Genius Doctor: Black Belly Miss

Chapter 261 - 280

•••

Chapter 261:- Twelve Peaks (3)

When the final test started, most of the youths gave it everything they had, wishing they could show off everything they've learnt all their lives to the Qing Yun Clan's Sovereign and Elders. Some recited from medical classics, some pointed out the various acupressure points on paintings of the human body they had brought along, and some presented elixirs that they had supposedly concocted themselves.....

There were all kinds of presentations, made in many varied ways. Very soon, it became just like a fish market.

Jun Wu Xie had not rushed to react from the start, and only watched quietly as the youths turned the final assessment into a circus as they tried their hardest to present themselves in the best light possible.

Qin Yue and the others frowned, and as the situation got more and more rowdy, the frowns on their faces grew deeper and deeper.

"What a fracus! Do not get me involved in things like this ever again. If there are any that catches your eye, bring them back with you, and get the rest off the mountain." Qin Yue could not stand to see anymore of the childish behaviours and the absence of talents among them, and stormed off in a huff.

Qin Yue was usually absent from the monthly recruitment on the fifteenth of each month, and came infrequently just to watch. And every time that he came, he had always stormed off like he did today.

Mu Chen watched with cold eyes as Qin Yue left, a sneer at the corners of his mouth.

Qin Yue was as diplomatic as he always was. The good ones among the applicants had already been spotted by Qin Yue before they even entered the mountain and secretly brought within the Qing Yun Clan. He would not have any interest in these 'leftover' applicants here, and was rushing back to see and assess his new recruits.

The show he put up today here, was for the benefit of the Elders.

Mu Chen turned his eyes back to the front and looked at the applicants with neither pity nor compassion.

It was not their fault that the youths were blinded by their enthusiasm and exuberance, but it became their fault if they were blinded by it and did not use their brains, showing the lack of intelligence. These youths are just anxious to show off, without knowing what the Qing Yun Clan was looking for.

Just as Mu Chen was losing interest as well, he noticed something interesting.

A tiny petite figure was standing in the midst of the crowd, observing everyone around him with a cold stare, looking as if he wanted nothing to do with this crowd. The chill emanating from those eyes, did not seem fitting on someone of such a tender age.

For no apparent reason, Mu Chen found his interest stoked. Maybe it was the cold personality, or it might be the eyes, but they all just made Mu Chen feel, that that petite youth was different from the others.

As if the youth had felt his gaze, the youth raised his head and looked Mu Chen straight into his eyes and weaved his way out of the crowd in the direction towards Mu Chen.

Mu Chen watched the petite youth as he approached from far, but otherwise made no other move.

Several Qing Yun Clan disciples saw Jun Wu Xie walk out from the crowd and continued to approach closer to the Elders. They immediately stepped up and moved to stop the youth from getting any closer.

"The assessment has not ended, and you are not allowed to move freely within the Qing Yun Clan." A lad looking to be in his early twenties frowned and looked at the petite Jun Wu Xie. 'This youth was rather bold to dare approach the Elders!'

This had happened many times before, but it was usually resolved when the Qing Yun Clan disciples threw a word of warning, and the offender had always backed off.

But Jun Wu Xie had no intention of backing off. When she was stopped, she stood her ground and raised her head.

"I'm sorry! We'll take our leave immediately!" Qiao Chu, who had followed behind Jun Wu Xie, noticed the gradually darkening faces of the Qing Yun Clan disciples and had shot forward to stand beside Jun Wu Xie, trying to pull her back while he persuaded.

.
.
.
Chapter 262:- First Impression (1)

Jun Wu Xie stood unmoving, rooted to the spot. Before Qiao Chu could even react, Jun Wu Xie stretched out her hand and gripped the wrist of the Qing Yun Clan disciple.

In the next moment, the disciple was flung heavily to the ground!

"How dare you! Are you tired of living!? The Qing Yun Clan will not tolerate such impunity!" What audacity! Laying your hands on our disciples even before being accepted!?

The shouts that erupted shocked the crowd. They had been focused on displaying their best talents when the shouts shocked them into silence as they stared at the scene where the shouts had come from.

When they saw what had happened, they were all visibly stunned.

Was that brat asking to be killed? He dared strike a Qing Yun Clan disciple? Did he even want to enter the Qing Yun Clan!?

Some were shocked, some were smiling in glee. Everyone was competing for a spot to enlisted into the Qing Yun Clan, and with every competitor that dropped out, it just meant a higher chance for the rest.

All of them thought, Jun Wu Xie had just forfeited her chance!

Qiao Chu was frozen in place, and sweat trickled down his face. This kid was usually so quiet, and without any warning, he had suddenly placed them both in such deep trouble!

They were still being assessed for goodness sake, and Jun Xie just suddenly decided to strike at a Qing Yun Clan disciple right before the Elders! They would definitely be thrown off the mountain next!

"I'm so dead! Brother Hua is so gonna kill me." Qiao Chu cried tearlessly as he stood beside Jun Wu Xie. Realising that Jun Xie had just stirred a hornet's nest, Qiao Chu nevertheless readied himself to take on the Qing Yun Clan disciples. Even if both of them were to be thrown out, he must never allow the Qing Yun Clan to lay a hand on this genius right beside him.

Looking at his thin arms and legs, Jun Xie would not be able to take a beating. If anything untoward was to happen to the genius, Brother Hua won't be the only one beating him up.

Not only the eyes of the mass of youths were attracted to the scene, even the Elders turned to look towards Jun Wu Xie.

The Elder with a long flowing white beard frowned and exclaimed with annoyance: "Kids nowadays, have no respect for rules and regulations. The Sovereign had not been wrong, this is a circus!"

Mu Chen stared darkly at Jun Wu Xie, but did not say anything. No one had noticed, that when the silent Ke Cang Ju had turned to see what had created such a ruckus, his eyes had flashed a moment, but had been suppressed just as quickly.

Just as the disciple was about to make his move, Jun Wu Xie suddenly said: "Spirit level orange, third stage, upper body veins and arteries congestion, lower body hollow, cold artery constricted....."

A string of names of the body's veins and arteries overwhelmed the disciple as his hand froze in mid air, his mouth gaped open in amazement as he stared at Jun Wu Xie.

What Jun Wu Xie had mentioned earlier were the major arteries that were critical to the development of spiritual powers. As a disciple of the Qing Yun Clan, he was naturally aware of the condition of his own veins and arteries within his body. An orange leveled spirit at twenty over years of age was nothing noteworthy in the Qing Yun Clan, and he had always pursued vigorously to become skilled in medicine or attain higher spiritual powers, but a detailed diagnosis of his body's veins and arteries by his Teacher had told him exactly what Jun Wu Xie had just said!

"How..... how did you know?" The disciple asked, his face pale.

Jun Wu Xie retracted her hand from the man's wrist, and wiped at her fingertips carefully with a handkerchief before she said slowly: "With Flame Tailed Flowers, you can treat the midsection to relieve the upper body congestion, use the leaves of Moist Luck plant to soak in baths to clear out the lower body, and....."

Jun Wu Xie went on without pausing as she gave the solutions and treatments for every condition that the man's veins and arteries were inflicted with. When she finished, she took a step back and stared at the stunned disciple.

If her long narration had fallen on the ears of the youths behind her, it might not have meant anything to them. But the Elders of the Qing Yun Clan were all well versed in Medicine, and they only needed to hear those words and they fully understood the significance of those very words!

.
.
.
Chapter 263:- First Impression (2)

The looks of impatience and annoyance disappeared from all the faces of the Elders. Even the face of the oldest Elder among them showed an expression of shock after hearing Jun Wu Xie's words.

The nurturing and development of veins and arteries was the most complicated among the various fields in the study of Medicine. The intricate weave of the multitudes of intertwined veins and arteries within a human body alone was enough to give anyone a headache, needless to say the study and knowledge required in the corrections and treatments needed when a problem is uncovered!

With the countless veins and arteries greatly intertwined, and even when only a small section was inflicted, the problems that surface could affect the entire being. Even if the specific treatment were to be identified, many could not be sure that the treatment might not cause any damage to other adjoining veins and arteries! Hence, when problems occur within a person's veins and arteries, it was the hardest to treat and rectify, as the treatment was not subject to just the inflicted section, but a treatment that encompassed the entire body!

That petite little youth had not only managed to diagnose the disciple's condition in such a short period of time, but had further managed to introduce a series of treatments targeting the various inflictions. What really shocked them was, the individual treatments recommended for the respective inflictions had sounded simple, and independent. But if all the treatments were to be carried out collectively, the result would be astounding! While it relieved the pain of the upper body, it would also clear out the lower body. While it nurtured the lower body, it nourishes the upper body against its deficiencies......

The treatments Jun Wu Xie proposed were closely linked, if you looked at the string of treatments individually, it would not seem impressive. But if you were to look at them as a whole, the series of treatments complement and complete a cycle, and the Elders were not able to see any side effects that might occur from it!

How old was this youth? And he understood so much about the intricacies of the nurturing and corrections of the human body's veins and arteries!?

