Chapter 132: Three Step Fragrant Grass

第一百三十二节：三步芳草

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

On the cliff, Bai Ning Bing watched with interest.

悬崖上，白凝冰饶有兴趣地看着。

As he sat at the cliff, a life and death battle was on full display.

在他坐着的峭壁下，一场生死激战正在上演。

The bold lightning wolf took its move, slowly approaching.

豪电狼踱着步子，慢慢接近。

Two Gu Masters blocked its path with a grim expression.

两位蛊师，满脸的凝重，挡在它的面前。

Behind them, Xiong Zhan was half-kneeling on the ground, his left hand grabbing his right wrist, his right hand in the shape of a claw, aiming at the bold lightning wolf.

在他们的身后，熊毡半蹲在地上，左手抓在右手腕上，右手呈现爪状，遥遥对准着豪电狼。

“Plunder Gu!” Suddenly, he shouted loudly, all the primeval essence in his body gushing towards the Plunder Gu.

“强取蛊！”忽然，他猛地大喝一声，体内真元尽数涌向强取蛊。

An invisible grabbing force exploded from within.

一股无形的摄取力，顿时爆发出来。

Xiong Zhan’s right hand grabbed the air, and a sense of illusion made him feel that he had grabbed onto a Gu worm.

熊毡右手虚抓，一种错觉，让他感到自己仿佛抓住了一只蛊虫。

But this Gu worm continued to struggle, contesting with him.

但这只蛊虫在不断地挣扎着，和他角力。

This force was very large; his center of gravity had already been very low, but he still felt a very strong force dragging him forward.

这股力量十分巨大，他的重心已经压得很低了，但仍旧让他有一种要被拖拽向前的感觉。

“Plunder Gu’s success rate is very low, but I have to succeed this time, otherwise we’re doomed!” He gritted his teeth, veins popping up on his forehead as his expression turned ferocious, contesting with all his ability.

“强取蛊的成功率很低，但若此次必须成功，否则凶多吉少！”他将一口钢牙咬得嘎嘣作响，额头上青筋暴起，满脸的狰狞之色，尽最大努力奋战。

Xiong Zhan had no other way.

熊毡已经没有了退路。

Failure means death!

不成功，就是死！

Under the pressure of death, he infused the Plunder Gu with all the primeval essence he could muster.

在死亡的刺激之下，他拼命地向强取蛊中灌注真元。

With the infusion of the primeval essence, the Plunder Gu residing in his right palm also increased its sucking force. The bold lightning wolf felt something amiss, and started howling, attacking in a frenzy.

随着真元的注入，寄居在他的右手掌心中的强取蛊，也爆发出更强的吸摄力。豪电狼感觉到不妥，嚎叫起来，猛然间展开了疯狂的进攻。

The two Gu Masters could hardly block it.

两位蛊师艰难抵挡。

Just when Xiong Zhan felt that his plunder was going to succeed, his expression changed.

就在熊毡感到要强取成功的时候，忽然脸色骤变。

“Damn it, not enough primeval essence!” He suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood, his state of health being at the worst. Once a plunder fails, he would face some backlash. This was a flaw of the Plunder Gu.

“该死。真元不足了！”他忽的喷出一口血来，神情霎时间萎顿至极。强取一旦失败，就会受到反噬。这便是强取蛊的一个缺陷。

Howl!

嗷呜！

Without the Plunder Gu’s restriction, the bold lightning wolf opened its mouth, and started to howl.

失去了强取蛊的牵制，豪电狼猛地张开兽口，高声嗥叫起来。

The Gu worm that lived within it used its ability, and made its teeth shine with lightning.

共生的蛊虫暴发出力量，让它的牙齿之间电芒闪烁。

Eerie blue lightning discharged and finally shot out from its mouth.

幽蓝的电流汇集起来，最后猛地喷射而出。

The lightning shot through the middle of both Gu Masters, aiming for the half kneeling Xiong Zhan.

