The Yao Emperor and His Human Doctor.

Chapter 34 - Going to the Barrier

Qiang Yong knew the Soul Devouring sword. During the war, that sword decimated thousands of yao in a unique and cruel way. The victim cut by it had its soul destroyed and consumed by the sword. Ren Loo's husband was cut by this lethal weapon and her sister saw his body become an empty shell and agonize for days until he perished. There was nothing they could do to reverse it.

Depending on the blow taken, the soul could be consumed immediately or little by little. The Emperor remembered that he himself went after Deng Choi and received a cut on his side. But miraculously his soul was not devoured. He later learned that the weapon had been destroyed by a shidi of Deng Choi, the same night he was injured. Thus, he was spared the same fate as his brother-in-law.

Without his deadly sword, Deng Choi was then captured by Ren Loo and decapitated by her. The dragon even allowed the members of the Sect to take the body for a funeral, as a gesture of goodwill towards humans. More than anyone, his sister also wanted a peaceful world for her son. A world where he wouldn't take the same risks as her and her father.

"So, there were three weapons of this same level? What did Tung Shiu do with his?"
"He destroyed her too. Just like I did."
He was the one who destroyed Deng Choi's weapon. Qiang Yong put the pieces of this puzzle together but there were still parts that were missing or didn't fit together. Why did Su Ning take the liberty of destroying the other two weapons? With such powerful weapons, humans could have won that war!

However, looking at those placid and gentle eyes now, it was as if he was unable to take any other action. He was more on the side of the yao than his own species. Was it some kind of disappointment in the human race? Qiang Yong thought about asking a few more questions, however, he decided to let him rest for the next day.

Furthermore, the doctor took the initiative to come and tell him something that didn't bring back good memories. It would probably be torment to force him to recount every sordid detail of what happened in his past. Fighting your own shixiong couldn't have been easy, especially since Deng Choi was later captured and killed by them. Su Ning probably felt guilty about this.

Alone in his office, Qiang Yong began to put his thoughts in order. Supposing the yao was looking for Su Ning to obtain the knowledge of crafting spiritual weapons, how would he know about this? Su Ning said that only three people knew about this. So one of them let it slip! Could there then be some betrayal involving Tung Shiu or Deng Choi and this yao? In that case, this would explain Su Ning's attitude well. Destroy every chance this traitor would have of getting his hands on these lethal weapons. Smart doctor.

Tung Shiu destroyed his own weapon. He couldn't be the traitor and Su Ning was out of the question. Only Deng Choi was left. Did he side with the yao? Impossible,  he was determined to kill everyone. Then some yao tried to ally with him, seeing that it would be impossible to defeat that weapon. Qiang Yong slammed his fist on the table angrily. It was all so clear to him now! One of his generals planned to betray him, while also trying to steal his weapon-making technique!

Everything was planned for him to be destroyed and with this knowledge, the traitor would subjugate not only humans, but also any yao who opposed him. Qiang Yong was intercepted by Deng Choi in the past and his army when he least expected it. He managed to escape and was only saved because moments later the Soul Devouring sword was destroyed! He couldn't believe how lucky he was!

Qiang Yong got up the next day still stunned by the latest information. It was unbelievable that events from the past would come back like this. He needed to talk to someone about this and he thought about looking for Ren Loo, but unfortunately they didn't have much time. The emperor's sister had already been on her feet for a long time, but was devoting all her attention to the phoenix.

Apparently, the tonic had worked very well, even accelerating the effect of the poultice that Su Ning had applied to Huang Jia's wings. She was now able to stretch out a small pair of wings that were even a little smaller than her arms. The pink color had returned to the Phoenix's face and despite the deep sadness visible in her eyes, her lips were tightly pressed with determination and anger.

Qiang Yong knew this stance well. He reminded him a lot of Ren Loo when she lost her husband. It was no wonder that the two were more united than ever. Fire with fire. Beside them was Su Ning, in her always impassive pose, like a glacial lake. A true contrast of personalities.
"Good morning, Emperor!" Huang Jia greeted him with cupped hands.
"Are you guys ready yet?"

“Huang Jia would like to complete this as soon as possible." Ren Loo replied. "I also think it's the best. The sooner this barrier is strengthened, the more effort we can spend on capturing this monster!”
Su Ning had no way to convince them otherwise, so he was resigned to this position. And An Shu was still dozing attached to his wrist.

Qiang Yong looked at that white snake with disgust, then remembered how useful he was on the mountain of the Medical Sect. Until he and the doctor worked well together, although he felt that An Shu was not strong enough to protect his master.
Although he was also unaware of how strong Su Ning still was after he destroyed his spiritual weapon. However, he was a disciple of Tung Shiu, who was a notorious cultivator at that time, so he really should still be very capable.

Another question the Emperor wanted to ask was whether he had been the one to heal him after Deng Choi's attack. After all, they were relatively close at the time. It could have been him or one of his medical teammates. But that would have to be left for later.

"Let's go then. We can only open the portal in a nearby region and then we will have to climb the Plateau until we get there." Qiang Yong drew the array on one of the doors for everyone to walk through. The barrier had extra protection so that transportation arrays could not be used within the barrier area, so they could only get there this way from a certain distance.

The region where the portal opened was a densely wooded place, close to the beginning of where a steep plateau began. Huang Jia felt her heart tighten. She and her mother were attacked right there and where there was supposed to be a trail full of trees, there was a clearing filled with debris from claw-cut trees and others burned to ashes. Seeing the site of the attack again had an important impact on her, especially since the place still had a strong smell of blood.

The phoenix staggered a little, but she felt a hand support her, holding her shoulder. With teary eyes, she turned around, to meet Su Ning's attentive gaze. She calmed down instantly. Looking into those two dark wells that were the doctor's eyes immediately filled her with tranquility. As if she could dive into deep waters, where no one could bother her, not even pain.

She took a deep breath and turned to leave with the group, crossing the half-destroyed path with the grandeur of the new Leader of the Bird Clan. They arrived in front of the Plateau and prepared to climb the steep and rocky wall. Madam Ren supported Huang Jia who still couldn't fly and Qiang Yong jumped over the rocks with ease.

Then he remembered the doctor, but when he looked down he realized that he was following him perfectly well with his qinggong skills.
"What it was?" Su Ning asked seeing the look at him in a strange way. The doctor looked around her. "Did you notice anything different?"
Qiang Yong shook his head.

It was difficult to get used to having a talented human at his side. An already awake An Shu also stretched out the tip of his forked tongue.
"I don't feel anything either."
Su Ning continued to climb, taking large, silent leaps. Indeed, his presence was imperceptible among the stones, as if he were nothing more than a shadow.

In the end, everyone reached the top of the Plateau. It was an immense expanse of land, practically an exclusive territory for the rebellious yao to live until well. The barrier rose into the sky, a large curtain of dark smoke, blocking the view and surrounded by the edge of the Plateau, just a few zhang away.

Huang Jia prepared to form the protective key for the barrier, positioning his hands in a lotus shape.
"Hang on!" Su Ning suddenly warned.
"What it was?" Madam Ren interpellated, the dragons turned to him at the same time.
"There is no sign of life behind this barrier. There is nothing in it." Su Ning replied. A heavy silence fell over the group.

Author's Note

Break for us to stay 😲