Chapter 386: The Galloping Camel

Li Banfeng rubbed his eyes hard, trying to restore his vision as quickly as possible.

But this wasn't a problem that could be solved by rubbing his eyes—Li Banfeng rubbed several times, yet everything before him remained a sheet of bright white.

His ears couldn't hear any sound either, only a sharp ringing, but the technique of Qu Ji Qiji Bixiong told Li Banfeng that danger was about to arrive.

Bei Wushuang had gotten up.

His camel humps had been blown apart, leaving a huge sunken hollow on his spine, but Bei Wushuang could still move.

From an objective standpoint, his ability to move posed an enormous threat to Li Banfeng.

But subjectively, Bei Wushuang had no intention of making a move against Li Banfeng.

Standing beside Bei Wushuang was Pan Dehai, and Bei Wushuang didn't even have the intention of making a move against Pan Dehai.

Pan Dehai's cultivation was simply too high—despite his current immobility, killing him was still no easy feat.

And Bei Wushuang had now nearly lost all his combat ability; he had to cherish this limited opportunity and run for his life immediately.

Bei Wushuang swallowed a pill, broke into a sprint, and fled toward the southeast.

As long as he could make it back to his residence, there would still be a slim chance of survival.

His residence still had plenty of mechanisms and traps, plenty of pills, enough to hold out for a while—even if only three to five hours—he could recover one or two tenths of his strength,

and even if he couldn't hold his territory, at least he could escape with the contract; even if he lost a realm, he could still save his life.

Bei Wushuang had only run a short distance when Pan Dehai moved.

Wasn't he stunned by the shock?

He wasn't stunned.

Meng Yuchun had truly fainted, but Pan Dehai hadn't.

Pan Dehai knew Bei Wushuang was a sound cultivator and had prepared thoroughly beforehand. The moment he saw the camel humps rise, he used two treasures in coordination with his own cultivation to neutralize the technique once again.

The reason he had pretended to faint was to go take a look at Bei Wushuang's home.

Pan Dehai had a certain degree of understanding of Bei Wushuang, but he didn't know where Bei Wushuang lived.

On this point, one shouldn't count on Meng Yuchun either—Meng Yuchun normally never left home, and she didn't even know Bei Wushuang's sect, so how could she possibly know where Bei Wushuang lived.

Within a hundred li, finding a local deity's residence was extremely difficult. Rather than exhausting himself searching, it was better to let Bei Wushuang personally lead him there.

……

Li Banfeng sensed the danger receding and had just breathed a sigh of relief when a train whistle suddenly reached his ears.

Woo-woo~

A train had come?

From within the whistle came a sweet singing voice: "A little Lian Dongfang, the lamp is bright, hand on the railing, I gaze with care, ivory bed draped with red silk curtains, coral pillows embroidered with mandarin ducks."

"Little Lian Dongfang"!

A song his wife rarely sang—because once she started singing it, Li Banfeng would get the urge to oil up the machine.

Amid the singing, the bright white before his eyes faded, and the sharp ringing in his ears vanished as well.

Li Banfeng rose and ran back to the battlefield, but on the battlefield there was no sign of Bei Wushuang, nor of Pan Dehai.

Where had they gone?

Had this battle been won or lost?

Li Banfeng asked Meng Yuchun.

Meng Yuchun gave no response; with a dazed expression, she supported her forehead and went back to the residence—she truly couldn't hold on any longer.

Li Banfeng looked at the flesh and blood covering the ground. He didn't know where all this flesh and blood had come from, but the blood mixed with large amounts of fat sent waves of foul stench to his nose.

He quickly activated the technique of Tianhe Zhi Ji and followed the fishy smell in the air.

Before long, he saw Bei Wushuang sprinting along, and behind him, unhurried, Pan Dehai.

This time Bei Wushuang should be called Bei Wufeng—even his camel humps were gone.

That old thing Pan Dehai had been following Bei Wushuang all along—he was going to steal the fruits of victory.

Once he plucked all the peaches, he'd come back with some line about "the greater virtue" and send both me and Meng Yuchun packing.

How could things be that cheap?

I have to snatch the peaches back.

At the very least, I have to snatch back the contract—that's the most critical thing for Li Banfeng.

But speaking of it, why had he heard a train whistle just now, and why had his wife's singing been in that whistle?

Could Sui Shen Ju have evolved?

……

Zhang Wanlong arrived at the battlefield and gathered up the flesh and blood scattered on the ground.

"Good stuff, Xiao Genzi, this is genuine good stuff."

Xiao Genzi said anxiously, "Didn't we agree to go rescue Seventh Master?"

"Don't rush!" Zhang Wanlong took out a seed and said, "This is a battlefield of great figures—we can't lift a finger, we can only help out secretly in small ways. Seventh Master is a man of measure, some things don't need us to worry about. Am I right, Young Lady of the He family?"