电流闯过两位蛊师中间，直接击中半蹲着的熊毡。

Xiong Zhan did not even have time to cry before he got hit by the lightning, turning into a piece of charred black cooked meat, instantly dead.

熊毡还来不及惨嚎。就被电流打成了一块焦黑的熟肉，瞬间死亡。

“Run!” The remaining two Gu Masters no longer had any fighting spirit as they ran in two directions.

“快跑！”剩下的两位蛊师再无点滴斗志，分别向两旁逃跑。

The bold lightning wolf chased up to one of them, pouncing on him and biting the throat.

豪电狼追上一人，直接扑倒，将其咽喉咬碎。

The final Bai clan Gu Master was blocked by the bold lightning wolf, and could only retreat towards the cliff.

最后只剩下来自白家寨的蛊师，他被豪电狼堵住方向，只能一步步地退到峭壁边上。

“Ahhhhh. I’m going to die!” With his back against the cliff, he roared in despair, venting out the fear in his heart.

“啊啊啊。我要死了！”他背靠着峭壁，仰头绝望地嘶吼起来。发泄着心中的恐惧。

But suddenly his voice came to a stop — He saw Bai Ning Bing on top of the cliff.

但忽然他声音顿止——他看到了头顶山壁上的白凝冰。

“Lord Bai Ning Bing! Lord Bai Ning Bing, is that really you?” He was stunned but then started shouting, overjoyed.

“白凝冰大人！白凝冰大人。真的是你吗？”他楞了一下后，猛地大叫起来，喜极而泣。

“Oops, you found me,” Bai Ning Bing laughed, and raised his right hand.

“哎呀，被发现了。”白凝冰呵呵笑了一声，慢慢地举起右手。

His right index finger pointed downwards and an icicle instantly formed, shooting downwards.

他右手食指朝着下面一指，一颗冰锥顿生，并向下飞射而去。

The icicle hit the Gu Master crying for help, penetrating his skull, all the way to his chin.

冰锥射中那求救的蛊师。洞穿他的头骨，从头顶一直穿到下颚。

“Ah!” His face was still fixed with intense joy after finding hope, but then fell to the ground with a plop.

“呃！”他的脸上还残留着劫后余生的狂喜之色。然后扑通一声栽倒在地上。

The bold lightning wolf was shocked by the event.

倒把那只豪电狼吓了一跳。

It stared at Bai Ning Bing, its mouth opening. Within, lightning coiled around its teeth.

它望着上方的白凝冰，嘴角裂开。露出里面电光缭绕的牙齿。

“Ignorant beast.” Bai Ning Bing stared plainly, jumping down lightly from the five metre cliff.

“无知的畜生。”白凝冰淡漠地看着，轻轻一跃，从高达五米的山壁上跳下。

In the air, he clapped his palms together, and icy mist instantly formed.

在空中，他双掌猛地一并，冰霜之气顿时四溢。

Next his palms splitted, and an ice blade appeared.

然后双掌向左右分开，一把冰刃顷刻形成。

This ice blade was around 1.7m, like the katana on Earth, with a transparent icy body. The handle was grabbed by Bai Ning Bing.

这冰刃长有一米七，宛若地球上的日本战刀，浑身都是透明的坚冰。刀柄被白凝冰苍白的手握着。

Bold lightning wolf shot out electric light from bottom to up, and Bai Ning Bing laughed while two lines of white water vapour poured out of his nose.

豪电狼电光由下而上地射来，白凝冰嗤笑一声，从鼻腔中喷出两股洁白的水汽。

The water vapour swirled around, wrapping around his body into a layer of water barrier.

水汽呼啦一声，绕过他的身躯，形成一面水球护罩。

The water ball continued to rotate on its own, and the bold lightning wolf’s lightning dissipated upon hitting this barrier.

水球不断自我流转，豪电狼的电流劈中这股水球护盾，将其击散。

The water ball burst open, and the white clothed young man appeared from within.

