Chapter 36 - Green Willow Village

"What is that smell?" Mei said, wrinkling her nose. "Why did we join this stupid caravan?"

"It will lead us to Green Willow Village, children. It is our first stop and the place where the bandits are rumored to live nearby. So many caravans have been attacked, but the village remains as it was. Something is happening there. Perhaps a Spirit Guardian resides there," Guan Hai explained, as the others sighed and followed a caravan of fifty carriages. Hundreds of guards at the Spirit Forming Stage patrolled around the caravans. To common folk without cultivation, they were a scary sight indeed.

It had only been two hours since they left Gold Lotus City when Guan Hai returned, but the three girls and Lu Jing were fed up with the odors from the camels that some merchants rode. They were exotic but dirty beasts. They all noticed that Yang hadn’t complained since they set off.

"Yang, are you not disturbed by the smell?" Mei asked, noticing a glowing pink lotus in his left hand as he rode on Red Death. "What's that flower?"

"Ah, this thing? It is an Illusion Blood Lotus. Its smell is quite powerful and actually quite dangerous. As a person becomes intoxicated by the scent, they cannot see that the lotus is slowly growing, trapping them in a pleasant illusion while their bodies become fertilizer for the lotus," Yang grinned. "Of course, poison does not work on me, but you are welcome to try for yourself. Would you like a lotus?"

"No. No," Mei said, shaking her head.

"No? Shame," Yang grinned as he directed the fragrance toward his nose. "I can't even smell those animals. You seven should have been more prepared. Even Guan Hai bought a mask to block the scent."

They all turned to see Guan Hai with a gold mask covering his nose and mouth. They could tell it was a magical treasure because he could breathe even though there were no holes in the mask to filter the air. Guan Hai could only smile beneath his mask, and the seven others were forced to endure the smell until they arrived atop a hill overlooking the village.

"That, children, is Green Willow Village. It seems the rumors were true. See that willow tree in the heart of the village? Its branches glow green, and we can see it from atop this hill. Earth and water spirit energy are strong and dense here. Sima Qing, you have an affinity for water. Guo Lin and Guo Yang, you have affinities for both earth and water. You should be able to notice the dense spirit energy. Close your eyes and feel the spirit energy around you. See where it leads," Guan Hai instructed.

"It leads to the tree," Yang said, the other two nodding in unison. As they closed their eyes, they could feel the spirit energy around them. It was in the air they breathed, the ground they tread upon, and the light that shone on them. A large river could be detected, seen in the distance. The earth and water seemed to gravitate toward the tree.

"It is strange. Something is beneath its roots. Something ancient and powerful," Yang said as he opened his eyes. "It is a false Spirit Guardian. I believe the bandits attack the caravans for more than their riches; they need blood—preferably a corpse."

"Is it stronger than my manticore?" Lin asked, eager to summon his magical beast. Those bound to magical beasts could hide them away in their Spirit Realm, both protecting and strengthening them. Mei's owl was ten feet tall and could no longer ride on her shoulders or live in her parents' backyard.

"It must be. I don't care for the artifact; I only desire the branches. The whole village is aligned with the bandits. The village is a facade. It is how they learn of the caravan routes," Yang said. "I say we kill them all. I only sense those of the Spirit Forming Stage there. Only their numbers are a problem. I can poison the river, kill many before we strike, and weaken the tree and the secret within its roots."

"We cannot do that! There are women and children there," Sima Qing protested as the caravan passed ahead of them.

"And what do you suggest we do? Allow the bandits to keep killing others? They know the crimes of their husbands and fathers. They condone it and thrive because of it. Do not think they are innocent! In this world, even children are reduced to thievery and murder," Yang snapped.

"Yang," Lin said as he stepped between them.

"Fools," Yang spat on the ground. "I'm going to poison the river. I will see them dead, and their treasures will be mine. Stay here if you cannot do it. Your soft-hearted idiocy will only get in the way. Sun Yi, I leave it to you to create a ring of fire to trap the village. You too, Lu Jing."

"I'm not going to do it," Lu Jing said, but Yang grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air.

"I wasn't asking you. I was ordering you. The very reason you are here, trained under a retired Imperial Guard Captain at the Earth Mortal tier, was because of me. You owe me your future. We both know it. Go now, before I really get pissed off," Yang growled and threw Jing onto the ground. "You are not killing them; I am. You're only enclosing them. This is an obstacle you must face in life. A practitioner is not without enemies. The longer you go without your first kill, the more your mind will break later on when it matters. Bandits are scum, wanted dead or alive. No one will care if they die. No one. If you cannot kill a bandit, how can you kill a practitioner who threatens the people you love? We live in the Mortal Realm. We are bound to die through the passage of time, our lifespans extended through cultivation. In the end, you are alone. You were always alone. Only when you walk the path of cultivation will you truly realize the depths of my words."

"You speak with words beyond your years. You are right, though. No one can help you on the path of cultivation. Others can only guide you," Guan Hai nodded. "Do not worry about the bandits currently outside the village. I will punish them, as it is my duty."

"Then this will be easy," Yang said, directing Red Death to the distant river. "I give you two, Sun Yi and Lu Jing, an hour's time to create the ring of fire around the village. The rest of you, do not disappoint me."

"I will also form the river of fire. It is my duty, as prince, to punish those who break my imperial father's laws," Shen Dong said. "I will form the ring of fire from the north."

"Come, Mei. Leave the two girls here," Yang said, and Mei immediately joined him atop Red Death. "You two keep being blinded by your naive thoughts. You are not in a palace. This is the world, the real world. You are fools to turn your eyes away from the cold, hard truth."

Yang said no more as Red Death slithered to the river. It took twenty minutes to reach the river, and Yang smirked as he saw fire in the distance. He knew Sun Yi would do it, but Lu Jing was still not within his grasp—yet. Controlling the son meant controlling his father, Lu Jin. Lu Jin was a duke, one of the few in the Pangu Continent. Control over him would make it easier for Shen Dong to assume the throne.

"How do you plan to poison the river? How will it affect the tree?" Mei asked.

"The river runs through the village, beneath the roots of the false Spirit Guardian. If my guess is right, it is a magical beast currently in the midst of laying its eggs. If that is so, there is only one magical beast I know that survived in this area before I died. It was known as a River Lion Turtle. With the head of a stone lion, gills of a fish on its neck, and the body and shell of a turtle, it is amphibious but dies if its gills dry up," Yang grinned.

"I never heard of such a magical beast," Mei said.