Chapter 546: Tit for Tat

"San'er!"

Seeing this, Sha Feifei was shocked and leaped out.

He held the Divine Fire Gun, but the churning flames obscured his vision and simultaneously shielded the clown's figure.

Fearing he might accidentally injure Lu San, he dared not fire.

All he could do was close in for a rescue.

Since awakening his supernatural ability, Sha Feifei had felt he could stand on his own, but at this moment, he realized how weak he truly was.

Just like before, when he was in Chang'an City, he had carried the protective talisman snatched from Xiong Baodong, but when faced with a master's sorcery, he still had no power to resist.

And now, even with a firearm, he was forced into a passive position.

Of course, these thoughts flashed by in an instant.

After closing in, Sha Feifei suddenly drew his sharp blade, wrapped himself in his cloak, and without a hint of fear, charged straight into the flames.

Fire surged, and thick smoke billowed.

"Hahaha..."

The clown's wild laughter came from nearby.

Without a word, Sha Feifei raised his gun, ready to fire.

But just then, a hand suddenly pressed down on his arm, and Lu San's voice reached his ears: "Left!"

Sha Feifei, in perfect sync, turned the barrel and pulled the trigger.

Boom!

A deafening blast shook the surrounding flames away.

A scream rang out, and a short figure flew seven or eight meters away, rolling several times on the snowy ground—it was the clown.

Sha Feifei felt a flicker of doubt.

Lu San's supernatural ability had been broken; he was practically deaf now. How had he found the opponent's true body?

But he had no time to ask; he raised his gun again to fire.

The clown had been pierced by shrapnel in the abdomen, leaving a gaping hole. One more shot would surely finish him off.

But then, something astonishing happened.

Despite such a severe wound, the clown acted as if nothing had happened. With a curse, he rolled his body and once again performed the Earth Escape technique, sinking beneath the snow.

He was so fast that there was no time to fire.

What kind of monster is this?!

A chill rose in Sha Feifei's heart.

He had not been cultivating for long. Although he had the "White-Clad Great Being Mantra Bracelet" which allowed him to easily enter meditation, he was still only a beginner in the study of sorcery.

Both the sorcery just now and this bizarre clown were beyond his understanding.

"Over there!"

Lu San, standing nearby, suddenly pointed toward the distant grass.

Boom!

Sha Feifei didn't hesitate and fired.

Fire roared, smoke cleared, and the distant grass along with the trees behind it were instantly blasted to pieces, wood chips and snow splattering everywhere.

Along with the debris, severed limbs of the clown flew through the air.

A thick stench of rotting corpses spread, and a plume of black smoke surged out, quickly falling into the darkness and vanishing.

Sha Feifei and Lu San were not doing well either.

They still had lingering flames on them, and their cloaks and hair were scorched, making them look quite disheveled.

Hum!

The sound of buzzing wings arrived as several poisonous bees dived into the demon gourd.

It turned out Lu San had been controlling the poisonous bees, letting them land on the clown so he could track his position through their connection.

Seeming to notice Sha Feifei's confusion, Lu San explained urgently: "That wasn't his true body; it was a corpse-puppet, which is why it didn't notice the bees hiding on it."

So that was it...

Sha Feifei finally understood, feeling as if his eyes had been opened.

No wonder it was so agile and fearless of injury; it was a corpse-puppet, and the true body wasn't even here.

It was his first time seeing such a powerful puppet technique.

At the same time, a wave of dizziness surged into his mind.

Lu San's Cloud-Thunder Divine Drum had been interrupted, and the opponent's musical troupe's sonic illusion immediately took effect, making everyone present feel nauseous.

Wang Daoxuan, who was in the middle of performing a ritual, was nearly interrupted.

Even more unfortunate was Wu Ba.

His physical strength was formidable, but the black-faced martial actor's kung fu was even better, and he no longer fought head-on, relying instead on speed to harass him.

In the darkness, blades and axes clashed, sparks flying.

Both figures flickered, occasionally trading blows, the ground rumbling and snow whistling.

The fight was intense, but it had reached a stalemate.

Wu Ba was also affected by the musical troupe's interference; his mind went blank, and his speed slowed by a beat.

Xie Sanyang, the black-faced martial actor, would never miss such an opportunity. He lowered his body, lunged toward Wu Ba, and swung his blade in an upward slash.

Di Qing Fist was usually straightforward and fierce.

But this move used a Ground-Level Blade technique—mixing a hint of malice into an otherwise upright move, making it impossible to defend against.

If this slash connected, Wu Ba would be gutted.

But just then, Xie Sanyang felt a surge of alarm. He hurriedly withdrew his move, performed a lazy donkey roll, and retreated five or six meters.

Boom!

Fire exploded, and mud splattered.

It was Sha Feifei firing his gun, a classic "besiege Wei to rescue Zhao."

At the same time, Xie Sanyang noticed that the musical troupe's gongs and drums had stopped, and angry shouts could be heard from afar.

"He's been possessed!"

"Quick, restrain him!"

Wang Daoxuan had opened several wandering soul jars beside him.

