Chapter 264 - The Plague Bell - Part 1
Chapter 264 of "Red Heart Patrols the Sky" opens with exciting events: The twelve divine appearance secret techniques of the Bone Tao possess infinite marvelous uses, said... Continue reading!
The twelve divine appearance secret techniques of the Bone Tao possess infinite marvelous uses, said to be the protective methods of the Bone Respecting God.Those who inherited these methods, the twelve faces of the Bone Tao, also ranked among the upper echelons of the Bone Tao, their status second only to the messengers and elders.
But as of today, only four remained.
Rat Face and Dog Face had perished early in the battle at Fenglin City, within the encampment of the Fenglin City Guards.
Ox Face, Horse Face, Sheep Face, and Rooster Face were wiped out in Irredeemable City during a battle by Zhu Weiwo.
Tiger Face was killed in the Double Jiao Huiâs mountainous territory of Mo Country by Li Jianqiu, who broke through the ranks with his swordsmanship and the technique of the Heaven and Earth Gate.
Even Pig Face, whom Snake Face greatly dreaded and who was exceedingly frenzied, died unexpectedly in a small town beneath Jia City of Sunshine County in Yang Country.
Eight of the twelve faces were gone.
Now only Rabbit Face, Monkey Face, Dragon Face, and she herself were left.
She increasingly felt that the upper echelons didnât care about their lives.
Even though their cultivation was profound and their combat capabilities extraordinary, in the eyes of the higher-ups, they might just be slightly stronger pawnsâand that wouldnât be too bad.
The problem was that there werenât many âpawnsâ left, yet the situation became increasingly dangerous, and soon it would be her turn.
No, she was already in a place of danger.
Originally, she was not afraid of death, but after escaping Fenglin City, her fear of death grew by the day.
She didnât want to die.
She had survived, not just by herself, not alone.
Thus, she was particularly unwilling to perish.
Now she was walking within the territory of Yang Country, her appearance concealed beneath a long cloak.
Her hands hung by her sides; on the slender index finger of the right hand, twined a green âthread,â at the end of which hung a tiny bell.
Swinging along her path, it made no sound.
This âgreen threadâ warrants particular mention because it is not an ordinary thread, but actually a tendon, a live tendon extracted from a cultivator, treated with secret techniques.
The original owner of this tendon was a cultivator from the national academy of Zhuang Country.
Full of fervor, he had dared to pursue her relentlessly.
Snake Face used his tendon to hang a bell, of course, to display cruelty.
And perhaps something she hadnât realized about herself: it was actually because of her own fear that she wanted to intimidate those who hunted her.
Being transferred to the Eastern Region, she originally breathed a sigh of relief.
She had had enough of the relentless pursuit cloaked in the guise of national vengeance from Zhuang Country.
But after learning of Pig Faceâs death, she couldnât be at ease again.
This could perhaps be seen from her overly vigilant gaze.
However, walking along the road, she didnât stand out at all.
In the current state of Yang Country, panic and vigilance were all too common emotions.
Everyone who had to walk the roads wrapped themselves up as tightly as possible.
Snake Face had even seen many corpses just lying by the roadside.
No one cared, and they were left to breed maggots.
When corpses no longer garnered burial, it was a sign of a countryâs collapse.
Compassion was something Snake Face certainly didnât possess.
So she walked along the road, her steps light.
This last-minute mission could be completed quickly, and then she could leave.
She wouldnât be like Pig Face, thinking of taking revenge for someone.
Her enemies had already perished in Fenglin City.
What enemies were left?
She gently shook her index finger, with the green thread and bell silently swaying.
The bell hung on a human tendon, naturally, was no simple matter.
The Bone Tao comprised twelve bone faces, with Rat Bone Face as the leader.
Rat Face had died, but his possessions still remained.
