Chapter 27: Forbidden Forest
Cang Ming's face twitched and he turned to look at Xisheng and Weici.
Xisheng said calmly, "Never mind it." She waved her cloak and vanished into the dust, leaving behind her fading voice on the wind: "Whatever the outcome, we'll meet here in five days, lest the yellow talisman lose its effect."
Cang Ming was still looking sadly at the place where the ghost ship disappeared, seriously considering whether he should chase after it.
Wei Ci said considerately, "General, the boat is only slightly bumped and a little muddy. I'm sure your Master You won't mind."
Cang Ming smiled bitterly and said, "Well, when I get back, I'll clean the boat for Master You to apologize."
If You Xiao is still willing to see her at that time.
Wei Ci said again: "General, what should we do next?"
Cang Ming then remembered that the ghost ship was gone and Xian Zhenyu's route was also blown, and he sighed regretfully: "This old man."
Wei Ci laughed, her laughter was clear, cold and deep, and her cheeks showed seductive dimples.
Cang Ming stared at him for a moment, then turned away, crossed his arms, and said proudly, "What are you laughing at?"
He folded his arms, imitating her, and said, "Can't you smile?" Cang Ming was about to reach out and touch his smile, but suddenly remembered his hesitation in the conch cave. A heavy stone weighed down her heart.
She turned her hand halfway and patted Hua Yi's shoulder: "Little brother, be patient."
Wei Ci put away his smile and said silently, "General, I just released a few seagulls to explore the way, and they seem to have found the direction of Xianzhen Island."
"Really?" Cang Ming was pleasantly surprised and full of praise, "Very good, very good, your work really impressed me..."
Wei Ci lowered his eyes and said, "The general seemed to have promised to reward me with a meal..."
Cang Ming quickly said, "I've never forgotten this. Let's send little brother Hua Yi home..."
Wei Ci nodded and said, "Yes, okay."
Cang Ming drew out the Ice Blade longsword he had endured all the humiliation and threw it into the air: "Then let's fly the sword!"
Cang Ming led the way, Wei Ci brought up the rear, and Hua Yi was sandwiched in the middle, with Wei Ci extending a hand to half-support and half-hugger her.
The long sword flew at an unusually slow speed at a low altitude, passing through two mansions, a wasteland and a shantytown, and approaching the legendary Xian Zhen Island.
The little ghosts along the way easily passed them and turned back to cast puzzled glances at them.
Cang Ming said in a cheerful voice, "Little brother, don't worry about them. We'll fly at a constant speed. Slow is better, but it's safer!"
Hua Yi sighed, and Cang Ming said, "What a shame! I originally brought some dry food on the ghost ship. We've been busy for most of the day. Little brother, are you hungry?"
Hua Yi nodded again.
Cang Ming said, "If there's any clean restaurant up ahead, let's go in and sit down. If there's anything interesting, I'll buy you a few too."
Wei Ci laughed softly.
When they flew to a ghost market, Cang Ming finally understood the meaning of the laughter.
I saw white cloth fluttering on the stall in front of me, making it look like a dilapidated mourning hall.
The stalls further ahead would explode every once in a while, sending fragments flying. After a while, these fragments would close together and restore themselves.
The stall across the street was engulfed in a raging fire, with only a charred banner sticking out from the flames, and the sound of peeling leaves lingering in the air. Some little demons strode into the fire and disappeared into the flames with expressions of glee.
Without refusing to give instructions, he asked, "General, would you like to buy anything?"
Cang Ming smiled awkwardly and said, "No hurry, let's look ahead."
At this moment, Hua Yi showed an unusual calmness. Cang Ming turned around and asked him, "Little brother, you grew up in the underworld. What do you usually eat?"
Hua Yi said, "My mother doesn't allow me to come to the ghost market. Everything we eat and use is sent by my aunt."
"No wonder." Cang Ming nodded, "It's all thanks to your aunt."
After flying over the Ghost Market and turning a few corners, the temperature plummeted, and a thousand miles of ice froze over. Suddenly, a strange forest of snow-covered trees appeared before my eyes.
Thousands of giant trees were white as snow, draped in frost, their branches bare, their leaves and flowers absent. Their roots, however, were as red as blood, half-peeping from the soil, as if ready to move at any moment.
Hua Yi suddenly shouted, "My home is across the forest!" The boy's slightly immature voice echoed in the snow and ice, and the branches stretching towards the sky shook together, scattering silver powder all over the sky.
"Slow down!" Cang Ming suddenly stopped his sword and looked at the forest suspiciously. The snow-covered trees stretched as far as the eye could see, glittering like the snow that had condensed for an entire winter.
Wei Ci also shouted in a low voice: "General, there is something strange——"
At the same time, Hua Yiliang opened her voice and shouted: "Open——"
Suddenly, a crack appeared in the forest, and a strong wind sucked Hua Yi in.
Unfortunately, Hua Yi was standing in front of Cang Ming. Cang Ming felt someone behind her knock her off the sword, and she flipped in mid-air. In a flash, the two of them fell into the hole.
"General!" Wei Ci leaped up, his voice coming closer. His fingertips were about to touch Cang Ming's fingertips, and Cang Ming also stretched out his hands to him.
Suddenly, snow-white branches whizzed out from either side, intertwining and entwining, instantly sealing the opening. The tangled branches resembled an impenetrable net, separating them from the outside world. Between the giant trees, Cang Ming fell.
"Freeze!" Cang Ming used the immobilization technique, but then he was startled. In this forest, magic failed to work.
With a bang, Cang Ming fell on a patch of undulating tree roots, and the pain made him see stars.
