Wen Leyang had learned that the year 221 before Christ was the period where the Great Qin unified all the lands under the heavens. If people asked him when did the Great Qin unify China, he would most probably not be able to answer. On the other hand, if he was asked about what happened during the year 221 before Christ, he would have known what had happened during that period.
With an extremely doubtful expression, Wen Leyang asked, “What does the Qin Empire building its nation has anything to do with Grand Master Chang Li?” They were two completely unrelatable matters. He could not even imagine how both matters were to be related.
Wen Buzuo ignored Po Tu and spoke to the others, “We must go to Shanghai. We will figure it out when we reach Shanghai.”
Wen Leyang was immediately reinvigorated, “How?”
Wen Buzuo’s expression was slightly helpless, “We will put notices in newspaper, television, train stations and even advertising light boxes to look for Grand Master Chang Li! If we can’t find her, then we can only hope that she comes and find us.”
Wen Leyang’s gaze, which had just brightened up, quickly dampened. Nonetheless, they have to make this trip to Shanghai.
The well-behaved child Luo Wanggen walked up, “Maybe something else happened during year 221 before Christ, something other than the Great Qin unifying China. I’ll do some research once we leave this mountain.”
Little Chi Maojiu knitted his sorrowful brows tightly and said while pouting with a sad expression, “How are you going to research?”
“Baidu!” Luo Wanggen’s tone was light.
Wen Leyang and the group huddled together and started discussing on going to Shanghai in hushed tones. At a corner, Po Tu felt dispirited, his expression was like looking at his own burial. The veins on his forehead were like a pained earthworm, writhing forcefully. After some time, he lifted his head with a jerk and told Wen Leyang with a steady voice, “I’ll go with you, but you must promise me one…two things!”
Everybody ignored him. Only ‘You’ve Got Me’, which was crawling about on his body, raised its head and cried twice.
Po Tu blinked and walked to Wen Leyang’s side. Listening to their discussion of going to Shanghai, he repeated softly after a pause, “I’ll go with you.”
Wen Leyang was completely occupied with the thoughts of Chang Li’s safety and whereabouts. He replied simply, “Where to?”
“Shanghai!” Po Tu answered loudly with a tone fit for the execution ground.
The group immediately turned their attention to him. With an evil laugh, Wen Buzuo said, “You told Wen Leyang about Chang Li. Do you still dare to go look for her?” Po Tu shook his head with a sour expression, “That is the exact reason. Grandfather had let that information slip.That is why grandfather must go.”
Po Tu was so upset that he wanted to commit suicide. The task given to him by Chang Li and the degree to which he has carried them out can only be described as ‘unbelievable’. The things that he should do, he had not done. The things that he should not have said, he had said. These two things have their own logical connections. In general, if he did not go to the Wens to help the little zombie survive Heaven’s punishment, he naturally would not have spilled information about Chang Li to Wen Leyang.
Nonetheless, now… even he, himself, felt that the way things have turned out was a bit extraordinary.
If Chang Li knew about this, she would have made him swallow his own tail, then he would really have eaten his way into a circle. Hence, Po Tu’s decision to aid Wen Leyang’s search for Chang Li in Shanghai was not to look for trouble but to save himself.
Wen Buzuo glanced at him, “What good would you be if you tag along? We have too many members…” Wen Leyang finally understood why Wen Buzuo kept scaring Po Tu since just now. He smilingly took out three carrots, one for Xiaoyi, one for Chi Maojiu, and one for himself. The Gold-Consuming Lair was instantly filled with crisp crunching sounds.
Po Tu puffed his chest proudly, “If you guys can’t find Chang Li, you’ll have to look for the b*stards who kill demons to extract vitality. With me as a bait, don’t you think that they will show themselves?”
Wen Buzuo had a sudden realization written all over his face, he said loudly, “Well said!”
Po Tu’s face had a scumbag-like surprise, a generosity of men of sacrifice, and also a helplessness of chasing a duck up the shelf, “But you guys must listen to my orders on two matters.”
Three-inch nail Wen Bushuo responded curtly, “Say it!”
“The first thing, after we meet Chang Li…can you say that…” Po Tu blushed, “That I was worried that she’s in trouble. That’s why I told you guys the entire story which compelled you to go save her?”
