Stranger Danger
Chapter 406: The Song That Ages

“That one has nothing to do with the songstress. It’s simply because you sat for too long,” Chu Qingli retorted before looking back at the woman on the screen and sighing wistfully. “What a beauty. If only I can enjoy a kiss and a night with her.”

“Are you crazy, boy? She’s a Stranger!” The Harmony King kicked Chu Qingli hard to vent his annoyance. The boy was basically saying that he wouldn’t mind dying if he could spend a night with the Stranger!

“So what? It’s better to die underneath such beauty than on a deathbed,” Chu Qingli said distractedly, “and I certainly wouldn’t mind shaving decades of my lifespan for this woman…”

“You unfilial son! Why must you anger me so? I’m going to spank your butt in front of everyone!” The Harmony King huffed out and raised his hand as if getting ready to hit Chu Qingli, but the young man paid him no heed whatsoever. Knowing that he couldn’t get through his son’s thick skin, the Harmony King ultimately gave up and returned his attention back to the Age Songstress.

“How do you fight an Age Songstress, Jianglong? Can I shut her song out if I block my ears?” The Harmony King asked.

Hong Jianglong answered while wearing a severe expression, “No. The Age Songstress’ song is really a spiritual curse of sorts. You will hear it even if you seal off your hearing.”

“Dealing with it is quite simple though. You run. Although the Age Songstress is quite terrifying, she only acts within a certain area. If you leave the area, then you’ll be able to escape to safety.”

“Hahaha… that’s good to hear. The boy would not be able to take first place!” The Harmony King guffawed loudly when he heard this. If Ye Qing was forced to circumvent the Age Songstress, the chance that he would be able to surpass his peers became next to nothing.

Unfortunately for him, Ye Qing slapped him in the face in the next second. Instead of running away, the young man chose to take the curse head on and charge toward the Age Songstress.

Every time Ye Qing took a step forward, a new wrinkle would appear on his face. When he was around seventeen meters to the Stranger, his face looked like that of a middle-aged man, and his hair was graying in certain areas. His progress suffered greatly as a result.

“What is he thinking?” A grim-faced Hong Jianlong glared at the screen.

“This is a little too reckless even for Young Ye,” Lei Xiaodan also said seemingly with worry.

The Age Songstress was deadly because her curse was practically unstoppable. Assuming the victim wasn’t bewitched by her song, the best way to deal with it was to run as far away as possible.

It wasn’t impossible to kill her, of course. It just took a tremendous cost. The closer one got to the Age Songstress, the more powerful the curse would become. This meant that the victim would be aging faster as well. Worse still, one wouldn’t regain their lost vitality and lifespan even if they killed the Age Songstress. While they could be replenished with natural treasures in the future, it would threaten one’s martial foundation and cost them a lot of time. It was detrimental to one’s cultivation to say the least.

This was why few people would try to kill an Age Songstress unless they were strong enough to resist her curse. For example, a Grandmaster-stage warrior was completely immune to it.

Ye Qing wasn’t a Grandmaster-stage warrior, however. In fact, he was way weaker than the Age Songstress.

“He must have thought that his body was strong enough to resist the curse! The fool!” Hong Jianglong abruptly rose to his feet with an ugly expression.

“What are you doing, Lord Hong?” An official immediately raised his voice when he saw this. “This is against the rules!”

“Are you the worm in my belly or something? I haven’t done anything yet, and you’re calling me a rulebreaker?” Hong Jianglong glared at the official.

“It’s obvious you want to save that young man, Lord Hong, but according to the rules, no one can interfere with the competition unless something that absolutely requires our intervention occurs. Do you think this counts as one, Lord Hong? Countless participants were injured or killed earlier, but you didn’t lend them a hand, did you?” Another official said sarcastically.

The reason the official had no sympathy for Hong Jianglong whatsoever was because the Pacification Bureau and the Intelligence Department monopolized most of the stars of the Hidden Dragon Meet even though they were supposed to be shared evenly across the imperial court. As if that wasn’t enough, the talents they got were average at best and mediocre at worst. And finally, he loathed Hong Jianglong’s tyrannical methods and double standards.

“Mister Nine and Mister Farseeing are present as well. Why don’t we consult their opinion?” The official gestured in Chu Wangsun and Fang Muyun’s direction.

“The rules must not be broken,” Chu Wangsun looked at Hong Jianglong and said calmly, his tone making it clear that he wouldn’t accept no as an answer.

Fang Muyun stepped up to smooth things over. “Calm down, Lord Jing. Perhaps you misunderstood Lord Hong after all. He is the host of this year’s Hidden Dragon Meet. Why would he smear his own reputation? Right, Lord Hong?”

Hong Jianglong stared coldly at Lord Jing for a moment. Then, he let out a boisterous laugh. “I’m just stretching my limbs a little because I’ve been sitting for too long. That counts as breaking the rules to you, Lord Jing? Your children must hate you with all their fiber then.”

“You—!” Lord Jing’s face turned red with anger. Anyone who wasn’t stupid or blind could see that Hong Jianglong was going to intervene in the competition and save Ye Qing.

“Enough. Jianglong already said he was just stretching. I do that when I’ve been seated for too long, so stop overthinking things and enjoy the show, okay?” The Harmony King also chimed in.

Fang Muyun added with finality, “Sit down, Lord Jing.”

