0031 Mission

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Violet was deeply terrified of Ding Chunqiu, and with guilt weighing on her conscience, she immediately gave herself away.

Fortunately, she was standing behind and to the side of Ding Chunqiu. As for Jiang Mingzhe, who stood before him, he was just as guilty, yet his expression remained unchanged.

Though Jiang Mingzhe feared Ding Chunqiu as well, his fear was nowhere near as deeply rooted as Violet’s. Besides, years of wheeling and dealing had taught him to conceal his emotions without thinking. Violet knew nothing of this and assumed that Big Ginger possessed extraordinary composure. She could not help admiring him in secret.

Big Ginger really has some nerve!

Ding Chunqiu continued, “...Unfortunately, I happened to be cultivating my divine art at a critical juncture and did not have time to capture it. Only recently, after making a breakthrough in my cultivation, did I remember the matter.”

As he spoke, he turned his hand over. Lying in his palm was a hideous centipede, nearly the length of a pair of chopsticks. Its body was the color of raw iron and glimmered faintly with a metallic sheen. Its head was exceptionally large, its mandibles razor-sharp, and three pairs of long, delicate wings protruded from the gaps in the armor behind its neck.

Ding Chunqiu said, “Within several hundred miles of the Sea of Stars, the most formidable of all centipedes is this Six-Winged Iron Centipede. To that poisonous monkey, it is no less than a priceless treasure. Once it comes within thirty feet of the monkey, the beast will certainly shriek and reveal itself. You can then seize it without the slightest difficulty. The only troublesome part is searching carefully.

“You are new here and unfamiliar with the terrain. It would be best to have Little Violet lead you through the surrounding mountains and forests. That way, you will not lose your way once you leave the sect.”

The day Ding Chunqiu had encountered Jiang Mingzhe, he had been out searching for this very Six-Winged Iron Centipede. Who could have guessed that he had actually intended to use it as bait to capture Little Ginger?

Seeing Violet’s expression relax, as though she were about to release a long-held breath, Jiang Mingzhe feared that Ding Chunqiu might notice. He hurriedly clasped his fists and declared in a loud voice, “This disciple accepts his orders! If I fail to find the poisonous monkey, I swear I will not return!”

Ding Chunqiu laughed. “I know your determination. Why shout so loudly?”

He was about to hand the centipede to Jiang Mingzhe when he suddenly remembered something.

“No, you have yet to learn the art of refining poison. In any case, Violet will have to guide you. Violet...”

He turned and handed the centipede to her. Seeing the look of relief on her face, he frowned.

“Hmm? Little Violet, what are you so delighted about?”

Violet’s heart tightened. She quickly forced a fawning smile.

“Hehe, I thought Master intended to use this poisonous insect himself. Since it is for catching the monkey, once we capture it, could you reward this insect to me?”

Ding Chunqiu could not help laughing. “You certainly have no shame, opening your mouth like that. You have barely absorbed any of your Fire Poison, and this time you suffered such heavy losses. Even if I gave it to you, what use would it be? If I were to give it to anyone, it should be your junior brother. He cultivates the Centipede Claw. If he used the Six-Winged Iron Centipede to establish the foundation of his poisonous power, its might would surely be tremendous.”

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With that, he let Violet take the centipede, then turned to Jiang Mingzhe.

“Your senior sister has shamelessly asked for it. If I were to take the insect back now, you would both accuse me of being stingy. If you manage to capture the poisonous monkey, then this centipede will be yours as well.”

Jiang Mingzhe hesitated, then clasped his fists.

“This disciple thanks Master.”

In Ding Chunqiu’s eyes, Jiang Mingzhe had clearly intended to refuse, but then remembered his own earlier words—that one who does not obey his parents cannot be called a son—and hastily changed his response to one of thanks. It seemed that the boy truly had taken his words to heart.

Ding Chunqiu was immensely pleased. After offering a few words of encouragement, he swept away in his billowing sleeves.

After a long while, the two of them simultaneously let out a sigh of relief.

Violet pounded upstairs, poked her head out, and watched for quite some time before confirming that Ding Chunqiu had indeed gone far away. She then came back downstairs, her eyes brimming with delight.

“Hahaha! When luck arrives, nothing can stand in its way. Master would never have imagined that Little Ginger was already in our hands. This mission is completely effortless—practically a reward for free! Look, you got three supreme arts for free: lightness skills, weaponry, and hidden weapons. You even got this exceedingly rare Six-Foot Iron Centipede. And I got... Hmm?”

