Grand Elder Wen chuckled as a look of determination flashed onto his face, “The lives of seventeen of our family members were taken on Mount Emei so therefore we will pursue the clue of the Mountain Coffin Spell unceasingly. We were unable to enter the Miao Bujiao’s territory in the past but now that we have new information about Grand Master Tuoxie, it makes sense for us to deliver the information to them, right?” The grand speech from the eldest grandfather which had covered the story from the beginning to the end was for the purpose of persuading the Luo family to accompany them to the Seven Maidens Mountain. At the same time, they would also use this opportunity to learn more about the Mountain Coffin Spell.
This time, they will visit the Seven Maidens Mountain by flaunting the banner of Grand Master Tuoxie and by hook or by crook they will drag the Luo family along as well
Wen Tunhai too added his thoughts as well, “Moreover, the day of the devil’s descent is almost upon us.”
Second Elder Luo, who had picked the steamed bun from the ground and ate it without peeling its skin laughed, “The devil’s descent? For four years the Wen family had been aware of this strange matter, yet you’ve never once thought to notify the Grow Ridge even once! Now that you’ve suffered losses from this devilry, you’d try to pull our family into investigating this matter with you. The Wen Bucao have really done well this time!”
Fourth Elder Wen hummed and asked, “No one from the Luo family had disappeared on Mount Emei at all? But who knows if someday that zombie baby might slam out a few other red-shirt lads who had been buried alive!” The Luo family deals with zombie corpses and were all dressed in red to keep themselves safe from evil spirits. Similar to the Wen family, they had also sent people to ascend Mount Emei who have not been heard from since. Until this very moment, they’ve not seen any signs of those missing people, whether they were alive or dead the odds were stacked against those from Crow Ridge.
The expressions of the two elders from the Luo family became visibly agitated, they both hit the table in rage but Grand Elder Wen stared firmly into Grand Elder Luo’s still slightly swollen eyes and waved his hand while he roared with laughter, “Hold it, hold it. It’s not like you weren’t fully aware of the situation! My Fourth Brother’s words have merit. Although the whereabouts of our Grand Master remains unknown, our founding grandmother has reappeared. In the beginning, our three families were like broken bones. Now our muscles have been reattached again so we should check on the matter regarding the Miao clan.
The two elders from the Luo family were stunned by that proclamation but they only shook their heads in silence.
Grand Elder Wen was unaffected by the Luo family’s response, instead, he turned and looked at Wen Leyang, “Wen Leyang, now that you’ve completed your studies at the Place of Birth, Life, Sickness, and Death, your final examination topic is already being prepared by the few of us old men!”
Wen Leyang had just picked up the last carrot on the plate when he heard this and immediately tossed it back. His smile vanished as he solemnly nodded to the elders of his family. The inner disciples who had completed their studies from the Place of Birth, Life, Sickness, and Death would then be given the final examination’s topic by the family elders. They would formally complete their training my fulfilling the examination topic, only after that can they profess themselves as the disciples of Tuoxie. Back then, Wen Tunhai’s topic was based on a ‘bush rat’ as a poison refining ingredient. The ancient families would always use peculiar methods to pass down its lineage and as these methods were considered as the clan’s law, the descendants would always have to abide by it.
When Wen Leyang was on Mount Emei, he had declared to Chang Li that he was a disciple of Tuoxie despite the fact that he had not completed the final examination yet. But to him, Chang Li was considered as an elder of his family so he could say that to her without repercussions. Moreover, based on Wen Leyang’s level of ability now, completing the final examination was only a matter of formality.
Wen Leyang could not help but feel very excited at this development. He was imagining how he would declare to his enemies in an awe-inspiring manner in the near future: “I’m a disciple of Tuoxie!” It was a good feeling.
“Deliver this letter to the Big Dragon’s Root of the Miao Bujiao.” It was unknown when Grand Elder Wen had written that letter but he retrieved it from a drawer and stuffed it into Wen Leyang’s hand. The Qing Miao from the Seven Maidens Mountain do not follow the ways of others. The clan’s leader was addressed as the Big Dragon’s Root. Their entire world revolved around the clan and this form of address for their leader was also a part of that.
Wen Leyang was stunned, “That’s…all? But there’s no post box in our village.”
Grand Elder Wen spat and cursed with a smile, “Stop being so talkative! You will manage the remaining matters on your own. As long as you return to us after delivering the letter, then you will be considered as passing the final examination.” He finished his speech and turned to look at the two elders of the Luo family, “What are the two of you going to do?”
The two old man hesitated for a moment before they replied, “We shall allow Mumu to follow along for the trip.”
This will be a special trip as it was the first time that both families would pay a call to the Miao clan in over two thousand years. Therefore, they have to carefully choose the right people to deliver the letter. If the elders themselves had dropped in unannounced, it would make the event a grand one and if by any chance the Miao clan would show disrespect then the elders would be greatly embarrassed. As a matter of fact, Wen Tunhai would be the most suitable candidate from the Wen family but he was still recovering after being severely injured by a flying sword not too long ago, and could barely speak in an audible voice. So they had no choice but to nominate the inner disciple Wen Leyang to do the errand. It was a good thing that he had improved in his abilities. If he were to encounter any dangers he would be able to deal with them himself.
The situation too was not so different for the Luo of Crow Ridge. They assigned a junior for the errand as well to save the two old men from any potential embarrassment. All of their zombie corpses had been left behind on Mount Emei as well and this has greatly reduced their abilities. It was only after much consideration that they’d decided Mumu was the most suitable candidate from their side to send on this trip.