It was the Daoist controlling his Chang soldiers to attack the musical troupe's sorcerers.

Wang Daoxuan's choice was perfect.

Helping Sha Feifei and Lu San would have left them passive.

Helping Wu Ba might not have been enough to deal with Xie Sanyang.

But using Chang soldiers to deal with the musical troupe immediately turned the tide.

With the threat of Sha Feifei's firearm, Xie Sanyang had no choice but to retreat.

"Cross the river first!"

Wang Daoxuan's expression was grim as he looked behind them.

He could have suppressed the musical troupe long ago, but there was another master on the mountain behind them, casting spells on him from afar, wasting his time.

Now that the enemy was hidden and they were exposed, and having been caught off guard, they had to stabilize their position and fight for a chance to breathe.

The group coordinated perfectly and immediately charged toward the riverbank.

The blood-red hue in Wu Ba's eyes faded rapidly as he hoisted Wang Daoxuan and ran.

Soon, they saw a river six or seven meters wide.

Splash!

Without hesitation, they plunged into the river, running at full speed through the bone-chilling cold, splashing water everywhere.

They did this, naturally, to erase their scent.

After crossing the bank, they accelerated again, disappearing into the vast mountain forest amidst the whistling wind and snow...

On the opposite bank, Xie Sanyang's feet kicked up snow as he moved like lightning, arriving behind a patch of woods.

He saw three people behind the trees.

An old man in a green shirt carrying an erhu.

A woman holding a pipa.

And a burly man beating gongs and drums.

But this burly man had already kicked over his gongs and drums, his eyes black, his face pale, attacking the old man and the woman like a madman.

These people were all gathered with great difficulty by the Ghost Opera Troupe; they were all from minor sects, with average martial arts skills but expertise in sonic attacks.

Thus, they were only used for support.

Seeing the burly man possessed, Xie Sanyang, still wearing his mask, performed a hand seal and footwork, circled his long blade around the man's head, and then struck with the back of the blade.

Bang!

The burly man's eyes closed, and he collapsed to the ground.

The Chang soldier possessing him was also beaten until its soul scattered, black smoke and the stench of wild beasts dissipating.

Whoosh~

At the same time, the howling of the gale winds rose again all around.

It was Wang Daoxuan's other Chang soldiers launching an attack. "Hmph!"

The middle-aged woman's face turned ugly as she performed a seal and plucked her pipa.

As the music rang out, the two incoming trails of black smoke quickly dissipated.

Those chosen by the "Ghost Opera Troupe" were no ordinary mortals.

With their level of cultivation, ordinary Chang soldiers were no match for them, unless a massive army of soldiers and horses was summoned.

They had only been caught off guard earlier due to carelessness.

They hadn't expected Wang Daoxuan to use Chang soldiers to break the stalemate.

Creak~ Creak~

Just then, the sound of footsteps on snow came from afar.

It was the old woman, Granny Chang, leaning on a dragon-headed cane, slowly emerging from the darkness.

Seeing the old crone, the middle-aged woman holding the pipa felt a trace of fear in her eyes and hurriedly lowered her head: "Granny, forgive us, we were incompetent."

Although this middle-aged woman's cultivation was far inferior to Pei Yufang's, she still had some reputation in the Jianghu's evil paths.

(Content omitted)

Yet, facing Granny Chang, it was like seeing a ghost.

"No matter."

Granny Chang said indifferently: "These youngsters indeed have some ability; it was I who underestimated them..."

As she spoke, her gaze turned cold, and she turned to look into the darkness on the left. "But failing to capture them is also because someone didn't listen!"

Another person emerged from the darkness.

This person was dressed very strangely, looking like a peddler, wearing a felt hat and also painted with clown makeup on his face.

It was the true body of the clown, Gou Wa.

His expression was also ugly, but he still squeezed out a smile: "How can you blame me? I even lost a dharma body; I put in a lot of effort..."

"Shut up!"

Granny Chang said coldly: "I told you to hold them off first; why did you delay so long? Wasn't it because you were afraid of damaging your puppet?"

"And look at this—the puppet was destroyed, and we didn't catch them!"

The original plan was for the clown Gou Wa to move first and hold them off, but he had intentionally delayed by a beat, only launching a sneak attack on Lu San after Xie Sanyang appeared.

This was a case of a miss being as good as a mile.

It was that half-beat that gave Sha Feifei and the others time to prepare.

The clown smiled awkwardly, not daring to speak again.

His few zombie puppets were mysterious, but they were very difficult to refine and consumed a large amount of precious materials, so naturally, he was reluctant to lose them.

"Hmph!"

The old crone stared at him, causing fear to rise in Gou Wa's heart. After he couldn't help but take two steps back, she let out a cold snort and said: "I know you were all experts in various fields before, looking down on an old woman like me who has passed her prime."

"But since you've joined the Ghost Opera Troupe, you are no longer the scattered soldiers of yesterday. The troupe leader and the others are planning a major event; if we can't even handle this small matter, we will all be punished!"

