Feng Shui Chapter 125: A Pinch of Salt Brings Out the Flavor

Chen Xiao’s expression turned grave. He immediately ordered the servants to summon Xi Yunqing, then allowed Tang Ru to explain in detail.

Tang Ru said, “We bribed our way into the broker's banquet. I had arranged for several people to take turns offering him drinks, and once he was thoroughly drunk, we knocked him out and smuggled him away after the feast. Under interrogation, he confessed that over the years, someone had been acquiring young children through him. He described a number of buyers, and among them was one who perfectly matched the description of that demon cultivator. This time, he was going by the alias ‘Zhao Jiao,’ and he’s a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.” Tang Ru’s expression darkened. “His cultivation has advanced rapidly, I can’t imagine how many people he’s harmed to get that strong.”

It was the first time Shen Yanxing had heard any of this. His face twisted in fury. “Such monstrous crimes, it’s intolerable! The war over the years has left many families displaced, and with the local household registries in chaos, no wonder no one noticed anything.”

Chen Xiao loathed human traffickers more than anything. Gritting his teeth, he demanded, “Where is that broker now?”

Tang Ru replied casually, “Nuonuo and I got the information we needed, then killed him. Buried the body in the hills outside Jin City. Tong Nuonuo is keeping watch over the other brokers who were in on it, to make sure word doesn’t leak.”

Xi Yunqing pondered aloud, “The new regime is cracking down hard on criminal organizations. He likely won’t show himself again anytime soon.”

Tang Ru nodded. “Exactly. Nuonuo and I were a step too late, by the time we arrived in Jin City, the transaction was already complete. We lost the trail. All we can do now is head to other cities and see if we can intercept his people. But he’s a Nascent Soul cultivator, we don’t stand a chance on our own. That’s why we’re asking for your help.”

Chen Xiao’s voice dropped. “You made the right call.” Among them, only Xi Yunqing had the strength to confront a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Everyone turned to Xi Yunqing. He nodded. “Of course, I won’t refuse. But just a few of us won’t be able to search every city in time.”

Shen Yanxing stood up and said to Chen Xiao, “Teacher, please allow this disciple to handle the investigation. This demon cultivator dares abduct children from our nation, that is a crime beyond forgiveness. If we don’t punish him severely to make an example, people will think the Shen clan is weak!”

As a royal family member, Shen Yanxing had the authority to mobilize forces and gather intelligence. With him taking charge, the various city lords would be obliged to cooperate. Within ten days, messages from all over the country poured in like snowflakes. Xi Yunqing sorted through them one by one and finally traced Zhao Jiao’s recent movements. The man had nearly completed his plans, and after one last transaction, he would pass through Jin City on his way back.

“That was close, just a little later, and we would’ve missed him again!” Tang Ru’s voice trembled with both rage and relief. “Seems the intel I got before was right. He really does have a base in that feral beast-infested region!”

Chen Xiao stood up. “We need to intercept them before they return.”

Shen Yanxing added, “I’ve already reported the matter to my father and requested reinforcements. But the back-and-forth takes time.”

Xi Yunqing said, “There’s no time to waste. These people have committed crimes across the land and managed to stay hidden. It’s not just because they have backing, they’re also extremely cautious.”

Tong Nuonuo’s round face was taut with tension as he nodded. “If we can’t wait, then we’ll go ourselves.” He patted the mechanical box at his side. “I’ve stocked up on spirit energy bombs. I swear I’ll wipe out these demon cultivators!”

Shen Yanxing’s guards vehemently opposed him going along, and Chen Xiao also firmly forbade it. Shen Yanxing had no choice but to say, “Then I’ll return to the capital at once and provide my father with the full report. I’ll urge them to send help as quickly as possible. Teacher, seniors, please be careful.”

Chen Xiao wasn’t holding his breath. In dramas, it was always the same, the officials showed up late. Still, he appreciated Shen Yanxing’s concern. He smiled. “Then I’ll leave it to you, Yanxing.”

Xi Yunqing turned solemn. “I’ll protect your teacher. Rest assured.”

That was as close to a vow as one could get. Shen Yanxing was both honored and surprised. He quickly bowed. “Then I’ll entrust Teacher’s safety to you, Martial Uncle.”

He found Xi Yunqing’s change in attitude a little odd, but he wasn’t foolish enough to dig deeper. Even if he racked his brain, he would never guess that after formally becoming Chen Xiao’s disciple, the immense seniority gap between them had completely erased any sense of threat he posed in Xi Yunqing’s eyes.

It was a deep winter, bitterly cold. Snow blanketed everything, obscuring even the roads. The dense flurry made it easy to lose one’s way. In this season, animals barely stirred, plants withered, and all signs of life were buried beneath the snow. The effort of a journey far outweighed any gain. Unless absolutely necessary, few cultivators would venture into the mountains in such conditions.

But Chen Xiao had a compass in his consciousness. Even without visible landmarks, he could navigate through the snow with ease. He led the group at the front, Xi Yunqing helping from the side, and the four of them traversed mountain after mountain. At last, just before Zhao Jiao’s group crossed the border, they caught up.

Zhao Jiao’s party consisted of five adults, herding over fifty children. In the bitter cold, they didn’t care whether the kids could keep up. The frightened children trudged through the snow, step by painful step, their pace unbearably slow.

