Stranger Danger

Chapter 82: Weeding

“Give me some time to think!” Yan Yufei said thoughtfully.

“My plan might sound crazy, but in truth it isn’t risky at all!” Ye Qing declared with great confidence. “The reason the Strangers dared to invade Anyang at all is because both the Pacification Bureau and the Shenwu Defense Force are severely undermanned right now. Therefore, all we need to do is to bring them back in secret and set up the ambush, and their plot would be thwarted for sure.”

“That is a good plan!” Yan Feng echoed in agreement. “What do you think, my lord?”

Yan Yufei did not make a decision immediately. A moment of consideration later, he finally said, “It is worth trying. However, this isn’t something I can decide on my own. I’ll have to speak with Chief Ling about this!”

“Naturally!” Ye Qing echoed in agreement. It was impossible to circumvent the Pacification Bureau or Ling Jianqiu for this matter to have any chance at success anyway.

“Also, we need to find a way to bring back the Shenwu Defense Force to the county without our enemies noticing,” Yan Yufei said thoughtfully.

“Oh, that one’s pretty simple actually,” Ye Qing said with a smile, “Of the five key Strangers plotting the destruction of Anyang, Old Grass is the one responsible for collecting information for the group. He is the eyes of the group so to speak. As long as we take him out, slipping the Shenwu Defense Force back to the county should not be an issue anymore.”

“That works!” Yan Yufei nodded immediately.

Ye Qing clapped his hands and said, “We are in agreement then. I’ll handle Old Grass myself, so I trust you to handle Chief Ling and the Shenwu Defense Force, my lord.”

“Do you need help, Joyless? I can lend you a hand if you need me,” Yan Feng asked concernedly, but Ye Qing was very confident.

“Don’t worry. I managed to catch Faceless alive, didn’t I? If he’s any indicator, the rest of the group are going to be easy,” he declared.

“...”

Faceless’ pride felt a little wounded, but he responded in a flattering tone, “Old Grass is more or less on my level, so of course he is no match for the young master.”

Ye Qing added, “Also, you guys aren’t strong enough to help me. In fact, it’s only going to increase the chance of exposure.”

“...”

Now Yan Feng was the one who felt insulted. “Who are you calling me weak? What cultivation level are you at right now?”

“The Vessel Augmentation stage!” Ye Qing answered honestly.

“I’m sorry?” Yan Feng’s smile immediately froze on his face. It was quickly replaced by shock and disbelief. Beside him, Yan Yufei looked just as stunned.

“Yep. I’ve been a Vessel Augmentor for some time. A middle-stage Vessel Augmentor to be exact!” Ye Qing replied indifferently after enjoying a sip of tea.

Yan Yufei: “...”

Yan Feng: “...”

For a time, the two men could only exchange glances with each other. Although they had seen Ye Qing fight and knew that he was an outstanding warrior, the possibility that he might be a Vessel Augmentor—a middle-stage Vessel Augmentor no less—had never crossed his mind. It was because there were only a handful of Vessel Augmentors in the entire Anyang. One could even say that they were the county’s most powerful warriors since everyone else above that level had moved to greener pastures.

What truly stunned them, however, was the fact that Ye Qing wasn’t even twenty years old yet. A Vessel Augmentor like him would be considered a genius even in a commandery or a prefecture. His future was bright and limitless.

“You never fail to surprise me, Joyless!” Yan Yufei sighed emotionally. Before, Yan Yufei thought of Ye Qing as a junior with outstanding talent and character. But now, he was treating him like a true equal. “Very well. I trust you to take care of Old Grass!”

“Worry not, my lord. I promise I will live up to your expectations.” Ye Qing saluted the magistrate. “There isn’t much time left, so I’m going to head back and make the preparations now. I will take out Old Grass tonight.”

“Got it. Be careful!” Yan Yufei advised.

Ye Qin nodded before adding, “One more thing, my lord. If possible, I would like you to keep this between you, me, and Chief Ling only. After all, we do not know how many Strangers are lurking in Anyang, nor do we know how many people have succumbed to their temptation. The less people know about this, the higher the chance the plan will succeed.”

Yan Yufei nodded seriously. “An ant colony may collapse a great dike. I understand.”

Ye Qing sucked in a deep breath after he left the county hall. Then, he put on a smile and returned to his usual, relaxed self once more.

“Why did you do it, young master?” Faceless asked with a puzzled expression. He was referring to the fact that Ye Qing had chosen the riskiest plan to deal with the Strangers—one where he would stand at the center of the maelstrom—even though he could’ve just agreed to Yan Yufei’s original plan and stayed out of the whole thing. Not only that, Yan Yufei and Ling Jianqiu were the ones who stood to benefit the most out of this arrangement, not him.

“Heh. You won’t understand!” Ye Qing simply replied with a shake of his head. A man should be selfish, but they shouldn’t always be selfish. If everything went well, Anyang would be safe, and its people would enjoy a few years of peace and security at least, so why wouldn’t he go with the plan? Humans were humans because they possessed the capacity to go against their baser instincts and strive for goodness, right?

Of course, it wasn’t like he was totally selfless. If the plan succeeded, he would be killing a ton of Strangers and earning a lot of dragon-serpent runes, which would be greatly beneficial for his growth. All things considered, what was not to like about this plan?

“Where are we going now, young master?” Faceless did not press the matter after Ye Qing had refused to answer.

“The bookstore. I’d like to enter the next stage before we meet your old friend!”

Ye Qing looked up. The sun had just risen from the horizon, and it looked both bright and hopeful.

……

When the moon had risen to the center of the sky, and the gongs were struck three times to signify the beginning of midnight, Ye Qing finally left his bedroom and went downstairs.

