Chapter 289

Guangxin Prefecture, Huaiyu Mountain.

Kongming Sect.

Amidst the layered forests, the mountain road slowly extended upward and stopped abruptly outside the mountain gate of the Kongming Sect.

A plaque hung above the mountain gate, with the three large characters "Kongming Sect" carved squarely on it. On the other side of the plaque, a wooden sign the size of a palm was hung, with the words "Dengfeng" written on it.

A young man looked up at the wooden sign, sighed, jumped up to take down the wooden sign, took out a piece of high-quality soft cloth from his bosom, and wiped it carefully.

After checking it in the sunlight and confirming it was clean, he used his light-footed skill to jump up and hang the wooden sign back to its original place. Beside the wooden sign, the Kongming Sect's plaque had already accumulated quite a bit of dust, but the young man turned a blind eye to it.

The young man's name was Liu Wenbin, and he was the "closing disciple" of the Kongming Sect.

The disciple responsible for closing the gate.

And the reason he sighed before was also because of this "closing disciple" errand.

His talent was average, and he had no connections, so he originally planned to mix food and wait for death in the sect for a lifetime. If it were in the past, he would definitely be happy to do this kind of gate-guarding work—no need to move, no need to rush, as long as he wasn't seen by his teachers, no one would care if he squatted outside the mountain gate and read storybooks.

Unfortunately, ever since this wooden sign was hung up, this work was no longer easy.

That wooden sign couldn't be dirty, couldn't be wet, couldn't be scratched. It had to be taken down when the wind was strong, taken down when it rained, not a moment of leisure, and even if a bird flew over, he had to be trembling with fear, afraid that bird droppings would fall on the wooden sign.

It was truly a bitter errand that had no rest day or night and no matter the wind or rain.

Fortunately—Liu Wenbin looked up at the position of the sun—it was almost time for the shift change, he could have a good rest this afternoon, and didn't have to be terrified and stuck here.

Planning to go down the mountain to find some food later, a relaxed smile appeared on Liu Wenbin's face.

"Wenbin, what are you so happy about?"

An old voice suddenly came from behind, Liu Wenbin was startled, turned around suddenly, saw who it was, and then let out a long breath.

"Elder Long, you're back?"

The person talking to him was an old man, with white hair and beard, thin cheeks, and high spirits. His small eyes were narrowed into two slits, and he nodded with a smile.

"Hmm, went for a stroll down the mountain, didn't find any new food, it was boring—what were you thinking about just now?"

Liu Wenbin scratched his head and smiled embarrassedly.

"Same as you, thinking about going down the mountain to find some food this afternoon, since you said there isn't any, then I'd better sleep in the sect."

The old man patted him on the shoulder with a smile.

"In my opinion, you probably won't be able to sleep this sleep, do you know why I came back?"

"The sect leader has an order, there is a major matter to discuss today, the mountain gate is only allowed to enter and not allowed to leave today, I guess that disciple who replaces you won't be able to come out either."

Liu Wenbin widened his eyes.

He had been guarding outside the mountain gate, how come he hadn't heard this news?

But this old man could be said to be the oldest elder in the sect, although his Wu Gong was poor and he didn't have much say, he shouldn't come to deceive a "closing disciple" like him.

He could only sigh.

"Alright, Elder Long, I understand—you go in, I'll close the gate."

The old man patted him on the shoulder again with a smile and walked into the mountain gate.

Liu Wenbin closed the big gate, shook his head slowly, and sighed again. Thinking that this terrifying gate-guarding task didn't know how long it would extend, he felt more and more exhausted.

His heart scattered, and since the mountain gate was already closed, he wasn't afraid of being seen by his teachers, so he simply sat down on the ground, reached into the wall crack and pinched a blade of grass, held it in his mouth, crossed his arms, narrowed his eyes and dozed off.

The autumn was high and the air was crisp, the midday sun shone on his body warmly, and he actually fell asleep without knowing it.

I don't know how long it had been, when a voice woke him up.

"Little brother, wake up."

Liu Wenbin opened his eyes suddenly and looked up.

A young man of about twenty, with an ordinary appearance, carrying a long knife that was as ordinary as could be at his waist, was looking at him with a frown.

"Are you a disciple of the Kongming Sect?"

He asked.

Liu Wenbin shook his head and stood up, before he could come back to his senses, he instinctively smiled and said.

"Are you here to pay a visit to the mountain? Not a coincidence, my Kongming Sect has important matters, the sect leader ordered not to entertain guests today. Can you leave your name card, explain your purpose, and wait until—"

Before he finished speaking, the young man shook his head.

"No, I'm not here to be a guest. And little brother, do you know what 'important matters' your sect has?"

Liu Wenbin was stunned.

Not here to be a guest, then what are you here for? Kicking the hall?

And I, a "closing disciple," how would I know what "important matters" there are... even if I knew, is it something I can tell an outsider like you?

He was just wondering, when a playful and lazy voice came from behind the young man.

"He's already slept to death, he's afraid he doesn't even know that his own family has died, Little Cao, asking him is a waste of effort—if he knew anything, he would probably have died long ago, and wouldn't have lived until now."

"Just kick the door open and go in and see."

Liu Wenbin frowned and looked in the direction of the voice.

Just now he had just woken up, his brain was not clear, and he ignored that there were three other people behind the young man with an ordinary appearance.

One was a young man in his twenties, shrugging his shoulders and tilting his head, looking at him with a smile, as if he was a bit "not quite right in the head"; standing beside him was a woman in her thirties with an ordinary appearance, frowning and looking inside the mountain gate.

The last person was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, looking at him with a smile, looking unkind—it was this person who spoke just now.

Liu Wenbin spoke with a bit of anger.

"What do you mean, why are you insulting me?"

"If you are here to cause trouble, you should think clearly, this is the mountain gate of my Kongming Sect, my Kongming Sect is a 'Dengfeng' big sect!"

He pointed to the wooden sign hanging on the mountain gate and puffed out his chest.

"If you want to cause trouble, my sect elders will arrive in just a cup of tea time—I advise you to leave quickly, I will treat it as if I have never seen you!"

Who would have thought that the other party was not afraid at all, but instead smiled and said.

"When did I scold you? Oh, you said 'don't even know that your own family has died'?"

"This is not scolding you, it's stating a fact—do you want to look down at your feet?"

Feet?

Liu Wenbin looked down at the ground.

Suddenly, he froze.

By his feet, there was a red, cake-shaped mark, with faint patterns on it, in a grid shape—it was a bloody footprint.

He moved his gaze woodenly, found the second, third bloody footprint, extending from behind him, along the mountain road.

Until it disappeared at the end of his sight.