Chapter 182: I Have Qingwan With Me, What The Hell Is There to Fear!

Leaving the village, heading north, the terrain gradually grew rugged.

The path underfoot was no longer a flat dirt road but a trail winding deep into the mountains, half-hidden by wild grass and shrubs.

The morning mist had dissipated, and sunlight filtered through the tall forest canopy, casting mottled patches of light and shadow on the damp ground.

The air was thick with the smell of decaying plants, humus, and a faint, slightly fishy odor unique to the deep mountains.

Hu Huxu walked ahead, leading the way, his steps steady, as if he was extremely familiar with this mountain forest.

Even on stretches without any clear path, he could find the direction accurately.

The bulging bundle on his back swayed gently with his movements.

Inside, the ritual tools of the Hu Family of Continuing the Lamp clinked together, producing a faint, muffled sound.

Lu Yuan followed behind, his gaze sweeping across the deep, dense woods, his ears catching the sounds of those ritual tools. Finally, he spoke.

"Family Head Hu, the gear you brought... is way too much."

Hu Huxu didn't stop walking, replying without turning his head:

"Better safe than sorry."

"That place of the Liu Family, it's sinister beyond belief."

Lu Yuan frowned slightly:

"Actually, you just need to take me to the location, point out the entrance or the general area."

"I'll handle the rest myself."

"There's no need for you to take risks, let alone carry so much dead weight."

After all, from the very beginning, Lu Yuan hadn't asked Hu Huxu to do anything for him.

He only needed Hu Huxu to help him find the Liu Family's location and find the old man's location.

Nothing else required Hu Huxu's involvement.

Hu Huxu stopped this time. He turned around and looked at Lu Yuan.

There was no expression on his face, but in his murky eyes, there was a kind of calm, almost like acceptance of his fate, that Lu Yuan hadn't seen in him before.

"Daoist Lu, you think that just bringing you to the Liu Family's turf counts as done?"

Hu Huxu's voice carried a hint of mockery, but it wasn't directed at Lu Yuan—it was a sneer at his own fate.

"The oath between the Ten Families is a blood oath."

"Even just leading you there, that's already an ironclad act of betrayal."

"Never mind whether the Liu Family will let me off afterward, but if the other families find out, they won't tolerate someone who breaks the rules either."

"Me, Hu Huxu—from the moment I agreed to bring you here, in the eyes of the Ten Families beyond the Great Wall, I'm already a dead man."

Lu Yuan fell silent. He had actually forgotten about this layer.

The secrets and rules among the Ten Families beyond the Great Wall were harsher and bloodier than he had imagined.

Seeing Lu Yuan silent, Hu Huxu continued, his tone flat, as if he were talking about someone else:

"Since I'm dead either way, what the hell do I have to worry about?"

"Might as well follow you and help where I can."

"You helped Xiu'e. You gave her release, and in doing so, you pulled me out of that living coffin I'd been trapped in."

"I owe you for that."

He patted the heavy bundle on his back, producing a dull thud:

"These things, in that damned place of the Liu Family, they'll all come in handy."

"The methods of our Hu Family of Continuing the Lamp, though they might not measure up to the standards of your Daoist methods—they're a bit shady, sure—but when it comes to dealing with certain soul-related tricks..."

"Or breaking through some sinister setups, sometimes they're even more useful than your open-and-aboveboard Thunder Techniques and talismans."

Hu Huxu paused, looking at Lu Yuan, his eyes turning exceptionally serious, even carrying a hint of warning:

"Daoist Lu, don't think I'm exaggerating or that I've been scared out of my wits."

"Your master, Li Xiuye—what kind of figure is he?"

"If even he fell for it and is trapped inside, just think about what kind of dragon's pool and tiger's den the Liu Family has set up this time."

"This isn't some ordinary bandit lair, nor is it a typical haunted mansion."

"This is the ancestral nest of the Commanding Ghosts Liu Family, built up over who knows how many generations!"

"Every blade of grass, every tree, every brick and tile in there might be soaked in Yin energy and Malevolent Methods."

"The 'things' they raise, they're not something you can compare to the wandering souls and wild ghosts you usually deal with."

"This time, they went to great lengths, deliberately revealing a flaw to lure your master in, clearly setting a trap."

"Waiting for a 'rescuer' like you to walk right into it!"

Hu Huxu's voice unconsciously lowered, as if afraid of being overheard by some presence in the mountains.

