Chapter 196
Chapter 196
Ever thoughtful, Wang Hu found four flashlights in the coffin shop and hung one from each horse’s head.
The paper horses might not need light to see where they were going like real horses did, but the four living, breathing humans riding them certainly did!
I had to admit, having a meticulous steward like Wang Hu around was pretty nice.
“Little Hu, watch the shop while we’re gone. We’re heading to Longduo Mountain now.”
Holding the reins of his yellow-paper horse, Old Cao did not forget to turn around and give him one last reminder.
Wang Hu stood at the doorway with his hands at his sides and nodded.
“Don’t worry, Boss! But when you and Young Mr. Wu get back, could you tell me all about how that python demon underwent its flood-dragon ascension?”
He was a spirit, and not an especially powerful one yet. His cultivation was still insufficient to resist the earth’s restraining force, so he could not travel too far from the place where he had died.
That was also why he had been unable to wander around searching for his daughter before.
Since joining the coffin shop and cultivating under Old Cao, however, he had gradually grown stronger. By now, he could probably travel about three miles away. Longduo Mountain was still too far for him, though.
Seeing the envy on Wang Hu’s face, I chimed in.
“Don’t worry, Uncle Hu! If we really get to witness the spectacle, I’ll come back and describe it so clearly that you’ll even know how many scales that python demon has.”
Yuan Fei squeezed the paper horse’s flanks with his legs and called out, “Let’s go!”
He took the lead, riding over the coffin shop’s high threshold and charging into the torrential rain.
We followed close behind.
Woof, woof, woof!
Heizi wagged its tail and ran beside Li Miao’s horse.
Four people and one dog galloped down the pitch-black flagstone street, heading out of town toward Longduo Mountain.
Whoosh! Roar!
The wind howled, and rain poured from the sky.
Thanks to the Water-Repelling Talismans, however, a space of roughly two inches around us and the paper horses remained dry and still. Neither the gale nor the downpour seemed capable of penetrating that thin barrier.
We galloped at full speed, completely unaffected and without the slightest discomfort.
I marveled inwardly.
No wonder the Water-Repelling Talisman was so advanced. I had tried many times and still could not master it. I had even complained that all it did was repel water–it could neither attack enemies nor defend against spells–so why was something so unimpressive so ridiculously hard to draw?
Now I understood that every kind of talisman had its own use. Without these, the storm might not have made travel impossible, but it certainly would have left us in a miserable state.
…
Longduo Mountain lay northeast of Lianghe Town, about eight miles away. It stood at the edge of Fubei County, along the border with Lishan County.
Mountain ranges stretched endlessly across the area, with the Chuan River winding between them like a wound cleaved through the peaks.
Sediment deposited by the Chuan River had created stretches of flat mountain valley along both banks.
In fact, the terrain closely resembled the river-valley plain north of Lianghe Town.
Longduo Mountain was the tallest peak in the surrounding range.
As for why it had such a peculiar name?
According to legend, the mountain had been home to an extraordinary number of snakes in ancient times. On the riverbanks at its foot, people could also frequently see whole groups of crocodiles.
In ancient texts, ordinary people often referred to both snakes and crocodiles as dragons.
The mountain had received its name precisely because it had so many snakes and crocodiles–so many “dragons.”
As the ages passed, the crocodiles in the river dwindled, and snakes no longer covered the mountain as they once had.
Yet the name Longduo Mountain–Mountain of Many Dragons–remained.
In a way, it still lived up to its name.
By the time the four of us and Heizi reached the southern foot of Longduo Mountain, it was already midnight.
Far from easing, the raging wind and rain had only grown fiercer.
Old Cao stopped and looked around.
“Let’s find somewhere sheltered from the rain and leave the paper horses there.”
“Huh?”
Yuan Fei froze.
“Brother Cao, can’t your paper horses climb mountains?”
Old Cao rolled his eyes at him.
“Of course they can! But these things aren’t forged from steel. They’re still made of bamboo and paper, and they’re ordinary paper horses without spiritual resonance. If we force them all the way to the summit, they’ll fall apart for sure. How are we supposed to get home after the show?”
Yuan Fei muttered under his breath and nodded.
