Now that Chen Yuanye, a native of Chen Family Fort, had spoken, Lin Yu naturally felt no pity in his heart.
Although Mountain Demon wasn't steady enough as a draft beast for pulling the cart, as a creature with two hands and two feet, it always had the advantage of flexibility over four-legged livestock. Lin Yu gave Mountain Demon its orders, and then this demon pulling the cart stood up, pushing both hands outward.
Although the villagers of Chen Family Fort were being controlled and moved in bizarre ways, they hadn't received any enhancements—they were still mortal flesh and blood!
As Mountain Demon pushed out its hands, instantly over a dozen villagers either fell to the ground or were sent flying!
Chen Yuanye wasn't idle either. He wielded his long spear like a staff, sweeping left and right, continuously knocking away those blocking the road.
"Aren't you afraid that your fellow villagers might still be alive?"
Lin Yu couldn't help but ask, watching Chen Yuanye strike with such decisiveness.
Chen Yuanye said in a low voice, "Limbs twisted and bent yet still moving—how could they be alive... Why would I cling to such unrealistic fantasies?"
Although Chen Yuanye had once hidden underground, afraid to show himself, and his heart had wavered when his own kin had stabbed him in the back...
He was, after all, a martial artist of the Prison Mountain Realm!
Born and trained here, he had known since childhood just how cruel and brutal this world could be.
Though he had experienced brief confusion, now that he had stepped forward encouraged by Lin Yu, facing this brutal situation, he absolutely wouldn't let his weakness or emotions cloud his judgment.
Looking at those twisted, puppet-like villagers before him, Chen Yuanye recognized them at a glance.
There was the aunt who had stuffed candy into his hands as a child, the second uncle who had supported his family after his father's death, the cousin who had specially repaired his roof during the summer heat so he wouldn't suffer...
There was the older cousin who had explored caves with him, the younger cousin who had encouraged him to learn martial arts after discovering his great strength, the younger cousin who often hid at his house after being beaten, swearing never to return to her aunt's home...
Indeed, Chen Yuanye had also fantasized—what if they were still alive? After all, their expressions still seemed so vivid!
But...
He also knew that was just a fantasy!
"Whoosh—!"
The long spear swept through the air with a fierce sound, like the native soil beneath their feet was mourning.
"To hell with it all!"
Chen Yuanye's spear struck repeatedly, working with Mountain Demon to fight their way through the encirclement!
Before them stood the gates of Chen Family Fort. The towering stone gate was washed dark by the torrential rain.
Mountain Demon stepped forward, using both hands to forcefully shove the closed gates open. Then the escort cart carried the twelve people out of Chen Family Fort!
Chen Yuanye gripped his long spear and slumped back in front of the cabin, feeling as though every sinew in his body was in excruciating pain, like someone was twisting and breaking his entire frame.
"Hiss..."
He exhaled a mouthful of turbid breath, bared his teeth, and turned to look back, speaking with self-mockery.
"I've traveled the jianghu for many years, but this is the first time I've teamed up with a demon to fight my own fellow villagers."
At the entrance of Chen Family Fort, those villagers stood before the shattered gates like statues, gazing into the rain toward the departing escort cart.
"Junior Sister, where to next?"
Chen Yuanye asked. Lin Yu casually replied, "That depends on you, Senior Brother—we need to pretend to be running away, but we can't actually escape."
"So you'd better pick a route, somewhere that seems safe but is still within the Twin Saw Mountain range, as our stopping point..."
As Lin Yu spoke, Chen Yuanye thought for a moment, then said.
"Then I do know a place. Heading north to the shady side of Twin Saw Mountain, there's a rundown Taoist temple. According to legend, it was originally built by a disciple of the Taiqing Sect after returning to his hometown. It's been abandoned for a hundred years, but some formations are still active. Honestly though, any demon strong enough... those century-old formations probably won't do much."
As Chen Yuanye spoke, Lin Yu nodded.
"Alright, that's where we'll go—Senior Brother, do you know the way?"
"Of course. I know every rock and grain of sand in Twin Saw Mountain. Even after all this time, I definitely won't mistake the general direction!"
"Turn left up ahead!"
Chen Yuanye once again served as navigator.
Seeing that Chen Yuanye knew the way, Lin Yu spread out his mental energy again, probing the surroundings for any new attacks.
But strangely, after leaving Chen Family Fort, the entire Twin Saw Mountain fell into an eerie silence—logically, such a massive mountain range should have had some wandering demons.
Especially now that Lin Yu and the others had reached the depths of Twin Saw Mountain, and it was noon—the most active time for demons.
Yet... there was only silence throughout Twin Saw Mountain.
A deathly silence.
Whether through sound or mental energy perception, there were no demons, no humans approaching, and no abnormalities whatsoever.
And that in itself was the greatest abnormality.
The heavy rain gradually stopped, and the moisture soaking their clothes slowly evaporated.
Although their wet clothes and skin could still provide some relief from the scorching heat for a while, it wouldn't last long.
Inside the cart, Yue Zhenqiao had already begun distributing his last batch of heat-repelling talismans—after all, in Yue Zhenqiao's view, since Lin Yu had already produced precious "rain-summoning" talismans, even if his own talismans were valuable, hoarding them would be beneath him.
Sticking Yue Zhenqiao's talisman on himself, Lin Yu looked at Chen Yuanye beside him.
"How much farther?"
"Just ahead," Chen Yuanye said, also looking puzzled. "But it's strange. Normally this stretch should take longer, with some demons or wild beasts blocking the way... Yet we haven't encountered a single one, not even seen any!"
Although Twin Saw Mountain's terrain was treacherous, with many strange rocks and cliffs, the mountains in Fire Hell generally had sparse vegetation, offering relatively open views.
Even if no demons attacked, it should have been possible to spot some traces of demon activity.
Lin Yu nodded as well.
"So, perhaps as I suspected... although the anomaly appeared within Chen Family Fort, it's not limited to just Chen Family Fort!"
The earlier livestock had already proven that perhaps the scope of these strange disappearances wasn't limited to humans, nor to Chen Family Fort.
Mountain Demon had been wandering through these mountains for a while, covering some distance, and hadn't encountered any demons either.
So, within Twin Saw Mountain outside Chen Family Fort, those demons might also be within the Mastermind's hunting range!
This was why Lin Yu couldn't be sure that the Mastermind was definitely a demon.
Chen Yuanye nodded again, his expression serious.
"When things are abnormal, there's bound to be trouble. We must be extremely careful."
"But... we're almost there!"
Chen Yuanye pointed in a certain direction ahead, then spoke in a low voice.
Mountain Demon pulled the escort cart just around a massive boulder. Following the direction of Chen Yuanye's finger, a quaint, secluded little Taoist temple appeared on a slope.
Lin Yu squinted his eyes.
"Abandoned for a hundred years? That's actually quite remarkable."
Around the temple, he actually saw lush green vegetation growing densely—a sight completely at odds with the style of Fire Hell.
