Chapter 23: Dominating the Poison Miasma Forest (Part One)

The cheers of several hundred people stirred something in Lei Yan’s blood, filling him with an excitement he could neither name nor describe. Cui Ba, upon seeing the look on Lei Yan’s face, suddenly grew distant, his gaze unfocused. For a fleeting moment, a blurred figure overlapped with Lei Yan’s, and it was as though he saw his own son once more. He muttered softly, “If Ming’er hadn’t died, he’d be about Lei’s age by now.”

Though Cui Ba’s voice was barely audible, Qian Duoduo, standing beside him, caught every word. Qian Duoduo had followed Cui Ba for fifteen years and had personally witnessed the death of Cui Ba’s son. Back then, Cui Ba had been on the verge of collapse; if not for the brothers of Dragon Dominance, he might never have recovered. But in the end, Cui Ba had pulled through. Now, seeing Lei Yan, who truly did resemble Cui Ba’s late son, Qian Duoduo worried his old friend might succumb to sorrowful thoughts. He quickly spoke up, “Cui Ba, why not make Lei Qi your adopted son? Wouldn’t that be a fine thing?”

Of all those who served Cui Ba, only Qian Duoduo, his longest companion, would dare make such a suggestion.

“Adopted son?” murmured Cui Ba, glancing at Lei Yan. In his eyes, Lei Yan was no longer just the young newcomer—he was his own son, Cui Qiming, reborn. Moved, he said to Lei Yan, “Lei Qi, I want to take you as my adopted son. Will you accept?”

Lu Kai was stunned, his eyes wide as he stared at Lei Yan. To him, Lei Yan had become some kind of legend: only two days in Dragon Dominance, and he had risen from Lei Qi to Young Master. It was inconceivable! Meanwhile, Leng Lao’er stood by, expressionless, as though everything was as it should be—he had already guessed that this day would come.

Lei Yan hesitated, surprised by Cui Ba’s words. He understood all too well the weight of becoming an adopted son. Having lived a lifetime already, the idea of suddenly becoming someone’s child again felt strange and unsettling. With tact, he tried to refuse: “Cui Ba, you know I’ve only just joined Dragon Dominance. I haven’t contributed much, and my strength isn’t all that great...”

Before Lei Yan could finish, Cui Ba’s expression darkened. In a flash, he was at Lei Yan’s side, grabbing his collar and barking, “Listen well! I am the one taking a son, not Dragon Dominance. And I’m taking you as my son, not as a killer!”

Lei Yan’s gaze wavered; he had to admit, Cui Ba’s words touched him deeply. Memories of his mother, the person who had once given him a sense of happiness, flashed through his mind. He thought, “Since I’ve been given another chance at life, why should I care?” Bowing, he called out, “Father!” In truth, Lei Yan felt he lost nothing by calling Cui Ba ‘Father’—after all, the man’s age surpassed even both his own lifetimes combined.

Cui Ba lifted him up, his eyes shining with emotion. Ever since his son’s death, there had been a void in his heart; today, that void was finally filled by Lei Yan.

Lei Yan, seeing Cui Ba’s excitement, tugged at Qingling, who was still lost in thought beside him. “Aren’t you going to greet your godfather?”

Qingling had followed them to the training grounds, observing everything with cold detachment. She was shocked that Lei Yan had agreed to become Cui Ba’s adopted son. Still reeling, she heard Lei Yan’s urging and, after a brief daze, bowed and said, “Ling’er greets godfather!”

Cui Ba helped her up, a little puzzled, but then remembered Lei Yan had said on the hillside that Qingling was his woman. With that in mind, Cui Ba burst out laughing. “You sly dog! Not only do you give me a son, you bring me a daughter-in-law too!” He suddenly turned to look at the others, clearly dissatisfied with their stunned expressions.

Qian Duoduo was the first to recover, dropping to one knee. “Subordinate pays respects to the Young Master and Young Mistress! Congratulations, Cui Ba!” Leng Lao’er and the others quickly followed suit, kneeling as well.

“Young Master?” Lei Yan glanced at them, a trace of nostalgia rising as he recalled the Lei family. “It seems the title of Young Master means something different here,” he thought. He waved at them casually. “All of you, rise.” His poise and effortless command won Cui Ba’s admiration and made him even more curious about Lei Yan’s origins.

“Good!” Cui Ba clapped Lei Yan on the shoulder, then got down to business. “Lei’er, how do you plan to improve their strength?”

“Father, I intend to use medicine to enhance their strength. Ling’er and I will return and prepare it now—it should be ready within a day.” Seeing Cui Ba nod, Lei Yan took Qingling’s hand. “Ling’er, let’s go.”

Qingling felt the warmth of Lei Yan’s hand, and her cheeks flushed instantly. Her mind was filled with the thunderous beating of her heart, leaving her in a daze until Lei Yan let go and she realized they were already back in their quarters. As soon as her hand was free, she began fanning her face in an attempt to cool her burning cheeks.

“Ling’er, I need your help refining the medicine,” Lei Yan said, focused entirely on the task and oblivious to her embarrassment.

“Oh!” Qingling quickly composed herself, realizing he hadn’t noticed her flustered state.

The two of them set to work at once. Lei Yan took out most of the porcelain bottles containing the multicolored dust milk, asking Qingling to help dilute it, while he gathered medicinal herbs and equipment to prepare a simple primer.

They worked tirelessly through the night and into the next day, without food or rest. At last, a faint fragrance drifted from one of the medicine jars.

