Taste the Salt

Wei Yuan stood in the night, carefully sorting through the shifts in karmic luck and the entanglements of karma from the past half hour. With Qingming's advancement and the addition of a Heavenly Godwood sapling within Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, Wei Yuan's spiritual perception had heightened once again. He could see the shifts in karmic luck with greater clarity and even faintly perceive the threads of karma. Having unraveled them, Wei Yuan concluded that his discovery of the traitor and the black-robed Shaman at this precise moment had been no coincidence. The black-robed Shaman who had spoken with him had deliberately chosen this place and time to meet precisely so Wei Yuan would spot the other Shaman making contact with the traitor. The traitor's identity was practically obvious, yet Wei Yuan now found himself with a headache. Furthermore, now that the traitor had been exposed, timing the snare required great care; arresting her outright was hardly wise. While mulling it over himself, Wei Yuan also fed the question into Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. He then flew back toward the main peak, intending to rest for a brief spell. Before he had even touched down on the main peak, Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World yielded a flood of preposterous suggestions that left him not knowing whether to laugh or cry. As the mortal population expanded, the ranks of self-styled armchair masterminds had multiplied in tandem, growing so numerous they gathered in flocks and could practically band together to hatch litters. The prevailing opinion was: action was worse than inaction; for now, he should watch and wait, letting the traitor come knocking on her own to test the waters and taste the salt. Wei Yuan felt that Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World was unreliable at times. The majority opinion was not necessarily correct; truth was still held in the hands of the few. As dawn neared, Wei Yuan's heart stirred. The Dao Foundation warrior stationed at the domain's edge had spotted the Shaman caravan. Wei Yuan rushed over at once. By the time he flew in, heavy wagons were rolling into the domain one after another, and Shaman mighty warriors were hoisting heavy crates down and stacking them up. Sweeping his divine sense across the cargo, Wei Yuan found that the crates were filled entirely with thunder sand. For a caravan of this size, it must have set out days ago. The leader was once again Tianyu. At the moment, he stood shoulder to shoulder with Wei Yuan, watching the Shaman mighty warriors haul the goods. Unhooking a flask from his waist, Tianyu handed it to Wei Yuan. "A gift for you." Wei Yuan uncapped the flask and took a swig. In an instant, a line of liquid fire shot straight into his stomach, followed by a violent explosion of boundless spiritual qi. Tearing pain flared simultaneously in hundreds of spots across his body, giving way to numbness and itching as countless microscopic wounds knitted closed in the blink of an eye. From that single mouthful of liquor, Wei Yuan's physical body actually enjoyed a slight enhancement. Negligible as the improvement was, it was genuine progress. Given how formidable his physical body was now, coaxing even the slightest increment out of it was exceedingly difficult; this flask of wine was truly precious beyond measure. "Fine wine! Was it expensive?" "Twenty thousand immortal silver a flask. I still have several jars back home; if you like it, I'll bring you a few more flasks next time. Just remember to use the communication artifact I gave you." "I will." Having accepted such an expensive flask of wine, Wei Yuan felt a bit sheepish and thought it necessary to rein in Tianyu's believers. Those people had formed a cult and taken in a good number of new members. If left unchecked, an all-out congregation-wide worship ceremony could easily cause Tianyu an untimely death. Tianyu produced another identical flask of wine and said, "After Grandfather met with you last time, he went back and ordered everyone to speed up the mining of thunder sand. We finally scraped together two million jin, so I brought it over to you first." "What do you want in return?" "Didn't you just kill a Spirit Shaman named Ju Ling? We want its flesh and blood. A quarter of it will do, but keep it as intact as possible." Wei Yuan said, "Its soul is gone, and its flesh has lost most of its power. There is hardly any value in it now." Tianyu said, "It's not the value of the flesh we care about, but its identity. Once we have its remains, we'll find a way to return them to its kin so its clan elders learn the truth of its death. Hongye