Chapter Fourteen: Before Departure

The death of the Flower Demon was a great pity to Lei Yan; he had dearly wanted to tame the creature. Yet he could do nothing to stop the frenzied Sun Jin, and the Withering Powder had no antidote. Thus, all he could do was watch helplessly as everything around him transformed into withered branches and dead leaves.

With the Flower Demon vanquished, the terrified villagers gradually regained their composure. Some of the braver souls hurried toward the spot where the demon had fallen.

"This Withering Powder is astonishingly powerful!" Li Yun gaped at the changes around him, astounded. In all his life, he had never witnessed anything so wondrous. In a mere instant, the crimson blossoms had turned to brittle twigs and decayed leaves, the transformation sweeping through the field in waves.

Lei Yan, too, was moved by the spectacle, though he did not stare in awe as Li Yun did. Quietly, he walked to Li Yun's side, patted him on the shoulder, and smiled. "Let’s go, Brother Li!"

"Oh!" Li Yun finally snapped out of his daze at the touch.

The two made their way down the hillside. Along the way, Li Yun’s curiosity about the Withering Powder grew. He probed Lei Yan several times, hoping to learn what it truly was. But as the poison belonged to the world of cultivation, Lei Yan could hardly divulge its secrets, and simply brushed Li Yun off with a vague excuse.

Within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Lei Yan and Li Yun reached the foot of the hill.

At that moment, the village chief of Wan Family Village was pacing nervously at the base of the slope. He had seen Yuan Hou depart at great speed, and his inquiry had gone unanswered. Witnessing the transformation of the red flowers into dead leaves only deepened his fear.

Suddenly, he saw Lei Yan and Li Yun approaching and hurried over. "Sirs, what is the situation above? Is the demon beast dead?"

"The village chief need not worry. The demon beast is dead and will harm no one again," Lei Yan replied with a smile.

"Thank you both for your assistance!" The chief’s voice trembled with excitement.

By then, many villagers had also arrived.

"Chief, the monster on the hill is dead!"

"Chief, the demon beast turned out to be a flower!"

The villagers chattered noisily, none truly knowing what sort of demon beast it had been. Having only seen the murderous flower demon, they were convinced it was the culprit behind the village’s misfortunes.

"Enough, enough!" The chief gestured for silence, then addressed Lei Yan and Li Yun. "Sirs, let us return to the village."

Back in Wan Family Village, Lei Yan excused himself, claiming he needed to prepare an antidote for Li Yun. He entered a guest room and took out the Blood Orchid flowers he had collected from his demon artifact. Dozens of Blood Orchids were arranged across the table.

As Lei Yan studied the flowers, his brow furrowed. Ordinary Blood Orchids were of little medicinal value, but those which had evolved were different; they used toxins expelled by the Python as nutrients, making them incredibly poisonous. However, these Blood Orchids had only evolved under the influence of the Flower Demon and had not absorbed the Python’s toxins. Thus, they were not yet superior medicinal ingredients.

Suddenly, remnants of Lei Wanchun's memories flashed through Lei Yan’s mind, startling him. This phenomenon had occurred twice already. If a person’s mind held two sets of memories, it could lead to a split personality; Lei Yan now feared he might become another Lei Wanchun. Fortunately, these recollections played out like a film and did not affect him, allowing him to calm down.

Examining these sudden memories, he realized they contained a method for cultivating demon beasts. The technique was simple: find a demon with rudimentary emotions and thoughts, feed it a drop of one's essence blood, and after forty-nine days, the demon would regard its benefactor as kin.

To possess so many flower demons in the mundane world would be terrifying, yet the amount of essence blood needed was equally daunting. Lei Yan shook his head in resignation. He decided to select a single flower to feed his essence blood, for a person’s essence blood was finite and took a long time to replenish.

After careful selection, Lei Yan chose one Blood Orchid. This flower was peculiar; no matter how he tried to intimidate, soothe, or amuse it, it trembled continuously, as if mocking Lei Yan’s childishness. Since emotions and thoughts determined a demon’s evolution, Lei Yan chose this particular flower.

He drew a dagger and sliced his wrist, channeling his inner energy so that a drop of essence blood fell onto the orchid. The blood was quickly absorbed, and the flower quivered with excitement.