Wen Buzuo took a carrot from Xiaoyi. He was about to put in in his mouth. However, when he heard Po Tu’s words, he laughed, “Do you believe that?”
Wen Leyang chuckled and chimed in, “If we meet Grand Master Chang Li, we’ll help you cover up. If we truly cannot fool her then we’ll tell the truth. Grand Master Chang Li is a human after all. Seeing that you have gone back to look for her, she won’t treat you badly.”
Wen Buzuo laughed while chewing on his carrot, “That sounds right!” He patted Po Tu on the shoulder, “Just relax, with Wen Leyang speaking on your behalf, its guaranteed that you’ll be fine. Grand Master Chang Li loves this kid the most.”
Three-inch nail Wen Bushuo continued, “The second matter?”
Wen Leyang suddenly thought that Wen Bushuo was well suited to work in an auction sale. He would be the perfect mallet.
Po Tu’s expression turned serious. He pointed behind him towards the badly wounded and fallen Qilian disciples and the unconscious dwarf Taoist priest, “Spare their lives!”
Everybody smiled. When Po Tu saw Wen Leyang’s smile, he let out a relieved sigh. But when he saw Bushuo and Buzuo’s smile, his relieved heart tensed up again. He bellowed, “Do I have your word?”
Wen Leyang quickly nodded, “Of course you do… Don’t mind the two of them, they have been smiling like this since they were young.”
Po Tu eyed Bushuo and Buzuo suspiciously. The brothers’ smiles worried him no matter how he looked at them, “If anyone of the Qilian disciples is harmed, I won’t go!” Then, he suddenly remembered, “One more thing!”
Three-inch nail Wen Bushuo growled, “We gave you an inch, now you want a mile! Don’t be so greedy.”
Po Tu ignored three-inch nail and continued, “Once we reach Shanghai, you don’t have to follow my orders but you must inform me before doing anything. If anything happens to you guys, Chang Li…”
The reason Chang Li forbade Po Tu to tell anyone about her whereabouts was naturally to not allow Wen Leyang and his group to go and search for her, in case their efforts were wasted or get hurt in the process. An enemy that can injure Chang Li could leisurely kill Wen Leyang, even while knitting a sweater.
If any casualties should arise when Po Tu brought Wen Leyang and his companions to Shanghai, he would completely be done for. He was like a gambler who had lost all his possessions and was now waiting for the final bargaining chip. He would either make it big or get outed from the game. The way Po Tu saw it, his predicament was no different from getting outed.
When Wen Leyang brought his companions to the Gold-Consuming Lair, they first met the challenger king Qin Zhui, they then met the elites from the Painting Town and Eyang Sect, bronze corpses, bronze ants Mo Ya, Qilian Immortal Sect, stone forest and Cone Nail, who they were unsure if she was a divine beast or a witch. They also finally found out what had actually happened to Grand Master Tuo Xie two thousand years ago. Their experience was a messy one, but after all, they came here to capture the pangolin to search for Chang Li.
In the Gold-Consuming Lair, only the whereabouts of the Painting Town’s Leyang Wen and Eyang Sect’s enlightened San Tong were unknown. Since Leyang Shoujin managed to break into the stone forest, they would have taken care of San Tong.
They knew that the Painting Town was somehow related to Grand Master Tuo Xie and the witchcraft marvel Lue Luo. However, there should be an order to things. It did matter if they could not find Leyang Wen right now, the Painting Town would not suddenly grow legs and run away. The same goes for Eyang Sect. As to how the Eyang Sect found out about Cone Nail, they could find that out in due time. Without further ado, the group prepared to embark and exit the Gold-Consuming Lair.
The two bronze ants Mo Ya struggled in the two patches of Metal Poison Stream for almost half a day and were resting on their backs. They had somewhat regained their color, revealing some metal texture under the sunlight. The Metal Poison Stream that was not absorbed into their bodies was gently swirling around them. It looked like they have gained control over the poison.
Xiaoyi frowned. She pointed with her carrot towards a huge patch of Metal Poison Stream on standby. She asked Wen Leyang, “You shouldn’t leave so much Metal Poison Stream behind, should you?”
