Chapter 117
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Birth of a Newcomer (2)
Rattle! Clack!
The wooden box shuddered.
'He's coming!'
Bee Lord twisted his lips.
He hadn't sensed a thing. No hint that anyone was approaching at all.
Yet the wooden box was rattling.
The queen ant might have mutated, but it was still clearly under the influence of the Blood Demon Ants.
Distance was the issue.
In the old days, the Blood Demon Ants would stir the moment a White Corpse Ant came within ten li. But not at Three Evils Gorge. Even when the bastard was right nearby, they hadn't budged an inch.
That ten-li range had collapsed.
How close had the guy gotten? How near did he have to be to make the Blood Demon Ants react like this?
The problem was that Bee Lord hadn't detected a single sign of presence.
An attack in this state would be a true ambush.
'This guy's the real deal.'
Bee Lord ground his molars together.
When he heard his second disciple had entered Seven Evils Gorge, he'd wondered what kind of fool he'd tangled with to pull such a pathetic stunt. But then it hit him—the second kid only liked the strong ones.
The guy cherry-picked the weirdest bastards for his cleanup crew.
Taken one by one, they were nobodies. But bundled together? Nothing like it in the world. They were bound to become an insanely strong cleanup squad.
The second disciple was calm and cautious.
He wouldn't choose Seven Evils Gorge unless he was truly cornered.
Shadowless Ghost, Vanguard, Four Thousand Four, Nineteen Hells, Murder, the Green Death!
Bee Lord traced back from Shadowless Ghost, landing on the Green Death at the end.
Four Thousand Four sat right in the middle.
It bridged Shadowless Ghost and the Green Death.
Shadowless Ghost had to be Four Thousand Four. How a mere murderer had grown into the immovable Shadowless Ghost was a mystery, but it fit perfectly.
If Four Thousand Four had evolved into Shadowless Ghost, it made sense why even White Corpse Ants froze up.
At any rate, thanks to the Blood Demon Ants, he knew the guy was close.
Step... Step...
He walked on indifferently.
No choice but to keep going until he spotted the guy—or until the guy attacked.
Whoosh!
Something surged up from his chest.
Like boiling passion... His heart pounded twice as fast as usual.
Instinct flared. The opponent had caught on.
No point hiding anymore. He'd sensed the pursuit—would he head for the Heavenly Annihilation Division? No, he'd lure them to another Seven Evils Gorge type spot, just like before.
That wasn't what he wanted.
'He's on par with Sorry-to-Kill-You. No chance with martial arts alone. But to find the Heavenly Annihilation Division...'
For Four Thousand Four, there was no choice.
Bee Lord spotted a man standing by the roadside.
'That’s him!'
A feeling washed over him about the man.
The roadside figure gave off no presence at all. His eyes clearly looked at people, but his senses wouldn't register them. Close your eyes, and you'd never know he was there.
No presence leaking whatsoever—the Shadowless Ghost.
Bee Lord cracked his knuckles.
Crack!
His finger joints popped loose. His whole body filled with vigor. Nothing beat the thrill of a worthy opponent.
"What should I call you?"
Bee Lord asked as he approached the man.
"Everyone calls me Four Thousand Four."
The man's voice was surprisingly soft.
No warrior's edge to it. More like a kindly uncle from next door. Maybe it was the relaxed face? He looked utterly peaceful, like a simple farmer who'd never thrown a punch in his life.
"How about Shadowless Ghost?"
"I don't know any Shadowless Ghost. You must be mistaken for someone else."
"Is that so?"
Bee Lord chuckled.
Sometimes the world calls someone a demon, but the guy himself has no clue. Same for saints or sages—they hear it last.
Nicknames worked that way for martial artists.
People toss around this and that until one sticks.
That became the moniker.
For Four Thousand Four, it had been Four Thousand Four. Now Shadowless Ghost was tagging along.
Four Thousand Four or Shadowless Ghost.
The world would pick one. And Four Thousand Four would only learn what stuck after everyone settled on it.
Right now, Shadowless Ghost sounded foreign to him.
"Feels like you were waiting for me."
"I'm looking for an old man."
"Do I look like a missing persons expert?"
"I want to go to the Heavenly Annihilation Division."
"To the Heavenly Annihilation Division?"
Bee Lord's eyes gleamed.
First time anyone had stated it so bluntly.
The Heavenly Annihilation Division wasn't a playground. Even a Shadowless Ghost couldn't guarantee survival there. No martial artist with enemies in the Central Plains would dare say it aloud.
"Mind if I tag along?"
"Not at all. But..."
Bee Lord trailed off at "but," and Four Thousand Four flipped his sword hilt-first.
Meaning: do what you want.
"Hilarious."
Bee Lord smirked as he closed in.
The guy stood utterly defenseless, casual as could be, while Bee Lord raised a finger.
"I'm about to seal you now. You sure?"
