Chapter 10: Wang Tengfei (2/2)

His eyes were closed, and he stood there howling, surrounded by chopped up pieces of wood. He hacked at the trees, his body twisting. Then, he dropped the ax and fell to sleep.

Deep bite marks could be seen on the long handle of the ax.

Meng Hao was shocked. He had never imagined that in his two months away, Fatty’s sleepwalking behavior would become even more severe. Now it wasn’t just happening at night, but during the day as well.

He was hesitating as to whether or not to awaken him, when suddenly Fatty’s nose twitched and he rubbed his eyes. He gazed about, eyes shining, looking as if he were about to drool.

“I smell wild chicken! Yeah, two of them!” He jumped up and looked around, although he didn’t see Meng Hao standing there in the jungle. Then he saw the felled trees around him, a look of gratefulness filled his eyes.

“Ah, Meng Hao, you’re so kind,” he said emotionally. “You’ve been gone so long, but you keep coming back secretly to help me chop wood. It’s been like this for almost two months. Meng Hao, I, Li Fugui [1. ”Fatty” Li Fugui's name in Chinese is 李富贵 (lǐ fù guì) – Li is a common family name. Fugui means “rich and influential”], have never had a better friend in my whole life.”

Meng Hao, still standing off in the distance, heard all of this and was amazed. He looked strangely at Fatty, then coughed lightly and stepped forward.

When he appeared, it seemed Fatty could sense him. He turned his head and caught sight of him, his face full of excitement.

“Meng Hao, you finally show your face,” he said eagerly. “Every time I wake up, I call out for you, but you never appear… ah?” His gaze fell onto the two wild chickens, and his eyes grew wide.

A bit later, fire surrounded the chickens, and a fragrant aroma filled the air. Meng Hao and Fatty sat together, just the same as when they had both been servants. They gobbled down the chicken.

“I haven’t had wild chicken for two months,” said Fatty, his mouth full of chicken. “How come you haven’t shown your face all this time? Since you always come to help me chop wood, why don’t you bring chickens too?” The joy on his face was clearly apparent as he looked at Meng Hao. It seemed that in his time in the Reliance Sect, he had come to view Meng Hao as a relative.

Meng Hao gave an enigmatic laugh and offered no explanation. Taking a bite of chicken, he looked at Fatty. It was then he noticed that Fatty’s teeth seemed to be longer than before.

“How has your Cultivation training been going?” he asked. “Have you been able to sense spiritual energy?”

“Don’t bring it up,” he said with a deep sigh. “I train every night, but the strange thing is, I haven’t been able to sense even a tiny bit of spiritual energy. The only thing that happens is that my teeth grow. I’m worried I might bite my tongue off.” He looked quite depressed.

“Open your mouth,” Meng Hao said suddenly. “Let me see your teeth.” What Meng Hao saw shocked him.

After swallowing a mouthful of chicken, Fatty opened his mouth to reveal a set of long teeth that glittered in the sunlight. As he examined them, Meng Hao’s expression grew even stranger. He almost couldn’t believe it. He could clearly sense spiritual energy fluctuating within Fatty’s teeth.

“How is Fatty doing his training?” Meng Hao thought. “How could the spiritual energy be moving into his teeth? They’ve become Spirit Teeth? If he keeps training this way, they’ll transform into true treasures…” He shook his head in amazement.

Time passed, and soon the sun was about to set. Meng Hao and Fatty chatted just as they used to in the old days. He told Fatty all about the things that had happened in the Outer Sect, with the exception of the copper mirror, of course.

Fatty listened raptly, filled with the desire to reach the first level of Qi Condensation and get promoted.

When it came time to leave, Meng Hao gave a Spirit Condensation Pill to Fatty. He swallowed it, and then they parted. Fatty watched Meng Hao disappear into the jungle, looking a bit melancholy, assuring himself that he would apply himself diligently to cultivation training.

He had come by route of the East Mountain, so Meng Hao decided to return by the West Mountain. This was his first time traversing the entirety of the Reliance Sect. By the time dusk fell, he was walking next to a plateau which jutted out from the West Mountain. On the plateau was a massive stone tablet.

The stone tablet was the color of blood, as if it had been painted with gore. Several characters were carved onto the cold stone.

Low Level Public Zone.

There were more characters off to the side, smaller. It explained that the Qi Condensation fourth level disciples were prohibited from entering. Only first through third levels could enter the Public Zone.

Looking up, Meng Hao could see the multiple figures interlocked in combat. Many techniques were being used as they fought desperately. Blood sprayed in all directions, and miserable cries rang out. An arm was lopped off, a bag of holding snatched.

As he watched, someone rushed down the mountain, screaming, followed by a huge man with a hideous grin.

“Help me!”

“Who can save you from Cao?!”