Stranger Danger

Chapter 613: Sandfyre

There was no denying how cool he looked when he practiced his fists against the black windstorm and defeated the Blackwind Army singlehandedly—and anyone who did should ask if they could measure up to his fists—but the feats also tired him greatly. Just because he was a Half-Step Grandmaster in body did not mean that he could not be worn down, not to mention that his spirit was fatigued as well. Naturally, he wanted to rest as soon as the danger was over.

Giggle also turned quiet when it saw that Ye Qing was resting. It walked up to Ye Qing, sat down beside him, propped its chin against its hands, and stared at the clear, blue sky above its head, quiet and obedient.

Several hours later, after Ye Qing had recovered most of his strength, the duo resumed their journey once more.

The winter of the northern regions had short days but long nights. This was doubly true during late winter. It felt like the sun had just appeared in the sky for just a couple of hours before it began its descent toward the west once more, dyeing both the sky and the ground crimson.

The sight was dreamy and fantastical, but a veteran desert traveler would not be wasting their time admiring the view. It was because the sunset meant that night was approaching, and when it was night, it was cold.

The night and day of Blackwind Desert felt like two different worlds. During the day, Blackwind Desert was scorching hot even though it was late winter, the white hot sun boiling the sand with its heat and stabbing into one’s skin like needles.

But when the sun had set, it was as if it had left with all the warmth and hope in the world as well. Without the sun to warm the ground with its ceaseless rays, Blackwind Desert transformed into a cold, frigid land that was several times colder than even the coldest nights of Bei You. To give an example, the water in a puff of breath could turn into ice as soon as it left someone’s mouth.

If a normal human were to attempt a trek at this time, they wouldn’t last long at all. Their blood would literally freeze inside their body and kill them in no time.

But of course, Ye Qing was no ordinary person. What was a fatal threat to the ordinary person was nothing to the vigorous warrior or his magical companion, so the duo continued their journey like nothing had changed.

The sky quickly darkened, and Blackwind Desert soon turned as black as tar. Neither a ray of light nor a trace of life could be seen no matter where one looked. It was oppressive and deathly still to say the least.

The desert was torturous enough during the day, but the transformation made it twice as torturous during the night. Generally speaking, few people would wish to continue their journey at this time.

For Ye Qing though, this was yet another opportunity to temper himself.

Everything in the world was an opportunity to temper oneself.

Despite the absolute darkness he was trapped in, Ye Qing continued to step forward with a steady heart.

“Light...”

Suddenly, a bit of light pressed against Ye Qing’s eyeballs. He could tell it was some sort of flame. A torch, maybe?

To a human, fire represented warmth and hope. Most people would be overjoyed to find fire in a cold, dark desert like this.

But not Ye Qing. Not only did the fire fail to elicit any positive feelings from him, his consciousness actually rose to full alertness.

After all, why would there be fire in the Blackwind Desert?

When Ye Qing was about ten meters away from the fire, the sand beneath his feet abruptly gave way. He fell.

“Quicksand?”

Ye Qing’s eyes glinted. He tried to jump away to safety, but it was as if there were countless hands hidden within the quicksand. It clung tightly to his legs and dragged him deeper into the quicksand.

He was up to his chest in just the blink of an eye.

“Hmm? A Stranger?”

Ye Qing raised an eyebrow and clenched his right fist. Then, he punched the surface of the quicksand.

The entire quicksand depressed several inches like it was made of fabric, and a dull rumble that sounded like thunder came from the bottom. Thanks to this, Ye Qing was able to extricate himself and land on the edge of the quicksand.

At the same time, countless rotten arms suddenly reached out of the quicksand, flailing as if they were trying to catch something. There was nothing though. A few seconds later, the arms reluctantly sank back into the quicksand. After that, the quicksand stilled, and it was as if nothing had ever happened.

No, there was one change. The flame at the center of the quicksand was burning brighter and giving off increasingly tempting waves of warmth and light.

“A Sandfyre! I see.”

