Chapter 109

After going forward a distance, the current became turbulent again, and ahead there was a continual 'hiss-hiss' sound.

After a while, up ahead suddenly brightened; after the iron boat left the cave, they saw an enormous spring at the mouth continuously spraying huge water columns.

"Rong'er, you all go up first; I'll go into the water to have a look," Niu Dingtian said, staring at the water column.

This surging water column seemed no different from ordinary water, lacking that special aura; the problem likely lay underwater, concerning the miraculous breathing technique, he intended to go down and check the situation.

"Then, Brother Niu, be careful; I and Sister Xiao Ying are waiting for you,"

Seeing Niu Dingtian not joking, Miss Huang felt a bit worried; the current here is very swift.

"If you can't hold on, come up quickly; safety comes first."

"Damn it, treating it as his own home!" Niu Dingtian cursed silently, his face unchanged, he said with a grin:

"Brother Niu, why don't we see that woodcutter?" Miss Huang continued to ask.

"Huff-huff~ huff-huff~"

Han Xiao Ying saw this, pulled Niu Dingtian to sit beside Miss Huang, and softly said: "Your hair is all messed up; I'll fix it for you."

After resting a while on the rock, the three then walked toward the mountain peak ahead.

After carefully sensing the special aura and determining the position, he used his energy to sink down near the cave mouth, continually diving deeper; the closer he got to the depths, the stronger that feeling became, and his internal breathing technique also operated more swiftly.

Niu Dingtian did not interrupt this warm moment; he had already grown somewhat tired from being underwater just now, and after Han Xiao Ying finished tidying her hair bun, he then, with one hand holding someone, lay down on the boulder.

Seeming to have thought of something, Niu Dingtian raised his eyebrows slightly, half-smiling, and said: "Could it be that General Wu adopted that girl called He Yuanjun, and never had any proper intentions at all?"

After closing his eyes to rest a while, he opened them to look at the spring; at this moment, the water column, bathed in the sunset, cast a faint rainbow, the three held hands and lay side by side on the boulder, and Niu Dingtian's heart was filled with clarity.

Wu Santong's eyes narrowed, he glanced at the two Miss Huangs running up from behind, and said in a deep voice: "What brings you all to seek an audience with my master?"

He originally shouldn't have been in such a sorry state, but he hadn't expected that Niu Dingtian, though young, would be so swift in movement; out of shame and anger, he rose and attacked again.

The iron rake, whistling with fierce wind, was about to fan his face; Niu Dingtian shifted his feet with an instant displacement, a phantom flashing past, and Wu Santong, off his guard, fell flat on his face.

Seeing Miss Huang's performance, Niu Dingtian gave an approving glance, then looked at Wu Santong and smiled:

"How? Looking at General Wu's attitude……could it be that those who previously came to seek medical treatment from the One Lamp Grand Master all fell victim to your brothers' poisonous hands?"

Just as the two were deadlocked in argument, the water surface suddenly burst with a huge splash; Niu Dingtian's head shot up out of the water, he gasped a few breaths urgently, then blurted out 'grass mud horse'. This was, in a moment of crisis, his soul's most primal instinctive reaction.

Just as he had stepped onto the peak, he heard in the distance a whip crack, a shout, and several lowing of cattle.

After entering the water, he only then discovered that the water was extremely deep, bottomless; the constantly surging spring water made it somewhat difficult for him to maintain his balance in the water.

After giving a solemn instruction, he again turned sideways and lifted Han Xiao Ying, summoning strength throughout his body, leaping up with a whoosh, and like an eagle soaring to the heavens, he sprang toward the peak.

After a while longer passed with no one appearing, her face gradually turned pale; she, who often played in the water at the seaside, naturally knew that those bubbles just now were… like… the final struggle in the water…

After spitting out a mouthful of blood, Wu Santong covered his chest, his gaze cold as he stared at Niu Dingtian, and said in a icy tone:

"Who gave you permission to come and hit on my Yuanjun?"

Sure enough, upon hearing those words, Wu Santong's face changed instantly, he leapt out of the field, and roared:

"You all leave immediately! My master will not see any patients! If you don't go down the mountain, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Miss Huang, tightly watching the water's edge, suddenly saw two large bubbles rise on the surface, and her heart tightened abruptly.

But Niu Dingtian and the others had not yet approached; over there, Wu Santong had already noticed the commotion, put down his plow, stood firm, furrowed his thick brows, and shouted:

"Who let you up here? Get down quickly!"

Walking to the foot of the peak, they saw a vine as thick as an arm hanging down from above along the peak; looking up, they saw the upper half of the peak already lost in the mist.

The two women exchanged a glance,

and at the same time thought of a certain possibility.

"You little brat, shut up!!"

"Huh? Cut wood? Maybe the firewood at home is enough to burn."

