Chapter 528: Interesting Happenings in the Mountains

On Yunfu Peak, inside Zhu He's room.

Wu Shidao was standing there, his gaze focused and attentive, while Zhu He was giving him some instructions.

Zhu He would pause from time to time as he spoke, taking a sip of clear tea, and Wu Shidao would take the opportunity to say a few words; as Zhu He listened, a look of contemplation flashed through his eyes.

Although Ge Rusong had been toppled, the side of Lv Zhongtang had seemed quite quiet recently, with no movements at all. But the more this was the case, the more strange Zhu Hexin felt about it.

After the two finished discussing the matter of the secret scouts, Zhu He sighed wearily.

Wu Shidao suddenly asked, "Regarding that case of Xiao Qiwu over at Wuliang Cliff recently, do we need to send someone to keep an eye on it?"

Zhu He said, "No need! Let Yang Sixuan handle that matter. We will naturally know once there is a result."

"Yes!" Wu Shidao replied. He was just about to take his leave when Zhu He suddenly looked at him and asked, "What about Duan Rong? Is he on the peak?"

Wu Shidao said, "In the morning, I saw them seemingly go out to play. I just don't know if they are on this Yunfu Peak or if they went somewhere else."

Zhu He said, "Have him come see me."

"Yes!" Wu Shidao responded upon hearing this, cupped his fists, stepped back twice, and turned to leave the room.

He walked out of the pavilion on Yunfu Peak, suddenly rose like a great bird, Wind Riding, and drifted like a kite above the mountain forests of Yunfu Peak...

Wu Shidao had already decided to just circle around Yunfu Peak a few times; if he could find Duan Rong and the others, that would be that, and if he could not find them, he would just have to wait for them to return from their outing.

These Endless Great Mountains were vast and boundless; if Duan Rong and the others had gone far away, who could know where they were playing?

This day, the weather was very fine, with a gentle breeze blowing; Wu Shidao's sleeves fluttered, and he flew around the peak at a height of four or five zhang from the ground.

He passed several mountain hollows, and at a glance, he could see no sign of anyone.

As for the dense forest, he did not go deep to investigate, but instead flew down, like a swallow skimming the water, passing right by the treetops; just as he was right next to the branches, he let out a long whistle.

That whistle echoed through the forest like tearing silk.

As there was no response, he flew out of this mountain hollow.

Duan Rong and the others were in a dense forest catching mountain pheasants.

Originally, Duan Rong had said they were going to grill fish by the stream, but as they were spearing fish by the stream, Ximen Kankan suddenly saw a few hornets fly over.

Ximen Kankan watched the hornets buzzing about, his eyes suddenly shifted, and he looked toward the place where the hornets had flown from; he wandered around there for a while and finally saw a very large beehive in a rather hidden crevice of the cliff wall.

Ximen Kankan called the others over, saying he wanted to get that honey out. He would make them honey-grilled chicken in these mountains.

Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi both advised Ximen Kankan to forget it; that beehive was half a person tall, and once they were besieged by those hornets, it would be no laughing matter.

Ximen Kankan said, "We are all cultivators now, are we still afraid of these hornet stings? You really haven't seen the world!"

"If you are afraid, go hide in that dense forest, catch a few mountain pheasants first, and clean them up, then wait for my honey." Ximen Kankan said with bright eyes, "This is wild mountain honey, a top-notch delicacy!"

Whenever he encountered such things, he would be incredibly enthusiastic.

Duan Rong laughed, "Let's go. Let's go to the dense forest to catch mountain pheasants. I see that if this kid doesn't poke that beehive, he won't even be able to sleep."

Xiao Yu said with a worried look, "Will there be any trouble?"

Duan Rong said, "It'll be fine, let's go."

He knew that although it had not been long since Ximen Kankan advanced to the Qi Refining Realm, the Qi surging through his pores made it impossible for those hornets to get close enough to sting him.

