I suddenly recalled Liu Shinian's words.
"Niangzi cannot go there, it's very dangerous, Xiang Gong will worry about you."
Ugh, an unknown wave of mushiness washed over me, and I shivered involuntarily. Although I really didn't want to remember, he should have some understanding of Wanxue Mountain, and there was no reason for him to lie to us. Thinking about it, it was indeed dangerous. So, I wondered if I could buy weapons.
"I wonder if there's anywhere to buy weapons nearby?"
Ali listened to my words and asked, "Do you want to buy weapons for self-defense?"
"Didn't Liu Shinian say Wanxue Mountain is particularly dangerous? I believe what he said is not false. Since we are going to Wanxue Mountain, we should bring some weapons for self-defense, which will also help us protect ourselves."
Ali also thought it was feasible and nodded, "Then let's go buy some handy weapons."
I looked around. Besides the taverns and restaurants that caught my eye, I couldn't see anything else. I scratched my head and said, "I don't know if there's anywhere to buy weapons in the vast Nanhai City. If not, won't we be very dangerous?"
Ali suggested, "Why don't we ask a passerby? Then we'll know."
"Good idea."
So, I stopped an old man passing by and asked, "Old man, do you know where weapons are sold in Dongyue Town?"
"Weapons?" The old man thought for a moment and then remembered that there was indeed such a place. "Speaking of selling weapons, there really is one. It's called Bai Xiaosheng Weaponry. Walk straight down this street, then turn left, and enter the alley. That weapon shop is on your left."
I hadn't held out much hope, but unexpectedly, there was a shop that specialized in selling all kinds of self-defense weapons.
Ali and I were overjoyed and quickly thanked the old man, "Thank you, old man."
"You're welcome."
After asking for directions, Ali and I walked forward according to the old man's instructions. After walking for a while, we saw an alley on the side. I thought it must be here.
We walked along the alley but couldn't see the shop the old man mentioned. I looked around in confusion and said, "Did that old man lie to us? Where is the weapon shop?"
Ali comforted me, "The old man's words should not be false. Let's look again."
I sighed slightly, feeling uncertain whether we could find this weapon shop. We looked left and right but couldn't find the shop.
Just then, a man dressed impeccably with a small mustache appeared before us. He smiled slightly and asked, "Are you two here to buy weapons?"
I was very surprised and asked him, "How did you know?"
"To be honest, I've been observing you two for a long time. Seeing you two searching back and forth in this alley, I guessed that you must have been introduced to buy weapons."
"Oh, that's amazing. We are indeed here to buy weapons, but we haven't seen any weapon shops."
The man slowly raised his hand and pointed to the side. Ali and I looked in the direction he pointed and saw a vermilion plaque with the words "Specializing in Dealing with the Unruly." What a unique name.
Ali asked confusedly, "Brother, it seems you've misunderstood us. We're not here to fight, but to buy weapons for self-defense."
The man smiled slightly and waved his hand. The writing on the plaque immediately changed, revealing its original appearance. Ali and I then saw "Bai Xiaosheng Weaponry."
I rubbed my eyes, thinking I had misread, and exclaimed, "What's going on?"
The man explained, "My little shop was originally called Bai Xiaosheng Weaponry. Later, I felt it didn't sound good, so I changed it to 'Specializing in Dealing with the Unruly.'"
The name always felt a bit strange. Bai Xiaosheng Weaponry sounded more pleasant.
The shopkeeper praised the former shopkeeper, "That former shopkeeper was a kind-hearted person. My little shop is located in a remote area, and very few people come here. Recently, more and more people have come, and I guess they were introduced by him. I must thank him someday."
I also affirmed, "According to what you said, boss, he is indeed a rare good person. I just don't know if there's anything we want in this shop."
The shopkeeper asked, "What do you two want?"
Ali said, "Weapons for self-defense, preferably ones that can protect ourselves."
The shopkeeper thought for a moment and began to promote his recently arrived goods. "My shop has recently received a batch of 'Tearful Charming Powder.' If you accidentally encounter kidnappers, you can use this bag of 'Tearful Charming Powder.' When the kidnappers get close to you, sprinkle the powder, and they will immediately burst into tears, blurring their vision, which will make it easier to escape."
As he spoke, he took out the bag of powder from his embrace and promoted it.
Seeing how impressive his description was, I asked him, "Do you have any weapons that can deal with the Wanxue Spider?"
"Wanxue Spider!" He was stunned, his face showing difficulty, and he said reluctantly, "Well, I haven't tried it myself, but I've heard that the Wanxue Spider is extremely fierce. I wonder what you two are looking for it for?"
