Chapter 8: The Sound of Silkworms in the Darkness

Sword Dynasty

Volume 1: Great Rebel

Chapter 8: The Sound of Silkworms in the Darkness

An ordinary carriage stopped near one of the entrances to the Fish Market. Song Shenshu, dressed in an ordinary coarse hemp robe and a bamboo hat, got off the carriage and headed towards the Fish Market, unhurriedly into the depths of Fish Market.

While the historical libraries of the Qin Dynasty contained numerous cultivation manuals, everyone knew that the most important manuals of the Qin Dynasty were hidden in the cave in the imperial palace. The officials of the libraries usually did not have high status in Changling. They also did not have much military service that provides opportunities for rewards and promotions.

Moreover, Song Shenshu was over forty years old with gray hair. No one would be interested in paying attention to someone like him.

However, Shenshu Song remained extremely cautious.

He was very satisfied with the past decade of his life. Even if he did not have his current position, he was satisfied that he could be a cultivator.

Recently, he had gained a new comprehension of his cultivation methods. After discovering a method that helped him advance more quickly, he became even more cautious.

Many events proved that the time a person became a cultivator was not important; what matters most was the timing of their breakthrough.

If he could successfully break through realm three and reach realm four this year, the world before him would suddenly become vast and full of possibilities.

Walking along the path leading to the deepest part of the Fish Market, he still had not removed the bamboo hat in his head. He followed a wooden path under several pedestrian bridges to a dock.

A small boat with a black canopy was parked at this dock.

Without a word, Shenshu Song released the curtain and stepped into the cabin. When the curtain fell behind him, he sighed, removed his bamboo hat and began to rest with his eyes closed.

Apart from his temples which were starting to turn white, he looked in good condition, his face was flushed and there were no wrinkles.

The small boat with a black cabin began to move. Song Shenshu felt perfectly at ease as he rested, swaying to the rhythm.

However, very soon, he suddenly felt a chill in his heart.

The route the small boat took was different from usual. The sounds outside faded away, while the sound of the water remained constant. This meant the small boat was heading towards the most remote part of the Fish Market.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked out through a gap in the curtain… He saw a manservant in a straw robe steering the boat. He hesitated, then asked coldly, “Is it because the water level is rising that today’s route seems different from usual?”

“It is indeed different from usual, but it’s not because the storm caused the water level to rise.”

Ding Ning, at the front of the boat, stopped. He turned and looked at Song Shenshu in the cabin.

His voice was calm, with a hint of mockery and amusement.

Song Shenshu’s head immediately felt a wave of pain.

He was sure he had never seen this handsome young man before, but he also found this young man’s appearance and tone of voice strange. He felt like he was meeting someone from his past after so many years had passed.

This strange feeling kept him from thinking about what the young man wanted to do. Instead, he wanted to know who the young man was.

“Who are you? Do you know me?” he tried to remain calm and asked gently.

Ding Ning nodded seriously. “Song Shenshu, fourteen years ago, a carriage driver at the Warden’s Office.”

Song Shenshu’s face gradually paled. This was something he never wanted to think of or hear again. What shocked him even more was that only those closest to him knew about these past events.

“Who are you? What do you want to do?” he suppressed the fear growing within him and asked.

Ding Ning looked emotionally at him and softly said, “I’m a debtor, coming to collect some old debts from you.”

Hearing those words, and connecting them with some recent rumors, Song Shenshu’s hands felt cold. He opened his mouth, wanting to ask something else. At this age, the young man in front of him could not possibly have any old grudges against him. Someone else must be directing this young man from the shadows.

However, just as he was about to open his mouth, he did not have time to utter a word before the young man in front of him moved.

Ding Ning’s seemingly thin body suddenly exploded with a surge of power. The bow of the boat suddenly lowered and the stern of the boat lifted into the air.

His body nimbly emerged from his straw cloak and immediately entered the narrow cabin. Because he was moving so fast, the straw cloak still floated in the air as he moved.

Song Shenshu’s breathing suddenly stopped. The index and middle fingers of his right hand pointed together, while the other three fingers curled slightly. A burst of red vital energy flooded his index and middle fingers. Before Ding Ning’s hand could even touch his body, this burst of vital energy gently flowed into Ding Ning’s ribs.

