Chapter 156: Chapter 121 Storage_2
The man, upon hearing a voice drifting through the night sky that carried a youthful energy, yet the words themselves were as hard as iron, conveying an undeniable authority.
He glanced at the arrow embedded in the tree, shot from some five to six hundred yards away. It had pierced the trunk cleanly, buried to its fletching, a clear testament to the terrifying force behind it.
Perhaps it was fear of the power within that arrow, or maybe it was for some other reason.
The man truly stood his ground.
Slowly, he turned around and looked towards the young archer perched atop a tree hundreds of yards away and began to speak.
"It’s truly surprising that you’ve acquired such skill."
Chen Ku, with his Golden Eyes, watched the man who had turned to face him.
The man stood with his back to the Dragon River, its roaring waters crashing against the bank behind him. This backdrop made him seem quite extraordinary. Despite the night and the great distance, Chen Ku could still make out his features clearly.
"Are you really my elder brother?"
Even though he only had the memory of his face, seeing this identical one, he couldn’t possibly mistake it.
However, Chen Ku didn’t rush forward to acknowledge him immediately, but instead subconsciously focused on the way the other spoke.
"Did you use Sound Transmission into Secret just now when you spoke?"
He himself could project his voice over several hundred yards only because his Inner Qi had reached Great Perfection; a Martial Practitioner with sufficient Qi naturally had a powerful voice capable of traveling great distances. But the way the other had spoken just then was similar to the Sound Transmission into Secret technique demonstrated by his master, Yang Luochen. This was a Martial Arts technique that could only be performed by someone at least at the Mystic Barrier Realm.
Chen Ku, with his Golden Eyes, scrutinized the man’s facial expressions, waiting for a response, his Bow and Arrow still not lowered.
The man he was observing bore a slight resemblance to him, though he appeared more mature. He was now looking at Chen Ku.
The man, his face weathered, spoke softly, "The world does not consist solely of the Martial Path. Baojiao County is too small, Qiu Dragon Mansion is not much larger, and Ji Country is just one of many feudal states in the world."
Chen Ku slightly raised his eyebrows.
I just want to know if he used Sound Transmission into Secret. Why is he talking about all this? Is he trying to tell me that what he learned isn’t Martial Arts?
After a short silence, he changed his question, "It’s the New Year. Since you’re back, why not go in and let everyone know you’re safe? At least let the family know whether you’re dead or alive."
The man said, "Baojiao County is not a place to stay for long. If possible, it’s best to leave early and go further away—to Qiu Dragon Mansion, You State, or elsewhere."
Chen Ku frowned. He felt that there was a lot of information in that statement.
"I originally planned to take you all to my place," the man continued after a moment of silence, speaking slowly. "But now, irrespective of whether you’d agree, it’s safer for the family to stay by your side. My body won’t hold up much longer after the running earlier. The things I intended to bring home are left here; consider it a small gesture from your brother."
Huh?
Upon hearing this, Chen Ku instinctively wanted to ask further. But then, watching the man, his pupils slightly narrowed.
"What?"
Just then, the man standing by the edge of the Dragon River, after uttering those words, began to dissipate on the spot, eventually transforming into a small Paper Man and a little cloth bag that fell to the ground.
Chen Ku watched this scene from afar, his eyes wide with disbelief. Although he had grown accustomed to his own ability to transform objects after mastering the Transformation Diagram, this was the first time he had ever seen someone else turn into a Paper Man...
Chen Ku frowned, looking at the Paper Man on the ground, full of hesitation. He pondered in place for a long while. In the end, he cautiously made his way towards it.
Chen Ku quickly covered the intervening few hundred yards and soon arrived at the spot where the man had disappeared. Slightly bending over, he saw only a yellow Paper Man left on the ground, with a leather bag beside it. The yellow Paper Man had a crudely drawn nose and eyes, no different from the small paper effigies cut out in rural villages during funerals to accompany the deceased in their graves.
Chen Ku furrowed his brow and muttered to himself, "A Paper Man clone?"
No wonder I couldn’t detect a scent from him on the way here. This seems to be a cultivation system completely distinct from the Martial Path.
In fact, while Chen Ku’s knowledge of this vast world was limited, he did possess some basic understanding. For instance, he had learned a few things when the Demon People from the Peace Path appeared in Baojiao County using Talisman Paper. Namely, that this world didn’t only have Martial Practitioners cultivating the Martial Path; other methods of cultivation also existed.
But because the Daji Dynasty had established its nation through martial prowess, they had implemented an isolationist policy of "exalting martial arts alone, dismissing all other schools," placing all other kinds of cultivation and arts under the categories of Sorcery and Demon Art. For this, they even launched a thirty-year "Eradication of Arts Movement" at the founding of the nation, nearly sweeping clean the various minor and major Evil Skills and Demon Art sects within the realm. Although some remained, they were mere remnants, shunned like rats in a gutter the moment they showed their heads.
Thus, when the Peace Path first appeared in Baojiao County, they were labeled "Demon People."
But even the Peace Path merely involved drawing on Talisman Paper. Chen Ku had reviewed their doctrines and the Peace Talisman Method; it was nothing more than drawing upon ambient Spirit from the void, or using one’s own Spirit for Drawing Talismans.
Paper Man clone!
At least, from Ling’s memories and what she had learned, the Peace Path possessed no such techniques.
Connecting this to what Chen Xin had just said—"The world doesn’t just have Martial Arts as a path; Ji Country is just one of the many feudal states under heaven"—Chen Ku vaguely guessed: It seems my elder brother might have joined some sect in Yuan Country.
Ji Country eradicated such arts, but Yuan Country did not. Thus, some spells rare in Ji Country were not forbidden in Yuan Country. The Fire Beak Pot, a Fourteenth Realm Magical Treasure from Yuan Country, seemed to be evidence of this.
Chen Ku gently exhaled.
Whether there were other paths besides the Martial Path and Magic, which one was superior, or why Ji Country enforced its Forbidden Techniques—none of this concerned him. Overthinking it was pointless. He was only concerned with the matters at hand.
What is Chen Xin doing in Yuan Country? What is his status? What did he mean by "Baojiao County is no place to stay for long"? Could it be that the two countries are going to war? Or is it because of the ’Hero King Treasure’?
Chen Ku seemed to only be able to connect it to these things. Surely it can’t be some World-Surpassing Demon intending to refine all hundred thousand households of Baojiao County into the Honored Soul Banner.
He shook his head. Regardless, that statement must have been Chen Xin’s most crucial reminder to him and his family, and it planted a seed of unease in his heart.
Then, he finally turned his attention to the leather bag beside the Paper Man.
Something he left for me?
Out of curiosity, Chen Ku reached for the leather bag. It was tied with a small string, which he gently pulled open, peering into the mouth of the bag... He saw that inside the bag was pitch black; even his Night Vision couldn’t penetrate the darkness.
An idea struck him. Could it be...?
He instinctively turned the mouth of the bag upside down, crouching on the ground, and gently shook it towards the earth.
CLATTER! RATTLE!
A cacophony of clangs and jingles erupted as an assortment of items fell from the small mouth of the bag, enough to cover a bed.
"A Storage Bag!"
Chen Ku, looking at the items that had tumbled from the leather bag, didn’t immediately inspect them. Instead, he stared delightedly at the bag in his hands.
"This... my elder brother actually gave me a Storage Bag!"