It was the middle of the night and the dried river bed, the ancient burial ground, the evil spirits, and the broken temple in the distance had created a terrifying atmosphere which was suddenly broken by the sudden clattering of the stools. The atmosphere had turned downright odd at this point.
The stools’ appearance was like someone throwing a lead ball into a fish tank. The rapidly flowing evil spirits under the ground which had been hunting its human prey were scattered like a startled school of fish. The spirits dispersed with a loud crash and left Wen Leyang’s group of people alone for the time being. The brothers Buzhuo and Buzuo had struggled as they fell back to the ground and were now slightly confused as they stood up.
However, only Wen Leyang had a grasp of the situation – the evil spirits were not startled or dispersed, they were instead like bloodthirsty piranhas that had discovered newer and more scrumptious delicacies. They erupted with a booming sound and rushed madly in swarms towards the stools.
A tiny doll had been tied to each of the stools.
The remaining few people of the Death Trademark all fell back onto the ground. Wen Leyang roared loudly, “Don’t stop! Head for that old temple!” He was hopping about as he searched for a gap in the evil spirits to land on and he guided the last of the survivors towards the old temple. A survivor from the Death Trademark had accidentally stepped onto the undercurrent of the evil spirits and did all he could to throw his companion from The Centipede towards Wen Bushuo before he turned into a dried corpse in the blink of an eye.
The stools could not withstand the onslaught of the evil spirits for long and were crushed one after another. Wen Leyang and his group seized the final moment and ran at full speed towards the old temple!
The last stool collapsed with an unpleasant and hoarse sound. The evil spirits once again gathered and rushed towards the survivors.
The old temple was getting closer and closer. It stood tall amongst the desolation in the weak moonlight.
The sound of clattering hooves could be heard as another wave of little stools ran out from the temple. However, the stool’s movements this time were significantly slower than the first batch. It was obvious that the evil spirits were no longer as attracted to the stools now, some of the evil spirits continued to chase after the stools while some chased after the survivors.
Wen Leyang had continuously braced the lashing of the evil spirits for a while now, the vital energy of his entire body was suffering in an unspeakable agony. The pores on his body were gradually relaxing as he no longer had the strength to tighten his pores. The broken temple was very close now, it was around three to five meters away from them but the evil spirits were equally close behind. If he were to blink now perhaps he would no longer be able to open his eyes anymore.
The evil spirits had once again converged into a mighty torrent. It appeared as if the survivors would soon be swallowed whole when suddenly seven to eight black-colored long vines coiled out from the broken temple and quickly wrapped around the few survivors before pulling them into the temple!
It was too late for one of the men from the Death Trademark, as the vines started to pull him along, the ashes from the evil spirits had crawled onto his body as a faint sigh sounded from within the temple. The long vines swallowed and spat, tossing the man onto the ground…
Wen Leyang slammed heavily onto the ice cold ground. Little Chili Pepper, Bushuo, and Buzuo, as well as the last of the man of The Centipede were all spread out around him. Outside, the evil spirits continued to snarl soundlessly as a gust of bone-chilling wind blew into the old temple. But there was no way for the evil spirits to enter.
Only five survivors remained from their little group.
Wen Buzuo had not yet opened his eyes and his mouth was already speaking, “Like I was saying before, I was strangled to death by the vines in the nightmare…” He then suddenly realized that he was still wrapped in vines and jumped up to untie himself hurriedly.
Wen Bushuo cautiously placed the injured Luo family disciple onto the ground before taking a few quick steps to Wen Leyang’s side and helped Little Chili Pepper to hold him upright.
Wen Leyang took a few deep breaths. His entire body was now relaxed as he started sizing the place up. The broken temple was quite large but its shape was twisted around in an odd manner as if during its construction, the temple’s structure had been twisted like a piece of soft clay by a giant’s hand.
Rows of torches as thick as a child’s arm were hung on the walls yet these torchers could barely light up the interior. There were five to six Miao clansmen with green-colored cloth wrapped around their heads as they sat or stood around the area. Their faces were ashen white and they were all panting weakly.
A child with bright eyes who looked to be around six to seven years old walked towards Wen Leyang with his face full of admiration. His accent was peculiar but he was straight to the point as he spoke, “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine now. Those things outside can’t come into the temple…your power’s really strong! Those things had all been surging towards you yet you look fine…” Before he could finish speaking, however, a Miao clansman grabbed onto him and stopped him from getting any closer to Wen Leyang.
