"Yang Gujin can take the sword, but not him," Mumei seemed to have made up her mind and emphasized again.
As for that, I did not raise any objections and nodded.
How can we communicate, Lao Chu will definitely not tell the truth.
Better to leave him behind, it must be the best choice!
That is quite different from what Mumei initially wanted to do, which was to leave him behind at the Kodo-ji. Staying in the Karinouchi village, with his limbs unharmed and safe and sound.
Later, I and Mumei left the guesthouse to buy a series of things that we would need for our trip up the mountain.
Mumei also proposed a very practical suggestion, that in case we were trapped in the tomb robber's cave or in the mountain for more than a few days, we should have enough food and water, and have light source for the darkest places.
Fortunately, Karinouchi village has a tourist area, so we could basically buy anything.
Mumei and I each had a backpack, filled with bread, biscuits, dried meat, water, rope, flashlights, candles, even glow sticks... everything we needed was there.
Before heading back to the guesthouse, we discussed the details thoroughly.
Although Lao Chu said that we should go up the mountain at night, this time, it seems unnecessary, we don't need to wait for so long.
Leaving Lao Chu behind, it's best to temporarily disable his mobility so he can't keep up with us. This time should be as long as possible, otherwise, we never know what trouble Lao Chu might cause.
Actually, from when we entered the Kodo-ji this morning to what happened later, we haven't wasted much time.
At noon, I returned to the guesthouse and let Mumei knock on Lao Chu's room door, asking him to come over for urgent matters to discuss.
Lao Chu's face was covered in gauze and ointment, a man of the lower class is never lacking in the ability to treat their own wounds.
"Are you guys planning to leave earlier?" Lao Chu scanned the two backpacks on the floor and slightly furrowed his brow. "Too early. Plus, with just two backpacks, it's too little. We'll need to go out and buy more."
"What have you guys brought?" As he spoke, Lao Chu tried to open the backpacks, his movements were very familiar.
I slowly walked towards Lao Chu's back, trying to be as light as possible.
Even though the fate of someone with a yin life has been removed, many spells don't work anymore, but the fundamental skills are still there.
Mumei stood by the side, ready to take action at any moment.
Just as Lao Chu bent down, suddenly his body stiffened, he turned his head abruptly and looked at me with sharp eyes.
"Luoxian Shen, what do you intend to do?" He was extremely vigilant.
I furrowed my brow.
I didn't slack off on my basic skills, it's just that Lao Chu's reaction was too quick.
Adding to that, his peculiar and erratic personality makes him all the more cautious.
Since we are going to start a fight and have been exposed, there's no need to hide anymore.
My eyes turned gradually cold, beside Mumei approached from another direction, implicitly sealing off Lao Chu's retreat path.
"Discussing urgent matters, only to cut the bridge after crossing it, trying to attack me?" Lao Chu's eyes carried a hint of disgust and coldness.
"Your Luo family has never had anything good."
"And, although you, Luoxian Shen, are strange and mysterious, one moment using low-ranking arts and the next moment pretending to be a false Taoist. But fundamentally, you are still a young lad. Even with this stinky Mumei from the Tako family, you are no match for me!"
In his words, Lao Chu's eyes also took on a disdainful look.
He leaned slightly forward, his arms slightly raised, adopting the posture of a ghostly old woman!
My brow furrowed slightly.
Mumei's face turned grave and serious.
However, at this moment, the room grew cold.
This sudden chill was like entering winter, causing numerous tiny goosebumps to rise on my skin.
"Your breath seems to be bigger than your bad foot odor."
"And now you dare to insult me, little lady, while seeing me as a small boy."
"And later, will you dare to urinate in my old Grandpa Gong's teapot?"
Old Gong appeared silently on Lao Chu's shoulder, his expression dark and severe to the extreme!
Lao Chu's pupils shrank slightly, and he suddenly twisted his head.
Old Gong hissed, and then he exhaled!
In that moment, his mouth was stretched open in an extremely eerie manner.
"You dare to pee in your old Grandpa Gong's teapot!"
"Die!"
A bony hand suddenly reached out and grasped Lao Chu's neck!
Lao Chu raised his hands, as if to grab that hand!
White mist emerged from Lao Chu's nostrils, indicating that the vital energy was being pulled.
Old Gong's mouth was not closed, making a muffled sound, repeating the word urine, spewing excrement from his mouth, die!
Lao Chu's entire face turned pale, his complexion like paper.
His hands drooped limply, and his feet gradually left the ground. Wei Youming's arm was raised, his face, which had lost its color, was gradually turning to liverish red, as if he was about to be choked to death.
"Lao Chu, Wei Youming's actions are too harsh, it might lead to a life-threatening situation." Mumei slightly changed color.
I shook my head slightly, signaling with my eyes that everything was fine.
Old Gong's eyes began to glow with excitement. However, when he reached his peak of excitement, his entire head became illusory and then vanished.
Wei Youming's arm disappeared at the same time.
Lao Chu fell to the ground with a clanging sound.
His body curled up like a shrimp, spasming and trembling, his mouth foaming white, and his eyes began to roll.
I calculated the timing well. At noon, if Mumei and I couldn't successfully subdue Lao Chu, Old Gong would inevitably come into play.
It takes more than a few breaths for Old Gong to kill someone.
Moreover, I haven't given the order, Old Gong wouldn't really dare to kill Lao Chu.
"Vital energy deficiency, even without being tied up, within a few days he will be too weak to move his limbs." I whispered softly, my eyes relaxed.
Mumei also let out a sigh of relief and nodded, saying, "It's about right."
Despite this, for safety's sake, Mumei and I still bound Lao Chu tightly with ropes and tied him to the bed.
Then, we checked that all our things were not left behind and went to Lao Chu's room to fetch Yang Gui Jin.
Yang Gui Jin was still in that mindless, clueless appearance.
Mumei and I, however, remained just as cautious, if not more so, than before.
After all, the previous night when Yang Gui Jin suddenly became conscious and entered the Kodo-ji, no one knew what had happened.
As for the people at Kodo-ji, did they release him because of our report or for some other reason?
Lao Chu's hiding of the truth from the people at Kodo-ji raises a lot of questions.
Either Lao Chu was scared, or there was something supernatural happening inside.
...
After leaving the guesthouse, Mumei and I walked around the High Mountain.
We didn't take the main mountain path. Instead, we found a slope and climbed up directly to avoid drawing attention.
This High Mountain is not much wider than the Doyo Temple's mountain, but it is taller.
Both of us had walked until it was dark, but we hadn't even reached the mountain's waist yet.
Yang Gui Jin had become a bit strange, sometimes looking left with a look of alertness, then right with the same, as if there was something on the mountain.
Old Gong appeared on the night pot, and he paid no attention to it. He hummed a tune, looking proud and confident.
Just before we reached the middle of the mountain, when there was a flat area, I suggested we stop and rest.
Yang Gui Jin suddenly stared at a particular direction. He let out a smile, then his face turned into a mournful expression, and he laughed again, looking particularly strange.
