Makeup Chapter 19
There are no clouds tonight.
A sparse group of sentries passed from the north slope to the mountain gate.
Originally, patrolling the mountain gates was a top priority, but in recent years, the sect has been severely short-handed. Even when fighting with other mountain strongholds, even if they didn't lose, losing a few lives was common. They fought for a few days a month, sometimes as many as twenty. Even if those who came to learn the "Su Jian Jue" joined in, it couldn't fill the gap.
Taking advantage of the fact that the mountain gate was easy to defend but difficult to attack, Luo Shun began to "live off his old capital" as a matter of course after becoming the head of the sect. He cut down the sentries from the front of the mountain gate to the foot of the mountain, took the elite disciples into Sushan Hall, threw those who were almost defeated into Zhongyi Hall to be trained by Lao Hu, and sent the worst ones to do tasks at the foot of the mountain.
The old master of Qianji Hall couldn't persuade him, and, naturally, he was quite proud. He felt that unless there was an insider, the gate's mechanism couldn't be opened from the outside, so he stopped mentioning it and continued to research the gate's mechanisms. He must have been born with a lot more than the average person. The smarter disciples on the mountain could barely memorize the rules, but they couldn't deduce them. The dumber ones were even more incapable of learning, like the Heavenly Book.
After years in the mountains, he finally realized he had no successors. He also knew that, as he aged, cultivating a successor was crucial. While he was alive, he had mastered the mechanisms with ease. After his death, he feared these unfathomable mysteries would become a hindrance, a shackle that, if mishandled, could become a lock that imprisons his own people.
——The old leader of Qianji Hall even saw the secrets of heaven in advance.
He had just come up with this idea, and before he could even begin to simplify the mechanism, he suddenly died at his desk. Beneath his body lay a cloth curtain on which he had drawn a diagram of the mechanism, and in one hand he held a charcoal pencil. His disciples, waiting outside for morning lessons, saw him but he was nowhere to be found. When they came in to check, the old man's body was cold.
After his death, many people in the sect were like "frightened birds" for a while.
The mountain gate opened and closed, and I didn't dare close my eyes when I heard the noise, for fear that this "amulet" would lose its effect.
Luo Shun was even more careless. This time, he even reduced the number of sentries to guard against internal thieves. Only a group of old disciples were left in the machinery room. He did not supervise the one or two promising talents in the Qianji Hall. He was just playing a game of "Please guess whether this is the 'empty city plan'".
But regardless of whether this story is true or not, it is quite reliable.
His unpredictable behavior had long intimidated people, and now it came in handy. Recalling his comeback at Sujian Mountain, the witnesses recalled the bloody scene they must have seen, and they all muttered: Is he trying to take advantage of this opportunity to catch a few restless fish?
All in all, it really put some people's hearts at ease.
The leading disciple of this team was yawning continuously, with a sword hanging crookedly on his waist. The sword looked good from the outside, and the scabbard was gorgeous and new, but the owner had a thin waist, either by nature or by force, so the sword was wrapped around the belt half a circle, with the hilt facing downwards, and with a shake as the owner walked, the sword fell out of the scabbard.
The disciple turned back impatiently and cursed as he picked up the sword.
He was tired and hungry, and he went to knock on the first mechanical room door as usual. He found it half open, so he pushed it open with his palm and asked, "Why don't you close the door again? It's always open. If there is anyone in the sect who has evil intentions—wait, are you the only one?"
The disciple in the control room ignored the patrol disciple's accusations. He stretched and stood up, begging for mercy: "Brother, please be kind. My companion is a lazy donkey trying to get by. He's in the toilet right now and will be back soon."
As he spoke, he took out a handful of fruit and stuffed it into the hands of the patrolling disciples.
The patrolman knew what kind of fruit it was without even looking. He didn't even bother to pick it up, letting it roll all over the floor. "Who's going to eat this sour thing? If you don't like it, don't pick it from the tree. You're trying to look so generous."
Snatching a grain of rice is as bad as a black-eyed chicken. How can there be any such thing as "filial piety"?
The people in this office don't like to close the front door, and always use the excuse of "stuffy" to cover it up. There are not many nitpicking people on the mountain, and they just want to finish their work quickly and complain a few words, but no one really complains to the higher-ups.
But the patrolling disciples heard from their senior brother who had taken over the shift last night that because they had made peace with their biggest rival Fan Lizhuang, the group of people guarding the agency were looking for more free time and boldly started to take turns on duty.