Xie Sanyang, who had been silent nearby, suddenly spoke up: "Granny, I heard that Li Yan is the hardest to deal with, but he is nowhere to be seen this time; he shouldn't be here."

"Taking advantage of this opportunity, it's best to capture the others first!"

"That makes sense."

Granny Chang nodded slightly, turned to look at the group, and said coldly: "This time, I'll spare you the punishment for Little Xie's sake, but if anyone dares to hold me back again, I will show no mercy!"

"Yes, Granny."

The group bowed one after another.

Seeing this, Granny Chang nodded with satisfaction.

The "Ghost Opera Troupe" could dominate the scene and act recklessly back then only because everyone in the troupe, from the lead actors to the musicians, were experts.

But their weaknesses were also obvious.

Although they seemed numerous, they were no match for the orthodox Mystic Sects, and after being beaten in turns, very few survived.

This time, their reorganization could be considered a lesson learned; the troupe leader had secretly gathered many evil-path experts, and every position was competitive.

Just like her role as the old woman, there was more than one.

It was like raising poisonous insects; every year, some rose and some fell.

If you lost, you had to take orders from others.

But having too many people also caused trouble; dragons and snakes gathered, their quality was uneven, and they didn't respect each other.

If you wanted to get ahead, you first had to make others submit.

She could see that although the clown Gou Wa looked foolish and crazy, he was actually hiding schemes and wanted to replace her, which was why she suppressed him.

After this incident, the team was finally stabilized.

Thinking of this, Granny Chang looked toward the distant mountain range, performed a hand seal again, and struck her dragon-headed cane hard against the ground.

Hum!

The prayer wheel in the dragon's mouth suddenly spun.

A piercing sound instantly echoed across the wilderness.

"Stop noisy, stop noisy!"

The blood parrot in the sky let out a piercing shriek.

At the same time, all kinds of small animals ran from all directions, rolling in pain, and then, driven by the old crone, charged into the vast snowy mountains.

"Can't find, can't find!"

After a while, the blood parrot flew back quickly, squawking strangely.

Granny Chang frowned upon hearing this: "Go find them again!"

"Fine, fine, stop noisy!"

The blood parrot in the sky was very impatient, but under the suppression of the prayer wheel's spinning sound, it had no choice but to fly toward the deep mountains again...

Thousands of meters away, inside a canyon cave.

The cave entrance was covered by black cloth marked with talismans, and combined with the dense forest outside and the whistling wind and snow, it looked pitch black.

Not only that, the fat Mouse One and Mouse Two were rolling in the snow, loosening the accumulated snow to erase all their footprints.

After finishing this, the two fat mice scurried back into the cave and burrowed into the leather bag Lu San had prepared, shivering with cold.

"Hard work..."

Lu San stroked the two fat mice, looking toward the side with eyes full of worry.

Inside the cave, the candlelight was dim. Wang Daoxuan was holding a yellow talisman, chanting, and wiping it repeatedly over the top of the little white fox's head.

Whoosh~

Suddenly, a plume of black smoke rose and drilled into the yellow talisman.

Wang Daoxuan immediately folded the talisman paper, tied it with a red string, and stuffed it into a straw doll he had prepared long ago.

The little white fox, Chuji, had her breathing become steady as she fell into a deep sleep.

"It's fine now."

Wang Daoxuan patted Lu San on the shoulder and wrote on the ground with his finger: I have extracted the evil curse, which can later be used for counter-measures. How are you now?

Lu San shook his head: "Still can't hear."

Wang Daoxuan pondered for a moment and wrote: The supernatural ability was broken, which means the three souls and seven spirits were injured. You can use spiritual tea to nourish them.

Lu San's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly rummaged through his luggage.

Treasures that could repair the spirit were rare, but they had one.

It was the Wushan Divine Tea gifted by the Bai family at the time.

The one obtained from the Tea Immortal was still in the hands of the Yu family father and son.

After finding the tea leaves, Lu San pinched a pinch directly, chewed it constantly in his mouth, and sat cross-legged in meditation.

Seeing that it had an effect, Sha Feifei, who was nearby, spoke up: "Daoist, what do you think we should do next?"

"Don't worry."

Wang Daoxuan looked toward the ceiling: "With this thing, they won't be able to find us for a while, and we have enough time to set up."

In a crack in the stone wall above, the "Wish-Fulfilling Pearl" was emitting a cold light, like moonlight, shrouding everyone.

Sha Feifei frowned: "Brother Li doesn't know we're in trouble; what if we get surrounded by those people outside..."

"Naturally, we must strike first."

Wang Daoxuan looked at the yellow talisman in his hand and said coldly: "When dawn comes, we'll find an opportunity to set traps. With this item, I can cast spells, and they will be the ones who are anxious!"

Having been beaten so miserably, even Wang Daoxuan, who usually had a good temper, was filled with anger.

Unknowingly, the sky slowly began to brighten.

Sha Feifei and the others began to set traps.

And on the distant Mount Zhaogong, Li Yan also bid farewell to the mountain-guarding Daoist and followed a small path down the mountain...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 547 =====