Chapter 382

"This is..."

The secret agent Gong Jun's face turned ugly.

He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and said solemnly: "This was my mistake; this place is not safe, let's leave immediately!"

"Sigh~ what's the rush?"

Li Yan shook his head slightly, "It's about to get dark, and it's not easy to find a place to stay; let's rest for a night first."

After saying this, he took the lead and headed toward the ruined temple.

After arriving at the temple, he looked at the couplet and laughed out loud.

The secret agent Gong Jun frowned: "Why is the Young Master laughing?"

Li Yan pointed at the dilapidated couplet and said: "Near Xiangyang, I once saw a Xu Shu temple, which read: 'Recommending Zhuge at Xinye, the three kingdoms were divided for a thousand years. Appointing the virtuous and capable, the empire was unified for ten thousand years.' "

"And here it reads: 'Singing in high spirits at Xinye, not saying a word in Cao's camp,' which was indeed erected by the Xu clan, refusing to borrow Zhuge's name."

Gong Jun's eyes twitched, and he advised: "Young Master Li, now is not the time to talk about this; if you want to wait for the rabbit and surround the enemy, we should arrange it in advance."

As expected of a secret agent from the Commandant's Office, he immediately understood Li Yan's intention.

"No rush."

However, Li Yan only replied with one sentence and entered the temple rapidly.

The others followed closely, except for Wu Ba, who was holding the bruised macaque according to Lu San's order.

This shrine was not large; after the surrounding side rooms collapsed, only one main hall stood alone.

On the brick altar in the hall, the statue of the Han-clothed scholar had lost its head and was covered in spider webs and dust.

The surrounding walls were mottled and moldy, the murals had long since peeled off, and only one area had been cleaned, with some straw placed there, and a fire pit in the center.

Li Yan took a look, and his doubts were completely dispelled.

The straw pile was full of the scent of the secret agent beside him; he must have lived here for a long time, just that he didn't understand Mystic Sect secret techniques, so he was tracked.

As for the others, they also moved quickly.

Sha Sha Li Fei gathered firewood, piled all the debris in the ruined temple in the middle, and then jumped onto the roof beam, opening several holes to use as shooting ports...

Lu San gave a whistle, and Rat One and Rat Two immediately darted out, rushing out of the ruined temple; in no time, squeaking sounds could be heard in the dense forest...

Wang Wang Daoxuan set out a pile of Dharma tools, looking like he was going to set up a simple Dharma altar, while the strong Wu Ba guarded his side...

Although it looked casual, the entire team was well-organized.

Gong Jun was secretly surprised in his heart; only now did he remember that this team was famous throughout Ezhou, and even the imperial court and Zhenwu Palace had to pay a high price to hire them.

Thinking of this, he immediately straightened his attitude, bowed respectfully: "Young Master Li, if you have any arrangements, just give the order!"

"No rush."

Li Yan smiled slightly, sat down after lighting the campfire, and asked: "Who knew you were coming out to meet us this time?"

Gong Jun understood immediately and said in a low voice: "Does the Young Master suspect that there is a traitor in the Commandant's Office?"

Seeing Li Yan nod in acknowledgment, he pondered for a moment and said: "Others couldn't hide the fact that the Young Master was coming to Nanzhang, but what exactly you were coming for was a secret."

"On the Commandant's Office side, it was arranged by Thousand-Household Huang himself, and no one else knew; after I received the order, I immediately hid my tracks and waited nearby..."

"On the Zhenwu Palace side, they are cooperating with the Baokang army, and only a few high-ranking military generals know..."

"It's impossible to determine which side leaked it."

Li Yan wasn't surprised either, looked at the sunset outside the temple, and said in a low voice: "This time we have to cross the battlefield to enter Inside Shennongjia, so we must act secretly; if we don't find the person, it will be a major hidden danger."

"Let's see who comes to attack later, and interrogate them after we catch them."

"If we can't get anything out of them, we'll immediately hide our tracks and set off from the small mountain paths, without contacting anyone."

"As you wish, Young Master Li."

Gong Jun nodded solemnly.

He knew that Li Yan hadn't said one thing.

If even this led to a leak, then he was the problem!

Li Yan smiled slightly, said no more, walked out of the ruined temple, looked around, took out his compass, found five places, and inserted the "Five Directions Luo Feng Flags" respectively...

…………

Before he knew it, the night grew darker.

Knowing that tonight wouldn't be peaceful, everyone just ate some dry rations simply and sat by the campfire with their weapons.

Seeing the atmosphere was somewhat stifling, Li Yan asked: "Brother Gong, since the imperial court sent you to be our guide, you must be very familiar with Inside Shennongjia; can you tell us about it?"

Gong Jun nodded and said solemnly: "The Young Master guessed right; I am indeed quite familiar with Inside Shennongjia."

"Inside Shennongjia has ancient origins; legend has it that Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs here, and built an altar with wood, riding a crane to fly to heaven, hence the name Inside Shennongjia. It connects to Zhushan in the north, borders Badong in the south, connects to Baokang in the east, and connects to Wushan and Wuxi counties in the west."

