Stranger Danger

The human skin face hurriedly begged for mercy, “Mercy, senior! This junior was possessed by a moment of foolishness earlier. Please, forgive me!”

“I can forgive you, but what the hell are you?” Ye Qing asked.

“This humble commoner…”

The human skin face was about to say something when a feminine voice answered him from afar. “That’s the Skin Painting Soul Sealing Technique!”

The voice started from somewhere far, far away, but its originator appeared in front of Ye Qing faster than it could fade completely. She was Feng Qingyou, of course.

“Congratulations on making a full recovery and a breakthrough, Qingyou!” Ye Qing congratulated her. He wasn’t surprised that Feng Qingyou was able to overcome the tribulation so quickly. With her strength, the Celestial Buddha Demonic Cloud Tribulation simply did not constitute a threat against her.

Not only that, he could tell that Feng Qingyou’s aura had become so vast and deep that even he could no longer see through it. Clearly, she had advanced to the late stage of the Trueman stage and become a Great Trueman.

“It is but a small improvement, and this could not have happened without you, Joyless. Thank you.” Feng Qingyou gave him a smile that was warmer than the spring wind and brighter than the round moon.

“There is no need for such courtesy between you and I, is there?” Ye Qing smiled back. “Oh right, you were talking about the Skin Painting Soul Sealing Technique just now. What is it? Are you referring to her?”

“That’s right.” Feng Qingyou began, “Have you heard of the Art of Skin Painting[1] before, Joyless?”

“I have not.” Ye Qing shook his head.

“The Art of Skin Painting was the exclusive secret art of the skin painting clan, the Tao Clan. They possess the ability to create many useful items using human or animal skin. On that subject, one might think that a ‘painted skin’ is strictly human skin, but it can be the skin of an animal as well. Both human and animal skin can be manipulated like one’s limb and pit against enemies after they are refined by the Tao Clan’s secret art.”

Feng Qingyou explained, “A painted skin has no consciousness. It must be controlled by its owner. This was the limit of the Art of Skin Painting until the Tao Clan produced a genius. The genius thought that the Art of Skin Painting, despite its great power, was limited because the painted skin is ultimately a dead object with no sentience. So, he invented a secret technique that allowed him to seal a human’s soul in the painted skin and bestow it sentience. This technically came to be known as the Skin Painting Soul Sealing Technique.”

“However, the painted skin is still a bloodless and fleshless dead object. The genius quickly discovered that sealing a human’s soul within a painted skin would increase its power, but the painted skin would quickly deteriorate over time. So, he came up with another idea. He decided to nourish the painted skin with a flesh-and-blood body by sewing them together. This way, the painted skin’s sentience would not fade, and it could continuously devour another person’s soul to increase its power.”

“Thanks to the Skin Painting Soul Sealing Technique, the Tao Clan was able to become a titan in the jianghu for a time.”

“Unfortunately, the very technique that made them strong and famous would eventually become their downfall. At first, the Tao Clan was able to stick to their morals and practice their art in moderation. But as time passed, they grew increasingly twisted and started killing innocents and extracting people’s souls wantonly for strength. Words of their misdeeds kept growing until it finally stoked the wrath of the imperial court and the wulin orthodoxy. In just one night, the Tao Clan was burned to the ground. Since then, the Tao Clan was no more, and the Skin Painting Soul Sealing Technique was destroyed.”

Feng Qingyou looked at Tao Goatherd and asked smilingly, “Did I get it all right?”

“Er, I’m not sure why you’re asking me about this,” Tao Goatherd smiled dumbly at her, “but you said it yourself, didn’t you? Both the Tao Clan and the Skin Painting Soul Sealing Technique are destroyed, so how can my technique be the infamous Skin Painting Soul Sealing Technique? You must have mistaken it for something else, senior.”

“Did I now?” Feng Qingyou asked with a smile that didn’t reach the eye. “I said that the Tao Clan is no more, and the Skin Painting Soul Sealing Technique is destroyed. I never said that everyone in the Tao Clan is dead, nor did I say that there is no one left in the world who still practices this art.”

