Chapter One Hundred and Eleven: The Three Thousand Tribulations of Flame and Huaxia

“It's you! My grandmother told me, it can't be wrong!” The little beggar girl was stubborn, as if she had firmly identified Su Ye.

Su Ye felt both amused and helpless. Normally, he would have turned and walked away immediately, but with such a young girl before him and the old woman beside her already passed away, she must have been terribly frightened.

He had no choice but to play along and asked, “Do you know my name? And where did you come from?”

The girl replied seriously, “I don’t know your name, but I recognize the light you emit, so I know it’s you. My grandmother and I came from a place far, far away. My name is Ling Zhu—‘Ling’ stands for all spirits, and ‘Zhu’ is from the Candle Dragon! My grandmother’s name is Ling Ya—‘Ling’ again for all spirits, and ‘Ya’ means crow…”

Ling Zhu? Ling Ya?

Su Ye muttered the names to himself. Such names certainly couldn’t be from his clan. The girl’s hair was messy, and her small face was covered with an odd texture, somewhat like toad skin—quite unpleasant. Yet, her big eyes were crystal clear.

“All right, Ling Zhu. My name is Su Ye—what last words did your grandmother want to tell me? Hurry up.”

After asking, Su Ye felt a bit self-mocking. He was meddling too much. A little girl who didn’t even know his name claiming he gave off a light—that seemed utterly ridiculous.

Ling Zhu appeared quite shy. Upon meeting Su Ye’s gaze, she immediately lowered her head, stood weakly trembling, and said, “Could you let me stay with my grandmother a bit longer? Once she speaks, she will leave me forever. Can we wait until midnight, when the black clouds cover the moon?”

This put Su Ye in a tough spot. They were already packed and ready to head back to the city. Now this little girl suddenly appeared, talking about last words and wanting to delay until nightfall.

After some thought, Su Ye said, “If you want to spend more time with your grandmother, I’ll find a place for you to stay here. But life cannot be revived. After she’s cremated, you can still be with her. Your grandmother would be very comforted to know you’re so filial. Do you have any other family? Do you know their phone numbers?”

“No family! My grandmother faced a great calamity at four hundred years old and lost everyone. She found me; I’m her only family. Don’t you believe she has last words for you? She died seven years ago but refused to pass on, waiting to tell you her message,” Ling Zhu said anxiously.

She seemed eager to convince Su Ye, but unsure how to proceed.

Su Ye’s head hurt even more. Even the strongest in his clan rarely lived past two hundred years. How could Ling Zhu say her grandmother faced a calamity at four hundred, then died seven years ago? What nonsense was this?

Seven years ago, he had just been expelled from his clan and stripped of his real name. How could he be connected to Ling Ya?

Though Su Ye was a martial artist, this situation was too absurd. Maybe he should just call the police.

At that moment, Jiang Liuying arrived, wearing a stylish cap and a beautiful dress. Having heard the servants’ report, she quickly walked over and called out, “Su Ye, what’s going on? This child looks so pitiful. I’ll have Uncle Zhong handle it!”

Though a delicate young lady, Jiang Liuying wasn’t afraid of death in the Jiang family. She stepped closer and said, “It’s unfilial to deny your grandmother proper burial. Look here, Uncle Zhong says this is a good feng shui spot. Let’s bury your grandmother here.”

Ling Zhu’s eyes shone at the sight of Jiang Liuying’s delicate beauty. She whispered, “Then can I guard my grandmother’s grave here?”

“Of course you can,” Jiang Liuying said, glancing at Su Ye and gesturing that it would be handled immediately.

“Thank you, beautiful sister!” Ling Zhu nodded, then turned to Su Ye seriously, “Can you stay alone later to hear my grandmother’s last words?”

“Of course!” Su Ye agreed.

Since both Su Ye and Jiang Liuying consented, the Jiang family delayed their return to help Jiang Liuying properly handle her grandmother’s remains.

Finding a tomb in these mountains was easy, and the Jiang family explained the three-year usage rights to Ling Zhu. Soon, Uncle Zhong selected an auspicious time and began the burial.

At this point, everyone else left, leaving only Su Ye, Ling Zhu, and the long-dead Ling Ya.

“All right, just the two of us now. Say what you need to,” Su Ye whispered, glancing at the distant Jiang family, feeling the whole thing was absurd.

Ling Zhu stretched out her small hands, covered in ugly spots, shyly looking at Su Ye before pricking her pinky and letting a drop of fresh blood fall onto Ling Ya’s forehead.

Buzz—

The blood seeped into the corpse’s forehead, and with a strange sound, a black crow gradually formed there.

The crow’s eyes were empty and hollow. As soon as it appeared, the corpse suddenly sat upright, with the crow perched atop its head.

“What is this?” Su Ye shuddered and blurted out.

Ling Zhu, worried Su Ye might be frightened, soothed him, “Don’t be scared. My grandmother was once a Seer, but she leaked too many secrets and was imprisoned in the deep sea for a hundred years. One day she suddenly returned to the clan, but by then she was ordinary.

She kept saying she had seen Heaven and used the clan’s last great forbidden technique to glimpse the rise and fall of mankind. What she says next is for you.”

Su Ye’s head buzzed, his blood nearly freezing. He had inherited from Heavenly Thunder, related to the Yanhuang (Flame and Yellow) cultivation method. Could this corpse really be speaking secrets?

Ling Zhu then slowly pulled a black, ancient compass from beneath her dirty clothes. The complex ancient characters on it spun continuously.

She turned it several times with a clicking sound.

The crow suddenly burst into flames, flapping its wings desperately as its body turned to ash. From its burning mouth came a hoarse voice:

“Three Thousand Yanhuang Tribulations, the heir is finally found! Remember: Do not approach the Yangtze, do not cross the Yellow River, a thousand deaths for defying the Emperor’s law!”

Boom—

The crow instantly turned to ashes.

Ling Ya’s corpse rapidly decayed before Su Ye’s eyes, turning into a white skeleton within breaths.

The ancient compass in Ling Zhu’s hand cracked with a sharp sound.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

Suddenly, three thunderclaps exploded in the void above, as if Heaven itself was enraged.

The Jiang family warriors nearby were terrified, instinctively dropping to the ground and seeking cover.

Su Ye stood rooted to the earth, eyes wide open. His spiritual sea had never been so strong or clear.

The crow’s final words echoed hauntingly in his mind.

“Three Thousand Yanhuang Tribulations! What does that mean?”

“Do not approach the Yangtze, do not cross the Yellow River, a thousand deaths for defying the Emperor’s law! What could that mean?”

He already suspected the answer but couldn’t quite believe it, shaking his head as he tried to deny it.

Ling Zhu knelt before the white bones, whispering, “Grandmother told me this message is for those cultivating the ‘Three Thousand Yanhuang Tribulations’—the Emperor’s law. Now she has told you; you should understand what it means!”

Su Ye looked up into the sky. The thunderclaps above hadn’t fully faded, and he clearly heard them punishing Ling Ya for revealing secrets.

Unexpectedly, the Yanhuang cultivation method glimpsed in Heavenly Thunder was called the “Three Thousand Yanhuang Tribulations.”

“Do not approach the Yangtze, do not cross the Yellow River…” These rivers clearly referred to the two great rivers dividing ancient China, as they were known by those names even then.

Was this a warning not to cross those rivers? But why?

“A thousand deaths for defying the Emperor’s law!”

According to Ling Zhu, his current cultivation method, the “Three Thousand Yanhuang Tribulations,” was indeed called the Emperor’s law.

Could it mean that even facing eternal damnation, one must never defy the Emperor’s law?