Eighty-six

When Commander Wang reported the matter of the lava frogs to the capital base, it caused a considerable uproar in the government. One faction, led by Commissioner Jin, believed that the Third Base should surrender all the lava frogs without compensation, leaving them in the government’s custody for the sake of stability across the nation’s bases. Another faction argued that, even if they were not handed over in full, at the very least a free quota should be provided to the capital base, and half the rental income should be taken as tax to support government work.

In truth, the two sides were essentially saying the same thing: Ye Yu, you have no right to hoard such a heaven-defying treasure. How dare you keep it secret without reporting it or paying tribute? Could it be that you are trying to foment division?

Ye Yu had long since been displeased with the capital base because of Commissioner Jin’s affair. Now that her power was firmly established, she paid no heed at all to the government’s order that she supply the lava frogs. With a few casual words, she shifted all responsibility elsewhere and deflected the matter entirely.

The capital base had no choice but to dispatch an official famed for his sharp tongue and hard methods to negotiate with the Third Base.

Not only did Ye Yu treat this imperial envoy with utter contempt, as though she might as well have written the words “get the hell out” across her face, she did not even invite him to drink or entertain himself. Every day he was sent to eat in the government cafeteria, and from time to time she would deliberately find ways to make life unpleasant for him, so that the official grew so furious he nearly leaped skyward, shouting that he would return and show her what for.

What, you want to show me what for?

Well then, that is intolerable!

Ye Yu did not hesitate in the slightest. She immediately drew a pistol and shot him dead, then had someone send off a rather insincere telegram before tossing the matter aside and never touching it again.

Unexpectedly, the capital base gave no response at all. No one knew whether they were stunned speechless or angered into silence; in any case, there was no movement whatsoever, only an eerie calm. Yet anyone with eyes could see that Ye Yu had thoroughly offended the capital base, and that this was nothing more than the calm before the storm.

After Ye Yin had remained trapped at the bottleneck for several dozen days, she sensed that a breakthrough was close at hand and so took an extended leave to go to the house atop Rock Valley Mountain and prepare for the assault into the next stage.

“While I’m away, please take care of Hua Hua for me,” Ye Yin said to Pi.

By now Pi was the sisters’ nominal paternal uncle and, as a matter of course, had brought his pair of children, also puppets of course and assisting him in his work, to live in the house on Evergreen Street. As a master is judged by the apprentices beneath him, Pi soon turned those two little puppets into exceedingly capable and shrewd helpers. Together, the three of them usually looked after Ye Hua, and could also handle household chores, receive guests, and entertain visitors with consummate skill. They were practically a one-hundred-million-strong housekeeping team, saving Ye Yin a great deal of trouble.

Pi laughed so hard his whole body shook. “You are my master. Giving orders is only proper. Why be so courteous?”

“All right, then.” Ye Yin put on a fierce expression. “Before I emerge, if not a single hair on Hua Hua’s head is missing, you need not remain alive either.”

“Yes, Master.” Pi bowed respectfully, his face obedient and compliant.

Ye Yin could not help rolling her eyes.

Because of the meticulous care of the plum-blossom puppets, the residence atop Rock Valley Mountain looked no different from when she had left. It remained as beautiful as ever, clean and orderly, only missing that pale figure.

“Master, Master!” one of the little plum-blossom girls said cheerfully to Ye Yin. “A few days ago, Lord Xi came by and said that if Master is to advance, you must be sure to go to the new underground chamber he has opened. It is safer there, and whatever happens will not be felt outside.”

Ye Yin patted the girl’s head. “All right. Thank you for the message.”

The little girls bounced about, quickly putting away everything that needed to be tidied. Two of them held candlesticks and led Ye Yin into the underground chamber Xi Yu had mentioned.

It was an unremarkable underground room, drab and gray, like the temporary lodgings cheaply rented to newly hired office workers. It contained nothing at all and was pitiably small, perhaps not even reaching twenty square meters.

“You may go up now. There is nothing more to do.”

“Wishing Master success!” the girls said in unison.

“Thank you.”

When the last little girl vanished from sight, Ye Yin softly shut the underground door and sat down cross-legged.

With her eyes open, all she saw was a dim and narrow basement. But once she closed them, the world around her changed abruptly; she seemed to be standing in a vast grassland. A refreshing long wind, the faintly astringent fragrance of grass, and all distracting thoughts in her heart vanished at once.

Ye Yin swallowed the pills she had prepared in advance, took out a dagger and slowly cut through the tendons in both feet, then recited the incantation and entered the state of a breakthrough.

The passage from Spirit Shaman to Earth Shaman was a true qualitative transformation, and an arduous one. It had been mentioned before that the bodies of the shaman tribe were exceptionally formidable; steel and blades were merely beginner-level trifles. By the time one reached the middle stage, namely Earth Shaman, there was probably nothing left that could injure Ye Yin’s body except for the so-called mistletoe.

Earth Shaman was the crucial stage in which a shaman’s combat power was raised. The later Long Shaman and Great Shaman were, in essence, merely changes in the form of life, bringing no great improvement in battle strength. At the same time, Earth Shaman was also the watershed that distinguished the shaman tribe from those who cultivated the Buddhist and Daoist paths. Innate and flawless comprehension of techniques and moves, a body impervious to magical treasures and spiritual weapons, godlike command and use of the five elements, mountains and rivers—how many people would be driven green with envy by that?

