Chapter 420 - 419: The Thousand Star Ruins

Chapter 420: Chapter 419: The Thousand Star Ruins

Taozi nodded, grinning at him.

The Little Witch Child seemed to prefer Fushan Yue, even though the man never had a kind word for her.

It was probably like how a rescued cat clings to its savior.

Hee Lingchuan overheard the merchant team members whispering outside. Apparently, three families of "untouchables" had fled in the night. Their homes, all neighboring each other, were empty by morning. The Government Office had already issued an order for the pursuit of these dozen or so escapees.

The carriage jolted slightly as it began to move.

Hee Lingchuan lifted the curtain to look outside. In the morning light, Tongluo County had not yet woken up. Most of its businesses catered to the night crowd, so aside from a few small eateries and inns, every other door was shut tight.

The bustling Nocturnal City of last night now lay exhausted in the dawn’s first light.

With the rumble of wheels, the Stone Gate Merchant Team soon left the peculiar county behind.

With nothing else to do, Fushan Yue held out his hand to Hee Lingchuan. "Where’s the medicine I told you to buy last night?"

Hee Lingchuan’s eyes narrowed. "’Told’?"

"My apologies!" Fushan Yue corrected himself with false modesty. "Where’s the medicine I *asked* you to buy for me last night?"

Only then did Hee Lingchuan toss him a wax paper packet.

Fushan Yue opened it and, pulling a mortar and pestle from who knows where, gestured for Witch Child Taozi to grind the herbs.

Once the medicinal herbs were ground into a powder, he added water to make a paste and then spread it on Taozi’s face.

The moment the medicine touched her skin, she felt an itch. By the time Fushan Yue finally finished applying it, the itchiness had intensified several times over.

Taozi couldn’t resist reaching up to scratch, but he slapped her hand away. "If you want to live, don’t touch your face!"

’Of course I do!’ she thought, forcing herself to endure it.

A little over a quarter of an hour later, Fushan Yue finally allowed her to wash her face.

By now, the merchant team had reached a post station on the northern outskirts of Tongluo County. Taozi jumped out of the carriage and SPLASHED water on her face from a horse trough, remembering to keep her lips pressed together so no one would see the wound on her mouth.

However, the other travelers who saw her face cried out in alarm and quickly moved away.

Puzzled, she looked at her reflection in the water and saw a mottled face:

White patches had appeared on her skin, making her complexion extremely uneven.

After she got back in the carriage, Fushan Yue explained, "I just gave you a disguise to look like you have vitiligo. It’ll clear up on its own in half a month."

The itching slowly subsided. Suddenly, Taozi pointed nearby and spoke for the first time. "Her. She’s the one who sewed my mouth shut."

The two of them looked and saw a middle-aged woman walking toward the back of the post station. Her clothes were unremarkable, but she was leaning on a long staff.

Given her age and nimble legs, leaning on a staff was a bit odd.

"Is that the Witch who pointed you out as a baleful star?"

"Yes!" Taozi said, her voice firm.

Fushan Yue stretched. "Stay here and don’t move." Then he jumped out of the carriage and headed toward the back of the post station as well.

About a quarter of an hour later, he returned, his complexion looking a bit ruddier than before.

Hee Lingchuan even caught a faint scent of blood.

"Did you eat her?"

"I did." Fushan Yue smiled, patting the top of Taozi’s head. "I ate the Witch."

Taozi’s eyes immediately sparkled.

Hee Lingchuan clicked his tongue. ’While getting a little pick-me-up for himself, the guy also managed to win someone over. He seems coarse on the outside but is meticulous on the inside. Not a reckless man at all.’

"Then what’s with the hole in your sleeve?"

"I only have one hand, so it was a bit inconvenient." Fushan Yue yawned. "The Witch found a moment to fight back. Her love of money aside, she actually had a bit of Daoist Practice."

The Twilight Plateau remained a barren sight. The merchant team passed through a few lifeless towns and villages to replenish their food and water.