"Elder Mu, was what the little youth said correct and true?" The other Elders' understanding of veins and arteries were inferior to Mu Chen's, and in order to verify what Jun Wu Xie had said, they had to check with Mu Chen.

At that moment, Mu Chen was not the least bit interested in the queries from the other Elders. The moment that petite youth had said those words, his eyes had been fixed and had not left from Jun Wu Xie!

He had fully immersed himself into the study and research of veins and arteries for more than a decade. He had been extremely gifted from a young age, and all the hard work he had put in had enabled him to surpass anyone in the understanding and knowledge of veins and arteries throughout the whole Qing Yun Clan. Hence, no one there knew better than him how perfectly complete the series of treatments that Jun Wu Xie proposed was!

Even for him, he might not be able to come up with something like that!

"That youth there, I want him!" He had no intention of explaining in details to the other Elders, the usually calm and stoic Mu Chen had suddenly declared the he wanted Jun Wu Xie to be enlisted within the Cloud Treading Peak and taken under his wing!

With Mu Chen's unmistakable words, the other Elders should understand by now right?

What that youth said must be true! Or Mu Chen would not act so uncharacteristically to lay claim on an applicant!

It must be known that Mu Chen had seldom accepted any applicants as disciples into the Cloud Treading Peak in the months past, the amount of new disciples he accepted in a year could be counted with just one hand.

Seeing that Mu Chen had picked up a real treasure, the other Elders' eyes were turning rather green. Compared to the other childish and and pathetic attempts by the other youths, Jun Wu Xie calm and affirmed gift in Medicine made them feel all that very much worse, and they all felt like snatching him away from Mu Chen!

Such a rare gem that appeared this time and Mu Chen was being rather selfish to claim him just like that.

The other Elders were green with envy, but they did not say a word more. The youth was gifted in his knowledge of veins and arteries and it was different from their areas of expertise anyway. Mu Chen would be in a better position to guide him.

The other youths were still waiting for the situation to explode when they saw the youngest Elder walk towards Jun Wu Xie, and their smiles widened as they waited to see Jun Wu Xie get thrown out off the mountain.

.
.
.
Chapter 264:- First Impression (3)

Mu Chen walked up and stood before Jun Wu Xie, staring at the unusually calm youth before his stern expression broke into a smile.

"What's your name?"

"Jun Xie." Jun Wu Xie replied.

The youths who were anticipating the expulsion suddenly felt that situation seemed rather odd, as the Qing Yun Clan's Elder was being rather mild. Shouldn't he be throwing Jun Wu Xie out by now?

"Will you be interested to come to the Cloud Treading Peak?" Mu Chen asked gently.

Jun Wu Xie was surprised, but her face showed no emotion.

Mu Chen's words created a stir among the applicants as they had expected to see Jun Wu Xie thrown out for her actions, but they could only stare at Jun Wu Xie in shock at what was happening.

How did it come to this?

The brat who challenged and offended the sanctity of the Qing Yun Clan should have been taken down! But he had been earned the interest of the Elder of Cloud Treading Peak instead!?

If he were to be accepted into the Cloud Treading Peak, he would immediately become a full fledged disciple of the Qing Yun Clan!

Who would have thought that Lady Luck would cast her smile upon such an unremarkable petite youth!?

All that was needed was just for Jun Wu Xie to agree, and she would become a disciple of the Qing Yun Clan, a true and earnest disciple of the Qing Yun Clan's inner house!

That was a stroke of luck that many of them could only dream of, and the other youths harboured a deep jealousy as they clenched their jaws in rage.

While waiting to hear Jun Wu Xie's reply, another voice sounded suddenly!

"Hold it, Elder Mu." A sharp and sinister voice suddenly spoke and it could be clearly heard by all present. Ke Cang Ju seemed shrouded in gloom as he walked towards Mu Chen, his hideous face was unreadable.

Mu Chen frowned, his displeasure with Ke Cang Ju visible.

"What's the matter, Elder Ke?"

Ke Cang Ju dragged his feet over the distance, his bowed back making him look more sinister. The hem of his robe had old bronze bells attached to it and they jingled with every step that Ke Cang Ju took.

"Those two lads there, I want them." Ke Cang Ju raised his hand, and a wrinkled bony finger pointed at Jun Wu Xie and the stunned Qiao Chu who stood beside her.

Mu Chen's heart sank at that moment.

"Elder Ke, what is the meaning of this? I had earlier declared that Cloud Treading Peak would accept him as a disciple. If Elder Ke is in need of more disciples, go look elsewhere!"

Ke Cang Ju scoffed: "Does that mean Elder Mu is making things difficult for me? I will have these two lads today! If Elder Mu has any objections to it, you can go take it up with the Sovereign. If the Sovereign agrees with you, I will hand over the lad, Jun Xie, over to you. If he disagrees, it would be better if Elder Mu remains silent."

Mu Chen clenched his fists, hidden within his sleeves, as he stared furiously at Ke Cang Ju. Everyone knew he was on extremely bad terms with Qin Yue, and Cloud Treading Peak had always received the least resources. In contrast, Ke Cang Ju enjoyed the best support and was on friendliest terms with Qin Yue. If he were to go ask Qin Yue, Qin Yue would never stand on his side and would surely reject him.

This fella, was obviously hijacking!

The two Elders started arguing in front of everyone, and it only made the others youths who were deeply jealous of Jun Wu Xie hate her even more.

What was so great about that brat that he was able to cause two Elders of the Qing Yun Clan to argue and fight over him!?

Unknown to everyone, the Jun Wu Xie whom the youths were jealous off, did not feel a single bit of joy. She frowned slightly at Ke Cang Ju who had suddenly just butted in. She had not expected that Ke Cang Ju would step forward to snatch from Mu Chen.

.
.
.
Chapter 265:- Hidden Cloud Peak (1)

Ke Cang Ju looked sneeringly at Mu Chen and glanced at Jun Wu Xie. He did not see any joy on Jun Wu Xie's face but saw a frown in disapproval.

"Kid, it's your honour to be accepted into the Hidden Cloud Peak. If you are to reject me, you can get the hell out of Cloudy Peaks now."

From snatching to threats, Ke Cang Ju's methods were outrageously domineering and Mu Chen's face was dark with fury. The other Elders might not agree with Ke Cang Ju's methods but they all maintained their silence. Though Qin Yue tried to portray himself to treat the Elders equally, they all knew how much he favoured Ke Cang Ju.

Not to mention that Ke Cang Ju was snatching a favoured disciple from right under Mu Chen's nose, even if Ke Cang Ju were to cripple the lad called Jun Xie now, Ke Cang Ju would not be persecuted by the Qing Yun Clan.

Jun Wu Xie narrowed her eyes and looked at the hideous Ke Cang Ju, her frigid eyes flashed with cold. Suddenly, she felt a slight tug at her sleeve as Qiao Chu whispered by her ear: "Jun Xie, do not do anything rash. You just wanted to get into the Qing Yun Clan, and getting in through the Cloud Treading Peak or the Hidden Cloud Peak does not make a difference right?"

Qiao Chu voice betrayed his anxiety, he knew that with Jun Xie's prowess in his medical skills, there was nothing the Qing Yun Clan could teach him. There must be an ulterior motive behind his intention to get into the Qing Yun Clan, and instead of rejecting Ke Cang Ju and getting thrown out, why not go along with his wishes for now.

Jun Wu Xie closed her eyes and held back her murderous intent.

"I agree." She spat out the words coldly.

And Ke Cang Ju broke into a hideous smile.

"Kid, you will soon find out that you had made the right choice today." Ke Cang Ju cackled eerily in laughter, ignoring the fuming Mu Chen and just turned to leave.

Jun Wu Xie stared upon Ke Cang Ju's departing back and her eyes were filled with chill.

He would soon know, how lethal a mistake he had just committed.

Mu Chen took a deep breath, and forcibly suppressed the raging fire within. He tried hard to maintain a face of calm, but the tightness in his mouth betrayed the rage within.

"If you still find that is a need in the future, you can come look for me in the Cloud Treading Peak. My invitation to you, will still stand." Mu Chen said softly to Jun Wu Xie.

He did not care what kind of atrocities Ke Cang Ju had committed, but the youth before his eyes was a sincerely highly talented individual and he did not want the youth to be despoiled under the hands of Ke Cang Ju. He would not let go of the slightest chance, no matter how miniscule, for the chance to have the highly gifted child live.

"Thank you." Jun Wu Xie looked at Mu Chen, sincerely grateful. Jun Wu Xie could feel Mu Chen's sincerity.

Mu Chen nodded helplessly. With Ke Cang Ju's interference, Mu Chen had lost all desire to accept any new disciples. The best candidates had already been taken, and the rest were beneath his notice.

Mu Chen had not known, his rare offer made today, would be the one that changed his life.

With two Elders leaving, the rest of the youths were getting flustered. But to fight for the remaining spots, they tried their hardest to present their best.