Her smile instantly froze. She desperately searched her memory for a moment, then said blankly, “I... I don’t think I got anything at all.”

Seeing her expression turn mournful and indignant, Jiang Mingzhe burst out laughing.

“How can you say you got nothing? You got a bowl of delicious gruel! Wait here. I’ll treat my injuries, then make it for you.”

He sat down cross-legged and began circulating the healing technique from the Sutra of the Heavenly Stars’ Tribulation Crossing. He directed his inner force through his chest and hands again and again, gradually forcing out the stagnant blood while slowly straightening the disordered meridians.

After roughly the time it took to burn a stick of incense, Jiang Mingzhe lowered his head and spat out a large mouthful of blood. Unlike the blood he had coughed up earlier, this was dark and heavy in color—the stagnant blood he had forced from his body.

Wiping his mouth, Jiang Mingzhe stared at the bloodstain on the floor and said bitterly, “That kick from Star-Plucking Son made me spit out less blood than a slaughtered pig, but there was still at least a large bowlful. I will remember this grudge. One day, I will make him spit out ten bowls of blood before I consider it settled.”

Violet had meant to scold him for failing to act spoiled and complain to their master along with her. But when she saw the grim force with which he spoke of revenge, she found she could not bring herself to say anything.

He is a man. He must think differently from me. Yes, one must avenge one’s own grudges. A true man ought to possess such resolve!

Without another word, she rose and wet a cloth for Jiang Mingzhe to wipe away the remaining blood. She then found a floor mop and cleaned the stains from the ground.

After circulating his energy, the pain in Jiang Mingzhe’s chest remained, but it was far better than before. He moved his limbs, rose, and entered the kitchen. He scooped a bowl of flour, added a little water, and stirred it until it formed snowflake-like flakes. He chopped a large handful of scallions and poured a little oil into the pot.

Then he suddenly froze.

Oh dear. I don’t think I know how to start a fire!

He had no choice but to ask Violet to light one for him. Once the oil was hot, he tossed in the scallions and fried them until fragrant, then added salt and boiling water before pouring in the prepared flour. It was cooked in no time, and the bubbling pot filled the room with an enticing aroma.

Violet cried out repeatedly, “Big Ginger, you’re so good at cooking! How can even a bowl of gruel smell this delicious?”

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Neither of them observed any rule about remaining silent while eating or sleeping. They slurped down the gruel while chattering away.

Jiang Mingzhe first recounted everything that had happened that day. When Violet heard that he had smashed through the door with a single blow, she set down her bowl and ran off with a ring of gruel around her mouth.

When she returned, her eyes were red. She seized Jiang Mingzhe’s right hand and saw that the tips of the three fingers used for the Centipede Claw were filled with purple-black bruising beneath the nails. Tears spilled down her cheeks.

Jiang Mingzhe hurriedly comforted her. “Don’t cry. Crying while eating will make it hard to digest. I’m fine. To master this technique, my fingers must become indestructible. I was bound to suffer through this sooner or later. Just think of it as helping me train.”

Violet nodded vigorously and wiped away her tears. She then asked what had happened afterward. Afraid she would cry again, Jiang Mingzhe glossed over the matter in a few words and changed the subject.

“Tomorrow we’ll spend the day recuperating. The day after that, we’ll set out to capture Little Ginger. How does that sound?”

Violet had been dissatisfied with his abbreviated account and was about to press him for details when she heard this. Her spirits immediately lifted, and she nodded again and again.

“Good, good, good! Didn’t you tell Master that you wouldn’t come back unless you caught Little Ginger? We should take plenty of food and drink, along with a tent. We can stay out for ten days or half a month before returning.”

Jiang Mingzhe stared at her in astonishment. “Will it really take that long?”

Violet rolled her eyes at him as swiftly as a proprietress whose employee had refused to work overtime.

“You fool! While Little Ginger is still around, if we don’t have him catch a large batch of poisonous insects for us, won’t all the effort of keeping him have been wasted?”

Jiang Mingzhe found this amusing. Then a plan suddenly occurred to him, and he gave a mischievous smile.

“If that’s the case, why don’t we do this, this, and this? What do you think?”

When Violet heard the plan, she was beside herself with delight and nodded repeatedly.

“Good, good, good! That’s exactly what we’ll do!”

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