Yinlan City, Part 15

The Yan family army’s benefits were very good, mainly reflected in their excellent military provisions, large and well-equipped cafeteria, professional chefs, and numerous servants.

The cafeteria here was completely different from the Sword School’s.

Half of it was a normal building, while the other half consisted of tents sewn from fur and animal hides.

The normal cafeteria was for ordinary soldiers or other military personnel to eat at any time, on the go.

The fur tents, however, were for various levels of officers with some authority within the army and their subordinates.

These tents, when it snowed, would quickly warm up with a stove inside, allowing soldiers to go in, warm up, and eat something.

However, it was hard work for the servants to run to each tent to deliver meals.

Su Qing and Jiang Xiaocao, as newcomers, even with their dual connections to the demonic cult and the Yan family army, had to start from the lowest level.

For example, their job today was to assist the chef, acting as junior apprentices.

After the food preparation was done, if someone came to dine, they also had to dish out food at the counter or deliver meals.

According to Su Qing’s original plan, going undercover in the demonic cult would surely entail danger, a bloody storm.

But she never expected a single sentence from the demonic cult leader to send her back to square one, working in the cafeteria again.

Fortunately, this kind of life wouldn’t last long. She planned to manage for three to five days, then go back to the leader to relay some intelligence, misleading the Abyssal Void’s direction of action.

The next day, she was dishing out food at the counter as usual.

She saw a small leader, whose military rank seemed not low, approaching to order food, surrounded by his subordinates.

His appearance wasn’t extraordinary, but his demeanor was very resolute, and he seemed to be highly trusted by others.

Su Qing heard others affectionately call him Commander Zhang.

From his surname, she knew he was not from the Yan family lineage.

Commander Zhang was very friendly; he would chat with the counter staff every time he came to get food.

Everyone was familiar with him and eagerly opened up their conversations as soon as they saw him.

“Commander Zhang, I marinated half a portion of rouge duck yesterday specifically for you. If you want it with wine, I’ll send it over.”

“Commander Zhang, there’s still a large jar of the fruit wine you love. I saved it especially for you. Shall we open it today?”

“Commander Zhang, a while ago, the City Lord took people fishing at the ice lake and caught many fresh fish. They’re all thawed now, in the back kitchen. They’ll be so fragrant when fried. Would you like to try some?”

Su Qing observed that this person was doing quite well in the Yan family army. He was familiar with everyone here, and everyone seemed to trust him.

This Commander Zhang, whose full name was Zhang Yi, had no airs. When people asked her, he would reply, “Alright, Master Wang, I was just thinking of your rouge duck. Your skill can’t be found anywhere else.”

“Marinated fresh fish, is there such a wonderful thing in the world? Fried until crispy, paired with fruit wine, that would be absolutely perfect!”

Commander Zhang turned to his subordinates and said, “This meal is on me. Everyone has worked hard these past few days. Although it’s not yet time to relax, it’s always good to have a nice meal.”

His subordinates excitedly said, “Thank you, Commander Zhang!” “It’s our brothers’ good fortune to work under Commander Zhang!”

Commander Zhang found a large fur tent and went in with his brothers to eat.

During this time, Su Qing was successively dispatched to deliver peanuts, dried bean curd, and other snacks to go with their drinks.

The snow beneath her feet crunched with every step, but cheerful laughter emanated from the tent ahead, and hot steam continuously rose from its pointed top.

As soon as she entered the tent, she was hit by the smell of alcohol.

These burly soldiers had all drunk until their faces were flushed, looking half-drunk. People in Yinlan City loved wine, but the Yan family army had strict regulations against excessive drinking.

Anyone who delayed patrol or combat would be punished with at least thirty military floggings.

With Commander Zhang present, these people seemed less worried, each drinking to their heart’s content.

From time to time, they played drinking games, and some even started slurring their words while holding their wine cups.

“General Yan Yan, hiccup, although his martial prowess is astounding, when it comes to experience and leadership ability, I think our Commander is superior!”

