Young Master Bai — Chapter 36
Chapter 36: Discovery of a Wild Monster
This was the only major mountain within a radius of a thousand li. The nearest town was two hundred li away, and there was still some distance up and down the slopes. Bai Chen had already gotten used to being carried in Li Wuming’s arms during travel. Peeking out along the way, he saw some abandoned villages at the foot of the mountain, buried in soil. Only moss-covered rooftops could faintly be seen. The tiles used were quite similar to those in Elderly Village.
Two hundred li south of the ruins lay Wushan Town. Bai Chen observed the layout of the town from the air and tugged at Li Wuming's sleeve, signaling the humanoid mount to descend. He then whispered his guess: "Looks like there was a landslide here a long time ago, and the survivors relocated the town."
Having lived on Great Snow Mountain for a long time, Bai Chen’s understanding of human customs came mostly from books. At the moment, he didn’t notice anything unusual. However, Li Wuming had led armies to conquer every inch of territory. He was thoroughly familiar with local customs and traditions. Just one glance at the rooftops in town and he asserted, "Nowadays, most roof tiles are mass-produced in workshops. But those buried under the soil used traditional yin-yang kiln firing. That means the landslide happened at least three hundred years ago."
If the town was relocated due to the landslide, logically no one should still be living in the mountain. Bai Chen didn’t believe the human saying "Hard to leave one’s homeland" could outweigh personal safety. Since Elderly Village still remained in the mountain, there must be some hidden secret.
Before leaving the mountain, Bai Chen couldn’t make sense of it. But now, having surveyed the entire mountain on the way down, he noticed something suspicious. "Have you noticed this mountain is filled only with cypress trees? I haven’t seen any other kind."
It was impossible for a normal forest to have just one type of tree growing in such neat order. Hearing this, Li Wuming's expression shifted. "What are you thinking?"
"Cultivators say anything abnormal must be yao. Even now, that still holds truth."
Li Wuming instantly understood Bai Chen’s hint. Still, as they had yet to find the source of the anomaly, he remained puzzled. "If there's a yao on this mountain, how could it escape your and Chenzui's noses?"
That had also puzzled Bai Chen earlier, but now he had a new theory. "Yao energy is really just our body scent. Fox clans, wolf clans, those living beings are easy to detect. But if it were a plant spirit, it’d be much harder."
Yao born from bloodlines, like the fox clan, had unique scents. But flower and tree yao were awakened by chance and carried the natural scent of their original forms. Once mixed among ordinary flora, they became nearly undetectable. Strictly speaking, these plant-based beings should be classified as minor spirits. But ancient cultivators lumped all non-human species together as yao to be eradicated. Over time, people came to regard them all as yao.
It was said that spirits were born from the spiritual veins of Heaven and Earth, children of the Heaven's Way. Yet these minor spirits formed from ordinary plants lacked the divine powers of Heaven’s sons and daughters. They had no place among humans, while the yao clan, who revered ancient bloodlines, looked down on them. Even on the Great Snow Mountain they were often relegated to menial tasks serving higher yao. Life was truly harsh for them.
Before gaining sentience, plants were the lowest of food sources — even a weak rabbit yao could consume them. After gaining sentience, little changed. A human with innate talent might ascend within a hundred years; a noble-blooded yao could become an immortal by three hundred. But plants could only gather spiritual energy bit by bit through hard effort, needing at least a thousand years to become a Wandering Immortal — assuming they weren’t dug up and eaten by humans or yao in the meantime. For such a species, anyone who lived long enough to awaken had unmatched concealment skills. If tamed, they could be a rare hidden asset.
Bai Chen was currently short on useful subordinates, and in his heart he was already weighing pros and cons. Seeing him fall silent mid-walk, Li Wuming knew the little fox was scheming again. As the stumbling block to the yao race's grand cause, Li Wuming immediately pulled the little fox into his arms, gently lifted the snow-white fox cloak, and leaned in for a sniff. When his breath startled Bai Chen with a shudder, he chuckled softly, "They say white foxes carry the scent of snow. Let me test that."
Such intimacy instantly drowned out Bai Chen’s whirlwind of thoughts. He instinctively covered his neck, his face actually flushing. "How could a human possibly smell it..."
This little fox, who prided himself on being a seasoned flirt, was caught off guard and looked like a silly goose. Li Wuming found it amusing and teased further: "It’s not yao scent. It’s all my scent on you."
Though clearly a joke, it made Bai Chen's heart beat faster. Instinctively, he lifted his hand to his nose and sniffed, blinking in confusion. Really? All he could smell was fox. Could it be that yao and humans really had different nasal structures?
Even the most cunning fox yao became like an anxious child in front of someone they loved. Li Wuming had enjoyed teasing the little fox long before realizing his own feelings. Now he couldn’t go a day without it. Seeing the reaction, he was satisfied and tugged Bai Chen toward the town. "Let’s go. No matter what you want to do, first we must get a sense of the place. This town isn’t large. Neighbors know every little thing about each other. We just need to find a busy spot to gather information."