水球破裂，露出其中的白衣少年。

“Die.” The young man’s iris turned from black to pure blue, like two pieces of blue crystal, devoid of feelings and emotion.

“死吧。”少年的黑色双眸骤然变成纯蓝色，仿佛是两块蓝色水晶，透着无情和冷漠。

The light of the blade shone.

刀光乍现。

Bai Ning Bing landed lightly, and from his half-transparent white ice blade, a drop of blood fell.

白凝冰轻盈落地，手中半透明的白色冰刃上，一滴鲜血滑落。

Meanwhile, the bold lightning wolf stayed still like a statue.

而豪电狼则像是雕塑般静止住。

A breath later, fresh blood poured from its neck as the large wolf head fell on the ground, rolling several times. As for the body, it collapsed on the ground.

一个呼吸之后，它颈部猛地喷射出鲜血，硕大的狼首掉落在地上，滚了几滚。至于身躯，则栽倒下去。

The Lightning Current Gu that resided in its body shot out like lightning towards Bai Ning Bing.

寄居在它身上的电流蛊，电射而出，向白凝冰激射而来。

Bai Ning Bing flicked his wrist, and a light shot out from his blade.

白凝冰手腕轻轻一翻，空中闪现一道刀光。

The Lightning Current Gu, under his sword, exploded into a ball of eerie blue lightning current with a bang, perishing instantly.

电流蛊在他刀下，砰的一声，炸成一片幽蓝的电流激闪，就此陨灭。

Bai Ning Bing slowly walked towards Xiong Zhan’s corpse.

白凝冰慢慢踱步，向熊毡的尸体走去。

“The other Gu worms, they are all ordinary. But this Plunder Gu is slightly interesting.” From Xiong Zhan’s corpse, he extracted the Plunder Gu and held it near his chest.

“其他的蛊虫，都是些普通货色。倒是这只强取蛊，有些意思。”他从熊毡的尸体上，搜出强取蛊，揣在了怀里。

Even though the three clans have an agreement — after a Gu Master dies, if anyone after that obtains a Gu worm that has lost its Gu Master, they need to hand it over.

虽然三家盟约中规定，蛊师死后，就算是后来者得到失去蛊师的蛊虫，也必须得上缴。

But Bai Ning Bing did not care about this rule.

但是白凝冰却不把这个规定放在心中。

Even if they found out, so what?

就算是事发，又怎样呢？

He was the symbol of the Bai clan’s rise, and the clan would definitely protect him.

自己是白家的崛起象征，一定会受到家族的维护的。

This, he was very sure of.

这一点，白凝冰十分笃定。

“Only… this wolf tide is really boring.” He used his hand to caress his ice blade, feeling the intense freezing sensation.

“只是……这狼潮真的有些无聊啊。”他用手抚摸着冰刃，感受着冰刃上彻骨的寒意。

“Come to think about it, it is more fun competing with someone.” He yawned, suddenly smiling, “I wonder how Qing Shu, Xiong Li and the others are doing, how much have they grown? After cultivating behind closed doors for so long, maybe they can give me a surprise, maybe.”

“仔细想想，还是和人相斗比较有趣呢。”他打了哈切，忽然微笑了起来，“也不知道青书、熊力这些人，成长得怎么样了？闭关这么久，也许他们能带给我一些惊喜，也说不定呢。”

Days later.

一天之后。

At the square where it was overflowing with people, Fang Yuan stared at a giant flag.

人潮涌动的广场上，方源仰望着一杆巨幡。

On the flag, words were formed by the Swimword Gu. The content was about the resources co-supplied by the three clans.

幡面上，亦是用游字蛊组成文字。内容是三大家族联合供应的一切物资。

These resources were very broadly categorized, from food used to feed Gu worms, rice and condiments for humans, oil and other living necessities, to Gu worms themselves and primeval stones.

这些物资，包括的范围很广泛，有喂养蛊虫的食料、人所吃的米饭以及食盐、油等生活物资，自然还有蛊虫、元石。

But behind these resources, there was a number attached to them, corresponding to the amount of merit points needed to exchange for them.