“According to my knowledge, the youngest son of the patriarch, Tao Chong, happened to be studying abroad when the imperial court and the wulin attacked the Tao Clan. Thanks to this coincidence, he was able to escape certain death. He would later disappear after learning of the Tao Clan’s plight.”

“Tao Chong is the direct line of descent of the Tao Clan, so it is only natural that he would know the Skin Painting Soul Sealing Technique. Don’t you agree, Tao Chong?”

Tao Goatherd shivered a little, and the dumb smile on his face slowly vanished. A few seconds later, he finally replied, “Your insight is most keen, senior. As you say, this junior is Tao Chong.”

He did not try to refute Feng Qingyou, nor did he ask her how she managed to figure out his identity. The fact that she dared to say this to his face meant that she was absolutely confident in her judgment, and no amount of denial would change her mind.

“You fool! Why did you admit your identity? You may have a death wish, but I still yearn to live!” The human skin face raged when she heard Tao Goatherd—or more accurately, Tao Chong—admitting his identity.

“If you still yearn to live, then be silent!” Tao Chong growled, and the human skin face let out a cry of pain. She stopped arguing then.

“This painted skin of yours is no less intelligent than any human, and it is as strong as an ordinary Trueman. It must have consumed a lot of souls, hasn’t it?” Feng Qingyou asked.

“It has!” Tao Chong did not deny this. “I’ve killed a lot of people in the past. Some are good, some are bad. Some are the bastards who participated in the annihilation of my clan, and some are innocents who are weak and guileless.”

“Oh? I’m surprised you would admit this so candidly.” Ye Qing grew interested in Tao Chong. “Aren’t you afraid to die?”

“Of course I am. Is there anyone in this world who isn’t afraid to die?” Tao Chong said seriously, “That is why I wish to make a deal with you two.”

“A deal?” Ye Qing countered, “Your life is in our hands. What makes you think you have any right to make a deal with us?”

Ye Qing was completely right, but Tao Chong did not panic. “Why don’t you judge that after you’ve listened to my proposal?”

“Tell us then. If nothing else, I’m curious to know if your deal can actually convince us to spare you,” Ye Qing said smilingly. They had time to spare anyway, so why not?

Feng Qingyou had no objections either.

Tao Chong raised his head and looked at Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou seriously. “Have you heard of the Six Livestocks Market, seniors?”

“Six Livestocks Market?”

Ye Qing rubbed his nose and fell silently for a couple of breaths. Finally, he remembered something and spoke up in an astonished voice, “You mean the Six Livestocks Market?”

“Exactly.” Tao Chong nodded. “This junior can bring you there. Do you think that’s worth sparing my life, seniors?”

Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou exchanged glances with each other. They could see the shock in each other’s eyes.

At first hearing, the Six Livestocks Market sounded like nothing special. An ordinary person might think that it was a market for trading livestocks such as cows and horses. In reality, it was a world famous martial sanctuary that all Dark Way warriors dreamed of entering.

The Six Livestocks Market boasted a vast, unfathomable power that promoted a warrior’s growth and cultivation. Training one day within the Six Livestocks Market was like training a year in the real world.

That wasn’t all. For whatever reason, it was easier to perceive the truths of heaven and earth and the pinnacle of the martial way within the Six Livestocks Market. Just being inside the sanctuary made it easier to achieve a martial breakthrough.

These two positives alone were enough to qualify the Six Livestocks Market as a martial sanctuary, but why did it only attract Dark Way warriors and not those from the orthodoxy? It was because one could only practice Dark Way martial arts and achieve Dark Way breakthroughs within the Six Livestocks Market. Anyone who tried to practice an orthodox martial art in the Six Livestocks Market such as Confucianism or Buddhism would immediately suffer a deviation and perish.

This was why the Six Livestocks Market was considered a martial sanctuary for all Dark Way warriors, but not orthodox warriors.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t easy to enter the Six Livestocks Market. Legend had it that the martial sanctuary existed in a location that could not be known, seen, named, or spoken. No one knew where it was, and no one knew how it came to be.

Only a special person could enter the Six Livestocks Market at a specific time and place.

1. Origin story for that one art and Skin Painting Gentleman way back then apparently. Unexpected, but not bad. ☜