Yinlan City, part 9

Bayin’s body felt very heavy; even opening her eyes was a struggle, as if her entire being was sinking into the earth.

But her thoughts became very light, very light, as if about to drift out of the dark Buddha statue, to quietly peek outside and see who was speaking.

‘Inner Subsidiary City? Poison fog? Our doing?’

What were they talking about?

Bayin immediately realized that these two were discussing the Inner Subsidiary City’s poison fog!

Although she was a child, she was also a resident of Yinlan City.

She knew about the poison fog, but she had never known there was such a reason.

Adults always told her it was the heavens getting angry, a disaster sent down.

But listening to these two, it might actually have been man-made.

Bayin was a little scared; her heart should have been pounding, but the excessive beast blood wine had put her into a state of fake death.

Her body couldn’t react, which allowed her to conceal her aura.

She tried hard to identify their identities from their voices.

She didn’t know all the monks, masters, abbots, and sweeping disciples of the Old Temple, so after listening for a long time, she still couldn’t figure out who it was, only that the voices sounded somewhat familiar.

Who could be so wicked?

Thousands of people died in that poison fog. The religious services in the city had been continuous, and even now, she could still hear many people sobbing as they offered incense at the temples.

The two voices continued, but they no longer spoke of the poison fog. Instead, they began to discuss the Buddhist ritual to be held a month later.

The fog in the Inner Subsidiary City had dispersed. After the rescue efforts, many people’s hopes were shattered because far too many people had died compared to those who survived.

After the joyful celebration, there were also countless tears. Therefore, the City Lord’s Mansion ordered a concentrated Buddhist ritual to be held to send the souls of the deceased to the heavens.

These two were discussing this ritual.

“How are the blessed sachets for the ritual coming along? These are good things; the host specifically told us to make them carefully. When the deed is done, you and I will not be without benefits.”

“The ingredients are almost ready. We’ll have people make them in a few days; we’ll definitely finish before the ritual. Don’t worry, I’ve kept it in mind. What good would it do for us if we don’t do it well? It’s been over ten years, I’ve long wanted to leave this godforsaken place, it’s freezing to death.”

“Indeed. After it’s done, we brothers must have a good drink!”

The two mumbled on about something, some parts unclear.

Bayin listened very carefully, but there was little informative conversation; mostly, it was just complaints.

Complaints about Yinlan City’s bad weather, bad food, and monotonous life, with no places for entertainment.

Perhaps afraid of arousing suspicion, the two didn’t chat for long and quickly fell silent.

The quietness was even more frightening than the noise. Bayin’s heart tightened, fearing they would discover her.

But then, someone suddenly said, “Who’s there? Come out, I see you!”

Bayin was startled, but her body was still in a numb state, with no reaction at all.

Forget coming out or escaping; she couldn’t even twitch an eyelid.

The atmosphere grew tense. This silent air continued for a while until another voice broke the stillness.

“No one.”

That person grumbled, “Who told me that line was particularly effective? Just a casual bluff, and you’re sure to stir up some splashes.”

“Cut it out.”

The other person laughed and chided, “Splashes, indeed. It’s a good thing if you don’t scare yourself.”

After speaking, the two quickly left.

Bayin was left alone, curled up, desperately thinking.

Although she was a child, she had worked everywhere since she was young, begged for food from various families, and grew up observing people’s expressions. She was not stupid at all.

She knew she couldn’t secretly provoke Azamu, but challenging him openly was fine.

This was a child with a brain and courage.

She thought, these two must be from the Old Temple, but they were outsiders, having stayed here for over ten years just to do bad deeds.

What was that idiom again? ‘Scheming with malicious intent.’

The poison fog in the Inner Subsidiary City was very likely released by them. Ordinary people couldn’t do this, which meant they were either cultivators or served cultivators.

They chatted and idled for so long, yet only mentioned one serious matter: the blessed sachets for the ritual.

According to Yinlan City’s tradition, those blessed sachets mostly contained tranquilizing herbal dregs, for pilgrims to take home and hang in their houses or shops.

But since they specifically mentioned this, they must be planning to tamper with them.

Perhaps, perhaps, Bayin carefully tried to decipher these bad people’s thought processes, perhaps they might put poison inside!

Just like they released the poison fog in the Inner Subsidiary City, to poison the people of Yinlan City.

The more she thought about it, the more furious she became, wishing she could use the long spear she learned today to strike them down, but her body was still numb.

It wasn’t until dawn that Bayin, with her half-numb body, cautiously slipped back to her room, making sure no one was around.