He scoffed in his heart: What a lazy guy.
Seeing the patrolman's sarcastic expression, the disciple in the control room didn't care. He smiled and said, "I'll close the door now." After saying that, he simply closed the door, not caring about the reaction of the outsiders. Although he called the other person "senior brother", it didn't mean that he was less senior than the other person.
The disciples of Qianji Hall's generation guarded the mechanism room, which was the "golden rice bowl" on the mountain. After such a long time, Sect Leader Luo replaced them with someone from Sushan Hall. How could they care about the faces of the patrolling disciples?
After being rejected, the leading disciple looked even more unhappy.
He walked quickly, sword in hand, and his fellow apprentices followed him unsteadily. Someone asked him, "Brother, aren't you going to check this forest?"
Sujian Mountain does not have the manpower to cut down all the trees, so it can only arrange a few people to check it with the naked eye.
The leader said without even turning his head: "Go and check it out!"
The person who asked the question got himself into trouble, but he was happy that he had less work to do, so he happily ran after the team.
The team left in a hurry, not even leaving a speck of dust in front of the mountain gate.
Less than a quarter of an hour later, silence returned to the surroundings. The dense forest was a trembling mass of black shadows in the night. At this moment, a thin figure suddenly separated from the large black shadows.
It was Meng Shizhuang.
Meng Shizhuang had a dagger wrapped around his right hand, and a broken knife, its blade gleaming white, strapped tightly to his waist. After losing sight of the patrol, he emerged from behind the trees and, without hesitation, opened the door to the control room—the next patrol was due in two quarters of an hour, leaving him little time.
There was a soft knock at the door.
The person guarding the office leaned over the table and raised his head irritably: "I said -"
His voice stopped abruptly. Meng Shizhuang raised the hilt of his sword and struck him hard on the side of the head.
After the man fell, Meng Shizhuang didn't rush to open the valve. He looked around, fumbled around, and pushed open a secret door half a man's height under the dripping water. The space inside was not large, only enough for two young men, and there were a row of ventilation holes. Some bones were thrown inside, and a few wild fruits were rotting silently.
Meng Shizhuang had a plan in mind. He dragged the fallen man by the collar and stuffed him into the secret door.
He stood in front of the valve and glanced at the half-open door.
There are twelve valves in total.
Meng Shizhuang pressed the first valve.
Tick, tick...
In the silent room, the sound of dripping water could be heard.
Meng Shizhuang's heartbeat was pounding even faster. He silently executed the first move. His body and sword seemed steady, but his emotions were surging. His lips paled, his upper abdomen cramped, and sweat broke out on his forehead.
He thought of his old home.
Tomorrow should be a sunny day. Lao Ju will take out the clothes from the wooden cabinet to dry them out in the sun, and check if there are any torn ones, and then sew them up for him personally.
If he fails.
——Perhaps Lao Ju was mending clothes under the window, but he didn't know why swords were coming towards him.
Meng Shizhuang held the sword horizontally, then used the hilt to press against his stomach with his backhand, his lips as white as wax.
His hand gripped the valve tightly, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. A discomfort spread from his upper abdomen to his chest, to his collarbone, then along his shoulders and back, causing his entire body to tremble.
The next moment, he let go.
All the sleeping people and birds in Sujian Mountain were startled. The first mountain gate opened with a rumble.
He made the right bet.
The valves pressed by these disciples guarding the mechanism are indeed a trick!
Meng Shizhuang drew out the broken knife and walked towards the next door that had already opened - this time, there was no chance for him to turn back.
The guards at the eleven doors at the back were naturally alarmed. They hadn't received any orders to open them tonight, nor had there been any sudden night raids. But after such a long period of peace and quiet, their vigilance wasn't high, and they were waiting for the people in the control room to find out what was going on.
The people in the second control room looked at the intruder in confusion.
Of course, they all knew Meng Shizhuang, and they might even have left shoe prints on her back. Rumors had circulated on the mountain for a month that Meng Shizhuang, a hidden talent, could knock out Ke Congzhou's twin swords in a few moves, but since they hadn't witnessed it firsthand, and since the protagonist was someone they had bullied, most people didn't take it seriously.
So at this moment, the two men looked at Meng Shizhuang step by step and breathed a sigh of relief. Just like they usually did when they met him and didn't dare to fight back, they asked, "Meng Shizhuang, how did you get in?"
