“Young Immortal Master…”
Song Gang, the elder of the Song brothers, finally couldn’t help stepping forward and calling out in a low voice.
Li Qiuchen turned his head to look at him. The brothers only felt their vision go dark; the clarity that had just returned to their eyes grew turbid once more.
This was already the third time he had opened his mouth—or rather, the third time he had repeated the same mistake.
The Soul-Tugging Technique: the reason it was called “tugging” rather than “controlling” was mainly because the caster could not fully control the victim. Advanced operations like modifying memories, for instance, were impossible.
It could only stimulate the seeds buried within their bodies, briefly taking over their mental faculties, feed them suggestions, and guide them.
This situation was similar to when Li Qiuchen had taken the Spirit-Gathering Pill and nearly suffered a mental collapse, almost getting possessed by vegetation.
“Old Immortal Master!”
Song Gang opened his mouth a fourth time, but his form of address had changed.
This was because, at this moment, what he saw before him was not Li Qiuchen, but the old Daoist Fang Hong.
The hallucinatory power of the Li Family Eye Technique, supplemented by the influence of the Soul-Tugging Technique, had successfully brainwashed the two of them. They no longer harbored the slightest doubt about the identity of the person before them.
“What is it?”
Li Qiuchen asked softly.
“Old Immortal Master…”
Song Gang glanced back at his brother, gritted his teeth, and cupped his fists. “We still have an elderly mother at home with no one to care for her. I beg the Old Immortal Master to show great compassion and let my younger brother return home to fulfill his filial duties. I am willing to stay behind and serve the Old Immortal Master like an ox or a horse, without a word of complaint.”
Li Qiuchen smiled. “Do you still remember why this poor Daoist accepted you two as acolytes back then?”
A cold bead of sweat seeped from Song Gang’s forehead. He gritted his teeth and said, “It was because my father and us brothers presumptuously disturbed the Immortal Master’s cultivation…”
Li Qiuchen shook his head. “Incorrect.”
Huh?
Song Gang was stunned.
Song Yu beside him spoke. “It was because our father spoke disrespectfully to you.”
“Also incorrect.”
Li Qiuchen chipped away bit by bit, slowly extracting the entire sequence of events from the brothers’ mouths.
To put it simply, it was nothing more than two matters.
As the saying goes, “How can one allow another to sleep soundly beside one’s couch?”
The old Daoist had brought a tree root to the village to preach, just in time to encounter the Song father and sons fishing for pearls here.
Song Laosan, as a mountain trader who had seen much of the world, had seen through the old Daoist’s origins and background at a glance. Naturally, the old Daoist didn’t dare to let the father and sons leave and leak his whereabouts.
The second matter was actually quite simple as well—that “connection” in the county town.
Many people worked themselves to death their whole lives yet never left the bit of land beneath their feet. In the end, it was because they had no connections.
A countryman entering the city was no different from an Earthling transmigrating to another world.
At best, you could sell some local produce. What else could you do?
Desperate to be reinstated to his former official post, Song Laosan also wanted to find wives for his two sons.
The old Daoist had his own pursuits in life as well.
Emotionally speaking, Li Qiuchen understood.
But if he had the chance now, he very much wanted to walk that “connection” too.
Looking up, he spotted a black dot rapidly approaching. Li Qiuchen waved his hand, causing the Song brothers to fall silent once more.
A white crane flapped its wings and descended from the sky.
“Ga-ga!”
That habit of ga-ga-ing when anxious still hadn’t changed. Clearly, it could sound quite pleasant while up in the air.
“They’re here?”
Li Qiuchen’s spirit lifted—the soldiers had finally arrived.
The soldiers had arrived! Qing Stone Terrace was saved!
Before long, a cavalry troop slowly appeared at the end of the distant official road.
Standing on the mountain, Li Qiuchen made a rough estimate: this cavalry numbered over a hundred. Every man was armored and fully equipped, their formation orderly. At a glance, they were clearly well-trained elites.