Faceless had been waiting for a while and walked up to his master immediately after he sensed his presence. He was about halfway there when suddenly, he paused in his tracks and exclaimed in astonishment, “You made a breakthrough, young master?”

He said this because he felt a little pressured by Ye Qing in a way he hadn’t felt during the day. This could only mean that Ye Qing had entered the late-stage of the Vessel Augmentation stage.

“Yeah? Didn’t I tell you I’m going to do that this morning?” Ye Qing replied matter-of-factly.

Practicing his martial arts, the “Boundless Lightning Palm” and the “Flowing Cloud, Flying Sleeve” and refining his new Strange Artifacts, the Blue Demon Hand and the Lightning Bolt weren’t the only things Ye Qing had done during his previous training session. He had also spent two silver dragon-serpent runes to solidify his foundation and filled up his newly augmented blood vessels and bodily points with true qi. At that point, he was one step away from entering the late-stage of the Vessel Augmentation stage.

This was why he was able to achieve a breakthrough today. All he needed to do was to use up his remaining four dragon-serpent runes, augment his final four Standard Meridians and two Extraordinary Meridians to complete that final step.

Faceless looked taken aback. It was only now he remembered that Ye Qing had said that he was going to enter the next stage of his cultivation level. However, he hadn’t taken it to heart at the time because he thought that his master was joking. Who would’ve thought that he would actually do it in a single day? Since when was breaking into the next stage so easy?

“Few people could improve their cultivation level so easily. You must be a chosen of the heavens, young master!” Faceless said. The Stranger was attempting to mask his shock with flattery, but Ye Qing paid him no heed.

“Enough with the bootlicking. It’s time to meet Old Grass!” Ye Qing chided Faceless before calling out, “Please come with us, Brother Frog. I’m going to need your help this time.”

He didn’t really, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. With two Malice-class Strangers by his side, there should be no way Old Grass could escape his grasp.

At Yang’s Tofu Shop, Old Grass had extinguished the lamps a long time ago. However, his eyes were wide open. He was currently sitting on a stool and staring blankly at the walls.

Everything was ready, and the plan would be set in motion in just a couple more days. However, strange restlessness had been bothering him for the past few days and especially tonight. For whatever reason, his mind just refused to rest, and his chest felt so tight it almost felt like he was suffocating. Why did he keep feeling like something bad was about to happen?

“Am I just old?” Old Grass sighed, his wrinkles creasing together and making him look even older than before. His hair kept changing back and forth between lush green and withered yellow, and the barren grass in the courtyard rustled to the wind as if sensing up his emotions.

Suddenly, Old Grass tensed up and stared at his door coldly. “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Faceless!” Faceless called out from outside.

“Faceless?” Old Grass frowned but opened the door to let him in. He asked in a puzzled voice, “I wasn’t expecting you at this time. Did something happen?”

“Nope! What, can’t I visit you when I’m bored?” Faceless said with an uncaring smile.

Old Grass grew irritated. “Didn’t you hear Evergreen Ivy? We shouldn’t be seeing each other anymore until the plan is executed, or if you have something that can’t wait!”

Faceless shrugged. “So what? It’ll all be over in a couple of days anyway.”

“Oh, you!” Old Grass shook his head helplessly. He was about to say something else when a series of unnatural rustling noises caught his attention. “You’re not alone, Faceless?”

“Oh, you found out?”

Faceless let out an eerie chuckle before his facial features abruptly vanished into nothing. Then, his forehead split open to unleash a pitch black beam that struck Old Grass squarely in the head.

Bang!

Old Grass didn’t manage to dodge the sudden attack as they were only a few steps away from each other. It easily shattered his head into pieces. However, instead of falling dead like a human would have, grass grew out of his stomach and shot toward Faceless like blades. They would absolutely skewer the Stranger if he didn’t get out of the way.

“Wow!” Faceless let out a strange cry and sped away immediately. His instincts were screaming for him to dodge, and it was the right call. As soon as he left the entrance, the entire building was skewered by countless blades of yellow grass.

“Why did you try to kill me, Faceless?” A furious, questioning voice boomed from Old Grass’ headless body. At the same time, a new head slowly grew out of his neck like a sprout.

“Hehe. Since when do I need a reason to kill you?” Faceless sneered. As soon as he finished, a small silhouette dashed out from beside him and launched a palm strike at Old Grass.

Old Grass swung his arms lightly and caused the surrounding grass to grow at a crazy rate. They then surged toward the silhouette from every direction. If the silhouette was caught, the grass would easily rip them apart from limb to limb.

“Croak!”

However, the small silhouette let out a mighty croak and thrust their palms forward. A tremendous amount of force crushed the walls of grass like nothing. It was none other than Kung Fu Frog.

Old Grass didn’t panic, however. Green vitality flashed from his body, and the broken grass started growing wildly once more. This time, Kung Fu Frog had no choice but to move out of the way.

Meanwhile, Faceless was also dodging a sea of yellow grass. They didn’t just come at him from different directions, it was like trying to dodge a million swords at the same time. He had to deal with thrusts, slashes, lashes, sweeps, and more, and it was near impossible to tell which attack was a feint and which wasn’t. Scratch that, it was like he was facing a million expert swordsmen at the same time!

For a time, it was all Faceless could do to dodge the attacks. The amount of wounds on his body was growing rapidly. Old Grass was just standing there with an imperious sneer as he said, “Is this it? What on earth made you think you could kill me?”

As if on cue, the alarm bells in Old Grass’ head suddenly went off. Before he could react, a bolt of lightning flashed before his eyes.

Boom!

The next moment, half of Old Grass’ body exploded just like that. There was a faint smell of burning as lightning crawled all over his body.

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