The moment Ding Ning made his move, he had several options.

He could abandon the boat and escape for his life. He could create a huge commotion. The underground black market had its own rules. All the major factions in Changling would not tolerate anyone to reclessly breaking the rules here.

However, at that moment, he concluded that Ding Ning was a cultivator who had only reached realm two.

There was a natural and insurmountable differences between every major realm of cultivator.

In realm three, vital energy was the product of physical energy and the primal energy of the universe. This was an innate and exponential difference between vital energy and physical energy. Furthermore, he was not a cultivator who just entered realm three. His vital energy had already been cultivated to the point of being liquefied and able to leave his body. This kind of realm three first class cultivation meant that his vital energy possessed numerous capabilities to deal with enemies.

Therefore, he subconsciously thought that Ding Ning was merely bait to attract his attention. More stronger cultivator was hiding and waiting for the chance to deliver a fatal blow.

As a result, when he flooded Ding Ning’s body with a torrent of vital energy in a seemingly gentle yet vicious attack, most of his attention was not on Ding Ning, but on the surrounding shadows, even the mud and murky water.

When his vital energy was sent into Ding Ning’s body, Ding Ning only snorted softly, which surprised him. Ding Ning’s body did not pause at all.

His left hand moved the same way as Song Shenshu. His index and middle fingers joining together like a sword and thrusting it towards the Gate of Ordering aperture on Song Shenshu’s abdomen.

Song Shenshu could not understand how Ding Ning could tolerate his vital energy. He also could not understand the meaning of Ding Ning’s stab.

But in the next moment, his entire body suddenly froze.

With a soft thud, the straw robe fell to the floor of the boat. The raised stern of the boat also fell at the same time, causing a splash.

The energy sea within his body emitted a soft popping sound. His vital energy, which usually flowed in an orderly manner, suddenly dispersed into countless thin streams. These streams spread into the acupunture points in his body like poisonous snakes, and then burst out from his flesh and skin.

Countless red vital energy wriggled on the surface of his body like small earthworms. The dark cabin turned crimson as if a red lantern had been lit inside.

Song Shenshu’s mind went blank, and he felt a wave of terror.

He knew that some cultivation methods had weaknesses, but even he, the cultivator, did not know what weaknesses there were in his Crimson Sun Divine Spell.

But with just a single hand stab, someone else caused his vital energy to go out of control. He could not even control his body. How could this be possible!

“How do you know the weakness in my method cultivation? Who are you?” After a few seconds of silence, he finally forced himself to say. His breath hissed like a snake.

“To be honest, the Crimson Sun Divine Spell is a wonderful cultivation method. With just a few poisonous fire items as medicine, one can significantly increase one’s cultivation speed. Ordinary cultivators will need at least two decades to advance from realm one to realm three first class, but you only needed half that time to reach it.” Ding Ning panted softly. He sat down in front of Song Shenshu. He looked seriously at Song Shenshu as he continued to touch the vital energy on Song Shenshu’s body.

“However, this cultivation method, which originated from the Crimson Sun Cave of the Wei Dynasty, has a significant weakness. If one overstimulates the kidneys, the vital energy will be disrupted. So, in the past, when our dynasty’s cultivators fought against the Red Sun Cave cultivators, they discovered that the enemy would cover their meridian with special armor. Then Crimson Sun Cave was subsequently destroyed, and this method was included in the archives of our historical library. Although its weakness was discovered, it was not touched. I didn’t expect you to coincidentally choose this method for cultivation.”

Ding Ning continued speaking softly. As his hand continued to touch the vital energy in Song Shenshu’s body, strange sounds could be heard. The sound was like countless silkworms chewing on mulberry leaves.

“The Nine Deaths Silkworm Divine Art!”

Song Shenshu finally discovered something even more terrifying than his current situation. The flesh in his throat nearly tore as he screamed hoarsely in fear, “You are his disciple!”

Notes:

This novel is not my work... I just translated it from a Chinese web novel written by Wu Zui

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