Chapter 48 - 48 48 Boat!

Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Boat! (Combined two chapters for extra monthly tickets) Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Boat! (Combined two chapters for extra monthly tickets) Tiger Jump Gorge. The little demons were fervently bustling about. A dozen little demons, darting here and there, tossing stones and piling up lumber, or surrounding the foundation, hammering and chiseling, or even spewing fire to forge stones... Gradually, a stone-built Mountain Lord Cave Mansion rose from the mountainside. As nightfall approached the fourth watch of the night, A group of little demons lay prostrate on the ground! Behind them stood their collaboratively built Mountain Lord Cave Mansion. Apart from some rough edges, everything else looked quite proper. Chen Yuan, upon seeing this cave mansion, nodded with satisfaction, then casually flicked his hand. Specks of True Qi transformed into a light shower, entering the bodies of the little demons. The prostrate little demons chattered excitedly, worshipfully bowing to Chen Yuan. Chen Yuan transmitted a command with his thoughts. Immediately, these little demons scurried into the nearby woods and vanished without a trace. After all this, Chen Yuan turned around and with a whistle, revealed his true body of Lord Hu, three zhang tall, leaping into the newly-built Mountain Lord Cave Mansion. Then, from inside the cave mansion, a large amount of black Demonic energy gushed out, slowly diffusing and enveloping the sky like dark clouds. With each inhalation and exhalation, the black Demon Clouds in the sky also pulsed. It seemed as if a powerful Demon was lurking within. ... Elsewhere, four hundred li south of Yunlu County, There lay a mountain called Jing Mountain. Rising over three hundred zhang high, stretching for tens of li, with lush vegetation. Below Jing Mountain was a small village, Named Liu Family Village. On this day, in a family that had offered lodging, two young men and women carrying a sword and a knife crept quietly out of the house with the cover of night. “Brother, is the information accurate? Does that ship, indeed, appear nearby in the Rivers?” One of the girls, having an ordinary appearance, curiously asked her brother who was leaving with her. Her brother, with a long knife strapped to his waist and black bands wrapped around his wrist, dressed like a chivalrous hero, his rugged demeanor marked with traces of travel. “I don’t know, the news came from Linjiang County, and who knows who spread it. They say that ship roams the south and north of this world, only appearing at night, ferrying those who are destined. Once on board, one is deemed worthy of Asking Tao. It all sounds quite uncanny.” As he spoke, he quickened his pace, “Regardless, we’ve rested during the day. Let’s try our luck. You’ve picked up on it too, on our way here we noticed many people’s traces. Hurry up, or if that ship really does show up, we might not even get to enjoy the spectacle.” The girl nodded and hurriedly followed her brother, with several leaps, they had disappeared into the distant woods. At this moment, in the yard of the house they had left, there was a cattle shed. Inside, a blackish-blue water buffalo was tied, chewing on fodder with its mouth. At this time, this water buffalo, with its large black eyes, watched the young man and woman leave solemnly, and its big white-haired ears twitched, a muffled moo resounded from its throat, and then, unexpectedly, it spoke human language. “There seems to be Treasure nearby, I must go report to the king!” Saying this, it easily broke free from the ropes, directly smashed through the dirt and stone wall of the courtyard, and ran towards the darkest and tallest shadow in the distance. It was clearly a Beast Demon! When this blackish-blue water buffalo had galloped for seven or eight li through the mountain forest, suddenly, a human voice, panting heavily came through. “Why is there a buffalo here? Perfect, dammit, I still have a stretch to go and I’m out of energy.” With these words, a figure scrambling on a tree prepared to leap down. Upon hearing this, The blackish-blue water buffalo let out a “Moo.” Rear up, kick out with both legs. And just like that, he sent the figure flying down with a solid kick. The figure was caught off-guard, hurled several meters back, directly smashing a bowl-thick tree, letting out a pained grunt. Then came a grinding of teeth in anger: “Damn it, being bullied by a stinking tiger is one thing, but to be kicked by you, this stupid ox, I’ll slaughter you today.” The shadow clutched