“Exactly, exactly! If only she had a good background.” This person lowered his voice at this point, “I think the General of this garrison should be our Commander Zhang!”

“Exactly. The City Lord is good in every way, but she’s a bit too fond of using her own family members. Can every single Yan family member truly compare to the City Lord? I don’t think so. It’s only right that outsiders like us get more opportunities.”

Cultivators had keen ears and sharp eyes. Su Qing heard the content of their conversation from a distance.

Most of those who could become officers and deputies in the Yan family garrison were cultivators. If they wanted others not to hear their conversation, they had at least a hundred ways, but they didn’t do so, which showed that they were subtly displeased.

But if Su Qing were to say, the Yan family garrison held the important duty of protecting Yinlan City during the City Lord’s absence. Even she would feel more at ease placing a family member in charge.

She wasn’t too clear about the underlying complexities, so she didn’t think too much, only making a mental note that this Commander Zhang seemed to be at odds with General Yan Yan.

Only when the conversation inside drifted to other unimportant topics did Su Qing, carrying the food box, lift the curtain and enter.

The soldiers were all quite drunk, but when they saw her unfamiliar face, a sharp glint flashed in their eyes, and the drunken haze immediately vanished, replaced by ferocity.

An old soldier was the first to speak, “Why have I never seen such a new face? Who are you? State your name. Did you sneak in from somewhere?”

“Hey, Old Wu,” Commander Zhang stopped him kindly, “Why are you bothering him?”

He looked at Su Qing, “Kid, it’s our first time seeing you. Are you new here?”

Su Qing nodded, “I’m new, just arrived yesterday. Master Wang needs help, so he asked me to assist him.”

“Master Wang always tells me the cafeteria is short-staffed,” Commander Zhang said with a smile, “Now we have a newcomer, don’t we? You follow Master Wang and work hard, and in the future, you can also become a head chef. Your future is boundless.”

He took the food box from Su Qing’s hand, “Give it to me, you go busy yourself.”

Su Qing took two steps forward and handed him the food box.

She was a very observant person. With just one glance, she noticed a tiny, easily overlooked black spot on the carpet beneath Commander Zhang’s feet.

Su Qing’s gaze froze for a moment, but she didn’t show anything. She left with her head bowed, and she even remembered to say, “Thank you, Commander Zhang. I’ll head back now. If you need more dishes, just ring the bell to call me. I run fast.”

Commander Zhang smiled, “Go on, go on.”

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His gaze lingered for a moment on Su Qing’s figure as she bent to lift the tent flap, then he picked up the wine pot on the table and declared loudly, “With wine and meat, let’s not talk about those dampening things. Today, we drink until we’re drunk! Fill them up, fill them all up!”

When Su Qing returned to the back kitchen, Master Wang was calling her to work again. He handed her a large basin of fish, telling her to quickly scrape off the scales. This fish was to be fried for Commander Zhang, and she was told to hurry so as not to delay.

It was then that Xiaocao returned from delivering meals and also entered the back kitchen. He was slowly finding cooking very interesting, staring intently at Master Wang.

Su Qing looked at him, “Can you help me with something?”

“Sure.”

Xiaocao stood beside her and began to process the fish scales.

As expected of a Tool School disciple, his hands were nimble and skillful, and he was excellent at preparing ingredients.

Everyone around them was busy with their own tasks; no one noticed them.

Su Qing communicated with Jiang Xiaocao via spiritual transmission, “You told me that the smoke we were covered in that day was extracted from sweet dream fruits. There’s an ant species called the Black Ant, which feeds on this fruit for generations and is best at tracking this scent.”

Although “Sweet Dream Incense” had the word “sweet” in its name, it was actually a colorless, odorless gas. It was only because Black Ants’ olfactory system was vastly different from humans’ that they could meticulously distinguish it among billions of scents.

Moreover, both this ant and fruit were extremely rare, only appearing in the humid southern forests.

It was only because Xiaocao was born in the back mountain and was knowledgeable that he could identify it at a glance.

Even Su Qing, who had studied basic cultivation, had never heard of the effects of this fruit and ant.