He Yuxiu had also come.

She looked Zhang Wanlong up and down: "You know me?"

Zhang Wanlong smiled: "I've seen you in the papers—I was truly afraid I'd mistaken you for someone else."

Youtao was very nervous; she didn't know what Zhang Wanlong's "Young Lady of the He family" was referring to.

There was no time to explain it to her now—Zhang Wanlong had to hurry and find a suitable place to scatter this seed, into which he had poured a great deal of effort and which was extremely precious.

……

Bei Wushuang's residence was not in a house, not in a mountain cave, but in a sand pit.

Reaching the edge of the sand pit, the heavily wounded Bei Wushuang jumped down without a second thought.

Pan Dehai pushed his concealment technique to the limit, hovering in mid-air, silently studying the structure of the sand pit.

The sand pit was not deep — by eye, less than five meters — and the bottom was perfectly flat.

This was certainly not the core of the dwelling; at most it could only be considered the front gate.

Bei Wushuang stood at the bottom of the sand pit, pawing with his front hooves, as if trying to trigger some mechanism.

He pawed twice, but the mechanism did not activate, so Bei Wushuang stopped first.

Pan Dehai thought he had been spotted and was about to hide himself deeper, when he noticed something odd on the wall of the sand pit.

Bei Wushuang called out: "Come out."

A woman's figure emerged from the wall; from her attire she looked like a fortune-teller, with a huge abacus strapped to her back.

"Gao Shuxia," Bei Wushuang said with a cold laugh, "you've come. Where's your sister?"

Another woman's figure also appeared; she wore a long silver gown, and when she walked, her waist swayed with an exaggerated swing.

"Baimu Yu, you've come too!" Bei Wushuang laughed — he seemed to have already seen his own ending.

Gao Shuxia looked at Bei Wushuang and said: "Brother, you seem to be injured."

Baimu Yu spoke with even greater concern: "Brother, are you hurt badly? Let your little sister have a look."

Bei Wushuang looked at the two of them and spat out a glob of saliva: "What, you both want to snatch my contract?"

Gao Shuxia shook her head repeatedly: "Brother, you've misunderstood us. We heard you'd gone to deal with that old thief Pan Dehai, and we were afraid someone might cause trouble at your home, so we came especially to stand guard at your door."

Bei Wushuang laughed: "You've really worked hard, the two of you. After searching all this time, you still haven't found the contract, have you?"

Baimu Yu sighed in admiration: "Brother hid it so well — your little sister feels quite reassured on your behalf."

Bei Wushuang looked at Gao Shuxia: "Aren't you good at divination? Couldn't you calculate it out?"

Gao Shuxia shook her head repeatedly: "Brother's skill is profound — your little sister truly cannot divine it."

Bei Wushuang looked around; no need to ask — at this point, his subordinates had long since scattered.

"Enough nonsense," Bei Wushuang snorted, "are you two coming at me together, or one at a time?"

Gao Shuxia sighed: "Brother, why be so impatient? Just tell us where the contract is, and we sisters will keep it safe for you. Once your wounds heal, we'll return it right away."

Bei Wushuang spread his four hooves and suddenly charged at Gao Shuxia.

Gao Shuxia dared not block him — she knew Bei Wushuang's strength was terrifyingly great.

Bei Wushuang had been posing as a body cultivator all these years, and not merely because of his camel-like appearance — his skill was excellent, his hide was thick and tough, and he possessed many of the qualities of a body cultivator.

Gao Shuxia dodged Bei Wushuang, who turned and went to attack Baimu Yu.

Baimu Yu twisted her waist, gave a light chuckle, and nimbly circled behind Bei Wushuang.

Bei Wushuang was too gravely wounded — both women before him were at the Dipi level, and he couldn't gain the slightest upper hand.

Gao Shuxia drew out a counting rod and stabbed it into Bei Wushuang's body.

Baimu Yu lifted her long skirt — one leg was covered entirely in eyes — and as she brushed against Bei Wushuang, she tore off a great swath of his hide and flesh.

Pan Dehai sighed inwardly — these two women were truly vicious. Their strikes were not fatal, but they caused Bei Wushuang immense agony.

During the fierce fighting, Bei Wushuang's footsteps grew chaotic, and he wailed without cease.

Woooo~ thud! thud! thud!

Woo~ thud thud!

Wait — it didn't seem quite so chaotic.

Pan Dehai started; amid the howling and hoofbeats, he detected a certain rhythm.

That camel was about to unleash a technique.

Woo~

Bei Wushuang let out a long howl, and a sand eye suddenly appeared on the ground.

The sand eye spun rapidly like a vortex, and Bei Wushuang slipped through it down into the quicksand below.

