CH 215

Xun Ye shouted loudly, "Shoulu!"

Fang Yun and Jia Jingan also looked over.

A young man dressed in black Presented Scholar robes quickly approached. He had a steady figure, slightly dark skin, a square face, and a faint smile on his face. He then bowed to the three of them and said in a somewhat respectful tone, "Brother Xun Ye, Brother Jingan, Brother Fang."

Fang Yun also returned the gesture, finding it interesting because this man was Han Shoulu, a descendant of the Legalist Semi-Saint Han Feizi, whose teacher happened to be Xun Ye's ancestor, one of the six Sub-Sages, Hsun Tzu.

As for Jia Jingan's ancestor, Jia Yi, he was a direct disciple of Hsun Tzu. Among the four of them, three were from the lineage of Hsun Tzu.

However, Fang Yun was not worried because Han Shoulu was very famous, well-versed in Legalist classics, and was very respectful and law-abiding. Even in the chaotic Holy Land, such a person would not act recklessly.

A big yellow dog followed Han Shoulu on his left, looking simple and honest, panting lightly with its tongue out, wagging its tail, and grinning at everyone.

On his right followed a leopard, which had several wounds on its body, especially around its neck, which was bloody.

Jia Jingan asked in confusion, "I've seen this leopard before. Isn't it the one owned by the Presented Scholar from the prominent Jiang family? How come..."

Han Shoulu's expression darkened, "When I found this leopard, I didn't see Brother Jiang. I asked the leopard, and Brother Jiang has passed away."

"What a pity." Xun Ye sighed lightly.

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Fang Yun looked at the spotted leopard and thought to himself that the Holy Land was indeed dangerous. It had been less than three hours since they entered the Holy Land, and two people had already died. Both were geniuses among the human race, which was extremely dangerous.

The leopard walked over, glanced at everyone, then lay down on the ground to rest, occasionally letting out a soft moan.

Jia Jingan said, "This is the Holy Land. Since we have entered, we must be prepared to die. Shall we talk and share the situation around us? I'll start."

So the four of them recounted their experiences along the way. Based on the description of the Savage Cow, they quickly determined their location.

It turned out that this place was a small forest eight years ago. Now, however, there was a mountain a thousand zhang high. According to the saying a hundred years ago, this place should be called the "North Shore of the Dead Lake". In just a hundred years, it had successively become a plain, a swamp, a forest, and now a mountain.

All four of them had maps. Once they confirmed their location, they relaxed a bit.

Han Shoulu asked, "Brother Fang, you have the most moonlight, what are your plans?"

Fang Yun humbly said, "I am not a descendant of All the Saints, and I know little about the Holy Land. I am still considering."

"Oh?" Han Shoulu took out a shell from his sleeve. Unlike Fang Yun's white Swallowed Lake Pearl, this shell had a light purple lace around the edge.

Fang Yun couldn't help but sigh at the wealth of the Han family. They were willing to let a Presented Scholar bring the Drinking Pearl of the River into the Holy Land. The Swallowed Lake Pearl had a space of one zhang square, while the Drinking Pearl of the River had a space of ten zhang square, a thousand times the volume of the Swallowed Lake Pearl. It was so large that it could fit a large mansion.

Han Shoulu swiped his hand and took out a thick book, handed it to Fang Yun, and said, "This is the record of the Holy Land by my family's ancestors..."

Xun Ye suddenly snatched the book and said seriously, "Shoulu, this book is not just yours, but the result of the blood and sweat of your ancestors from the Han Feizi family. How can you casually give it to others? Forty-eight years ago, Han Jinzhong, with his legs and feet broken, dictated everything he had encountered in the Holy Land. His sacrifice, was it for you to casually give it to outsiders to read?" He then returned the book to Han Shoulu.

Fang Yun's face darkened, his fists clenched, and a flash of anger in his eyes.

Jia Jingan looked at Xun Ye incredulously. It was too much, and every word and sentence was about the ancestors of the Han family, even mentioning the respected Han Jinzhong, making it impossible for others to say anything.

Han Shoulu slightly furrowed his brows. It seemed that he had noticed something, a hint of helplessness flashed in his eyes. He took the book back, put it into the Drinking Pearl of the River, and said, "Thank you for reminding me, Brother Xun Ye. I was not thoughtful. Brother Fang, I'm sorry, I was presumptuous."

Fang Yun had to smile and say, "Since this book is of great importance, and I am an outsider, it is indeed inappropriate for me to borrow it."

However, Han Shoulu said, "It's inappropriate to lend it to you directly. If we travel together, I will tell you all the situations and recorded things around, which is no different from reading this book."

Xun Ye smiled slightly and said, "Brother Shoulu is indeed a gentleman, accepting advice readily. Before entering the Holy Land, our elders have communicated that if we meet, we will explore the Holy Land together with me as the leader, and we can share equally afterwards. The three of us are descendants of prominent families, even if we encounter holy blood or holy jade, we will not turn our faces and deny people. If it's someone else, it's hard to say. I presume you two will not disobey the orders of your elders, right?"

Jia Jingan and Han Shoulu looked at each other, speechless. Indeed, the elders of several families had discussed this matter.

After a moment of silence, Jia Jingan said, "Fang Yun's literary name is soaring, and he has no bad records. He is clearly of humble origin, not even a prominent family, but he is willing to donate all the silver earned from 'The Legend of the White Snake' to the town affected by the Demon Clan for reconstruction. This is righteousness. He does not bow down in front of the Tyrant, this is integrity. I, Jia Jingan, trust such a person. I hope Brother Xun Ye can step back and let Fang Yun explore together."

Han Shoulu nodded.