"I am from Badong, and my family were hunters for generations; I followed my father into Inside Shennongjia since I was a child, and later, after being recommended by someone, I joined the Commandant's Office."

"The ancient trees there reach the sky, covering the sky like a city; we locals call it 'Wood City.' Thousands of mountains are arranged in rows, and the climate is changeable; sometimes one can experience wind, frost, rain, and snow in a single day."

"There are three common dangers there."

"First is the 'Ghost Wall' (Ghost-Hitting-Wall); after entering the forest, thick fog often rises, the compass fails, and people often fall into it, unable to get out until they die. Even experienced old hunters don't dare to go too deep..."

"Second are the wild beasts in the mountains; jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards, and bears are nothing; there are also some exotic beasts that one has never even heard of. Some animals inside have also turned white and often show supernatural signs..."

"Third are some mountain spirits and demons, which are very hostile to outsiders. They are the masters of the mountain forest; as long as they are discovered, they will harass you endlessly..."

"In recent years, only the Medicine Saint Li Shizhen, with the help of several Mystic Sect experts, has entered and exited safely several times."

"I see..."

Li Yan thought to himself: "We are going to enter Inside Shennongjia to find a fierce Flood Dragon; are there any high mountain lakes inside?"

"Yes!"

Gong Jun said very affirmatively: "When I climbed a high mountain with my father, I looked into the distance and saw a large lake."

"My father said that place is called Nine Dragon Lake; legend has it that when Xue Gang rebelled against the Tang, he camped and trained troops by the lake, but the area around the lake is all swamp, and one will sink into it if not careful, so I have never approached it either."

"Besides that, there are some hidden big lakes that sometimes hide deep in the mountains and can only be seen in special weather..."

Listening to Gong Jun's account, Sha Sha Li Fei had a headache: "This money is not easy to earn; crossing the war zone is trouble, and it will probably be even more dangerous after entering Inside Shennongjia."

Li Yan shook his head: "It's fine; according to the treasure-hunter's information, the location of the trapped Flood Dragon is not far from Baokang County, so we don't need to go too deep."

Gong Jun hurriedly said: "I do know a secret small path that can avoid the war zone and enter Inside Shennongjia from an uninhabited forest area..."

"Squeak!"

Just as he was speaking, Rat One suddenly called out.

Lu San immediately reminded him in a low voice, "Someone is coming, and there are quite a few of them!"

"Everyone be careful."

Li Yan gave an instruction, then closed his eyes, flicked his little finger lightly, and immediately a straw paper puppet flew out from the leather bag at his waist, silently hiding into the night.

The current straw paper puppet was faster, like a white shadow, flying through the trees in the dense forest.

Borrowing its perspective, Li Yan soon saw the enemy.

It was a dense crowd of men, all disheveled, faces covered with black scarves, waists girded with sharp blades, holding bows and arrows, about sixty or seventy people, moving without any order. Mountain bandits?

Li Yan frowned instantly.

He guessed their identities as soon as he saw them.

The intelligence about their team must have been leaked.

Sending these people, isn't it just sending them to their deaths?

Arriving outside the dense forest, the mountain bandits stopped immediately, and a skinny man said to the leader: "Boss, it's here!"

The leader was a burly man, tall and strong, shirtless, his belly and chest covered in black hair, with a fierce face, a full beard, and holding a long Miao saber.

He didn't discover Li Yan spying in the dark at all, looked at the mountain forest with fierce triangular eyes, and said in a low voice: "Did you find out clearly?"

"Absolutely no problem."

The skinny man hurriedly said: "I'm quite familiar with this area; only here has the ruined temple those people mentioned!"

"Boss, let's kill our way in!"

A short, fat man beside him hurriedly added.

!.

"Kill my ass!"

The leader said coldly: "Five thousand taels of silver, is it that easy to get? Those people probably aren't easy to deal with. Don't enter the forest blindly, watch out for ambushes."

"Set fire, force them out, and shoot them to death with arrows!"

"Yes, Boss!"

The mountain bandits responded in unison, then took off the bows and arrows from their backs, wrapped them in cloth and fire oil, and prepared to set fire to the forest.

"Hmph!"

Inside the ruined temple, Li Yan opened his eyes immediately and recounted what happened, "Brother Lu, it's up to you; these people are just a cover, there must be someone hiding in the dark preparing to ambush."

Lu San didn't talk nonsense either, and directly patted the demon gourd.

Hum!

A dense swarm of poisonous bees swarmed out.

The demon gourd had long since been upgraded, and after recently devouring a large amount of "Flood Dragon Gu," their toxicity was even more fierce; each one was as thick as a finger, pitch-black, and even harder to see at night.

Accompanied by the buzzing of wings, the mountain bandits hadn't even reacted before they were rolling on the ground crying for their parents.

These poisonous bees, just by stinging lightly, caused pain like a hot iron burning skin, and within a few breaths, could raise a black-and-blue bump the size of a steamed bun.

