The Black Mist Trap

Ji Ning instantly vaulted over a li, grabbing the chieftain, Black Beard, by the scruff of his neck. This startled the other high-ranking members of the Blazingwing Tribe, who quickly dismounted and fell to their knees, trembling. One after another, they cried out, “Spare us, Lord Ji Ning!” “Calm your anger, Lord Ji Ning!” “Please, young master, calm your anger!”

The tribal warriors in the back, who hadn't been struck by the tidal wave, saw their leaders kneeling and naturally followed suit. The warriors who had been knocked down by the wave also knelt in fear.

In an instant, a sea of people knelt in submission, leaving only Ji Ning standing, holding the black-bearded man.

“Thump.” Ji Ning tossed him casually, sending him tumbling across the ground.

“Lord Ji Ning,” the black-bearded man said, shivering.

“Do you not know me?” Ji Ning stared at him.

The black-bearded man shook his head frantically. “No, no. I have long heard of your fame, Lord Ji Ning.”

“Then why did you order an attack?” Ji Ning frowned.

“I, I…” the black-bearded man hesitated, unable to find an answer. This made Ji Ning even more suspicious. This chieftain clearly knew his name and feared him, yet had still dared to give the order.

Ji Ning bellowed, “I’ll ask you again. Why did you attack the Blacktooth Tribe?”

The black-bearded man hesitated.

One of the tribe’s other high-ranking members immediately spoke up. “Lord Ji Ning, the Blacktooth Tribe is just a small tribe. Our Blazingwing Tribe had no desire to attack them! But our chieftain insisted. For the sake of one small tribe, we didn’t oppose him too firmly.”

“This was the chieftain’s will alone.”

“We all opposed it.”

“Half a month ago, the chieftain forcefully led the tribe’s warriors against another small tribe of only a few hundred people, ignoring our objections. He sold every man, woman, and child from that tribe as slaves to his friend, Zi Hu! Look, the one next to the chieftain is Zi Hu. The chieftain trusted him completely!” A silver-haired elder in beast-hide pointed at a long-haired youth standing next to Ji Ning.

Swish!

A streak of black light shot out from the long-haired youth’s sleeve, aimed directly at Ji Ning, who was just a few feet away.

“Clang!” Ji Ning was wearing beast-hide over his body, but beneath it was a magic treasure’s protective armor. The attack was blocked.

“Hmph.” Ji Ning turned to look at the youth, only to see his face instantly turning black. Several of the kneeling Blazingwing Tribe elders roared with rage and grabbed for the youth’s arms, trying to capture him. “How dare you! Attacking the young master! You deserve death!”

“Don’t touch him!” Ji Ning shouted.

But the first tribesman to lunge forward had already grabbed the youth’s blackened hand. The lethal corruption began to spread up the man’s arm.

“Swoosh!” Ji Ning pointed, and a streak of sword-light flew out, severing the man’s right arm in a clean cut.

The long-haired youth collapsed softly, his skin completely blackened, black blood oozing from his seven apertures. The severed hand of the man Ji Ning had saved also began to bleed black.

“Poison!”

The surrounding Blazingwing tribesmen cried out in alarm and scrambled backward.

Ji Ning’s expression was grave. “A truly potent poison.”

“Ah!” the chieftain, Black Beard, suddenly cried out, pointing at the corpse on the ground. “It was him! It was all him! He blew a puff of smoke at me, and I was completely ensnared. I knew what was happening, but I treated this Zi Hu as my master. My heart was utterly obedient to him. Whatever he told me to do, I did. If he told me to die, I wouldn’t have hesitated. Just now, when I heard your name, it was he who ordered me to attack! I knew I shouldn’t offend you, but the moment he commanded it, I gave the order instantly.”

The black-bearded man stared at the corpse in shock and fury. “It was just that one puff of smoke.”

The surrounding tribal high-ranking members were all stunned and murmured in shock.

“What?” Ji Ning was also taken aback.

Throughout the entire Yan Mountain range, the only organization known to possess methods for controlling people was the ‘Blackfire Cult.’ Their most famous product was the Sacred Fire Pill. Anyone who ate a Sacred Fire Pill would become utterly loyal to the Cult, even unafraid of death. But the Blackfire Cult’s method was a pill, not some kind of smoke.

“Any alchemist who can concoct something like this has to be terrifyingly powerful,” Ji Ning thought to himself in alarm. He turned back to the chieftain. “Tell me. What did this Zi Hu want from you?”