Xun Ye looked at Jia Jingan, seeing his firm attitude, he immediately laughed and said, "Brother Jingan misunderstood me. Although I don't like Fang Yun, I don't intend to completely exclude him. But he is just an Accomplished Scholar. If he explores the Holy Land with us, the things he gets should not be shared equally with us. Brother Fang, don't you agree?"Fang Yun smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother Jia and Brother Shoulu. Actually, Brother Xun Ye is overthinking. Don't worry, I won't join you. I'm just a mere Talented Scholar, it's better not to involve you."

However, Jia Jingan said, "Your body is filled with moonlight. If you encounter a star demon or a strange object in the Holy Land, you are equivalent to an Imperial Scholar! The Holy Land has existed for thousands of years, and no one's moonlight can compare to yours! How could you be a burden to us?"

Xun Ye said, "Indeed, no one's moonlight can compare to his, but there are still many people who have left the Holy Land. One less of him doesn't make a difference, and one more of him doesn't either. We can't force him."

"Brother Xun Ye is right. I'm insignificant and can't help you. I would only be a burden, so I won't accompany you." Fang Yun made up his mind. Given Xun Ye's attitude, it was too risky to travel with such a person. He might be killed at any time.

"Ah..." Jia Jingan sighed deeply and said no more.

Han Shoulu remained silent.

Fang Yun knew that the three families were closely related and would not fall out over an outsider. He didn't blame the two of them. He turned to the Savage Cow and spoke in the demon language, "Take me for a walk around the village."

"Yes, Your Majesty Moon Emperor!"

As they walked, Fang Yun asked, "What's your name?"

"Niu Shan," the Savage Cow replied.

Fang Yun nodded, indicating that he remembered.

Niu Shan took Fang Yun to the tent area, proudly raised his head and roared, "The Moon Emperor has arrived!"

More than a dozen barbarians came out of the forty or so large tents, mostly Savage Cows, Wolf Savages, and Tiger Savages, as well as a few Sheep Savages and Horse Savages.

These barbarians were not particularly strong. There was one barbarian leader and four barbarian generals. The rest were barbarian soldiers. Niu Shan was also a barbarian general, equivalent to a Presented Scholar, and not weak.

The Wolf Savage leader came out, a wolf-headed humanoid with sharp teeth visible in his slightly open mouth. His eyes were fierce. After carefully examining Fang Yun, his attitude became friendly. He nodded his wolf head and said, "You have a lot of moonlight, it seems you have been blessed by the Moon God. As for the Moon Emperor, it's better not to talk nonsense. Only we barbarians can be the Moon Emperor!"

The other barbarians, who had been happily welcoming them, slowed down when they heard what the Wolf Savage leader said.

Niu Shan whispered, "The Moon God leads the three clans, and each clan chooses a Moon Emperor. There's nothing wrong with that. He has a full moon in his eyes, just like the legendary Moon Emperor."

The Wolf Savage leader glared at Niu Shan and said to Fang Yun, "As long as you don't harm our barbarian clan, we will consider you a friend of our clan. You are free to come and go here. You are different from others. If a blood demon harms you, we will help you."

Fang Yun immediately said, "Thank you, Elder Barbarian Leader."

"No need to be polite." The Wolf Savage leader glanced at the other barbarians and returned to a larger tent.

Some of the barbarians left, but five of them, like Niu Shan, called Fang Yun "Your Majesty Moon Emperor" and chatted with him.

Not far away, Jia Jingan sighed and said, "Fang Yun is indeed a Talented Scholar, but he has a good relationship with the star demons. If he could join us, we would have control of everything within a hundred miles!"

Xun Ye said, "We all have moonlight, and these Demon Barbarians are easy to talk to. As long as you take out what they urgently need, you can ask anything. We don't need Fang Yun. The Holy Land has been without Fang Yun for thousands of years, and the other predecessors were able to leave safely, weren't they?"

Han Shoulu looked up at the sky and said, "At night, the Demon Clan is stronger under the starlight and moonlight than during the day. We should rest for the night and make plans tomorrow."

"Alright." The other two nodded in agreement.

While chatting with the barbarians, Fang Yun observed his surroundings and thought about what to do the next day based on the map and the barbarians' words.

The area within a mile was still shrouded in a thin mist, making it very gloomy.

The village was built against a mountain. The mountain and the ground were slightly different, not dark red, and covered with many strange plants, which were the food of these Demon Barbarians. These Demon Barbarians relied on absorbing the power of the stars and the moon to cultivate. Even if they didn't eat or drink, they could survive, but their bodies were slightly weaker.

There were many caves on the hillside. Some of the demons peeked out, looking at this place. The older demons were not disgusted with Fang Yun, but they were a bit wary. The younger demons were more curious and wanted to come down and have a look.

They chatted until the moon was in the west, and the barbarians went to sleep one after another. Niu Shan invited Fang Yun to his tent, where he originally lived alone.

Fang Yun entered the tent, took out a blanket from the Swallowed Lake Pearl, and lay down. Listening to Niu Shan's snoring, he couldn't sleep. The map he had memorized appeared in his mind.

"The Holy Land is said to be a place to kill demons and exterminate barbarians, but the Demon Barbarians are in groups, and we are few in number, so we can't do it. Therefore, the main purpose of entering the Holy Land is to find some treasures. However, unlike me, those prominent families probably don't want those holy blood and holy jade. They should have a fixed target like the Tyrant, or even the biggest secret of the Holy Land. However, all of this has nothing to do with me."

Fang Yun thought to himself, took out the blood-dripped animal skin to look at it, and then put it in the inner pocket of his clothes.

Fang Yun thought for a long time and was about to sleep when the night watch demon on the mountain suddenly growled, "A group of humans is coming!"

Fang Yun immediately came out of the tent. Under the moonlight, he saw a group of people emerging from the mist, with a large rabbit particularly conspicuous.

(To be continued...)