The temperature in Ye Qing’s eyes cooled as he watched the warm, bright flame. The Sandfyre was a Soulstealer-class Stranger that was usually spotted at a desert or a barren land. It used fire as a bait to tempt cold, lonely, and fearful travelers into its quicksand trap. Most people wouldn’t be able to resist the promise of light and warmth, and even fewer could remain calm and collected due to the oppressive environment. Once they fell into the quicksand, that was it. They would be consumed by the Sandfyre.

“Fire to tempt the living, sand to consume their life.” That was how a passage had described the Stranger. Hence, the Sandfyre was also called the Slayfyre. It was a deceptive flame that inevitably slew all those who dared to approach it.

The more living beings or humans the Sandfyre consumed, the brighter and warmer its flames would become, and the greater the range of its quicksand.

In the Pacification Bureau’s records, there was once a gargantuan Sandfyre that easily spanned over fifty kilometers. Every living creature within its range had been consumed, leaving behind naught but an empty wasteland and a bright flame.

Of course, a Sandfyre of that size and power was no longer a Soulstealer-class Stranger. It was a Disaster-class Stranger[1]. Every day, it was expanding and consuming more lives. It wasn’t until the Pacification Bureau mobilized over a dozen Grandmasters that they finally slew it.

Luckily for Ye Qing, the Sandfyre before him was the lowest level Sandfyre. It was probably due to its environment. The Blackwind Desert was infamous for its dangers in two countries, and no one barring the desperate or extremely powerful dared to brave it. Naturally, the lack of victims greatly hindered the Sandfyre’s growth.

Ye Qing leaped into the air like a hawk and turned upside down as he was passing over the flame. Then, he reached into the flame.

As if sensing a threat, the flame shot a couple inches taller, and its bright, warm, orange yellow glow abruptly turned cold, dark, and tainted. The quicksand itself was stirring like boiling water before countless rotten hands burst out into the open to catch Ye Qing.

Ye Qing ignored the counterattack and tightened his grip. Then, he pulled strongly.

He had no ground to borrow strength from as he was floating in the air, but it did not matter, for his arm alone possessed the strength to lift a mountain.

BOOM!

The entire quicksand exploded as Ye Qing ripped the flame out of the ground, the swarm of rotten hands included. From Ye Qing’s perspective, it looked like the arms were the flame’s roots. They were innumerable and spanned at least ten meters in diameter. It should not need to be said, but they looked absolutely disgusting to say the least.

The rotten arms belonged to the Sandfyre’s victims. After they died, their bodies were consumed by the Stranger, and their arms were turned into its roots.

After the flame was ripped out of quicksand, it gradually faded as if it was cut off from its energy source. The rotten arms also slackened and ceased struggling.

The quicksand grew still after the flame disappeared. At the same time, a rotten stench seeped into the open air.

A Sandfyre’s body was composed of the quicksand and the flame. If the flame extinguished, then the quicksand would perish as well. Ye Qing’s act of ripping the flame from the quicksand was akin to removing someone’s head from their shoulders. Naturally, it could not survive after sustaining such an injury.

After that, Ye Qing burned the rotten arms with his Netherflame. Seeing this, Giggle too approached the quicksand, puffed up its cheeks and spat some saliva at it.

Amazingly, Giggle’s saliva was slowly returning the rotten, smelly quicksand to normal. As the water of the quicksand gradually turned pure, Ye Qing could even smell a whiff of fresh air.

Clearly, Giggle’s saliva had somehow purified the taint within the quicksand.

“You’re incredible, Giggle.”

Ye Qing couldn’t help but give Giggle a thumbs-up.

“Hahaha...”

Giggle hugged its tummy and laughed happily after hearing Ye Qing’s praise, the bottle of Nature’s Water swaying left and right on its head.

1. And this is why the classification is sometimes inaccurate. The Strangers can grow stronger just like humans can cultivate. They probably classified them based on the average, but outliers will always exist. ☜