Chapter 354 344: No One Can Cross Celestial Dragon Mountain at Night

Zhang Ashan, Ning Gang, Shi Meng… The three "men" were called out by Luo Jing, and they couldn't help but turn their heads in unison to look at him.

Luo Jing sighed. "So you really did try to avenge me. You even launched a sneak attack. But even then, you were no match for Boss Guo and ended up being killed by him instead. Is that right?"

Luo Jing's guess was spot on. The expressions on the faces of Zhang Ashan and the other two, as well as the sudden change in Guo Laojiang's, all confirmed that Luo Jing's speculation was entirely correct.

At that moment, Guo Laojiang finally voiced the doubt that had been weighing on his mind. "Zhang Ashan, Ning Gang, Shi Meng—you three. I, Old Guo, treated you all well. Even if Luo Jing showed you kindness, didn't I do the same?

Why did you have to side with Luo Jing and turn on me? Why?"

On the last "Why," Guo Laojiang's voice was hoarse, almost a roar.

Before Zhang Ashan and the others could answer, Luo Jing sneered. "Because they were afraid. Afraid of becoming the next Luo Jing! Boss Guo, you never should have made your move. The moment you did, you sealed your own fate. You were never going to get a peaceful end!

Let me guess what happened next. I imagine… even if Zhang Ashan and the others couldn't beat you, they at least managed to injure you. And once you were injured, Zheng Yi and Hong Zhen wouldn't have missed the chance to take advantage of the situation.

Boss Guo, you killed so many people, only to be killed by Zheng Yi and Hong Zhen in the end."

Luo Jing spoke with certainty, but Zheng Yi and Hong Zhen looked awkward.

Boss Guo, who had been struggling to control his emotions, finally regained his composure. He chuckled. "Ah, Luo Jing, that's where you're wrong."

For a moment, Guo Laojiang looked triumphant.

The Big White Goose stretched out its neck, listening without blinking. Its expression was one of focused curiosity, like someone hearing a twist in a story and instinctively paying closer attention.

Guo Laojiang continued, "Zheng Yi and Hong Zhen did indeed try to take advantage of the situation. But how could I, Old Guo, not have been prepared for that? They launched a sneak attack, but alas, experience always wins out! Heh heh…"

He chuckled, "Heh heh heh..." his face a strange mix of triumph and sorrow.

Luo Jing couldn't help but frown. "You counter-killed them too? Then why did you end up dead as well?"

Guo Laojiang said, "Because we all overlooked Liao Xiu."

That's right. Because of Liao Xiu.

The young, seemingly timid and simple Liao Xiu, whom no one had paid any mind, was actually the final winner.

'Who would have thought?'

At the very beginning, Boss Guo had thrown a handful of Iron Thorns, killing Zhou Feng and Liao Xiu, and poisoning Luo Jing at the same time.

Liao Xiu had just "died" like that, so insignificantly that no one had spared him a thought. Who paid any attention to him?

No one had imagined that Liao Xiu had actually been faking his death!

A blow from an Iron Thorn that pierced the chest, one that even Zhou Feng couldn't withstand—yet at the critical moment, Liao Xiu had shifted his body just half an inch.

Thus, the Iron Thorn didn't actually pierce his heart. It went wide, giving him the chance to play dead.

At the very last moment, he had sprung up, ambushed Guo Laojiang, and successfully killed him.

Guo Laojiang described all this, then turned to Liao Xiu. "Ah, Xiaoliao, I admit it, we underestimated you. You were the final winner, and I don't feel wronged by that. But you even killed me. In the end, how did you die too?"

Indeed, if Xiaoliao was the final winner, he logically should have taken his spoils—everyone's cargo from the trip—and swaggered off.

Why, then, did Xiaoliao also die in the end?

Liao Xiu, who had been standing amongst the "crowd" without any presence, finally took a step forward. He emerged and said hauntingly, "Because no one can successfully cross Celestial Dragon Mountain at night."

At these words, even though Guo Laojiang and the other "ghosts" were no longer human, they all couldn't help but shiver.

For some reason, Xiaoliao's words carried a strange, hair-raising quality.

Even the Big White Goose couldn't help but retract its outstretched neck, burrowing deeper into Song Ciwan's arms.