但这些物资后面，都标注着一个数字，意味着需要相应的战功才能换取。

A wolf’s eye was ten merit points, and five merit points was for a bag of 500g of rice. Using twenty-five merit points could let a Gu Master exchange for one primeval stone.

一颗狼眼，能换取十点战功。五点战功，就是一斤大米。消耗二十五点战功，就能让蛊师拥有一块元石。

Undoubtedly, the arrival of the wolf tide brought about an opportunity never seen before during peaceful times.

毫无疑问，狼潮的到来，带来了和平时期所没有的机遇。

The battle merit board and this resource board urged on many Gu Masters, making them willingly bath in warm blood, hunting lightning wolves day and night.

战功榜和这个物资榜，不知刺激了多少蛊师，甘于抛头颅洒热血，没日没夜地和电狼拼杀。

Especially recently, as the wolf tide intensified, the three clans brought out the savings they had and spurred on the Gu Masters’ battle spirit, also raising their battle capability to help the village survive this ordeal.

尤其是最近，随着狼潮的爆发，三大家族都掏出了家底，既是激发了蛊师们的积极性，又是提升蛊师们的战斗力，帮助山寨渡过此难关。

Thus, the resource board had many things that were not commonly seen.

因此，物资榜上出现了许多的，平时不常见的好东西。

Like now, Fang Yuan’s attention was on this Gu.

就比如现在，方源注意到的这只蛊虫。

“Three Step Fragrant Grass Gu,” he muttered, staring at the description on the large flag.

“三步芳草蛊。”他口中喃喃，盯着巨幡中的一行内容。

Three Step Fragrant Grass Gu was a Gu worm Fang Yuan needed, as it could assist with movement, raising Fang Yuan’s running speed.

三步芳草蛊，是方源正需要的蛊虫，因为它能辅助移动，增加方源的奔跑速度。

Honestly speaking, these days, the resource board had many new Gu worms. But only this Three Step Fragrant Grass Gu was what Fang Yuan wanted.

老实说，这些天物资榜上，出现的蛊虫也不少。但惟独这只两步芳草蛊，最合方源的心意。

Except that this grass Gu was not easy to get. It was not only the only one of its kind on the resource board, but the merit points required to exchange for it is also very high.

只是这棵草蛊，可不容易到手。它不仅是物资榜上唯一的一棵，而且需要兑换的战功很多。

“If I use my true ability, I can definitely gather enough merit points to exchange for this Three Step Fragrant Grass Gu. But if I do that, it would invite the suspicion of the clan, and that is not desirable.”

“我若是使出真本领，自然也有可能攒足了战功，换取这棵三步芳草蛊。只是这样一来，势必引起怀疑。这就不美了。”

Fang Yuan thought silently.

方源默默思索着。

“There is another way, and that is to produce a large amount of vitality leaves and sell these Rank one Gu to the clan, exchanging it for merit points. But this method is slow, by the time I get enough points, someone might have exchanged it already.”

“还有一个法子，就是大肆催生出生机叶。向族中贩卖这些一转蛊虫，换取战功。但这法子见效慢，攒足了战功后，说不得三步芳草蛊就被人换走了。”

Fang Yuan shook his head internally, this method had a flaw that would lead to failure.

方源暗暗摇头，这法子有弊端，自然也不能采用。

Then what should he do?

那么该如何是好呢？

He stared at the resource board and the merit board, falling into deep thought.

他望着物资榜和战功榜，陷入沉思。

Towards the merit points, he had a clearer and deeper understanding of it compared to all the surrounding people.

对于战功这种东西，他有着比周围所有人都更清晰，更深刻的认知。

Merit points are basically a kind of emergency currency.

战功的本质是一种紧急货币。

During peacetime, primeval stones are the common medium of exchange. They were hard currency and had high commercial value in themselves, thus would never devalue.

