Volume 5: Qingming Chapter 49: Counterfeiting
"What did he say?" Jiang You asked.
"Brother Zheng told me about what Jinghu Society did, and he asked me to join forces with him to snipe the demons behind Jinghu Society in Jiujin Mountain," Xiaoman said while observing Jiang You's expression. She said, "I agreed."
"Just the two of you?"
"I also asked Brother Zheng why he didn't find more helpers. He told me," Xiaoman looked at the sword in Jiang You's hand, "He told me that many people are using their own methods to fight against Jinghu Society, and he can't expose them. He also has his own methods. He said that as a cultivator, we should take it as our responsibility to slay demons and eliminate evil. He is a sword cultivator, and his method is to kill demons with his sword. In this way, even if he fails, he will bear the responsibility of failure with his life, and it will not affect others."
A cold voice sounded in Xiaoman's ears.
"Where is he?"
Xiaoman looked at Tang Butian and said, "I can take you to see him right now."
"Do you want to go, leader?" Jiang You asked.
Tang Butian glanced at Xiaoman, and then she said to Jiang You, "Keep asking."
"Okay, I only have three questions," Jiang You walked around Xiaoman's body, "First question, where did this passage come from?"
"Brother Zheng planned to kill the demon the moment it descended. If he failed, he would destroy the magic circle. He gave me the task of rescuing people, but the demon arrived ahead of time," Xiaoman's gray eyes were filled with emotion. "The sky leaked water and rushed towards the mountain, which began to break and collapse. There were not many tourists on the mountain. I tried my best to lead them to a safe place, and then I tried to rescue the people in the tour group. I lurked near the magic circle, and I saw Brother Zheng. He was stepping on the mud with a sword in his hand. His shoes and clothes were soaked by the mud. He walked towards the demon."
"And then they fought for three hundred rounds?"
"No, he lost very quickly. He was smashed into the mud again and again." Xiaoman turned his head and looked at Tang Butian, "He saw me. I knew what he wanted me to do, to destroy the magic circle."
"Then what?" Tang Butian asked.
"I am a mountain spirit. There is no place on Jiujin Mountain that I cannot reach. Brother Zheng attracted their attention and I destroyed the magic circle, but..."
Xiaoman took a breath, "But the tourists were already dead, their souls and blood flowed away with the muddy water. Then I heard some noises coming from underground, and I felt Jiujin Mountain split in the middle. I saw the crack in the void, and part of the crack overlapped with the passage opened by the demon. At this time, the demon discovered me, and Brother Zheng and I had no choice but to escape into the crack, and that's how we survived."
"What happened next?" This time it was Jiang You who asked.
"Brother Zheng fell into a coma after I came in. His injuries were very serious. I wanted to save him, but I didn't dare to go out again. I searched in the passage for a long time and finally found another exit. I wanted to go out to find some herbs for him, but as soon as I went out, I ran into Qiaoqiao. She took over my body. I only had a trace of consciousness to escape back and escaped into the passage." Xiaoman looked at the stone walls on both sides, "I fell asleep in the cracks of the stone walls, relying on instinct to absorb energy and slowly recover. I don't know what happened afterwards."
"When did you lose your magic weapon?"
"I left my magic weapon with Brother Zheng. If the demon discovered the passage and found him, the magic weapon could help him resist for a while. However," Xiaoman sighed, "I originally thought that Brother Zheng kept it, but I didn't expect it was the one outside. I don't know how she tricked Brother Zheng!"
"Second question, how do you prove that what you said is true?"
Xiaoman gritted her teeth and said, "I can prove that the bead is my magic weapon."
"The third question is, can you control this passage?"
Xiaoman was stunned for a moment.
The tip of the sword landed on her cheek, and then downward, blue-gray blood oozed out of the wound and fell to the ground.
"Since you are here, awake, and have regrouped," Jiang You looked at her, "you and Monk Zheng have fought together. Now that he is here, you should treat him well and reminisce about the past."
Xiaoman was silent for a moment before she said, "He got lost. I was sleeping, and I didn't know it was him who came."
"You like sleeping, which is the same hobby as mine. You have a bright future ahead of you." Jiang You took a step back. He swung his sword to cut off the spider silk on Xiaoman's hand and waist. Xiaoman fell heavily to the ground. He said, "I'm fine now, leader."
Xiaoman lowered her head.
A small flame still licked the hem of her skirt.
Jiang You looked at her for a long time, then he pushed his glasses down and said, "Lead the way ."
"Okay." Xiaoman climbed up.
"Go forward first." She turned around and felt something pressing on her shoulder. She turned her head and saw the silver tip of the sword.
Jiang You put Zheng Yuantai's sword on her shoulder and said, "Don't stop."
She continued walking forward.
The firelight on the hem of her skirt illuminated the way ahead.
Tang Butian was the last one to leave.
The further we walked, the narrower the road became, with many forked roads. The wind blew in from outside, blowing through the maze-like road.
After Xiaoman led them around many corners, she finally stopped in front of a cave.
The cave was not big, barely enough for one person to pass through. Jiang You stretched his head and looked inside, and it was pitch black.
Xiaoman said: "Brother Zheng is inside."
Jiang You looked down at his waist, then turned to look at Tang Butian, "Leader, I can only trouble you to go in and explore the way first."
…
Jin Cheng opened his eyes with difficulty, and felt a damp feeling on his back. The moisture from the soil soaked through his clothes. Then, he felt numb and cold.
He tried to move, but found that he was tied up. The magic circle, the human-shaped black shadow above, the mountain... He remembered why he appeared here.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Lin Yu sitting on the side. He raised his head with great effort and said, "Untie the ropes on me. You are suspected of illegal detention."
Lin Yu glanced at him.
"You didn't come to rescue Brother Zheng at all. You lied to us and said that the mountain spirits were dispersed. You deliberately prevented me from going up the mountain and knocked Uncle Chang and Brother Shao unconscious," Jin Cheng questioned Lin Yu, "What is your purpose?"
"No purpose." Lin Yu said.
"You still want to quibble. You and that fat guy have already arrived in Chucheng. We came on the same bus," Jin Cheng recalled more details. "Also, when I was investigating on Jiujin Mountain these few days, I saw you several times, but I didn't see the fat guy. Where did he go?" The suspicion in his eyes became more and more intense. "You are not from the Special Operations Department. What are you doing here? Or are you all pretending to be from the Special Operations Department?"