Grand Elder Luo stared suddenly at Wen Leyang and spoke in such a deadly tone that one almost felt suffocated, “Young fellow of the Wen family, if something were to happen to Mumu during this trip to the Seven Maidens Mountain, it’s best that you don’t return as well.” Wen Leyang nodded his head solemnly. In actual fact, Grand Elder Luo’s threat was quite unnecessary.
Fourth Elder Wen was about to reply sarcastically when the eldest grandfather shook his head to stop him. Grand Elder Wen chuckled and said, “They will only be delivering a letter. What kind of danger can they pose? The disciples of the Miao Bujiao rarely make contact with outsiders but they were also the descendants of Tuoxie too. There must be some form of connection between the descendants of the same ancestor, right?”
Second Elder Luo looked at the elders of the Wen family, “When the matter regarding the Miao clan has been made clear, the few of you should pay a visit to Crow Ridge too and improve the relationship between our two families.”
The four old men of the Wen family jokingly pointed at themselves as they answered in unison, “Do you think I’m a fool?”
Early next morning, Wen Leyang and Mumu departed with sixteen good hands from the Death Trademark and sixteen people of The Centipede. Wen Buzuo stood impressively in the formation while his brother Wen Bushuo followed closely behind him.
Wen Buzuo was a big and tall man. He’s a fair and clean-looking lad and when he walked his footsteps were so light that it was like he was carried around by his fart. His mouth never stopped talking all along the way.
Wen Bushuo, on the other hand, was dark-skinned and skinny. His height was less than one meter and a half, and he weighed less than forty kilograms. Yet his footsteps were heavy and sturdy, it almost seemed like he would nail himself into the ground with each step and pull his foot out again before taking the next one. He was exactly as described by his brother and kept his mouth tightly sealed, hardly saying a word.
Wen Xiaoyi and the two foolish uncles sent them off all the way until the foot of the mountain. They watched as the figure of Wen Leyang gradually recede into the distance and big drops of tears began to flow from Wen Xiaoyi’s eyes. Wen Nine and Wen Thirteen busily began to wipe the tears away from the little girl’s face.
….
The Seven Maidens Mountain is situated in the middle of the Shu state. The Miao Bujiao do not live on the mountain but have lived at the foot of it for many generations. There were no paved roads to the mountain as the Jinsha River that flows around the foot of the mountain changed its course in the past and left countless big and small lakes as well as huge tracts of forests in the surrounding area.
As the weather in the Shu state changed, plants began to grow abundantly and the numerous lakes gradually turned into sludgy swamps. Some of the swamps had quicksand which appeared like a solid patch of ground but would suck you down once you stepped on it and even if some of the outsiders were extremely cautious, some could not avoid the gruesome fate of becoming trapped and sinking into the quicksand.
For over thousands of years, dead plants and creatures had rotted away in the sludge and a noxious poisonous mist filled the air around the area.
Mumu stood on tiptoes as she peered into the horizon. She shook her head as she smiled grimly, “Why do they even bother with a prohibition spell? There’s no way anyone can get in there.”
Wen Buzuo, with his chin covered in spit, was determined not to miss this opportunity to speak as he added in from the side, “A normal person can’t get in but this is no match for us, the disciples of the Wen Bucao and the Crow Ridge who have lived in seclusion from the world for over two thousand years…”
Wen Leyang quickly stopped him from speaking anymore as he took a step into a forest which was so dense that it obscured the sky. Even though it was winter, this forest was still flourishing with vegetation and there was no sign of desolation at all.
The ground was carpeted with old vines but he did not sense any danger so far.
The people of the Death Trademark and The Centipede slowly began to spread out as they cautiously explored the paths around the area. Wen Buzuo took a few light steps after Wen Leyang and said, “Brother, you may not have been aware of this fact but under the ground, there are countless underground rivers and hot springs. Therefore, the four seasons do not exist here. The further you go in the forest the hotter it gets.”
Wen Leyang looked with slight astonishment at the talkative guy, “How did you know that?”
Wen Buzuo laughed proudly, “My mountain skills are placed as the first from the back in the Death Trademark. But for my experience with lakes, and I will say something too crazy to believe now, is considered as the world’s second best as no one would dare to consider themselves as the best in the world.”
Wen Leyang nodded as he forced out a smile, there must have been a good reason for Fourth Elder Wen to assign this nagging chap to his side.
The group of people carefully picked their way through the forest. Wen Buzuo lived up to his boast as he would observe the plants and the soil and direct the group to avoid the dangerous areas where the poison mist would be found. He also instructed the people from the Death Trademark to mark the path as they approached the Miao Bujiao’s territory. He smiled and explained to Wen Leyang, “The way forward may seem clear and easy to discern now, but the witchcraft of the Miao is no trivial matter. If they were to cast a spell on us even the sky and the earth would be spinning so it’s a good practice to blaze our trail.”
According to Wen Buzuo’s estimation, if they kept to this pace and rested during the night, the journey would take them at least four days.
As the sky began to turn dark, the good hands of their families picked out a dry and high ground to set up camp. They didn’t need to be instructed to set up various lookout points and traps around the perimeter of the camp. Once that was done, they started a fire and began to prepare dinner from the canned food that they had brought with them.
Wen Leyang munched on his carrot as he asked Little Chili Pepper, “Does Ah Dan eat?”
Little Chili Pepper rolled her eyes in an irritated manner, “Do you think that you’d still need to eat after you are dead?”
Wen Leyang tsked and laughed at her reply. However, before he could say anything, a clattering sound was heard from outside the camp. It sounded almost like a small horse was coming towards them.
Mumu looked towards the direction of the sound before she suddenly reached out and grabbed onto Wen Leyang’s arm, “Is that…a wooden stool?”