Pan Dehai's judgment was correct — Bei Wushuang was indeed about to unleash a technique.

Only this technique was not meant for dealing with Baimu Yu and Gao Shuxia, but for triggering the mechanism.

This sand pit was indeed the front gate of Bei Wushuang's home.

But to open the gate, one had to use a sound-cultivation technique to perform a piece of music.

The hoofbeats and wails Bei Wushuang had been making together formed a piece of music — only by opening the gate in the correct manner could one truly enter Bei Wushuang's dwelling.

Bei Wushuang dove into the sand eye, and Baimu Yu hurriedly followed him in.

Before long, she floated back up alone.

"He's gone!" Baimu Yu spat out a mouthful of sand. "He's hurt this badly, yet he still runs this fast!"

Gao Shuxia picked up her abacus and flicked the beads up and down for over half an hour, finally arriving at a result.

Holding a wooden sword, she marked a sign on the ground and said to Baimu Yu: "Let's burrow this way — we'll find him right here!"

Baimu Yu used a technique to burrow underground, and Gao Shuxia followed close behind.

The magnanimous Pan Dehai continued to hover in mid-air, waiting for the outcome.

These two women had come at just the right time — it saved this old man from having to venture into danger himself.

If the two of them could kill Bei Wushuang and dig the contract out of his home, that would save a great deal of trouble — Pan Dehai could simply snatch it straight from their hands.

If they couldn't beat Bei Wushuang, or even got killed by him, Pan Dehai would go find Bei Wushuang again. By then Bei Wushuang's combat strength would be considerably weakened, and the threat posed by these two women would also be eliminated — wasn't that the best of both worlds!

Pan Dehai watched from mid-air; Li Banfeng watched from behind a sand dune.

Inside the sand pit, waves of sand rose layer upon layer — clearly the fighting within was fierce.

The Tianhe Zhi Ji kept issuing warnings, urging Li Banfeng not to approach the battlefield.

What was he to do?

What Li Banfeng wanted most was Bei Wushuang's contract. Now, whether Bei Wushuang lived or died, the thing seemed unlikely to fall into Li Banfeng's hands.

After waiting another hour or so, Gao Shuxia and Hundred-Bai Mu Yu crawled out of the sand hole covered in wounds.

They sat in the sand pit, gasping with difficulty. Clearly, they had not beaten Bei Wushuang, nor had they obtained the contract.

This battle should have ended in a draw, and according to Pan Dehai's estimate, Bei Wushuang had almost no combat strength left and would no longer pose any threat to him.

He slowly revealed himself in midair and smiled at the two of them: "Misses, you've worked hard."

The moment they saw Pan Dehai appear, Gao Shuxia nearly wet herself, and Hundred-Bai Mu Yu actually did.

The two of them picked up their weapons, ready to fight. Pan Dehai pressed his palm down and said: "Ladies, please calm yourselves. Pan has no grudge against you. I came here only to take Bei Wushuang's life."

Gao Shuxia pointed at the sand hole on the ground and said: "Bei Wushuang is right inside—go find him yourself!"

Pan Dehai smiled and said: "This sand cave is labyrinthine. You two misses are both virtuous people, so I must trouble you to lead the way for this old man."

Hundred-Bai Mu Yu shook her head and said: "Neither of us has that ability. If we go down one more time, we probably won't come out alive."

Pan Dehai said: "Ladies, why be so modest? If we were to compare martial skill alone, even this old man would feel ashamed of himself."

Hundred-Bai Mu Yu swayed her waist and smiled: "Elder Pan, thank you for thinking so highly of us, but we truly don't want to fight Bei Wushuang again. You'd better go yourself."

Pan Dehai's face darkened, and he barked: "Women who behave frivolously in speech and conduct are without virtue!"

The moment the words landed, Hundred-Bai Mu Yu stumbled and was nearly crushed to the ground.

Gao Shuxia gritted her teeth and said: "Old thief, we'll fight you to the death!"

Hundred-Bai Mu Yu held Gao Shuxia back, signaling her not to act rashly—the two of them could never be Pan Dehai's match.

As the three of them stood at an impasse, there came a sound of flowing sand from afar.

Pan Dehai raised his eyes to look and saw a camel that had lost its hump galloping across the wasteland.

Bei Wushuang had escaped!

Pan Dehai transformed into an invisible form and gave chase.

Gao Shuxia and Hundred-Bai Mu Yu were also unwilling to give up and chased after him together.

The sand pit was empty—nothin but no one left.

Zhang Wanlong stood on his one-li plot and said to Xiao Genzi: "Brother, let's see how long you can hold on. The longer you last, the more you can help your Seventh Master."

PS: Zhang Wanlong has gone all out this time—the seeds this time are truly extraordinary.

(End of chapter)