Chapter 79

Under the Guanyin Hall, a floor tile was slowly lifted, and a pair of terrified eyes were revealed in the tiny gap.

The moonlight was dim. Watching one Mountain Ghost after another being slaughtered, A-Liang hurriedly put the floor tile back and turned to look at Lin Guiyong beside him.

"Disaster, disaster! Steward Lin, what should we do now? We've been discovered; the Master will kill us."

"Don't panic! What are you panicking about? They can't discover this place; what can they do to us? That group of constables last time didn't discover the tunnel either, did they?"

Lin Guiyong scolded with a dark face, making the panicked A-Liang calm down a little.

That's right, their location was extremely hidden; unless they dug three feet deep, there was no need to worry about exposure.

When Fahua Temple was at its peak, women came to the Guanyin Hall every year to pray for children, and it was exceptionally effective, so much so that people traveled thousands of miles to burn incense and worship Buddha.

Only because when night fell and it was quiet, the women would enter the tunnel under the Guanyin statue, and when they came out, they were pregnant.

Those who traveled thousands of miles to pray for children were mostly wives and concubines of high-ranking officials, so they naturally had to be careful, otherwise, they would leave no bones behind.

For this reason, the tunnel was dug exceptionally hidden; even when the entire temple was slaughtered, no one discovered the underground space before them.

The two had always used this place as a hotbed for raising Mountain Ghosts.

Thinking of this, A-Liang relaxed. Suddenly, a cold chill pierced his chest.

He lowered his head, only to see a blood-stained blade tip emerging from between his ribs, and intense pain spread throughout his body.

He didn't know when, but Lin Guiyong had arrived behind him, stabbing him through with a dagger.

A-Liang looked at Lin Guiyong behind him in disbelief. His heart was losing blood rapidly, his limbs were turning cold bit by bit, but he couldn't make a sound.

"You've worked hard during this time; rest well."

Lin Guiyong witnessed A-Liang's pupils lose their luster, pulled out the dagger, and pushed A-Liang to the ground.

Three years, three whole years.

Every ten days, he had to come here to be with the foul-smelling Mountain Ghosts, feeding and driving them.

Watching one Mountain Ghost after another plant its own egg sac and break out of the body, sometimes he even doubted whether he was human or a ghost.

The sounds of fighting outside were so pleasant that he was overjoyed.

Fearing that the Mountain Ghosts wouldn't wake up, Lin Guiyong even sprinkled wake-up powder in advance; everything was as the Master had expected.

It was all about to end, all about to end; he was about to escape the sea of suffering!

Lin Guiyong wiped the dagger clean with the hay on the ground, hurried up, tidied up the scene, used simple methods, and ran down the mountain along the secret passage.

Inside the temple.

The bloody smell not only didn't dissipate with time, but became increasingly intense and foul.

The blood of Mountain Ghosts was completely different from ordinary creatures.

It was thicker, darker in color, and tasted like fermented rotten matter. As it spilled on the ground and piled up, the stench became even stronger.

Even Blackie was so stinky that it lay on the ground, covering its nose with its paws.

Lu Gang leaped back and forth, solving the vast majority of the large Mountain Ghosts with just a pair of iron hands, either twisting their necks or blowing up their heads.

Everywhere there were shattered stones, as if bombed by artillery shells.

Xu Zishuai mainly dealt with large and medium-sized Mountain Ghosts; there were severed limbs and arms everywhere around him, his figure swift as the wind, his white clothes unstained by blood.

Occasionally, a medium-sized one would slip through, only to be shot one by one by Hu Qi, who stood in the corner of the courtyard.

Every arrow radiated light, piercing through the Mountain Ghost's body like a meteor and pinning it firmly to the ground, the arrow feathers trembling.

The Mountain Ghosts that could slip through were smaller than the one at the River God Festival, left for Xiang Zhangsong and Liang Qu to practice on.

Lu Gang and the others brought Xiang Zhangsong and Liang Qu over with the intention of tempering their junior brothers.

To avoid being flustered in a chaotic battle later, this approach became the best channel for Liang Qu to gain experience.

With Cao Shixiong Xiang restricting the Mountain Ghost's range of activity, Liang Qu swung his long spear to his heart's content, his muscles twisting tightly like iron ropes.