在和平时期，市场上流通的是元石。元石是硬通货，因为本身就有强大的商品价值，因此从来就不会贬值。

But with the wolf tide, the need for primeval stones surged, and it could no longer be used as a currency. Thus, an emergency currency was needed to take over.

但是在狼潮期间，元石的需求暴涨，已经难以承担流通的货币作用。因此就需要一种紧急货币，来暂时取代它。

Thus, merit points were born.

战功就孕育而生了。

“With an alternate currency like the merit point, it can prevent the economy from collapsing temporarily. Like on Earth, when there’s a war, the government would print large amounts of paper money. Of course, that causes inflation and rising price levels. The merit points are the same; the more it drags on, the more it devalues. But during the time of the village’s life and death situation, without merit points and using only primeval stones is not sustainable. Thus, they can only pick the lesser poison. Hence after the wolf tide, the economy always has signs of depression.”

“有了战功这种辅助货币，就能暂时地抵制经济崩溃。就像是地球上，一旦战争，国家政府就要大量发行纸币。当然，纸币发行过多，就会造成物价上涨，通货膨胀。战功也是如此，越到后期越贬值。但山寨生死存亡之间，没有战功，单用元石，更不靠谱。只能两害取其轻了。因此狼潮之后，都会有经济萧条的景象。”

“Sigh, this rough form of an economy is nothing worth mentioning. If I am a Rank three, I can easily play around. But unfortunately, I do not have enough strength, so I’m unable to handle the risks. If I push on, it is equivalent to playing with fire.”

“唉，这样粗陋的经济体制，根本不值一提。如果我是三转修为，自然能轻松玩转。可惜我实力不足，承担不了其中的风险。要强行运作的话，等若是玩火。”

Fang Yuan sighed internally.

方源心中一叹。

The point was that his cultivation was not high, and his strength was not sufficient.

关键还是修为不高，实力不强。

Without strength, only having wisdom, it is useless.

没有力量，空有智慧，也是无用。

Thus, in Ren Zu’s story, Ren Zu chose to deal with the Strength Gu, obtaining strength and giving up on wisdom.

所以人祖的故事中，人祖选择了和力量蛊交易，得到力量，而放弃了智慧。

That is because, strength is the foundation.

皆因，力量才是基础。

Fang Yuan was still thinking deeply when he heard the discussions of the people around him.

方源正思索着，身边传来众人的议论声。

“Do you guys know? Bai Ning Bing struck again!”

“你们知道吗？白凝冰又出手了！”

“What, what, which unlucky Gu Master is it this time?”

“什么，什么，这次是哪位蛊师倒霉了？”

“It’s Xiong clan’s Xiong Li, that dejected-looking one.”

“是熊家寨的熊力，那个灰头土脸啊。”

“Sigh, what is this Bai Ning Bing doing? Last time, injuring Chi Shan, and now attacking Xiong Li. With the wolf tide coming, he is still fooling around!”

“唉，这个白凝冰搞什么呀？上次把赤山打伤，这次又对付熊力。狼潮之下，他还如此乱来！”

“He’s always does what he wants, he is already a Rank three Gu Master and is still finding problem with Rank two Gu Masters. For fairness, he even used a Gu worm to suppress his own cultivation to Rank two, he is really bored and hard to understand!”

“他一向是我行我素。他已经是三转蛊师，但偏偏去找二转蛊师的麻烦。为了彰显公平，还主动用蛊虫把自己的实力，压低到二转境界。真是无聊透顶，难以理解！”

“Bai Ning Bing huh… hmph, a person halfway into the coffin. But that reminded me of something.” Fang Yuan upon hearing this felt something in his heart stir.

“白凝冰么……哼，一个将死之人罢了。不过，这倒是提醒了我。”方源听到这里，忽然心中一动。

He knew how to get a large amount of merit points quickly.

他想到如何尽快获取大量战功的办法了。

《蛊真人》中英文对照版 第一百三十二节：三步芳草

《蛊真人》中英文对照版第一百三十二节：三步芳草