Scripture of Days Past

Chapter 95: Trap

As a heated argument broke out between the two, White Rice arrived on the scene and interrupted, ”Are you two done bickering?”

Li Changqing instinctively tightened his grip around his fiend-slaying saber, intending to cut White Rice down, but he hesitated when he thought about his current situation.

”There’s no longer any place for us in the Great Han Empire,” Ding Daoxiao said. ”Defecting to the Great Qian Empire is our only option. The Immortal Dao has already pledged its allegiance to the fiend race, so why can’t we do the same? As a thousand-man commander of the Demon Vanquishing Department, I’m sure you know what’ll happen to us if we’re captured by the Demon Vanquishing Department.”

Indeed, Li Changqing was very familiar with the tricks that the Demon Vanquishing Department had up its sleeve. He knew that if they were captured, then they would suffer a fate far worse than death.

As he thought of all the mangled and tormented criminals in the Demon Vanquishing Department’s prison cells, Li Changqing slowly loosened his grip on the hilt of his saber.

Ding Daoxiao knew that Li Changqing had been swayed, so he turned to White Rice and said, ”The current emperor of the Great Han Empire is foolish and incompetent. Compared to the Great Han Empire, all of us have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for the Great Qian Empire, and we would be honored to pledge our loyalty to the mighty divine race.”

The Great Qian Empire was ruled by the wolf race, and they referred to themselves as the divine race to distinguish themselves from other fiends.

”How am I supposed to know if you’re being followed or not?” White Rice asked. ”What if this is a trap to expose our plans in the Great Han Empire?”

White Rice’s cautious demeanor only made Ding Daoxiao more convinced he was truly a spy of the Great Qian Empire, so he patiently explained his current situation.

In order to stress his own value, he continued, ”I’ve memorized the layouts of all nine northern border military bases. Also, the Great Qian Empire has always been searching for orthodox arts, right? I have leads on one of the twenty-five orthodox arts.”

He was only saying he had leads on one of the twenty-five orthodox arts because he was afraid of being killed for the prized orthodox art he possessed. His plan was to reveal the Sumeru King Scripture only after reaching the northwestern grasslands, then offer it to the imperial clan in exchange for a lofty position in the Great Qian Empire.

Given my aptitude, intelligence, and martial arts ability, I’ll have a bright future anywhere, whether in the Great Han Empire or the Great Qian Empire! Once I gain power, I’ll lead an army to wipe out the Great Han Empire, and by then, He Wenyan and Chu Qiguang will be nothing more than a pair of ants to be crushed beneath my feet!

”I’ll ask my leader,” White Rice said. ”If he agrees, then he’ll summon a pair of eagle camel fiends to take you to the grasslands.”

Everyone’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. If flying fiends could transport them to the grasslands, then they would almost certainly be able to evade capture. At this point, they were already seeing White Rice as their final hope.

”Come in and wait for now,” White Rice instructed before leading the way.

Before Ding Daoxiao could follow White Rice, Li Changqing stepped forward and moved to the front of the group.

Some thousand-man commander he is! Ding Daoxiao scoffed inwardly. When it comes down to life and death, he’s nothing more than an opportunistic coward.

White Rice led them into an abandoned room with tightly shut windows.

”What are these things?” Li Changqing asked as his gaze swept over the bags hanging all over the walls.

”That’s just some flour that we purchased from the humans,” White Rice explained casually. ”We hung the bags up so the rats won’t get to them. Wait here for now. I’ll be back soon.”

With that, he left and closed the door behind him.

Li Changqing, Ding Daoxiao, and the others were left in the room, their hearts pounding with anticipation, fear, and anxiety.

”Why are there so many torches lit during the day?” Li Changqing asked, puzzled by the sight of all the burning torches on the walls.

On the roof, Qiao Zhi tugged hard on a length of rope. All the bags hanging in the room were instantly untied, and the entire room was filled with flour.

At the same time, Qiao Zhi sprang away like a speeding arrow, just in time.

A series of violent explosions rang out as the burning torches ignited the flour, shattering the doors, windows, and walls.

After the dust settled, Chu Qiguang and the cat fiends searched through the wreckage and quickly found two severely injured bodies.

”Over there!” White Rice yelled. ”They’re still alive!”

A small group of cat fiends rushed over to Li Changqing and fed him some type of medicinal fluid. Li Changqing had suffered horrific burns and injuries from the explosion, and the only thing keeping him alive was his physical constitution as a fifth-state martial artist.

As the medicinal fluid flowed down his throat, Li Changqing still felt very feeble and weak, but he gradually regained control over his body. At the same time, the excruciating pain he was experiencing rapidly faded, as if his injuries were healing at an astonishing speed.

What kind of medicine is this? It’s even more effective than the medicine of the Demon Vanquishing Department!

I can’t believe he survived that! What a lucky guy! Qiao Zhi exclaimed as he located the barely alive Ding Daoxiao.

It’s not luck! I specifically calculated the force of the explosion so that fourth- and fifth-state martial artists would be left within an inch of their lives! Chu Qiguang scoffed before instructing the cat fiends to feed Ding Daoxiao the same medicinal fluid.

You told me that the Sumeru King Scripture is nearly indestructible, right? Even if he’s carrying it on him , it won’t have been destroyed in the explosion, will it? Chu Qiguang asked.

The Sumeru King Scripture harbors the secrets of the Heavenly Dao. It won’t be destroyed that easily, Qiao Zhi replied confidently.

However, after a thorough search, they discovered, to their disappointment, that Ding Daoxiao wasn’t carrying the Sumeru King Scripture. He had already fallen unconscious, but his survival was ensured after being fed that mysterious medicinal fluid.

Chu Qiguang instructed the cat fiends to burn the remains of the abandoned house before taking Ding Daoxiao and Li Changqing away. At the same time, the bodies of the other members of the Ding Clan were taken deep into the rear mountain behind the Wang Clan Village.

It didn’t take long before nearby villagers arrived after hearing the explosions, but all they saw was a raging fire consuming the abandoned house.

***

On the rear mountain behind the Wang Clan Village, Ding Daoxiao had been bound in chains.

He could barely remember what had happened during and after the explosion. All he recalled was suffering severe injuries, yet at this moment, he felt neither pain nor hunger.

Unaware of the destructive power of flour explosions, Ding Daoxiao simply assumed that his injuries weren’t as serious as he imagined.

The moment he saw Chu Qiguang, he said, ”I didn’t expect you to be a spy of the Great Qian Empire as well. You must’ve been sent to Azure Sun County to target our Ding Clan so we won’t interfere with the establishment of trade relations between the two empires, right?”

He had already convinced himself that Chu Qiguang was a fiend who had attained a human form. That would explain why he had targeted the Ding Clan and why he was able to communicate with other fiends.