94 Chapter 094 Cloud-breaking Mountain Hand
Chapter 094 Cloud-piercing Shanshan Hand
Beside him, the old man also gradually slowed down the carriage, and examined it more carefully in the dim light that the torches could illuminate the front.
The area had been deserted for so long that many of the trees along the road had grown into large trees that were over ten years old.
Although it's autumn, the weather isn't that cool yet. The leaves are gradually turning yellow, but they're still hanging on the branches, covering the entire tree. The light isn't very good at night, and there's fog, so I don't know what's hidden inside the tree.
As the wind rustled through the air, a strange, inexplicable feeling welled up inside me.
"Grandpa, did you hear anything?" Wang Sumo whispered.
She only asks quietly when she's scared; when she's not, she can't get enough of the excitement. This time, she'd seen half the excitement and even got Brother Zhao to go down with her. Now she's worried about what's ahead and whether Brother Zhao is in danger at the granary below the Bewitching Town.
"Yes, don't worry," the old man said softly.
The old man did indeed hear the sound.
But it wasn't the rustling of leaves, nor the call of an owl; rather, it was the faint sound of human voices...
This thought made the old man uneasy.
Adding to what Zhu Yu mentioned when he told him about the Kunlun ring, if someone from the Rakshasa Sect had seen the strange person Zhu Yu spoke of here before, then the situation beneath the Bewitching Town is definitely more than just the missing disaster relief grain...
“Girl, do you remember me telling you that the Vajra Pestle is a key?” Old Master Qu suddenly brought it up.
Wang Sumo was still feeling sneaky and worried when he suddenly heard the old man mention this. He froze, as if all his sneakiness and fear had been thrown to the back of his mind in an instant.
The vajra was the old man's most treasured possession, and because he was afraid of forgetting it, he kept it with her.
Moreover, the old man never brought up the origin of the Vajra Pestle. Sometimes when she asked about it half-jokingly, he would just brush it off.
She privately inquired about the Vajra Pestle from Jiang Yutang.
But when the old man suddenly brought it up, she felt strange and a little uneasy.
"Tell me after we leave Bewitching Town, I'm scared here~" Wang Sumo said deliberately.
Knowing her thoughts, the old man said softly, "Girl, Zhu Yu told me the whereabouts of the Kunlun Ring. The person who had the Kunlun Ring appeared in the Bewitching Town."
Wang Sumo was slightly surprised.
"Whether we get through safely or not, even if we get separated along the way, don't come looking for me. I need to find the Kunlun Ring in the Bewildering Town. It won't be quick. Wait for me as we go," the old man instructed.
Although Wang Sumo had wondered if the Bewitching Town was related to the Kunlun Ring, otherwise the old man wouldn't have been listening intently at the Eight Treasures Pavilion.
But from the old man's words, she could sense that the person holding the Kunlun thumb ring was dangerous.
At least, it's more dangerous than the disaster relief grain in the town of Bewilderment.
"If I don't come back to meet you in five days, take the Vajra Pestle to Tianchi Hermit, and she will destroy this key." The old man said in a deep voice, "Girl, Grandpa won't tell you what's hidden behind this key. Just let it disappear."
Wang Sumo's heart clenched, but Bai Cen rode back from the front with a puzzled look on his face. "There's no movement ahead, but something feels off. The horse wouldn't move just now."
The Eight Treasures Pavilion has a horse. Both Wang Sumo and the old man know that the horse will refuse to move when it encounters something it is afraid of. However, if given a command, the horse will move reluctantly.
Something was hidden in that dark mass ahead.
Bai Cen leaned closer and whispered, "I think I heard someone's voice, it was intermittent..."
Wang Sumo looked up at him.
Bai Cen guessed that Wang Sumo must have heard this tacit understanding as well.
Bai Cen continued: "Besides human voices, there was the sound of chains and the panting of wild animals."
Wang Sumo stared at him again, trying to confirm whether he was doing it on purpose.
Bai Cen sighed softly, "Wild animals are afraid of fire. We've lit torches here, so nothing can be brought up yet, but the horses are a bit scared..."
Sure enough, not only the horse Bai Cen was riding, but the remaining horses pulling the Eight Treasures Pavilion also seemed to be getting restless, retreating and becoming uneasy.
“I always feel like something is watching us,” Bai Cen said, pointing to the tree with the old man’s hand.
Bai Cen saw the owl.
Bai Cen understood; the old man was telling him that it was watching them.
"Go ahead." The old man instructed, and Bai Cen went back to the front. The old man then instructed, "Girl, light a few more torches."
