Chapter 312: Advising You to Shut Your Mouth

The sky was neither bright nor dark, and the sound of hooves echoed on the mountain road.

The duck herder was sleeping soundly in his shed when he was suddenly startled awake; by the time he opened his eyes, several Daoist priests and martial artists from the pugilistic world were already standing around the shed.

Most of the Daoists carried long swords, the short and thin martial artists carried broadswords, and the tall, imposing martial artists were filled with malevolent energy. Upon opening his eyes, the herder saw nothing but donkey legs and horse hooves all around, dense as a forest, which was truly terrifying.

"Hiss!"

The duck herder was instantly jolted awake.

"Have no fear, good believer; we are merely martial artists who have lost our way," Daoist Qingxuan spoke first, smiling kindly. "Seeing a fellow countryman herding ducks here, we came to ask: where is this place?"

In the past, such tasks were usually handled by Luo Seng. However, although Lord Luo was skilled at dealing with people, he was too tall and imposing, and his pugilistic aura and malevolent energy were too frightening; in the end, he was not as approachable as Daoist Qingxuan.

"This, this is within the borders of Jinping County. You, esteemed Daoist masters and heroes of the pugilistic world, where are you heading?"

The duck herder was badly frightened. Although he sat up, he huddled inside the duck shed, looking at them timidly and answering in a stutter.

"..."

A small, brown-clad ghost suddenly appeared, looked at the duck herder, then turned to look at the surroundings and nodded solemnly.

It had noted it down: this was Jinping County.

The duck herder was startled once more.

The others reacted differently; some were surprised, others became vigilant, but before they could do anything, the brown-clad ghost vanished again.

"No need to be nervous; this is a little ghost raised by Fellow Daoist Lin, quite mischievous by nature," Daoist Qingxuan said, relieved, then looked back at the duck herder. "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. We are only here to ask for directions and mean no harm."

"Who, who exactly are you people?"

"Just travelers asking for directions."

The mountain was quiet in the early morning, and the voices of the group were incredibly clear, accompanied only by the occasional snort of a horse and the quacking of ducks from behind.

Lin Jue and Lord Luo listened to their conversation while observing the duck shed and its surroundings.

Duck herding is an ancient profession.

These people often travel far and wide with a shed; the shed is about the size of a small bed, with an arched roof like that of a boat, which can shelter them from wind and rain.

The duck herder carries the shed during the day, which contains pots, pans, bowls, mats, and bedding; at night, they set the shed down and sleep inside it.

They set off when the ducks are small; wherever they go, the local weeds, fish, shrimp, and insects serve as food for the ducks. The herder trades ducks or duck eggs for their own food along the way. By the time they return home, the ducklings have grown into large ducks. It seems to have no cost, but it is actually very hard work.

Lin Jue saw the flock of grown ducks, huddled together, honestly shrinking behind the duck shed, staring at them.

At the same time, he also saw the pots and pans beside the shed.

"What, what do you want to ask?"

"We want to ask how to get to Jinping County," Daoist Qingxuan said with a smile.

"Jinping County? Isn't it just along this road? There, there are no other roads," the duck herder answered fearfully.

"We heard that there is a yaoguai causing trouble in Jinping County?"

"Ah? Yes, yes, there is a yaoguai causing trouble!" The duck herder nodded immediately, his eyes filled with terror as he described it to them. "I heard that the yaoguai is very powerful; it entered the county seat, and all the officials in the city were eaten by it!"

"That powerful?"

"Yes."

"Then you, brother, are not very kind!" Wan Xinrong, who was behind them, interjected. "With such a fierce yaoguai causing trouble in Jinping County, and hearing that we were heading there, you didn't even give us a word of warning!"

"This..."

The duck herder was momentarily confused by him and became even more flustered.

"This humble one just woke up, my brain is still like mush, and I am timid. As soon as I woke up, I saw all you immortal masters; I was afraid, and my mouth is clumsy, I didn't know what to say. Master, spare my life, spare my life..."

As the duck herder spoke, he wanted to kowtow to him.

Daoist Qingxuan naturally hurried to bow and block him.

Lin Jue stood to the side, lowered his head to look at the fox, and whispered to it: "He has you in his mind, stubborn fox..."

The fox's ears twitched, shaking off the filth.

"Good believer, there is no need for this! Just a joke! A joke! The fellow Daoist beside me only saw that you were too nervous and afraid and wanted to make you laugh, but unfortunately, it had the opposite effect!" Daoist Qingxuan said with a smile. "We want to ask about the current situation in Jinping County. Is the yaoguai still in the city? How many people did it eat? How many subordinates does it have?"

"How would this humble one know such things..."

The duck herder changed from sitting in the shed to lying prone in it, answering respectfully and fearfully.

"Then how did you know that there was a yaoguai causing trouble in the city?"

"A few days ago, when I was herding ducks here, I met a group of people on the side of the road. They told me and advised me to leave this place quickly."

"Then why haven't you left yet?"

"That was a few days ago. With so many ducks, how could I walk that fast? If I lost these ducks, I would starve to death upon returning home; what difference would that be from being eaten by a yaoguai?"

"That makes sense," Daoist Qingxuan said. "Then on this journey, have you not encountered any yaoguai?"

"I am a duck herder. I have to avoid the deep mountains to avoid encountering yaoguai, and I also have to avoid villages to avoid letting them eat people's crops. Perhaps because of this, I haven't encountered any yaoguai. Today, I thought I had already reached the edge of Jinping County and would be out in another day, so I slept by the main road, thinking I would leave early in the morning."

"So that's how it is."