Little Chili Pepper had felt a sense of relief as she had slammed into the temple but upon seeing the Qing Miao before her eyes, she immediately felt anxious again. A faint hostility rose in her eyes and she placed Wen Leyang behind her to block him from any potential attacks.
An elderly man from the Qing Miao turned around and spoke to the person behind him in the Miao language for a long while.
Wen Buzuo immediately walked up to Wen Leyang and translated to him in a low voice, “These heartless underdogs, you would risk the lives of our people and insist on rescuing them yet we still can’t be sure if we have drawn in a pack of wild dogs.”
A weak laugh sounded from behind the Qing Miao clansmen and a female voice spoke in fluent Chinese, “Uncle, they understand the Miao language. These people had refused to abandon each other in the face of death, they have unyielding integrity.”
The old man of the Miao huffed in reply.
Wen Leyang had only now noticed the female who looked to be around forty years of age behind the old man. She was leaning on a pillar and seemed to be guarding a brazier that was close to being extinguished.
The Miao woman stood up with difficulty with the support of her clansmen. She smiled in a friendly manner towards Wen Leyang’s group and asked, “Who’re all of you?” The Miao woman had an ordinary appearance, none of her features exceed the other as her eyes were not considered big and her mouth was not considered small. Yet there was a sweet and affectionate nature in her smile that made Wen Leyang feel at ease immediately.
Wen Buzuo signaled Wen Leyang with his eyes and hinted at him not to speak. He then diverted the topic of discussion while he asked in reply, “Are you sick? I know how to treat sickness…”
The Qing Miao child shook his head, “The Second Mother is not sick, she had released all the Bamboo Horses and Dolls to rescue you and her vital energy has been greatly diminished.”
Wen Leyang now learned that the stool’s actual name was called the Bamboo Horse. If Wen Xiaoyi were here, she would immediately stop them from calling those stools as ‘stools’, it was embarrassing.
Mumu asked in a rush, “Were those stoo…Bamboo Horses from a few days ago released by you as well?” Wen Leyang too procured the piece of green-colored cloth strip he had taken from the ‘Swarm of Bees’ corpse from his pocket and handed it over.
The Qing Miao child nodded with pride, “Of course that was us! The Second Mother could not bear to see all of you killed so she sent over the Bamboo Horses to warn you but in the end, all of you still dived in without a care. On the third day, the ‘Swarm of Bees’ had their eyes on all of you so Second Mother had no other choice but to guide you to a way out.”
The three-inch nail Wen Bushuo suddenly spoke up, “What kind of f*cking way out was this?! This was the deadliest dead end I have ever seen.” The last few disciples of the Death Trademark had all lost their lives here and other than his brother who had no heart or soul, anyone would feel sorrowful in this situation.
The Qing Miao woman shook her head with a slight smile on her face. She seemed not to care about the three-inch nail’s vulgar language at all, “There was no way you could have walked out of the jungle alive. You would have been running around in circles until you die. However, once you’ve entered into this dried river bed, there’s still a chance for you to escape with your lives.”
Wen Leyang understood that the Qing Miao would not have expended such a great effort to save them if they had wanted to harm them. They could just as easily toss Wen Leyang’s group back into the graveyard and leave them to die. He smiled in return at the Miao woman and asked, “How did you know we were here?”
The Miao woman and Wen Leyang’s smile set each other off wonderfully and turned the somber atmosphere in the broken temple into a much warmer one, “I would know once any living being has entered into the jungle. I can see them but I can’t hear them.” She then scattered something into the brazier and the green-colored flame vanished into a thin puff of smoke that coiled upwards, forming the scene of the path that Wen Leyang had taken when they first entered into the dense jungle. The smoke hung in the air for a while before dispersing.
The Miao woman coughed twice feebly and she leaned her entire body weight into the supporting shoulder of the woman next to her, “I guess you can finally tell me now, who are all of you?”
Wen Leyang nodded his head and introduced himself, “Representing the Wen family of Nine Peaks Mountain from Western Chuan, I’m the inner disciple Wen Leyang. I’ve been entrusted with a mission from the family elders to deliver a letter to the Big Dragon’s Root of the Qing Miao clan.”
Mumu followed after Wen Leyang as she announced her origins, “From the Crow Ridge of Southern Chuan, I’m the inner disciple of Luo family, Luo…Luo…I’m Inner Disciple Luo.”
Wen Leyang sniggered as he glanced at Miss Luo Wangfu in a jolly manner.
The Qing Miao child, on the other hand, looked puzzled as he stared at the two of them with his bright eyes, “Your family elders have a letter for me? But I am not acquainted with them though.”