For Qiao Chu and Jun Wu Xie who had been selected to enter the Hidden Cloud Peak, they retreated quietly and stood to the side in stark contrast to the other flustered youths.

"I know you wanted to go to the Cloud Treading Peak, but we were left with no choice. Rest assured though, with me around, not even that hideous monster from the Hidden Cloud Peak would be able to touch you." Qiao Chu said to reassure Jun Wu Xie.

.
.
.
Chapter 266:- Hidden Cloud Peak (2)

Jun Wu Xie did not reply, as things were, she had accepted them to be a fact.

Ke Cang Ju?

She would let him see who was the greater devil between them!

The game had just begun. There was no rush!

As expected, among the hundreds of candidates left, only slightly more than ten of them were picked by the Elders to enter the Inner House and less than a hundred admitted into the Outer House. The rest who made up the majority were asked to pack up and leave the mountain.

The day ended with many youth in tears, and several Qing Yun Clan disciples led the selected candidates to the various peaks.

Jun Wu Xie was put together with Qiao Chu, and the disciple that led them was the one that had almost fought with Jun Wu Xie, but now, the disciple did not treat them with his previous arrogance. It might be Jun Wu Xie's prior diagnosis of his condition that was delivered with pinpoint accuracy, but the disciple treated them with utmost courtesy.

"The Hidden Cloud Peak isn't too bad, and they don't have that much to do. It shouldn't be too tiring for you guys." The disciple rambled on and then paused, turned his head to look around. When he was sure that there was no one else around, he turned to them and whispered: "Remember this. When you get to the Hidden Cloud Peak, do not go against Elder Ke."

Jun Wu Xie looked up at the disciple of the Qing Yun Clan. She had heard from Bai Yun Xian about the ominous dangers of the Hidden Cloud Peak, but she had not expected to hear the well intended warning from a disciple of the Qing Yun Clan.

Noticing Jun Wu Xie's eyes on him, the disciple turned away consciously.

"Our altercation had instead brought us together and made us fellow disciples. If I had offended you before, I hope my junior fellow disciple would forgive me." The disciple went on.

"From which peak is my senior?" Jun Wu Xie asked suddenly.

"Me? I'm from the Cloud Treading Peak, but not a direct disciple of Elder Mu. I am only assigned odd jobs and menial tasks there. My name is Rong Heng." Rong Heng laughed good naturedly and hesitated before he went on: "I would like to thank you for earlier. I have noted down everything you said, but might not be able to get all the herbs you mentioned. I would have to hand the prescription over to my Master."

The sudden change in Rong Heng's demeanour was not entirely without reason. What Jun Wu Xie had said earlier could drastically improve his veins and arteries and allow him to break his current stagnant progress and maybe achieve a breakthrough. That would change his life completely and for that, he was eternally grateful.

Jun Wu Xie nodded and was silent for a moment before she said: "If my senior can find the time in half a month's time to come to the gates of the Hidden Cloud Peak, wait for me there an hour before noon, I have something to give you."

Jun Wu Xie did not feel that Rong Heng owed her anything, as her actions had been only meant to attract Mu Chen's attention and it had inadvertently brought her Rong Heng's gratitude as well. Rong Heng's kind intentions behind his warning to the two of them was about to win him a real reward nevertheless.

Jun Wu Xie would never forgive a wrong done upon her, but would also repay any kindness showered upon her. If she were to benefit from others, she would definitely repay in folds.

Rong Heng was not aware of the great fortune he was soon to reap, and did not know what Jun Wu Xie wanted to give him. He simply nodded and continued to lead the way.

At the gates into the Hidden Cloud Mountain, they met with another group of candidates.

They had not been selected and were supposed to leave the mountain, but a disciple of the Qing Yun Clan had led them here instead. There were about twenty to thirty of them and when they saw Jun Wu Xie and her group, their faces showed that they were pleased at their unexpected fortune but still harboured a deep resentment for Jun Wu Xie.

"Isn't that our distinguished senior fellow disciple? Being so distinguished, he could not afford to walk as fast as us can he?" A youth in the group sneered at Jun Wu Xie and Qiao Chu.

.
.
.
Chapter 267:- Hidden Cloud Peak (3)

Those youths had been overcome with jealousy when the two Elders had fought over Jun Wu Xie at the selection assessment. They had given up all hope when they did not get selected and were about to leave from the summit when they met with a disciple of the Hidden Cloud Peak. He selected several tens of them and told them that Ke Cang Ju had picked them to be admitted into the Hidden Cloud Peak and they would become disciples of the Hidden Cloud Peak henceforth.

What a turn of events!

They were pulled out of their despair and were elated at the news. Now that they met Jun Wu Xie again, the one who had won the envy and jealousy of every single one of them in their group, they could not contain their disdain for her.

So what if two different Elders had picked her? She was admitted into the Hidden Cloud Peak just like they were. They had wondered what ability she possessed but now it seemed she was just like anyone of them there.

Teenagers were prone to having a rebellious streak and they had already disliked Jun Wu Xie and Qiao Chu for being selected during the assessment. Now that they are facing the two of them, everything about them displeased the bigger group of youths.

Jun Wu Xie ignored the jeers and sneers and Rong Heng just sighed and said to Jun Wu Xie: "I can only escort you up to this point. From here on, the Hidden Cloud Peak disciple will lead you. Take care."

Jun Wu Xie nodded at Rong Heng and walked with Qiao Chu to join up with the group who still looked at the duo with daggers in their eyes but Jun Wu Xie and Qiao Chu were totally unaffected as they stepped into their midst.

"You must think yourself really great! You think you are better than all of us?" A slightly older youth among them was irked by Jun Wu Xie's cold and distant attitude and charged at Jun Wu Xie with his heavier body.

Alas, he did not even manage to even touch any part of Jun Wu Xie before Qiao Chu stepped in suddenly and grabbed his shoulder, reversed the grip of his other hand to grab the forearm, and raised his foot and kicked down forcefully!

A loud snap sounded and the youth's arm had been broken in a flash!

And a screeching wail burst out from the youth.

A malicious expression surfaced on Qiao Chu's usual lazy look, and he narrowed his eyes dangerously, looking at that moment, like a totally different person from Qiao Chu's usual laidback and carefree attitude.

"Stay away or I'll do worse."

The youth with the broken arm continued to wail and the others turned pale and sweat ran down their backs at Qiao Chu's brutal attack. The Qing Yun Clan's disciple nonchalantly glanced at Qiao Chu and did not say anything.

Qiao Chu's expression changed back like a switch, as he went back to stand beside Jun Wu Xie, his malicious expression before had disappeared without a trace. He then said with a laugh: "My fists are tough enough to fight off any who dares bully you in the Hidden Cloud Peak."

Jun Wu Xie noted with interest Qiao Chu's quick change in demeanor but did not see anything wrong with it.

She did not think Qiao Chu's attack was brutal, if they were not at the Qing Yun Clan's Cloudy Peaks, she would have told Qiao Chu that you need to root out the evil and not allow them to live to come back and haunt you. But since they were going to the Hidden Cloud Peak, that youth would not live long anyway, it did not make a difference if Qiao Chu left him alive or not.

"If you have finished playing then come with me." The Hidden Cloud Peak disciple muttered disagreeably as he looked at the group with impatience.

Qiao Chu's attack had frightened the youths who treated them with disdain, and no one dared utter a single word against them as they walked through the gates of the Hidden Cloud Peak.

The Hidden Cloud Peak was the second largest among the twelve peaks, after the Sovereign Qin Yue's, and it boasted a large surface area. Upon entering the Hidden Cloud Peak, fog hung heavily in the air, and dense forests stood on both sides shrouded in the fog. Peering into the fog, beds of herbs that were planted lining both sides of the path could faintly be seen.

The Hidden Cloud Peak was well known to people externally to specialise in the planting and cultivation of herbs. It was even said, the one could find every single rare herb in the world within the Hidden Cloud Peak.

.
.
.
Chapter 268:- Hidden Cloud Peak (4)

The youths had been jittery ever since they've entered the Hidden Cloud Peak. When they saw the expansive beds of a multitude varieties of herbs everywhere around them, they became overcome with awe. They started to look around for rare herbs that they had heard of, exclaiming loudly as they identified them, seemingly trying their best to impress the Hidden Cloud Peak disciple of their "wide knowledge".

Besides childish and moronic, Jun Wu Xie could not find any other words to describe these lambs on their way to slaughter.

The Hidden Cloud Peak disciple led them to their living quarters. The Hidden Cloud Peak lived up to its name as the second largest peak. The disciples' living quarters were extremely spacious and a scattering of several disciples were walking across the huge courtyard with their heads lowered, showing no interest in the new batch of junior fellow disciples just accepted into Hidden Cloud Peak.

The disciples of the Hidden Cloud Peak were well treated, and each disciple was assigned an individual room. Not even disciples of Qin Yue himself enjoyed such privileges in their living quarters. In Qing Yun Clan, besides for Elders and the privileged few specially granted by the Sovereign himself, a single room was usually shared by two or three disciples.