Han Xiao Ying grabbed him with one hand, pulled him behind her, and said: "No! Rong'er, stay on the shore! I'm going down!"

After hastily grabbing the vine from her body, Miss Huang glanced at the distant scene, then teasingly said to Niu Dingtian: "Brother Niu, aren't you feeling any pity?"

Niu Dingtian: Rong'er, I thank you on behalf of Sister Han!

But the more he explained, the more his heart burned; Niu Dingtian simply closed his eyes, pretending not to have heard.

"Splash-splash~"

After looking around for a while, he still saw no sign of the legendary woodcutter.

After seizing the opportunity to hurl a clump of earth, Miss Huang, still not appeased, from time to time tossed clods of dirt at Wu Santong while standing nearby.

This was something the four senior brothers had long ago agreed upon; thus the four of them year-round guarded the mountain's main access, blocking outsiders who came to visit. For the few youngsters who suddenly scrambled up, he naturally would not give them a pleasant face.

Just as the iron rake neared his chest, he shifted his phantom foot, thrust out a palm with a flat push, and with a boom, that palm directly sent Wu Santong flying into the space between the field ridges.

"This is a kind of divine beast used for greetings, symbolizing meekness and auspiciousness; however, it's merely a record in miscellaneous texts, its authenticity unverifiable, so Rong'er need not take it too seriously."

After seeing that, Han Xiao Ying's expression also gradually stiffened; it had already been more than two quarters of an hour—even the fish would have come up for air—so it couldn't be…

"Rong'er, hold on tight!"

This place is the master's retreat; outsiders are not to be disturbed, and they are certainly not allowed to come for medical treatment.

Han Xiao Ying walked to the shore, reached out and handed it over, giving a slightly reproachful sideways glance.

After putting on a show and striking a few times, he returned the treasure sword to Han Xiao Ying, then sat himself on a large stone to sulk.

"Hurry up and come up!"

Against this wicked scoundrel, he had resolved today to give him a good lesson; but since he was here as a visitor, he would absolutely not strike first—Niu Dingtian keeps his word!

"Seeking treatment from the One Lamp Grand Master!" Niu Dingtian stepped forward with his hands behind his back, returning a grin, just waiting for this guy to change his expression.

"Pfft~"

Han Xiao Ying gave a gentle reminder, then helped Miss Huang ashore.

Wu Santong's face froze; he neither denied nor admitted, after easing his tone, he said in a deep voice:

"What brings you three here? If it's nothing, hurry down; someone already lives on this mountain, outsiders are not allowed to ascend!"

After ten breaths, the long vine began to extend forward; Niu Dingtian again gripped the long vine with great pulling force, leapt forward, and the three directly stepped onto the peak.

Pa—

Damn thing! Making you wait so long! Making you wait so long! And now you've made this young lady worry!

Damn it! I hate it most in my life when someone beats an ox! You damned Wu Santong!

Miss Huang hurriedly pulled Han Xiao Ying and chased after them.

Clang—

"Pfft—" Han Xiao Ying couldn't hold back, covered her mouth and laughed, then scolded Miss Huang: "Rong'er, don't be mischievous."

At such a height, Niu Dingtian dared not be careless; he seized a long vine and tightly bound Miss Huang in his embrace.

Niu Dingtian gave an embarrassed smile, after climbing ashore with his hands, he circulated Nine Yang True Qi, and a few whooshes dried his clothes and hair, but the hair bun on his head had become somewhat loose.

Seeing this, Niu Dingtian's eyes flickered slightly, he stepped forward a few paces, and said with a smile:

"I heard that General Wu's household has an adopted daughter named He Yuanjun, who, barely past ten, possesses flower-like beauty and moon-like grace; I, still unmarried, wish to ask General Wu for her hand in marriage—I wonder…?"

"Miss Huang sees how impolite you are!"

"Want to hold out a bit?"

Squinting his eyes halfway, looking at the radiance not far away, Niu Dingtian hesitated a little; the strong water pressure had already made his eyes feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Niu Dingtian's face darkened, he snorted, then ignored the little girl, but still walked toward that yellow ox.

The sword flashed out of its sheath in an instant, a cold light gleamed; behind him, Han Xiao Ying moved like a swimming dragon, directly pressing forward with her sword, the sword light came swiftly, Wu Santong swept his rake to block.

Miss Huang urgently said: "No! I'll go down first; if I can't come back up, Xiao Ying sis, you go down after me!"

Turning around to look at Wu Santong again, Niu Dingtian asked with a stern face:

Miss Huang, who had caught up from behind, hearing this, raised her eyebrows and angrily declared: "Miss Huang insists on not going down the mountain! Let's see how impolite you can be!"

Wu Santong angrily shouted: "Damn your mother's nonsense! You little brats! Today, Grandpa won't give you a look to see, and you'll have to take my surname!"