his aching chest, stood up from the ground, and under the pale moonlight, the sullen and angry face revealed was none other than Hook Nose, Bai Wanshan, who fled from Qingshan County in embarrassment. At this moment, the man was filled with pent-up rage, swearing to butcher this foolish ox. Meanwhile, the Beast Demon turned around, giving off a muffled sound from its throat, its eyes beginning to turn blood-red, white steam coming out of its nostrils, and a roar of anger from its mouth: “Who’s this blind person daring to ride on your Grandpa Niu?” With that, it let out a long “moo.” Instantly, all over the mountain forest, the sound of cows mooing followed one after the other. Then, came the sound of hoofbeats shaking the forest. Soon, pairs of blood-red cow eyes appeared alarmingly in the forest under the cover of night. The infuriated Hooked Nose quickly realized this was like a deluge flooding the Dragon King Temple. He came to this place to seek his Lord, and the Lord Envoy came here to find a strong Bull Demon King. These cows appeared to be the offspring of that Bull Demon. He quickly changed his expression, hastily explaining: “Turns out to be Brother Niu, indeed it’s like a flood hitting the Dragon King Temple, not recognizing one’s own family. I am here to seek your king....” But the ox, once angered, was fiercely stubborn, scraping the ground with its hoof, raising its horns high, snorting white steam, charging towards him with a mooing sound. Soon, the hoofbeats shook the ground, trembling the forest. Hooked Nose, already severely injured and having rushed hundreds of miles throughout the night, was completely exhausted. At this moment, he was no match for a herd of calf demons. His body was kicked around by these hooves, his insides churning tumultuously, and he was about to miserably perish under the hooves of a stubborn ox when he let out a scream. “Lord Wei Yang....” This scream echoed far into the forest under the night sky. Not long after, a gloomy voice came through. “Useless thing, how did you end up like this?” With the words spoken, a shadowy figure appeared like a ghost beside Hooked Nose, with an invisible wave of air sweeping outwards, blocking the horns of five or six Beast Demons from getting anywhere close. At the same time, a violent gust of wind descended from the sky. A huge demon with an ox’s head and a body covered in green crashed down like a cannonball. Standing twelve feet tall, with ink-black horns and a body covered in green skin, its frame exuded a dangerous aura contained within. “Stand down!” The Bull Demon’s voice boomed like muffled thunder. Then he burst out into hearty laughter, resounding throughout the forest. “Brother Wei Yang, my apologies. This is your man, who my calves nearly injured by mistake.” “However, your servant seems too frail to withstand a breeze, which makes me hesitate to collaborate with you.” And that specter, now revealing his true form, was dressed in white gauze, his face unnaturally pale and soft, but his eyes, one red and one black. Gazing at them for too long, one could feel a chilling horror! This person was one of the Twelve Divine Envoys of the Feixian Sect, known by the title Wei Yang. Wei Yang’s face was sullen, his eerie eyes glaring at Hooked Nose, who at that moment was bruised, with not a single unscathed spot on him, shooting a red light from his bloodshot eye. Seeing this, Hook Nose felt like his soul was in peril. The Lord was about to kill him! All he could do was muster all his strength to beg for mercy: “Lord Wei Yang, spare my life, I have an urgent matter to report!” The red light halted. And then retracted. At this moment, the Bull Demon let out a muffled chuckle: “Since you have something to discuss, I won’t disturb you.” Saying this, the Bull Demon turned into a vanishing shadow and disappeared from the spot. By this time, Hooked Nose Bai Wanshan, struggling to rise, sobbed and said: “My Lord, I am not incompetent, this time we truly hit a streak of bad luck. He then told Lord Wei Yang everything that had happened in Qingshan County in exhaustive detail. “My Lord, that Mountain Lord is extremely difficult to deal with, he is fickle in temper, with a terrifying aura. We had no power to resist under him, and that beast asked me to deliver a message.” “It seems he doesn’t give any face to you, my Lord. Maybe you could invite the Bull Demon to join forces and slay it.” Hooked Nose spoke with a grinding hatred that seemed endless. Upon hearing his report, Lord Wei Yang’s eerie eyes flickered, his voice soft as fine needles, “Is this true?” Hooked Nose quickly