“Fair point!”
We all dismounted and searched the surrounding area.
Luck was on our side.
We actually found a small, hidden cave.
After lining the four paper horses up inside, we removed their Water-Repelling Talismans and stuck them directly against our own chests.
Then we continued up the mountain on foot.
After such a prolonged deluge, the mountain trail was wet and slippery. Many sections had even suffered landslides. Fallen trees and flattened weeds made the path more treacherous still.
Walking was extremely difficult.
The Water-Repelling Talismans could ward off wind and water, but they could not do anything about a slick, broken mountain trail.
Sure enough, less than ten minutes after we started climbing, Yuan Fei lost his footing and landed hard on his backside.
His coarse linen Daoist robe was smeared with mud.
I could not hold back my laughter as I went over and helped him up.
“Uncle Yuan, you were worried that I’d have trouble because I can’t use qi, but look at you. You’re in much worse shape than I am. I keep telling you to exercise more instead of relying entirely on spells, but you never listen.”
He rose to his feet, panting.
“You little brat! Now you’re lecturing your Uncle Yuan? But seriously, how are you such a monster? You’re moving so fast and steadily that you’re practically keeping pace with Brother Cao.”
Among the four of us climbing on foot, Old Cao, Heizi, and I were the fastest and surest on our feet.
Li Miao came next and moved along without much trouble.
Ironically, Yuan Fei–the man who had proposed coming to see the spectacle–was the most hopeless of us all, slipping every few steps.
Old Cao laughed beside us.
“Xiao Wu’s martial arts have already begun to reach true mastery, and he practices authentic internal martial arts taught by the Immortal Lady herself. His control over his muscles, strength, and balance has reached an exceptional level.”
Li Miao seemed to know a little about the subject as well. He nodded and added, “I’ve heard that Xingyi Boxing contains twelve animal forms modeled after the movements of twelve different animals. Animals are much better than people at traveling through the mountains. Judging by Young Mr. Wu’s posture just now, he must be incorporating Xingyi’s Twelve Animal Forms into his movements. So he’s practicing his boxing even while he hikes?”
I stared at him in surprise.
I had never expected Li Miao, a corpse retriever, to possess such a discerning eye.
Old Cao could tell because he was older, well traveled, and the strongest among us. Besides, I never hid anything from him and told him practically everything.
I said admiringly, “You have a sharp eye, Brother Li. You’d probably be well suited to studying the martial arts of the eclectic arts too. Unfortunately, this belongs to my Master, and I can’t pass it on without her permission.”
Li Miao smiled.
“Young Mr. Wu, not everyone has your extraordinary talent for cultivation. I’ll stick to corpse retrieval. There is more than enough depth in that craft for a lifetime.”
“Besides, the reason I recognized it is that corpse retrievers and coffin bearers perform the most physically demanding work among those who make a living dealing with the dead. Naturally, some body-strengthening methods have been passed down through our trades, even if they aren’t as refined as a true martial tradition.”
He was right.
Old Cao nodded in agreement with Li Miao and patted me on the shoulder.
“How else do you think a man over sixty like me still has the strength to carry coffins weighing more than a thousand pounds with Big Bull and the others? In a while, I’ll teach you the coffin bearers’ methods for strengthening the body and building power. Of course, they’re nowhere near the internal martial arts the Immortal Lady taught you, so just treat them as a reference.”
We chatted for a while, which also gave the breathless Yuan Fei a chance to rest.
Then we resumed our ascent.
As we climbed, we gradually began to spot other travelers.
They were probably members of the esoteric world who had also heard the news and rushed to Longduo Mountain from nearby counties and cities to witness the flood-dragon ascension.
Most wore straw rain capes, while others, like me, appeared to be using something similar to a Water-Repelling Talisman.
Everyone traveled in silence. No one had the spare energy to stop and chat.
It took us roughly an hour to finally reach the summit of Longduo Mountain.
The ground was not level, but neither was it especially steep.
Quite a few people had already gathered in several spots.
By the flashes of lightning streaking across the sky, I estimated that there were around twenty or thirty of them.
They stood like statues amid the darkness and driving rain, utterly silent.
