Stranger Danger-Chapter 1731: Remnant Scent

Ye Qing said frankly, “The place we’re headed is extremely dangerous and not fun at all. You should find other places to play.”

The girl declared without hesitation, “I’m not scared! You’re going to Dong Ji, aren’t you?”

Old Man Turtle was content with being a spectator up until this point. He gave her an astonished look and asked, “How did you know?”

The girl lifted her chin proudly and declared, “Promise me you’ll take me to Dong Ji, and I’ll tell you!”

Ye Qing glanced at the books and documents about Dong Ji on the table. Cang Xu had gathered it for them. The girl had clearly seen them and guessed their objective from them.

Old Man Turtle also recognized the answer a second later and said, “You’re pretty sharp, lass, but if you know we’re going to Dong Ji, then you should not want to come with us at all. Do you have any idea how dangerous that place is?”

“Of course I do. Daddy and mommy have a lot of books regarding Dong Ji in their study. I’ve read most of them.”

The girl’s eyes flashed with cunning. “I know a lot of secrets regarding Dong Ji. I promise you won’t regret bringing me with you.”

“Secrets?” Ye Qing chuckled and gave Old Man Turtle a glance. “I forgot to tell you, but your Grandpa Turtle traveled to Dong Ji once and returned alive. Do you think you could know more secrets than him?”

The girl looked astonished. “You went to Dong Ji before, Grandpa Turtle?”

Old Man Turtle stroked his beard and nodded. “Correct.”

The girl examined him with a frown. “And you still remember your experience in Dong Ji?”

Old Man Turtle’s eyes flashed, and his heart rippled. But before he could speak, Ye Qing interrupted, “But of course. He remembers everything.”

The girl did not notice Old Man Turtle’s reaction. She looked confused as she said, “That’s not right. The book said that Dong Ji is a strange place where mortals cannot remember it. They will forget about it as soon as they leave the place. Was it wrong?”

The group exchanged glances with each other. It looked like the girl was telling the truth after all. She did know a lot of secrets regarding Dong Ji.

The girl suddenly realized something and gave them a suspicious look. “Are you trying to trick me?”

His expression unchanging, Ye Qing said matter-of-factly, “You said it yourself. ‘Mortals’ cannot remember Dong Ji. Grandpa Turtle is a Sage though, and the blood of the ancient Hetu Spirit Turtle runs through his veins. How can he be mortal?”

The girl scratched her head. “I... guess?”

Ye Qing gave Feng Qingyou a wink before resuming his skullduggery. “So, why would a mortal forget about Dong Ji as soon as they leave the place?”

The girl replied without hesitation, “That’s because Dong Ji is covered in a kind of divine grass called the Remnant Scent. The Remnant Scent gives off an anomalous scent that would cause anyone who smelled it to forget about everything about Dong Ji as soon as they leave the place. They cannot record it via ink and paper or art either. It is very strange.”

Old Man Turtle lost his cool when he heard this. He said excitedly, “I see! I see! Now that I think about it, a strange scent continued to linger on my body long after I left Dong Ji. It must be the scent of that so-called Remnant Scent!”

“So, how can one remove the effects of the Remnant Scent, lass?”

“According to my dad, the method of removing the Remnant Scent’s effects is quite simple. You simply need to find the fruit of a tree called the Ten Thousand Year Tree and—”

It was at this moment the girl finally realized that something was amiss. “Wait a second. You are tricking me! You don’t remember anything about Dong Ji at all! You’re trying to swindle information from me?”

Ye Qing laughed and gave her a pat on the head. “Thank you very much for your help, girl.”

“Liar! Liar! Liars, all of you!” The girl was so furious that she tried to give Ye Qing a couple punches, but for some reason, she could not touch him no matter how hard she flailed her arms.

Since attacking Ye Qing was impossible, she switched methods and started swearing at him instead. However, the girl’s vocabulary was clearly lacking as she kept repeating “liar” and “baddie” over and over again.

“The fruit of a Ten Thousand Year Tree? That’s the Forever Stink Fruit.”

Old Man Turtle muttered to himself with clear delight. He stared at the little girl and asked, “Can I retrieve my lost memories if I find the Forever Stink Fruit, lass?”

The girl stopped verbally attacking Ye Qing and said angrily, “You’re all liars! I’m not telling you another word about Dong Ji!”

“The boy’s the one who tricked you, not me. I’m an honest man! I’ve never breathed a single lie to you from the beginning, have I?” Old Man Turtle smiled kindly as he sold Ye Qing out without hesitation.

“Hmph!” The girl harrumphed. “You’re all as bad as each other. No way I’ll believe you.”

Ye Qing said, “There’s no need to prod her any further, elder. We will find out once we find a Forever Stink Fruit.”

The girl sneered. “As if it’s that easy!”

Ye Qing looked at the girl smilingly. “Is that so? Do explain.”

“Hmph!” The girl scrunched up her face and turned her face forty-five degrees toward the sky. You dared to trick me earlier? Now you won’t get a single word out of me!

Ye Qing did not get frustrated though. “What’s wrong? You don’t want to go to Dong Ji anymore?”

This caught the girl off guard. “What do you mean?”

“I’m saying that we can take you to Dong Ji,” Ye Qing said slowly. “However, you must tell us everything you know about Dong Ji in exchange.”

The girl was clearly tempted by this, but she had just fallen for Ye Qing’s trick hook, line and sinker. She was reluctant to surrender so quickly.

“Hmph! I don’t need you. I can get there all by myself.”

Ye Qing smirked. “Actually, I don’t think you can.”

“Dong Ji is a treacherous place, and you are just a Half-Sage. You’ll most likely die long before you reach the place.”

“That’s... none of your business!” The girl refused to relent. She knew that Ye Qing wasn’t trying to scare her. The Eastern Sea was the permanent residence of the Feathers, so she knew just how dangerous the Eastern Sea was.

However, she also felt like she would lose face if she caved too quickly.

Of course, the reason she dared to do this was because she knew that the trio wouldn’t truly harm her.

Ye Qing rubbed his nose and narrowed his eyes a little. If the carrot wouldn’t work, then the stick would have to do.

“No need to question her.”

It was at this moment Feng Qingyou said smilingly, “I have a better idea.”

Ye Qing and Old Man Turtle immediately looked at her. The young girl also crossed her arms and sneered at Feng Qingyou, wanting to see what she could possibly say to persuade her to change her mind.

Feng Qingyou spoke unhurriedly, “Remember that the girl snuck away from her clan. We can simply return her to her parents. I’m sure they’ll be so grateful that they will divulge everything they know about Dong Ji.”

“Besides, I’m sure that the parents would know far more about Dong Ji than a little girl. They will be more useful than us.”

Ye Qing’s eyes lit up as he gave the girl an arrogant smirk. “What a brilliant idea!”

The girl’s eyes widened, and her expression grew panicked. However, she still refused to give up. “The Heavenly Feather City is constantly on the move and difficult to track down. You won’t find it.”

“Yeah! There’s no way you can find it!”