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墨書 Inktalez
"What are you talking about? It's not like I can run away when I see a powerful spirit, unlike you, you useless fool," Zhang Chuanzheng defended himself.
"Useless? I charged in with my Peach Wood Sword while you just stood there watching! Do you think I could take them on alone? If I couldn't, would I just stand there like an idiot?" Master Xiao shouted angrily at Zhang Chuanzheng.
Zhang Chuanzheng retorted, "Then shouldn't I prepare? You rushing in without a plan is just foolishness."
I shook my head and said, "Alright, it's almost time to gather. Let's head down the mountain."
"Collecting a soul is like herding sheep! Why do you need to take so long? If I'd known, I would have gone off on my own like Meng Biao. Running into someone as brainless as you..." Master Xiao continued without stopping.
...
The two of them were getting more and more heated in their exchange. I turned to Wang Xiaolu and said, "Let's go ahead. We'll wait until they've had their fill of arguing."
We walked a few meters away, and they were still facing each other, trading barbs like Kung Fu masters.
"I was thinking of teaming up with you so they could communicate better, but it turns out both of them have such fiery tempers," Wang Xiaolu remarked as we walked.
I chuckled lightly, "It's fine. There's a kind of friendship that forms through conflict. Who knows, they might end up becoming good friends despite their bickering. I don't know much about Zhang Chuanzheng, but I do know Xiao—he's not a bad person, just a bit too loud."
"Yeah."
When we reached the gathering point below, no one was there yet. Mao Ruiliang and his group hadn't returned, nor had Meng Biao. Master Xiao and Zhang Chuanzheng were probably still arguing, and only a few minutes remained.
After waiting quietly for a while, Master Xiao and Zhang Chuanzheng finally approached. Neither of them acknowledged the other; they arrived without saying a word. The atmosphere felt quite awkward.
“Master Xiao, what did you see that couldn't be defeated by the Spirit God?” I asked.
Seeing my question, Master Xiao quickly replied, “We wandered around the mountain for a long time without encountering any lost Spirit Gods. This kid started using the Soul Summoning Spell. You know how it is with the Soul Summoning Spell; it doesn't differentiate between lost and traveling spirits. I told him not to chant it, but he wouldn't listen. As a result, instead of attracting any lost Spirit Gods, he summoned a Vengeful Spirit instead. The moment that Vengeful Spirit appeared, I sensed something was off. It even mocked us with a smile. I couldn't stand such ridicule. I charged at it, but who knew this useless guy behind me was dawdling? By the time I reached its side, I realized something was wrong; the chilling wind was blowing fiercely, and I almost lost my Peach Wood Sword.”
“Do you even have a brain? Did your master teach you to collect souls like this? Do you think it's just kids fighting? You can't just charge in!” Zhang Chuanzheng interjected in rebuttal.
“Damn it! That was clearly a Vengeful Spirit! And you still wanted to collect it!”
“Alright, stop arguing. Is the Vengeful Spirit you mentioned wearing white robes and has a head?” They had become much more harmonious now, casually chatting and laughing as they approached, their expressions relaxed.
“How's everyone's merit going?” Mao Ruiliang asked with a grin.
Master Xiao and Chuan Zheng remained silent, their meaning clear: they hadn't collected a single lost Wandering Soul and were probably just bickering along the way.
“Mao Shixiong, with Liu Shixiong's help, I managed to collect two,” Wang Xiaolu said with a chuckle.
I smiled at her and said to Mao Ruiliang, “Hehe, Junior Sister is being modest. Thanks to her luck, I collected four.”
Mao Ruiliang laughed and said, “Not bad! My junior brother and I each got three. It seems Liu Shidi from Qiaoling really has some skills.”
“No, no! We just got lucky and happened upon a cluster,” I explained. The truth was indeed that such things relied on luck. Anyone could collect Wandering Souls of this level; it just depended on whether they encountered them or not.
“That’s true; it really does depend on luck. However, when we find the Human Cave later, it won't be about luck anymore,” Zhang Chuanzheng remarked dismissively.
Master Xiao quickly added, “No wonder I didn't collect a single Wandering Soul; turns out I'm grouped with a disaster star. No amount of good luck would help.”
Seeing that they were about to argue again, I quickly said, "By the way, it's already time. Where is Meng Biao?"
Mao Ruiliang replied, "It's fine. He said he would come back by himself. Let's head back first."
Everyone nodded in agreement and started walking back.
On the way, I asked Mao Ruiliang if they had seen a White Shirt Wraith. He told me they hadn't encountered one and then asked what had happened.
We briefly explained the situation to him. After listening, he suddenly stopped and said, "If there's such a Vengeful Spirit on that mountain, could Meng Biao be in danger?"
Zhang Chuanzheng reassured us, "Don't worry. Meng Biao is tough; he'll be fine."
"I still think we should go back and check. I don't feel safe in this mountain. Knowing Meng Biao's temperament, if he encounters a Vengeful Spirit, he'll definitely confront it. But I have a feeling he might not be a match for that White Shirt Wraith." I began to worry that Meng Biao might run into the White Shirt Wraith since we had encountered Master Xiao and Zhang Chuanzheng had as well. This meant that the White Shirt Wraith was likely roaming the mountain. If that were the case, it was possible that Meng Biao would indeed cross paths with it.