Wushan Town had only fifty households — larger than Elderly Village, but still limited. Li Wuming chose the liveliest tea stall and sat down. Soon, a friendly waiter came over. Li Wuming said warmly, "It’s said tea houses and taverns are the best places for news. Brother waiter, would you be willing to tell us a few stories?"
Bai Chen, used to high status, figured chatting casually with common folk was better left to Li Wuming. So he simply sat by and sipped tea while listening. The man who had roamed the martial world did not disappoint. After speaking, he secretly slipped a spirit stone into the waiter’s hand. The waiter squeezed it and his eyes lit up, his attitude even more enthusiastic. "You asked the right person, dear guest. I may not know much about serving, but I sure hear a lot of gossip."
"That mountain covered in cypress trees seemed odd. Anything strange ever happen there?"
The tea stall was in the town center with the most traffic, so the waiter indeed knew plenty. Hearing the question, he smiled:
"You must mean Yonggu Mountain. That place is cursed. Landslides and shifting ground all year round. Ordinary folks get lost up there. Even our town’s hunters would rather go the farther Anning Mountain than set foot there."
Li Wuming had expected a past landslide but didn’t realize the disasters were ongoing. No wonder the residents had moved so far away. And Elderly Village, refusing to relocate, now seemed even more suspicious. He cracked some seeds and pretended to chat idly. "I heard a dozen old folks still live up there?"
"Seems so. No one here really visits that place. But my wife’s brother works for the government. He said that Scribe Sun from the yamen brings supplies up the mountain every month. Been going on for years."
The waiter didn’t seem familiar with Elderly Village and had to think a bit before answering. Logically, any refugees should've moved to the nearby town. Even if they had no relatives here, there ought to be some familiar faces. So why had no one visited the mountain in years?
Li Wuming and Bai Chen exchanged glances, both sensing something strange. But for now, they held back suspicion and kept asking. "Is this Scribe Sun very strong? Why isn’t he afraid of landslides?"
Mentioning Sun Decai made the waiter scoff. "Those bookworms locked away in academies don’t have much cultivation. He just bought a few Foundation-establishing elixirs with loads of money to force a breakthrough. His footwork is worse than ours."
Sun Decai’s shaky stance did seem like someone lacking proper training. Li Wuming chuckled, "The government treats its workers well. Even a minor scribe can afford Foundation-establishing elixirs."
But the waiter sneered, "This is Heaven's Way Alliance territory. Our officials barely get paid. If he can eat and dress well, that’s already something. As for cultivation..."
His tone hinted he knew more. Li Wuming quickly played along. "So the source of those elixirs is a mystery? Maybe a deity gifted them?"
"That Sun guy is so stingy he demands free seeds with tea. If you don’t give them, he gets pissy. Even a blind god would snub him. I say, with so many lonely elders on that mountain, the relief silver alone would keep him stocked."
The waiter had forgotten Sun Decai until now, but old grievances made him speak bitterly. Li Wuming hadn’t expected Sun to be this type of man. "Sounds like there’s more to the story?"
"I don’t know everything. But a few years back, the Heaven's Way Alliance distributed longevity elixirs to centenarians. No way he delivered them. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. A guy like him surely skimmed from the relief funds."
Such petty customers were the bane of small business. The waiter didn’t mind piling more dirt on Sun. Though unverified, his tone made it sound credible. He shook his head. "The village chief sent him to school at age seven, even bought him a house and land. And now he treats the old man like this? Heartless bastard!"
The government gave plenty to support those elderly. When Li Wuming saw Sun only bringing a bag of rice and a few coins up the mountain, he already suspected something. Now it was confirmed. Though still smiling, his words turned colder. "Never thought I’d meet someone so despicable. A real eye-opener."
Sword Immortal Bai’s line despised those who forgot kindness. Sensing Li Wuming's killing intent, Bai Chen did not stop him. Instead, he asked something that had been bothering him. "Was the old man who sent him down the mountain already very old?"
The waiter had once looked into Sun's background out of spite and now found that memory useful. "Only one person ever came down from Elderly Village. Supposedly all old men, already eighty at the time. Now they should be over a hundred. The government actually doubts they’re still alive. But with that cursed mountain, no one dares go check."
"Thank you, brother waiter. Here's a spirit stone for some wine. We'll call for you again if needed."
This information was valuable. Seeing that Bai Chen had asked everything he needed, Li Wuming passed another spirit stone. After the waiter thanked them profusely and left, he turned to Bai Chen thoughtfully. "Sun Decai is at least twenty-five. The chief who sent him to school was already elderly at the time, yet he doesn’t seem to have aged a bit."
When that chief delivered charcoal last night, he definitely didn’t look like a centenarian. Bai Chen looked up, already guessing, and murmured, "Once a yao transforms into human form, they no longer age."
~ Chapter End ~
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