Crouching Dragon

"Senior sister! You were amazing today. Your sword breaker was like thunder from the heavens, unstoppable! Please let junior sister offer you a toast!"

"A toast!"

Laughter and applause rang out as both Lin Qingcheng and Song Wushuang downed a cup of fragrant fruit wine. They and the other disciples sat in a loose circle, enjoying the evening meal and each other's company. They had all done well during the first day of the Convocation of Swords and they were keen to let loose and celebrate.

Lin Qingcheng stumbled slightly from the strength of the alcohol but still stood up and raised another cup toward Wu Qianyu, "Elder Sister Wu was the most impressive among us all. Not only did she defeat all challengers, but she also willingly relinquished her ranking in order to go along with our overall strategy. Thank you, elder sister!"

Wu Qianyu smiled but shook her head, "I have to say that Junior Sister Bei's performance was the eye-catching and unexpected out of all of us. I didn't know that junior sister had hidden herself so well. To triumph over so many strong sword practitioners of the Mind Focusing Realm using both skills and smarts, it was really amazing!"

She saluted Bei Yingluo with her own cup and downed the sweet liquid in one gulp. Bei Yingluo returned the favor by raising her own cup and the others cheered in agreement.

As the noisy celebration continued, Chen Wentian sat amongst them with a peculiar expression. His eyes were unfocused and he wasn't paying attention. Instead, he had just finished double-checking all the shadow anchors he had placed around the city and particularly those within the manor of the Four Greats.

He had seen the disgusting actions of that Yang Maoda as well as overheard the secret discussions of the four sword masters. Their schemes were a real threat to him and his disciples but that wasn't the most critical matter. There was something else that had been bothering him ever since he had set foot in this city.

It had to do with that powerful entity he had almost run into during the first night. He wasn't able to find a trace of it ever again but he was certain that it had not left the city. The reason was that his shadow anchors lost their power far more quickly than normal. From where and when these anchors disappeared, he could roughly guess that a fearsome shadow creature was doing something all across the city.

Something was afoot, something big.

Chen Wentian frowned slightly as he looked around. His ears were buzzing from all the noise but his eyes and his nose were both alert. He studied the bottles of wine and then the plates of steaming dishes. He sniffed the fragrances in the air, distinguishing those of his disciples from that of the food and drinks.

He was like a crouching dragon, attentive and alert towards the slightest oddity or the most insignificant clue. This was something born out of years of cautious living as a mortal as well as the instincts of a divine beast soul. Nothing was taken lightly, nothing at all.

His eyes flashed as he finally found something out of the ordinary. He opened his hand and, using his spiritual energy, pulled a bowl of eight treasure soup to him. It was fragrant and sweet, consisting of eight kinds of nourishing spiritual vegetables and roots.

He ate a spoonful slowly, studying each ingredient. He then drank two mouthfuls of soup and let his tongue taste all of the flavors. Finally, he held his nose close and took a long whiff.

He smelt it. There was definitely something here. It wasn't his human senses that picked it up but his senses as a dragon.

He put back the bowl and found another dish. It was a plate of small fish, pan-fried to a crisp. The taste was fine and the ingredients were also fine. But there was still that smell.

His movements quickened as he tried every dish one by one. As he did this, the room quickly fell silent as his disciples noticed his strange actions.

"Master? Is something wrong?" Zhou Ziyun asked.

Chen Wentian brooded for a while, ignoring her question. After sampling everything, that smell was still the same, present in everything that was edible. He recognized that smell, he knew where it came from.

He suddenly stood up and rushed into one of the bathrooms that were attached to their suite. He activated the pump that drew fresh water. As the clear, cold water poured out, the faintest trace of that smell also appeared.

His brow furrowed as he stood back up. When he turned around, all of his disciples were around him, looking at him anxiously.

He spread his arms and surrounded them all in a bubble of his immortal aura.

"Listen up. There is something very serious going on. I don't know if it is only our room, this hotel, or the whole city. But from now on, everyone cannot eat or drink anything that came from Everblade City. You also cannot use the water at all. Don't bathe with it, don't wash your face with it. Understand?"

They all nodded but there were still looks of bewilderment.

"Master, there is something wrong with the water?" Zhou Ziyun asked, "Is it contaminated with poison?"

"Something like that." He said.

Several people gasped.

Su Xue clutched her stomach with a sickly expression as if she wanted to throw up.

"It's not that serious." He quickly added, "I think it is slow acting and in very low concentrations in order to avoid detection. I only managed to discover it because of my special abilities."

The faces of his disciples remained grave and unconvinced.

"Master, what should we do? We've already eaten and drank all night. Are we going to die?" Lin Qingcheng asked anxiously.

He put on a reassuring smile, "Since I'm here, definitely not! You all can start using the emergency water and rations inside your spatial bags. As for the trace amounts that you have already ingested, I will help you purity your bodies."

"Really?" Su Yue asked.

"Mmm, although I am not a doctor, I still know a few things. Alright, I have to prepare for the detoxification. You all, clean up the mess in the main room and then return to your individual rooms. Meditate to calm down your mind, body, and spirit. Ensure that your spiritual seas are at the peak and wait for me."

"Yes, master!"

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