And he knew that this guy Ximen Kankan definitely had some devious ideas.

Duan Rong and the others stopped spearing fish and went into the dense forest to catch mountain pheasants.

Seeing them leave, Ximen Kankan went to find some cypress branches and leaves.

He had already observed that the beehive was in a crevice of the cliff wall; this cramped space was very good for trapping smoke.

When the cypress branches and leaves burned, the smoke was thick and the smell pungent; before long, it would smoke out most of those hornets, and since it was close to the stream, he would wait for the right moment to grab the hive and jump into the water.

First use fire, then use water!

Ximen Kankan first stuffed the space below the cliff crevice with cypress branches and leaves, then soaked some cypress branches and leaves in the stream, dipped them in some water, and covered the dry cypress branches and leaves with them.

Thus, he piled them up in the cliff crevice, one dry layer and one wet layer; the final layer of damp cypress branches and leaves was only about three feet from the bottom of the beehive.

Seeing that it was about right, Ximen Kankan wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Perhaps it was just his nature; Ximen Kankan never felt tired doing such things, and he was fully focused, much more diligent than when he was cultivating.

He took out a Fire Folder from his lapel, blew out a flame with a cautious look, and lit the dry cypress branches and leaves one by one from bottom to top.

After lighting them, he immediately exerted his movement technique, fast as a ghost, flashed past the stream, and with a splash, jumped into the stream water.

At the cliff crevice, with the fire roasting and smoke fumigating, large swarms of hornets had already left the nest.

In the half-person-tall beehive, there were thousands of hornets inside, dense and numerous, and the buzzing sound was deafening.

The smell of the cypress branches and leaves was too pungent, and because it was blocked in the cliff crevice and could not dissipate, it quickly smoked through the beehive.

The startled hornets began to scatter all over the mountains and plains, looking for targets to attack.

Just after those hornets scattered, there was suddenly a splash in the nearby stream, and a dripping wet figure jumped out, exerted his movement technique, and flashed to the cliff crevice like a ghost.

As soon as Ximen Kankan flashed over, he immediately drew his blade, infused it with Qi, and sliced the beehive hanging on the side of the cliff wall.

Then, as if kidnapping someone, he hugged the half-person-tall beehive, exerted his movement technique again, and jumped into the stream water.

Ximen Kankan's process was clean and neat, without any hesitation; the few hornets remaining near the beehive had not even reacted before he had succeeded. Even if a few got close, they were turned into dust by the Qi surging from his pores.

After Ximen Kankan hugged the beehive and jumped into the stream, the Qi in his dantian was already running low.

After all, he had only recently advanced to the Qi Refining Realm, and he had just used Qi to protect his face, hands, and neck; plus, the explosive strike he used to cut down the beehive had consumed quite a bit of Qi.

Ximen Kankan hid in the stream.

As he pressed the half-person-tall beehive into the water, the hornets that had not yet come out of the hive were all drowned in the water at this time, and patches of hornet corpses floated on the water surface, which was quite a spectacle.

His disturbance had already caused the dense swarm of hornets to hover over the water surface, making a buzzing sound...

Wu Shidao's sleeves fluttered, and he had quite a bit of an immortal air; as he flew Wind Riding over a mountain hollow, he suddenly saw a wisp of curling blue smoke rising not far ahead.

"What is that?..."

Following the gentle breeze blowing toward him, Wu Shidao smelled the fragrance of cypress branches and leaves; he felt that the blue smoke might be Duan Rong and the others grilling something, so his eyes shifted, he turned his body, and flew toward where the blue smoke was rising.

Wu Shidao drifted down and landed in front of that cliff wall.

One could see that the crevices in the cliff face were stuffed with many cypress branches and leaves, a mix of dry and wet, and at this moment, they were still billowing with thick smoke.

The beehive that had originally been there had already been cut away and taken by Ximen Kankan; Wu Shidao looked at the thick smoke in the cliff crevices, momentarily unsure of what this was all about, while only a few scattered wasps were flying about in confusion there...