Daoist Qingxuan's expression remained gentle, and he finally asked: "Does the good believer really know nothing about the situation in the city? Did those people who told you about the danger not warn you at all?"

"That was days ago. They said the yaoguai ate all the officials in the city, smashed the Daoist temples and Buddhist monasteries, and captured many people, saying it wanted to take them back to raise them," the duck herder said, shivering. "At that time, those yaoguai should still have been in the city, but now, I don't know."

"Many thanks, good believer."

"No thanks, no thanks."

"Farewell."

"Are you few going to Jinping County?"

"We are Daoists from the Guanxing Palace in the capital, and we are going to Jinping County to do some things under the orders of the Palace Master," Daoist Qingxuan said.

"Then you must be very careful."

"Many thanks."

Daoist Qingxuan straightened his body and bowed to him.

The group turned around, either riding donkeys or mounting horses, and left. The sound of hooves faded, and their figures soon disappeared into the forest.

The duck herder was still shivering, as if he had been through a shock; he even shuddered as if he had survived a disaster before gradually relaxing.

This was normal—

There was already a yaoguai causing trouble here, and he had to be careful, careful, and more careful while walking here. Early in the morning, before the sky was even bright, such a group of people appeared beside him; anyone would be afraid.

The duck herder quickly packed his things, preparing to leave.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he emerged from the duck shed.

He removed the partition under the duck shed, revealing a space just large enough for a person to stand in; he stepped inside, lifted the duck shed, and could then carry it while walking.

He reached out his hand and picked up the whip.

"He-xu!"

The ducks immediately started walking.

But he looked left and right, then extended his left hand and pointed into the flock of ducks.

"Ga..."

A duck flew out.

This duck was thinner than ordinary ducks, its feathers were more colorful, and it flew more easily; it was clearly a wild duck.

The wild duck landed inside the duck shed.

The duck herder carried the duck shed, turned around, and scanned the surroundings before lowering his head and whispering to the wild duck: "Go quickly and tell General Wolf that some Daoists have come, claiming to be from Guanxing Palace. In my view, there is more falsehood than truth; ask him to be prepared to deal with them."

"Ga..."

The wild duck answered, flapped its wings, and immediately flew up into the sky.

But it never expected that a black line would flash through the air.

It was an arrow, which in an instant connected the mountain forest with the wild duck, pierced through it, and fell down.

"Hiss!"

The duck herder was instantly shocked.

Seeming to sense something, or perhaps due to experience, he almost didn't hesitate; he let go of the carrying pole, threw the duck shed backward, and immediately jumped forward.

The duck shed was closed on three sides, with a door only in the front; he bent his waist and instantly rushed out through this door.

The next moment—

"Boom!"

A golden flame surged over and crashed into the duck shed, just like a river crashing into a giant rock. Under the agitation of the flames, it flowed backward and swallowed and covered the duck shed from all directions.

The scorching temperature could be felt even from a distance, like a ladle of boiling water poured onto his back.

Thinking that the duck shed itself was woven from bamboo and had only a thin layer, it had almost no ability to resist in the midst of these flames.

It only lasted for less than a breath of time.

In that one breath, the duck herder had already crawled out of the duck shed, and taking advantage of the duck shed's brief resistance to the flames, he hurriedly rolled forward.

Only to see the flames smash the duck shed, break through the blockade, and continue to strike the ground, spreading out like a flower along the ground. The thin, dark duck herder in front barely dodged the sweep of the flames, but he didn't stop at all; as soon as he stood up, he continued to run forward.

By the time the flames dissipated, the duck shed was left with only a base, its edges still glowing crimson and emitting black smoke.

But behind it was empty.

It was as if these flames had come out of thin air.

But a closer look would reveal that a small patch of land on the ground was uneven, about the size of a bowl, as if something had burrowed in from there.

The duck herder was still running for his life.

Running past a patch of dense thorns, he suddenly saw a gray-black shadow flash behind the thorns; by the time the duck herder felt something was wrong, it was already too late.

A long spear broke through the air, sweeping across the army.

The force of ten thousand jun struck his body.

"Puff!"

A cloud of dust suddenly burst from his chest.

The duck herder was instantly sent flying, and while still in the air, he was already vomiting blood.

But his backward momentum didn't stop until he crashed into a large tree behind him, only then did he stop, bounce back, and land on the ground.

"Puff..."

The duck herder vomited another mouthful of blood.

But his vitality was incredibly tenacious; he actually climbed up again, preparing to change direction and run again.

But he never expected that the soil layer in front of him would loosen, in an area about the size of a bowl, and then a white shadow would flash; however, what appeared before him was a four-tailed white fox larger than a mountain tiger.

This white fox was huge, and its mouth seemed capable of biting his entire head off; with just one paw extended, it easily pressed him to the ground, just like an ordinary fox pressing down on a duck.

"Yin and Yang..."

The duck herder opened his mouth, struggling to chant a spell.

With a slap!

A fox's paw interrupted him, and a mouthful of cold air wrapped him inside, instantly freezing his entire body as if he were frozen stiff, making him shiver and unable to speak.

A fox can also advise you to shut your mouth.

Fuyao lowered its head and stared at him, thinking just that.

Then Lord Luo walked out of the forest with his spear, the spearhead dragging on the ground, carving a mark, and an armored soldier holding a bow walked out from the other side, his armor heavy, colliding and making a sound.

"Many thanks, hero!" The fox imitated its own Daoist and said this, then called out in a clear, thin voice, "Body returns to the spirit bean, soldiers return to the Great Wall!"

The armored soldier instantly turned back into a bean and was picked up by the martial artist.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 313 =====