As she left, she noticed that some of the pastries and fruits on the offering table were missing.

‘How detestable!’ she thought furiously.

She was hungry every day but never once thought of touching the pastries; they were for the souls going to heaven.

These bad people had no reverence at all.

She wanted to report them to the City Lord and have the City Lord punish them.

However… Bayin was not a naive child after all.

She quickly realized that she had no evidence. Those adults always looked down on children; they wouldn’t believe her words.

If only she could find that rock-hard big sister from the Sword School, she would definitely listen to every word she said, just like today.

She had made a bold, offhand request, and that sister had made it come true for her.

But Bayin didn’t know where the Sword School usually resided.

Moreover, even if she found her, without evidence, how could she act?

She huddled in a pile of straw, frowning deeply, and began to plan how to get some evidence.

A flash of insight struck her mind: didn’t that person say they were going to have people make blessed sachets?

She had a premonition that these cheap, pfft, these free and useful children would soon be put to use again.

Approximately three days later, a batch of herbal dregs and fabrics indeed arrived at the Old Temple, instructing Bayin and the others to start making blessed sachets for the ritual prayers.

Because these were items for a ritual, their creation required a pure body and sincere heart.

The Old Temple even brought hot water for the children to wash their hands properly, but by the time Bayin went to wash, the water had turned black and cold.

But she didn’t mind. She casually washed herself and wiped some water on her body.

This blessed sachet was not for praying; this was not a good thing!

When the day’s work was finished, Bayin gulped down two bowls of thin porridge, chewed up some dried meat, bones and all, then grabbed her ragged apron and went out for her usual stroll.

She often did this, and no one found it strange. These rapidly growing children always needed to find a place to fill their still-empty stomachs, perhaps with some leftovers, or some fruits from a rat’s hole, or perhaps these pitiful small animals themselves.

There was good news today too. It was said that the wine merchant had sent a lot of grain again, and it was all good grain. The City Lord’s Mansion also sent people to replenish their charcoal. This might be the young City Lord’s doing.

But Bayin didn’t think too much. She had more important things to do; she had to protect Yinlan City.

She expertly navigated the alleys, turning a few streets, making sure no one was around.

Actually, no one had ever followed her before, but she was about to do something important, so she naturally had to be careful.

Bayin slipped through the back door of a pharmacy.

She bypassed the pharmacy assistant wearing a rat fur coat, then, hunched over, moved through rows of medicine cabinets, finding Granny Alan sitting in a chair, looking at a prescription.

Granny Alan, though strict, was a good person. She was a very simple old woman, but she would give Bayin and children like her some food and teach them to read and write.

Bayin feared her but also loved her.

Moreover, she was exposed to prescriptions every day, so she would definitely be able to identify what kind of herbal dregs were in this blessed sachet.

“Granny Alan!”

Granny Alan was startled to see her. She composed her face but wasn’t angry. Instead, she asked, “Bayin, what are you doing here? I heard about yesterday’s competition; you did very well, very impressive. Doesn’t it feel better to get the beast blood wine through your own efforts?”

Bayin was a little embarrassed.

She spoke a few words, then returned to the main topic.

She pulled out the small blessed sachet she had secretly taken from her怀, and asked Granny Alan to help check its ingredients.

Her excuse was that her companion always had trouble sleeping, and she wanted to see if this truly had tranquilizing properties.

Granny Alan sighed almost imperceptibly.

Children of this age, unlike old folks like them, where would they have trouble sleeping?

She guessed it was probably from hunger.

But she didn’t say anything. She poured out the herbal dregs from the sachet onto a piece of paper, lowered her head, slightly twitched her nose, and carefully identified the ingredients.

“Rehmannia root, longan pulp, salvia miltiorrhiza, goji berries, sour jujube seed, poria cocos, and a large amount of licorice.”

“Not bad, a pretty good formula, though two types of herbs are somewhat uncommon.” Granny Alan speculated, “Perhaps it’s because the city has just recovered and is still lacking in medicinal ingredients.”

“No poison?” Bayin asked in disbelief. She clearly heard those two saying they were going to do something bad!

Granny Alan chuckled, “You’ll be fine if you don’t eat it. Leaving it there to let the scent diffuse can indeed calm the nerves.”

‘How could it be like this…?’

Bayin was stunned, but she didn’t want her discomposure to show, so she mumbled, repeating, “No poison is good then.”

“Thank you, Granny Alan, anyway.”