Wang Sumo did as instructed and also told Jiang Yutang behind the carriage.
As more torches were lit at the Eight Treasures Pavilion, the surrounding area gradually became clearer.
Behind the weeds and big trees, you can vaguely see the old houses, big and small, but neat and tidy. Many years ago, it must have been a peaceful and tranquil place before it became what it is now.
It's heartbreaking...
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh," the wind seemed to carry the sound of footsteps and panting. The horses began to grow restless, and Bai Cen gradually retreated, lowering his voice: "It's a wolf."
Bai Cen's voice suddenly made the atmosphere behind them tense.
Grandpa Weng and Jiang Yutang also heard it.
Amidst the rising and falling winds, Wang Sumo also saw faintly visible, green eyes peeking out from the houses of all sizes.
Many wolves...
Wang Sumo held her breath.
The old man's voice was calm and steady: "It's not a wild wolf. Wild wolves don't have chains around their necks."
Bai Cen and Wang Sumo both gasped.
“They’ve kept vicious dogs to guard the disaster relief grain here…” Bai Cen rarely spoke so seriously. “These vicious dogs must be trained; they’re used for hunting and trapping.”
The majestic horse inside the carriage must have sensed the danger and began to whine uneasily.
The Eight Treasures Pavilion is too heavy; without horses, the carriage simply cannot move. But if it is surrounded by vicious dogs, there is no way to leave, and if they separate, they will be torn to pieces by the pack.
"How many vicious dogs are there?" the old man asked calmly.
Bai Cen: "I can see five or six in front of me."
Wang Sumo: "Two or three on the left."
Jiang Yutang: "Grandpa Weng and I can see eight or nine of them."
They all gathered together, and the old man said in a deep voice, "There are more than twenty in total."
More than twenty vicious dogs!
Even in the deep mountains and wilds, a wolf pack of this size would be considered dangerous.
"How much food do you need to feed so many vicious dogs every day?" Bai Cen's question reminded everyone, sending chills down their spines.
First, to keep so many vicious dogs, there must be a huge supply of meat. Where does this meat come from? Second, the person who keeps them wouldn't come so often, so these vicious dogs must be vicious dogs themselves.
The kind of hunger that makes you eat anything...
These two thoughts alone are enough to make one's legs go weak.
As night fell, if we didn't leave the Enchanted Town soon, we might not know what lay ahead.
"Girl." The old man looked at her. "I remember Ah Zhen said that Yu Daozi installed traps in the Eight Treasures Pavilion, in case the Eight Treasures Pavilion encounters a ferocious beast in the wild..."
Wang Sumo nodded: "Yes, there is, but..."
Wang Sumo hesitated visibly.
Bai Cen frowned: "Master, they're surrounded by vicious dogs..."
Wang Sumo swallowed hard, then said, "Then we should first cover our noses with a silk scarf, get off the carriage, and have two more people hold the horses to keep them steady and prevent them from panicking."
Although Wang Sumo's words left everyone somewhat puzzled, there wasn't much time to think about it. The old man also jumped off the carriage and, together with Bai Cen, led the horse.
These horses are all well-trained. If someone familiar with them rides a horse and jumps into the fire, the horse will jump over it. These horses are very familiar with the old man.
Everyone covered their mouths and noses, and Wang Sumo also used a gauze to cover her mouth and nose more tightly. There was even a mask on the horse's muzzle that could block out the smell to some extent; it was the first time Bai Cen had used one.
Wang Sumo pulled down the last tab and was the first to frown.
Two sticks were seen protruding from the outside of the large wooden box of Bazhenlou. Wang Sumo said softly, "Yutang, untie it."
Jiang Yutang did as instructed.
The rope tied to the stick was untied, and the flag-like object attached to the stick hung down.
Before long, liquid began to slowly seep from the sealed gourd at the top of the flag. Although everyone covered their mouths and noses with gauze, the smell gradually spread through the air.
Bai Cen's eyes widened as he looked at Wang Sumo in disbelief.
But Bai Cen didn't have much time to pay attention to this place, because the smell gradually spread, and the horses began to panic. Even though they were wearing muzzles, they started to neigh and stomp their feet restlessly. Bai Cen and the old man quickly pulled them back.
As the horses became restless and uneasy, the surrounding green eyes seemed to have been greatly stimulated. Some growled in fear, some retreated directly, and some, while not retreating hastily, crawled forward, not daring to move forward, and even lowered their bodies little by little, not daring to look directly at the horses.
