Beneath Guanyin Hall, a floor tile lifted slowly. Through the narrow slit, a pair of terrified eyes peered out.
Under the hazy moonlight, watching one mountain ghost after another being slaughtered, A'liang panickedly set the tile back down and turned to Lin Guiyong beside him.
"Disaster, this is a disaster! Housekeeper Lin, what do we do now? If they discover us, the master will kill us!"
"Don't panic! What is there to panic about? They can't find this place, so what can they do to us? Didn't that bunch of constables fail to find the tunnel last time, too?"
Lin Guiyong barked with a dark expression, helping the panicked A'liang calm down slightly.
Indeed, their hiding place was exceedingly concealed. Unless someone dug three feet into the ground, there was no need to worry about being exposed.
Back when incense burned thick at Fahua Temple, women came to Guanyin Hall year after year to pray for sons. The temple had been astonishingly efficacious, to the point where pilgrims traveled thousands of li to burn incense and worship Buddha.
That was only because, in the dead of night, the women would enter the tunnel beneath the statue of Bodhisattva Guanyin. By the time they emerged, they were pregnant.
Those who could travel thousands of li to pray for sons were mostly the wives and concubines of high officials and noblemen. Naturally, matters had to be handled with utmost caution; otherwise, not even a corpse would remain.
For that reason, the tunnel had been dug with exceptional secrecy. Even when the entire temple was wiped out all those years ago, no one had discovered this underground space.
The two of them had consistently used this place as a breeding ground for mountain ghosts.
At that thought, A'liang began to relax. Suddenly, a biting chill pierced his chest.
He looked down, only to see a bloody blade tip protruding from between his ribs. Intense agony tore through his entire body.
Without him realizing, Lin Guiyong had stepped behind him, driving a dagger straight through his heart.
A'liang stared back at Lin Guiyong in disbelief. Blood drained rapidly from his heart, his limbs grew cold bit by bit, yet he could not make a sound.
"You've worked hard all this time. Rest well."
Watching the light fade from A'liang's pupils, Lin Guiyong pulled out the dagger and shoved him to the ground.
Three years. Three whole years.
Every ten days, he had to spend a day here keeping company with these foul, reeking mountain ghosts—raising them, driving them.
Watching the mountain ghosts lay their egg sacs and burst through flesh, he sometimes wondered whether he was a man or a ghost.
The sounds of battle outside were so melodious, bringing him boundless joy.
Fearing the mountain ghosts would not wake, Lin Guiyong had even scattered waking powder in advance. Everything had unfolded just as the master foresaw.
It was all coming to an end. It was finally ending! He was about to escape this sea of bitterness!
Lin Guiyong wiped the dagger clean on the dry straw strewn across the floor, hastily stood up, cleared the scene, laid down a few simple tricks, and fled down the secret tunnel toward the base of the mountain.
Inside the temple.
The stench of blood had not dissipated over time; instead, it grew thicker, more rancid and foul.
The blood of a mountain ghost was vastly different from that of ordinary creatures.
It was thicker, darker, and smelled like fermented rot. Splattered and pooling on the ground, the stench became overwhelming.
Black Teeth was so repulsed by the smell that it sprawled on the ground, covering its snout with its paws.
Lu Gang leaped back and forth. Relying solely on a pair of iron hands, he dispatched most of the large mountain ghosts, either snapping their necks or blowing their heads apart.
Shattered rocks lay everywhere, as if the courtyard had been bombarded by artillery.
Xu Zishuai dealt primarily with large and medium mountain ghosts. Severed limbs littered his surroundings, yet his movement was swift as the wind, his white robes spotless without a single drop of blood.
The occasional medium-sized straggler that slipped through was brought down by Hu Qi, who stood in a corner of the courtyard, claiming one with every arrow.
Each arrow radiated flowing light, piercing through the mountain ghosts like shooting stars and pinning them firmly to the earth, the fletchings quivering.
The mountain ghosts that slipped past him were even smaller than the one from the River God Sacrifice, left for Xiang Changsong and Liang Qu to practice on.
Lu Gang and the others had brought Xiang Changsong and Liang Qu along with the intention of tempering their junior brothers.
It would spare them from panicking in chaotic battles down the line. Yet this arrangement turned out to be the best way for Liang Qu to gain experience.
With Senior Brother Xiang hemming in the mountain ghosts' space, Liang Qu swung his spear to his heart's content, his muscles twisting tightly like iron cables.
