The coolness carried a faint sense of refreshing, and the wound slightly felt more comfortable.
I didn't look at He Qiqi again. From her, I could feel a mood being conveyed.
Escaping didn't do much for her.
"Brother-in-law, just like before, he always stays in dangerous places."
He Qiqi raised her head.
I wasn't good with words, and I just managed a smile.
The atmosphere after that became rather stagnant, and time seemed to move particularly slowly.
"Who does that village's old Taoist look like?" I asked He Qiqi.
In fact, I had already guessed it in my heart. That woman, the third senior old of Tianshou Temple, mentioned that I might encounter Mingjin Zhenren on my way back.
He Qiqi replied, "I didn't get a good look at the appearance of the dog's mouse. He seemed to be wearing a hat and had a veil covering his face."
The heart sank further.
It's him!
A sense of hindsight flooded in.
If none of these unexpected events had occurred, I would indeed have rested in the Niu Nian village along the way.
In this case, it would just happen to cross paths with Mingjin Zhenren.
I didn't think he was there to pick me up. Ninety-nine percent likely, he was trying to do something underhanded to me.
No wonder the third elder would directly abandon me and flee away.
She would have to die if she met Mingjin Zhenren face to face.
"He was a tough opponent," He Qiqi replied in a low voice. "I was able to sense things better than you, even better than Grandpa."
I didn't doubt that.
He Qiqi has a similar "over world" life to Lv Huan. Her previous Dujia skills have had the effect of perception.
The rest of the Jiu family rely on the dog's mouse to sense information, but He Qiqi can directly see through the eyes of the dog's mouse.
It was precisely these reasons that she had always struggled with the Dujia technique.
She had benefited greatly during the several months she spent in the Ghost Shrine.
"However, you can rest assured, brother-in-law. Though he's very powerful, we can always hide. The third elder won't just give up either; we just need to be more cautious, and there's no need to worry about safety," He Qiqi said seriously.
Silence prevailed, and a sense of oppression also rose in the chest.
There have been many things happening in Niu Tizhen Village, and I almost died.
The Tianshou Temple is haunted by restless spirits, and Mingjing Zhenren appears dignified. Both have attacked me in succession, leaving me to struggle against them only with my injuries.
Going directly on seems like a good choice, but I still have to leave the corpse of the Yinyang Master and the child corpse here, which goes against my promise to him.
"He Qiqi, don't think so much, we are in a bad situation. We can only think about safety after we escape," He Qiqi persuaded me again.
"Um, okay," I nodded.
The oppression in my chest turned into a sense of dissatisfaction, and then into a desire for vengeance. However, because of the current situation and our lack of strength, I cannot kill the third elder or attack Mingjing Zhenren.
Therefore, all of this could only be suppressed in the depths of my heart.
Time passed slowly, from dusk to evening, and eventually into the darkness of night.
Once the sunlight was completely swallowed by the night, a large number of black shadows shot out from under He Qiqi's body, like a small dark cloud, quickly disappearing into the forest without a trace.
Old Gong then appeared on my shoulder, his eyes wide with shock, as he let out a scream, "Little Madam!"
In the next second, Old Gong rushed towards He Qiqi.
He Qiqi suddenly caught Old Gong's head and smiled joyfully.
"Old Gong, why are you still that bad-looking? You haven't changed at all."
She affectionately brought Old Gong's head close to her face and gave it a gentle kiss.
Old Gong's eyes widened even more, and he was about to roll his eyes.
"He Qiqi, let's go," she said without looking at me, reminding me once, and walked in the direction of a spot.
I followed He Qiqi silently.
There was no straight line in the mountains, only a detour, obviously avoiding something.
Old Gong kept talking nonstop in his mouth, and He Qiqi's eyes occasionally showed a look of surprise, followed by a sigh of relief.
After walking for a long time, I felt that the altitude was increasing, indicating that we were getting closer to the top of the mountain. I finally opened my mouth to interrupt He Qiqi and Old Gong's "catch-up."
"Check if there's anyone at the previous location."
He Qiqi nodded, and she formed a secret incantation, murmuring something with her mouth.
"Oh, my little Madam, you've really come a long way. You've really come a long way," Old Gong sighed in admiration.
He Qiqi did not pay attention to Old Gong and also did not respond to me. Instead, she continued walking in one direction.
After about half an hour, He Qiqi murmured, "No one is there. In fact, that's understandable; the third elder wouldn't give up, and neither would the old Taoist."
"Hey..." He Qiqi's eyes flashed with a look of surprise, and her footsteps sped up immediately.
After about half an hour's walk, we arrived at a relatively flat clearing with few trees.
No, there are trees here; it's just that many of them have fallen, and there are traces of being cut halfway through, even with many areas charred.
Clearly, there was a fight here. The charred traces are very fresh, and they were left not long ago.
Several dog's mice suddenly popped out from under a jumble of tree trunks and rocks, carrying a blackened arm.
The broken end showed a faint outline of sinew and blood, but there was not a single patch of intact skin on the arm's surface.
"A woman's hand," Old Gong gasped in disbelief. "Big Madam, you really took a big hit."
He Qiqi and Old Gong's previous chat, He Qiqi's background, and the events that occurred in between, she naturally told Old Gong everything.
"She didn't die; what's such a big loss, right? Old Gong?" He Qiqi raised her hand and gave Old Gong's forehead a light tap.
"Oh, right, not that head; oh well... why not the head? That old guy is a real Zhenren, but he didn't manage to kill even one of the elders. That's unlucky!" Old Gong spat a mouthful of saliva, as if delivering a speech with great moral authority.
"He Qiqi slightly tilted her head back, looking at the night sky. "The distance is getting further."
"It seems he has changed his target, going after the third elder," I mused thoughtfully.
"Mingjin Zhenren wouldn't kill me."
There are many things that we understand each other between us.
He can at most hurt me, trying to find the Four Rules Mirror from me, but everything else has to be settled on the stage of the Sìguī Mountain.
If I die, how can I explain it to He Yun there, and the entire Sìguī Mountain will be in chaos.
Since he couldn't catch me at the moment and also ran into people from the Tianshou Temple, he would naturally have to make a choice.
"Dog bites dog, but it won't amount to a mouthful of fur. Big Madam might encounter a young, fiery Taoist who might even have a chance of turning the tables." Old Gong muttered again.
He Qiqi suddenly twisted her hand on Old Gong's ear, hummed a sentence, and said, "Wasn't it you who chased after her that made her turn the tables?"
"Oh, it hurts...it hurts..." Old Gong was gritting his teeth and said, "If I caught her, I would make sure to inflict cruel tortures on her so that she would wish to die. Ah, little Madam, my ears are gone..."
I let out a long breath and told He Qiqi and Old Gong to stop their banter, and we should go collect the two corpses.
...
After about half an hour, we returned to the place where the house collapsed earlier.
We pulled the bodies out from among the debris and broken tiles.
Old Gong climbed onto the child's corpse, while I continued to carry the two-part corpse of the Yinyang Master.
When we walked down the mountain, a muddy car was parked by the side of the road.
He Qiqi walked straight towards the car door.