She offered her thanks, but in her heart, she wondered, ‘Did they not have time to put poison in yet?’

After the banquet, life had to continue.

The tasks weren’t finished yet, so it was naturally impossible to just go home after eating.

As per their original purpose, the Sword School students, divided by schools, formed small teams to go to the front lines to support the beast tide.

Tang Yueling went to the western front, Tian Ning went to the eastern front.

But Su Qing was actually ordered to stay behind in Yinlan City, which was very strange.

“Why do I have to stay in Yinlan City?”

She was a little puzzled; she had been thinking of going to the front line to see Xiu Fu.

Tang Yueling had lost her desire for a spectacle and said indifferently, “Yeah, why?”

She thought it was probably Yan Jin interfering, but in reality, Yan Jin was also going to the western front.

It was City Lord Yan Chi who had Su Qing and the others stay in Yinlan City. In her words, the struggle here, though not as obvious, might be more intense and deadly than the beast tide front lines. Therefore, the Sword School needed to send disciples to remain in the city to respond to changes.

Strong combatants couldn’t all be deployed to one place. So, this time, Su Qing had to part ways with her roommates again.

But Xiaocao stayed behind. Besides her, there were four other disciples from different schools, formed into a single team, responsible for patrolling the city morning and night, investigating any abnormal situations.

Su Qing and her team also took up residence in the large courtyard behind the City Lord’s Mansion. Although they hadn’t gotten official positions, they were temporary workers, with the same benefits as official staff, even including staff dormitories.

To look out for each other, the six of them were assigned to a courtyard with three side rooms. Each side room had two or three partitions, definitely enough space to live, though the conditions were a bit simple.

Su Qing, a Beast School female named Hua Ling, and Jiang Xiaocao shared a three-partitioned side room.

Su Qing had a peaceful nature, Xiaocao got along with everyone, and Hua Ling was also a straightforward person.

The three of them, plus a Golden Peng bird, lived quite well.

Originally, there was only one bed in Su Qing’s room, and she would pull herself up on the doorframe for pull-ups every day.

But after Xiaocao joined, her room mysteriously acquired a comfortable rattan chair, a wooden table, a soft meditation cushion, and a hand-woven blanket, large enough to roll around on.

She hadn’t expected Xiaocao, this plant spirit, to be even more particular about living taste than she, a human.

In short, there was nothing to worry about in daily life. She would wake up and go to work, eat at the staff cafeteria when hungry, and cultivate after her shift.

Although the spiritual energy here was not as good as that of the Sword Sect, and somewhat violent, honestly, having been accustomed to the gentle spiritual energy of the Sword Sect, occasionally tasting a thorny rose had its own unique flavor.

Moreover, Su Qing still had a Golden Core stage beast core in her hand. This beast core was of wood spiritual root, enough for her to digest for a long time.

A new official typically starts with three fires, but after just one week, this fire had quieted down because Yinlan City’s military defenses were strict, and the Yan family army managed things in an orderly fashion. Generally, no major incidents occurred.

The Sword School team’s daily tasks were not to help arbitrate, deciding whether the East’s wine was better than the West’s, or who was spreading rumors that their wine was watered down.

It was about whether one family’s chicken laid an egg in another family’s yard, and whose egg it belonged to.

The chicken was from family A. If it was counted as family A’s, family B would complain, “They never feed it; this chicken always sneaks into my chicken coop to steal feed!”

If it was counted as family B’s, family A wouldn’t agree, “Nonsense! This is my chicken; I bought it for eighty copper coins!”

Everyone was in a dilemma, thinking whether they should just pay out of their own pockets to settle it privately.

Until Xiaocao said, “It belongs to the chicken.”

It turned out that while people were arguing, the chicken had already pecked and eaten the egg, even cleaning up the shattered shell.

In short, Su Qing wanted to say that since she transmigrated, she rarely lived this kind of life.

She found it quite interesting, although everyone was a bit worn out by the daily trivialities.

Until this day, Gu Zimou, a Talisman School disciple from the first team, told everyone, “I think I’ve discovered something incredible.”

He hesitated for a moment, then swore solemnly, “Really, don’t look at me with such distrustful eyes. This time, it’s really not helping an old lady collect clothes in the rain, helping someone find their dog, digging potatoes in someone else’s field, or helping queue to get eggs. This is truly a big deal!”

Su Qing said, “Although your words have little credibility.”

Everyone nodded very affirmatively, indicating agreement.

She continued, “But given that there’s really nothing going on, and we’re quite idle. So, please, speak.”