Walking into their own rooms, the group of youths were laughing at the luxurious quarters they were to enjoy, silently thinking their fortunes had really turned around.

Jun Wu Xie's room was next to Qiao Chu's, situated at the northern edge of the quarters. Their rooms were next to a pond and it was decorated with artificial mountains, and it looked rather elegant.

Sitting on a chair in the room, Jun Wu Xie's eyes scanned the room. The beddings were new, although they were of rather bad quality, they were at least clean. She had not sat down for long before a slight frown appeared on her face.

A light familiar scent of blood swirled below her nose. The smell was very faint, almost too faint to be noticed. If not for her unusually keen sense of smell, she would not have noticed it at all.

Following the hated scent, Jun Wu Xie came to stand before the table next to the bed. The paint on a corner of the table was new, its colour a slightly brighter shade than the rest. Jun Wu Xie retrieved a small dagger from her cloth bag and scraped off the paint in that corner. The orange paint flaked off bit by bit and the original wood was revealed. Looking at it closely, within the wood itself, it was stained with the darker shade of blood. The bloodstain looked rather recent when blood had dripped on the table and seeped into the wood staining it a dark shade of red, and it was impossible to wash off.

"This is interesting." Jun Wu Xie sat back on the chair and stared at the carelessly covered bloodstain and her cold eyes flashed.

The Hidden Cloud Peak was as dangerous as she had heard. The previous occupant of this room did not die too long ago, or the scent of blood would have completely dissipated.

Ke Cang Ju accepted a large number of disciples on the fifteenth of every month. But she had secretly observed earlier within the living quarters of the disciples, there were less than two hundred of them when added up. According to Ke Cang Ju's acceptance of thirty disciples every month, the numbers did not add up, not even when you multiply it by ten.

Judging from Ke Cang Ju's way of accepting disciples this time round, he had accepted her and Qiao Chu openly, but he had also secretly got his disciples to gather almost another thirty rejected candidates after the assessment and brought them back to the Hidden Cloud Peak.

If Ke Cang Ju had done it the same way all this while, others would not see anything suspicious about the Hidden Cloud Peak.

After all, from what many on the outside can see, the Hidden Cloud Peak did not have that many disciples.

All traces of their existence were erased, they were thorough in their deceit.

Jun Wu Xie got up, and took out a sealed porcelain bottle. She heaped the scraped paint together into a tiny heap and poured a tiny bit of the liquid from the bottle onto it. The dry paint dissolved gradually and Jun Wu Xie smeared the paint across gently with the bottom of the bottle, and recoated the corner she had scraped off with the paint. In a moment, it was restored to look as it had before.

.
.
.
Chapter 269:- Dream turned Nightmare (1)

[Mistress, it seems bad in here.]

Black mist seeped out of Jun Wu Xie's body into a ball and coalesced into the agile little black cat. It jumped onto the soft bed and swished its furry tail furiously, looking like it was trying to dispel the bad smell in the air.

"It's just the heavy smell of death." Jun Wu Xie said dismissively, a smell she was extremely familiar with. Dissipated from the rotting bodies under the surface, the scent of death gradually blossomed here. The Hidden Cloud Peak looked on the surface to be a place exalted and revered, but hidden underneath, was mysterious deaths, unseen, unknown.

[That hideous monster must have been up to no good.]

The little black cat had seen Ke Cang Ju clearly when it hid within Jun Wu Xie's body, and he had looked absolutely horrendous.

Jun Wu Xie was silent and sat quietly in the chair.

They had just come to the Hidden Cloud Peak and they were led straight to the living quarters by the disciple. No one else paid them any attention and the excited youths in the group had gathered in the courtyard all afternoon. They did not dare stray or wander without any instructions given as they highly treasured this opportunity given to them.

When night approached, several Hidden Cloud Peak disciples were returning to the quarters. The newcomers had grown hungry and they watched as their senior fellows passed them. One of them gathered his courage and approached the seniors to ask for food, but were sent crawling back with cold stares.

Only when night had fully fallen, and the youths were ravenously hungry, the disciple who had led them to the quarters earlier in the day ambled in slowly and shouted for all the new recruits to gather.

Jun Wu Xie and Qiao Chu stepped out of their rooms and exchanged a glance, and they did not see a sign of hunger on each other.

"Senior, it's..... already so late into the night....., when can we ..... eat?" The ravenous youths held their bellies as they looked at the disciple.

The disciple cast them a glance and replied maliciously: "You want to eat?"

The youths nodded eagerly.

The disciple raised his hand and pointed outside, and said: "Look, there are a hundred large urns outside. Five miles to the east, lies a mountain spring. Everyone of you will have to fill up three large urns with water. If you do not complete it, don't even think about dinner tonight, or even tomorrow's breakfast."

"What!?" The youths were utterly shocked. They had seen the huge urns earlier today when they had come in. They were larger in width than any of them with their hands stretched out and were as tall as they were. The distance of five miles was not too far away but a round trip would make it ten. They had starved for a whole day and had not even a drop of water and it was already so late at night, they did not have the energy to carry water treading through the mountains. Such huge urns to fill, and to fill up three at that, would require tens and tens of trips for them.

The uneven mountain paths did not make it easier, but even if the path was flat and even, none of them would be able to complete it.

"So, what is this? You guys are complaining? Let me tell you, the water in those urns will be used to water the herb beds tomorrow. If you cannot do it, then get out of here quick. The Hidden Cloud Peak has no use for useless wimps like that!" The disciple sneered and gave them a good tongue lashing.

The youths had been happily languishing around all day thinking that their dreams had finally come true, but they all huddled in fear together now, when they found out that their nightmare had actually just begun.

A dream of fantasy that suddenly fell straight into their hands, was actually a nightmare that could claim all their lives!

They stubbornly refused to give up this rare opportunity to have been finally accepted into the Hidden Cloud Peak, and pushed themselves to hang on. Even when the task given was impossible, they dragged themselves up and moved to carry it out.

.
.
.
Chapter 270:- Dream turned Nightmare (2)

Dragging their tired bodies, the youths went out and picked up the buckets to go on their way to retrieve water from the spring.

Two lazy bodies trailed at the back of the group and watched the others drag their wretched bodies hobbling unsteadily to fetch water.

"Hungry?" Qiao Chu asked after everyone else had left and the two of them were alone outside the quarters.

Jun Wu Xie shook her head. Her appetite had always been small and did not hold great interest in the desire for food, only ensuring that she ingested adequate nutrition and carbohydrates daily and not anything more than that. The elixirs she brought with her provided her with that sufficiently and she did not feel any hunger.

"Here, keep this with you. You don't have to eat them today, just keep them for another time. This torment should still continue on for quite awhile longer." Qiao Chu took out a packet of dried meat from his bag and stuffed it into Jun Wu Xie's hands.

Jun Wu Xie raised an eyebrow and looked at Qiao Chu. He had chattered endlessly all this while, but his actions at times had revealed clues contrary to the mindless personality he projected. Qiao Chu's initial aim had been to get admitted into the Hidden Cloud Peak, and his actions after had shown him to be familiar with the internal workings here. Dried meat were small and inconspicuous, they were most ideal as rations. People rarely kept any on themselves but for the well traveled, and Qiao Chu seemed to have prepared for the unexpected circumstances rather well.

Qiao Chu had hinted from the beginning that he would protect her in the Hidden Cloud Peak, so it seemed he knew a few things about things happening here. The dried meat was also prepared beforehand against tonight's expected torment.

What was Qiao Chu's objective here with the Qing Yun Clan?

Qiao Chu noticed that Jun Wu Xie did not accept the dried meat and he stuffed it back into his own bag. "If you get hungry, just let me know. I have more than enough. Let's not carry water, the task is impossible to complete. Why don't you just hang around out here? If you go back now, you would only get nagged at by the seniors."

Qiao Chu was also obviously not going to become the Hidden Cloud Peak's labourer.

"Where are you going?" Jun Wu Xie asked suddenly.

Qiao Chu hesitated, and thought what Jun Wu Xie was going to do left alone.

"You want me to stay out here, what about you?" Jun Wu Xie pointed out the absence with no mention of himself.

Qiao Chu slapped his forehead in frustration and said: "I was rather obvious, wasn't I? Brother Hua had always scolded me for that." He looked around to make sure there was no one around before he said in a low voice: "I am going to find someone. The Hidden Cloud Peak is extremely dangerous, so do not stray too far from here. After I am done talking with that person, I will come back here for you."

In Qiao Chu's eyes, Jun Wu Xie's petite little frame and skinny limbs would be very dangerous to stay within the Hidden Cloud Peak. He thought if he was not around to keep his eyes on Jun Wu Xie, the other youths might prey on him and carry him off with them.

"I'll go with you." Jun Wu Xie said to Qiao Chu.

Qiao Chu was taken aback.

"You want to come with me?"

Jun Wu Xie nodded.

Qiao Chu was more familiar with the Hidden Cloud Peak than she was. No matter who Qiao Chu was, he was obviously not friendly to the Qing Yun Clan. If there were no conflicts in their objective, she was willing to familiarise herself a little through Qiao Chu.