Honestly, anyone capable of reaching this place tonight to watch a python demon undergo its flood-dragon ascension had to possess considerable cultivation. These people were probably the finest practitioners from the surrounding counties and cities.
Given the weather and road conditions, powerful figures from central Yu City or neighboring Chengdu probably could not make it here in time.
Whether the people present knew each other or not, no one felt like exchanging pleasantries in such an environment.
They simply stood in their chosen positions on the summit and gazed toward the Chuan River at the mountain’s northern foot.
As they resisted the raging wind and rain with spells, ritual implements, or their own bodies, they waited for that moment to arrive.
“Why are you all standing around in a daze? Hurry up and help me find a good spot with a clear view facing the Chuan River. How are we supposed to watch the flood dragon if we can’t see anything?”
Yuan Fei muttered nonstop as he peered around whenever lightning illuminated the sky. He led us and Heizi all over the summit in search of a place.
At last, we found a recessed clearing with a stone wall behind it.
From there, we had a direct view of the Chuan River winding past the northern foot of Longduo Mountain. Whenever lightning flashed, we could see that the river, already wide and turbulent under normal circumstances, had swollen tremendously.
It had to be more than a mile and a quarter across by now!
The water had also turned incredibly muddy from untold quantities of silt. It resembled a roaring dragon winding between the mountains.
The water level had risen so high that the entire riverbank lay submerged, and the river now reached all the way to the northern foot of Longduo Mountain.
Yet the downpour continued to crash from the sky like a waterfall, without the slightest sign of stopping.
I could even sense the water-aspected spiritual energy permeating heaven and earth becoming denser and denser. On a mental level, it made everything feel wet and oppressively heavy.
I asked Yuan Fei, “Uncle Yuan, did your source say when the python demon would start its ascension? I hope we don’t have to wait several days. I still have to go back to school tomorrow.”
“Uh…”
He gave me a speechless look.
“Xiao Wu, don’t you love studying a little too much? A high degree isn’t much use for people in our line of work. It’s not like you’re a college graduate looking for a job. With all your abilities, you’re bound to make a fortune when you move to a big city. Feng shui is the most profitable branch of our trade. Rich people believe in it more than anyone!”
I shrugged.
“Either way, my Master takes it very seriously. She cares about education, so all I can do is study like a good student, right? What else can I do? Besides, I don’t–”
Moo! Moooooo!
A tremendous cry suddenly erupted from somewhere within the towering Longduo Mountain beneath our feet.
It was a strange sound, remarkably similar to the lowing of an old ox or a water buffalo in the fields.
But it was unbelievably loud!
It shook the entire region.
The peculiar cry seemed to overpower even the thunder and lightning in the sky and the roar of the torrential rain.
It was as though the bellow had sounded directly beside our ears.
My mind reeled, my heart palpitated, and my limbs went weak. It felt like suppression originating from the very depths of my soul.
The expressions of Old Cao, Yuan Fei, and Li Miao all changed dramatically.
Heizi had always been imposing and fearless, never flinching from ghosts, corpse-fiends, or ordinary demons. Yet now it tucked its tail between its legs, huddled beside Li Miao, and trembled from head to toe, soft whimpers escaping its throat.
Clearly, it had been intimidated and frightened by the cry as well.
The flood dragon’s roar echoed through the mountains!
A terrifying presence filled the air.
I even felt the storm abruptly intensify, as if wind and rain were responding to the python demon’s call.
“That cry… It has to be the python demon in the mountain that’s about to become a flood dragon! Its voice is already almost identical to a flood dragon’s. It must be an ancient monster more than a thousand years old! It should be getting ready to begin its ascension. A sight like this comes along once in a lifetime. Shouldn’t you all thank me?”
Yuan Fei spoke with overwhelming excitement.
We were just as thrilled.
The previously silent summit grew noisy.
In the dark downpour, groups of people who had arrived together began whispering among themselves.
Everyone stared wide-eyed toward the northern side of Longduo Mountain and the Chuan River beyond.
Finally…
As an enormous bolt of lightning lit up the entire sky, the northern face of the mountain suddenly exploded.
Then I saw a gigantic head emerge from within the mountain.