With such fierce poison, even a tough man couldn't bear it.

Some mountain bandits were stung twice and fell to the ground foaming at the mouth; most of them jumped and hopped, fleeing toward the distance one after another.

Not long after, a large area of people had fallen to the ground, wailing endlessly.

That mountain bandit leader had stepped into hidden energy and was considered a good hand, but he couldn't withstand the poisonous bees' stings either; his face swelled up, and knowing he had kicked an iron plate, he endured the intense pain and cupped his hands: "Great masters, spare our lives, we admit defeat!"

In the pitch-black dense forest, no one responded.

Hum!

The swarm of poisonous bees left rapidly and returned to the demon gourd.

Seeing this, the mountain bandit leader endured the pain, gritted his teeth, and ran, not caring about his subordinates groaning on the ground.

Pfft!

Just after running ten meters, his whole body stiffened, a huge bloody hole appeared on his head, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

In the darkness, three people walked out slowly.

On the left was an old nun, dressed in black cotton robes, her face pale green, covered in age spots, emitting a rich corpse aura...

On the right was a dwarf, clearly a middle-aged man, but wearing a red bellyband, with his hair in two buns, and rouge painted on his face, shaking his head with a giggle...

The leader was a man in black, with a white cloth wrapped around his head, a red rope tied around his waist, and a long saber on his back.

"As expected of a tough opponent!"

The man in black said coldly: "This bounty is not easy to take; Corpse Granny, force them out!"

That old nun with a pale green face nodded slightly, finally taking out a black wooden fish from her waist, closing her eyes while tapping it, and chanting spells while her body twitched continuously.

Whoosh~

In an instant, a cold wind rose.

The leaves in the surrounding mountain forest rustled, and thick fog rose, appearing one figure after another; looking at their clothing, they were ordinary commoners, but all had pale green faces, their heads hanging low.

Thud, thud, thud!

The wooden fish tapped continuously, and the thick fog spread rapidly.

The mountain bandits who had been lying on the ground suddenly stiffened, then stood up straight, their faces dazed, walking toward the dense forest on tiptoe...

"The Three Ghosts of Near Wuchang!"

Inside the ruined temple, hearing Li Yan's account, Gong Jun exclaimed, and said urgently: "They are the most famous evil cultivators in Near Wuchang."

"One is called Corpse Granny, who excels in controlling Yin ghosts; one is called Huang Huang Jilang, who excels in puppet techniques; the leader is called Long Kan, a swordsman from Longyou, a master of hidden energy!"

"They were famous demon-people in Ezhou some years ago; after committing a bloody case in Hanyang, they were wanted by both the Commandant's Office and the Law Enforcement Hall, and they disappeared without a trace; I didn't expect them to come and join the fun this time."

"Just right, kill them to collect the reward!"

Li Yan stood up immediately, took out the Cloud Thunder Divine Drum he hadn't used for a long time from his bag, and said: "They want to force us out, and there must be an ambush outside, so I'll break their evil technique first."

"Brother Lu, watch out for the puppets!"

After saying this, he hung the six Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Coin knife tassels on the Cloud Thunder Divine Drum, concentrated his mind, emitted the Cloud Thunder Sound, and tapped it lightly.

Boom!

A muffled thunder, the sound of the drum spread outward.

He had already stepped into hidden energy, and coupled with his three-story cultivation, manipulating the Cloud Thunder Divine Drum could directly unleash its full power.

The drum sound was like thunder, as if wind and thunder had suddenly risen.

A strong wind whistled, rolling the fallen leaves on the ground, instantly sweeping across the dense forest; wherever it passed, those mountain bandits who had been possessed fell to the ground one after another, and the black smoke on their bodies dissipated.

The Yin ghosts possessing them directly dissipated into fly ash.

Pfft!

The Corpse Granny's magic technique was broken, and she spat out a mouthful of black blood, her body swaying.

"Hee hee hee... Old woman, you're no good."

The dwarf with hair in buns beside her gave a strange laugh, then twisted his body, and a pale paper puppet jumped out from the bamboo basket behind his back.

He took out a bamboo tube with a fuse from his bosom, lit it, stuffed it into the puppet, flashed a hint of excitement in his eyes, and whistled.

Swish!

The puppet dragged a long fuse and rushed directly into the dense forest.

Beside her, Corpse Granny wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and said coldly: "Look at how capable you are; in the end, you're just relying on external objects."

"External object or not, as long as it's useful!"

The swordsman in the lead revealed a trace of a smile.

They had used this trick to trap several experts to death, which was why they had taken this job regardless of everything.

Boom!

Before he could finish speaking, a loud explosion suddenly sounded in the dense forest, fire and smoke filled the air, and branches and leaves flew everywhere.

It was Li Yan who smelled the strange odor and shot the puppet directly.

Inside the ruined temple, Sha Sha Li Fei was happy.

"Alright, playing this game with us!"

(End of chapter)