Everyone looked at Xiaoliao. He smiled faintly and said, "Everyone, though we all have our own grievances, our own standpoints, our likes and dislikes... we should have kept those grievances buried in our hearts. Even if someone was bound to erupt one day, it never should have happened while crossing Celestial Dragon Mountain. Please, think about it carefully. Isn't that right?"

What Xiaoliao said made perfect sense. Even if not everyone thought about it carefully, the answer was obvious even with a moment's consideration.

Guo Laojiang, the quickest to react, blurted out nervously, "Were our minds… clouded by some Evil Spirit at the time?"

Xiaoliao let out something between a sigh and not a sigh. "Yes. And Boss Guo, you were the one who lured that Evil Spirit here."

Guo Laojiang was shocked. "What did you say?"

Liao Xiu said, "Boss Guo, the Three-star Level Yin Spirit Crystal you were carrying was probably the most valuable item on this trip. But you didn't declare it with the rest of our cargo; you chose to transport it privately. Boss Guo, you haven't forgotten about this Yin Spirit Crystal, have you?"

Guo Laojiang's face darkened, and he retorted, "Impossible! That Yin Spirit Crystal was under a triple seal to begin with, and I later placed it inside a Storage Talisman. Its aura should have been completely sealed off. How could it possibly have attracted the covetous attention of an Evil Spirit?"

Liao Xiu said, "Boss Guo, you overestimated the power of the seal and underestimated the sensitivity of an Evil Spirit. It was the Evil Spirit that made a move. It magnified the evil in all our hearts, causing us to turn on each other and kill one another…"

Then, he turned to look at Song Ciwan and asked hauntingly again, "Fairy, you were in the mountains at that time, weren't you?"

The Big White Goose: "HONK HONK HONK!"

The sound was filled with irritation, as if it was displeased with the tone Liao Xiu used to question Song Ciwan.

At first listen, there was nothing really wrong with Liao Xiu's tone. But for some reason, just from that one question, the Big White Goose felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

Song Ciwan gently stroked the goose's back and said calmly, "If you're referring to this evening, then yes, I was indeed in the mountains."

Liao Xiu immediately pressed, "Since you were in the mountains, Fairy, did you see us before?"

Song Ciwan answered honestly, "I did."

Liao Xiu then asked, "Since you saw us, why didn't you deign to pay us a bit more attention? For you, it would have been a trivial effort. Why didn't you save us? Why?"

As he spoke, his tone grew more and more agitated.

The Big White Goose: "GAK GAK GAK!" it squawked loudly.

Two streams of bloody tears rolled down Liao Xiu's face as he questioned her even more loudly, "Why? Why? Fairy, since you refused the Fox Demon's bet earlier, it means you not only noticed us, but you even felt pity for us.

You knew how difficult it is to cross Celestial Dragon Mountain and that it's fraught with danger. If so, why didn't you pay a little more attention to us? Why didn't you protect us for part of the way?

Not only did you not protect us, but you even wandered the mountain afterward, preferring to gather those Spiritual Objects that are insignificant to a Fairy like you, rather than spare us even a single glance!

Fairy, why? Why?

Is your compassion just a hollow, self-deceiving lie?

Why? Why didn't you save us? WHY! WHY?!"

Liao Xiu yelled, his voice growing louder with each cry.

These cries of "Why?" echoed amidst the thunder between heaven and earth, gradually creating a sense that the world itself was roaring in unison.

It was as if the entire Celestial Dragon Mountain, and even the whole world, was interrogating Song Ciwan.

It was a tragedy she clearly could have prevented. They were people she could have saved with the lift of a finger. Why didn't she save them? Why was she so cold?

Just because her cultivation was advanced and she was high and mighty, did that mean she could no longer see the suffering of mortals?

The deafening voice, accompanied by the trembling of the mountain, relentlessly battered Song Ciwan.

Like a tsunami, a tidal wave of sound.

In Song Ciwan's hands, the Mountain God Statue grew heavier and heavier. In her Sea of Consciousness, the Heart Demon Seed throbbed incessantly.

Amidst the endless questioning, Song Ciwan's voice was like a clear current in the ocean, slowly surging through the tide.

Her voice was not loud, yet it was so clear.

Song Ciwan said, "You ask why? I'd also like to ask why. Xiaoliao, how did you know that I refused the Fox Demon's bet?

And how did you know that I later wandered the mountain to gather Spiritual Objects? You… who exactly are you?"