Chapter 80: Turning Hostile!
Chapter 80: Turning Hostile!
“Bl…bl…blood!”
Right at this moment, Tang Bu’s face twisted with terror. His hands trembled so violently in fright that he flung away the Spirit Stone he was holding.
“Ah Bu!”
“What happened?”
“What’s wrong?”
Tang Hu and the others were instantly alarmed when they saw the change in Tang Bu.
Snatch!
Tang Jinbiao, moving fast, swiftly caught the Spirit Stone Tang Bu had thrown. He then took a look at it, but the sight sent his heart leaping into his throat.
“Bl…blood!”
Tang Bu was petrified, his legs giving way beneath him as he sank to his knees. His face turned ashen, and he kept mumbling incoherently.
“Ah Hu, Ah Bi, have a look at this!”
Tang Jinbiao handed the Spirit Stone over, his eyelid twitching nervously as he spoke.
“Hmm?”
“What is it?”
He passed the stone over. Tang Hu and the others wore confused expressions but still leaned in to see.
Thud! (heart sinking sound)
“What?”
“Blood!”
Yet, once Tang Hu and the others clearly made out what was on the Spirit Stone, their faces all drastically changed.
The reason was, coating that Spirit Stone was a layer of dark, red bloodstains. It had stained well over half of the stone.
“Do yours have it too? Quick, take yours out and check! And Ah Hu, where exactly did you get that Storage Pouch?”
Tang Jinbiao reacted with lightning speed, speaking immediately. He pulled out the Spirit Stone Tang Hu had given him earlier, but unfortunately, there was no blood on his own stone.
“Yes, yes!”
“No time to lose, quick!”
Tang Hu and his companions also reacted swiftly, each pulling out their Spirit Stones. However, it seemed that aside from Tang Bu’s stone, none of the others had blood on them.
“Brother Hu, the Storage Pouch! The Storage Pouch! Get the Storage Pouch out!”
Tang Bi was just as quick-witted, remembering the Storage Pouch immediately and urgently pressing Tang Hu.
“Right, right! The Storage Pouch! There’s still the Storage Pouch!”
Tang Hu froze momentarily, then snapped into action. He hastily fished the Storage Pouch from his robes, flung it open without a second thought, and dumped its entire contents out onto the ground.
Clang! Jingle! Clatter!
With a series of light metallic and crystalline sounds, the contents of the Storage Pouch tumbled out. In the blink of an eye, they piled up into a small mound. But when the group clearly saw what had been dumped out, it wasn’t just Tang Jinbiao and the others who were horrified—Tang Hu himself stood frozen, mouth agape.
“Heavens!”
“How is this possible?”
“So many Spirit Stones!”
Only after more than ten breaths did they begin to respond, emitting gasps of shock.
For the mound before them was none other than a pile—a literal pile—of Spirit Stones. Each stone was egg-sized, perfectly square, and radiated astonishing Spiritual Energy. Clearly, these were all Mid-grade Spirit Stones, treasures once utterly beyond the reach of Tang Hu and his companions. Yet here they stood, confronted by a heap of at least a thousand. A few fist-sized stones pulsed with an invigorating energy so potent that just inhaling it refreshed the spirit. While they couldn’t confirm if these were the legendary High-Grade Spirit Stones, they were unmistakably superior to the Mid-grade Spirit Stones, containing Spiritual Energy far beyond anything they had ever imagined.
“This… this…”
“So many!”
“This must be worth tens of thousands!”
“Tens of thousands? You’re joking! This must be close to a million!”
Astonishment was etched onto every face. Such unimaginable wealth was far beyond their comprehension. Even Tang Bu seemed to have forgotten the terror of the gore moments ago, his expression one of sheer disbelief as he stared at the glittering pile.
“Hah, hahaha!”
“Brother Hu! We’ve hit it big!”
“Hah! Brother Hu, we’ve hit the mother lode this time!”