“Buying slaves!” the black-bearded man said hurriedly. “He bought two batches of slaves from us, over two thousand total. Then he used his control over me to make me swallow up the smaller tribes, selling every man, woman, and child as slaves to him. He would arrange for people to take them away.”

Ji Ning was perplexed. What did he need so many slaves for? Normally, a tribe bought slaves for labor or servitude, but they still had to feed them. Getting enough food for such a large group was no easy task.

“Where are his subordinates?” Ji Ning pressed. “Didn’t you say he sent people to take the slaves away? With so many men, women, and children, they had to move slowly through the mountains. We should be able to find their trail, right?”

“We can find them, we can!” the black-bearded man nodded vigorously. “Ten days ago, he took the latest batch of slaves and headed east. Two days ago, one of our hunting parties spotted them. Given their slow pace, they probably haven’t gotten far. We can catch up to them quickly.”

Ji Ning nodded. He turned his head and looked into the distance. “Mowo, Qiuye.”

Mowo and Qiuye ran over to him.

“Young master,” they both said.

“I have business to attend to,” Ji Ning said. “First, send a message to the nearest Black Armored Guard outpost. Have them send a hundred guards to escort you and Qingshi to Serpentwing Lake. My father has already arranged for residences to be built there. You can stay on the island at the center of the lake for now.”

“Yes,” Mowo and Qiuye replied.

“As for you,” Ji Ning looked at the black-bearded man. “Immediately arrange for two of your hunters to guide me. I want to find that slave caravan.”

“Yes, my lord.” The black-bearded man quickly complied. He turned and shouted, “Sandao! Kabu! Over here!”

...

Ji Ning set out with his two guides, riding Blackjaguars. They traveled by day and rested by night, moving quickly. The slave caravan, forced to drag along hundreds of old and young captives, was far slower, covering barely a hundred li a day.

“Young master, the tracks are very clear here,” a dark-skinned man with a braid said, pointing. “The marks are so fresh, they can’t be more than a day old. We should catch up to them soon.”

“Mm,” Ji Ning acknowledged.

They followed the trail.

Soon, a straggling procession of figures came into view. Men and women were bound by their hands to a long pole they carried on their shoulders. This meant that if one tried to flee, they would drag the others down, making a getaway nearly impossible and easily detected by the guards.

“Move it! Hurry up!” The escorts brandished whips and weapons, lashing out from time to time. The children were tied to the saddles, ten or so to a mount, to speed up the march.

Every man and woman had a look of grief and despair in their eyes. Just half a month ago, they had been living happily in their own tribe with their families. Now, they were slaves being dragged to an unknown fate.

“You two, take the three Blackjaguars back,” Ji Ning said, flipping out two pieces of Beast-Head Gold. “Have your tribe send the mounts to Serpentwing Lake. I won’t shortchange you for your help.”

“Thank you, young master,” the two tribesmen said gratefully.

Ji Ning nodded. He patted his own Blackjaguar. He had grown attached to the beast during his travels, but it was time to let it go. “Off you go.” Ji Ning dismounted and began tailing the caravan alone. Since it was moving so slowly, he didn’t need the mount.

...

The slave caravan pushed deeper into the mountains. They encountered a few demon beasts along the way, but the escorts were all formidable experts, every single one of them a Houtian-perfect warrior. Three of them had even reached Houtian-perfect through the ancient Fiendgod Body Refining method. They easily slew any beasts that attacked.

“How strange,” Ji Ning mused. “Buying slaves in bulk, using drugs to control tribal chieftains to capture even more. Even the escorts include Fiendgod Body Refiners at the perfect Houtian level. This is no ordinary operation.”

“Hurry it up!”

“Almost there!”

The escorts seemed excited. Ji Ning followed silently behind. This area was already near the border between the Ji Clan and the Tiewood Clan territories, with a massive mountain range ahead.

The slave caravan was being herded straight toward that mountain range.

“Into the mountains,” the procession continued.

Ji Ning was at the back. When he reached the foot of the mountain, the bright summer sun abruptly vanished. The scenery around him transformed as if day had suddenly turned to night. He was plunged into darkness, able to barely discern the surrounding terrain through a shroud of black mist.

The black mist was thick and filled with a chilling, sinister aura.

“A formation,” Ji Ning realized instantly. He had walked right into a trap.

“Hahaha! Someone’s come looking for death!” A harsh, evil laugh suddenly echoed all around him. “A little human brat. Your flesh must be so tender. I’m going to eat you alive, one bite at a time.”

Ji Ning stood his ground, staring into the endless black mist. He could only see three zhang ahead; beyond that, he was blind. Twin Northsea swords appeared in his hands.