Meng Shizhuang's mind was tense, his entire body seemed to have reached another realm. The air and sounds around him dropped a notch, slowly rubbing against his nose and ears. He rushed in with a knife in hand, but was nearly defeated by a word from these two idiots.
He paused, and his eyes, which had always drooped on his cheekbones, raised slightly, a not-so-subtle eye roll.
The two idiots on the opposite side were stunned and became angry.
But before they could utter the second stupid sentence, Meng Shizhuang kicked away the tables and chairs, and slashed at one of them with a knife mixed with the "Canglang style". When he got close, he flipped his elbow and hit the man on the back of the neck, knocking him unconscious.
The other one was frightened in the first half of the "Canglang Style". His companion's hair, blown by the wind from the knife, flew into his face. He stopped breathing and suffocated himself to death.
Meng Shizhuang opened the secret door and stuffed the two men in.
There was some movement at the mountain gate, but no sentry sounded the alarm. The awakened disciple saw that no one gave him any orders, so he just pretended not to know and turned over and continued to sleep. The patrol disciple on duty had just been slacking off in the back mountain, so he rushed over and was crawling on the ground looking for his fallen sword.
The second door...
The third door...
The people on the mountain finally realized that something was wrong. The hall masters changed from their sleepy state half a quarter of an hour ago and hurriedly called their disciples over.
People on the mountain are gathering.
Meng Shizhuang couldn't even hear the dripping sound, only his own heartbeat and panting. The people at these doors were almost powerless to fight back. He opened the sixth door, stepped over the fallen man, and ran to the next one.
For the first time, the men in the seventh group wielded swords. Even before the mechanical room door was fully opened, they thrust their swords in unison. Meng Shizhuang swung out a wave of "ripples" and, with her sword, slashed one of them down. The tail of the "ripples" transformed, from gentle ripples to sharp blades. The opponent was dazzled, as if seeing a thousand swords.
Behind me, the voice of a person urging me on became clearer and clearer.
Meng Shizhuang pushed the man aside, bent his left elbow, turned the knife handle in his hand, and hooked the valve with an extremely flexible method, then pressed it with the force -
"Where did you learn about machinery?"
The person in front of him asked in surprise, his eyes flickering, and continued to talk, trying to interfere with him from setting the next mechanism.
Meng Shizhuang pretended not to hear and had his own set of sword moves in mind while dealing with the situation.
The man he had knocked over climbed to his feet and tried to restrain him from behind. Meng Shizhuang raised his toes, tilting the fallen wooden chair, and struck him in the face, drawing two blood from his nose. Seeing the situation was dire, another man rushed forward, attempting to press the valve prematurely to prevent the door from opening.
Sweat streamed down Meng Shizhuang's shoulders. Someone, having reacted, was closing in on him. His ears went blank, and for a moment, he could only hear a heartbeat. The next moment, he threw the broken knife in his left hand with all his might!
One hand was about to touch the valve, but it slowly fell backwards along with its owner.
Meng Shizhuang's clothes were soaking wet. He silently recited the moves and pressed the valve. When the door opened, he picked up the table and walked towards the man, who was already stunned by the death of his companion, and knocked him unconscious.
His heartbeat and breathing gradually calmed down, and before going to the next door, he calmly pulled out the broken knife that had stabbed someone in the vitals.
The Eighth Gate...
The Ninth Gate...
In the tenth mechanism room, he stepped on a puddle of blood, with an overturned water clock at his feet. The room was filled with a strong smell of blood. Perhaps the smell was too pungent, or perhaps he had forced himself to get this far, Meng Shizhuang finally couldn't help but bent over and vomited.
He couldn't vomit anything out, and his internal organs felt sour and uncomfortable.
The nearest people had already reached the first gate. For some reason, they did not ask the people from Qianji Hall to close the door first, but only sent a few people forward to catch people.
Meng Shizhuang opened the eleventh mechanism room dizzy.
At this time, he still didn't understand how much power a person in desperate situation could unleash, but tonight, he rushed here unscathed and invincible, and his heart was full of gratitude. For the first time, he didn't feel sarcastic towards these good-for-nothings in his heart.
The twelfth door is the last level.
The men behind him were already in pursuit. Meng Shizhuang had nowhere to hide, and despite the puncture wounds in his body, he continued to pull the valve, bleeding. He collapsed under the valve like a pile of mud. The disciples who came to arrest him were furious, ignoring their master's warnings and raising their swords to kill him.
