Chapter 251: Chapter 163: Yunhe Village
’It can’t be for some boring reason like keeping a memento.’
’Because of... regret? Or maybe, a wish?’
’So if I think about it from the other direction, if I, as Gongsun Mo, fulfill his final wish, will I be able to crack the Cannibal Painting? And escape from this scroll?’
’For example... helping Xie Luohe, or himself, return to normal?’
This was because his method of entering the Ghostly Realm this time was highly unusual.
He hadn’t entered through the Game Table in Zheng Xiu’s Heart Prison.
Although he was dragged into the painting as his Incarnation, Zheng Shan, his appearance after entering was that of his true self, Zheng Xiu.
All sorts of strange occurrences made this trip into the Ghostly Realm full of uncertainties for Zheng Xiu.
But for now, Zheng Xiu, in his identity as Gongsun Mo, had already met Feng Bei and Ruchen.
The three of them, dragged into the painting, had reunited in this strange way within Gongsun Mo’s memories, in the Daqian of two hundred years ago.
Ruchen was Feng Bei’s brother, yet he was her prisoner.
Such a strange relationship actually made Zheng Xiu less anxious. He decided to take things one step at a time and see how they developed.
’After all, I’ve found them and we’ve met. It’s not like they can run away.’
Besides, worrying was useless.
On the twenty-third day.
"Hey! We’re finally almost there! This is killing me!"
"When we get back, I’m gonna soak myself in a vat of wine for a few days!"
The two bandits carrying Zheng Xiu muttered a few words to each other.
They began to head up the mountain.
’We’re here?’
Zheng Xiu, dazed from being jostled around, heard their conversation and his Spirit was roused.
They were finally almost there.
DONG DONG DONG DONG!
Once on the mountain, the sound of drums shook the heavens. Then, from inside the sack, Zheng Xiu heard the creaking of an axle and ropes, as if something heavy was being lowered—it sounded like a bridge.
"The new piglets are here! Don’t you go crushing ’em to death!"
"Four of ’em! Four pigs!"
"The Big Leader and Second Leader are back!"
"You had the brothers worried sick!"
"What the hell are you afraid of? Don’t you know who the Big Leader is? When she goes out, other people are the ones who get into trouble, not her!"
A cacophony of voices surrounded Zheng Xiu, a boiling cauldron of sound.
Amidst the lively noise, some were laughing, some were wailing, and some were roaring.
Xie Yunliu pulled the sack off Zheng Xiu’s head. A blindingly strong light instantly bleached his vision white.
The sun was high in the sky, making it exceptionally harsh.
When Zheng Xiu’s vision returned, he saw Xie Luohe on horseback, slowly crossing the Moat Bridge and entering the mountain stronghold amidst the cheers of the bandits.
The stronghold’s walls were high, built from wooden stakes, giant rocks, and mud bricks to a height of thirty feet.
Outside the stronghold, a moat had been dug, its bottom lined with upturned blades and spears. Piles of white bones lay within, exuding a nauseating stench of decay.
The lowered Moat Bridge was the only Passage into Yunhe Village.
The gate was made of thick logs bound together with hemp rope.
The gate stood wide open, and from within emerged several hundred bare-chested bandits. When they grinned, their rows of blackened, yellow teeth inexplicably made Zheng Xiu think of the term "Cannibal Race." Their collective, sinister smiles were especially unnerving.
Xie Yunliu nonchalantly untied Zheng Xiu, pointed to a sign in the distance, and laughed. "Gongsun Descendant, you are an honored guest of our Yunhe Village. I, Xie Yunliu, must show you the proper courtesy and respectfully invite you into our stronghold."
Zheng Xiu followed Xie Yunliu’s finger with his gaze.
Sure enough, there was a sign above the gate.
On it were three crookedly written characters.
After being untied, Zheng Xiu flexed his sore wrists. He had long since realized that these bandits were experts at tying people up. A normal person, bound and hung upside down for over twenty days, would have had their hands ruined. And yet, Zheng Xiu’s wrists only had some minor red, swollen marks; otherwise, there was no major issue.
Looking at Ruchen’s face, Zheng Xiu was reminded of the kindness Ruchen had shown him, carrying him barefoot up Celestial Yin Mountain. Even knowing that the Xie Yunliu before him was not Ruchen himself, and knowing full well that this Xie Yunliu was a bandit who killed without batting an eye, Zheng Xiu just couldn’t bring himself to be angry. On the contrary, he found this thuggish Monk to be somewhat endearing.
Zheng Xiu smiled. "Did you write that?"
"Of course! In this whole village, only I, Xie Yunliu, have any ink in my belly! When it comes to writing signs, it’s my duty to step up!"
Xie Yunliu said proudly.
Zheng Xiu: "You wrote a character wrong."
Xie Yunliu: "..."
He had written "Yunhe Contest" instead of "Yunhe Village."
After an awkward moment, Xie Yunliu’s neck flushed red. "Damn it! How come no one told me after it’s been hanging there for so many years?"
Zheng Xiu muttered inwardly, ’Do you think anyone else would dare tell you?’
After entering the stronghold, Xie Luohe dismounted and pointed at a few people behind her to give orders.
"That Scholar, keep him alive; he can’t run. The other three know some martial arts, so lock them up tight."
A scar-faced bandit stepped forward to take Xie Luohe’s horse, a wide grin on his face, but a trace of displeasure was hidden in his eyes.
"Big Leader, that pretty boy is handsome, so keeping him is fine if you like him. But the other three are a bunch of ugly freaks. What a waste of food! Big Leader, you don’t know, but things have been tense outside lately. The brothers’ rations have already been cut by twenty percent. Now we have three more freeloaders..."
"Hm?" Xie Luohe glanced at the bandit, her eyes crinkling into a smile.
The bandit took the hint and immediately shut his mouth, saying obsequiously, "Whatever the Big Leader says, goes! Whatever the Big Leader says, goes!"
Xie Luohe leaped into the air, bounded across a few rooftops, and vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.
Zheng Xiu followed Xie Yunliu into Yunhe Village. He looked up, observing the stronghold of Xie Luohe, the legendary number one villain. He discovered that the village was built on a mountaintop, and the peak itself held a hidden world. It was surrounded by cliffs on three sides with only a single entrance, complete with a moat. It was easy to defend and hard to attack—a veritable fortress.
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