eyes grew bigger. His hair changed too, becoming a host of spines almost like a hedgehog.

A moment later, a Nightshade stood in front of the others.

The marvelous scene caused Kong Xianglong and the others to look on with shining eyes. Although they had all heard about that special Garmentfolk pill, it was absolutely astonishing to see it in action.

After Xu Qing was sure the Captain’s transformation was complete, he consumed his own medicinal pill. Afterward, he felt his flesh and blood change rapidly, as if some of it had been extracted from within him and put on the outside like a garment that resembled a Nightshade.

To the eyes of Kong Xianglong and the others, Xu Qing simply transformed into a Nightshade. He had gray skin, a slim frame, a large head, and spiky hair. His clothes had also changed. Instead of his swordsage uniform, he wore a dark red suit of armor that covered him from head to toe.

After seeing Xu Qing and Chen Erniu transform into Nightshades, Kong Xianglong had to suppress his desire to join them. “Nightshade blood is black,” he reminded them. “And though your auras seem flawless, don’t forget that Nightshades speak and act differently from humans. Furthermore, they have unique magical techniques.”

“It goes without saying that I considered that in my preparations,” the Captain said with a haughty smile. With that, he tossed a black rock to Xu Qing.

“That’s a blackblood stone,” he said. “Absorb that, and your blood will change color temporarily.”

The Captain tossed a blackblood stone into his mouth, then took a bite out of his arm. The blood that flowed out was black. Combined with his aura, it made him seem exactly like a Nightshade.

“In terms of magical techniques....” The Captain’s black eyes flashed as the air in front of him rippled and distorted. A long spear took shape. Grabbing it, he twirled it with a flourish. Instantly, a tremor passed through him, causing countless inkpaint vipers to crawl out into the open. As they gathered, they looked in the Captain’s direction and bowed their heads, as if waiting for orders.

Sir Mountain-River shot to his feet. Wang Chen and Duskspirit gasped in shock. And Kong Xianglong’s eyes glittered brightly. Truth be told... all of this was exactly what they knew Nightshades to be like. They could enslave countless species, and were known for being able to create something from nothing. In fact, if they hadn’t personally witnessed the transformation just now, they would assume that Chen Erniu really was a Nightshade.

Xu Qing was similarly taken aback.

When the Captain saw their reaction, he flashed a profoundly enigmatic smile. Then he waved his hand to disperse the snakes and send the spear away.

“Little Junior Brother, this time, your Eldest Brother is taking you on a really, really big job. Going forward, don’t just randomly go on missions with anyone who invites you. Missions like that don’t give much military credits. When you accept missions, you really need to take note of who’s in charge.”

Kong Xianglong snorted coldly.

Smiling wryly, Xu Qing absorbed the blackblood stone, causing his blood to transform. He was curious about how the Captain had managed to employ Nightshade magical techniques. But then he thought about some of the Captain’s big secrets, and he realized it wasn’t so surprising after all.

“I think I’m good to go,” Xu Qing said, thinking about the research he had done on the Nightshade’s eye.

With a final glance at Kong Xianglong and the others, the Captain looked at Xu Qing and licked his lips. “Alright, little Junior Brother. Same old same old?”

Xu Qing knew exactly what he meant. Though his black eyes shone with a bit of hesitation, he finally nodded.

Meanwhile, Kong Xianglong and the others were confused, as they had no idea what Xu Qing and the Captain meant by ‘same old same old.’

Even as they puzzled about it, the Captain strode forward and produced an ice spear which he stabbed directly into Xu Qing’s chest. The spear exploded, creating countless ice blades that slashed into Xu Qing.

Instantly, black blood burst out of Xu Qing. And the Captain wasn’t done. Clenching his right hand into a fist, he punched Xu Qing’s shoulder, causing the crack of breaking bone to ring out. As Xu Qing gasped, the Captain lunged forward to bite him.

Eyes widening, Xu Qing backed up. “Hey, it’s my turn!”

The Captain laughed uncomfortably and said, “My bad, I just fell into old habits. Go ahead, it's your turn.”

Ignoring the pain, and eyes shining malevolently, Xu Qing stalked up to the Captain and produced a black dagger. He immediately plunged it into the Captain’s abdomen.

The Captain screamed in pain.

Despite how the blood sprayed, Xu Qing didn’t pause for a moment. He pulled the dagger out, picked another spot, and plunged it in. After stabbing the Captain about seven or eight times, he looked up and slashed the blade through the Captain’s neck.

The wound was so deep the Captain’s head nearly fell off.

Eyes widening, the Captain backed up a bit.

“The swordsages chased us for long enough that we should definitely have some sword wounds!” The Captain pulled out his command sword and stabbed Xu Qing seven or eight times.

