Chapter 62: Treasure Deer, Demon Traitor, Bountiful Harvest! Silver Carp Transformation, Iron Bones Arise, Spinal Dragon
Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Treasure Deer, Demon Traitor, Bountiful Harvest! Silver Carp Transformation, Iron Bones Arise, Spinal Dragon
The great sun sank, and the moon hung high in the sky.
Outside Anning County, a five-hundred-li stretch of Mountain Dao wound endlessly on!
Two figures threaded their way through.
The Great Xuan Territory was vast. Cangzhou, located in the Far East, was under the jurisdiction of Jiangyin Prefecture, yet it was ensnared within layers of overlapping mountain peaks.
To reach the prefecture, one had to travel by way of several Water Routes controlled by the Government Office and County Yamen.
As for the five-hundred-li Mountain Dao outside the County, its outer edges were ringed by manors and Mountain Towns. These settlements, dotted about like stars, served as sentry posts and arrow towers—a protective bulwark for the small mountain city.
Yet, the farther one ventured, the more desolate it became. Not only did lions, tigers, and leopards roam free and bandits run rampant, but there were also rumors of Outer Demons and Secret Treasures...
Even the Dragon Heads of the Three Great Gangs and the Four Great Halls—masters of styles like ’Lion, Leopard, Eagle, and Falcon’ and ’Fist, Spear, Saber, and Sword’—wouldn’t dare to venture inside alone.
But...
Duan Chenzhou dared.
Even though he had never been here before.
At first, Ji Xiu had been a little excited. It was his first time stepping out of Anning, his first time leaving the County.
But then he and Duan Chenzhou spurred their horses onward, stopping at a mountain manor to leave the animals behind. They had journeyed into the mountains for a full night, trekking for two double-hours.
When the air fell silent, the only sound was the incessant RUSTLE RUSTLE of the two of them treading through bushes and wild grass.
Aside from the occasional witless beast, they hadn’t run into a single intelligent or ancient Spirit Monster.
"How strange. Don’t all the books say that Demon Beasts go feral under the moonlight and come out to hunt at night?"
"Why is this five-hundred-li Mountain Dao so deserted today?"
Duan Chenzhou frowned. He casually swatted a leopard dead, then squatted nearby with its corpse for a good while, hoping to go fishing. He wanted to see if the scent of Qi and Blood could lure out any established, ancient Spirit Monsters or demons.
But after waiting a long time without a single beast in sight, he couldn’t help but sigh in disappointment.
"It seems I truly have no talent for Mountain Hunting. Deep mountains and ancient forests... they just can’t compare to riding the winds and waves in Jiangyin Prefecture, diving deep to catch Treasure Fish and Sea Marvels."
"I’ll have Gu Baichuan bring you to try another day."
"Back in his day, he was one of the top contenders in Jiangyin Prefecture’s great autumn hunt. The moment he drew his prized bow, he outshone everyone. Even the direct Disciples from the Thirty-Six Professions and various other Schools—those who had painstakingly focused their studies solely for the Martial Examination—were a step below him."
"But this doesn’t make any sense. During his time in Anning, he went Mountain Hunting every day, eating the meat of Spirit Monsters and using the blood of Little Demons in his concoctions. How come it doesn’t work when it’s me?"
"Let’s head back. It’s pointless to just wander around. I’ll ’invite’ him to take you another day. It’s no big deal."
"However..."
"Which way did we just come from, again?"
Duan Chenzhou’s brow furrowed. He looked around. A thin layer of mist covered everything, making it impossible to distinguish north from south or east from west, let alone the path they had come from. A bewildered look spread across his face.
"Huh? Master, you weren’t keeping track?"
Ji Xiu, who followed beside him, was stunned. Master and disciple looked at each other, and a mutual silence descended.
"I thought you were keeping track."
There’s nothing more dreadful than a sudden silence.
Ji Xiu had something to say to that.
’He wasn’t a Hunter or a Swordsman who spent all day trekking through mountains and forests. It was his first time on a so-called ’Mountain Hunt,’ and in the middle of the night, no less. With this layer of fog, who could possibly recognize the path?’
’He’d forgotten it all long ago.’
At this moment, Ji Xiu finally understood the source of that nagging feeling of unease he’d had back at the Duan Residence...
’It doesn’t matter how strong a cat is if it can’t catch mice.’
The two of them stared at each other, wide-eyed.
Duan Chenzhou let out a sharp breath. He drew his saber, slashed a mark into a nearby bush, and declared with an air of authority:
"Er, it’s fine."
"Your Ancestral Master once said that all Water Routes lead to Jiangyin. The same principle applies to us now."
"This five-hundred-li Mountain Dao is a crisscrossing maze! As long as we leave enough marks and follow the trail we’ve made, every mountain path will also lead to Anning!"
As his grand declaration concluded, his Spinal Dragon straightened, and his Qi and Blood flared like a signal fire. Even in the dense fog, it instantly vaporized the mist for dozens of feet around him, exuding an overwhelming sense of security!
With that, he strode off.
RUSTLE RUSTLE.
And not long after he left...
Two monkey-like figures, covered in white fur with long, ape-like arms that hung past their knees, poked their heads out from a distant thicket.
They radiated an aura of Qi and Blood comparable to Great Success in Bone Tempering. It seemed a single slap from one of them could smash the skull of a so-called Bone Tempering Expert from Anning to smithereens.
Yet, as they watched the Armless Martial Artist stride away with the gait of a dragon and the pace of a tiger, his presence like a signal fire, they revealed a very human-like expression of utter terror.
"CHITTER CHATTER, CHITTER CHATTER."
Which roughly translated to:
"That man is terrifyingly strong! You’d have to go another three hundred li toward the Sinking Dragon Cave to find a Great Evil like him, right?"
"Hmph! Even if he concealed his Qi and Blood to feign weakness, does he take us for fools? An armless man and a child, acting so brazenly in the middle of the night? It has to be a trap. I knew it!"
"Exactly! And he even tried to use the flesh of a Mortal Leopard to bait us! The hearts of men are truly wicked to be this devious!"
"This man is too cunning. We must not take the bait. I’d rather starve for a day than lose my life!"
Along the path, wherever the master and disciple passed, a good while later, intelligent Spirit Monsters and bloodthirsty Little Demons would peek their heads out, keeping their distance, not daring to take a single step closer.
It was as if the Mountain Dao, usually so inexplicably ferocious, had become their personal backyard, through which they strolled at their leisure.
Except...
"This way, to the west. I think I remember..."
"No, wait, to the east..."
"That’s not right either. I think we took a wrong turn..."
A full two incense-sticks’ time passed.
Ji Xiu watched as they walked further and further astray, until he had no idea where they were. A cold wind gusted past, and before them appeared a dark, deep spring dozens of feet wide.