Qiao Chu was looking troubled, he looked at Jun Wu Xie and paused a long moment before saying: "Alright, but you must promise me. No matter what you see, you must not make a single noise."

It might be better to bring Jun Xie along, leaving him here alone in the lion's den did not sit that comfortably with Qiao Chu either.

It was obvious, Qiao Chu had a wrong perception of Jun Wu Xie. He saw Jun Wu Xie as a defenseless little youth, cleanly forgetting Jun Wu Xie's previous abilities with poison he had witnessed just recently with his own eyes.

.
.
.
Chapter 271:- Dream turned Nightmare (3)

Jun Wu Xie who had been mistakenly taken to be a harmless little bunny, was hence led by Qiao Chu deep into the inner parts of the Hidden Cloud Peak.

Qiao Chu proceeded unerringly, and stuck to dark and dim paths, totally avoiding the patrolling disciples within the peak.

Seeing Qiao Chu's familiarity with the route to take, Jun Wu Xie grew more certain with her earlier guess.

Qiao Chu's knowledge of the Hidden Cloud Peak, might not be inferior to Bai Yun Xian!

She followed Qiao Chu through many of Hidden Cloud Peak's architecture. Jun Wu Xie's sharp nose told her, the deeper they went into the Hidden Cloud Peak, the stronger the scent of herbs and medicine was permeated in the air. The smell was not exactly the fragrance that herbs originally gave out when processed, but was the scent of a multitude variety of herbs mixed together. The stench was rather pungent, and did not smell like anything like nourishing or healing medicine.

Finally, Qiao Chu stopped before an unremarkable building. Outside the building, two Hidden Cloud Peak disciples stood guard. It was late into the night and the two guards looked to be rather tired as they leaned on the doors, eyes half closed, almost drifting off to sleep.

In the next moment, Qiao Chu streaked like a bolt of lightning past the two sleepy guards, and raised both his hands and quickly knocked the lights out of both of them before they even realised anything was amiss.

With the guards taken out, Qiao Chu waved to Jun Wu Xie who had stayed hidden in the dark, and proceeded to push the doors open to enter inside.

Jun Wu Xie followed closely behind. Upon setting foot inside the building, an overwhelming stench of blood swept over them, nearly gagging Jun Wu Xie.

The interior was lit dimly, and the faint light shone upon the furnishings within. The walls were filled with shelves of herbs and nothing looked out of place. But the thick stink of blood that went into their lungs made Jun Wu Xie realise that everything before their eyes here, was just a false front put up, to fool the unsuspecting.

Qiao Chu turned a corner from the room and squatted down to pull at a part of the floor. A gaping dark tunnel appeared before them, so dark that the bottom could not be seen. The intense stench of blood had rushed out from the darkness when the trapdoor was opened, and the stink continued to surge forth, almost as if alive.

"Follow me." Qiao Chu said quietly to Jun Wu Xie and took out a small light, a small glowing amber, and stepped down onto the dark staircase leading down.

Jun Wu Xie followed behind Qiao Chu in the seemingly endless darkness. It was deathly quiet, and the unnerving silence pounded at their souls like a soundless knell.

And soon, the stairs brought them to a scene straight from hell.

The underground chamber was filled with large urns scattered all over, and a liquid bubbled within them as they emitted a dark green gas. More shockingly, was that every large urn contained a live human soaked within the liquid!

Or rather, those people looked more dead than alive.....

The humans immersed within the urns were stark naked and their skin were festered with sores from being soaked in poisonous liquids. Their eyes had been gouged out and left with two dark gaping holes, and their mouths were gagged and tied with black ropes. Dried blood smeared around their mouths in dark brown streaks as they sat unmoving within the urns. Their lolled heads did not show any signs of movement, but only the slight rise and fall in their chests showed anything otherwise to Jun Wu Xie.

They were still alive!

Tens of urns stood with incapacitated humans immersed within. Above the urns, there were several wooden racks. Several more youths were chained to the racks and stripped off their clothes. They were covered in many festering wounds and the pus emitted a pungent stink. Another young youth hung from the rack, skinned alive.....

.
.
.
Chapter 272:- Brother Hua (1)

The sight before her eyes brought a humming in Jun Wu Xie's mind. At that moment, she felt like she had been transported back into the prison of her nightmares. Under the coercion of the demon, she was forced to watch him conduct various inhumanely cruel experiments on the human body.

Qiao Chu noticed Jun Wu Xie's sudden pale face and he looked guiltily at Jun Wu Xie.

"I had not wanted you to see all these....." He had obviously known of this repulsive place hidden within the Hidden Cloud Peak.

"I'm alright." Jun Wu Xie snapped back to her senses and waved her hand. She had burned that hell on earth to the ground, and sent that demon into the inferno.

She had nothing more to fear!

Qiao Chu did not know how to console Jun Wu Xie and could only scratch his head furiously in frustration as he led them deeper into the underground chamber.

The further in they went, the sights grew more grisly. The gory hell hidden deep within the Hidden Cloud Peak, was a nightmare brought to life!

At last, Qiao Chu stopped to stand before a wall. Upon the wall, a tall youth had two hooks pierced through his pelvic bones, and nine other stakes were driven through his body. His two hands were secured by chains that hung suspended from the ceiling. Fresh red blood ran from his wounds and flowed down his body, finally dripping from his toes. A pool of blood had formed on the floor below him.

His head was lowered and he was silent, as if dead.

"You're finally here?" A gentle but cold voice sounded suddenly, and the youth who hung from the wall suddenly came alive as he raised his head.

He had rather feminine features and looked pretty enough to make a person not want to destroy that beauty. The eyes slightly inclined at the outers corners had a small mole dotted just below one, which lent a bewitching essence to the youth's beautiful features.

"Bro..... Brother Hua....." Qiao Chu stared at the horribly ravaged but still pretty looking youth above.

Jun Wu Xie narrowed her eyes and looked at the figure upon the wall. She measured the wounds suffered by the youth and was surprised that anyone could still remain conscious under those conditions. That guy had a very strong will.

The pretty youth frowned as his eyes set on Jun Wu Xie standing behind Qiao Chu.

"Who is that?"

Qiao Chu gulped and said: "This is the boy I mentioned to you guys before. The genius I met in Ghost City."

Genius? Jun Wu Xie raised an eyebrow at that statement.

The youth who was Brother Hua narrowed his eyes further and a astonishing sight played out right before Jun Wu Xie's eyes!

The youth who had been imprisoned by the hooks and stakes suddenly started to move. His hands that had been tied with chains seemed to slip out from them and hung limply as if his bones had been sucked out of him. While he freed himself from his shackles, he set a foot against the wall behind him and pushed himself free from the hooks on his pelvic bones. His tall slender frame drew a graceful arc in the air as he landed firmly before Jun Wu Xie and Qiao Chu, his bare feet in the puddle of his own blood.

Brother Hua who was standing on the firm ground had restored his hands, the distinct joints in his fingers and hands pulling out the stakes lodged into his body one by one.

The stakes removed had flesh stuck to them but he did not even flinch, and only continued to stare at Jun Wu Xie through narrowed eyes.

His escape from his imprisonment had been so graceful and easy for him that it left anyone watching stupefied.

"Why did you bring him here?" Brother Hua turned and his cold eyes bore into Qiao Chu. The pretty youth's angry stare did not pose any real threat to Qiao Chu, but had instead been charming and gentle.

.
.
.
Chapter 273:- Brother Hua (2)

Qiao Chu cleared his throat nervously and said: "Brother Hua, you should have a little more faith in me. I just happened to meet Jun Xie here in the Qing Yun Clan's Cloudy Peaks. We were both candidates applying to be admitted into the Qing Yun Clan as disciples. You know very well how dangerous it is late at night within the Hidden Cloud Peak, if I had left him alone out there, he would have been in grave danger."

The pretty youth's frown eased and he turned to Jun Wu Xie and said: "My name is Hua Yao, our dense Qiao Chu told us about you before and we did not expect to meet you here. This is not exactly the right place nor the right time for a first meeting, or I would have much more I would like to say to you."

Hua Yao had a pleasant voice, and his tone was neither hurried nor slow, pulling at the heartstrings of people, but his bewitchingly pretty face was startlingly cold.

"If you are anything like what Qiao Chu had told us, I would think that you had come to the Qing Yun Clan with other underlying motives and not just to be a disciple under them. The Hidden Cloud Peak is not a safe place, no matter what your motives are, just remember this. Stay away from Ke Cang Ju. Do not pay heed to any of the seniors' suggestions to meet up alone, and do not take any medicine or elixirs of unknown origins..... If you can, do not even eat or drink anything from them." The brow that had just eased suddenly creased back into a frown.

When Qiao Chu had first mentioned his meeting with the kid in the Ghost City, they had hoped to find him again, to see if he could help them with producing the elixir that they needed.

They had managed to find the person, but it most definitely was not the right place or time for them to discuss any of their intentions.