will certainly try to cover up what happened, and we want to expose him." Curious, Wei Yuan asked, "Is there an inside story behind this?" Tianyu said, "I'm not entirely clear on the details either. I only heard the elders say that this Ju Ling was someone of no ordinary standing, but he was deceived by Hongye and ended up dying in battle. Now Hongye wants to shirk responsibility, so he hasn't told the truth to Ju Ling's kin. The elders want to send the corpse back so they can tear through Hongye's lies." "So that's how it is. Then let me tell you what actually happened when it fell. Its primary opponent back then was me." Tianyu's spirits lifted, and he asked, "You don't mind if I record an image?" Wei Yuan directly handed Tianyu an image projection. "It's all in here. See for yourself." Tianyu opened the projection, which recorded the final moments before Ju Ling's death. Engulfed by colossal trees, Ju Ling had no way to escape and could only cry out desperately to Hongye for help. Yet Hongye's face showed hesitation; the moment he made to move, Wei Yuan blocked his path ahead. Up until the very end, Hongye never acted, watching helplessly as Ju Ling perished. In the recording, Wei Yuan's aura was faint—barely that of a newly advanced dharma idol cultivator—and in the wake of the fierce battle, he wheezed like an ox, looking utterly exhausted and on the verge of collapsing at any second. Yet such a weakened Wei Yuan had actually made Hongye freeze in his tracks, not daring to strike. Tianyu stared blankly at first, then blurted out, "He really stood by and left him to die?!" Then Tianyu noticed something off and asked, "Why are you so weak in this?" With an earnest look, Wei Yuan said, "I had fought for a long time and was already heavily injured. I was only forcing myself to hold on." "Was it serious? Have you recovered?" Tianyu asked hurriedly. "I'm mostly healed after taking medicinal pills," Wei Yuan replied, having just barely managed to bluff his way through. This projection was drawn from Wei Yuan's own memories and reconstructed in Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, tailored with suitable artistic embellishments to fit Tianyu's needs—such as zooming in on Hongye's cold, indifferent expression while layering over it Ju Ling's mournful wails. At the very end, he had appended a scene of Ju Ling crawling on the ground toward home, deliberately adding the howling of the wind for effect. In the recording, Wei Yuan had deliberately downplayed his own presence, completely erasing the aura of the primed Yang bullet. Going by the projection alone, Tianyu felt that even he could slap Wei Yuan to death with a single palm. To think a puny little bug like that could intimidate Hongye into not daring to step forward! Clearly, Hongye had refused to save him and watched Ju Ling die. Wei Yuan then brought over Ju Ling's corpse and handed it to Tianyu. Tianyu had not expected Wei Yuan to give so much and repeatedly insisted it was unnecessary. But Wei Yuan said that the more remains there were, the easier it would be for the elders of the Desolate Ancestor Tribe to win the trust of Ju Ling's clan, and only then did Tianyu accept. In truth, during that day's grand battle, with numerous Scenery Commands filling heaven and earth, many immortals had surely turned their gazes there as well. Maiden Yin-Yang was one of Wei Yuan's ultimate trump cards, so he had kept her from appearing and vying with the grand will in the outer sky of the Shamans for Ju Ling's soul. Thus, after Ju Ling died, its soul returned beyond the heavens, and the value of the physical body diminished drastically. However, the wings and long tail that Wei Yuan had severed while it was still alive had retained a portion of its essence; preserved through secret techniques, their essence had not dissipated, transforming them into rare materials. Those two parts, naturally, he would not give away. Having gained far more than expected on this trip, Tianyu was in high spirits and said, "If an urgent matter truly comes up in the future, you can still use that method to reach me." Wei Yuan patted Tianyu and said, "Don't worry, I'll control the intensity." Oblivious to the odd note in Wei Yuan's voice, Tianyu discussed the details of their next transaction. This time, Wei Yuan also requested some spirit wood. Spirit wood was abundant in the Wu domain, where vegetation grew rampantly, and plenty of low-tier spirit trees were simply left to grow wild, unwanted by anyone. Tianyu naturally agreed without hesitation. By now, the caravan had finished unloading. Wei Yuan summoned the defending troops to begin hauling the crates, while Tianyu waved to Wei Yuan and