Plundering Treasures
But now… the leader of the alliance was actually one of them?
“Shh…” Qin Huai signaled for silence, putting a finger to his lips.
Fang Tiezheng’s face lit up in understanding. “My lord, feel free to ask anything you need!” He was confident. If the alliance leader was on their side, then there was nothing to fear in Qingzhou. This land was like a playground for the Sacred Heart Sect.
“Where did the demons go?” Qin Huai asked again. His face hardened as he mentioned his long-standing grudge against the Tang family. “They targeted me relentlessly once, so I can’t let that go unanswered.”
“Those demons have all gone to heaven,” Fang Tiezheng replied.
“Heaven?” Qin Huai queried, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes, literally to the sky. Four nights ago, they all flew up. The higher-ups ordered a citywide curfew that night in Qingzhou. But we had to relieve ourselves, and oddly enough, we prefer doing it under a tree.” Fang Tiezheng and his companion bashfully admitted. “So, I sneaked out and unexpectedly witnessed the spectacle. Even though it was dark, and I couldn’t see where they went, I’m pretty sure they ‘ascended’ to the blood sea.”
“The blood sea?” Qin Huai looked up at the expansive, ominous sea of blood, his face unreadable. What could they possibly be doing there? He then turned again to the two men in front of him, their eyes eager. “Anything else you can tell me?”
“Well…” Both Fang Tiezheng and his companion exchanged puzzled looks. They were beginning to doubt if the alliance leader really was one of them. Why was he so clueless?
Noticing their confusion, Qin Huai gave a wry smile. “Then let’s change how we talk.” He then produced a needle and thread from his pocket, along with several poison kits he had looted from unattended medicine shops amidst the city’s chaos.
Deep in the forest, Qin Huai stuffed cloth strips into their mouths. A long, intense ‘conversation’ ensued. Eventually, he stood up, looking at the two now lifeless bodies on the ground. They had reiterated that the demons had indeed flown into the sky.
“What’s above the blood sea? What could be so beneficial there… The Tang family wouldn’t abandon Qingzhou, their base for thousands of years, without good reason,” he mused aloud.
Though he couldn’t decipher what deal the Sacred Heart Sect had made with the demons, he had learned something valuable.
“The blood heart technique I practice could be incredibly useful in Qingzhou, which is currently under the Sacred Heart Sect’s control.” He then hurried towards the Tang family’s home.
Reaching the Tang family’s residence, he pricked his finger and sent a blood-red wolf-tiger creature over the wall to scout the premises. After a period of silence, he followed suit, jumping over the walls and following the creature’s trail.
The house was empty, but the golden pillars and colorful glass gave off an eerie glow in the sunlight, creating an almost fantastical scene. Upon reaching the main hall, Qin Huai noticed a pure white chair made of bones, intricately carved with complex patterns. His brow furrowed as he stepped closer to inspect it. “This is the work of a bone pattern realm expert, and even a visceral prefecture realm expert… They were all killed by the demons and turned into furniture and tea bowls,” said Qin Huai, observing his surroundings filled with items crafted from experts’ bodies.
He noticed a unique furnace, crafted from a human skull, still burning with a particular type of coal. Eerie flames spouted from its eye and nose sockets, like a vengeful spirit from hell. On the wall, there was a string of blood beads, made from organs and possessing a significant power — it was a ruined artifact.
He then walked into the study and looked over the numerous books on the shelves. His eyes eventually landed on a fresh copy of the “Eastern Qingzhou Shepherd’s Book.”
“In the third year of Chengping, during the Great Grazing Competition, Xinglong, Xingfeng, and Xingwu used the ten prefectures of East Qingzhou as their ranches,” he read. His hands trembled as he realized that the demons in Lingjiang were the result of these actions.
“The demons made humans their food and toys for thousands of years,” Qin Huai mumbled, anger stirring within him. “How can I ever find peace in this world if I don’t kill all the demons?”
He tightened his grip on the Eastern Qingzhou Shepherd’s Book, looking at the bookshelves. They displayed records of the various atrocities committed by the demons throughout the years in Qingzhou, causing widespread suffering and displacement. action
“And the demons recorded all these horrendous acts without remorse,” he noted, mentally quoting an old saying, “Those who are not of our kind surely bear different hearts.”
After resting for a bit, he carefully put all the books back where they belonged, then left the room, making sure to leave no trace behind.
His search of the Tang family’s residence didn’t yield any useful treasures, but he found plenty of gold, silver, and other valuable items.
Looking at the treasure in the basement, worth at least tens of millions of gold taels, Qin Huai decided to take it. He kept all of it in his bronze diagram, a unique storage artifact that can hold anything non-living, similar to the storage rings of his previous world’s fantasy novels. But, they were much more precious here.
Suddenly, he felt the weight of all the stored treasure on his body. That was a downside of his storage artifact. Even though it provided a vast space, it added the weight of the stored items to his body. Thankfully, his physical strength was beyond ordinary, allowing him to bear the burden without being crushed.
His hair turned white as he powered through the added weight, walking as if he were on flat ground. After securing the treasure, the Qingzhou Alliance and the ten counties of East Qingzhou wouldn’t face financial issues for a while.
“Perhaps… I could make a flying artifact?” Qin Huai pondered. With Old Master Tong’s methods and his team of treasured weapon masters, it might be possible.