However, the terrain gradually rose. As they continued north, they stood on a hill and gazed out at the mountains in the distance.

The sun was also slowly setting in the west. Shi the Second raised his horsewhip and pointed north, telling Hee Lingchuan and the others, "Once we cross the first mountain, we’ll have a place to rest for the night."

There was a small town there, sufficient for an overnight stay.

As soon as he finished speaking, the wind suddenly picked up.

Having just left Wind Demon Mountain, the merchant team was long accustomed to the whistling north wind. But this wind carried thick dust, sand, and bits of grass, making it much filthier than the wind at the mountain’s peak. It blew so hard people couldn’t open their eyes.

It wasn’t just about not being able to open one’s eyes; the sand seemed to have eyes of its own, desperately forcing its way into people’s noses, ears, and necks.

It was crucial not to open one’s mouth, or they’d be spitting constantly.

After another quarter of an hour, the sky went dark.

The sun was clearly still there, but when people forced themselves to look up, all they could see through the dusky yellow haze was a faintly glowing duck egg.

The world went dark. A sandstorm had arrived.

Shi the Second covered his head and face with a cloth and directed the team to press onward to the north.

There were mountains to the north that could block the sand and wind. Besides, this was the only way to get to the northern Chiyan Kingdom through the Twilight Plateau.

The merchant team struggled forward, and Hee Lingchuan jumped out of the carriage to help. He circulated his Gang Qi, which allowed him to block most of the sand and wind.

This was where the benefits of profound Cultivation became apparent.

Finally, drawing on their rich experience, the Stone Gate Merchant Team found the entrance to the mountains.

After entering the mountains, the wind and sand noticeably weakened.

But the trees in the forest were still being thrashed about, as if they were about to be uprooted.

Several claps of thunder rolled across the sky, terrifying the draft oxen and horses.

Shi the Second looked around, his expression grave. An experienced Porter from the Stone Gate Merchant Team rushed over to him and shouted over the wind, "Second Master, I think we took a wrong turn! This is the road to the ruins!"

Hee Lingchuan happened to be standing nearby and heard it all. "Which ruins?"

"Where else could it be?" Shi the Second roared himself hoarse. "Thousand Star City!"

’The Old Capital of the Yuanl Kingdom?’ Hee Lingchuan’s heart skipped a beat. ’The sandstorm blew us all the way here?’

Everyone stared expectantly at Shi the Second. "What do we do now?"

A moment ago, a skinny apprentice had been careless after entering the mountains and was nearly blown away by the wind, only saving himself by grabbing onto the bindings of some cargo.

Even with all of Shi the Second’s experience from countless trade journeys, this sandstorm was a heavyweight. He had no choice; he couldn’t possibly go back to the plateau and search for the correct path in a sandstorm with visibility of less than thirty feet.

"To the ruins to take shelter from the wind! Quickly!"

The team advanced deeper into the mountains.

After traveling several miles up the mountain path, the wind and sand weakened considerably, but then the rain came, falling in a ceaseless downpour.

The workers all grumbled, "What is this god-awful weather!"

Only Witch Child Taozi was curled up into a small ball in the carriage, trembling, as if she believed she had caused all of this.

After traveling several more miles, the view suddenly opened up:

The mountain path came to an end, and the valley ahead could even be described as vast.

No, it was a basin, surrounded by mountains on all sides.

Hee Lingchuan immediately spotted the ruins Shi the Second and the others had spoken of in the basin below.

The team was heading toward the basin. Surprisingly, there were more trees here than outside, perhaps because of the green water that encircled the basin. This abundant water had once formed the moat of Thousand Star City, but now it could only flow on in solitude.

An ancient path was faintly visible amidst the overgrown forest.

The merchant team’s wheels rumbled onward, crushing dead branches and fallen leaves. Hee Lingchuan saw that the bluestone road had once been very wide, broad enough for at least five carriages to travel side by side. Two hundred years ago, during the Yuanl Kingdom’s glory days, this road must have bustled with traffic and visitors.

