Chapter Thirty-Nine: Between Submission and Resistance

Li Tongxuan stared blankly at Jiang Li. "I... you should tell me what happened, young master."

"You just said you had amnesia and remembered nothing. How am I supposed to ask you anything?" Jiang Li retorted, exasperated.

Without further ado, Jiang Li pressed a flower petal into Li Tongxuan's hand. "Eat it. Let's see if you get better."

Li Tongxuan nodded, then looked at Jiang Li. "So, what exactly happened to me?"

Jiang Li sighed and recounted the events of the previous day. Li Tongxuan fell into deep thought.

"Wild Ox said that you were affected by the Other Shore Flower, which is why you turned into a monster. As for why it happened yesterday, it might have been a sudden flare-up, much like being poisoned—it could have struck at any time," Jiang Li explained, attempting to offer some comfort. "So, eat this and see if it has any effect."

Li Tongxuan grunted in acknowledgment, placed the petal in his mouth, and after a moment, closed his eyes and sat cross-legged on the ground.

At this moment, no one was more anxious than Wild Ox, who watched Li Tongxuan with unblinking eyes. If this guy could recover by eating just one petal, the rest would belong to him. Losing one petal wouldn't make much difference to the overall value of the flower.

Under everyone’s tense observation, a tea-brewing's time passed. Li Tongxuan slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of white mist.

"How is it? Any effect?" Jiang Li asked hurriedly.

Li Tongxuan suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of black blood, then looked at Jiang Li. "I feel... a lot lighter."

"Have another one!" Jiang Li did not hesitate to hand him another petal.

Li Tongxuan took it without hesitation and swallowed it. After a while, he spat out another mouthful of black blood.

"Still not fully recovered?" Jiang Li looked directly at the lotus seed in the center of the flower. "Eat this!"

Wild Ox’s heart tightened, but seeing that Jiang Li still held four or five petals, he suppressed the urge to rush forward and snatch it.

This time, after a quarter of an hour, a sharp gleam suddenly erupted from Li Tongxuan's eyes.

He took a deep breath, looked up at the sky, slapped his hands against the ground, and launched himself upward like a cannonball.

"Damn! That’s way too powerful!" Ma De stared at the sky in astonishment.

Li Tongxuan ascended a full hundred meters before descending back to the ground.

"Young master, I feel I am fully recovered, and I have regained some memories."

"What memories?" Jiang Li asked excitedly. He had long suspected that Li Tongxuan’s origins were mysterious; was the veil finally about to be lifted?

Li Tongxuan pointed into the distance. "I was originally trapped in a cave over there, kept with many others like me, never seeing the light of day."

"But not long ago, I saw Young Master Jiang set fire to the cave and take the Other Shore Flower. That is the only reason I was able to walk out."

Jiang Li felt a jolt of shock. A cave? That cave had been burned to ashes—how could Li Tongxuan have survived?

"How did you survive back then?" Jiang Li asked curiously.

"The smell of the smoke masked the scent of the Other Shore Flower, which allowed me to stay clear-headed for a brief moment. I used my internal energy to resist the flames, and that is how I survived."

Just as Jiang Li was about to nod, Wild Ox, who had been listening from the side, spoke up impatiently.

"Jiang Li, your man is fine now. Shouldn't you give me what belongs to me?"

Jiang Li turned around leisurely. "What’s the rush? If I give it to you now and you decide to kill us, what then?"

"Once you’ve consumed that thing and your strength increases, if you insist on attacking us, wouldn't we be finished?"

"You—how could I do such a thing!" Wild Ox exclaimed hurriedly. "If you give me the item, I’d be grateful to you. Why would I kill you?"

Jiang Li shook his head. "I can’t help it; I really can't trust you. After all, you wanted to attack us even before we entered the camp."

"If you don't have a way to guarantee my safety, I certainly cannot hand it over so easily."

"Then what exactly do you want to do!" Wild Ox stomped his feet in frustration. "You won't give it this way, and you won't give it that way! Do you really think that just because you have the item, you can bully me as you please?"

Jiang Li pondered for a long time before finally nodding. "You do have a point. The item can naturally be yours, but it cannot be given to you so quickly."

"What do you mean?" Wild Ox glared at Jiang Li, unhappy. He could give it, yet wouldn't give it immediately—what was that supposed to mean?

"Haha, don't be impatient, Chief. We are right here and won't be running away. What are you worried about?"

"I heard that in your tribe, any vow made to the totem spirit during the sacrificial ceremony cannot be broken. So, please, Chief, order a sacrificial ceremony; it should be ready by the day after tomorrow."

"When the time comes, if you give me a guarantee, I will hand the item over. How about that?"

Wild Ox pondered for a moment and nodded. "Fine, I agree, Jiang Li!"

With that, he waved his hand and left with his tribesmen.

"Brother Jiang," Ma De leaned in, his eyes gleaming as he looked at Jiang Li. "Are you really willing to give it to him?"

Jiang Li replied with a half-smile, "What, Brother Ma, do you want it?"

"Yes!" Ma De nodded heavily. "Who wouldn't want such a heavenly treasure? Are you saying you don't have any interest in it, Brother Jiang?"

Jiang Li dropped his smile and said solemnly, "Naturally, everyone wants such a good thing."

"But if we don't give it away, Wild Ox will take our lives. Does Brother Ma have some hidden trump card to save us?"

After a moment of hesitation, Ma De’s expression grew determined.

"Brother Jiang! To be honest, I have some minor accomplishments in martial arts. If you don't believe me, watch!"

With that, Ma De walked out of the courtyard and approached a tribesman standing guard outside.

"You, put down your weapon and fight me!"

The tribesman was clearly confused. "No, no, Priest, how could I fight you?"

Ma De rolled up his sleeves. "Enough talk! I said fight, so fight!"

As he spoke, Ma De suddenly delivered a kick toward the man’s groin. The tribesman hurriedly dodged, but Ma De pressed the attack, landing a punch on the man’s chest.

"Ugh!" The tribesman winced in pain, then angrily struck back at Ma De with one hand. In the blink of an eye, the two were brawling.

Jiang Li watched the scene in a daze. He had to admit, Ma De had some skills, but it seemed to be only "some" skills. Overall, Ma De had the upper hand, but he couldn't defeat the tribesman quickly.

After trading a few more blows, Ma De scampered back to Jiang Li.

"Brother Jiang, how was that? I didn't lie to you. A fortune teller said when I was young that I was a martial arts prodigy! That once I encountered the wind and clouds, I would turn into a dragon. If you give me the remaining petals, I might become a peerless master after eating them!"

"No," Jiang Li said decisively.

"Why?!" Ma De looked as if he had been struck by lightning, his eyes wide. "Is my skill not enough to impress you?"

Jiang Li curled his lip. "I have to admit, buddy, you’ve got something, but not much."

"In terms of martial arts, you are definitely above me, but if you want to kill me, that’s no easy task either."

"So, your martial arts are somewhere between me being impressed and not being impressed."

Ma De looked at Jiang Li, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Half-impressed!" Jiang Li said with a smile.