EBE Chapter 21, 3 River Town 9
Chapter 21, 3 River Town 9
As soon as the medicine was applied, a warm current flowed through the excruciating wound, and the pain gradually subsided. Hearing the girl and her junior brother's words, Dongfang Rui, without waiting for his junior brother to finish bandaging the wound, leaned closer and said ingratiatingly:
“Miss Fei, last night my fellow disciples and I tried to leave Sanhe Town, but no matter which way we went, we just kept going in circles and couldn’t find a way out. Later, we searched around and found that the houses around us were empty. Perhaps, now there is no one left alive in Sanhe Town except us.”
Dongfang Rui's words caused everyone present to change color, and Yu Mu stepped forward and asked urgently:
"Really, there's no one here?"
"This is absolutely true!"
Seeing the scholar nod solemnly, Yu Mu looked hopefully at her senior sister.
Sensing her junior brother's gaze, Fei Xi snapped out of her reverie, gave him a reassuring smile, and then looked at Dongfang Rui, saying:
"Brother Dongfang, please lead the way and take me through the places you passed yesterday."
Seeing the girl's calm and confident demeanor, Dongfang Rui nodded without hesitation:
"it is good!"
After agreeing with Dongfang Rui, Fei Xi glanced intently at her six junior brothers and then called out their names:
"Junior Brother Yu, Junior Brother Yang, come with me for a walk. Junior Brother Mo, you and the other junior brothers stay where you are and wait for us to return."
"Yes!"
After instructing her junior brother, she walked to Tie Yun's side and whispered a few words in his ear.
The door opened and closed again, and amidst the swirling fog, Fei Xi and her group disappeared into the mist.
Tie Yun overheard the conversation between the girl and the scholar. He had intended to go out with the girl, but just as he was about to speak, what she said made him frown.
The paleness on the young master's face had faded, his breath was no longer weak, and the rise and fall of his chest was steady and powerful. Looking at the silver needle in the young master's chest, Tie Yun steadied himself and no longer hesitated.
He told his other junior brothers to guard their young master, then raised a torch and led his four junior brothers toward the inn's kitchen.
Visibility was obscured by thick fog, and the surroundings were shrouded in mist. Two junior brothers stood close to Fei Xi, one in front and one behind, protecting her in the middle, and the group moved forward cautiously.
As she walked, Fei Xi suddenly stopped. The flow of the thick fog seemed to follow a certain pattern. She raised her hand, made a calculation with her fingers, and said:
"The six lines are intertwined, depending on the time and circumstances. The beginning is difficult to know, the end is easy to know. The three lines of Kan (坎) are both empty and evil..."
Her footsteps changed in accordance with the calculation results.
"Qian is six, Xun is four, Gen is eight, Li is nine..."
Sensing that the person behind him had stopped, Dongfang Rui paused in confusion. Turning around, he saw a girl in the thick fog, like a butterfly, flitting about in front of him.
He clearly remembered that Miss Fei did not know any martial arts!
Wait, this footwork... it can move without a trace without needing any internal energy?!
"Junior brother, Brother Dongfang, let's go back first."
Despite their suspicions, Dongfang Rui and his two companions followed Fei Xi and the others back to the Sanhe Inn.
In a corner of the Sanhe Inn's lobby, Tie Yun and his fellow disciples were busily stirring the contents of a wok. Mo Wensang wanted to help, but the strong man pushed him away, saying it was his senior sister's order not to interfere.
The door was pushed open, and before the person arrived, their voice preceded them—a cheerful yet gentle voice rang out from outside:
"Brother Tie, are the things ready?"
"How could I, as your sister, not do my best in the things she asked me to do? Is this enough for you?"
Upon entering the house and seeing about ten sacks in front of her, Fei Xi nodded quickly:
"That's enough, thank you, brother."
"Miss Fei, what's the use of having the people of Thunderbolt Fort prepare so much salt?"
Dongfang Rui reached out and opened a bag, which was filled with salt that had been stir-fried.
Upon entering, Fei Xi gathered everyone together. Hearing Dongfang Rui's question, she calmly replied:
"The miasma in Sanhe Town is not naturally formed. I wonder if you have heard of the Nightmare Shadow Illusion Array?"
