What kind of complex relationship was that? Xia Fan was extremely surprised. An Azure Sword of the Privy Council adopted a fox demon, and the fox demon wanted to take revenge on the Privy Council in order to get her master back?
Well, considering that the other party was no longer serving in the Privy Council when she adopted Li, it would be more appropriate to count it as a personal grudge.
Whether or not defection was considered a serious crime for the Privy Council was unclear to him, but since it was one of the higher levels, he was sure that the disposition wouldn’t be the same as that of the bottom levels like the mystics. Li said that the Privy Council wouldn’t endanger her life, perhaps it was possible.
This also explained why a fox demon was so familiar with the Privy Council.
Her master was once an Azure Sword. Hence, Li could be considered as a disciple of half an Azure Sword. If she wasn’t a demon, in terms of seniority, she would be above that of the invigilator of the mystic examination!
“Why did your master leave the Privy Council?”
“She never said why.”
“Is she the one who taught you everything you know about the Privy Council?”
Li nodded weakly. “Apart from this, everything I know was taught by her.”
Xia Fan reacted immediately. “Including the knowledge about spells?”
“She taught me quite some spells. The so-called spells that only humans could master weren’t as difficult as I imagined.” She swept Xia Fan a sidelong glance. “Why… do you feel offended?”
She still mocked him at this time. Her master really taught her well.
“Do you think I’m so arrogant that I think I’m undefeatable in terms of talent for spells?” Xia Fan shrugged and said, “There’s a bunch of candidates better than me in Qing Shan Town. Nothing is surprising about being surpassed by a fox demon.”
“You… don’t feel angry?” This time, it was Li’s turn to be surprised.
Xia Fan was confused for a while. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Do you really not know, or are you just pretending?” Li stared at him and said, “The Privy Council’s rules state that the spells belong to humans and other species cannot get their hands on them. Now that a demon has learned the spells that humans are proud of, and with the demon mastering it better than humans, you don’t feel offended at all?”
“It’s none of my business,” Xia Fan blurted out.
“What?”
“Ugh…” Xia Fan hastily said after realizing that he had ruined his image, “I mean, being stagnant won’t bring the slightest benefit, not to mention that learning from each other is the best way to improve.”
Meanwhile, he was being sarcastic internally. I didn’t teach you, what can I do? You’re capable of learning quickly. Why would I bring the Privy Council up to threaten you because I’m not as capable as a demon? That would be self-deceptive. Moreover, the Privy Council’s bullsh*t rules may sound good, but the reality is that they control all the knowledge about spells and nobody else can touch it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come to the examination to seek knowledge.
Li was examining Xia Fan too. She frowned silently, partly because of her wound’s sharp pain, partly because she couldn’t understand. She couldn’t tell if Xia Fan was lying, but she could feel the unconcerned attitude in his tone. That was really unbelievable. Even her master hesitated when she taught her spells. After all, it was what made mystics superior to normal people. However, Xia Fan seemed to not have realized that. This made Li think that Xia Fan felt that she was the same as himself. Moreover, he was no different from the people unable to sense Qi.
How was that possible?
The confusion made Li speechless for a long while.
She realized that the more she talked to Xia Fan, the more she couldn’t figure out what kind of person he was.
“How about this?” Xia Fan’s voice broke her train of thoughts. “Let’s rediscuss the collaboration. We shall not change the part about chatting. I will help you find out about your master. Is that alright?”
“You want to… help me?”
“Yes, but in return, you have to tell me what you have learned,” he said straightforwardly. “After all, as a fox demon, it’s definitely not easy for you to find out about an Azure Sword. However, if someone in the Privy Council can help, it will be much easier. How does that sound? If you miss this opportunity, you won’t get it again.”
Li’s mouth opened wide. Most of the mystics who wanted to join the Privy Council wanted power or fame. Therefore, they would unconsciously uphold the prestige and rules of the Privy Council. However, the person in front of her seemed to have no sense of loyalty to the Privy Council at all and was thinking of ways to deal with it before he joined. This was simply unheard of.
“Can I ask you a question?” She couldn’t help but ask, “Why did you join the mystic examination?”
Xia Fan thought about it. “Perhaps it is to gain exposure to something I have never tried or seen.”
What a ridiculous reply, thought Li. However, for some reason, it sounded sincere.
After a long silence, she sighed softly. “If you insist on it.”
“You agreed?”
“Only if you can pass this exam and become a member of the Privy Council.”
She knew she shouldn’t have agreed. There was never any good outcome if a demon got too close to a mystic. However, Xia Fan was right, the chances of her trying to challenge the Privy Council alone and get her master back were almost non-existent. Moreover, Xia Fan saved her life. She couldn’t do anything else to repay that favor. This was probably the only choice.
“This…” Xia Fan, however, showed a slightly embarrassed smile. “What about passing the next mystic examination?”
Li was stunned and said angrily, “You dare to say that you will be in the Privy Council, but you don’t even have the confidence of passing this mystic examination?”
