The Qing Miao lad who had re-emerged to give the report had been so carried away with elation that he was unable to react in time when he heard the warning. Suddenly, he felt both his Achilles’ tendons tighten as something grabbed his heels. He was both shocked and terrified until it felt like his brain was boiling. He shouted and twisted his body in a weird manner, intending to counter the attack. All he could feel at the moment was the sensation of his body being lifted off the ground before being put back down again.
A chubby little child, whose height was only slightly taller than his knees, was standing in front of him and gestured at him with complicated finger movements, all the while making an ‘aah, aah, aah’ sound in a young and childish voice.
Everyone stared as their eyes almost popped out of their heads. The zombie baby had been like a mindless Hercules earlier as he lifted the Qing Miao lad who had been blocking his way, then turned around and put the lad back onto the ground behind him.
Ah Dan gestured contentedly for a while before he seemed to remember something. He then turned around quickly and saw Little Chili Pepper looking at him with a smile. He let out a sigh of relief as he quickly wobbled towards Mumu and ignored the Qing Miao altogether.
Wen Leyang stood in front of Mumu and stared back at Ah Dan with his guard on.
Mumu shook her head with difficulty and pleaded, “Don’t…It’ll be all right.”
Ah Dan walked to Wen Leyang’s feet then looked up with a gaze that was like an ant looking at an elephant. He then squatted down and patted Wen Leyang’s feet with his fat little hands in a familiar way. Wen Leyang had wanted to dodge but he soon discovered that the zombie baby’s hands were patting him softly without the slightest power.
Wen Leyang, shocked, turned and looked at Little Chili Pepper, “Was he…saying hello to me?”
Little Chili Pepper had stood up behind him and pulled Ah Dan towards her with a chuckle. She held out her white jade-like fingers and scratched Ah Dan’s face lovingly, “What’s up with you, little man? What were you gesturing to the Miao Bujiao earlier on?”
Wen Leyang started to move slightly but stopped his actions eventually. He vigilantly watched the zombie baby with his entire body all tensed up.
Ever since Ah Dan had dissolved the ghost shadow, he had become even more naïve and cute than before. His baby fat had all turned into soft flesh and his previously sickly looking skin now had a healthy glow.
Ah Dan sat on Little Chili Pepper’s legs and held out his hands. He searched through Little Chili Pepper’s pocket before taking out a small pair of round sunglasses and putting them on his face. After that, he repeated his previous hand gestures all over again.
Mumu did not seem to be afraid or care about healing her injuries, she stared at Ah Dan with her beautiful eyes as she asked, “You were telling him not to block your way?”
Jubilant, Ah Dan nodded his head hard. His two stubby hands then reached for his head. He groped around his bald head in a dissatisfied way, his hat had been lost somewhere along the way.
Mumu couldn’t help but laugh, “I don’t have your hat with me. We shall find another one for you when we get out…” Halfway through, she smiled as Ah Dan took her right hand and started hitting on her palm with his fat little fist.
Seeing that, Wen Leyang was just about to pounce on him but Little Chili Pepper stopped him quickly by saying, “It’s okay!” Wave after wave of heat accompanied by a wonderful vibration flowed from Ah Dan’s fat little hand straight into her palm. A very short moment after, her flagging spirit has improved significantly.
Finally, one particular person could no longer hold back anymore. He sauntered forward happily as if he walking on cloud nine even though he was actually weak and aching. He asked with a villainous smile, “What the hell is going on? Is Ah Dan alive?”
Mumu shook her head with certainty, “That’s impossible! Ah Dan’s a zombie, it’s impossible for it to be resurrected!” With that, she lowered her head and pondered for a moment, her eyebrows remained twisted with questions. She said with a bitter smile, “Ah Dan had gone berserk while in the forest, naturally, he would awaken when the Spirit Needles broke, but…I can’t figure out the latter part.”
Wen Leyang smiled sympathetically at her, “Forget about it if you can’t figure out now. We’ll ask Chang Li when there’s an opportunity!”
With things busy as they were over here, another sound was heard in the cave. Little Chi Maojiu cheered loudly as Great Elder Chi Shuilie had returned as well. Just like the Qing Miao lad earlier on, Chi Shuilie’s old face was filled with surprise, “There’s a way out for sure. The passage twists and turns upward, with multiple underground rivers crossing one another and there’s also a wind! The exit should be on the Seven Maidens Mountain.”