As the premier of the twelve bone faces, the reason why he met his end at Fenglin Cityâapart from the fearless and fierce Fang Big Beard, the excellent collaboration between Zhao Lang and Wei Yanâwas also largely because his life-bound magic artifact, forged by the Rat Bone Divine Appearance, was considered too dangerous to carry and always stayed at the Bone Taoâs headquarters.
As a result, his combat power was never entirely complete.
Even an organization like Bone Tao, found this thing dangerousâŚ
And it was in the hands of the one with the serpent bone mask.
It was a small bell that couldnât ring, known as the Plague Bell.
It also had another name, the Source of the Plague.
It was this bell that caused the rampant plague in Yang Country.
The decision was made by the Holy Master, the plan was orchestrated by the Bone Messenger, and initially executed by the one with the pig bone mask, now taken over by the serpent bone mask wearer.
To be precise, the true Plague Bell is a pair, known as the mother-child bells.
The mother bell creates the plague, the child bell absorbs the plague qi.
The task of the mother bell was complete, and the one in the hands of the serpent bone mask wearer was the child bell.
Bones exposed in wilderness, for a thousand miles no rooster crows.
The death qi and resentment qi that subsequently arise, and the expanding plague qi, are what the revered god of the Underworld desires.
âThe one with the dragon face is only loyal to the Holy Master.
The one with the monkey face is cunning and deceitful, connected with everyone.
The one with the rabbit face is devotedly loyal to the messenger.
Elder Luâs thoughts are impenetrable, the holy maidenâŚ
what are her thoughts?â
The one with the serpent bone mask pondered lightly.
She wouldnât normally think about such messy things, but now she had no choice; she had to think more.
The Bone Tao of now was not the Bone Tao of old.
And would never be.
Jiang Wang missed the blessed land challenge on the fifteenth of June.
He slept deeply, a profound slumber.
He was prepared for the loss of his cultivation power and felt no regrets.
His only regret was missing an opportunity to battle against a mighty foe.
Theoretically, at his current state, staying awake was not much of an issue.
But first, it was ten days and nights, saving Qingyang Town, then entering the city alone, sword slaying Jia City Lord Xi Munan and a group of transcendent guards.
Both body and mind had reached some kind of limit, and he had to rely on sleep for recovery.
Dugu Xiao dragged a stool to sit outside the door, refusing to leave despite persuasion.
With her recently acquired martial skills, it was debatable what she could achieve if real danger occurred.
When Jiang Wang emerged from the door, it would be difficult to say there wasnât a sense of relief in his heart.
But what he asked was, âHow are the affairs of the town?â
âThey are initially under control, there are still deaths, but there are very few new cases,â Dugu Xiao replied cheerfully, âMaster, youâre awake?â
âMhm.â Jiang Wang patted her young shoulder gently, âGo rest.
Iâll take care of the rest.â
Dugu Xiaoâs eyes instantly shone; this was the first time Jiang Wang had been so affectionate with her.
âMaster, did you kill City Lord Xi?â Her voice was a bit lighter as she said, âEveryone says it served him right!â
âThe peopleâs sentiment?â Jiang Wang didnât feel proud but instead wanted to sigh, âWhen Sun Ping died, the people of the city also felt it served him right.â
Dugu Xiao detected the inexplicably heavy mood in Jiang Wangâs tone and couldnât help but ask, âSun Ping?â
âYou should remember that name.â Jiang Wang walked past Dugu Xiao, âHe was the real hero.â
âIf the master says so, then it must be true,â she replied.
Jiang Wang shook his head and said no more.
The truth was, Dugu Xiao didnât care about the plague or heroes, or even the lives of tens of thousands in Jia City.
She was doing her utmost only to prove her worth, to ensure she wasnât abandoned again.
She had neither the excess energy nor the interest to care about anything else.
That was her.
The âdiseaseâ that was invisible but very real upon her.
Wasnât it, in another sense, a type of âplagueâ?
And how should she be âhealedâ?
âCome to the town with me,â Jiang Wang said.
âYes, Master!â Dugu Xiao jumped up excitedly behind him.