“Inhuman bastards." Tong Nuonuo muttered furiously under his breath.

They dared not get too close for fear of being discovered.

Chen Xiao’s heart burned with icy rage. Tang Ru’s eyes were sharp with hatred, fixed on the demon cultivator Zhao Jiao.

“What do we do now?” Tong Nuonuo asked anxiously.

Their original plan had been to follow them discreetly and find their hideout. But watching them torment these children… none of them could bear to stand by and do nothing.

But if they were to rescue the children now, it would alert the enemy and give Zhao Jiao and the others a chance to escape. These people didn’t just have this one group of children, there were likely many more hidden away in unknown places. If they lost track of them now, it would be even harder to save the rest later.

Chen Xiao asked, “Why are they walking through the snow? They’re cultivators, they could’ve just flown with the children. That way, the kids wouldn’t have to suffer so much, and they could return sooner.”

Tong Nuonuo flared his nostrils slightly before answering, “Fear stimulates the growth of spiritual power. Cruelty fills the children with hatred and other negative emotions, which enhances the effectiveness of dark rituals. They’re deliberately forcing these children to suffer through the cold to torment them.”

Tang Ru clenched her fists tightly, her eyes turning even colder. Just imagining that her own clansmen had once endured something like this made her want to tear those demon cultivators limb from limb.

Xi Yunqing’s voice was low and icy. “This is the last batch of children. They won’t let anything happen to them. Though they’ll suffer, their lives will be preserved. We’ll stick to the original plan, and find their hideout first. Once we locate it, we’ll split up and deal with the five of them one by one.”

His tone didn’t fluctuate much, but the other three could clearly hear the smoldering rage behind his words. Even the calmest among them had been pushed to anger, which helped the others regain a bit of composure. If someone like Xi Yunqing was this furious, those enemies wouldn’t live long. The only question was, what kind of death awaited them?

After several days trudging through snow, the children were nearing their limits. Once the demon cultivators had gotten what they wanted, they finally lifted the children and prepared to travel by air.

Once airborne, it would be much harder to follow them from the ground. Fortunately, Xi Yunqing could fly, so he took to the sky to give chase, leaving signals for the others to follow along from the ground.

“Be careful, big brother." Chen Xiao said with concern.

Xi Yunqing gave him a long look and replied softly, “I will.”

Chen Xiao stood frozen, staring after him until Xi Yunqing’s figure disappeared completely from sight.

Tong Nuonuo said, “Let’s take a short break. We might not have another chance to rest properly for a while.” He turned and called to Chen Xiao, who finally tore his gaze away and walked over. Seeing his obvious worry, Tong Nuonuo said with a sigh, “Don’t worry, Chen Xiao. Fellow Daoist Xi will be fine.”

“Mm.” Chen Xiao forced a faint smile and responded.

Seeing him so absentminded, Tong Nuonuo held back an eye-roll. Seriously? Do these two have to be so reluctant to part? They’re acting like a pair of Dao companions or something.

To distract him, Tong Nuonuo turned to Tang Ru and asked, “Arou, didn’t you say you were good at cooking? Think we might have the chance to try some of your specialties?”

The group’s hidden foodie perked up immediately and blinked at Tang Ru with interest.

Tang Ru looked at the two of them in surprise, then frowned slightly. She hesitated before saying, “I can cook something now, but it’ll take a bit of time. Since it snowed, ingredients have been harder to find. Still, if I can make it, it should be quite nourishing in this weather.”

Tong Nuonuo quickly chimed in, “We’re setting up camp anyway. Chen Xiao and I will handle that, why don’t you take care of dinner, Arou?”

“Alright, let’s do that. Get ready to taste my cooking." Tang Ru said.

They found a spot sheltered from the wind, and Chen Xiao and Tong Nuonuo dug out a snow cave together. Using stones, they built a small fire pit on the snow. Tong Nuonuo pulled out some dry firewood and lit a fire. The temperature inside the cave gradually began to rise. Chen Xiao laid out thick fur blankets on the ground and took out a specially made, extra-thick quilt. Without Xi Yunqing around, he couldn’t help but miss him even more, no one was there to help heat the bedding anymore.

An hour passed, and the sky was completely dark by the time Tang Ru returned, covered in wind and snow.

Chen Xiao asked, “You were gone so long. Was it hard to find anything?”

“It’s winter, after all." Tang Ru replied. “The meat’s not as fatty. If it wasn’t going to taste good, I figured I’d keep looking. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Tong Nuonuo leaned in curiously. “Let me see what you’ve got.”

Tang Ru opened her storage pouch and poured the gathered ingredients into a container. Tong Nuonuo only needed one look before nearly fainting.

“Aren’t those bugs?!” he shrieked, jumping back.

Startled by the commotion, Chen Xiao looked closer and saw that Tang Ru had brought back a small bowl of something that resembled cicada nymphs. They looked a little different from the usual kind but were about the same size.

Tang Ru said, “Don’t be fooled by their looks. Once fried, they’re crispy and fragrant. Back in my home village, they’re a seasonal delicacy, everyone scrambles to get some.”

Chen Xiao nodded reflexively. “That’s true. Fry them up with some salt, they’re delicious.”

Tang Ru looked at him in delight. “You’ve eaten them before?”