Chapter 100: A Slash Between the Legs (Third Update)

After making preparations, the group slipped into the forest.

Everyone moved with extreme caution; logging was forbidden today.

The trees in the mountains were unusually agitated today; even accidentally snapping a small branch would instantly turn them into malevolent spirits—one branch could lash a man until flesh bled and bone showed, and another could shatter his soul, after which the roots would emerge and drag the corpse underground to rot as fertilizer.

That single crow's eye had been coldly watching them all along.

Only after Xu Yuan and the others had fully entered the woods, with no sign of crossing the boundary, did it silently close.

……

Today, Ceng Si and the others instinctively kept their distance from those locusts.

The old locust assumed an innocent air—as if to say, you have no proof.

As the party climbed a slope, the old locust cackled: "Once we cross the mountain ahead, we'll reach Old Crow's Mouth. Pass through Old Crow's Mouth, and we'll be on Broad Goods Street."

Lord Qin's expression turned grim: "You truly have a way to get us through Old Crow's Mouth?"

"Don't worry," said the locust woman. "She-Snake has already reported to those few. That ghost bird will stay silent and won't question you."

Since it's called "Old Crow's Mouth," there must be a "mouth."

Yet even ordinary malevolent spirits in the mountains didn't know what this "mouth" truly was.

Lord Qin nodded.

The locust woman asked again: "Did the Fate Cultivator from the Purification Office just give up?"

"The Purification Office is always like a plaster patch—once stuck, you can't shake it off. But getting into the mountains isn't easy for them," Lord Qin walked forward. "Let's hurry to the street and negotiate with those few—it'll benefit you all."

The locust woman said no more.

Each of the mountain passes leading in was guarded by children; since they hadn't seen any Purification Office people enter, there was no need to worry.

After the last battle, the locust woman and Lord Qin had discussed it, mistakenly attributing the "Hunger-Eater" trickery to the influence of a certain fate pattern, suspecting Xu Yuan was both a Fate Cultivator and a Rank Dan Xiu.

Xu Yuan had cast the trickery inside the cart; none of them had seen the true situation.

Though their reasoning was wrong, their conclusion was correct.

After crossing the mountain ahead, Old Crow's Mouth came into view.

Lord Qin's eyes gleamed with excitement; though his men had suffered heavy losses and he himself had suffered heavily, he finally saw the hope of completing his mission.

"Hurry!" he urged his men, rushing ahead toward Old Crow's Mouth.

Ceng Si and the others quickened their pace; the locust woman cackled and spurred the children to follow.

On the riverbank, the impatient Lord Qin still led the way.

He overlooked one thing: facing Old Crow's Mouth, he should have let the locust woman go first to confirm the situation.

This was a trivial mistake, for at the boundary line, Lord Qin would surely realize his error.

But if the locust woman had gone ahead first, all the traps on the riverbank would have been triggered by her locusts.

In the forest, Xu Yuan felt his "Eight-Sided Injury Affliction" stir again.

One of Lord Qin's men suddenly screamed; the others turned to see he had stepped into a trap—a shallow pit only a foot deep, now transformed into a gaping maw with fangs, clamping down hard on his ankle!

"Ahh!"

Everyone assumed they were under malevolent spirit attack, scattering in panic; three more stepped into traps and were seized by the fanged mouths, unable to break free.

Ceng Si rushed back—then suddenly felt pain beneath his foot; he looked down and saw a counting rod embedded in his sole.

He had just walked through this spot—there had been nothing there!

Yan Lao could control his own counting rods.

The remaining four of Lord Qin's men all screamed at once, collapsing while clutching their feet—each sole pierced by a counting rod!

Yan Lao had calculated their exact standing positions with perfect accuracy.

Fu Jingyu's traps also activated: flying stones and void flames erupted; those trapped screamed in agony.

In the forest, Xu Yuan shouted: "Attack!"

Bai Laoyan and Lu Zhengyan burst out first.

Lu Zhengyan carried his great guan dao; before even leaving the forest, he had already drawn his horn bow to full draw and loosed an arrow—*whoosh*.

*Plop! *—it struck precisely through the neck of a man lying on the ground.

Bai Laoyan could also use a bow; mountain folk always carried two weapons: a firewood axe and a bow.

His bow was a simple hunter's bow, dull and plain, far less ornate than Lu Zhengyan's horn bow.

Yet it too struck one of the men caught in the trap.

They exchanged glances—both simultaneously felt the urge to compete.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! *

Arrow after arrow flew from the forest; Lord Qin watched his men fall one by one, clutching their throats, his eyes blazing with rage: "Don't panic—"

After the last battle, besides Ceng Si, Lord Qin had nine men left.

Two were eaten last night; seven remained when they reached the riverbank.

Three were caught in the traps; four had their soles pierced by counting rods.

Bai Laoyan and Lu Zhengyan had默契; Bai Laoyan shot first at those caught in the traps, Lu Zhengyan shot first at those pierced by counting rods.

Bai Laoyan killed three; Lu Zhengyan's speed was no slower—he also killed three; the two drew their bows simultaneously and fired at the last man.

*Plop! *

Both arrows struck the man's neck almost at the same instant.

The man, whether lucky or cursed, clutched his neck with two arrows embedded and collapsed.

"Impressive skill!" Bai Laoyan praised Lu Zhengyan.

Lu Zhengyan set aside his bow, flipped his hand to draw his great guan dao from his back, and muttered: "You won."

Bai Laoyan's arrows all struck the throat; Lu Zhengyan's had struck one in the chest.

"The heroes of this mountain are truly formidable!" Lu Zhengyan was truly convinced in his heart.

Lord Qin was furious; the opponent moved too fast, arrows flying one after another. His craft-objects had not yet had time to unfold. If he were even slightly slower, he could at least protect two or three people.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The massive spider legs unfolded one by one, and Lord Qin rushed straight to kill Lu Zhengyan!

He knew Lu Zhengyan possessed a skill of divine archery; as for that strange-looking thing nearby, Lord Qin did not take it to heart.

The two were shooting arrows in the woods; Lord Qin had not seen the specific situation.

Lu Zhengyan roared, chopping down with a blade that collided with the spider leg.

Bang!

Lu Zhengyan retreated two steps; Lord Qin's spider leg drove deep into the ground, and his body swayed twice.

Bai Laoyan's body shrank, sliding along the ground beneath the spider leg, and the firewood knife in his hand flicked upward—

Relying on his fine armor, Lord Qin twisted his body slightly to avoid the vital spot...

Crack!

The armor shattered!

Underestimating the mountain people had exacted a price.

Lord Qin broke out in a cold sweat. Damn it! If this great matter succeeds, this lord will still bestow blessings upon his descendants for generations.

You almost cut off my descendants.

But immediately after, the excruciating pain from the shock of that blade strike came.

"Aaaah—" Lord Qin let out a piercing cry and slammed the hand drum downward with fierce force.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Bai Laoyan fell headfirst onto the riverbank.

A huge spider leg lifted up and stabbed straight at him.

A rope flew over, wrapped around Bai Laoyan's foot, and dragged him away.

Shink!

An iron spike fell past Bai Laoyan's head; the rope quickly retracted. Lord Qin was furious, and several spider legs chased after him in turn, stabbing repeatedly.

(End of this chapter)