Chapter 146: Murder in a Dream

Witnessing the scene, a bald bandit, his face contorted in terror, stepped out from the crowd.

“We cannot let it leave,” the bald bandit shouted, his flickering gaze locking onto Zhou Qing.

“Tell me, why can’t I let him go?” As Zhou Qing was untying the dragon sinew from the rat spirit, these words caught his attention. He studied the bald man for a moment, paused his actions, then took a step closer.

That single step forced the bald bandit to stagger backward several paces, merging back into the ranks of the other bandits.

“All of us here have been forced to swallow the Same Root Pill it gave us. If you let it go, none of us will make it past a month—we’ll all die.” In the crowd, a freckle-faced man responded.

“Same Root Pill?” Zhou Qing repeated the words and turned back to the rat spirit, inquiring about what the bandit had just revealed.

He soon learned the pill’s origin from the rat spirit. Before becoming a spirit, the rat had lived for over a decade in a mountain valley, where a highly skilled healer resided. This healer was not only a master of medicine but also deeply versed in poisons. On one occasion, to test a new toxin, the healer captured the not-yet-spiritual rat and planted his concoction within it.

From that day, the rat remained with the healer, and after a period of living together, as it neared transformation, the rat picked up some of the healer’s knowledge of poisons—among them, the recipe for the Same Root Pill that the bandits had been forced to take.

Having learned the antidote’s formula from the rat spirit, Zhou Qing decided to release it, believing the creature’s account to be truthful. If the rat had been bloodthirsty by nature, the plight of the bandits on Wolf Howl Mountain—or the lives of the nearby villagers—would be a very different story.

Once the rat spirit departed, Zhou Qing began his descent from the mountain. As he left, he spoke a single sentence:

“If you want the antidote, stay here on the mountain. I will return tomorrow.”

With these words, Zhou Qing holstered his firearm and vanished into the darkness, taking Phantom Peerless with him. Owing to Zhou Qing’s formidable skills, the bandits could do nothing but watch helplessly as he disappeared.

Originally, Zhou Qing’s main purpose in coming up the mountain was to rescue the women who had been abducted. Now that he had the antidote for the Same Root Pill, things had become much simpler—no need for further exertion or violence.

He descended the stone steps to the mountainside, heading straight for the stone chamber where Zhu Yidan was held. At the chamber’s entrance, Zhou Qing saw the bandit that Zhu Yidan had stabbed lying dead in a pool of blood, while a few other bandits, spotting Zhou Qing’s sudden appearance, stared at him in terror.

Glancing around the stone chamber, Zhou Qing heard faint snores from Zhu Yidan, who was sprawled across the wooden table in deep sleep. Zhou Qing asked, “How did he die?”

“That—he was killed with a single stroke by Young Master Zhu, right on this table,” replied a bandit named Yin Mao, hastily recounting the details of how Zhu Yidan, in a drunken stupor, had stabbed the man.

“So you say he killed him in his sleep, dreaming?” Zhou Qing found this amusing, reminded of a curious anecdote from a classic novel in his previous life.

He approached the table and looked down at the sleeping Zhu Yidan, a feeling rising in his chest. He sensed that this child, once grown, would be far from an ordinary village boy.

Indeed, Zhou Qing’s intuition proved true. Thirty years later, the decadent Tang Dynasty would be overthrown by a man named Zhu—none other than the very boy now asleep beside Zhou Qing.

After his trip up and down Wolf Howl Mountain, Zhou Qing hadn’t sat in the stone chamber for long before the morning sun rose outside.

“Your chief has already been driven off by me. If you want the antidote to the Same Root Pill, follow my instructions to accomplish a task. Once it’s done, I’ll distribute the antidote to you.” With dawn, Zhou Qing untied several bandits who had been bound by dragon sinew.

“You—do you really mean that?” Guo Dajing, flexing the arm Zhou Qing had just set, could scarcely believe his ears.

Zhou Qing offered no further explanation. He fetched a wooden stool from the chamber, carried it outside, and sat basking in the first rays of sunlight.

Seeing this, Guo Dajing and the other six bandits hurriedly followed. Just as they were about to question Zhou Qing again, two figures appeared on the mountain path, descending from above.

Soon, the two men reached the stone chamber, and from their words, Guo Dajing and the others were convinced that Zhou Qing had spoken the truth.

“Master, whatever you ask, we’ll do it. As long as you lift the poison of the Same Root Pill from us, we’ll serve you loyally for the rest of our days,” declared Yin Mao, bowing respectfully to Zhou Qing beneath the sun.

“What I ask is simple. Go down the mountain and visit every village from which you’ve taken women. Tell them to come up the mountain to reclaim their daughters. Also…” Zhou Qing gave further instructions.

Following his orders, Guo Dajing, the other six, and the two newly arrived bandits—nine in total—descended Wolf Howl Mountain, heading for the neighboring villages and towns.

Not long after the nine bandits departed, Zhou Qing, leaning against a tree in the sun, heard a startled cry from within the stone chamber. Zhu Yidan, face pale with fear, came running out.

“What’s wrong, little Dan?” Zhou Qing asked in concern, seeing the look on the boy’s face.

“He’s… dead. That bandit is dead?” The child stammered his question, eyes wide as he drew close to Zhou Qing. “Immortal… did you kill him?”

“Me? You are quite the little actor,” Zhou Qing replied, privately amused. The boy’s performance, in Zhou Qing’s eyes, was clumsy. Though he had played the drunken innocent since Zhou Qing’s return the night before, there were many details that hadn’t escaped Zhou Qing’s notice.

The tale of killing in one’s sleep—such nonsense could only fool those bandits, frightened out of their wits.

Of course, Zhou Qing had no intention of probing the matter further. He understood Zhu Yidan must have had his reasons for killing that particular bandit and sparing the others.

“Little Dan, I believe one day you’ll leave that small village of yours and become a man of great power,” Zhou Qing said, instead of answering directly. He gently ruffled Zhu Yidan’s hair, then took his small hand and led him up the mountain.