nodded his head. “Absolutely true!” Lord Wei Yang laughed instead, “Not bad, such an interesting development has arisen.” “My Lord, I don’t quite understand. This tiger suddenly appeared and disrupted our plans, shouldn’t it be a hurdle?” Hooked Nose, fearing Lord Wei Yang’s laughter, asked hurriedly. Of course, Lord Wei Yang would not deign to explain to a subordinate and only snorted coldly. “When dealing with these beasts, one must use one’s brain.” “Wait, I will take you to bid farewell to that Bull Demon.” “My Lord, don’t you want to invite this Bull Demon to take action?” “Shut up!” Lord Wei Yang was impatient. In his mind, he sneered. This Bull from Jing Mountain wants too much. Now that a Mountain Lord has appeared in Qingshan County, it seems to be a crafty one, too. He came up with a brilliant idea in his mind: one move to outwit three! “Let’s go!” Saying that, he prepared to meet the Bull Demon he had encountered earlier. However, when Lord Wei Yang, accompanied by Hooked Nose, arrived at the Bull Demon’s cave abode, they were informed by a Little demon serving under it, “The great lord has gone on an errand!” ... Meanwhile, A Demon Wind was descending from Jing Mountain. The Bull Demon from Jing Mountain, along with one of his young calves, was hastening through the wooded mountains in the night. “Are you certain of what you heard?” The Bull Demon’s voice was like dull thunder, A dark green water buffalo strolled beside him, speaking human language, his voice muffled and hushed: “Great King, I heard it with my own ears from two cultivators, so I hurried over to bring the news.” “Good, truly a fine son of mine.” “Humans are cunning; if they are willing to venture deep into these mountains, there must be treasure.” “A boat that seeks the path of Tao, this old bull also wants to see for himself!” The Bull Demon, with eyes as large as bronze bells shining with excitement, patted his young calf on the head and then laughed heartily, barreling towards the Nu River at the foot of Jing Mountain. ... To the west of Jing Mountain, a river roars eastward. It is the Nu River! At this moment, amid the night, on this broad stretch, the dark forests on both sides rustle with the leaves, with shadows moving in the distance. Even more so, one could hear the neighing of horses! On a closer look amongst the rustling leaves, figures were stepping across the treetops, moving swiftly along both sides of the river. Seemingly following something along the surface of the river. Some rode fast horses, galloping along the riverbanks. Among them were the siblings who appeared from Liu Family Village. The two tread lightly upon the branches, their bodies swift, occasionally scanning the distance, heading upstream against the flow of the Nu River. Those shadows hidden in the forest were all searching for something. Yet under the cover of night on the river’s surface, there was only the tumultuous Nu River. Nothing else. As daylight threatened to break, Someone finally stopped. Uttering a frustrated exclamation. “Morning is about to dawn!” “Even if the rumors from Linjiang County are true, it’s too late now.” “Forget it, we should head back, it’s all just a bunch of tricks to fool people.” “Who knows who started it, such elusive happenings, how can they be real?” “....” Some stopped their search on the river and uttered frustrated sounds. Frustrated that they had run around for nothing for such elusive rumors. And frustrated that such things were not, in fact, real. The cause of all this was because, a few days earlier, rumors spread through Linjiang County of a fisherman who went out to fish in the river before dawn. On the way, a sudden mist arose on the river. He got lost in the fog. Then, he saw a large boat emerge from the mist, its lights bright. Sounds of laughter, crying, frenzy, and chanting emanated from within... Chaotic, like bewitching music to the ears. He felt dizzy, and then suddenly a huge wave crashed over. Tipping his fishing boat. He fell into the water, but even as an excellent swimmer, he could not break free from the river’s surface. Just as he was about to drown, someone from the brightly lit boat rescued him. They brought him aboard. In a daze, he saw many faces. All eagerly discussing something. Now laughing, now arguing, like the noisy ringing of bells, it made his head swell until he passed out. (PS: This chapter is almost as long as the previous two combined, just to beg for more follow-up reads, with Tuesday coming up, a crucial day, I am asking for everyone’s support, genius bows in thanks!!! Happy Dragon Boat Festival, haha...)