The Second Mother nodded calmly before she turned to look at Wen Leyang.
Wen Leyang turned hesitantly while Little Chili Pepper said with certainty, “Let’s go! Our food has run out and now there are no more mushrooms either.”
Since the ghost shadow had dissolved, the enormous tract of the mushroom forest had then quickly decayed into a black liquid which seeped into the soil.
With that, Little Chili Pepper took Wen Leyang’s hand and struggled to stand up. Ah Dan, with his head tilted back, held both his hands out to protect his master with a look of concern all over his small face.
There’s no more food left and no one could hold on with that. However, even if the mushroom forest was still around, everyone was bound to get out of the place eventually.
Wen Leyang carried Little Chili Pepper on his back with ease and asked her gently, “Should Ah Dan…” The zombie baby had become berserk in the forest not too long ago and now seemed to have undergone another strange event. It would be too dangerous if he were to become crazy again.
However, Little Chili Pepper shook her head, “I can’t tie him up now even if I wished, the Spirit Needles are broken.”
The Second Mother carried Little Chi Maojiu as three other Miao Bujiao disciples helped Bushuo, Buzuo and the Luo disciple while Chi Shuilie led the way. Though the group was holding on to one another, their footsteps were brisk and silent as they jumped into the hole left behind by the ghost’s flesh mushroom…
There was no sudden attack, sorcery nor witchcraft prohibition to interfere with their progress. For this group of people, the rugged path was much better and comfortable than a red carpet. Ah Dan followed closely behind Wen Leyang with his head leaning back and his hands out in the air, prepared to support Mumu in case she fell. He looked like a little psychic.
Great Elder Chi Shuilie led the way in front of the group. He made several mistakes before he finally found the right path again. After two days of walking all the way up, a wall of loose rocks loomed in front of the Great Elder. Rays of sunlight shone on everyone’s faces through the gaps in between the rocks.
The smell of fresh air was full of temptation, ecstasy was clearly shown on faces of everyone, especially the Qing Miao who had never thought that this day would ever come true.
Chi Shuilie cautiously felt around the rocks. Based on his estimation, they should be halfway up the Seven Maidens Mountain. They were far away enough from the village at the foot of the mountain to alert the enemies. Just as he was prepared to break through the rocks, Wen Leyang came to his side and stopped him before writing three words on the wall: ‘someone’s out there’.
Chi Shuilie was surprised, though they were separated from the outside world by a wall of piled up stones, they could clearly hear the cawing of crows and the sound of falling leaves. However, with his level of cultivation, he had not sensed any signs of someone breathing out there.
The Second Mother put Little Chi Maojiu onto the ground and took over the task of carrying Mumu from Wen Leyang. Wen Leyang then placed his whole body onto the stone wall, his body then shook with the Faulty Punch as muscles and joints hit the stone wall silently and the Force of Poison rapidly sank into the rocks.
Everyone’s hearts were in their throats as the pile of rocks were rapidly corroded by the poison and collapsed into fragments. All of a sudden, just as the stone wall had been corroded to the point of total collapse, Wen Leyang let out a cry as he wrapped himself up with brutal force and charged at the people standing outside!
Two surprised shouts were heard as a gold and a silver brilliant bright cupola created a series of rolling thunder in mid-air and blasted at the cave from two directions!
The people from outside had sensed them long ago and positioned themselves to raid them once they got out. However, they had not expected the other party to quietly pop out all of a sudden.
Wen Leyang’s fingers moved quickly as he charged towards the two magic weapons in the air. Just as the three forces were about to collide, someone shouted from nearby, “Monk, quickly run away! It’s the old enemy!”
The bright light in the air disappeared suddenly and Wen Leyang missed the hit. The silver Flying Sword and the golden Small Inverted Bell returned to the arms of their masters awkwardly.
A monk and a priest covered their faces with their sleeves as they prepared to flee.
Merely two steps later, both of them stumbled and fell to the ground. The monk yelled out unwillingly, “I can’t run anymore!”
Wen Leyang landed back onto the ground with a stunned expression. He looked at the two and asked sarcastically, “Why’re you here? You got injured?”
With the help of the Second Mother, Mumu came out from the cave and chimed in with a grin, “Old monk and old priest, has it been a month yet?”
Only then did Wen Leyang remember that while in the Mount Emei, he had made a month-long bet with these two.