"We're not looking for it. A friend went to Wanxue Mountain and needs us to find him there."
"I see." So, he began to enlighten us with his knowledge about the Wanxue Spider. "You two might not know this, but the Wanxue Spider was once one of the most capable subordinates of the Ten Thousand Ghost King. Later, when the Ten Thousand Ghost King was executed, the Wanxue Spider luckily escaped to Wanxue Mountain and became the master of the snowy mountain. Its strength should not be underestimated, and it's not something ordinary people can defeat. However, it generally doesn't provoke trouble. I advise you two not to go looking for it."
Ali explained, "It's like this, we have a friend who went to Wanxue Mountain, and we have an urgent matter to find him. We don't want trouble, but if we encounter the Wanxue Spider, at least we can save our lives."
The boss seemed to understand and said, "In that case, I do have a few treasures for you to choose from." As he spoke, he got up and took down several weapons from the shelf for us to choose from.
"This is called the Glazed Hammer," he introduced. "This Glazed Hammer can change size, making it convenient to carry. When you encounter an enemy, you just need to blow on it, and it will enlarge."
Then, he picked up a purple vest and said, "This Purple Gold Shirt is resistant to poison, self-defense, and impact. It has the function of purifying poisonous gas and defending against damage."
After finishing this one, he picked up a white jade pill and introduced it. "This white jade pill can detoxify strange poisons. Whether it's poisonous gas, poisonous mist, or poison, as long as you eat it, it can detoxify you immediately."
As he spoke, he held up a sword and continued, "This sword is called the Thousand Guard Sword. It was originally forged with the soul of a demon. It can kill enemies at the owner's will."
After introducing these, he looked at us and asked, "Which weapon do you two like?"
Faced with the items laid out before me, I felt a bit at a loss. I looked at Ali and asked him, "Which one should we choose?"
Ali thought for a moment and said, "Let's take the one for detoxification, self-defense, and attack."
"All of them!" I exclaimed, thinking about the limited gold coins. But with a glimmer of hope, I asked the boss, "How much are these in total?"
"This white jade pill is three hundred gold coins, this purple gold shirt is five hundred gold coins, this glazed hammer is three hundred gold coins, and this thousand guard sword is six hundred gold coins, totaling one thousand seven hundred gold coins."
"What! So expensive." I was shocked again.
Ali weighed the money bag and looked at me helplessly. Since some had been spent earlier, there were few gold coins left. He had to ask me, "With the money we have, we can at most buy one self-defense weapon. Which one do you want?"
I remained silent and thought carefully. "The white jade pill can only detoxify and cannot defend. The purple gold shirt can only protect one person. Who between Ali and me should wear it? This thousand guard sword is okay, but I don't know if Ali knows how to use a sword?"
After thinking through these issues, I asked Ali, "Ali, do you know how to use a sword?"
Ali nodded slightly, "A little."
The shopkeeper took the initiative to tell us about the Thousand Guard Sword. "The Thousand Guard Sword has spiritual consciousness, so you don't need to know how to use a sword. Just tell it your intention, and it will automatically draw its sword."
"That's great." I thought for a moment and made a decision. "Let's take the Thousand Guard Sword." Having a sword by my side is always a good thing.
So, we exchanged money for goods with the shopkeeper and thus obtained the Thousand Guard Sword for self-defense.
As soon as we stepped out of the shop, I suddenly felt dizzy. In an instant, the world turned dark, and everything around me gradually became illusory.
In a daze, I saw a group of people wearing ox and horse masks, carrying large sabers, emerging from the void. I held my head, leaning unsteadily, and pulled Ali to run.
However, before we could take a step, those people chased after us. A gleaming saber chopped down from mid-air. Ali shouted, "Be careful!" and quickly pushed me away.
Before I could react, I saw several sabers hacking towards me.
"Ah!" I screamed, crouched on the ground with my head in my hands, thinking I was doomed. I slightly opened my eyes and saw Ali raising the Thousand Guard Sword to block the falling sabers, and then with a forceful push, he sent them flying back.
I then gradually regained my senses and said in horror, "What, what's going on? Why are so many people trying to kill us?"
Ali shielded me behind him and charged forward with his sword, fighting the charging bull-headed figures. He was also confused, "I don't know either. Have we offended someone?"
I shook my head, "That's impossible. Who would send so many people to kill us?"
While I was thinking, another group of horse-faced figures rushed forward. A horse-faced figure saw me isolated and rushed to grab me. I kicked him to the ground, and then three or four more people rushed up with sabers to attack.