In the end, after all was said and done, the value of that tome of Great Shaman Secret Arts had finally come to be truly realized.

A tide of agony crashed over her. Her consciousness grew gradually blurry. Her skin began to crack and rot, as though it were dissolving into fetid mud, until bone was exposed, and then even the bones withered like dead branches...

The grassland vanished, and she was met by the sea.

Her entire being sank into a muddled knot, like a fetus in its mother’s womb, falling toward the depths of the ocean, where boundless darkness and terror awaited, the beginning and end of all life...

On Rock Valley Mountain, the sun rose and the moon set as always. In the silent house, the plum-blossom puppets rested their chins in their hands and gazed up at the sky, without joy or sorrow. Plum petals drifted down in profusion, sweeping the ground clean only for more to fall.

“Is the master still inside?”

“She is still in there!”

“For so long!”

“Yes!”

...

One month later.

Ye Hua stared blankly at the deep red roses in the crystal vase on the coffee table and asked Pi, “Who sent these...?”

“A young man in military uniform.” Pi smiled broadly. “You were napping at the time, and he seemed to have come by on the way, with no intention of staying long. So I let you continue sleeping.”

“Oh, was it Brother Zhuo?” Ye Hua smiled. “So these were for my sister.”

“No, these were for you.” Pi pointed to the large, stream-shaped crystal vase in the corner of the living room. “That one is for the master.”

It held a huge bouquet of birds-of-paradise, blooming with reckless brilliance, their colors intense and their posture extraordinary. Crowded together in layers, they pressed heavily against the vase and the room itself, as though they meant to ignite first and then warm the heart of the one who received them.

“It seems humans like to give flowers all sorts of special meanings,” Pi said. “Does Hua Hua know the language of these flowers?”

“No.” Ye Hua shook her head, then smiled. “But that feeling will surely be conveyed to my sister in full.”

“Come to think of it, the master has truly been in there a long time,” Pi mused. “The commander’s people have sent for her many times now. It is almost impossible to keep up appearances...”

“Could something have happened to Sister?”

“No, don’t worry.” Pi patted Ye Hua’s head, which was tense with anxiety. “The master has good fortune. Nothing will happen to her.”

And yet Pi was soon proved wrong by his own words.

The next day, Xi Yu brought Ye Yin back to the house on Evergreen Street, his expression somewhat strained.

Ye Yin was wrapped up like a mummy, to the point that even Ye Hua could not recognize her. When Xi Yu gently tore away the bandages around Ye Yin, Pi and Ye Hua were both horrified out of their wits.

The appearance of severe burns, a skeleton faintly visible beneath, a face distorted beyond further distortion, blood and pus... The pitiful and dreadful sight made tears burst from Ye Hua’s eyes. She tried to rush forward but was stopped by Pi, and cried until she could barely breathe.

Pi quickly used a spell to stabilize Ye Hua’s emotions, then cast a soul-soothing incantation to lull her into sleep. After carrying Ye Hua to bed and settling her, he asked Xi Yu uneasily, “My master... she isn’t dead, is she...?”

“No.” Xi Yu said calmly. “Although I do not fully understand what happened either, she is still alive.”

“Mm...” Pi looked at Ye Yin and thought that being alive like this was worse than death.

“In a few days I will come see her again. Take good care of your master,” Xi Yu said indifferently. “Even if her cultivation is completely lost, she is still your master. If she dies, it will do you no good.”

“Rest assured.” Pi smiled in a thoroughly irritating way. “From the very beginning, I was never after her cultivation.”

After Ye Hua awoke, she cried bitterly for a long time. In the end, she still forced herself to swallow her grief and took care of Ye Yin with utmost devotion. She gave her water, turned her over, changed her bandages, and stubbornly used her power to maintain the signs of life in her body. Even when sleeping, she had to lie at the bedside, and Pi could not persuade her away no matter what he said.

A few days after Xi Yu left, he came again. He said nothing, only left some pills for Ye Hua to dissolve in water and feed to Ye Yin. Master Yuan also came to examine her several times, and every time he merely pressed his lips together and said nothing, making it impossible to tell whether the outcome was auspicious or ominous.

“Master, is there still a chance for Sister to improve?”

“How strange, how strange...” Master Yuan pondered for a while, his tone highly uncertain. “I have never seen such a situation before, so I cannot say for sure. But do not worry too much. She will not die in the immediate future.”

After Master Yuan left, Ye Hua took some of the bird-of-paradise flowers from the living room and placed them in the vase at Ye Yin’s bedside. Hugging her knees, she buried her face in the crook of her arm and said nothing.

“Hua Hua should go back to her room and sleep. Looking at the master like this for too long will give you nightmares.”

“No, it won’t.” Ye Hua lost her temper. “She is my sister. No matter what she becomes.”

“Oh, are you angry?” Pi crouched down gently. “I’m sorry.”

Ye Hua shook her head, and tears nearly fell again. “It’s because I’m too useless that I took my resentment out on you, Pi. I’m sorry...”

“You silly little thing. No need to apologize.” Pi glanced at Ye Yin. “Things may not be as bad as we imagine.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well... how should I put it? A beast’s instinct, perhaps.” Pi smiled with a distinctly sinister charm. “The master’s aura and power are increasing day by day, doubling and redoubling. The momentum is rather terrifying.”

Author’s note: Don’t worry, everyone. I’m not going to torture little Ye at this critical moment~~