Meng Shizhuang dodged with all his might, but the sword pierced his scarred right arm. He dropped the broken knife, grabbed the man's sword, and yanked at it. The man, unsteady on his feet, was actually yanked away by him. He instinctively reached up for support and grabbed the valve.
The disciple didn't understand the mechanism, and his heart trembled inexplicably. Then, he felt a sharp pain in his elbow. He had already pressed the valve -
The last door opened.
Some disciples looked at each other in confusion, not understanding why Meng Shizhuang wanted to open the door.
"call out."
As the twelfth door opened, a barrage of arrows shot forth from outside, blocking the entrance. All the standing disciples knelt. Meng Shizhuang, slumped over, gasped for breath, and yanked the sword from his right arm with all his might, his cheeks flushed red.
A powerful voice outside raised its arms and shouted, "Kill!"
This sound made the people in Sujian Mountain tremble even more than the sound of the twelve mountain gates opening. The well-trained enemies received help and occupied most of the mountaintops as if they were in an empty space. The torches they brought illuminated the night, and the lush green forest was all licked by the flames.
In the office, Fan Ji, wearing a purple robe, helped Meng Shizhuang up in an approachable manner.
He smiled and said, "I really didn't misjudge you."
Meng Shizhuang pushed him away and bent down to vomit for a while.
Fan Ji didn't care at all and waited quietly for him to finish vomiting. He was in a very good mood.
Meng Shizhuang finished vomiting and raised her head: "The mechanism has been modified. If you want the previous design drawings, they are in the Qianji Hall."
Fan Ji instructed his disciples to support Meng Shizhuang as they walked out of the twelfth door and up the mountain toward the main gate. He said, "I want more than just blueprints." He stood beside Meng Shizhuang, showing great respect and humility. "I want someone who is good at mechanical engineering."
"Our cooperation extends beyond opening these twelve doors. Don't worry, I won't break my promise. Anyone you want on the mountain is at your disposal. How about you join me and serve me?"
Meng Shizhuang didn't say anything and still treated him with the same rude attitude as he did at Fanli Village. He noticed from the corner of his eye that the area from here to the direction down the mountain was full of disciples of Fanli Village holding torches.
His mind raced.
Seeing Meng Shizhuang's attitude, Fan Ji felt even more amused.
He had been thinking about this set of mechanical doors on Yujian Mountain for a long time.
All the idiots in Sujian Mountain have been able to deal with them for so long with this mechanism. If it were the people from Fanli Village, wouldn't it be even more powerful?
He didn't send out all his troops this time, not only to leave a retreat route for the mountain, but also because he felt that taking Sujian Mountain wouldn't require such a hassle. But he forgot that even if each generation was weaker than the previous one, there were still one or two veterans who could take on a hundred people, and that was enough to give him a hard time.
Therefore, before Fan Ji and his men could leisurely walk up the mountain, the disciples who had just rushed up the mountain retreated.
Fan Ji frowned, "What's going on?"
He looked at the mountains and was shocked by the fire.
The disciples came running down in a panic: "Master, the head of Sujian Mountain and several other hall masters, we, we..."
Fan Ji understood as soon as he heard it.
Things had come to this point, he couldn't retreat. He glanced around, and the guards behind him reacted immediately. They blew a long whistle, and the disciples guarding the mountain road heard the news and all joined the battle.
Afterwards, the guard took out a signal arrow from his sleeve and shot it into the sky.
It was to ask the elders guarding the mountain to send another group of people down.
The more people there are, the more chaotic it becomes.
Fan Ji was protected in the crowd. Seeing the advantage slowly returning to his hands, he thought of Meng Shizhuang again. How could he see Meng Shizhuang's face?
Meng Shizhuang followed the momentum of the disciples of Fanlizhuang and moved forward.
But they live in an inconspicuous place on the mountain, and they look dilapidated from the outside. They can't even light a lamp at night, unless there is a time for a thorough cleanup, which is far away now.
He held his breath as he tried to return, but naturally, he would encounter the disciples of Fanli Village who had attacked him. Another sword strike was launched, and his right arm was no longer able to be lifted. Meng Shizhuang covered his right arm and continued forward.
Suddenly, a force pulled him over.
Meng Shizhuang was startled and turned around to see that it was Lao Hu.