Gritting his teeth against the pain and ignoring the blood streaming down him, Xu Qing growled, “Considering how long they chased us, and the fact we couldn’t rest, the wounds must be decaying!” He quickly scattered some poison, provoking an agonized shriek from the Captain as his wounds started rotting.

“Living a life on the run in a place without much spirit energy should leave us very weak!” The Captain launched some more blows.

“The Nightshades don’t like sunlight. That just means the wounds will rot even worse!” Xu Qing unleashed a few more attacks.

And thus, the two of them went back and forth, tit for tat. Off to the side, Kong Xianglong, Sir Mountain-River, Wang Chen, and Duskspirit watched with slack jaws and wide eyes. Eventually, they inhaled sharply and exchanged glances.

“They take it that seriously?” Duskspirit said.

“Xu Qing mentioned that he and his Eldest Brother had gone through some life-or-death situations...” Sir Mountain-River said in a low tone.

Everyone was fully convinced of that now.

Sometime later, the Captain grabbed Xu Qing’s wrist before he could stab him again with his dagger.

“Little Ah Qing,” he said weakly, “we’ve... probably gone far enough. If we go much further we’ll be done for.”

Panting for breath, Xu Qing kept his hand on the Captain’s wrist, preventing his ice blade from going any further. “Yeah, good enough I suppose.”

They dropped their hands. The Captain looked up at the sky to check the time. It was already evening, and the red color spread out like blood. Meanwhile, it was possible to see a cloud of dust off in the distance. The ground trembled faintly, and they could pick up the sound of beasts.

“That’s our caravan. Little Junior Brother, it’s time for our show. Although we’ve planned things out, be ready to make adjustments as necessary!” With that, the Captain rose to his feet, clutched his abdomen, and started running.

Expression grave, Xu Qing looked at Kong Xianglong and the others. After clasping hands, he started running as fast as he could.

Kong Xianglong, Sir Mountain-River, Wang Chen, and Duskspirit were all in high spirits now. After personally witnessing the methods of Xu Qing and the Captain, they were moved, and felt deep admiration. That was especially true considering how the two of them didn’t hold back in wounding each other. It really went to show how seriously Xu Qing and Chen Erniu were taking this, and that made them want to take it more seriously as well.

Expressions turning fierce, and baleful auras flaring, they started chasing after Xu Qing and the Captain.

“Humankind rules these lands! Where do you think you can escape to?”

“Your wounds are too serious! You won’t last for much longer!”

“Be careful, everyone. The Nightshades excel at enslavement arts. There must be a reason they’re fleeing in this direction!”

All four of them were working hard to make the situation as realistic as possible. At a certain point, Duskspirit pulled out a jade slip and crushed it, causing light to rocket up into the sky and explode to form the shape of a sword.

That was obviously a swordsage signal.

Meanwhile, about fifty kilometers away, a caravan was speeding along. It was made up of several hundred carts, each of which was at least three hundred meters long. They were covered with pitch black canvases and were being pulled along by enormous beasts of burden with red skin called ‘fourleggers.’

Atop each fourlegger was a Holytide cultivator. There were none in the Nascent Soul level, with the majority being in Foundation Establishment, and only a dozen or so in Gold Core. The Gold Core cultivators all seemed to have two or three heavenly palaces. There were only three who had four palaces, with the strongest being a young man in a fancy, brocaded robe. The black mark on his forehead was especially clear, revealing that he had an extraordinary bloodline. He had six-palace battle prowess.

This caravan was from the duchy of Heaven Zenith, which was one of the thirty-six city-states that surrounded Ten Entrails of the True Immortal in Eastern Wasteland County of the Holytide Region. [1]

They were in Sea-Sealing County because they’d been given a travel permit by the Yao Clan, and they were handling a shipment of cloudmother stones. The special nature of those stones made them impossible to put into bags of holding, thus, they needed to be transported by cart. The travel permit from the Yao Clan ensured that they would have safe passage through Sea-Sealing County. That said, because of the friction between the Holytides and humans, they couldn’t send very powerful cultivators lest they attract too much attention. In contrast, a less powerful group would be less of a threat.

Besides, their job was to transport goods, not do any fighting and killing. After they got the shipment of cloudmother stones, they would make haste to the border without pausing along the way.

As the caravan neared the Inkpaint Mountains and the swordsage signal lit up the sky, it caused a stir.

The good-looking young man with the extraordinary cultivation base looked coldly up into the sky.

“Swordsages?”

1. Extremely astute readers might remember that the Holytide species got its start when the “Grand Duke of Holytide” rebelled. The ruler of a “duchy” would be a “duke,” but, in the case of the “grand duke,” it’s a different title related to an imperial system, whereas this “duchy of Heaven Zenith” exists in a royal system. In other words, the ruler of this duchy, who would be called a duke, has a completely different rank/title compared to the “grand duke.” ☜