"You think you're a two-star Celestial Master, young and capable, with powerful techniques—that's not wrong."

"But those people of the Liu Family, they play with human hearts, with souls, with the most insidious and unavoidable schemes and evil arts accumulated over countless generations!"

"You, alone, going in blind—even if you were made of iron, how many nails could you really drive?"

Lu Yuan looked at Hu Huxu. This man, who not long ago had been dawdling in his own earthen house, his face full of despair, now had a firm gaze and spoke clearly.

He even carried a kind of resolve, as if he had given up everything.

Lu Yuan knew Hu Huxu was right.

This trip to the Liu Family was no ordinary contest of sorcery.

His understanding of the Liu Family was almost zero, and the fact that the old man had fallen inside already proved that the danger of their setup far exceeded imagination.

But then again...

Lu Yuan was different from others.

Lu Yuan wasn't afraid!

Lu Yuan's fingers, through his coarse cloth clothing, gently touched the warm, cool jade pendant hidden in his bosom.

The shape of the jade pendant wasn't complicated. It was cool to the touch, but seemed to contain a strange power that could calm the mind.

Just by simply touching it, the hint of gravity that had risen in him from Hu Huxu's description of the Liu Family's danger dissipated like thin mist under sunlight.

Instantly vanished!

What did Lu Yuan have to fear?

The Liu Family was a dragon's pool and tiger's den?

A ghostly domain and demonic lair built over countless generations?

Filled with sinister tricks and evil entities?

So what?

In the face of absolute power, all schemes and conspiracies are nothing but paper tigers, bursting at a single poke.

And Gu Qingwan was that absolute power.

An existence that transcended the common logic of this world!

She was the greatest support, the deepest trump card that allowed Lu Yuan, as a mere two-star Celestial Master, to knowingly head into the tiger's den.

Of course, Lu Yuan wouldn't tell Hu Huxu about this trump card, nor could he.

The existence of Gu Qingwan was the biggest secret of all.

But this confidence alone changed his entire demeanor.

He looked at the Hu Huxu before him, who had a look of grim determination and was already prepared for death.

Lu Yuan lifted his head slightly. Morning light pierced through the gaps in the forest leaves, falling on his young but sharply defined profile.

In those eyes, which were usually either lazy or sharp, there now burned a kind of blazing, unquestionable confidence.

"Family Head Hu, put your heart back in your chest."

Lu Yuan's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a resolute power, echoing clearly through the quiet mountain forest.

It was as if even the wind around them had paused for a moment.

"Since I, Lu Yuan, dare to go, I don't plan on letting myself—or you—get trapped in that damn place."

Hu Huxu was stunned. He clearly hadn't expected such a reaction from Lu Yuan.

He had anticipated that Lu Yuan might look serious, might hesitate, or might even reconsider after his warning.

But definitely not this kind of... almost contemptuous confidence.

"Daoist Lu, you..."

Hu Huxu opened his mouth, wanting to warn Lu Yuan not to underestimate the enemy.

Lu Yuan paused, then spoke one word at a time. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a weight of a thousand pounds, crashing into Hu Huxu's heart.

"You just need to do one thing."

"And that is to take me to the Liu Family, to the exact spot where my master is trapped."

"As long as you can get me there, point out which way the door opens and which path to take."

Lu Yuan's hand moved away from the jade pendant in his bosom, and he casually patted the heavy bundle on Hu Huxu's shoulder.

"Then, I guarantee you'll live to go back and see your daughter."

After saying this, Lu Yuan didn't look at Hu Huxu again. He turned and continued walking deeper into the mountains.

I have Qingwan with me, what the hell is there to fear!

Lu Yuan's back was straight, his steps light, as if he wasn't heading into the dreaded ancestral nest of the Commanding Ghosts Liu Family.

But rather going to a date he was already sure of winning.

Hu Huxu stood there, watching Lu Yuan's retreating figure, his mouth slightly open, momentarily dazed.

The arrogance and confidence in Lu Yuan's words almost exceeded his understanding.

That was the Commanding Ghosts Liu Family!

A death trap where even a figure like Li Xiuye had fallen!

After Hu Huxu snapped out of it, he looked at Lu Yuan, who had already walked a good distance away, and quickly called out:

"Daoist!"

"You went the wrong way!! Come back, this way!"

Lu Yuan: "..."

Damn it! Why didn't you say so earlier!!