But Wu Shidao had only stood there for a moment when a buzzing sound of a massive swarm of wasps suddenly erupted from behind him.

His ears twitched, and he turned his head to see a dense, swarming mass of thousands of bees, covering the sky like a shroud, descending upon him.

At this moment, how could he not know what that thick smoke was for? It was clearly for smoking out a wasp nest.

"Damn it!"

Wu Shidao cursed, suddenly leaping into the air; at this moment, he had lost all the elegance of Wind Riding.

Because the moment he leaped up, the swarm did the same, turning upward and covering the sky and sun as they descended upon him.

High in the sky, Wu Shidao was quickly enveloped by the swarm, the dense mass of bees buzzing and dancing around his ears.

His entire body surged with Yuan Qi, and those wasps were unable to get close to him.

Large swathes of wasps fell from the sky like rain, pattering as they smashed onto the rocks and the leaves of the dense forest.

Entangled by the swarm and unable to break free, Wu Shidao had no choice but to wave his sleeves wildly, his Yuan Qi surging as he swatted large swathes of wasps to death.

Just then, there was a sudden splash from the direction of the stream, and a figure was seen darting out while clutching a half-person-tall beehive, displaying their movement technique as they dashed into the dense forest.

In mid-air, Wu Shidao caught a glimpse of that figure; it was exactly that fellow townsman and lackey who followed Duan Rong.

Watching that person dart into the dense forest clutching a beehive over half a person tall, a wave of resentment surged in Wu Shidao's heart. That brat was harvesting honey and had lured a huge swarm of wasps, and he had just happened to run into it—what the hell was this!?

In mid-air, the bee cloud surrounding Wu Shidao was becoming increasingly sparse, while the pattering rain of bee corpses continued to fall.

Wu Shidao was already a cultivator of the Qi Cyclone Realm; once Three Flowers Gather at the Crown was activated, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi would continuously gather toward him, and the dense swarm of thousands of bees died in large swathes amidst his wild, long-sleeved swatting...

The last of the wasps finally broke into a rout and scattered on their own...

Wu Shidao stood in mid-air, looking at the large patch of brown wasp corpses on the rocks by the stream, his expression very gloomy.

He suddenly used Wind Riding and darted into the dense forest where Ximen Kankan had gone, flying inside.

As Wu Shidao traveled through the dense forest, it wasn't long before he smelled the aroma of meat, and within that meat aroma, it was clear that the fragrance of honey-roasted food was mixed in...

Upon smelling this, his expression became even uglier.

Duan Rong and the others were in a clearing in the dense forest, roasting a mountain pheasant, using clean bamboo leaves dipped in honey to brush it onto the pheasant, the fragrance overflowing.

Just then, a sudden gust of wind rose, whipping up a patch of withered leaves.

Following the drifting withered leaves, a figure was already standing before them.

Wu Shidao was full of indignation, glaring at Ximen Kankan, and said, "Brat, look at the good deed you've done!"

Regarding Wu Shidao's situation, Ximen Kankan had already told the others about it when he returned. Duan Rong didn't take it to heart and told him it was fine.

They all turned their heads to look at Wu Shidao.

At this moment, one could see that Wu Shidao's lapels, shoulders, and hair were all covered in the remains of wasp corpses; his hair was even more disheveled, and his hairpin had tilted to one side. His originally snow-white robe sleeves had turned a black-blue color from swatting thousands of wasp corpses, emitting a strange odor, and his face was also stained with quite a bit of wasp remains and blood foam; the whole person looked very disheveled.

Duan Rong, Xiao Yu, and the others had only heard Ximen Kankan talk about the matter, but they hadn't expected Wu Shidao to look so disheveled and comical, and they immediately held back their laughter. If it weren't for the fact that Wu Shidao was Duan Rong's Senior Brother and this matter had been caused by Ximen Kankan, they would have already burst into laughter together.