She lay on the ground for a while before getting up, cursing: "If I hadn't learned dancing since I was a child and had strong bones, I would have died here today..."
Hua Yi landed lightly on the ground, her posture steady, as if lifting a heavy weight with ease. For the first time in so many days, his eyes lit up: "I'm home, my home is just ahead."
Cang Ming looked up. There was no sky, only a patchwork of snowy branches. Wei Ci was blocked outside, and the last thing Cang Ming saw was his slightly anxious face.
"Brother, can't outsiders enter this forest?" Cang Ming waited for a while, but did not see Wei Ci coming in, and he immediately became suspicious.
"Let's go, let's go!" Hua Yi pulled Cang Ming's arm and walked deeper into the forest. "The forest is under the spell of Qimen Dunjia. When you pass through that entrance, no one knows where you will fall."
Cang Ming said with a headache, "Even if Wei Ci attacked randomly, he might fall in a different direction from us? Brother, this forest is very vast, right? Where can we find him?"
Hua Yi shook her head. Cang Ming suddenly remembered the art of sound transmission and tried to call out with his mind: "Wei Ci?"
No one answered. Cang Ming touched his lips. The lipstick had long since fallen off. The small box containing the lipstick was placed in the secret pocket of his cloak and was now on Xi Sheng's body.
The earrings were firmly fastened to her ears, but she couldn't hear Wei Ci's movements. Cang Ming sighed and said, "Your elder brother's message isn't getting through. I wonder if it's because of the forest's barrier, or if it's because the earrings and lip balm must be used together for the transmission to be effective."
Hua Yi said, "Let's go home first and ask my mother to find a solution."
"Okay." Cang Ming also wanted to send Hua Yi home quickly before making other plans. This journey was really weird.
Hua Yi seemed to be able to find his way home from anywhere in the forest. He led Cang Ming along a straight line for a while, then suddenly stopped at a certain point and clapped his hands. Then he turned around and took a parallel line, walked back a distance, and clapped his hands again.
They walked in this circuitous way, covering long and short distances. Suddenly, Cang Ming said, "The route we are walking is like the music score of a guqin. Every time you clap your hands, it is the place where your fingers will rest on each string."
"That's right." Hua Yi walked lightly, faster and faster. "No one has ever been able to understand it! Big sister, you are the first."
Cang Ming smiled proudly: "It's a pity that I can't play the piano, so I don't know what song this is. If your sister Xisheng was here..."
A branch suddenly swept across, but Cang Ming was so agile that he immediately jumped into the air and avoided it. The sky was filled with snow powder, which was charming.
"Little brother, be careful in this forest--" Before he could finish his words, another branch came towards him. Cang Ming was startled and quickly jumped to the side.
Before she could get under the branches, a strong wind blew, and countless branches chased after her and hit her wildly.
"Back off!" Cang Ming waved away a few branches, his arms aching from the blows. Heavy snow blanketed the area before him, and as soon as he pushed it aside, the curtain closed again.
The snow-white branches were hidden in the falling snow, their every move difficult to detect. Cang Ming listened attentively to the sound of branches breaking in the wind, relying entirely on his hearing and intuition to determine the enemy's position.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of thick branches came from different directions. Cang Mingding concentrated his mind and used the palm technique taught by his master. His palms danced up and down, impenetrable. This palm technique combined the strengths of various martial arts masters. The body movements were graceful, the tension and relaxation were measured, and the moves were like a flying goose stepping on snow. But the most deadly thing was -
It's actually a dance.
It doesn't have much power.
After all, the Wangxian Sect relies on dancing as their method of cultivation, not on force. Once their magic power is suppressed by the barrier in the forest, a set of boxing techniques will not hurt them at all.
The trees shook violently, the wind howled. In this critical moment, Cang Ming recalled Wu Lu's words in the past: "You can kill ghosts by just doing a little dance all day long. It's very elegant."
Cang Ming attacked left and right, pushing back the branches from the southeast and west. Suddenly, a branch hit him hard from behind.
"Ouch!" She was like a spinning top that was whipped away, knocking through countless branches and flying high into the sky.
A hundred feet in the air, she saw Hua Yi on the ground through the swirling snow, looking up at her blankly. The branches seemed to have eyes, and they only hit Cang Ming, but Hua Yi was unharmed.
Cang Ming: “…”
Taking advantage of the next gust of wind, she turned around in the air and stepped onto a branch. The branch immediately sank, then sprang out like a bow, and Cang Ming jumped onto the next branch.
Before she could stand firm, the next branch blew her away like dust.
Cang Ming hopped awkwardly among the branches of the snow-covered trees, her whole body aching as if she had been run over by a wheel, but she gradually found the way. It seemed that this forest did not want to kill her, but was just playing a trick on her, like a naughty prank.
Cang Ming's face was irritated. He raised his voice, jumping and shouting, "If you want to fight, come out and fight. How can you be called a great hero hiding in the dark?"
Suddenly, everything was silent. The entire forest stopped shaking, and the wind died down. Cang Ming was about to say a few more words when the branch he was standing on suddenly gave way, and he fell into the snow with a loud thud.
“…”
Cang Ming grabbed the tree trunk and managed to sit up, hissing as he took in the cold air. His whole body was numb from the pain.
There was a sound of tiny footsteps, and Hua Yi came quickly from a distance: "Big sister, how did you run so far in the tree?"
Cang Ming said with a sad face: "Little brother, how far is your home?"
Hua Yi suddenly hesitated: "We have already played fifteen notes, and there are only two strings left."
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