Lei Yan’s face turned pale from the loss of essence blood, and he felt weak. He wrapped the remaining Blood Orchids in cloth and stowed them in his demon artifact. Looking at the still-excited orchid in his hand, he smiled, "From today, your name shall be Xiao Lan." He tucked Xiao Lan into his breast.

After tidying up, Lei Yan prepared to return to the inn. As he stepped out, he saw Li Yun approaching.

Li Yun hurried over upon seeing Lei Yan, his heart sinking at Lei Yan’s pallor. "Brother Lei, what’s happened? You look so weak after just a few hours apart—was it because you made medicine for me?" He mused anxiously, unconsciously drawing closer and asking, "Brother Lei, what’s wrong?"

"It’s nothing! Brother Li, your medicine is ready. Take one pill a day, and your poison will be cured in three days," Lei Yan said, handing over three antidote pills from his demon artifact.

"Brother Lei, I cannot thank you enough. If you ever need me, just say the word, and I’ll brave fire and water for you!" Li Yun was deeply grateful, believing Lei Yan’s weakness was due to concocting his antidote. If he knew Lei Yan had nearly forgotten about his medicine moments before, he might have felt differently.

Lei Yan merely smiled. "No need for such formality. I’ll be leaving soon, Brother Li—farewell!"

"Wait!" Li Yun stepped forward, pulling out several banknotes. "This is Wan Family Village’s reward, half for each of us! And one more thing—Yuan Hou asked me to tell you he’s waiting for you at the inn ahead."

Lei Yan took the banknotes without fuss, nodded, and said, "Farewell!" With that, he turned and walked toward the inn.

Li Yun watched Lei Yan’s departing figure and sighed, "A good man, truly a good man!"

The inn was several miles from Wan Family Village. Lei Yan walked slowly, refraining from using his inner energy to hasten his pace. By the time he arrived, night had fallen, and the inn was bustling with voices.

Yuan Hou had arrived at the inn that morning, chosen a good seat, and had not left since. The table before him was covered with a dozen wine bottles, large and small. Though he drank, his gaze never ceased scanning the passing guests. Suddenly, his eyes brightened and he rushed forward.

"Brother Lei, you’re here!" Yuan Hou called. "Come, come, have a drink with me!"

"Brother Yuan, I won’t drink. Are you ready?" Lei Yan, though disdainful of Yuan Hou’s cowardice, was determined to fulfill his promise.

"Brother Lei, I’ve been ready for ages, just waiting for you. But you look tired—why don’t we set out tomorrow?"

"Agreed. I’ll return to my room. Let’s meet at the inn entrance first thing in the morning." With that, Lei Yan walked off toward his room.

The door to Lei Yan’s room was ajar, and a graceful figure paced anxiously within. Lei Yan entered.

"Worried I might abandon you?" Lei Yan said, recognizing the figure as Qing Ling.

"Hmph!" Qing Ling snorted coldly. "You wish!" She was indeed worried Lei Yan might leave and never return, but not because he would abandon her; rather, she feared he would sneak away and deny her vengeance.

"Hand it over!" Qing Ling extended her hand.

Lei Yan smiled, understanding her intent, and produced a stack of banknotes from his breast, passing several to her.

"And the medicinal ingredients?" Qing Ling asked as she pocketed the notes.

"There are none left. You know the Withering Powder leaves no plant alive. This time, we faced a Flower Demon, and I had no choice but to use the powder," Lei Yan said, lying down on the bed.

Qing Ling was startled. She knew well the nature of the Withering Powder and had not expected Lei Yan to use such a cruel poison. Yet, considering his limited strength, facing a Flower Demon was near impossible, so she let it go.

"Oh, by the way, you should rest early. Tomorrow morning we head for northern Qingzhou. This time, we have a destination: the Poison Miasma Forest. You might find it interesting," Lei Yan said, closing his eyes. The loss of essence blood had left him exhausted, and he soon drifted asleep.

"Poison Miasma Forest?" Qing Ling’s eyes shone. For her, it was indeed an enticing place, home to countless toxic plants and creatures—perfect for refining poisons to use against Lei Yan.