Chapter 21 - Enemy
The bonfire in Gold Black Mountain was blazing hot. Thousands of gigantic Fire Crows were floating above the mountain with their wings opened, and ceaselessly cawing.
The dragon-skin drums were being beaten by the warriors. Vigorous and powerful drumbeats were heard widely for about hundreds of miles away throughout the jungle.
The decennial Fire Crow Clan’s Ancestral Worship Ceremony was carrying on. Ji Kui was guiding people into the Ancestral Temple to bring their offerings to the ancestors one after another. The souls of the ancestors had been awakened and were enjoying those offerings. If they were satisfied with the offerings, they would bestow ‘gifts’ to the chosen people.
The lava lake, created during the fight between Ji Xia and Ji Shu, had already cooled down. Two ‘sludges’ wriggled slowly across the congealed lava lake with their black, sticky sludge-like bodies.
The rough and hard rocks were quickly softened and turned into the soil by the ‘sludges’. Thick mud unceasingly welled out of the ground and spread to the surrounding areas.
Tens of Treemen were slowly swaying their towering bodies and sowing plenty of seeds into the soil. With their power, these seeds would soon sprout and grow up, this piece of damaged jungle would quickly turn green again. These Treemen had made an agreement with the Fire Crow Clan, which meant that they were under the clan’s protection and were also working for the clan.
However, all of these had nothing to do with Ji Hao.
Ji Hao was sitting in his family house, sadly staring at Ji Xia and Qing Fu, who were lying on the bed side by side.
Both of them were in a coma and had fever. Their faces were red and their breaths were scorching hot. The room had been turned into a stove by the hot air breathed out through their mouths; even the soil in the yard had dried up.
Ji Tu, one of the greatest Maguspriests in the Fire Crow Clan was sitting beside Ji Xia and Qing Fu with his legs crossed. He continuously put different herbs inside their mouths; in the meanwhile, he gestured and whispered a magic spell. With his gestures and spell, the herbs in Qing Fu and Ji Xia’s mouths quickly transformed into liquid and were swallowed by them. Once the herb-liquid had flowed into Ji Xia and Qing Fu’s stomachs, their breaths had cooled down a bit.
“Suiren Cane...the legendary ancient demigod’s inherited magic treasure” After a while, Ji Xia and Qing Fu’s body temperature had barely returned to normal. Ji Tu stopped the gestures and the spell, started to rub a herb stick, frowned and let out a sigh.
“Suirenshi was a legendary demigod...He had lived too..too long ago. Us old Maguspriests who are responsible for the historical inheritance...we have only heard about his name...” Ji Tu looked at Ji Hao and said slowly. “As far as we know, Suirenshi had mainly lived in the legendary central plains, never heard about that he had been in the South...His Magic cane showed up here...in the Southern Wasteland...It’s unexpected...”
“My Abba, Amma...their injuries...Will they be fine?” Ji Hao interrupted Ji Tu’s talk, asked him what he cared about the most at the moment.
“It’s hard...very hard...very hard...” Ji Tu shook his head and said. “We have no idea how powerful the Suirenshi was...even if Ji Shu has only brought a tiny little bit of its power out...the damage...is not something that we could endure...”
Ji Tu helplessly glanced at Qing Fu and Ji Xia, thought for a while and continued: “The Shamisen fire is still burning them from the inside...Either they withstand the fire with their own internal power then wake up, or find a powerful Divine Magus who is good at fire-related sorceries to pull the Shamisen fire away from their bodies...I...I could only cool them down temporarily with drugs and spells to keep them alive...barely...”
Ji Tu seriously looked at Ji Hao in the eyes and continued: “But...to resist the fire with drugs...Hao, you have learned about drug-making from us for years...you should know that this can only keep them alive for...only for now...in fact, the fire is still ceaselessly consuming their...life force.”
“So they will eventually burn to death?” Ji Hao stared at Ji Tu and asked.
