Where Immortals Once Walked-Chapter 143: Exchanging Injuries

While the brigand gasped in pain, He Lingchuan forced the insect paste into his mouth, then splashed water down his throat, making him swallow it.

Wu Shaoyi, meanwhile, swallowed the grasshopper’s swollen abdomen along with the brood inside, even crunching twice. He Lingchuan could hear the crisp crackle of it between his teeth.

He Lingchuan asked, “Anything else I need to do?”

“Nope. Now, we just wait.”

Only a few dozen breaths later, He Lingchuan noticed Wu Shaoyi’s breathing grow steady. Testing his pulse, he found it growing stronger by the moment.

He unwound the bloody bandages to find the ghastly holes in Wu Shaoyi’s body were shrinking, little by little.

On the other side of the room, the brigand screamed in agony.

One wound after another appeared on his body, identical in position to Wu Shaoyi’s, each one tearing wider as blood poured out.

Then came the sickening crack of several bones snapping in quick succession.

By the time a cup of tea had passed, Wu Shaoyi’s injuries were largely healed, leaving only red welts across his skin. Even his broken ribs had mended when He Lingchuan pressed against them experimentally.

The brigand, however, now bore the burden of those wounds. He lay there gasping faintly, barely clinging to life.

“Other than blood loss, your injuries are basically gone.” He Lingchuan studied Wu Shaoyi with a click of his tongue. “That yellow talisman, can you produce it yourself?”

Wu Shaoyi had not lied. The ritual itself was not complicated. Anyone could replicate the gestures after a single look. Even He Lingchuan could guess most of the underlying principles.

As the old saying goes, after autumn, a grasshopper will not last long. In truth, the mother weakened after laying eggs, soon dying of cold and hunger, while her offspring thrived underground.

This was simply a transfer of life essence from one generation to the next.

Wu Shaoyi had borrowed that principle. He drew life force from the brigand for himself and shunted his injuries onto the other.

The true keys to this process, however, were the talisman paper and the turtle pearl.

He Lingchuan had examined the talisman carefully earlier. Its lines were drawn in cinnabar, yet the longer he stared, the more the strokes blurred, making them impossible to memorize.

That was the nature of advanced talismanic arts. They all came with a form of self-protection, making them difficult to copy. Otherwise, anyone could copy them freely once they had a sample.

Wu Shaoyi shook his head. “I’m no scholar. The Divine Master once said that fewer than three people in the world knew this art. Now that he’s dead, only two remain.”

He then slowly sat up, his face pale as paper. To He Lingchuan, he even looked older, as though years had been shaved from his life despite the turtle pearl’s rich energy still flooding him.

“The Divine Master told me my fate held one tribulation I might not survive. That was why he gave me this talisman.” Wu Shaoyi gave a bitter smile. “But the spell is too vicious. Well, it does go against heaven’s will. Though my wounds are healed, I’ll live no more than another three to five years. My cultivation will be wiped away. And every year, on this same day, the old wounds will return and I will have to suffer their torment for an entire day all over again.”

“That does sound miserable.” Inwardly, He Lingchuan scoffed. In a world where a man’s life was worth less than a dog’s, what meaning did “heaven’s will” even have? “I’ve already wasted enough time here. I need to rejoin the main force. Can you ride?”

Wu Shaoyi flexed his limbs and stood. “I can.”

He could no longer fight, and blood loss had left him weak, but what he needed right now was rest. However, that was something neither of them had time for now.

The brigand, meanwhile, had just drawn his last breath. Had the ritual been delayed, it would have been Wu Shaoyi lying dead instead.

Wu Shaoyi bowed solemnly. “Thank you for taking my place.”

Once outside, he asked for He Lingchuan’s name. He Lingchuan told Wu Shaoyi his name, and then he cast a glance at the crocodiles sunbathing on the bank and could not help asking, “Right, when I was on the western road, I saw the crocodile monster drag you straight into the water. How did you even get the chance to strike back?”

Even a common crocodile monster of three meters or more was a deadly foe for humans, let alone the Crocodile God. Without aid from other humans, resisting such a monster was nearly impossible.

Wu Shaoyi sighed. “It pulled me to the bottom first, then swam around for a short while. Soon after, it surfaced again to reposition me for swallowing. That was when I braced my spear in its maw.”

He Lingchuan understood at once.

Crocodiles, lizards, and birds could all bite but not chew. They could only swallow their food whole. If their prey went in crosswise, it would not fit. So they would typically make a short tossing motion, flipping the body for an easier gulp.

Wu Shaoyi had seized that fleeting instant to save himself.

It was easy to talk about, but in truth, it was a remarkable display of presence of mind. And that was exactly what had allowed Wu Shaoyi to keep his life. He Lingchuan imagined himself in the same plight—dozens of fangs embedded in his flesh, blood pouring freely from his wounds—would he have remained so calm?

At that moment, figures appeared on the road outside the village. Catching sight of Wu Shaoyi, they rushed forward in delight. “General! You’re alive!”

These were his men. When the giant crocodile ambushed him, their leaderless band had been routed by Lu Yao. Some had been lured away, but most had lingered not far off, waiting to see who would rise as the new head.

Men in such numbers, with no one to feed and command them, were a disaster waiting to happen.

Wu Shaoyi’s prestige among them was great. With the sable gathering them, they returned in droves.

In less than an hour, five to six hundred had assembled.

He Lingchuan counted quickly, and his heart leapt. With numbers like these, handled properly, they could be forged into a formidable strike force.

Wu Shaoyi made no attempt at secrecy. He told them openly how he had battled the Crocodile God, winning endless waves of admiration.

The brigands treated He Lingchuan warmly, too. Their leader declared him a savior, and to men like these, anyone who had returned from riding alongside their general on a giant crocodile’s back was no ordinary figure.

And with the crocodiles themselves sprawled on the lakeshore, none doubted a word.

But a crowd could never be quiet. The Crocodile God, displeased with the clamor, slowly turned and began making its way back into the lake.

He Lingchuan’s sharp eyes caught it. He hurried forward. “Wait, Crocodile God!” 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

The giant crocodile paused.

In the past, it had ignored all humans save for Hong Xiangqian. But He Lingchuan had helped it earlier. It was a beast that repaid debts as well as grudges.

“What is it?”

“Why are you serving as Lu Yao’s hired fist? Hong Xiangqian is dead, so why are you following Lu Yao?”

This was something that Wu Shaoyi was curious about as well.

“Hong Xiangqian once held a drop of black dragon’s blood essence. Lu Yao offered it as payment, in exchange for my aid twice,” the giant crocodile rumbled. “The signal is red quinoa powder. This is the last time.”

Of course! Scaled beasts go mad for dragon’s blood! Those are said to greatly strengthen their cultivation!

He Lingchuan’s eyes flickered. “So why did Lu Yao bring you to Immortal Spirit Lake?”

“He said that he needed my help here.”

Wu Shaoyi’s subordinates bristled with fury at the words.