The well-informed Tie Yun was shocked upon hearing this:
"Is the Nightmare Illusion Formation that you're talking about? It trapped countless experts in Dangyang City during the Great War of Wei fifteen years ago, and even caused the Taibai Sect and Huicheng Sect to lose half of their disciples?"
Fei Xi glanced at the puzzled faces of the Confucian scholars and her fellow disciples. She secretly admired Thunderbolt Fortress, one of the top organizations.
The difference between the Qingcheng Sect and them is not simply a matter of superior martial arts skills or the number of outstanding disciples. It is a vast difference stemming from years of accumulated strength and the qualitative leap resulting from quantitative change. If the Qingcheng Sect does not want to become a victim of conspiracy, it must become stronger. She naturally wants the Qingcheng Sect to flourish and join the ranks of top-tier sects, but this is not something that can be achieved overnight.
Now is not the time to think about this. Suppressing her anxiety, Fei Xi nodded to Tie Yun and said to everyone:
"It is this very formation. Back then, the Nightmare Bewildering Formation was created by the northern barbarians who, in a fit of madness, used the flesh and blood of 49 children to create the Great Derivation Number and then used a secret technique to trap everyone in Dangyang City. Those who are trapped in this formation not only cannot find a way out, but also gradually lose their self-awareness by breathing in too much miasma, turning into walking corpses that obey the formation's creator."
"Could it be that someone in Sanhe Town also set up this formation? If so, given how dangerous this formation is, why are we completely unharmed?"
"Yes and no."
Despite the doubts from the crowd, Fei Xi remained calm and continued:
"The miasma in Sanhe Town was set up by the person who set up the array, who referenced the Nightmare Shadow Formation. However, this person did not have the strength or conditions to set up the Nightmare Shadow Formation. So, he ingeniously used the Nine Palaces of Filth to set up a low-end version of the Nightmare Shadow Formation. This array does not have much effect on martial arts practitioners with internal energy, but it is no problem to control ordinary people."
"Miss Fei, do you have a way to break the formation?"
Understanding the unspoken meaning, Dongfang Rui knew that the young woman's confidence must stem from a deep understanding of the situation. Whoever had set up the formation was clearly up to no good. Rather than passively waiting for their deadly attack, it was better to listen to what strategies the person before him might have.
That's the good thing about dealing with shrewd people; as long as interests align, mobilizing them is incredibly effective. Fei Xi smiled sweetly at Dongfang Rui and said:
"The way to break the formation is in the sack right in front of you."
*
Yu Mu carried the sack and walked to the corresponding Zhen Palace position as instructed by his senior sister. Thick fog surrounded him, and if he hadn't learned the directions and methods his senior sister had described, he might not have been able to find the right position.
Not long after they stood there, a deafening lion's roar echoed through the sky. Thick fog churned, and Yu Mu thought to himself:
Here we come, right now!
He opened the sack and scattered the powder into the air; the yellow powder was barely visible in the mist. But surprisingly, a red mark suddenly appeared in the mist. Gathering his inner energy in his palm, Yu Mu struck the mark with his palm.
Even with her ears covered, the roar from outside the door still made Fei Xi feel a tightness in her chest and a sweet taste in her throat, almost causing her to vomit blood.
A moment later, a cry like that of a cat echoed around Nanxuan City.
After the crying subsided, the thick fog dissipated, and the sky brightened!
Inside the sealed room, the man held up the cauldron, preparing to receive the golden worm that had emerged from the woman's eye in the bottle.
Suddenly, the cat cried out and spat out a mouthful of blood, which landed squarely on the golden worm. The worm writhed as if scalded by boiling water.
"Who dares to ruin my plans?!"
The man looked up and stared fiercely at the ceiling.
Oh no! Realizing something, he forgot about calming the golden worm. He pressed down on the writhing worm's body with two fingers and forcibly pulled it into the cauldron.
The two pale fingers turned black instantly upon touching the golden worm, like ink dripping into water. The man raised his knife and severed both fingers. Without waiting for the bleeding to stop, he turned and ran into the tunnel.