They had another task at hand and were unable to bring Jun Wu Xie back with them, and they could only try their best not put expose Jun Wu Xie to any danger before their mission was completed.

"Those people out there, the disciples the Hidden Cloud Peak newly brought in, did not have their names recorded in their list of disciples. Even if they were to die, no one would be able to find out they were associated with the Hidden Cloud Peak. All the disciples secretly brought in by Ke Cang Ju, would end up dying here in this underground chamber, as his live subjects in his research of poisons. If I remember it correctly, he will torture the batch of new recruits the first night they enter the Hidden Cloud Peak." Hua Yao continued.

"You should have seen them, Brother Hua! That hideous beast actually made everyone go hungry and made them go fetch water." Qiao Chu nodded as he said, revealing that his well prepared self must have been through the information given by Hua Yao.

Hua Yao's lips curled slightly, forming into a devilish cold smile.

"Vigorous activities on an empty stomach will burn out those bodies thoroughly, and it will not be a surprise if a few of them were to fall ill. If Ke Cang Ju truly intends to kill the whole bunch of recruits, he will not do it to all of them at the same time, but to start off with the most inconspicuous methods and whittle them down bit by bit to fully utilise them. The Hidden Cloud Peak is actually just a pen that cages in all these sacrificial sheeps, and Ke Cang Ju just needs to introduce an excuse or two when he needs to, and to keep the rest in the dark about his shady actions, he proclaims to bring back and 'heal' those that had fallen sick. Am I right?" Jun Wu Xie asked nonchalantly, her eyes narrowed as she shared her analysis.

In order to not alert the rest of the herd of sacrificial sheep, Ke Cang Ju used harsh treatments to tire them out, and those disciples who injured themselves or needed other treatments would be brought to the Elder, and nothing would seem out of place.

And as for those who were brought away, the rest would be too tired to bother whether they were dead or alive.

A whole batch of new and naive recruits brought into the Hidden Cloud Peak, would only end up dying one after another. And by the time any of them felt anything amiss, it would have been too late.

.
.
.
Chapter 274:- Brother Hua (3)

Hua Yao looked at Jun Wu Xie in surprise, he had not expected to see such a young boy to be able to assess Ke Cang Ju's underhanded and malicious deeds in such detail after just spending half a day in the Hidden Cloud Peak. He saw that Jun Wu Xie was indeed extraordinary.

"Your guess is right on the mark. That is indeed Ke Cang Ju's modus operandi. He would bring in a few of them every other few days, and kills them all off slowly. Within the Hidden Cloud Peak, only those disciples dressed in the Qing Yun Clan's uniform are truly safe as they are wolves of the same pack, and know exactly how things work within the peak." Hua Yao affirmed, impressed by Jun Wu Xie.

"You came in last month?" Jun Wu Xie looked at Hua Yao, noticing the grave injuries on him, but compared to the others within this underground chamber, were far less serious, and at least he was conscious.

Hua Yao nodded, "I am the last one to be brought here into this chamber from the previous batch, and I sent my contractual ring spirit bearing all these information to Qiao Chu before I came in."

Jun Wu Xie observed Hua Yao and noticed the blood on his wounds had clotted. His body looked a mess, but he seemed to be in good spirits. If he had not been seen to have hung shackled and pierced with stakes to the wall just moments ago, nobody could have guessed at the travesty done upon him.

For a normal person, to have their pelvic bones pierced through and stakes driven through the body, even if they did not die, they would be on their last breaths. But Hua Yao seemed to still be rather spirited.

Noticing Jun Wu Xie's eyes upon Hua Yao, Qiao Chu stepped up and rested a hand on Hua Yao's shoulder, "Don't just judge Brother Hua in his wretched state, these injuries to him, are just a walk in the park."

Jun Wu Xie raised an eyebrow, from Hua Yao's escape from his shackles that pinned him to the wall, this pretty youth could only be someone extraordinary.

"I have free control over my bones." To clear up Jun Wu Xie's doubts, Hua Yao raised a hand, and his slender fingers turned visibly soft before her eyes, and the bones within seemed to have disappeared into thin air, his hand hanging limply from his wrist.

Jun Wu Xie's eyes flashed with a slight tinge of surprise. She had met contortionists in her previous life who were able to change their bones in certain ways, but they were in no way comparable to what Hua Yao was capable of. Hua Yao's control over his bones did not only allow contortion, but seemingly allowed him to freely make his bones grow or disappear at will.

"What is your objective here?" Jun Wu Xie reined in her surprise. From Qiao Chu's and Hua Yao's actions, she was able to ascertain that they were definitely not allies of the Qing Yun Clan.

As long as they were not friendly to her enemy, she would find a use for them.

"We are here to retrieve some things, what about you?" Hua Yao restored his hand. He did not hide his objective for coming here. Just like Jun Wu Xie, he was clear they were all not friendly towards the Qing Yun Clan.

They both had their own objectives, and they could form a temporary alliance. Besides, they had another favour to ask of Jun Wu Xie, and the intelligent should know very well when they should show their sincerity.

Among them all, Jun Wu Xie, Hua Yao and Qiao Chu were intelligent people.

"I am here to wipe out the entire Qing Yun Clan." Jun Wu Xie spoke easily, but every single one of her words stunned her listeners.

Qiao Chu widened his eyes in amazement, staring in disbelief at Jun Wu Xie, and even Hua Yao's face showed a flash of surprise.

"You..... you must be kidding right?" Qiao Chu dug his finger into his ears furiously, thinking he might have heard Jun Wu Xie wrongly.....

Wipe out the entire Qing Yun Clan? Was this guy serious!?

"I think our objectives are not in conflict. Cooperation, or fight our own individual battles?" Jun Wu Xie was not interested in lengthy explanations. Hua Yao's familiarity with the Hidden Cloud Peak would be useful to her, and if they agreed to cooperate, it would shorten the time she would take to annihilate the Qing Yun Clan, if not, she would not force the issue.

.
.
.
Chapter 275:- Impersonation (1)

To Jun Wu Xie, her concept of an alliance, was just something that made things easier for her if available to use, and would not be much of a concern even if she did not make one.

She had initially planned to do everything on her own anyway.

But.....

Did she look like she was..... kidding?

Hua Yao and Qiao Chu exchanged a quick glance and immediately saw the obvious answer in each other's eyes.

Hua Yao looked at Jun Wu Xie and said: "We can work together, and after we succeed, we have a favour to ask of you."

"Speak." Jun Wu Xie was not surprised in the least. Qiao Chu had been enthusiastic all this time, and she did not think that having met just once before, would make Qiao Chu so fiercely protective of her.

"Qiao Chu mentioned that you have a way with producing elixirs, and we would like to ask for your help to produce a certain elixir. We will provide you with the recipe, and we will help to gather the herbs needed. You will only need to complete it from there." Hua Yao paused before he continued: "We do not demand guaranteed success, but only hope you can give it your best shot. If it is successfully completed, we would be most grateful. But if it happened to fail, we will not force the issue further."

Jun Wu Xie nodded slightly. Little wonder Qiao Chu had been so protective of her, it seemed like the elixir she had produced in the Ghost City had made Qiao Chu take notice of her.

To have made Hua Yao and Qiao Chu request for it so solemnly, it would not be anything simple or easy. But when Hua Yao had been so upfront about it, she saw no reason to reject him of his request.

Besides, in terms of medicine and the skills involved in elixir production, Jun Wu Xie had utmost confidence in herself.

As long as anyone in this world had successfully produced the elixir before, she did not believe it would be beyond her!

"Alright, you have my word." Jun Wu Xie agreed without any hesitation.

Qiao Chu's face broke into a joyous smile, "I knew it! I knew you would agree!"

"........." Jun Wu Xie looked at Qiao Chu, it was just a fair deal between two parties, excessive emotions would only cloud the mind.

Hua Yao was used to Qiao Chu's exuberant personality and ignored his outburst, he then proceeded to tell Jun Wu Xie about the Hidden Cloud Peak in detail.

Having been in the Hidden Cloud Peak for a whole month, Hua Yao's understanding of the Hidden Cloud Peak completely overshadowed Bai Yun Xian's.

Ke Cang Ju stayed within his own quarters every morning and never stepped out. He would only pass down instructions to the disciples of the Hidden Cloud Peak in the afternoon and only for a short while. He was alone most of the time and even the authentic disciples of the Hidden Cloud Peak did not have much interaction with him. After sundown, Ke Cang Ju would come to this underground chamber, and subject his new recruits to unspeakable torment.

For the youths imprisoned here in this chamber, Ke Cang Ju only saw them as test subjects for his various experiments and research, consisting mainly of feeding poisons and torturing. All kinds of experiments are carried out here daily.

After sundown, the Hidden Cloud Peak turns into a nightmarish hell.

And for those who die from his experiments, would be carted out in the dead of the night by the disciples of the Hidden Cloud Peak and be buried within the herb beds, to lend nourishment to the growing herbs as fertiliser.

After being admitted into the Hidden Cloud Peak, unless they become a genuine disciple under Ke Cang Ju himself, they would not ever leave the Hidden Cloud Peak, not even after they died.