Lord Jing—his full name was Jing Huang—knew that he had lost the fight then. “As you wish, Your Highness, Mister Farseeing,” he said reluctantly. It would be folly to go against the Harmony King’s wishes. If he knew this would happen, he would’ve waited until after Hong Jianglong had taken action. Now, he had to back down and stew in frustration instead. How frustrating!

The argument was over, but Ye Qing’s troubles had just begun. On the screen, Ye Qing was still struggling to get closer to the Age Songstress. Since he entered the ten-meter range, his face and hair would age with every step he took. It was clear that the curse was getting worse.

When he was in the six-meter range, his hair was fully white, his flesh was weak and smelly like an old man’s, and his whole body would shake every time he took a shambling step. He looked like a man in his eighties.

Everyone on the mountain could tell that Ye Qing had reached his limit, but still the young man refused to back down. He continued to walk toward the Age Songstress.

“The stubborn mule! Why is he still pushing forward?!” The Harmony King abruptly slapped the table furiously. Ye Qing was now decades older than even him. He was angry that the young man didn’t appreciate his own life, and even angrier than a genius like Ye Qing was going to lose his life like this. His own petty grievances aside, the loss of Ye Qing wouldn’t undoubtedly be a great loss for Chu.

“I thought that the Qing Emperor Junior is supposed to be wise beyond his age? What the hell is this?” Someone asked in a low tone.

“Yeah, I don’t know what’s going on with him either. Where there's life, there's hope. But if you insist on throwing it away, then no one can help you. At this point, it would be meaningless even if he could reach the top first.”

“As if he could do that in his current state! Look at him! He’s moments away from death. Even if the Age Songstress dies this instant, and nothing else stands in his way, I doubt he’ll be able to reach the peak.”

“Stubborn and foolish, some of the worst possible traits you might find in a man. What a shame.”

Beside Song Xilai, a muscular man carrying a steel ruler on his waist asked, “What do you think, Xilai?”

He was one of the two legendary constables serving in the administration division of Tian Yong, the “Ruler of Justice” Tie Wuying.

Song Xilai replied indifferently, “I’ve never seen Ye Qing in my life[1], but I have heard of his exploits. I don’t think that someone who can see through the Nether Lord’s ploy, foil the Way of Taiping’s conspiracy, and ruin the Mara Buddha’s plan would be a reckless fool.”

Tie Wuying asked, “You’re saying that he still has something up his sleeves?”

Song Xilai nodded. “I believe so.”

Tie Wuying shook his head. “I disagree. He’s become so weak that he has to rely on his Strange Artifacts to push forward. It’s clear that he’s on his last legs. Qing Emperor Junior? He doesn’t deserve his fame!”

It wasn’t just Song Xilai and Tie Wuying. Almost everyone was pointing fingers and commenting on Ye Qing’s final struggle.

“Don’t listen to their nonsense, Brother Hong. I don’t think that Young Ye is a reckless fool either. He must have a plan of sorts,” Lei Xiaodan said to Hong Jianglong because he was afraid that the Pacification Commissioner would try and pull some sort of stunt.

“Do I look like I’m worried? If he wants to die, then it’s his choice!” Hong Jianglong grunted and drained his cup of wine in one gulp.

If someone were to pay close attention to his face, they would notice that he was no longer worried or frustrated. Instead, he looked puzzled.

What is that boy plotting? Hong Jianglong thought while caressing a finger across his cup.

He had allowed his emotion to get the better of him earlier, but he too noticed something off after he calmed down and regained his wits.

One, Ye Qing was anything but reckless and foolish. There was no way he would drive himself into a dead end.

Two, he knew of Ye Qing’s strength more than anyone present. He was already a middle-stage Spirit Purifier prior to entering the Martial Tower, and he was currently cultivating Chen Ah Sheng’s “Chaos Demon Ape Body Tempering Sutra”. His strength was equal to seven dragon elephants, and his vitality and vigor were far, far greater than your common warrior. Even if he assumed that Ye Qing had made no progress in the Martial Tower whatsoever, he shouldn’t be struggling this badly.

And third, he knew that Ye Qing was in possession of a powerful Strange Artifact. However, the young man hadn’t used it even now. Surely he would’ve used it already if he truly was on his last legs?

“Could it be… Heh, that brat…” Suddenly, Hong Jianglong remembered something and broke out in a wry chuckle.

“Have you gone mad, Jianglong?!” The Harmony King noticed the chuckle and blurted, “You’re laughing when Ye Qing is about to die?”

Everyone else was shooting him strange looks as well.

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Hong Jianglong grinned.

Ah, he really has gone mad, everyone thought at the same time when they saw his grin.

“If you really are sick, then you should go visit a doctor, Jianglong. Don’t force yourself,” the Harmony King advised kindly. The reason he said this was simple. He just couldn’t see any chance of Ye Qing turning this around. On the screen, Ye Qing was approaching the two-meter mark, but he had become so old that it was positively horrible to look at. His head was completely bald, his teeth had fallen out of their gums, his flesh looked like a piece of dead wood, and it was a miracle that he was still clinging to life at all.

As if on cue, Ye Qing took another step and stumbled on his feet. He fell on all fours, and he wasn’t able to climb back to his feet.

Still, Ye Qing didn’t give up. He slowly crawled toward the Age Songstress. It was both amusing and pitiful like an ant who was trying to reach the sky.

1. LOL Ye Qing didn’t even register as a blip on his radar during their previous meeting apparently. ☜