And the Black Ants born in the humid southern forests looked vastly different from other ant colonies.

Su Qing immediately recognized that the tiny black spot beneath Commander Zhang’s feet was not a local Yinlan City ant, but a Black Ant itself.

Only three people were covered by the sweet dream fruit smoke that night: Su Qing, Jiang Xiaocao, and the demonic cult leader.

“This Commander Zhang is suspicious. He’s either someone close to the leader, who picked up the scent of sweet dream incense from the leader.” Su Qing’s voice paused. She looked up and said with some disbelief, “Or, he is the leader himself.”

And she felt the latter possibility was greater.

But this possibility was also extremely absurd.

The leader of a demonic cult had painstakingly infiltrated the righteous army, even achieving a high rank, with many soldiers believing he was fully qualified to replace General Yan Yan.

He even had seniority and prestige.

This undercover agent was perhaps too successful.

What was the difference between this and Jiang Xiaocao and her becoming the two most loyal believers in the Abyssal Void’s history?

But on closer thought, it wasn’t surprising. After all, the Abyssal Void’s benefits were very mediocre, while the Yan family army was known for its excellent welfare and treatment.

It was normal for him to infiltrate just to get an extra salary. Moreover, as a demonic cult leader, he could also use this to develop the demonic cult’s side businesses.

In Su Qing’s words, this was a profit.

Xiaocao listened to Su Qing’s analysis, his eyes momentarily confused, then enlightened.

He murmured to himself, “No wonder Elder Orange King always says humans are very cunning. So it can be like this. What should we do now?”

Su Qing looked at the unprocessed fish on the counter, also hesitant, “Poison him?”

She did have some poisons, most of which came from the evil cultivator, the Poison Lao, she had killed in the Dragon Boat Secret Realm.

If she had the same kind of poison that was used against the White Jade Rhinoceros back then, she could deal with a Golden Core stage cultivator. Unfortunately, she didn’t have such a potent poison in her possession.

Generally, poisons strong enough to reach this level were also treasures, incredibly expensive, which she dared not even look at.

Moreover, the soldiers in that tent were definitely going to share this basin of fish.

It was not impossible that innocent people would also be poisoned along with them.

Among the Golden Core cultivators in Yinlan City, the only one Su Qing knew was General Yan Yan.

But even among Golden Core cultivators, a difference of one layer in cultivation meant a vastly different level of strength.

If the demonic cult leader’s strength was above General Yan Yan’s, then forcing him to reveal his true colors would make the situation very difficult.

Now, the only way seemed to be to wait and see, and then report to Yan Yan as soon as possible, letting her figure out a solution.

Su Qing thought this, but Xiaocao had a different opinion.

He pulled Su Qing’s sleeve and said seriously, “I can kill him.”

Su Qing said softly, “That’s Golden Core stage.”

Jiang Xiaocao looked into her eyes, “That doesn’t matter. I can do it.”

Although Su Qing had witnessed the completely different cultivation system of plant cultivators and human cultivators from Vine Demon A’Luo in the back mountain, letting Jiang Xiaocao go alone to kill a Golden Core cultivator, “This is very dangerous.”

Jiang Xiaocao puffed out his cheeks, somewhat unhappy, “Don’t you believe me?”

“It’s not a matter of believing or not.” Su Qing told him, “I’m worried about you.”

She asked, “Can you understand the emotion of worry now?”

“I understand.” Jiang Xiaocao was inexplicably appeased. He opened his amber eyes, curved his lips, “You worry about me because you’re afraid I’ll die, but I won’t die.”

Su Qing said, “Not dying doesn’t mean you won’t feel pain or get injured.”

Jiang Xiaocao shook his head, “But I truly won’t feel pain. Even if I get injured, I won’t feel pain. I can do it, let me try.”

This was Xiaocao’s own decision.

Even though he was a blade of grass, when he transformed into human form, he had his own thoughts and emotions.

Su Qing had no right to choose for him. Even if she was his friend. But today, she was still the leader of this Sword School team, and she had the right to decide.