“The situation is a bit special now.” He explained the examination’s situation and then said, “Nobody knows what the Night of Great Desolation is like. I’m still alright alone, but I’m not that sure if I bring you along.”
“I see,” said Li. “No wonder there are so many well tunnels in town.”
“Well tunnels?” asked Xia Fan curiously. “Is there any connection between the two?”
“You mean you know nothing about the Night of Great Desolation?” The fox demon raised her eyebrows and began to question if she made the right choice of working with Xia Fan.
“Cough! My situation is rather unique… did your master tell you about this?”
“Of course. It doesn’t only affect locals but also involves many other problems. If it’s improperly handled, it would cause thousands of miles of ground to become red. It’s considered one of the strangest phenomena in the Privy Council.”
Indeed, the fox demon knew much more than Xia Fan. She was an Azure Sword’s disciple. Even if she wasn’t as knowledgeable as the Luo family, she was much better than other candidates. Initially, he wanted to understand more about demons through her, but he didn’t expect her to know about spells too. It was considered an unexpected pleasant surprise.
“Explain to me in detail… about the Night of Great Desolation.”
Li took a deep breath. “Forget it, I will treat it as the medical fees for saving my life.”
…
After half an hour, Xia Fan finally had a comprehensive understanding of the Night of Great Desolation.
According to Li, it wasn’t a rare phenomenon. In the last few years before Yong Country was overthrown, the Night of Great Desolation happened many times in various locations. Be it war, famine, flood, or weather change, any sudden increase in unnatural deaths could have triggered the Night of Great Desolation in the period of strong Yin.
Since the period of strong Yin was different in each place, it needed to be monitored by the Privy Council separately. The scale of a Night of Great Desolation could last for several years to decades until the accumulated grievances were all dispersed. The “resentment” here wasn’t exactly the same as he imagined. It wasn’t the residual consciousness of the deceased, but rather, a strange phenomenon caused by the strong and dense Qi.
When this special Qi spread and dispersed, it would produce an effect similar to what Wei Wushuang said, “the living die, the dead live”. The combination and accumulation of Qi and dead matter would cause chaos. This substance at the beginning of the universe wasn’t compatible with any order in the world, and its real substance wasn’t understandable by humans. It manifested in the form of corpses crawling out of the ground, the dead piercing through coffins and attacking the living. Everywhere one went, wails could be heard. The so-called “great desolation” meant that.
Xia Fan thought about a phrase, “zombie siege”.
He also specifically confirmed with Li whether the dead could move if they were left with only bones. In return, she rolled her eyes. The answer was, not only the bones could not move, but decaying corpses couldn’t move too. They simply provided a structure. What really moved them was the “Qi” and “accumulation” attached to it. The latter could be dirt, gravel, dead branches, and other surrounding objects. When the soul strengthened to a certain extent, even without a skeleton, it could form itself. These things were powered by Qi and would disintegrate on their own once they were depleted, so the Qi of the living was the best supplement.
This also dashed his hope of experimenting on zombies.
The Privy Council called the smaller creatures “succubus” and the larger ones “fiend”. However, whatever they were, they had no spiritual intelligence to speak of and were slow to react. Therefore, large cities with strong walls or major roads with narrow terrain were more defensible against these evil skeletons. What made them really difficult to guard against was that no one knew how many bones were buried beneath the town and where new enemies would burrow.
This led the Privy Council to ask the construction department to redefine the construction rules after independence. The most important rule being that the cemetery must not be located inside the city and at least one mile from the outer walls. Also, no prisoners, the wrongfully killed, or people of unknown origin could be buried. Animal carcasses must be gathered and burned, and those who abandoned them at will were considered to be guilty of a crime, with either a light fine or heavy imprisonment.
Li’s account allowed Xia Fan to understand why she mentioned the well tunnels. The town not only did not have any walls, but there was not even a wooden fence. Therefore, the dark tunnel under the dry well became a relatively easy place to defend. Once they lost their numbers advantage, the succubus’s threat wasn’t great. Even if they managed to defend, they probably could only last for one night.
“If you really can’t… you don’t have to force yourself,” Li said in a low voice. “I have stayed underground before, and the area available for shelter is limited and can take at most 50 or 60 people. Any more will risk suffocation. Since you didn’t go early, I’m afraid the bigger places have already been occupied by rich families… You might not be able to win the other candidates too. Moreover, some wells are too deep… nobody knows what’s hidden inside… If you’re too competitive, you might land yourself… in danger. If you wait for another three years…”
Her voice became softer and her breathing became weaker.
Xia Fan realized that her hair was soaked with sweat and her forehead felt a little hot to the touch.
In order to finish her words, she continued despite her discomfort…
He gently covered her mouth and interrupted her. Then, he got up and pulled down the window panel, causing the room to return to darkness. “This information is enough for me. Rest first, I will come back to change your medicine and bandage later. Also, don’t worry about the examination, I don’t have to wait for three more years. I have already found a way to pass.”