Stranger Danger

The Purple King Yan was a purple flower that gave off a faint mist that was sweet-scented and purple-colored. Those who smelled it would fall into a hypnagogic[1] state and forget all about their worries.

But of course, this wasn’t why the Purple King Yan was called the Purple King Yan. It was because those who saw it would suffer all sorts of unusual nightmares when they went to sleep at night. The nightmare was endless, and the dreamer was tormented until they died.

Anyone below Trueman or Grandmaster was dead as soon as they saw the Purple King Yan. It was because they would have smelled the mist from this distance. Even a Trueman and Grandmaster might not avoid this gruesome fate if they weren’t careful.

To run into the flower was like encountering King Yan himself. Death was the only outcome. That was why it was called the Purple King Yan.

There was a silver lining though. The Purple King Yan was extremely rare, and it only grew within a huge swamp deep within the mountains. Therefore, it wasn’t as harmful as it could have been.

“Hold this in your mouth.” Ye Qing handed Wan Dusheng a pill. “Do not swallow it.”

“The pollen of Clear Sky Flower, Luozhi grass, foxglove, rice-paper plant, and hyacinth juice?”

Wan Dusheng gave the pill a sniff before exclaiming in shock, “A good number of the ingredients of this pill are deadly poisonous. What on earth is this, young master?”

“It’s called the Fifth Watch Survivor,” Ye Qing answered while feeling quite impressed. As expected of someone formerly called the King of All Poisons, Wan Dusheng was able to guess most of the pill’s ingredients just by sniffing it. “I have a friend who created an antidote that specifically counteracted the Purple King Yan. ‘King Yan wants you dead by the third watch, but I will keep you alive until the fifth.’ That is the description of this pill, and why it was named the ‘Fifth Watch Survivor’.”

“Whoever made this pill must be a master of medicine. To combine so many deadly poisons together and have them counteract each other without producing any harmful effects is just incredible!” Wan Dusheng praised.

“Save the praise for when you meet her later.” Ye Qing smiled. “Now come on.”

Ye Qing placed the pill inside his mouth and took the lead.

The entrance of the valley was incredibly narrow, and both sides of the walls were completely covered in Purple King Yan. The spectacle of countless Purple Yan swaying to the wind was certainly something.

After they traveled about a hundred meters or so, the road abruptly widened into a vast clearing. Here, countless people could be seen building houses, carrying items, or patrolling the area. Although they were all busy, everyone was wearing a happy and hopeful smile on their face.

“Warrior Ye!”

“Warrior Ye…” Some of the people nearby recognized him and walked up to him immediately.

“Mm. I’ve only been gone for a few months, and you guys have made quite the improvement to this place,” Ye Qing complimented them while admiring the valley.

The valley was one of the hiding spots he and Feng Qingyou had chosen for Meng Feixue after escaping the Vile Water. This valley was shaped like a calabash in the sense that the entrance was small, but the interior was vast. It had its own natural water source—a mountain lake to be exact—and the entrance was guarded by the Purple King Yan. It was a perfect place to live with a natural barrier to boot.

The Purple King Yan was extremely dangerous, but it was nothing to Feng Qingyou. After just several days of research, she successfully created an antidote that could neutralize its toxin. And so this valley became a shelter for some of the citizens of the Nanjiang Royal Court.

There were several more places like this scattered throughout the area. Some were shelters for the people to live, some were training grounds, some were plantations, some were smithing grounds and more.

Although this valley was big enough to fit everyone, Feng Qingyou and Meng Feixue decided to separate them after due consideration. It was easier to manage the people if they were all gathered in one place, but if the Chu army or other enemies discovered them, then there was a huge chance that they would be destroyed in one fell swoop.

On the other hand, separating them would make management harder, but if one location was hit, the other locations would still be safe. It would maximize their security.

Feng Qingyou and Meng Feixue had selected a number of shelters, though the valley guarded by Purple King Yan was the biggest and most excellent. It also boasted the most number of citizens out of all the shelters. Feng Qingyou spent more time here than elsewhere.

That said, when Ye Qing had left this valley, it was still a jungle with no signs of human activity anywhere. To think that it had transformed into such a commendable town in just a matter of months. It was like a hidden slice of paradise.

Of course, he had been gone for over three months. It made sense that things would be much different then and now. Still, Ye Qing could not help but be surprised by this.

“It’s all thanks to the princess and Miss Feng,” One man answered with deep gratitude and respect for the two women.

“Where are they?” Ye Qing asked smilingly.

A guard answered, “The princess left on some business. Miss Feng is residing in the Nanjiang Palace. I’ll take you there right away!”

“Nanjiang Palace?” Ye Qing asked curiously. Since when was there a Nanjiang Palace?

“Right. The Nanjiang Palace is a temporary royal palace made for the princess. Although the Nanjiang Royal Court is gone, a country must have a ruler, just like a ruler must have a palace. Therefore, the princess ordered us to build the Nanjiang Palace after you left. It is the center of our governmental affairs and other businesses.”

Ye Qing would ask the guard about a couple more matters until they finally arrived at the Nanjiang Palace. To be honest though, it looked far more like a bigger pavilion than a palace. It was quite shabby-looking as well. Forget the likes of the Peaceful Nanjiang Palace or the Sky Mending Palace, it couldn’t even compare to a high-class restaurant or inn.

That said, the palace looked majestic and solemn despite its shabby design. The dozens of Malevolent tribesmen patrolling the area added some steel to its atmosphere as well.

Considering that they only had three months to work on the building, it was quite impressive already.

The guard bade him goodbye after leading him to the Nanjiang Palace. Since the Malevolent tribesmen recognized him, they only performed a perfunctory inspection before taking him to Feng Qingyou.

“We have only just begun to build our order, and we cannot afford to be challenged at this time. Zheng Rong, tell the men that anyone who creates a disturbance or resists orders during this time is to be killed immediately!”

“As you command!”

“Hunting Strangers and foraging wild fruits cannot be a long-term solution to our food problems. To have enough food, we must find a suitable place to grow them. Zheng Shan, I leave this to you. I expect you to complete this mission in three days.”

“As you command!”

“Qian Hun, I want you to scout out and create a map of everything within five hundred kilometers of this valley. I want to know the geography, the terrain, the location of the Strangers etc, everything. Report back to me when you have the map!”

“As you command!”

……

When Ye Qing entered the palace, he immediately saw Feng Qingyou issuing orders to the men and conducting all sorts of government affairs with a solemn and dignified expression. She looked untouchable and unapproachable right now.

Instead of disturbing her, he went to a corner of the palace and took a seat, waiting. The wait would last over two hours. During this time, Feng Qingyou would go through dozens of affairs, big or small, and somehow create order out of the pile of absolute mess one called work in front of her.

By the time she was done, the sky outside the palace had already turned dark. Feng Qingyou was rubbing her forehead with a fatigued expression as well.

1. Meaning half-asleep, half-awake. ☜

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