"Go ahead."
Four Thousand Four closed his eyes.
Bee Lord asked no more. He snapped out qi-infused fingers.
Thud!
First strike bent Four Thousand Four at the waist.
Thud! Thud-thud! Thud!
Fingers stabbed like iron skewers, pummeling flesh.
Four Thousand Four took the acupoint strikes without resistance.
Bee Lord unleashed over three hundred finger strikes.
One thing he wanted to check first.
Bee Lord pulled out the Blood Demon Robe and set it before Four Thousand Four. He flung open the wooden box lid.
During the strikes, he'd seen... White Corpse Ants swarming inside Four Thousand Four's body. The queen ant still lurked within, and the White Corpse Ants still followed her.
What about the Blood Demon Ants' reaction?
These Blood Demon Ants specialized in Four Thousand Four's White Corpse Ants. They'd charge like they'd spotted blood enemies.
The Blood Demon Ants didn't emerge.
White Corpse Ants right there, inches away—and not a twitch.
"Definitely mutated."
Bee Lord eyed Four Thousand Four strangely.
He itched to slice open a meridian. Cut the throat and yank out the hiding queen ant.
How had the queen mutated?
Fine, the queen aside... Why no reaction to the ants outside the body?
This time he grabbed a White Corpse Ant and tossed it into the Blood Demon Ants.
The ant seemed flustered inside. But it calmly trampled the Blood Demon Ants' backs, crawled out, and headed straight for Four Thousand Four.
The Blood Demon Ants ignored the White Corpse Ant.
"Useless now, huh?"
Bee Lord chuckled incredulously at the wooden box.
One unverified thing remained. What happened if Four Thousand Four died? Before, he'd starve the ants to death with him. Now?
The Blood Demon Ants were the sole proof Four Thousand Four lived.
They lived, so he lived. That's why Bee Lord came himself.
If things stood like this, he'd chased a false lead. Though the outcome was the same. No—if he hadn't trusted the robe, he might never have caught Four Thousand Four.
"What the hell did you do to them?"
Bee Lord held up a White Corpse Ant.
"Those things were a real pain... Stuck like glue no matter how I peeled them off. What kind of ants like human flesh? If you can, mind helping me scrape these off?"
Four Thousand Four nodded at his own body.
He couldn't move. Arms frozen, couldn't even stand. His whole body rigid.
Bee Lord's acupoint strikes had turned him into a standing corpse.
"Can't help you there. That's just what they are. Heh!"
Bee Lord dropped the White Corpse Ant. It scurried right back onto Four Thousand Four. As Bee Lord said—even he couldn't control them.
Bee Lord spoke slowly.
"We'll head out soon. Called a carriage, so the ride'll be comfy."
"By the way, who are you?"
"Does it matter when you can't twitch a muscle?"
"Not really."
"I'm Bee Lord."
But Four Thousand Four knew nothing of the Heavenly Annihilation Division's structure. No clue what rank Bee Lord held. So he stayed calm even after hearing the name.
"I see."
"Not surprised, huh."
"Should I be?"
"Not necessarily."
"I don't know what Bee Lord does. But you feel way stronger than Vanguard, so probably higher up."
"I see."
Bee Lord nodded.
Anyone who knew the Heavenly Annihilation Division even a little knew of the Little Bees. And Bee Lord. They might not know who Bee Lord was, but they knew he led the Little Bees.
One of the Heavenly Annihilation Division's Eight Elites.
Fourth in rank, known to Central Plains martial artists as the "Death Sword." The Heavenly Annihilation Death Sword moniker pointed straight to him.
And Four Thousand Four stayed chill hearing all that.
Clop! Clop! Clop!
A four-horse carriage pulled up.
Black cloth draped the door. Most blocked outside views in—but this one blocked the inside view out, nailed shut.
Bee Lord grabbed Four Thousand Four and shoved him into the carriage.
"Where to?"
"Little Bees."
"Yes, sir!"
The driver was so tense he barely breathed.
"You know the Green Death?"
Bee Lord asked from inside.
"No."
"Hm. Fair enough. Then who in the Heavenly Annihilation Division are you after? Gotta have a name."
"Don't know the name."
"Not even the name?"
"Just called him 'old man.'"
"Old man? Hahaha! Ahahahaha!"
Bee Lord shook with laughter, then cut it off sharp.
"We call that old man the Green Death."
"Really? He's famous?"
"You keep asking weird stuff. The one who should know best knows the least. Famous? Damn right. The biggest mass murderer in the Central Plains—how could he not be?"
Pfft!
Four Thousand Four laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"The old man might've killed plenty, but he's not famous. Never will be. Heh! He taught me how to stay unknown."
"Then you learned wrong. He's famous, you're famous—Green Death, Four Thousand Four, Shadowless Ghost."
Bee Lord waggled an index finger.
"You've become a thorn wedged deep under my nail."