Those people were fated to never leave here alive, the moment they stepped into the Hidden Cloud Peak.

Jun Wu Xie listened intently to Hua Yao, her cold eyes lowered, as she pondered a moment. She suddenly raised her head and looked at Hua Yao to ask: "You can freely control your bones, can you change your body shape and looks?"

Hua Yao was shocked! And he seemed to realise what Jun Wu Xie was asking, but did not seem sure before he nodded.

.
.
.
Chapter 276:- Impersonation (2)

"Kill Ke Cang Ju, and have you take his place." Jun Wu Xie narrowed her eyes as she revealed her plan.

Hua Yao and Qiao Chu felt the shock reverberate through their entire beings.

They never would have expected that Jun Wu Xie would even think about killing Ke Cang Ju the very first night she entered the Hidden Cloud Peak!

Jun Wu Xie might have stated her objective for coming to the Qing Yun Clan was to wipe out the whole Qing Yun Clan. But wasn't the speed the plans were being carried out a tad bit too fast!?

"Can it be done?" Qiao Chu stared at Jun Wu Xie stunned, unable to accept such shocking ideas coming from the petite and refined looking youth before him.

Jun Wu Xie frowned.

Hua Yao replied instead: "How do you intend to do it? I might be able to change my bones' structure, but I am unable to transform my skin. Even if I am to change my facial bone structure to be exactly like Ke Cang Ju, I won't be able to replicate that face."

"I have my ways." Jun Wu Xie looked at Hua Yao, "You do not have to do anything else, but to wait here."

Hua Yao stared at Jun Wu Xie a moment, as if guessing at her intentions. He decided not say anything further, and gave his silent consent.

The three young youths made their first pact of agreement in the dark, dank, and wet underground chamber. Their cooperation this time, was the start to the tangles that was destined to bind their lives.

At the earliest break of dawn, Jun Wu Xie and Qiao Chu left the underground chamber. Before they left, Jun Wu Xie witnessed Hua Yao drive the stakes into his body and hung himself back onto the hooks and bound himself to the chains.

He looked just as he had before they found him.

After a night of torment, the newly recruited youths were tired beyond words. Before Jun Wu Xie and Qiao Chu reached their quarters, they saw over twenty of the battered and exhausted youths leaning beside the water urns. At that moment, they seemed to have lost their spirit and energy, lying around like limp rag dolls, listless and limpid. Many of them were soaking wet and the buckets used to carry the water laid beside them, and they had no strength left to go on. Having gone hungry a whole day and night, the stomachs were growling furiously, and the night's hard labour and resulting exhaustion wringed every ounce of energy out from their bodies, and many of them had fallen asleep where they sat.

Jun Wu Xie's and Qiao Chu's arrival had not been noticed by anyone else and they conveniently picked a spot to sit down. Without anyone seeing, Jun Wu Xie pushed an elixir into the hands of Qiao Chu.

"What is this?" Qiao Chu looked at the greyish elixir in his hand, and then looked in puzzlement at Jun Wu Xie.

Jun Wu Xie glanced at Qiao Chu but did not feel like explaining. She picked up the elixir from Qiao Chu's hand and slapped her hand onto Qiao Chu's mouth, sending the elixir down the his throat, and swallowed an elixir herself.

"........." The extremely bitter elixir slipped down his throat and brought tears to Qiao Chu's eyes. He grimaced in agony as he stared at Jun Wu Xie, and pinched on his own nose.

This kid was simply straightforward and brutal!

When the first rays of light spilled onto the lands, the exhausted youths were stirred back to consciousness by the blinding light. The figures picked themselves up wearily and wobbled unsteadily into their sleeping quarters.

They was nothing else they wanted more than to go back and sink into their beds, and drink a few mouthfuls of water to flush away the hunger pangs.

Not a single one of them was able to complete the task set to them, and according to what the Hidden Cloud Peak senior had said, they would not have any breakfast either.

A pity but the torment had not ended. Just when the new recruits were dragging themselves back into the quarters, they were stopped by the senior disciples of the Hidden Cloud Peak who had just awoken.

.
.
.
Chapter 277:- Impersonation (3)

"Have all of you finished it?" The fully refreshed disciple asked as he looked upon the group of wretched and exhausted youth, as an evil smile appeared on his lips.

The youths lowered their heads, unable to make a sound.

"What a bunch of losers! Since you can't even complete such a simple task, you can forget about breakfast! Now, go and get the water from the urns and water the herb beds!" Without allowing the ravaged youths any chance to rest, more torment was being heaped upon them.

Howls of protests sounded from those youths then.

"Senior, we are dying from exhaustion, and did not sleep a wink last night..... Can we sleep just a little before we go?" A braver youth among them pleaded for them.

The next moment, as soon as those words had left his mouth, the Hidden Cloud Peak disciple rushed at him and kicked him hard in the stomach, making the weakened youth double over and fell onto the floor, howling in pain.

"What a lazy bunch! These rules in the Hidden Cloud Peak are meant to be followed once you are admitted! Anyone who refuses to follow them can pack up and leave!" The Hidden Cloud Peak disciple looked at every single one of them in disdain and gave a cold laugh, the cruel look in his eyes did not even see those new recruits as humans anymore.

Under threat and fear..... made these totally exhausted youths huddle together, unable to argue further. They dragged themselves to their feet and straggled outside.

The Hidden Cloud Peak did not allow any outsiders to enter, and hence, no one knew what went on behind their firmly closed doors.

There was no one to come save these sacrificial lambs about to be sent to slaughter.

"Say, if these guys knew they would be tortured to death by the Hidden Cloud Peak, would they still cling on so desperately to be admitted into the Hidden Cloud Peak?" Qiao Chu walked slowly out of the quarters and looked at the figures before him walking unsteadily, his eyes inquisitive.

Ke Cang Ju was a bad egg, but these scoundrels were no angels as well. When they had just come to the Hidden Cloud Peak, they had sneered and jeered at him and Jun Wu Xie. He doubted they had the energy to do that anymore.

Jun Wu Xie did not say anything. She lowered her eyes and looked at the ground before her feet.

A place like this, totally disgusted her every moment she was here.

And since it disgusted her that much, she would totally wipe the place out!

Qiao Chu waited for Jun Wu Xie to reply but she did not say a word. He then turned his head and suddenly saw that Jun Wu Xie's pink cheeks had lost all colour, and her lips were deathly white!

"Jun Xie! You....." Qiao Chu had just opened his mouth to speak when he suddenly felt the world spin around him. Before he could react, he involuntarily feel flat on his face onto the ground.

Two loud thuds alerted the youths who were walking before them. They turned their heads to see and found that the trailing pair of Qiao Chu and Jun Wu Xie had fainted, as they lay flat on the ground. They had shown no prior signs of fatigue but their faces were now deathly pale and the dry cracked lips were white!

"H..... help! Some people fainted!" Shouts erupted from the group of youths.

The Hidden Cloud Peak disciples were drawn to the noise and they immediately spotted Jun Wu Xie and Qiao Chu lying at the side of the path the moment they stepped out.

For just a brief moment, a flash of malicious glee flashed within the eyes of the disciples of the Hidden Cloud Peak, but it disappeared very soon after.

They put on an exasperated face thereafter and reprimanded with disdain at the group of youths: "What a useless bunch this is! They are falling to pieces after just one night in the Hidden Cloud Peak! Get some people here and bring these two useless pieces of thrash back to Elder Ke. I can't believe they could be this hopeless! They are more trouble than they are worth and would only be a bother to the Elder!"

They bumbling group of youths looked with uncertainty at what was happening here. According to the senior Hidden Cloud Peak disciples, they would be sent to Elder Ke for treatment, and they were suddenly comforted by the fact that the Elder of the Hidden Cloud Peak took a personal interest in the well being of their disciples.....

.
.
.
Chapter 278:- Impersonation (4)

That must be true! The Hidden Cloud Peak would never torment them like this without reason. This must be a test for them! If they can hold out a little longer, they would soon become a true disciple of the Hidden Cloud Peak!

After they told themselves that they would be treated by the Elder himself if they were to fall ill, their earlier complaints of exhaustion seemed to evaporate into the air. Some of them even started to anticipate eagerly for their bodies to succumb to exhaustion and be subjected to the 'treatment' from Elder Ke, and pushed their bodies beyond their limits.

The fantasy that enveloped the naive youths gave them renewed strength and their ravaged bodies were suddenly able to move as the youths moved out determined to succeed.

"Dumb pieces of trash." The Hidden Cloud Peak disciple muttered to himself as he stood at the entrance to the quarters, his eyes fixed on the naive sacrifices who were oblivious to the certain death that awaited them at the end of their disillusioned good fortune, as they trudged out to suffer further torment.

"Do we just send these two to the Elder?" A few Hidden Cloud Peak disciples walked over and kicked at the unmoving pair lying on the ground asked easily.

