The sudden appearance of Yue'er did not displease the others, not even Gui Jianchou, who was usually quite particular, said much.
A month's time had caused the path into the mountain to be once again enveloped by vines and weeds, necessitating someone to clear the way. With so many people, they took turns, and the progress was relatively fast.
However, because they were traveling at night, visibility was not good. Zhuyexi, known for its emerald green body as a venomous snake that hunts at night, bit one of Gui Jianchou's subordinates while he was clearing the path.
Although the bleeding was stopped in time and the venom was sucked out, the man was still foaming at the mouth and appeared to be on the verge of death. At this moment, Yue'er, carrying a small bag, descended from the sky.
Glancing at the man foaming at the mouth on the ground, she casually took a black pill from her bag. Without waiting for his consent, she pried open his mouth and threw it in.
"What are you doing? What did you give my subordinate?" Due to Yue'er's sudden appearance and her swift, fluid actions, Gui Jianchou had only a moment to react before she had already withdrawn and moved aside.
Gui Jianchou was stunned. He knew how fast he was. He saw someone feed his subordinate something and, in less than a second, he had already made his move. He thought he could easily apprehend the person, but the outcome was unexpectedly different because he missed.
Seeing Gui Jianchou about to make another move, I quickly stepped in front of him. "Stop, she's saving him."
Having lost face with his previous failed attempt and with his subordinate's life hanging in the balance, his anger flared. Seeing me block him, he immediately attacked me.
Zhang Dabiao moved faster than me, stepping forward and clashing with Gui Jianchou. Both took a step back. Gui Jianchou's subordinates, seeing this, instantly entered combat mode, aiming their firearms directly at us. Sudancn.com
"What are you doing? Are you trying to attract the mountain spirits by opening fire? If you want to die, go ahead and try," I roared softly, my face dark.
"You... my brother received the antidote. There's still a chance to save him. That savage, who knows what she fed him. Look at my subordinate, he... Huh? You... How are you better?" Gui Jianchou's jaw nearly dropped in surprise. His subordinate, who had been on the verge of death moments ago, was now sitting up. His complexion was still a little pale, but much better than his deathly appearance before.
"She is saving him, not harming him. If she wanted to harm him, your subordinate would have been stiff by now, not able to sit up."
Gui Jianchou knew I was right, but he still retorted, "Saving someone should be announced, why the sudden sneak attack? I thought..."
"You thought someone was going to harm him? At his condition, would anyone need to? Don't use your petty thoughts to judge others. She is my friend, Yue'er. She knew I was going into the mountains and came ahead to gather medicinal herbs, fearing someone might be injured by venomous creatures. If you aren't grateful, you attack her instead. You are truly ungrateful."
Gui Jianchou's face turned red and white from my scolding, but the facts were undeniable. He had to admit that it was Yue'er's intervention that saved his subordinate.
Yue'er was dressed in light, revealing clothing, resembling a Miao girl, but the wild aura she exuded made her look like a leopard from the deep mountains. Even Wu Yun couldn't help but glance at her a few more times.
Gui Jianchou, whom I had lectured like a naive child, had a flushed face and wanted to retort, but eventually gave up, knowing I was right. If Yue'er hadn't acted, his subordinate would have surely died.
"Thank you, young lady, for your timely rescue. I am deeply grateful. When we leave Qingfeng Mountain, I will surely repay your kindness."
Yue'er responded with a cold "Mm," naturally joining the group. Before dawn broke, we had reached the campsite from our first arrival.
After observing the surroundings, we found no traces of mountain spirits. To everyone's surprise, Zhang Dabiao and I jointly pulled away the vines blocking the cave entrance.
After everyone had entered the mountain cave, we restored the vines to their original position. Yue'er sprinkled a scent-masking medicine at the entrance, and Wu Yun also set up a Gu to prevent detection by other Gu masters. With all this done, the heavy weight in everyone's hearts finally lifted, and they found comfortable spots to rest.
Although we were not ambushed by mountain spirits along the way, their calls constantly echoed around us. Several times, we were discovered by mountain spirits. Fortunately, Wu Yun acted swiftly, and with Yue'er secretly controlling the mountain spirits, it seemed as though the spirits merely looked at us foolishly before turning away.
I was also sore all over, too tired to get up. However, Gui Jianchou called me over to discuss the next section of the path. He had discovered that the closer we got to the underground palace, the more numerous the mountain spirit packs became. The best way to avoid disturbing them was to scout a path first before moving together.
If the path hadn't been blocked by a mudslide, we would have reached the mountain spirits' main camp in another half-day. Once past this dangerous area, we could directly face Chenghuang City, where the false underground palace was located.
However, the problem now was that the road leading into Chenghuang City had been destroyed, and the path into the valley was impassable due to the mudslide. To enter Chenghuang City smoothly, a new route had to be found.
"The number of mountain spirits is increasing. It seems we are not far from the underground palace," Gui Jianchou said, looking at the map with a hint of joy. He had expected countless attacks from mountain spirits along the way but had only encountered a few waves, all easily repelled by Wu Yun. Now, he felt the money paid was worth it.
I was not as optimistic. The difficulty of the path ahead was no less than climbing to heaven. The mountain spirits' main camp was in the valley, and to pass smoothly, we had to deal with the mountain spirit packs.
In the past, mountain spirit packs were easy to handle. Whether it was using medicine or firearms to scare them, it worked. But now, the mountain spirit packs were controlled by another Gu master, making the old methods ineffective.
"Why the long face? We're halfway there. In another half-day, we'll reach the underground palace and rescue the person," Gui Jianchou said, turning his attention back to me when no one else responded to his optimism.
"The thought is good. This is the breeding ground for mountain spirits. How do you think we should get past them? Fly?" I pointed to the red dots he had marked on the map.
"If you ask me, if it doesn't work, just blow them up with bombs. Beasts are afraid of thunder. I brought over a dozen rockets on this trip," Gui Jianchou said dismissively.
"That's a good idea. I truly hope you succeed. Someone has already tried this method before. If you bomb them again, the path here will be completely cut off. Getting in would require flying."
"Then what? This won't work, and that won't work. Are we just going to stop here?" Gui Jianchou roared in frustration. He had been suppressing himself all along, and his usual firearms had been useless.
Just then, a buzzing sound came from outside.
Wu Yun's expression turned cold. "Not good, we've been discovered."