After another brief moment, the shock finally wore off, replaced by ecstatic glee. They began bellowing with unrestrained joy.
“Mhmm, mhmm, mhmm! We’ve hit it! We’ve really hit it!”
Tang Hu, snot and tears running freely, slapped Tang Bi’s shoulder, looking on the verge of sobbing.
“Mhmm, Brother Hu, we’ve finally made it… look at my eyes… we’ve hit it!”
Tang Bi, equally overcome, wrapped his arms around Tang Hu, and they began wailing together.
“Hahaha… hah… hahaha…”
As for Tang Xing, his laughter erupted in violent spasms until he appeared physically convulsed.
“Brother Hu! Brother Biao! Brother Bi!”
Tang Bu, too, had shed his earlier fear, gazing at Tang Jinbiao and others with flushed excitement and eyes glistening.
“Heavens! Earth! Holy Mother Xiaoze Maria! This deadbeat has finally made it! Finally got rich! Happiness came too fast! Way too fast!”
Tang Jinbiao dropped to his knees, yelling hysterically at the sky.
“Mhmm mhmm mhmm! Happiness came too fast!”
“Happiness came too fast!”
Tang Hu and the others followed suit, throwing themselves onto the pile of Spirit Stones and weeping openly.
…
A quarter of an hour later, the fervor faded. A subdued melancholy settled over them as they sat encircling the Spirit Stone pile.
“Ah Hu,” came the question, “How did you come by this Storage Pouch? You didn’t… take to robbery and murder, did you?”
Tang Jinbiao’s expression darkened as he questioned Tang Hu across from him.
“Hmph, how could I, Tang Hu, do such a thing? Besides, haven’t I been with you all every single day recently? When would I have had the time? I’ve already said, I found this Storage Pouch, and it was ownerless! Even if it had an owner, he must be dead, otherwise, a Body Refiner like us could never have opened it!”
Tang Hu, sitting opposite him, looked displeased and immediately retorted.
“Hmph, no matter what you say, I disagree with splitting these Spirit Stones equally. They’re of dubious origin! And that bloodstain on the stone? It’s unclean! I believe they should be handed over. This could very well be a life-or-death matter!”
Tang Jinbiao snorted and spoke with decisive firmness.
After calming down, the group had discussed how to handle the Spirit Stones, but a disagreement arose. Tang Hu, Tang Bi, and Tang Xing wanted to split them equally. Tang Jinbiao, however, disagreed. He felt that such a large number of Spirit Stones couldn’t possibly have an ordinary origin and might be tied to some earth-shattering case.
“Fine! Since you disagree, we’ll take a vote. All in favor of equal sharing, raise your hands!”
Tang Hu didn’t want to engage with Tang Jinbiao anymore and proposed the method directly.
Swish, swish, swish!
As soon as Tang Hu finished speaking, Tang Bi and Tang Xing immediately raised their hands. Even Tang Bu looked like he wanted to raise his.
“Hmm?”
Seeing Tang Bu’s movement, Tang Jinbiao glared at him angrily. Tang Bu shrank back and lowered his hand feebly.
“Good! Three agree to split them equally now. We three outnumber you two. Let’s begin dividing them!”
Tang Hu saw Tang Bi and Tang Xing agree, grabbed the largest pieces from the pile of Spirit Stones – one fist-sized one – and handed it to Tang Bi, speaking.
Bang!
“No! We cannot take these stones!”
Seeing Tang Hu start to divide the stones, Tang Jinbiao’s face flushed with anger. Without a second thought, he shot out a hand to grab the Spirit Stones.
Slap!
Tang Hu showed no courtesy either. Relying on his formidable Cultivation Level, he swiftly twisted his palm, fiercely grabbed Tang Jinbiao’s hand, and threw him backwards with a powerful jerk.
Thud!
“Ah!”
Tang Jinbiao was flung away, crashing into a large tree before stopping, letting out a pained groan.
