Journey to the End of the Night
Chapter 98 - 98 98 Clues

98: Chapter 98: Clues 98: Chapter 98: Clues Lin Yuan walked along, picking up the bodies of her fellow Merfolk clan members.

Meng Zifei and Jin Sheng wanted to help, but she vehemently rejected their offer.

She didn’t want them to be touched by the living anymore.

But the bodies of the Merfolk were far too many, and her two arms alone could not carry them all.

She simply summoned her weapon, and began digging graves, burying them on the spot.

A short distance took the whole group nearly an entire half-night to travel.

Arriving at the dried-up lake, Meng Zifei cried out in surprise upon seeing a few survivors huddled together beneath an ancient tree.

Those few survivors were not the Cultivators who arrived later but the villagers from the Mountain Village, including the Chen siblings.

Initially shocked at how mortals could have survived such a perilous situation, Meng Zifei understood everything when he saw the familiar, huge figure behind the tree.

It was the Heroic Spirit Ghost Tiger…

It was licking the fur on its paws under the tree, looking sleek and impressive.

When it saw Baili An walking in this direction, the tiger’s blood-red eyes suddenly lit up.

Meowing twice, it tucked its tail and trotted over in a cat-like gait, fawning eagerly towards Baili An.

Meng Zifei greatly admired the Yin Tiger he had once kept, ‘Damn it, even trotting with graceful cat steps can look so flattering.’

Holding onto the last shred of hope that the bond between master and servant could be salvaged.

Meng Zifei revealed a warm and kind smile towards the Spirit Ghost Tiger.

But…

The spot he stood in…

seemed to have gotten in its way, obstructing it from rushing into the arms of its beloved master in the shortest time.

Smiles were met with a thumping large paw, ruthlessly sweeping him aside without any trace of sentimentality.

In a dizzy whirl, Meng Zifei’s eyes brimmed with a tear, as he watched the hefty tiger snuggle in Baili An’s arms, its tail whirling madly as if it was about to ascend to the heavens.

Baili An verbally praised, ‘Well done,’ and petted the tiger’s head before tucking it into the Glazed Umbrella.

“Si Chen?” The girl, Chen Xiaolan, covered her mouth in a gasp, joyfully exclaiming, “You’re still alive, that’s wonderful.”

Her elder brother looked at Baili An with a touched expression, “Thank you, Brother Si Chen, for your protection.”

Without Baili An’s command, how could that large tiger have protected them during the chaos of the Demon Beast surge?

Moreover, all these people had spoken on behalf of Baili An before.

Baili An gave them a slight smile, “Now that the evil spirits of the mountains have retreated, but safety outside is still uncertain, the Mountain Realm is now secure.

Everyone can stay here for now, and it’s not too late to return home when everything is stable…”

Mid-sentence, Baili An’s gaze suddenly sharpened, noticing under the tree that the young Disciple from the Wen Yu clan, Qi Yang, was still alive.

But his legs had been gnawed down to the thighs by Demon Beasts, rending him unable to stand, in constant agony against the tree.

Due to the lack of treatment, the wound had begun to fester and stink, and without timely care, it would likely rot and lead to death.

“This shameless wretch, knowing that your White Tiger, Young Brother Si Chen, could protect us, had the audacity to take my sister hostage and managed to have himself saved as well.”

Chen Bao spat contemptuously, then sheepishly added, “But…

after all, this youngster grew up in the same village as us.

Seeing him in such a pitiful state, Brother Si Chen, can you spare his life?”

Baili An glanced at Qi Yang, who dared not meet his eyes.

Baili An observed him intently with a deep gaze and then glanced sideways at Meng Zifei.

Crouching down, he seemed to casually inspect Qi Yang’s injuries, but nobody noticed the Blood Energy circulating at his fingertips.

After a moment,

“I do not kill those without the ability to fight back, but neither will I aid a former enemy.

Jin Sheng, bother yourself to take him out of the Mountain Realm.”

“This…” Chen Bao showed a troubled expression before pleading again, “Qi Yang has been gravely injured, a cripple.

If we leave him in the mountains unattended, he’s unlikely to survive.”

Baili An remained unmoved, “Life itself is extremely difficult, being weak or infirm does not mean innocence.

Wen Yu was his master, and he couldn’t possibly be unaware of their intentions towards the Mountain Realm during their stay.

Brother Chen, have you forgotten?

In order to survive, he even took your sister hostage.

A person can be kind-hearted, but towards someone who has once harmed their family, I advise Brother Chen to be a bit stingier with his kindness.”

“Uh…”

Chen Bao knew further arguing was futile, especially since his sister had been at odds with him for a while already for saving Qi Yang.

Now, after just a few words from that youngster, she was starry-eyed.

If he persisted, his relationship with his sister might reach its end.

“Hypocrite!” Hearing that Baili An had no intention of saving him and even wanted to throw him out of the Mountain Realm, Qi Yang suddenly turned his head, his eyes filled with bitter resentment.

“I never claimed to be good, and furthermore, you, Qi Yang, are no saint yourself.

No need to impose the shackles of morality and kindness on others.”

Baili An gestured for Jin Sheng to hurry and act, tired of hearing any more nonsense.

Jin Sheng, too, was fed up with the man, stretching out his hand and picking him up like grabbing a chicken.

Qi Yang wanted to continue his complaints.

Jin Sheng glared fiercely with a ferocious look in his eyes, intimidating to the core, “I’m not so easygoing!

Make another annoying noise and see if I don’t crush your throat in one go!”

Qi Yang immediately silenced.

“Tch, daring to order Thirteen Swords with such a commanding tone, I’m afraid you’re the only one, Brother Si Chen.”

Meng Zifei said admiringly, suddenly feeling that having his Spirit Ghost Tiger end up in Baili An’s hands wasn’t such a regret after all.

Baili An smiled indifferently, “Don’t forget, he has twelve other brothers and sisters above him.”

Meng Zifei laughed heartily, exchanged a few simple pleasantries with Baili An, and then made his way to the pile of corpses, seemingly searching for his important horsetail whisk and sword.

Lin Yuan was the first to leap into the dried ten-mile lake.

Standing at the bottom, her eyes rimmed red, “Guiyuan, let’s go see the Father of the Mountain.”

Looking fixedly at the dried lake bed with ash-colored eyes, Lin Guiyuan slightly moved his stiff lips.

He gripped the hem of his garment helplessly with both hands, like a lost child unsure of where to go.

Once, the Mountain Realm had fallen.

Even as the Merfolk in the Ten-mile Lake endured humiliation and torture, with companions dying one by one before their eyes, none gave in to live in servitude and revealed the secrets of the lake bed.

Even with heavy casualties among the creatures of the Mountain Realm, Wen Yu and his people never did discover where the Father of the Mountain truly lay.

…

…

In the bloodbath aftermath, amid Demon Beast flesh and bones scattered everywhere, a man’s hand extended through the wide sleeve of a purple robe, slowly reaching out.

Disregarding the blood all around, he carefully turned over the clotted blood, actually managing to find half of Wen Yu’s head and a cold heart.

The man chuckled, found a piece of white cloth to collect the remains as intact as possible, and wrapped them up.