Chapter 369: King Meets King, Kunpeng Touches the Clouds

On the wilderness, a figure crawled on the ground.

Mao Lang pressed his ear against the soil, caught a trace of movement, reached out to pierce the earth layer, and pulled out a struggling mouse.

He had long been famished, unable to resist tearing open the mouse's throat, sucking dry the hot blood, and eating it all into his stomach without leaving a scrap.

He had been hiding in Tianjing Fang, eaten up all the supplies Zhou You left behind, and hunted the surrounding foxes and wild rabbits to extinction; seeing that he was about to go hungry, he finally could not help but go outside.

Ever since the Five Birds Palace was destroyed, the fate of the Five Birds was unknown, and the city was in chaos.

Mao Lang took the opportunity to escape the city and return to the wild, eating one meal and starving the next, sleeping in the open.

His clothes were long worn and tattered, his skin peeling in large patches; he felt as if he had returned to the past, to the state before he met his mentor Mao Laoliu, a wild child mingling with a pack of beasts.

His master was dead, his enemy was also dead; he had not only lost his family, but even his hatred was gone.

The only thing keeping Mao Lang alive was nothing more than the hunger instinct of this body, forcing him to search everywhere for food.

Occasionally, his chaotic mind would remind him that he was once a person, someone who had elders to care for him, who wore clothes, ate hot food, and had companions.

Now, however, he was all alone, and the world was empty, with nothing else left.

Whenever this happened, a wave of melancholy and sorrow would well up in Mao Lang's heart.

Suddenly, a scent unique to a living creature drifted over with the wind; there was prey again.

Mao Lang curled his body into a hollow, pulling a large cluster of withered vines and grass to cover his body and conceal his tracks.

It was a person!

A stumbling figure walked from the distance, muttering to himself, his eyes filled with vacancy.

It was a madman!

The sound of his speech was like two people arguing and conversing.

Mao Lang's throat moved a few times; he was truly hungry, but the face of an old man appeared in his mind, and he immediately dismissed the thought.

I am a human, not a beast; humans cannot eat humans.

Since it was not prey, Mao Lang was no longer interested in him, so he shook his head and continued lying down to conserve his strength.

He had almost forgotten that he had a nickname, "Mad Beast"; wouldn't it be quite a coincidence to run into a madman?

"Who?"

Ever since the High-Level Martial Master left Gongliang City, he thought he had escaped the cage, but he did not expect the situation to deteriorate rapidly.

Two bewitching forces collided, splitting his thoughts directly into two halves, clashing and bumping at every moment.

He was mad, his thoughts split; there were two people talking in his mind, their viewpoints completely opposite, arguing at every moment.

Sometimes clear-headed, sometimes chaotic, he simply could not walk very far.

Fortunately, this body was already a High-Level Martial Master and still had the power to protect itself, otherwise, he would have long been killed by wild beasts or bandits.

"Hmm?"

The High-Level Martial Master rarely regained clarity and discovered traces of Qi and blood ahead; there was actually a Qi and blood warrior hiding there.

Fearing that he would meet with misfortune if he went mad later, he struck first to gain the advantage, stepping forward to drag out the person in ambush.

"How is it a savage?"

He also forgot that he was a semi-madman, no better than the savage.

Mao Lang was grabbed without any power to resist, baring his teeth, "Let go of me."

He made a gesture to open his mouth and bite.

He was thrown heavily to the ground, seeing stars, his internal organs turned upside down, and hot steam puffed from his mouth and nose.

The High-Level Martial Master thought to himself, it's just a savage, why bother with nonsense; just kill him.

Just as he lifted his foot to stomp him to death, a wave of dizziness hit his mind; it was happening again, the madness taking over.

After an unknown amount of time, the High-Level Martial Master regained his senses and checked his entire body, surprised to find he was not injured.

Looking not far away, Mao Lang was sleeping soundly, pillowing his head on the half-eaten corpse of a brown wolf; he actually hadn't taken advantage of him while he lost his sanity? "Wake up!"

The High-Level Martial Master woke Mao Lang up, "You watched me go mad the whole time?" Mao Lang rubbed his eyes and nodded, "I also go mad often; there's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Why didn't you eat me?"

The High-Level Martial Master stared into his eyes, prepared to strike him dead if the answer was wrong.

"I don't eat people."

Mao Lang shook his head earnestly, "Master told me I am a human, and humans cannot eat humans; even if I starve to death, I cannot eat them."

The High-Level Martial Master looked into his eyes; had this child forgotten that the master he spoke of died by his own hands?

The Mad Beast Mao Lang, bearing the crime of killing his master, was a degenerate reviled by all and unforgivable for his entire life.

Meeting in the wild is fate! "Listen well, from now on you follow me; when I go mad, don't worry about anything, just keep leading me on the road."

"In return, I will give you food and clothing, teach you fist techniques, and let you live more like a human."

Mao Lang tilted his head and thought; the last person who said this to him was his master, and those who treated him this way were all good people!

He nodded earnestly, "Deal."

The High-Level Martial Master introduced himself, "Remember, I am your protector, a High-Level Martial Master, 'No-Second-Handle' Gong Jinhuan."

"The place we are going to is a sect called Wanxiu Mountain."

Kunpengzi was in a very bad mood; a slightly heavy chess piece had slipped away.

The hidden danger behind this matter was very serious; his plan had been severely challenged, and his most prized Seal Script had failed.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Kunpengzi wrote furiously, writing a sacrificial text very quickly and well, "Three coins."

The customer left, there was no work for the moment, and his mood began to turn bad again.

Kunpengzi calculated in his heart; Du Yan Lu Zhigang was originally a small chess piece, but after trading him for a major piece, he had vanished without a trace.

No need to ask further; to be able to perform such extreme maneuvers right under his nose, the one behind it must be Moyunzi.

This fellow Daoist of the Golden Immortal Dao has brought him more trouble than surprise!

"Breaking my bewitchment and releasing Gong Jinhuan—this person's inheritance is not inferior to mine."

Kunpengzi gripped a beast-head seal in his palm, gently stroking the raised patterns on its surface, lost in thought.

But this is Gongliang City, his home turf; Moyunzi cannot gain any advantage here.

"The power of bewitchment is like a thousand threads; you likely do not know that everyone in this city is in the palm of my hand."

Kunpengzi chuckled softly and struck the beast-head seal heavily against the tabletop; a clattering sound rang out, and the surroundings quietly began to change as a strange light flashed in the eyes of a passerby, and through the intersection of gazes, the strange light appeared in the eyes of another.

On the streets, in the shops, and in the markets, wherever there were crowds, scenes of eyes meeting occurred; the strange light spread rapidly like a fish in water, passing from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred.

Just like this, through word of mouth, it spread rapidly to every corner of the city.

The source of it all, Kunpengzi, remained calm and composed, quietly waiting for the situation to ferment.

From the moment he stepped into Gongliang City, he had already laid the groundwork; the power of bewitchment shrouded the entire city, leaving no blind spots.

The massive network created by the rapidly spreading strange light swept over every living person of flesh and blood in the city, screening for any anomalies.

Suddenly... the strange light flickered slightly and actually cut off at a certain node, as if it had fallen into a bottomless abyss and been swallowed halfway.

"Found you, Moyunzi."

Kunpengzi opened his eyes.

The location was a stall; beside a steaming pot, the white-haired and white-bearded Moyunzi Yan Ping was rubbing his hands, waiting for the wild vegetable and grain steamed buns about to be ready.

The sallow-faced stall owner enthusiastically lifted the lid, and steam rose above his head, swirling over this small alley.

(End of this chapter)