Chapter 397 “Refining the Dark Matters”
“Grandpa, are you able to recall when you began feeling sick?” Due to the frailness of the elder, Ling Yue can see she can’t ask too many questions right now.
“Your ladyship, I am not sick. This year I am sixty-three with a sturdy body. The only thing I remember before becoming so muddled is around three days ago when I went to gather some wild vegetables.” Despite his weak mind, Uncle Wang attempts to remember back to the beginning.
According to the information given, the elder was a lonely old man living in this herdsmen village. He does have a pair of children, sadly the son was killed by one of the animal raids several years ago. As for his daughter, the girl’s been married off into the inland, leaving only him alone here. In order to survive, he can only rely on the goodwill of his fellow villagers and the abundance of wild vegetables nearby.
“Wild vegetables? Are you saying you ate some poisonous greens?” Ling Yue was rather puzzled by the information. Based on her assessment, there are no signs of poisoning within the elder’s body.
“It can’t be that, the men and women of our village have always eaten the wild vegetables here. Grandpa Wang only went to the nearby hill. That place is commonly filled with a type of Mustard greens which everyone eats.” The village chief quickly stepped in to explain. Then as if afraid the girl wouldn’t believe him, the man also had his wife bring in a batch of the vegetables that hasn’t been cooked yet for inspection.
Sure enough, Ling Yue can’t locate anything oddity about the stuff.
“Grandpa Wang, I suspect the problem lies in the specific batch of wild greens you ate. Can you remember where you found them? I will have one of my soldiers carry you on their backs.” With the elder leading the way, it didn’t take long for the group to reach the mentioned slop outside the village.
“It’s the one in front,” pointing ahead, it turns out the spot wasn’t exactly the same as they presumed.
Due to the regular harvesting by the other villagers, the first slop had been mostly cleaned of edible greens, forcing the grandpa to head to the one next to it which was less popular.
“Chief Yue, would you like us to go up there and check?” Asked several of the soldiers.
“No need,” the girl’s expression have never been so stern before as she replied.
It’s exactly as the villagers and the grandpa says, the Mustard greens here are growing in abundance, truly a delectable scene for those unaware. However, for Ling Yue herself, this picture was literally a scene out of a nightmare thanks to the special eyesight she possessed due in part by the cauldron she possess.
Beating there, bouncing there, and infecting all living things within that patch of grass are countless black dots, the very same stuff that infected the villagers. If not stopped in time, it’s likely this crisis would soon spread across the entire land and maybe even threaten the whole kingdom if left unattended!
“All of you, go call A’bone over for me.” Getting everyone to keep their distance, Ling Yue ordered one of the soldiers to invite the new girl over from the village.
“A’bone, can you sense it? Does the black dots over there give off the same vibe as the wild animals that attacked you on the road?”
Aside from Ling Yue herself, this wildling was the only other person here who can detect the dark matters around them.
After confirming the case, A’bone nods affirmatively to give a reasonable cause to believe the strange behavior of the villagers and the wilds animals are due to these mutated monstrosities.
“First uproot this area for now. A’bone, take some of the other soldiers and scope the perimeter within a ten mile radius. I want any spot contaminated with these dark spots to be quarantined.”
If even the old monster’s soul fire would fail to burn these matters, what else can she do? Her secret cauldron may be able to handle the strange matter, but there’s only one! It’s not like she can just cleanse the entire Northwest alone, it be impossible and improbable.
Just like that, through the combined efforts of civilians and soldier, the majority of the sickly was able to be cured of their illness after a full day of laboring. And as a preventive measure from having another raid by the wild beasts, the Tiger Wolf Army even stationed their base outside the village for now, which was near identical to when Nie Feng Hang was still around to command these hardened soldiers.
While all things were going well, A’bone winning the hearts of the men and Lan Caier dozing off after a hard day of laboring, Ling Yue on the other hand didn’t feel so well. She still hasn’t located her mother’s whereabouts yet.
Frustrated, the girl can only jump into her pocket dimension to escape the woes of the world. Sadly for her, it appears fate doesn’t want her to have a moment of peace.
Unlike everything else that has ever been absorbed by her little black cauldron, Ling Yue soon discovered the dark matters she took in today hadn’t diminished in the least!
Ordinarily, whether it be inorganic or organic matters, the content would always be greatly consumed or completely disintegrated, yet that was not the case here with the swirling dark gases inside. If she had to use words to describe the picture, it would be a mass of white and darkness swirling together, creating a stark contrasting mix of gas.
“I wonder what would they become after I completely refine them?”
Ling Yue was very much curious as to why this strange substance would be so resistant to her powers, but whenever she wanted to dive further for investigation, a gush of frustration would break any concept of sanity with her mind knowing it’s precisely because of this stuff that’s caused her mother to be taken away.
Giving in to her anger, it didn’t take long for the girl to summon the cauldron out for refinement. Then as if sensing what Ling Yue intended to do once her consciousness was inside, the dark swirls immediately converged together to form a giant mass raving about in intimidation
They were ready for war, a war for survival between the white spirit smoke controlled by the Ling Yue and the mass of darkness vying for life!