"Let's go," Mao Ruiliang said after a moment of thought, turning around to head back.
We retraced our steps and once we reached the foot of the mountain, we started shouting loudly.
"Meng Biao! Meng Biao!" We called out for several minutes but saw no flashes of light from within the mountain. Everyone began to feel anxious. Mao Ruiliang suggested, "Let's search in the direction Meng Biao went."
With more people around, we felt less afraid of the Vengeful Spirit and moved quickly. After about half an hour of searching without any leads and preparing to split up, Master Xiao suddenly exclaimed, "Over there! Over there!" He ran toward a large boulder not far away.
We followed Master Xiao and, after circling around the boulder, we indeed found Meng Biao.
He was lying beneath the boulder, his face pale with closed eyes, covered in bruises and disheveled clothes. His hands had several deep cuts with blood seeping out, and there was a large wound on his forehead with two streaks of dried blood on his face; however, it had stopped bleeding.
After witnessing the scene, a group of people felt a bit panicked, as Meng Biao's condition looked dire, as if he were on the brink of death. Mao Ruiliang crouched down to check Meng Biao's pulse and then placed his hand on his chest, saying, "It's a good thing we came. Zhiqiang, carry him on your back. We need to get him down the mountain quickly to treat his wounds. He was attacked by a Vengeful Spirit, but he hasn't been possessed; however, the Yin Qi around him is very heavy."
Liu Zhiqiang was tall and strong, about the same build as Master Xiao. He had considerable strength, and after crouching down, he lifted Meng Biao onto his back. We hurried down the mountain towards the campsite. However, we hadn't gone far when we encountered the Ghost Wall, which was quite formidable.
The mountain path was rugged and difficult to navigate, especially while carrying someone. No matter how strong Liu Zhiqiang was, he couldn't carry him all the way, so we took turns carrying Meng Biao. It took us nearly an hour and a half to reach the campsite.
But upon arriving at the campsite, something even more frustrating happened: Zhou Hong, who had stayed behind to watch the tents, was missing.
"Zhiqiang, Xiao, Chuan Zheng, search around for Zhou Hong. Liu X, Xiaolu, pull out a few sleeping bags and lay them out here. Let's treat Meng Biao's wounds first; I'll prepare the Yin-Dispelling Formation," Mao Ruiliang said decisively while still carrying Meng Biao.
Everyone split up to carry out their tasks. Wang Xiaolu and I helped clean Meng Biao's wounds; in fact, it wasn't these superficial injuries that caused him to faint but rather the heavy Yin Qi within him.
I took out a compass and scanned it; the Yin Qi inside Meng Biao was very dense, almost as if he had been possessed. However, judging by Meng Biao's condition, he indeed had not been possessed. This only indicated that the Vengeful Spirit that targeted him was quite powerful.
Objectively speaking, the Yin Qi from a possession is several times heavier than that which remains after an encounter with a spirit. Yet here we were with so much Yin Qi lingering in Meng Biao's body after just an encounter; one could only imagine how formidable that Vengeful Spirit must be. I even began to doubt whether our group of young Taoist Disciples could handle such a spirit. I also had reason to suspect that the Vengeful Spirit that fought with Meng Biao was the White Shirt Wraith I had seen earlier because it possessed such strength. At the same time, I silently prayed that there wouldn't be too many of such Vengeful Spirits; if several appeared at once, we would definitely have to take a detour around Human Cave.
The situation had developed beyond our expectations; this place was far more dangerous than Master Pan had indicated as relatively safe. However, thinking it over again, since this was an Experience, risks had to be taken. If it were just ordinary wandering souls lost in the mountains, there would be no need for such formality. This is a tradition in Taoism—a test and trial through hardship.
Minutes passed without any sign of the three who went looking for Zhou Hong. Mao Ruiliang set up a Yin-Dispelling Formation in a corner of the earthen wall. Together we carried Meng Biao over to him as he began performing the ritual. This unique ritual wasn't something one should covet; thus Wang Xiaolu and I simply stepped back and left this half-destroyed space behind us. In the distance, three beams of light shone everywhere accompanied by shouts.
"Don't wander too far!" I called out to them; the situation was already precarious enough—if one or two more went missing, this Experience would be doomed.
A few more minutes passed before Mao Ruiliang said, "Alright."
Wang Xiaolu and I turned back; Meng Biao had opened his eyes and the Yin-Dispelling Formation had been dismantled.
Meng Biao's complexion gradually returned to some semblance of normalcy. He glanced at us, remaining silent, his eyes filled with helplessness. He was not one to express himself easily, but he was well aware of how he had fainted and knew that we had carried him back. This kindness, he would surely remember.
However, even after waking up, Meng Biao felt utterly exhausted. Not only was he unable to help search for Zhou Hong, but even standing up and walking proved to be a challenge. Wang Xiaolu took out her medicinal pills and poured a few for Meng Biao. He thanked her but did not take them; instead, he pulled out a larger bottle from his pocket, containing even more of the same pills than Wang Xiaolu had.
I couldn't help but think, are these big sect masters really this extravagant?
After taking his pills, Meng Biao looked at Mao Ruiliang and asked, "Where are the others?"
Mao Ruiliang explained, "Zhou Hong is missing. The three of them went to look for her, but we don’t know if they found anything."
Meng Biao sighed and said, "This Baojia Mountain is far more complicated than we imagined."
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