Chapter 359 - An Empty Recollection and a Cup of Tea

Chapter 359: Chapter 359 - An Empty Recollection and a Cup of Tea

Su Bai remained silent while the last of the foreign memories settled.

The smell of blood beneath the tree gradually drew his attention back to the clearing. He took a slow breath and waited for the lingering disgust to ease.

Ning Shuang stood nearby. Her gaze rested on him briefly before returning to the unconscious disciples.

She seemed curious about what had happened, but she left him to recover without asking.

The missing memories continued to trouble Su Bai. Whatever had happened to them, tracing the people behind the arrangement would be considerably more difficult now.

The prisoner’s final words remained his most useful lead, and even those required caution.

The demon had recognized something in the Devouring Maw and called him a Hungry Ghost. He had also spoken of other bastards as though several people had been involved in using him.

Su Bai recalled how sharply he had reacted to the mention of beings from outside the Human Realm. Perhaps a Hungry Ghost was only one of several such beings working with the demonic factions.

Su Bai could not confirm that yet. The prisoner had also been convinced that Su Bai served those same people.

His fear had plainly led him to conclusions that went beyond what he knew.

Still, the recognition itself was difficult to dismiss.

Lu Canghai’s account of Hungry Ghosts devouring energy had troubled Su Bai before. Hearing the name from someone involved in these unfamiliar arrangements made the connection harder to ignore.

Could Reversal alone explain why he could use the Devouring Maw so naturally?

His thoughts drifted toward his own bloodline.

Su Bai rubbed his brow. He knew too little about his origins to follow that possibility far. Trying to work out how a Hungry Ghost might have contributed to his conception would only leave him with more questions.

His father already owed him several explanations.

He lowered his hand and looked toward Ning Shuang.

"The soul is gone. He will not recover in another body."

Her shoulders relaxed slightly. She glanced toward the corpse, then approached the tree to examine it. After checking the exposed formation markings, she loosened the chains and wrapped the body in Qi.

"Your companions will need an explanation," Su Bai said.

"That is easy enough."

The corpse disappeared into her storage ring. Ning Shuang gathered the bloodstained bindings before looking toward the men on the ground.

"Someone attacked the camp and took the prisoner. I followed them."

Su Bai considered the account. None of the men had seen him enter the clearing. They would wake to find their captive missing.

"Keep the body sealed," he said. "We may still learn something from those markings."

She nodded and checked the restriction around the corpse before putting the chains away. A trace of satisfaction remained on her face when she looked back at the empty space beneath the tree.

The man who had expected her to arrange his recovery would trouble her no further.

Su Bai turned his attention toward the unconscious disciples.

He still understood too little about their formations to remove them safely. The prisoner’s body would give him something to examine later, but experimenting on the dormant arrays here could produce consequences he could not predict.

For the moment, he left them untouched.

"Sister Ning, there are some things I would like to ask."

Ning Shuang looked back at him.

"Of course, Brother Su. There are things I wanted to tell you too."

She checked the Heart-Sealing Blood Gu within her chest before continuing. The ash still held it asleep. With that confirmed, she glanced toward the road beyond the forest.

"Let us go to Jadeleaf City first. I know somewhere we can speak privately."

"What about them?"

"I will leave instructions."

Ning Shuang walked to a broad tree near the fire pit. Qi gathered at her fingertips, and she carved a short message into the bark.

It described the ambush and the prisoner’s rescue, then stated that she had gone after the attacker.

The men were to return to their previous lodging in Jadeleaf City and wait. She would rejoin them within a day.

Su Bai read the message once she finished.

"You expect them to wait?"

"They will be pleased that someone else is pursuing him."

Her gaze passed over the disciple whose blood essence the prisoner had tried to consume.

Su Bai understood her reasoning. After nearly becoming the man’s first meal, that particular disciple would probably find waiting an excellent idea.

He checked their condition once more. Their breathing remained steady, and the disruption left by his needles would gradually fade.

After withdrawing the Nether Thread, he gathered the formation plates and allowed the barrier around the clearing to dissolve.

Ning Shuang waited while he wore the Glacier-Lung Bone Mask again.

She asked nothing about his methods before leading him through the trees.

Su Bai followed beside her. He wanted to hear about the assignments her group had received and whether other groups had been sent on similar missions.

The formation master’s visit also deserved closer attention. Someone had invited him, selected the disciples who attended, and made the necessary arrangements.

Those details might provide a direction the prisoner’s memories had failed to offer.

Ning Shuang’s master had kept her away from the visitor. Su Bai wanted to know what else had happened around that time, although he could not assume how much her master understood.

He would listen to what Ning Shuang remembered before deciding what it meant.

The trees gradually thinned. Beyond them, a road wound through low hills planted with rows of tea bushes.

Lanterns marked the approach to the city, and carts carrying covered loads traveled toward the gates. The scent of dried leaves grew stronger as they joined the road.

A merchant ahead was complaining about the price of a recent harvest. His companion listened with the patience of someone who had heard the argument several times already.

Su Bai found himself listening for a little while, relieved to encounter a dispute whose consequences appeared limited to someone’s purse.

Jadeleaf City’s walls soon came into view.

"The city is strict about disturbances inside," Ning Shuang said. "As long as we keep to ourselves, no one should trouble us."

Su Bai nodded and drew his hood forward. The guards examined them alongside the other travelers, then asked a few ordinary questions.

Ning Shuang explained that she was returning to her lodging, and they were allowed through after a brief inspection.

No one asked which faction Su Bai belonged to.

Inside the gates, workers had begun opening shops along the street. A tea house farther ahead already had its doors open. Steam drifted from a vessel near the entrance while someone moved chairs into place.

Su Bai looked around with renewed interest.

He had finally reached a new sign-in location. Familiar rewards remained useful, but after receiving the same leaves and talismans so often, he was looking forward to discovering something different.

’System, sign in.’

[Ding! Signed in at Jadeleaf City.]

[Reward: Soul-Steeping Teacup.]

[Description: A sinister teacup that infuses tea with soul-eroding power. Drinking it gradually weakens the soul and clouds spiritual sense. The effect deepens with the quality of the tea leaves and the time spent steeping.]

Su Bai’s attention settled on the small cup inside his System Inventory.

Its plain appearance gave little indication of its effect, but the description immediately interested him.

Something that eroded the soul could become a useful supplement through Reversal. Better leaves and a longer steeping time would deepen the effect, giving him a way to adjust its strength as he studied it.

He already had tea leaves in storage, although he would need somewhere private before testing any combination.

His mood improved considerably.

Ning Shuang noticed his interest in the tea house.

"Would you like to stop for tea?"

Su Bai looked toward its open doors and smiled.

"Yes. I think I am going to enjoy the tea here."

She led him farther down the street toward a quieter establishment.

Su Bai followed with more interest in the shops they passed.

The questions waiting for them remained unpleasant, but a cup of tea had suddenly become a promising way to begin the conversation.