Ji Tu sighed and muttered: “We can only wish your Abba, Amma will pull themselves through...and...I’m heading back now. I will try to find other ways...me and the other elders...there will always be a way to save them...like...like later after the ceremony, we will force Ji Shu to use the Suiren Cane and try to take the fire back...”
Ji Tu left a pile of cold-natured herbs, and slowly walked out with his crutch.
Ji Hao sat down and crossed his leg, quietly gazed at the faces of his parents. He held Ji Xia’s hand, Ji Xia’s palm was as hot as a piece of red hot iron.
Such a horrible fire force. Ji Xia might hang on for a longer time; as for Qing Fu, she had naturally been restrained by fire, which meant she could hold on for days at most. She would never survive this. Ji Hao gazed at the wrinkles in the corners of Qing Fu’s eyes, suddenly feeling a great fear.
If those Maguspriests went to talk to Ji Shu about saving his parents, Ji Shu would only need an excuse or if simply refused to do so, then his parents would be death for sure. Even if Ji Xia could withstand the fire with his own internal power then wake up, Qing Fu would still never be able to make it.
“Hey! Old man, Old man!” Ji Hao got into his own spiritual space and yelled at the air. Since there was no hope of those Fire Crow Clan’s Maguspriests curing his parents, he could only count on that mysterious old man.
Soon, the vague figure appeared in the air, looked down at Ji Hao and asked: “Hey, little guy. What happened today? You hardly come to me like this...”
Ji Hao quickly described the situation to the man. He explained how Ji Xia and Qing Fu got hurt: “Amma went to save Abba, but got burned by that fire too...Even our greatest Maguspriest Mediciner[1] was unable to find a way to save them...Old man, do you have any idea how to save my parents?”
The man frowned and murmured: “Suirenshi? I might heard of him...but wasn't interested. No idea about him...This Shamisen fire...what kind of fire is it?”
Ji Hao held Ji Xia’s hand, pulled a wisp of Shamisen fire out from his palm and send it into his spiritual space.
The man glanced at the flame, raised his eyebrows and said: “Ahh...this kind of fire...yes, I know about it. This is made from three different kinds of purest processed-fire, which were extracted and purified from the underworld, the earth core, and the human body. This three kinds of processed fire were compressed by some great power and forcibly turned into a natural fire - the Shamisen fire.”
“Can it be removed from my parents' bodies?” Ji Hao looked nervously at the vague figure. This mysterious man had recognized the composition of the Shamisen fire with only a glance, while the elder Maguspriest, Ji Tu, had no idea about it at all. Ji Hao was now putting his last hope in this man.
“Sure, simple!” The man looked oddly at Ji Hao and said, “Drag the fire force into your own body and absorb it with the [Bu Tian Bu Lou Magic Spell]. My magic spell is able to transform anything, anything in this world into your personal power and strength...Little guy, how could you be even more muddled headed than I am?”
Ji Hao was sharply hit by the man’s words. He suddenly realized that he could cure his parents all by himself. The [Bu Tian Bu Lou Magic Spell] could transform anything into his personal power and strength, why wouldn’t it be able to deal with the Shamisen fire?”
When Ji Hao was given a spurt of great joy, the man heavily sniffed.
Ji Hao then had been dragged out of his own spiritual space. He opened his eyes and saw a young and pretty girl who was wearing a neat leather armour. The girl kicked against Ji Hao’s chest without saying a word.
The girl was very powerful. Ji Hao had been kicked away and hit through the wall, and fell on the ground.
In the yard, the fat bear was tightly held down by several muscular men. Though the bear was struggling and roaring intensely, it couldn't get rid of those men.
Before Ji Hao had stood up from the ground, the girl had already followed him to the yard, jerked out a dagger and stabbed towards his heart.
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[1]Maguspriest Mediciner: Maguspriests who are good at medicine-making skills and mainly responsible for curing people.