Old Hu was covered in blood and kept moving, his words full of reprimand: "What are you doing out here? We don't need you here!" As he spoke, he realized something and called two disciples to take over and pulled Meng Shizhuang to the back.
Meng Shizhuang was caught by him and could almost look into his eyes.
Lao Hu didn't care about other people, nor did he lower his voice. He said to Meng Shizhuang: "Take Lao Ju down the mountain now!" He took out a handful of money from his arms and stuffed it into Meng Shizhuang's clothes, then pushed Meng Shizhuang.
Meng Shizhuang stared at him blankly and staggered a step when he pushed her.
Lao Hu yelled at him, "Go, tell Senior Brother Ju to bring his twin swords!"
Meng Shizhuang paused for a moment when he heard Lao Hu addressing Lao Ju in a strange way, then turned around and ran away.
When Lao Hu saw him running away, he unconsciously smiled with relief, turned around, and picked up his sword to fight again.
Meng Shizhuang forced himself not to think about anything. He counted his steps as he ran, but by the end, he couldn't even remember how many he had counted. But outside, the man he'd knocked unconscious was still lying there. Old House, startled by the noise, had already taken out his swords and was waiting.
When he saw Meng Shizhuang, his chest sank.
Meng Shizhuang went over and pulled him: "Let's go."
Lao Ju and he ran towards the mountain gate for a while. When they saw the mountain gate, they stopped and looked at Meng Shizhuang: "Is the mountain..."
Meng Shizhuang saw the empty mountain gate. The disciples who had been guarding it had all gone up the mountain. When the next wave of disciples from Fanli Village arrived, it would be difficult for them to leave. So she interrupted Lao Ju and said, "Lao Hu said that we should take advantage of the chaos and leave."
Lao Ju held Meng Shizhuang's hand tightly and stopped asking questions.
They went down the mountain without any obstruction.
The wind picked up, chilling Meng Shizhuang's entire body. He shuddered, looking up. Unbeknownst to him, the once cloudless night sky had been shrouded in a thick haze. Amidst this chilly wind, a few wisps of white drifted by.
Meng Shizhuang struggled to identify them and realized they were hibiscus petals.
He looked around and saw the hibiscus bushes behind which was said to be a land temple.
Meng Shizhuang stopped walking. He heard the sounds of fighting on the mountain growing weaker.
Lao Ju noticed his movements and thought he was too injured to walk, so he wanted to support him by holding his left arm.
Meng Shizhuang let go of his hand and said, "Lao Ju, please go down the mountain first. I have something to do."
Startled by his words, Lao Ju turned back and was about to stop him when he met Meng Shizhuang's eyes and was suddenly speechless. A strangely shaped cloud drifted by, quickly covering the moon and then moving away, revealing a spectrum of extremely bright and dark colors on Meng Shizhuang's face.
He recalled Meng Shizhuang's resolute expression when she went down the mountain.
When he wasn't paying attention, Ah Shi had grown up like this. With a bowl of porridge and a bowl of medicine, he could force Ah Shi to soften her heart and compromise, but he would eventually leave before Ah Shi and would make the wrong choice.
Regardless of the cost of life or death, Meng Shizhuang has to make her own choice.
Lao Ju squeezed Meng Shizhuang's shoulders tightly and said, "I'll wait for you at the foot of the mountain. You must come down."
Meng Shizhuang gave him a reassuring smile, just like she did a month ago: "Wait for me, I will come down the mountain to find you after I finish my work."
Lao Ju watched his back as it passed a bend in the mountain, and without further delay, he also went down the mountain.
-
ferry.
The seafarers were bargaining with the horse dealers. They were planning to sell their horses and travel by sea.
The town was quiet at this hour, but the ship started at this time, so we had to get up early.
Ke Congzhou stared absentmindedly at the river not far away.
Over there, the seafarers had made their arrangements and were waiting for the horse dealer to pay. Yao Qinian had also agreed on a price with the ship merchant and waved Ke Congzhou and A Wuxian aboard.
Ke Congzhou walked over, the surging river water slapping against the stone slabs on the shore. He grabbed Ah Wu beside him and said, "Ah Wu, do you smell anything?"
Ah Wu was feeling sleepy and sniffed hard: "What's that smell?"
Ke Congzhou: "The smell of scorched earth and burning things."
Ah Wu opened his eyes and repeated the action just now: "I just smell that the river water has a fishy smell."
He was about to ask Ke Congzhou if he was too tired. The four of them had been traveling for days, as if they were running for their lives.