turned to leave, his dashing figure striding away into the distance. After Tianyu departed, Wei Yuan suddenly felt something was off. Turning over the details in his mind, he realized there were two gold bands inlaid on Tianyu's tail, studded with gems and crystals, looking thoroughly opulent. Having received the supplies, Wei Yuan noticed dawn had not yet fully broken, so he sent for Bao Yun and Cui Yu. Once the two arrived, Wei Yuan said, "I've found the traitor, but I'm not sure how to handle it yet. I'd like to hear your thoughts." Bao Yun asked, "The one responsible for the Karma Great Curse?" "Not definitively confirmed yet, but most likely." Cui Yu said with a stern expression, "This is an unforgivable crime! No matter who it is, they must be executed. Otherwise, how can we comfort the dead, or comfort those who narrowly escaped with their lives?" Far more observant than Cui Yu, Bao Yun studied Wei Yuan's expression and asked softly, "Is it someone important, and someone close to you?" Wei Yuan nodded. "Quite important, but I wouldn't say especially close. I just never expected something like this to happen with her." "Why haven't you told Master?" "Master is currently undergoing his Dao Foundation Tribulation. It will probably take another ten days to half a month before he finishes." Cui Yu was startled. "A tribulation for the Dao Foundation as well?" Bao Yun sighed softly and said, "Master Zhang truly is peerless in this world. After rebuilding his cultivation, even his Dao Foundation demands a tribulation." Wei Yuan discussed the matter further with the two of them. Cui Yu took a firm stance: no matter what, the traitor had to be put to death. Cui Yu was not an extremist by nature, but during the Karma Great Curse, not only had he been gravely wounded himself, he had watched countless men—including the most elite cavalry under Wei Yuan's command—die before his very eyes one by one. That hatred was something he could not let go. Bao Yun, on the other hand, felt they could make further use of the traitor; perhaps they could still wring something more out of her. At this, Wei Yuan inexplicably recalled the conversation he had overheard between the traitor and the Shaman, as well as the prevailing suggestion from Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. In theory, the answers produced by Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World should all be optimal solutions derived from a neutral perspective. Yet Wei Yuan faintly sensed that in certain scenarios, those armchair masterminds might have slipped a trace of malice—or rather, unsavory inclinations—into their advice. Still, Wei Yuan had provided too little information, and the two wisely refrained from prying into the traitor's exact identity. Regardless, the pool of candidates was already vanishingly small, and the name was practically on the tip of their tongues. With a pile of military duties on his plate, Cui Yu took his leave first. He had made his stance clear and trusted that Wei Yuan would not inexplicably turn soft-hearted. Bao Yun remained behind and asked, "What, feeling tender toward her? Or do you plan to play along with her scheme and taste the salt first?" Wei Yuan was thoroughly shocked! How could she have known about the plan from Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World? Although Wei Yuan had never intended to adopt it in the first place, having it abruptly exposed felt like a dark secret he had painstakingly hidden had suddenly been laid bare. Yet with Bao Yun asking, Wei Yuan could not evade the topic, let alone let her misunderstand. He said with a straight face, "Over the past few generations, our temple hasn't produced many remarkable disciples; high hopes were originally pinned on her. I want to handle this with care. First, as you said, to see if we can use her to lure the Shamans into a trap and at least capture the person who met with her. Second, I don't want the temple elders to take too heavy a blow." Bao Yun stepped up in front of Wei Yuan, clasping her hands behind her back as she looked up into his eyes. Her curled eyelashes fluttered over watery, luminous eyes, and her chest was almost pressing against his body. Standing so close, Wei Yuan immediately sensed danger by instinct. He wanted to step back, but felt doing so would only make things worse. With a half-smile, Bao Yun said, "Do you remember what I told you before?" Wei Yuan had an inkling, but still braced himself and asked, "Which one?" "Rotten peach blossoms." "Of course I remember. What about it?" Wei Yuan asked with an innocent face. Gazing into his eyes, Bao Yun said, "I completely agree with your first idea. But no mating, understood?"