Chapter 1118

Clearly, they had already left the range of the Despair Grass.

Hearing Gai Nie looked over and found that he didn't recognize a single one of these people, so he could only sigh.

Just at that moment, the masked leader also pulled off his mask.

"Eh? It's you? Master Ban?"

This masked leader was actually an old acquaintance of Hearing Gai Nie.

One of the great commanders of the Mohists of Great Qin, Master Ban, who was skilled in Mohist mechanisms!

Apart from his surname, this Master Ban's given name was no longer known to outsiders.

He was short in stature, his brows, beard, and hair all grey-white.

Between his brows, he looked honest and simple.

Hearing Gai Nie had never expected to encounter Master Ban here.

The one who had just led the siege on him was actually headed by him.

"Hero Gai."

Seeing Hearing Gai Nie looking over, Master Ban also slightly cupped his hands and said,

"I know you have many doubts in your heart, but I cannot answer them for you.

When the Shanzhuang Master receives you shortly, if you know what's good for you, you'll naturally know everything."

Master Ban showed not the slightest manner of an old acquaintance with Hearing Gai Nie; after saying a couple of words he fell silent again.

At this moment, the soft sedan had already arrived at the great gate of the Despair Shanzhuang.

Master Ban and Wei Zhuang led the soft sedan, entering the Despair Shanzhuang through a side gate.

The moment he came in, Hearing Gai Nie sensed that the heaven and earth primal energy here was abundant — truly a fine place for cultivation.

Compared to Xianyanggong of Great Qin, it was not much inferior.

Looking again at the pavilions, terraces, towers, halls, corridors, and so on, they were all arranged similarly to Xianyanggong.

The doubts in Hearing Gai Nie's heart grew even more numerous.

But he also knew that, unless the Shanzhuang Master gave his approval, probably no one would answer him.

So he stopped thinking further, intending to take advantage of having left the range of the Despair Grass to restore his true essence as the priority.

With true essence in his body, if he wanted to escape, probably even the Shanzhuang Master would not necessarily be able to hold him.

Therefore Hearing Gai Nie closed his eyes, no longer looking around, and simply composed himself to circulate his art and begin restoring.

Sure enough, after leaving the range of the Despair Grass, his true essence gradually began to recover.

But before his art had completed even one full cycle, the soft sedan went slap — and was flipped onto the ground.

Hearing Gai Nie opened his eyes and found that, at some unknown time, he was already inside a dim stone passage.

Before his eyes was an iron gate like that of a prison cell.

Could it be that these people actually meant to lock him up in this dungeon?

Hearing Gai Nie was about to open his mouth to ask, but Wei Zhuang directly opened this iron gate, pointed inside, and said,

"Go in!"

At this moment, Hearing Gai Nie's cultivation had recovered at most one or two tenths.

In this narrow stone passage, with two great experts Master Ban and Wei Zhuang present, Hearing Gai Nie, with only one or two tenths of his cultivation recovered, had no confidence in escaping.

Moreover, he had also made up his mind: as soon as he could break free, he would go help Miss Xiao Li escape as well.

So he did not bother questioning Wei Zhuang; after stepping down from the soft sedan, he walked straight into the dim prison cell before him.

The moment he entered, Hearing Gai Nie had expected Wei Zhuang to lock the cell door behind him.

But unexpectedly, Wei Zhuang and Master Ban merely stood to the left and right of the doorway.

Eh?

This wasn't meant to imprison him?

Hearing Gai Nie's heart stirred, just as he was wondering.

"Are you Hearing Gai Nie?"

Just then, from a dark, lightless corner inside the room, a hoarse voice suddenly rang out.

"Who?"

Hearing Gai Nie's heart stirred, and only now did he understand that Wei Zhuang and Master Ban had come to escort him to meet someone.

But who was it they were meeting?

"Cough, cough, cough!"

A fit of coughing rang out. After a long while, from the darkness, a rather terrifying face gradually appeared.

This person had short hair, a face full of pustules, and his entire brow was filled with agony.

Seeing this face, Hearing Gai Nie's heart stirred, and he asked,

"Might you be Senior Mud Bodhisattva?"

Hearing Gai Nie recalled what the Divine Physician had said — that Mud Bodhisattva, for revealing too much of heaven's secrets, had incurred heavenly punishment.

Many pustules had grown on his face that even the Divine Physician could not cure, and he could only rely on a fire monkey to lick them, barely easing the agony.

Seeing this face, Hearing Gai Nie immediately thought of it.

"Correct!"

This person nodded — he really was the Mud Bodhisattva that Hearing Gai Nie had been searching so hard for.

"Senior, why are you imprisoned here?"

Hearing Gai Nie now understood that Mud Bodhisattva had actually become a prisoner of the Despair Shanzhuang.

Yet Mud Bodhisattva was versed in the secrets of heaven — truly, his calculations left nothing unaccounted for.

How could such a person be caught and brought to this place by Despair Shanzhuang?

"Cough, cough…"

Mud Bodhisattva coughed again, then shook his head and said with a sigh,

"Sigh… that's a long story…"

"Senior Mud Bodhisattva, the Master of the Shanzhuang has ordered that you keep it short — he doesn't have that much patience to wait."

Just then, Master Ban said a line at his leisure.

Hearing Gai Nie couldn't help but smile bitterly inside.

Today really counts as a tiger fallen on the plain being bullied by dogs.

What manner of person was Mud Bodhisattva? Placed in any great power across the Nine Provinces, he would surely be fit to be a guest of honor.

Yet here in Despair Shanzhuang, he was treated like this.

Mud Bodhisattva seemed to know what Hearing Gai Nie was thinking; he gave him a slight shake of the head, signaling that he didn't mind.

Only then did he slowly say,

"Gai Nie, I long ago calculated that you would come looking for me.

And I long ago knew what it is you seek."

"What is it?"

Hearing Gai Nie still had some doubt in his heart.

After all, Mud Bodhisattva was now trapped behind bars — no matter what, it didn't feel convincing.

"Nine Springs Azure Blood…"

Mud Bodhisattva did not finish.

But just these four words made Hearing Gai Nie's pupils involuntarily contract sharply.

The strange-looking extraordinary man before him truly did possess unfathomable, ghost-and-god-like abilities.

Meeting him for the first time, he could already know that Hearing Gai Nie was looking for the Nine Springs Azure Blood Jade-Leaf Flower?

"May I dare to ask, Senior, where is this thing?"

Hearing Gai Nie asked respectfully.

The Divine Physician had once said that the Nine Springs Azure Blood Jade-Leaf Flower could save Miss Duanmu.

But this strange flower, only Mud Bodhisattva could calculate its whereabouts.

Since Mud Bodhisattva had spoken of it himself, Hearing Gai Nie asked out the biggest question in his heart.

"No rush, no rush."