“I want to hear your plan first,” Su Qing said. “And I want to be involved, and General Yan Yan must be informed beforehand.”

“A plan?” Xiaocao touched his face, a little embarrassed. “It’s actually very simple, I just need him to eat me.”

Blood Thorns followed the traces of the Black Ants all the way to the Yan family army’s cafeteria.

She killed a patrolling soldier, took his clothes and waist token, and transformed into his appearance, naturally not arousing suspicion.

Her footsteps slowly stopped in front of a tent.

Wisps of white steam still rose from the top of the tent, indicating it was undoubtedly warm as spring inside.

From time to time, sounds of drinking and merriment seeped through the gaps in the tent, reaching her ears.

The message from the Black Ants told her that the target was inside this tent.

But she didn’t approach rashly; instead, she pondered.

According to the intelligence she received from the Heavenly Secret Alliance, the demonic cult leader’s cultivation should be around early Golden Core stage.

Yinlan City originally had some high-level cultivators, but they had all been eliminated in the rounds of purges by the old City Lord and Yan Chi.

Therefore, a Golden Core cultivation level in Yinlan City was quite a prominent figure.

A few days ago, when the Abyssal Void assembly ended, the reason she dared to follow the demonic cult leader and his close confidants, and even attack them, was because she possessed extremely subtle concealment techniques and escape methods. She believed she could retreat in time.

Secondly, a demonic cult was still a demonic cult; it would presumably not dare to openly confront her in broad daylight for fear of attracting the Yan family army’s investigation.

It was known that although Yan Chi was on the beast tide front lines, for a Transform Spirit stage cultivator like Yan Chi, as long as she wasn’t bogged down by the demon beasts on the front, unable to disengage, rushing back to Yinlan City wouldn’t be a troublesome matter.

Blood Thorns wondered, if in the end the Abyssal Void and the Yan family army were working together, then her actions would undoubtedly be a gamble.

But if the Abyssal Void was actually also undercover within the Yan family army, then she could certainly orchestrate something and retreat in time.

Whether it was or wasn’t, thinking alone wouldn’t reveal it; she had to act to verify it.

She was an evil cultivator, always acting without regard for rules.

Blood Thorns waited for a while, then saw a servant bringing wine.

She flashed behind the servant, knocked him unconscious with a blow, and opened the wine barrel.

A pungent, rich aroma of wine wafted out.

The wine here was very strong and potent, perfectly suited for adding something extra.

The benefit of being someone else’s dog was that the master would bestow things she wouldn’t normally get, such as medicine capable of dealing with Golden Core stage cultivators.

These good things all belonged to the Heavenly Secret Alliance.

Blood Thorns used them without any heartache. Her life was in the hands of the Heavenly Secret Alliance Leader; what were these things?

The fish was very crispy, and the wine was good wine.

But Commander Zhang Yi, or rather, the demonic cult leader, quickly sensed that something was wrong.

He had been embedded in the Yan family army for over thirty years, only then climbing to the position of a small leader. His current apparent cultivation was mid to late Foundation Establishment.

Yan Chi was an extremely meticulous person, and her cultivation was far superior to his.

Working under her nose, he was naturally terrified, not daring to leak even a trace of his Golden Core stage aura, always fiercely suppressing his cultivation.

In this operation, he sent demonic cult believers to infiltrate the Yan family army cafeteria as undercover agents. His goal was for the two of them to cooperate with him at a critical moment, to preemptively poison the army before the ritual, striking first.

By the time Yan Chi rushed back, it would be too late.

He would have already found the demonic bone through the blood sacrifice, taken it, and lived a joyful life.

As for the fate of these two disciples after the deed was done, he didn’t care at all.

Since they were so loyal to the Abyssal Void, sacrificing themselves for the Abyssal Void was probably an outcome they eagerly desired.

But the demonic cult leader didn’t expect that in just the time it took for one meal, everything had changed.

The meal was good, the wine was good.