“It’s done!” Qingling cried with delight, appearing not the least bit tired. In truth, her role was only to dilute the dust milk; Lei Yan had done all the hard work.

The scent invigorated Lei Yan. He opened the jar and gazed at the concentrated essence made from the dust milk, thinking, “If a single person drank this, they’d die for sure. But diluted and shared among hundreds, it’s enough to turn every one of them into innate martial artists.”

“Ling’er, you must be exhausted. Go get some rest. I’ll deliver the medicine myself.” Lei Yan gently stroked her cheek.

As he left, Qingling stood there in a daze. “He touched my face?” The thought echoed in her mind, and after a moment, a smile played at her lips. “Sleep, sleep!”

Lei Yan carried the medicine straight to the training grounds. The sky was dim; several hundred bandits lounged about, chatting amongst themselves. They didn’t know why Cui Ba had ordered them to wait there, but with nothing else to do, they gathered in small groups to talk.

Arriving, Lei Yan noticed that neither Cui Ba nor Leng Lao’er were present. He approached and asked, “Lu Kai, where is my father?”

“Young Master, you’re finally here! We’ve been waiting all day. This damned weather—night is tolerable, but the daytime is killing us!” Lu Kai complained the moment he saw Lei Yan.

“Young Master, Lord Cui asked that you find him in his room when you arrived,” Qian Duoduo added.

“That’s right!” Lu Kai echoed quickly. “By the way, what’s that you’re carrying, Young Master? Smells amazing!”

“Lu Kai, guard this for me until I return!” Lei Yan handed him the jar, then turned to leave for Cui Ba’s room. After a few steps, he paused and added, “Lu Kai, don’t even think about tasting it. That could kill you.”

“Damn it, if it’s not meant to be eaten, why make it smell so good? Is that not just torture?” Lu Kai grumbled, pulling his hand back from the lid and giving up any thought of sneaking a taste.

Lei Yan reached Cui Ba’s room and knocked. Only when a voice from inside said, “Come in!” did he push open the door. He immediately saw Cui Ba seated at the desk, brows furrowed, with Leng Lao’er expressionless by his side.

“Father,” Lei Yan greeted respectfully.

“Lei’er, look at this letter and tell us what you think.” Cui Ba handed the letter to Leng Lao’er, who stepped forward and gave it to Lei Yan.

“A letter?” As Lei Yan took it, he remembered that Feng Dan had tried to force Cui Ba to hand over a letter—could this be the one? He quickly opened it. Inside was a single line: “There will be a shipment at the end of the year, personally escorted by the steward.” Signed, Sun Changli.

“Sun Changli? Isn’t that the head of the Sun family?” Lei Yan’s mind raced. If this was truly a letter from the Sun family patriarch, then the shipment mentioned was no ordinary cargo. After all, for a family head to personally write about a delivery, it had to be of great importance. After a moment’s thought, Lei Yan said, “Father, this letter is indeed from the head of the Sun family, but as to its authenticity—I can’t say for certain.”

“You know the head of the Sun family?” Cui Ba asked, looking at Lei Yan with interest.

How could an ordinary man know the names of the great family heads? Lei Yan’s heart skipped a beat; he regretted speaking without thinking. After a brief pause, he decided to reveal his identity. He had already prepared for the worst. Slowly, he said, “Father, to be honest, I am Lei Yan, eldest son of the Lei family.” He paused, then added self-mockingly, “Though I doubt many people acknowledge me as such.”

Cui Ba burst into laughter, not particularly surprised. He had long suspected Lei Yan’s background was unusual, but hadn’t guessed he was the Lei family’s eldest—reputed to be a good-for-nothing. Sensing the sadness in Lei Yan’s heart, he said, “No matter how the Lei family sees you, in Dragon Dominance, as long as I’m here, you will always be Young Master!”

Leng Lao’er nodded as well, evidently approving of Lei Yan’s identity—he and Cui Ba had just been discussing it.

“Yes, Father!” Cui Ba’s words filled Lei Yan with gratitude. For the first time, he called him ‘Father’ with genuine sincerity.

“That’s more like it! A man should hold his head high!” Cui Ba got up and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Father, where did you get this letter?” Lei Yan asked.

“It was found on the man who came with you. But I’m puzzled—this was a well-kept secret. How did Feng Dan know about it?” Cui Ba frowned in thought.

Lei Yan immediately thought of Yuan Hou. “Father, let’s set aside how Feng Dan learned of it for now. Let’s talk about the letter. Yuan Hou told me he was delivering a letter to Bafang Town, and offered me a hundred taels of gold to escort him. That means the sender must have paid him at least a thousand. For a delivery fee that high, the value of the cargo must be several times greater—perhaps tens of times more. That’s suspiciously valuable cargo.”

Cui Ba nodded in agreement. He, too, felt uneasy about relinquishing such valuable goods, but he waved a hand. “We’ll leave this matter aside for now. Lei’er, is the medicine ready?”

Lei Yan saw through Cui Ba’s reluctance and could only shake his head. Since Cui Ba was unwilling to let it go, they would have to take it one step at a time. “The medicine is ready, just waiting for the brothers outside to take it. But I have a suggestion: let them choose for themselves. If any of them are unwilling, I hope you’ll allow them to train with me instead. I’ll do my best to help them catch up to the others in strength.”

“Good!” Cui Ba nodded. In fact, he had intended to let the brothers decide for themselves, but Lei Yan’s suggestion was even better: those who refused the medicine could train under him.