As they neared their destination, the cavalry leader raised his hand and made a gesture. Immediately, a contingent of cavalry split from the ranks and circled around toward the rear of Qing Stone Terrace.
This one knew his business.
He even knew to outflank.
Before Li Qiuchen could voice his admiration, the cavalry on the official road accelerated, charging straight toward Qing Stone Terrace.
Tch… I just praised him, and now he’s charging in recklessly.
Since True Lord Maha regarded Qing Stone Terrace as his own territory and had the confidence to widely invite fellow Daoists to gather here, he wouldn’t have neglected any defenses.
Just as the cavalry charged to the town entrance of Qing Stone Terrace, two large trees on either side of the road suddenly uprooted themselves. One left, one right, like door gods, they blocked the cavalry’s path.
But the soldiers unhurriedly drew the bows from behind their backs. Dozens of sharp arrows flew out, igniting with raging flames mid-air. In an instant, the two trees were set ablaze, and fire shot into the heavens.
The leading cavalry general untied a gourd from his waist, opened the lid, and lightly tapped it three times toward the front. Countless fire crows sprayed forth madly, rushing into the town.
In no time, columns of black smoke rose from all over Qing Stone Terrace.
Li Qiuchen’s brows furrowed slightly.
The soldiers’ methods were truly forceful. No wonder the Medicine Master believers possessed such miraculous powers, yet were still suppressed until they were a pitiful sight, scurrying around like rats crossing the street.
But it was also a bit too forceful.
Once this fire burned, Qing Stone Terrace would probably not have a single tile left intact.
Of course, he knew he was speaking without feeling the pain.
How troublesome the Medicine Master believers were, he knew better than anyone. The townspeople had likely long since had their minds bewitched by True Lord Maha and turned into puppets. If they showed mercy to them, that would be irresponsibility toward the lives of their comrades-in-arms.
Just as Li Qiuchen was conflicted, the Medicine Master believers in the town finally launched their counterattack.
Li Qiuchen fixed his gaze and saw round after round of multicolored light blooming from the town, but none of them lasted long before dissipating with a bang.
The soldiers’ efficiency in resolving matters somewhat exceeded imagination. It was practically like chopping melons and vegetables as they completed a one-sided crush. Those Medicine Master believers who had mastered one or two heretical techniques suffered heavy casualties beneath their long spears and sharp arrows.
Of course, the term “heavy casualties” might not actually mean “heavy” for the Medicine Master believers.
The Medicine Master’s Blessing was not such a simple thing.
Sure enough, just as only a few relatively powerful individuals remained in the town, struggling to hold on, a familiar figure pushed through the sorghum field and stumbled toward Li Qiuchen’s hiding spot.
The old Daoist hadn’t died. What’s more, he was hugging a thick peach tree root in his arms.
Li Qiuchen had only casually tricked him, never expecting he actually managed to do it—taking advantage of the chaos while the soldiers encircled and suppressed the town, he had stolen the Immortal Elder’s Dharma husk from True Lord Maha’s hands.
Not bad, the old geezer really did have some skill.
Li Qiuchen nodded in satisfaction, then turned and ran without the slightest hesitation.
He had not only seen the old Daoist but also the two cavalrymen catching up from behind.
No matter how fast two legs were, they couldn’t outrun four.
The old Daoist tumbled and crawled through the sorghum field. Hearing the hoofbeats from behind, he paled in shock. In desperation, he shouted toward the mountain, “Junior Brother, save me!”
Before the words left his mouth, two long arrows struck his back and punched through his chest.
The crimson runes on the arrowheads flashed. Scorching heat erupted from the old Daoist’s facial orifices, directly setting him ablaze like a torch.
The two cavalrymen caught up and slashed off the old Daoist’s head with one blade. At the same time, they raised their heads to look toward the distant mountain forest.
“He has a Junior Brother? Should we pursue?”
“We can’t even see anyone—who would we pursue? Let’s not underestimate the enemy and fall for some evil man’s scheme. Return first and report to the Young Lord, then we’ll plan our next move.”