Jiang Yutang didn't know what had happened, but the smell was really unpleasant.
The majestic beast inside the carriage seemed terrified, barking and whimpering. Wang Sumo didn't have time to attend to it, and since it was in a cage, it wouldn't be in any danger.
Jiang Yutang coughed twice: "What's this smell?"
Even a pack of vicious dogs is afraid of it.
Although reluctant to admit it, Old Master Weng still whispered, "This must be tiger urine."
Tiger urine?
Jiang Yutang was stunned.
Grandpa Weng said leisurely, "I didn't expect that Bazhenlou really has everything. Not to mention vicious dogs, even ferocious wolves and wild boars would be afraid of tiger urine. This fear is engraved in their bones. Otherwise, how could it be called the Mountain Lord?"
Jiang Yutang was also surprised, but after all, this was Bazhenlou, and she didn't know how long it would take for the smell to dissipate.
Bazhenlou is a restaurant, no wonder Wang Sumo was unwilling to use it.
But there's no other safer option right now.
At least in the Enchanted Town, no animal would go crazy and rush towards the Eight Treasures Pavilion.
Bai Cen's eyes were opened to a whole new world.
From the previous inescapable traps and the intricate mechanisms used by the Eagle Gate to chase the Eight Treasures Pavilion, to the current tiger's urine—his goodwill towards the Mysterious Gate has now reached its peak.
This time, aside from the vicious dogs, probably nothing at all will come. Bai Cen himself also found the smell pungent. But even pungent smells have their safety aspects!
Fortunately, the horse was muzzled and was being led by him and the old man; both horses were trained.
And so, the Eight Treasures Pavilion slowly made its way through the mist-shrouded Enchanted Town.
Although they had passed the test of the vicious dogs, one question still lingered in Bai Cen's mind. He said softly, "Grandpa, raising so many hungry wolves and vicious dogs must require a lot of meat every day, right?"
“The animals that have wandered into the Bewitching Town… and the people too, there’s definitely not enough food. If there’s no food here, these vicious dogs won’t stay. Old man, there are too many strange things about this place.” Bai Cen knew perfectly well.
As soon as Bai Cen finished speaking, the old man suddenly pressed down on his head. With a whoosh, a throwing knife passed through the spot where it had been. The old man casually wrapped the gauze he had used to cover his mouth with the knife, and the knife fell to the ground.
Bai Cen broke out in a cold sweat, "Grandpa!"
The carriage suddenly stopped, and both Old Master Wang Sumo and Jiang Yutang noticed something was wrong.
The man with the knife left, and Old Master Qu looked down to examine the fallen throwing knife. There were no inscriptions on the knife, but Old Master Qu, having lived to this age, was practically a walking encyclopedia of martial arts knowledge: "Fengyang Sect."
Bai Cen realized that it was yet another small, peripheral sect!
That day at the dock, Eagle Gate and Fengyang Gate were all clustered together...
Bai Cen suddenly had a thought: "Could it be that someone is deliberately gathering these small sects to do things behind the scenes?"
Old Master Weng stepped forward at some point: "This is just the beginning. They even dare to reach for the imperial court's disaster relief grain. Their ambition is extraordinary."
"Seeing the vicious dogs driven away, did they use throwing knives on Bazhenlou?" Jiang Yutang asked, puzzled.
The old man said in a deep voice, "The other party is testing our strength."
Everyone around them fell silent and looked at the old man.
The old man stretched out his hand, and then his inner energy circulated rapidly through his meridians, a movement that could be clearly felt by those around him. Then, the old man thrust forward twice, unleashing a "Cloud-Piercing Mountain-Splitting Hand" into the pitch-black depths ahead!
Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling sound, the sound of trees breaking and houses collapsing, which startled Bai Cen!
Although I was chased all over the mountain by the Cloud Piercer every day, this was the first time I had ever actually seen a Cloud Piercer of this caliber!
This is the true power of the Cloud Piercing Mountain Breaking Hand!
Bai Cen gasped.
Weng He was exasperated: "The trees and houses have all collapsed from the earthquake, how are we supposed to live now?!"
Yes, they all realized it too.
Only the old man remained speechless. He then took the torch from Weng He, and several torches shone forward together. Everyone looked—and saw that everything in sight had been smashed open by the old man's Cloud-Piercing Mountain-Splitting Hand. A magnificent road stretched straight into the distance, with fallen trees and houses scattered to either side!
Everyone around: "..."
[Author's Note]
Bai Cen: Suddenly I feel a little scared...
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