“Brother Hu!”
“This…”
Seeing the two actually come to blows, Tang Bi and Tang Xing’s expressions shifted slightly; they clearly hadn’t expected this.
“Ah Hu, are you serious?”
Tang Jinbiao felt a slight tightness in his chest and yelled out loudly.
“Brother Hu, this doesn’t feel quite right?”
A trace of hesitation flashed across Tang Bi’s face.
“Brother Hu, shouldn’t we just… not divide them?”
Tang Xing’s face also turned serious, no longer smiling.
“Brother Hu!”
Tang Bu looked at Tang Hu with hopeful eyes.
“Ah Hu, don’t persist in this delusion!”
Tang Jinbiao slowly walked back, trying to reason with him.
For some reason, he felt a deep sense of loss. Just minutes ago, they had all been close friends and brothers, laughing and joking together. Yet now, merely over this pile of Spirit Stones, their relationship had undergone such a drastic, earth-shaking change.
“Get away! If you don’t want a share, leave! Stop interfering with us! The Spirit Stone we receive each year is just one tiny Low-grade Spirit Stone! You’ve seen it! Do you know? A single Mid-grade Spirit Stone like this is worth a hundred years of saving everything we have! We are the discarded ones! We mortals might not even live a hundred years! Tell me, why should I hand it over? What benefits have those Elders ever given us? All these years, we’ve been bullied every day, looked down upon—did you think we chose that? Why do we have to be discriminated against? Why do those direct lineage members get to sit high above? Their cultivation techniques are better than ours! Their resources are more than ours! They already have it all better than us! Why do they still need to pick on us? Oh! I forgot! You’re different! You’re the Tang family’s genius! Your father is the Family Head! So impressive! Truly impressive! How could you possibly understand the suffering of us lowly folk? To outsiders, we’re all Tang family members, such an honorable thing! But in reality? In the eyes of the Tang family, we are worth less than dogs! You keep your high-minded morals! But if you interfere again… I, Tang Hu, don’t have a brother like you! Ah Bi! Ah Xing! Ah Bu! Come! Take these Spirit Stones! With these, even if we leave the Tang Family, we can survive! Hide them well! Don’t let anyone see, or it will bring disaster upon you!”
Tang Hu seemed equally agitated, bellowing loudly. He then began grabbing handfuls of Spirit Stones and shoving them into the arms of Tang Bi and the others.
Though his expression was ferocious and his voice loud, a distinct undercurrent of panic and fear was palpable. Perhaps these words were his true inner thoughts; perhaps this reality was genuine. How could he not know that these stones might represent the very life of someone else? Yet deep inside, some things remained unsaid. Or rather, another force was striving to resist—a force that made him feel panicked and fearful. That force was what could be called conscience. Therefore, he could only try to bellow louder to lessen the terror within him.
“Ah Hu!”
Seeing Tang Hu like this, Tang Jinbiao’s feeling of loss transmuted into profound sorrow.
How familiar this feeling was! When he had first arrived, hadn’t he cursed everything too?
What kind of self-comfort and encouragement was that?
“Brother Hu!”
“Brother Hu!”
After hearing Tang Hu’s outburst, complex emotions surfaced on the faces of Tang Bi and the others.
Tang Hu had indeed spoken their hearts. These were undeniable truths. But they had always chosen silent endurance. Not for lack of desire to change or break free, but because they were mere Mortals. No matter how loud their shouts, no matter how fierce their roars, to others, it would sound like pointless whining, just the strange cries of lowly creatures.
“Get lost! I don’t want to see you again!”
Tang Hu threw his head back and roared at Tang Jinbiao.
“Ah Hu, are you…”
At this moment, Tang Jinbiao felt he grasped something. He sensed Tang Hu’s sorrow and wanted to say something.
Whiz, whiz, whiz!
A series of sharp whistling sounds, like objects tearing through the air, abruptly descended from overhead…