The red tassel dripped with blood as the spear tip let out sharp howls.
He felt the blade slicing through skin, muscle, and bone, unleashing plume after plume of hot blood that dissolved into thick mist. Drenched in hot sweat, he felt both terrified and thrilled.
A sweep cleaved a swath; a thrust skewered a line. The Wave-Subduing Spear grew smoother with every strike. Slicing through mountain ghosts that ordinary weapons could hardly scratch felt no different from running a hot knife through butter, meeting only the faintest resistance.
[Searching the Mountains and Subduing Demons Progress: 8]
[Searching the Mountains and Subduing Demons Progress: 9]
[Searching the Mountains and Subduing Demons Progress: 13]
"I can't go on, Senior Brother Xiang. I don't have the strength to swing anymore."
The spear butt, also forged from tungsten gold, struck the ground, shattering the stone slab and digging into the dirt.
Liang Qu leaned against his spear, his heart pounding violently. Having killed seventeen mountain ghosts in a row, his inner qi and blood were entirely spent. His arms ached terribly, devoid of any leftover strength.
Xiang Changsong said nothing, merely stepping forward to block all the mountain ghosts, letting none slip through.
The moon gradually rose higher, cresting the vines that blocked it. A layer of liquid silver seemed to flow across the rooftops, yet beyond the roofs, within the wide courtyard walls, the ground was covered in blood and corpses.
Crack!
Snapping the neck of the final mountain ghost, Lu Gang looked left and right. Not a single mountain ghost remained standing in the vicinity.
Over a hundred had fallen in the courtyard alone—a startling number.
A few stragglers were clinging to life, both legs chopped off by Xu Zishuai, crawling along with only their upper bodies.
Having rested through the latter half and recovered a bit of stamina, Liang Qu hurried forward to deliver the finishing blows, piercing their necks with his spear.
[Searching the Mountains and Subduing Demons Progress: 21]
Liang Qu remembered Hu Qi mentioning that Senior Brother Xu had the finest weapon talent among all the disciples—not just with swords, but with sabers, spears, and staves alike—and advised him to seek guidance often. Seeing him now, it was indeed true.
Watching Xu Zishuai standing spotless in white, Liang Qu could not help wondering when he would reach such a level.
"Let's go search the surroundings to see if any were missed. Black Teeth, it's up to you."
The group began sweeping the mountain around Fahua Temple.
Black Teeth did not disappoint. Every so often, it made a discovery; Hu Qi would shoot the mountain ghost down, and Liang Qu would charge forward to deliver the final strike.
They searched the entire night until the sky turned pale with dawn. Liang Qu was too exhausted even to finish off stragglers, yet Black Teeth remained full of vigor. It led him before a cave entrance hidden behind thick brush, barking wildly before sneezing repeatedly.
Something was clearly interfering with Black Teeth's sense of smell at the entrance, which was why it had taken until now to locate it.
"A cautious one, it seems. Cover your mouths and noses; don't breathe carelessly."
Lu Gang took the lead as always, stepping into the tunnel.
Following the passage, they eventually entered a long, narrow underground cavern.
Inside were numerous earthen pits, some holding mountain ghosts smaller than three-year-old children. Liang Qu skewered and dispatched every last one.
Xu Zishuai crossed his arms. "So this is where they raised mountain ghosts? Quite a choice of location."
Fahua Temple had been abandoned for decades. Situated on a mountain, even beggars rarely came, making it utterly desolate.
The space was exceptionally hidden and close to Pingyang Town, making it practically the perfect spot.
When they reached the end, a corpse lay on the ground. Above the cavern was an opening; climbing through would lead straight into Guanyin Hall.
Hu Qi inspected the corpse.
"A single blade pierced the heart. Time of death is no more than three shichen ago."
Liang Qu furrowed his brow. "Someone was watching us kill the mountain ghosts?"
Lu Gang asked, "Black Teeth, can you pick up the person's scent?"
Black Teeth returned to the cave entrance and sniffed hard, moving slowly as it searched with great difficulty.
It tracked the scent all the way to a small stream. The group waded across, hoping Black Teeth could pick up the scent anew.
However, Black Teeth's nose had suffered a night of abuse, and the fugitive had used counter-measures. Having waded through the water to wash away the scent, the trail was completely lost.
Chapter 79