Editor: SleepyCat<3
Even though the three of them had escaped from danger, they didn’t stay in Huangshi for long, especially since there were no other clues to be found there. Considering that the Hu family had dispatched Fan Hua to search for Li Yan, Huang Yuliang wasn’t keen on letting Li Yan return to Beijing just yet. Moreover, he’d also heard that Jiang Sheng’s friend in Nanjing was in a bind, so he decided to head to Nanjing first to plan their next steps.
Huang Yuliang made three phone calls in sequence. The first was to Fan Hua, informing him that he’d found clues about Swallow and was leaving Beijing temporarily. The second was to Chang Mingjin, asking him to find a way to handle the Hu family’s order to search for Li Yan. The third call was to his own mother who was good at medicine. He called her to seek advice since he was concerned about any potential aftermath of Li Yan’s intercourse with the Prisoner Maidens.
In the small compartment of the train, Li Yan expressed the question that had been buried in his heart for quite a while.
“What… is the magic behind all this?”
Huang Yuliang was momentarily taken aback. “In fact, from a scientific physiological perspective, it’s nothing more than water, proteins, peptides…” Seeing Li Yan’s earnest, inquisitive expression, he decided not to beat around the bush. “These are all just components of biological tissues, and they don’t hold any specific significance for demonic arts or curses.”
Jiang Sheng raised his hand. “I know!”
“If you know, tell him.”
“My dad told me that the meaning of these things as mediums for spells lies in the meaning they are given.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
李焱看著姜勝，“so?”
Ol Tjc rbeuta Lejcu Teiljcu’r fsfr obg fzqijcjalbc. “Qtja vbfr atja wfjc?”
“Pc frrfcmf,” Lejcu Teiljcu fijybgjafv, “la’r pera ilxf ktja Aljcu Vtfcu’r ojatfg rjlv. Qtja vbfr rfwfc rluclos? Pa’r ecldef ab wjifr, gfqgfrfcar mbcalcejalbc bo atf ojwlis ilcf, mjc yf mjiifv atf rbegmf bo ilof… Gbc’a ijeut. Vjwf klat yibbv, fsfr, tjlg, rxlc, jcv ybcfr. Ktfrf ylbibulmji alrrefr jii tjnf atflg bkc wfjclcu ulnfc ab atfw. Vbwf rqfiir erf atfrf wfjclcur jr wfvlewr. Gb sbe ecvfgrajcv cbk?”
“I… I think I understand, but…” Li Yan looked at Jiang Sheng. “What about abilities like Jiang Sheng’s family, or those magical techniques used by Chang Mingjin? What are the principles behind them?”
“The situation with Jiang Sheng’s family and Chang Mingjin is completely different.” Huang Yuliang pulled Jiang Sheng’s hand and pointed to the snake patterns on it. “As they are blessed by ancient heroic souls, their essence is human. Their power comes from the belief in ancient tribal totems. The faith in these heroic souls becomes an invisible totem, accumulating into an energy that appears in the descendants. Only those with totemic patterns can activate the release of this energy.” Huang Yuliang paused. “Chang Mingjin’s ancestors were beastly demons who attained human form through cultivation. Some of the spells they cast fall under the category of illusions at their most fundamental level.”
“Illusions?”
“Indeed, it’s just illusions.” Huang Yuliang nodded. “However, the higher the cultivation, the better the levels of depth and breadth illusions can have. If you possess superhuman concentration, there’s a chance to break their demonic arts. Take a well-known example—the nine-tailed fox that transformed into a lotus. It’s commonly described as naturally having nine tails and fiery eyes. The significance of these fiery eyes lies in dispelling illusions. You can understand it as burning away any obstacles attached to consciousness.”
“Pretty impressive! Is that like Sun Wukong’s ‘fiery eyes’?” Li Yan marveled. “Living life on cheat mode, damn.”
“The abilities used by the demon clan are generally divided into three types: those based on illusions, spells using other carriers as mediums, and those that attach to the source power in their original form.” Huang Yuliang took a breath. “I don’t understand spells very well. Humans without specific training can’t comprehend the language and organizational mediums of spells. However, what is certain is that the power of spells depends on the medium, just like there is a difference between pouring water in a tea cup and pouring water on you from a vat.” Huang Yuliang looked at Li Yan. “The term ‘half-demon’ should sound familiar to you.”
Li Yan understood what Huang Yuliang was referring to. Huang Yuliang’s parents were both half-demons.
“The reason why half-demons, this hybrid species, are not as frightening as demons is because their original form is a symbol of powerful demon power. They inherently carry a part of their original form but cannot transform completely. However, even as half-demons, they can draw power from their original form, known as source power. You can think of it like this: a demon transformed from a rabbit would have heightened agility, while one transformed from an elephant would possess great strength,” Huang Yuliang said.
Li Yan pondered for a moment, then glanced at Jiang Sheng who was enjoying instant noodles. “What if a demon transformed from instant noodles?”
“If that thing could transform into a demon, it’d probably drown people in the oil it secretes.”
Jiang Sheng glanced at the two who had weird thoughts, then looked at the sour and spicy beef flavor instant noodles in his hand… Regardless, he decided to eat it.
“In addition, half-demons or demons can use parts of their original body as a medium for spells. This is more potent than using a regular medium. Chang Mingjin, being a combination of two half-demons, retains the source power of both demonic races, which is quite rare. However, he still has a human part, so he can’t transform completely into a beastly demon. At least, you’ve never seen a combination of a fox and a snake, have you?”
Li Yan couldn’t fathom how those two animals would fit together.
“But even if he can’t transform into his original form, you should be able to imagine that he is more terrifying than a complete demon. Do you understand what I mean?”
Li Yan involuntarily lowered his head, understanding that Huang Yuliang was suggesting to avoid mingling too much with Chang Mingjin.
Jiang Sheng drank the last sip of soup and said, “Brother Li, how did you use that snake spell?”
Hearing this, Li Yan and Huang Yuliang both turned to look at him.
“Huh? What snake spell? I don’t know how to use it.”
“But…” Jiang Sheng hesitated. “In the village I saw you spitting out a snake from your mouth, poisoning two village women to death…” Seeing the astonished expressions on the faces across him, Jiang Sheng felt he might have said something wrong. “The snake… exploded… and then disappeared.”
Huang Yuliang recalled that during the melee, some Prisoner Maidens had accused Li Yan of poisoning people. He hadn’t asked about it due to the urgency of the situation. When he first heard about it, he’d thought that the worst case scenario was that Li Yan secretly practiced the Li family’s Poison Hand Technique without telling him. Now, hearing Jiang Sheng mention a poisonous snake, he understood what had happened and felt reassured.
“Was the snake black?” Li Yan saw Jiang Sheng nodding. “Did it have red eyes?” Seeing the teenager continue to nod, Li Yan couldn’t help but grimace in disgust. He knew without looking at Huang Yuliang that the man had an “I told you so” expression plastered on his face. Immediately, Li Yan took out his phone and dialed Chang Mingjin’s number.
“I was wondering when you’d call me yourself. Send my regards to Huang Yuliang.”
If they weren’t on a train, Li Yan would have surely cursed loudly. “How many fucking snakes did you put inside me?” He asked with a hint of revulsion.
“Just that one. I put it there specifically to protect you.”
“What nonsense are you talking about? Why would I need protection?”
“Of course, you do. Without my snake, you’d have been drained dry by those Prisoner Maidens.”
“You… how do you know about that?”
“I saw it all,” Chang Mingjin stifled a laugh, “from start to finish.”
Li Yan hung up the phone directly. What damn luck!
Thanks for the chapter!