The people in the tent were his extremely trusted subordinates, and the one delivering the meal was also one of the most loyal believers in the demonic cult.

Why would such a blunder occur?

The grass leaf, mixed in the fish and silently entering his throat, actually seemed alive, endlessly expanding and intertwining within his body, finally drilling into his dantian all at once, absorbing his spiritual energy, and filling the inside of his dantian tightly and impermeably with useless leaves.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t resisted.

He had repeatedly used the flames of spiritual energy within his body to burn it, but that grass was unkillable.

As long as there was a flicker of spiritual energy in his body, it could continuously resurrect.

But as a cultivator, how could he not have spiritual energy in his body? Soon, his flesh and blood were overgrown with grass leaves, and the more he struggled, the more rapidly his spiritual energy fluctuated, and the faster these grass leaves proliferated.

Even his precious Golden Core, painstakingly condensed, was enveloped by grass leaves, turning into a faint green mass, slowly beginning to corrode its surface.

It was merely a blade of grass; how could it be so terrifying?

The demonic cult leader wanted to cry out, but his throat was tightly packed with grass.

He reached out, wanting to crush a teleportation talisman or call others for help.

But there wasn’t a trace of strength in his body; he couldn’t even lift his hand.

Looking at his subordinates around him, they were all already lying on the ground, limp as mud.

The demonic cult leader was shocked, frightened, and enraged.

Who was secretly harming him? If that person’s goal was to deal with the Yan family army, then he, a demonic cult undercover agent, was truly too wronged!

A Golden Core stage cultivator couldn’t possibly be without life-saving methods.

Just as the demonic cult leader was about to bring out his natal magic treasure to break the situation, a vibrant green sprout suddenly grew on his brain lobe.

He instantly forgot what he was supposed to do.

Just then, a binding immortal rope struck him. Blood Thorns cast a restriction, concealing the commotion in the tent, and flashed inside.

“It truly is you.” Her gaze fell upon Commander Zhang’s face. “I’ve changed my mind.”

“You must die.”

She smiled faintly, her tone very intimate, “Since you are so useless, then I shall be this demonic cult leader.”

After all, no one had ever seen the leader’s true form, which meant anyone could be the leader, right?

As soon as her words fell, a majestic sword qi swept towards her, forcing her to withdraw her hand and retreat to the side.

The demonic cult leader clearly saw the figure of the newcomer, and a look of joy involuntarily appeared on his face.

He whimpered, wanting to cry out, but couldn’t utter a single word.

But this did not prevent him from recognizing at a glance that this was the undercover agent he had sent.

He never expected his preemptive arrangements to actually come into play at this moment.

Hope surged in the demonic cult leader’s heart, but then he heard the newcomer say discontentedly.

“What’s going on?”

Su Qing, holding Man Qing Sword, was somewhat displeased, “Even if someone’s going to be the leader, it has to be me. I am the most loyal disciple of the Abyssal Void.”

At this moment, Ye Mingshi was carefully squatting in front of the old locust tree, meticulously tinkering with the array formation on it.

Bayin stood vigilantly not far away, keeping watch for her.

“Alright.”

Ye Mingshi called her. The locust tree was emitting a faint white light, and the restriction was forcibly opened by her.

Bayin walked over. Ye Mingshi slightly turned her face, shielding Bayin’s view with her hood.

Bayin sensed the tyrannical, ominous aura on her, and her heart tightened, “Is it worse again?”

The price of re-activating the demonic bone was dragon scales spreading from the corner of her eye to her cheek.

Ye Mingshi feigned indifference, “It’s fine. Let’s go in and see.”

Ye Mingshi had forcibly corroded the restriction on the locust tree with demonic blood.

The demonic cult, in essence, was learning the cultivation methods of the demon race, treating all living things as blood food. How could they compare to naturally born demons?

Although she didn’t want to admit it, she was indeed a direct descendant of the demon race.

These demonic cult members hadn’t even touched the periphery of being a secondary lineage, not even a half-blood.

Ye Mingshi would say, she was the one who should be the demonic cult leader.