Now, it was merely decaying amidst the wild grass and setting sun.

Upon entering the basin, the sheer scale of Thousand Star City became apparent. Judging by its perfectly square foundations and stone perimeter, it covered an area at least half the size of Panlong City. The base of the city gate, in particular, was wide and thick; one could only imagine how magnificent it must have looked in its prime.

But the wood had long since rotted away, and the few remaining stone walls were covered in long vines.

"This city was destroyed so thoroughly." There were even scorch marks on the stones. ’It’s a real shame that such a magnificent capital city doesn’t even have a single decent building left.’

Even with wind and water erosion, there should have been some ruins left, like with Panlong City back in the day.

"It’s said that after Thousand Star City was breached, the Demon Emperor ordered it to be burned to the ground and its people slaughtered, demanding that ’not a single inch of wood be left standing’," Shi the Second shouted over the torrential rain. "That’s why all the palaces and towers, along with the common houses and even the pigsties, were torn down without exception."

Witch Child Taozi suddenly pointed into the distance, and Hee Lingchuan also asked, "What’s that?"

About fifty zhang away, there were a dozen or so stone houses. They were wide and large, crudely built with no sense of aesthetics, but their strength was in their sturdiness.

One of them even had only three walls, with the fourth open to the air.

They were called houses, but they were more like warehouses or depots.

"Passing merchants built those themselves, using local materials. Over time, this many have sprung up."

Hee Lingchuan said in surprise, "So it’s not like no one ever comes here."

"The terrain in these mountains is complex, and people often get lost. When they get here, they make the best of it. You always need a place to shelter from the wind and rain." Shi the Second ordered the merchant team to drive the carriages into a few of the stone houses, settle the men, and check the cargo.

Merchants go wherever there is profit, and they’ll even make a stop in a Ghost City.

The stone houses already contained a lot of thatch. The merchant team’s doctor took out several basins, placed dried grass and wormwood inside, and lit them to fumigate the area. Otherwise, the ground was damp and heavy with moisture, and there were too many snakes, insects, and mosquitoes. If anyone sat or lay on the grass, they would be covered in red welts in the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

In severe cases, one might even start shivering and develop a high fever.

As the smoke grew thicker, all sorts of small animals scrambled to flee the stone house, including several Golden Ring vipers.

It seemed they would have to spend the night in the Ghost City. The merchant team began setting up pots to cook a meal.

Once the water boiled, they threw in grains and sweet potatoes, adding vegetables and mushrooms later to make a sticky, mixed-vegetable porridge.

Everyone had been trekking all day. They picked up their coarse bowls and began slurping down the porridge. Paired with a couple of steamed buns and a few bites of pickled vegetables, the rainy night in the wilderness didn’t seem so unbearable after all.

Time slowly crept toward the latter half of the night. The wind and rain, instead of subsiding, grew stronger. Occasional flashes of lightning illuminated the wilderness, followed by long, drawn-out rumbles of thunder.

Fushan Yue had his head and face completely covered by his cloak and remained motionless for a long time. Just when others thought he was asleep, he suddenly sat up.

"Someone’s coming."

Sure enough, a dozen or so figures emerged from the short woods and walked toward the cluster of stone houses.

The Stone Gate Merchant Team’s sentry immediately blew his whistle, calling for everyone to be on alert.

The other party was also a caravan, consisting of twelve or thirteen horsemen, a carriage, and two Demons. Their approach was unhurried. One of the riders spurred his horse forward, cracked his whip, and shouted to the Stone Gate Merchant Team, "Just looking for company on a Desolate Mountain! We’ll be gone by morning!"

This was a common phrase used by travelers in the wilderness to show they only intended to stay the night and meant no harm.

Then, the group moved about twelve or thirteen zhang away and occupied two of the other stone houses.