Ke Congzhou felt a sudden pain in his chest. He turned around and saw that Haike and Yao Qinian had not come over yet. He whispered, "Awu, I want to go back."
Ah Wu: "Inn..."
He hadn't finished speaking when he realized that the "go back" he was referring to was probably Su Jianshan. He bit his tongue in desperation, and like Ke Congzhou, he turned around to glance at Hai Ke and Yao Qinian.
This wasn't the first time Ke Congzhou had expressed his desire to return to the mountains, but it was probably because of Lao Hu's instructions that Hai Ke and Yao Qinian had been trying to stop him, intentionally or unintentionally. Ah Wu finally made it out, and didn't want to go back with such a whimper, so he tried to persuade Ke Congzhou.
Ke Congzhou held him tighter, his tone more urgent: "Awu, I have to go back!"
Seeing Ke Congzhou's anxious expression, Ah Wuwang felt as if he saw a stubborn old beggar. He grabbed the old beggar's cane and refused to let him go back to the temple. The old beggar refused to listen, threw away the cane, and ran back in at full speed, leaving him with a smug look that said, "Silly boy, I fooled you on weekdays."
He gritted his teeth and stared at Ke Congzhou for a moment, but he was still defeated.
Ah Wu walked back to Hai Ke. The horse dealer was counting out copper coins, handing one to Hai Ke. When they arrived, they had two men and one horse. Now, the two horses were tied to a rope, their tails wagging impatiently.
He quietly pushed away the sword beside him and pretended to talk to Hai Ke: "Brother Hai, have you ordered?" Then he walked over and touched the horse's head, looking reluctant to leave.
Yao Qinian couldn't understand his actions, so she frowned, moved away, and started to curse him.
Seeing that they had all walked away a little, A Wu hardened his heart, drew his sword with a "swish", cut the rope that tied the horse, flipped the hilt of the sword, and hit the horse's butt. The horse was frightened and let out a long cry, and tried to run away.
Ah Wu called out, "Senior Brother Ke!"
Ke Congzhou was waiting when he drew his sword. He immediately jumped on the horse, squeezed the horse's belly, and the horse's hooves dug up a cloud of dust on the ground.
A Wu then got on another horse and ran away.
The horse dealer was still unaware of the performance and continued to hand over money to the seafarer while savoring it.
Yao Qinian rushed out and shouted "Eh!" like a supporting actor.
The seafarer clasped his hands together, thanked the horse dealer, took Yao Qinian with him, and took away the horse that the dealer had brought with him.
The horse dealer was left crying on the spot.
-
When Lao Ju reached the foot of the mountain, he found a rather modest carriage, guarded by a renowned disciple. Although he had not left the mountain in over a decade, he still remembered the sign for Fanli Village. He immediately understood that the people attacking the mountain must be Fanli Village, and that the carriage must be serving the owner of Fan Village.
He still had an old injury, so picking up a young disciple was not a problem. After the person fainted, he threw him into the grass, threw away everything with the Fanli Village logo on the car, and sat in front of the car waiting for Meng Shizhuang to come down the mountain.
The haze that had been accumulating for half the night finally spoke, and along with it came a bolt of lightning.
A moment later, heavy rain began to fall. Amidst the thunder and lightning, Lao Ju saw a figure coming down the mountain.
He jumped out of the car and stepped forward to meet the person, who was none other than Meng Shizhuang.
Meng Shizhuang was walking with one foot deep and one foot shallow, with a knife stuck in his right shoulder blade and his hands covered in blood and mud.
Lao Ju hugged him from the left and helped him into the carriage.
Meng Shizhuang leaned against the car wall and said, "Don't worry, it's just a broken knife, it's not stuck very deep."
The carriage had a low table with some fruits and a pot of wine on it. There was a secret compartment on the side, which contained a dagger for self-defense. Lao Ju pulled down the curtain, poured the wine on it, and pressed it against Meng Shizhuang's wound, then pulled out the knife with force.
Meng Shizhuang groaned, and Ren Laoju simply bandaged his wound.
The rain was so heavy it blurred my vision. Looking down from beneath the broken monument at the foot of the mountain, I could see rushing blood-red streams flowing downward. Amidst the dense drizzle, a man drove away in a horse-drawn carriage. As fate would have it, this mountain briefly hosted a group of would-be hosts, but decades later, it returned to obscurity.
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