Without much hesitation, after exhaling, Niu Dingtian decisively turned his body and began to swim upstream.

Those words seemed not to be false; his clenched palms had already straightened, ready to strike at any moment.

Ding—

After hearing Miss Huang's reminder, Niu Dingtian finally realized he hadn't seen the woodcutter.

"Naturally I've come to see Master Yideng! What? Master Yideng won't see me?"

"This yellow ox honestly serves you, plowing your fields and sowing seeds; your teacher Master Yideng is a benevolent person—has he ever taught you to repay kindness with enmity, to mistreat your benefactor?"

Miss Huang suddenly understood, saying: "Then can Rong'er greet Brother Niu and Sister Han with 'grass mud horse'?"

Niu Dingtian did not make a move; the swordswoman Han's sword technique progressed remarkably, combined with the Light Wave Microstep, more than enough to deal with Wu Santong.

After the momentum waned, he gripped the long vine with one hand and exerted great force; the three figures shot upward again, and in a moment they had plunged into the clouds.

Could it be that…?

After hastily adjusting his breath, he steadied his mind and continued swimming deeper; although the water surface above was not large, the deeper he went, the larger the space below became; as the water bottom gradually darkened, Niu Dingtian noticed a faint phosphorescence in the water, flashing with mysterious radiance.

Niu Dingtian suddenly didn't know how to answer; his appearance upon emerging from the water seemed somewhat crude; he pondered:

"Ox-loving people are just this overbearing, just this unreasonable; hearing this, Wu Santong in the arena flared with anger, nearly swinging his iron rake empty."

Er…

Ho—

On the mountain peak was a flat plot, already cleared into over ten mu of terraced fields; in the distance, a peasant seemed to be plowing, one hand holding a plow, the other swinging a whip to lash the yellow ox; the peasant's temperament seemed somewhat impatient, whipping the ox until it lowed continuously.

"This is trying to take my life! It seems this calamity has already formed intent! Niu Dingtian's eyes flashed with cold light; he stood his ground, watching the iron rake thrust toward his chest."

Go back!

Those words just now had touched the secret buried deep in his heart—it was his reverse scale, an unspeakable taboo, causing him to lose his reason.

By now, about two quarters of an hour had passed; his vital breath was nearly exhausted, yet ahead there still remained a short distance.

"Wuu—wu—wu— Xiao Ying sis! I want to go down!" Miss Huang had already burst into tears; after saying that, she was about to jump into the water.

Moo—moo—

After pushing the iron boat ashore, Niu Dingtian didn't even take off his clothes; he took a deep breath and then plunged into the water with a "plop."

After a while, Miss Huang, perhaps her anger having subsided, shifted upward a bit and whispered: "Brother Niu, what is 'grass mud horse'?"

Yet her own eyes were still full of smiles, continuously rippling.

"Grass mud horse! It's suffocated this old man!"

After catching his breath, he saw Miss Huang's eyes brimming with tears on the shore; he was about to tease her a couple of times when Miss Huang snatched Han Xiao Ying's sword and swung it at him, shouting angrily:

"Could it be that I am the reincarnation of some great immortal? Thinking of this, Niu Dingtian couldn't hold his breath, and a sudden rush of water surged in, making him gulp a mouthful."

Niu Dingtian walked up slowly, stared at Wu Santong on the ground, his eyes flickering repeatedly, and said lightly:

"When a man comes of age he should marry; when a woman comes of age she should wed; having reached that age, a woman naturally ought to leave her chambers—General Wu, even if you're unwilling, there's no need to rush to strike me down with lethal force, is there?"

In an instant, sword and rake clashed, ringing ding-ding; sword light flew, rake shadow gusted; the two exchanged blows, grappling on the roadside.

Having said that, he undid the headband on his hair bun, let his hair fall loose, smoothed it strand by strand, then retied it into a bun.

Just now, he recalled a water-breath holding technique from the Nine Yin Classic; he felt a bit annoyed, wondering what he had been doing earlier—maybe he should go back and practice first, as his life is more important!

Gurgle—

……

Having said that, he grabbed the iron rake from the ground, lunged forward at the few people, and directly swung it at Niu Dingtian's face.

Ding—

Walking up to the yellow ox, he stroked the whip marks on its back, fastened the yoke, then gently patted its hindquarters a few times; the yellow ox lowed twice at him and then ran off happily.

"What? Could this mountain be your home?" Niu Dingtian glanced askance and directly questioned:

Wu Santong exploded in fury, let out a roar, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes; he swept the iron rake sideways, pressing down Han Xiao Ying's incoming thrust, leapt toward Niu Dingtian, and stabbed straight at his chest.

"Courting death!!"

Upon hearing these words, Wu Santong seemed to have been struck in a sore spot, his eyes bloodshot, he leapt up and slapped straight at Niu Dingtian's chest.

(End of chapter)