Seeing them holding back their laughter, Wu Shidao's anger grew even more intense; if it weren't for the fact that Duan Rong was also there, he would have directly taken action to teach Ximen Kankan a lesson.

Ximen Kankan pinched his own thigh with all his might, finally managing to hold back his laughter, and stood up.

With a flushed face, he bowed to Wu Shidao and said, "Lord Wu, please don't blame me! I didn't know you would come, and I had no intention of offending you. I originally planned to stay in the water until the wasps dispersed before coming out. I didn't expect you, Lord, to suddenly come over. You actually helped me out of a tight spot. However, I must offer my praise: your battle against three thousand wasps was truly incomparably heroic!"

Hearing Ximen Kankan's words, "battle against three thousand wasps, truly incomparably heroic," Shen Mizhi really couldn't hold it in anymore and finally burst into laughter, "Hahaha."

Wu Shidao's face turned livid. Although Xiao Yu didn't laugh out loud, her head was bowed very low, and her entire shoulders were trembling incessantly.

Duan Rong glared at Shen Mizhi, stood up, looked at Wu Shidao, cupped his fists, and said, "Senior Brother Wu, please forgive any offense. I wanted to eat this honey-roasted chicken, so I let Kankan go get some honey. I didn't expect it to clash with you, Senior Brother! I hope you, Senior Brother, can be the bigger person and not hold a grudge against a minor one. Oh, right... the chicken is almost roasted; if you don't mind, Senior Brother, come and have a taste together."

Wu Shidao was full of rage, but he didn't want to vent his anger on Duan Rong, so he just said with a cold face, "No need! Junior Brother Duan, Master wants to see you. I think you had best not mess around in this forest anymore!"

After Wu Shidao said this in a lukewarm tone, he suddenly rose with Wind Riding, turned his body, and left.

The moment he leaped into the air, a burst of loud laughter came from behind him; hearing that laughter, Wu Shidao's face turned even blacker than the bottom of a pot.

Inside the dense forest, Shen Mizhi was already clutching her stomach and laughing.

Xiao Yu also laughed and gave Ximen Kankan two thumps.

Duan Rong stood there, looking at them, and said, "Alright. Let it go this time; it was an unintentional misunderstanding. However, I warn you all: Wu Shidao is my Senior Brother, so you should still show some respect."

"Yes!" the three of them looked at each other and replied in a somewhat sarcastic tone.

Duan Rong shook his head helplessly, looked at Xiao Yu, and said, "Master is calling me, so I'll go back for a bit; you all go ahead and play here."

Xiao Yu stood up, straightened Duan Rong's lapels, brushed the dust off his shoulders, and said, "Mm, go ahead."

Duan Rong smiled slightly, leaped, and was already a zhang away; the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown above his head formed instantly, and he suddenly rose into the air, piercing through the gaps in the branches at the top of the dense forest, and left via Wind Riding.

Ximen Kankan watched with great envy; he tore off a chicken leg and, while biting into it, said, "When will I be able to fly with Wind Riding like that!"

Shen Mizhi rolled her eyes at him and said, "If you want to fly with Wind Riding, why don't you cultivate properly? All you know is eating!"

Ximen Kankan said, "Nonsense! If I don't eat my fill, how can I cultivate?"

As the two of them bickered, Xiao Yu looked with deep eyes at the place where Duan Rong had disappeared; she watched for a while, then suddenly turned her head to look at Ximen Kankan and said, "Kankan, tell me about the fellow disciples Duan Rong has on Yunfu Peak."

After all, Xiao Yu had only come out of the Tower Forest a few days ago, and before that, she had been locked in that Cultivation Secret Chamber of Fan Hongjiao's, so she didn't understand these circumstances.

Although she could feel that Duan Rong was like a high-flying falcon, moving further and further away from her, she still wanted to understand Duan Rong more.

(End of chapter)