"Just send them up, I did not expect that there to be such weak ones among the sheep that would succumb to the torture on the very first night. They're sure out of luck." Without feeling any pity for the pair, two Hidden Cloud Peak disciples carried Qiao Chu and Jun Wu Xie, moving deeper into the peak.

As they made their way in, the disciples paid no attention to the injured pair and handled them roughly. After some time, they came before the same building that Qiao Chu and Jun Wu Xie had sneaked into last night.

The doors to the building were open and the guards at the doors allowed the disciples in without stopping them when the guards saw them carrying the two injured over their shoulders.

After they entered, Qiao Chu and Jun Wu Xie were thrown like sacks onto the hard floor.

With a boom, the doors to the building were then closed.

Qiao Chu lay flat on the ground, his face stuck to the dirty floor, his pale face in a grimace.

Will somebody tell him what was happening to him?

Why did he suddenly faint? What scared him more was that after he collapsed, he had remained conscious, and heard every single word of the conversation between the senior disciples. And no matter how hard he tried, he could not move a finger.

He had remained conscious, and his half closed eyes had allowed him to see everything that was going on. But he just could not..... move!

What kind of an elixir did Jun Xie give him? Why is he in such a state?

As Qiao Chu was feeling helpless and confused on the hard floor, he suddenly noticed a little shadow that suddenly flashed past before his eyes. The shadow nimbly jumped across the room and finally stopped before a shelf filled with medicinal jars.

It was a graceful little black cat, and its chest was decorated with a brilliant crest of gold!

The little black cat noticed Qiao Chu eyes as it licked its paws slowly and swished its tail lazily, before it jumped up to hide behind the jars of medicine.

Time passed, before the doors to the building were opened again. The sun shone in through the doors and lit the dim room with its light. A crooked figure shuffled to stand before the doors into the room, the light shining behind him.

"Stay alert and watch carefully, I do not want any disturbances." An evil chilling voice was heard, one that made anyone feel like they were dipped into the icy cold water of a winter lake.

Before the comforting sunlight could warm the cold hard floor, the doors to the room were shut tight once again!

The sharp jingle of bells sounded in the ears of Jun Wu Xie and Qiao Chu, and the sound gradually came closer to the two figures lying motionless upon the ground. The jingles of bells beat at their thumping hearts, its rhytm in tandem with their heartbeats.

.
.
.
Chapter 279:- Fifth Slap (1)

Ke Cang Ju stood, his back hunched and his eyes narrowed as he stared at the two youths, his darkened lips curled in a cruel arc. He shook his hands and two lengths of chains slipped out from his voluminous sleeves. He secured the chains around the bellies of Qiao Chu and Jun Wu Xie, and dragged the unconscious pair towards the underground chamber.

After he left, a nimble black shadow slipped from behind the medicinal jars upon the shelf and followed, its small body blended into the darkness easily as it dove into the tunnel leading down into the chamber.

In the deep underground chamber, the nauseating smell of blood permeated throughout, mixed with the strong smell of herbs that assaulted one's sense of smell.

The crisply clear jingle of the bells followed Ke Cang Ju as he shuffled forward, and the two Hidden Cloud Peak disciples who were busying themselves within the underground chamber immediately dropped the tasks at at hand and went up to Ke Cang Ju when they heard him coming.

"Master." The two disciples bowed respectfully.

Ke Cang Ju released the chains around Jun Wu Xie and Qiao Chu and said to the two disciples: "Bring them over."

"Yes, Master."

The disciples picked up the two youths and carried them over to the raised wooden platforms at the side.

Two loud thuds sounded as the youths were thrown carelessly upon the wooden boards.

"Clean them up properly. I have new drugs to test on them." Ke Cang Ju let out a spine chilling cackle as he turned to walk further inside.

Within the dimly lit underground chamber, the torches flickered, and the pretty faced youth hung from the wall, his face pale. He was not moving, and it seemed as though he could be dead.

Ke Cang Ju lifted a water scoop from a bucket and splashed it heavily upon the youth.

The icy cold water woke the unconscious youth and he raised his head slowly, his eyes glinted with a trace of hatred, the tiny teardrop mole below his eye showing clearly on his face.

"I can see you are still very spirited. That's good. Let's play a different game today." Ke Cang Ju cackled maliciously, and pulled a thin cane from a bucket filled with a black gooey liquid. The cane was soaked through with the black liquid and it glistened darkly within the dim firelight, and thorns were embedded throughout its length.

This youth was from the previous batch of new recruits brought into the Hidden Cloud Peak last month. All the others from the same batch that had been brought in had already died under his hands. This youth had possessed exceptional life force and his vitality had far surpassed all the others. Even after more than two weeks' torture, he had remained alive.

The cane soaked in the poisonous black liquid was slashed upon the youth's tall slender body, every stroke left glaringly gashing red wounds as the thorns dug into his flesh. The black poison liquid stuck to the wounds and the red bloody gashes soon turned a dark purple.

"This is the poisonous cane that grows only on the Eastern Spirit Mountain, I collected and immersed them in the juice of the Heart Eroding Grass. The poisonous cane's barbed hooks might be sharp, but were rather brittle. They break off easily after just a few uses and lose its effectiveness. But when it is soaked in the juice of the Heart Eroding Grass, it hardens and strengthens the barbed hooks, making them unbelievably strong and increases its poisonous qualities greatly." As he continued lashing, Ke Cang Ju was immersed in his 'teaching' as he rattled on with his hoarse voice.

"The best thing about it is, the poison is not lethal enough to kill, but will induce unbearable pain and agony in the human body. The wounds it leaves behind will feel like thousands of ants biting away at the flesh. Hua Yao, have you remembered everything your Master had so painstakingly prepared for your lesson today?" The cane slashed mercilessly within the dim chamber, and Ke Cang Ju's eyes grew crazed, his face contorted in glee, and his breaths grew shorter as he got more and more excited.

.
.
.
Chapter 280:- Fifth Slap (2)

The youth took on the slashes without uttering a single sound with his head lowered, as he clenched his jaw tight. Within the pair of pretty eyes, they did not show any trace of fear or terror, but flashed with a chill and showed defiant calm.

The endless cracks from the cane echoed throughout the underground chamber while the two disciples outside lowered their heads as they began to "prepare" the two newly arrived sacrificial sheep.

"That kid in there can really take it, he's actually still alive!" One of the disciples said indifferently, having gotten used to the daily tortuous experiments that happened daily in the underground chamber, and Hua Yao was the only one to still survive after more than ten days under the malicious hands of Ke Cang Ju. Before him, none had managed to last that long.

Forget ten days, none had lasted more than even five days! Basically, any of the new recruits sent here mostly die in three days and even if they miraculously survived, an outcome worse than death awaited them. Their vision and voices would be snatched away from them, becoming blind and mute, unable to utter a single word of protest or curse and immersed in the urns that were filled to the brim with poison. Death was actually a relief for these people.

"I took a look at him earlier this morning, he would not last much longer." The other disciple replied without any expression.

"I wonder how long these two sheep here would last, two days? Or three days..... This kid here had looked rather thin, but he is actually rather muscular." The disciple exclaimed as he cut up Qiao Chu's clothes. Under the tattered tunic, his firm muscular chest glistened under the dim flickering torches, as the disciple admired for a little longer before he reached out his hand and stroked Qiao Chu's chest when he could not resist it any longer. The disciple, absorbed in his admiration and the feeling that lingered on his fingertips, had not noticed that the sacrificial sheep that laid there, had seemed to shiver from his touch.

The other disciple pouted at his partner's luck as he stared at the petite and skinny specimen of a boy before him, and was about to begin with his task in disdain.

"I don't know about yours, but this one here, should be lucky if he could even last through today."

As he spoke, he picked up the blade, raised his hand and was about to cut through the clothes when his hand was back in mid action.

The disciple froze, the shock paralyzing him a moment, as he looked in disbelief at the small hand that was gripped on his wrist!

That hand, belonged to the little brat that lay before him.

"Little Black." Jun Wu Xie, who had been unconscious just a second ago suddenly snapped her cold and chilling eyes open, and with a low call, a massive black shadow had suddenly appeared in the underground chamber!

The two disciples had been rather laid back and relaxed when suddenly, they spotted the big black beast, but it had pounced on them from within the shadows fast as lightning before they could react and pinned them firmly onto the ground!

How did such a huge beast get into this underground chamber?

And they had not even noticed anything at all!

The daggers that they held within their hands had dropped on the ground when the massive beast had pounced on them, and it held them both down under a paw each pressed against their necks, its sharp claws digging into their carotid artery. A little more pressure, and the beast would have taken their lives!

Everything had happened too fast, and they only glimpsed a massive shadow before they found themselves pinned, and were unable to react in the slightest.

"Hear them utter one word and kill them." The cold clear voice sounded in the ears of the two Hidden Cloud Peak disciples and their eyes widened in fear when they saw where the voice had come from.

A small petite figure sat up slowly on the wooden platform unhurriedly. The small youth who had been unconscious just moments ago now sat there looking at them with eyes that sent a chill deep into their bones as they lay on the floor, not daring to move a muscle.

Gulp.

•••