Wen Leyang smiled confidently, “Let me try.” As he was speaking, the huge patch of Metal Poison Stream obeyed his will and started shrinking in size.
Before he absorbed Mo Ya’s Poison of Metal, the Poison of Life and Death which was mixed with Poison of Earth could only obey his will and flow everywhere inside his body. After mingling with Poison of Metal, as long as there is Metal Poison Stream, the Poison of Life and Death can flow out of his body, forming a network that controls the Metal Poison Stream.
The undercurrent of the Metal Poison Stream, which was controlled by Poison of Life and Death, was the same as the Poison of Life and Death inside Wen Leyang’s body. It could flow according to Wen Leyang’s will.
The huge patch of Metal Poison Stream condensed quickly, gradually turning into a thick and mottled bronze from its original dark bronze. Within a few moments, it had shrunk to the size of a bowl. It looked like a chunk of hard ancient bronze under the sun, but it could still flow freely. It looked sticky and thick but it was still agile when it moved.
Wen Leyang proudly showed off for a little. The thick and hard ancient bronze slipped agilely into his trousers and came out from the other end after half a minute.
Xiaoyi looked at Wen Leyang with a strange expression until the two of them blushed…
Wen Leyang laughed joyously, “So long as you can bring it along. Let’s go!”
His voice barely faded when ‘You’ve Got Me’ abruptly jumped to the ground. It hopped and skipped onto the giant sword Molten Metal Fire Bell and whirred.
Wen Leyang was startled with a jump. He quickly shook his head and bellowed at the bug, “Don’t even think about it. How could we possibly bring back that huge a sword?”
‘You’ve Got Me’ was about to throw a tantrum when it was grabbed by Wen Leyang and placed on his body. The giant sword gave a light buzz, crisp and pleasant, as if reluctant to part.
At this moment, a crisp bang like a divine sword being snapped broke out. The metallic sounds of ten thousand clashing swords, the ring of a thousand clocks erupted from all directions inside the Gold-Consuming Lair.
Wen Leyang helped Xiaoyi closed her ears tightly. He himself turned ghastly pale from the sound.
The loud sound only dissipated gradually after a few minutes. Wen Leyang was a bit shaken by the sound. He asked incredulously after a while, “This is the Gold-Consuming Lair’s Skyward Howl. Someone just came in?”
Wen Buzuo chimed, “Or someone just left!”
They could not bring back the giant sword no matter what. The group did not want to linger any longer. They would have all the time to converse on the road. Po Tu joined the group and they made their way towards the exit of the Gold-Consuming Lair.
When the two bronze ants Mo Ya saw that Wen Leyang was leaving, they immediately jumped to their feet and followed behind their backs without hesitation. Wen Leyang was startled. Xiaoyi pondered briefly then smiled, “They don’t want to part with that huge patch of Metal Poison Stream of yours.”
Po Tu also explained, “They are now badly injured and barely healed. They won’t have any Metal Poison Stream inside the Gold-Consuming Lair to aid in their recovery.
To the bronze ants Mo Ya, the Metal Poison Stream was both a weapon and a source of nutrition. They were badly injured by the Thunder Heart Sand’s blast and their poison was snatched away by Wen Leyang. They had no more energy to collect any more Metal Poison Stream. If they stayed on in the Gold-Consuming Lair, they would be pinched to death by the metal mountain demons sooner or later. These bugs seemed to have some sort of intelligence as they followed behind Wen Leyang without a second thought. The only doubt was whether they had recognized Wen Leyang as their master like ‘You’ve Got Me’, or whether it was out of self-preservation.
The well-behaved child Luo Wanggen came up with a good idea, “Wen Leyang can leave behind a small patch of Metal Poison Stream and let them slowly recover in it.”
Wen Leyang laughed loudly. He pointed at Luo Wanggen’s nose, “Do you think I’m crazy?”
Wen Leyang absorbed the bowl-sized thick Metal Poison Stream while the two bronze ants Mo Ya followed beside him, each absorbing their newly conquered tiny patch of thin Metal Poison Stream. There looked to be some tacit agreement between man and ants.
Behind them, the giant sword Molten Metal Fire Bell was like a monument, sticking out of the ground at an angle, occasionally buzzing until it disappeared from everybody’s sight, and fell silent…