The red tassels dripped with blood, and the spear tip brought up a sharp whistle.

He felt the spear blade cut through skin, the touch of muscle and bone, bringing out clusters of hot blood that turned into thick mist. He was covered in hot sweat, terrified yet excited.

Sweeping away a whole area, piercing a whole string.

The Fubo Spear became smoother the more he used it. Cutting into the Mountain Ghosts, which were usually impenetrable by blades and spears, was no different from a hot knife cutting through butter, only slightly resistant.

【Mountain-Searching and Demon-Subduing progress: 8】

【Mountain-Searching and Demon-Subduing progress: 9】

【Mountain-Searching and Demon-Subduing progress: 13】

"I can't do it, Cao Shixiong Xiang, I can't hack anymore."

The tungsten-gold spear butt, also crafted, fell to the ground, shattering the stone slab and piercing into the soil.

Liang Qu leaned on the long spear, his heart beating violently. He had killed seventeen Mountain Ghosts in a row, his internal Qi and blood were exhausted, his arms were exceptionally sore, and he had no strength left.

Xiang Zhangsong didn't say anything, just blocked all the Mountain Ghosts, not letting a single one slip through anymore.

The moon gradually moved upward, crossing the vines that blocked it. The roof seemed to be flowing with a layer of mercury, but crossing the roof, the spacious courtyard wall was full of blood and corpses.

*Crack! *

Snapping the neck of the last Mountain Ghost, Lu Gang looked around; there wasn't a single Mountain Ghost left standing in the surroundings.

Just the ones fallen in the courtyard numbered over a hundred, an astonishing quantity.

A few fish that slipped through the net were gasping their last breaths, their legs cut off by Xu Zishuai, leaving only their upper bodies crawling constantly.

Resting for half a session, Liang Qu, who had slightly recovered his strength, hurried up to deliver the finishing blow, piercing their necks with his long spear.

【Mountain-Searching and Demon-Subduing progress: 21】

Liang Qu heard Hu Qi say that Cao Shixiong Xu had the best weapon talent among all the senior and junior brothers; not just swords, but blades, spears, sticks, and clubs were all good, and he should ask for advice more often. Now that he saw it, it was indeed so.

Looking at Xu Zishuai's white clothes, unstained by dust, he couldn't help but wonder when he could be like that too.

"Let's go, let's go look around nearby to see if there are any omissions. Blackie, it's up to you."

Everyone began to search the mountain around Fahua Temple.

Blackie lived up to expectations; almost every once in a while, it would make a discovery. Hu Qi would shoot the Mountain Ghost down, and Liang Qu would rush up to deliver the finishing blow.

Everyone searched all night until dawn. Liang Qu couldn't even deliver finishing blows anymore, but Blackie was still spirited, pulling him to a cave entrance covered by bushes and barking wildly, followed by constant sneezing.

There was clearly something at the cave entrance interfering with Blackie's sense of smell, which was why it only found this cave entrance now.

"A cautious person indeed. Cover your mouth and nose, don't breathe casually."

Lu Gang still took the lead in entering the tunnel.

Everyone followed the tunnel and finally arrived in a narrow, long cave.

There were many dirt pits in the cave, and some even had Mountain Ghosts the size of children under three years old, all of which were pierced by Liang Qu and solved one by one.

Xu Zishuai folded his arms: "This is where they raise Mountain Ghosts? They certainly know how to choose."

Fahua Temple had been abandoned for long enough, and because it was on the mountain, even beggars rarely came, and it was sparsely populated.

This space was hidden enough and close to Pingyang Town; it could be said to be the most perfect place.

When they reached the end, a corpse lay on the ground, and there was an opening above the cave; climbing up was the Guanyin Hall.

Hu Qi checked the corpse.

"The heart was pierced by a blade, time of death no more than three hours."

Liang Qu frowned: "Someone was watching us kill the Mountain Ghosts?"

Lu Gang asked: "Blackie, can you smell that person's scent?"

Blackie returned to the cave entrance, sniffing hard, moving slowly, searching extremely arduously.

They arrived at a small river, and everyone waded across the river, wanting Blackie to pick up the scent again.

But Blackie's nose had been ravaged all night, and the runaway had means; after wading across the river and washing the scent once, it couldn't be found no matter what.