I dodged left and right, finding them not very agile and somewhat clumsy. So, after dodging their attacks, I ran behind them and bumped into them, kicked them left and right, and stomped on them left and right, getting so tired that sweat poured down my face.
Ali asked me worriedly, "Mu Ye, how are you doing over there?"
"Don't worry, I can handle it."
As I said that, someone attacked me with a saber. I quickly dodged backward and kicked him down. I then picked up the saber, but before I could figure out how to use it, another person rushed forward with a saber. I screamed, "Ah! Don't come near! Don't come near!" I swung the saber, and the person was also startled and shouted, "Ah! You scared me to death!"
Then, our sabers clashed unknowingly. We both swung them, and all we could hear was the clanging of swords.
Ali heard the shouts and thought something had happened. He turned back and saw only speechless exasperation. He saw two people acting like children playing house, each wielding a large saber and hitting each other like two wooden sticks, not separating for a long time.
At this moment, endless flames erupted around us. The bull-headed and horse-faced figures shuttled through the flames. The fiercer the flames became, the more people appeared.
Ali watched as the crowd grew larger, realizing that if this continued, he and Mu Ye would be buried here. He suddenly panicked and couldn't think of a good solution.
The person and I were still clashing. Just then, someone who had just appeared ran behind me and slashed me with a saber. My back cracked instantly, and blood flowed profusely. I turned around and looked at the person in disbelief, pointing at him and angrily reprimanding, "You scoundrel!"
Then I slowly collapsed.
Ali watched Mu Ye fall before his eyes and shouted in horror, "Mu Ye!" With a powerful blow, he repelled the enemy and rushed to my side.
He held me in his arms, and the bright red blood stained his arms. He cried out, "Mu Ye! You can't die. You haven't met Master Zhang. You can't die."
I coughed lightly and slowly said to him, "A, Ali, I, I just, just hope, you, can get out. The, the Thousand Guard Sword, please, I beg you." After uttering these words intermittently, I lowered my head.
"Mu Ye! Mu Ye!" Ali cried, holding me tightly. He couldn't bear to think that I would die here, nor could he bear to think that all of this was real.
At this moment, the Thousand Guard Sword heard my plea. The sword spirit trembled and rose slightly, then flew out rapidly like a white shadow, slashing towards the enemy. Instantly, all that could be heard were cries of pain, "Ah!" "Ah!"
Then we saw those bull-headed and horse-faced figures instantly turn to dust and vanish into illusions.
At this moment, the surroundings changed color, and everything gradually returned to normal.
Applause came from somewhere, and then a man's voice was heard saying, "Not bad, not bad. It seems you have mastered the key to the Thousand Guard Sword."
Ali turned around and saw two people: the shopkeeper and the former shopkeeper.
Ali said with great sorrow, "Mu Ye is dead. Mu Ye is dead."
The former shopkeeper laughed heartily and said to him, "Take a closer look."
Ali lowered his head slightly, and on his sorrowful face, he suddenly saw a playful grin. He frowned slightly, thinking he was hallucinating.
I reached out and touched his face, saying, "Ali, I, I'm fine. Hey, I'm fine." Only then did I belatedly stand up and look around, realizing that I was completely unharmed.
Ali also looked confusedly, realizing that the blood on his hands and the wound on Mu Ye's back were gone. It was as if it had all been a dream.
"What's going on?" Ali was very confused. What had just happened did not seem like a false dream.
The shopkeeper told us, "Everything that just happened was just an illusion. We set it up specifically to let you see the power of this sword."
Ali and I both found it incredible.
The shopkeeper continued, "Now that you have learned the key to the Thousand Guard Sword, you can set off with peace of mind."
Ali and I were stunned for half a moment before reacting and laughing, "Your sales method is truly unique. You almost scared us to death."
The former shopkeeper smiled slightly and explained, "What you are about to face is far more dangerous than this. We hope the Thousand Guard Sword will protect you completely."
Ali cupped his hands in thanks, "Thank you, two shopkeepers. We will make good use of the Thousand Guard Sword."
The shopkeeper nodded, "Alright, hurry up and go. We won't keep you any longer."
"Okay, thank you."
After saying that, they turned and left. I happily said to Ali, "Great, you and I are both fine."
Ali was also happy, "Fortunately, all of this was an illusion. Alright, let's go back quickly."
"Okay."
After leaving the alley, Ali and I returned to the previous inn, planning to stay for a night and set off early the next morning.