Sneaky Dog

Li Tianqing and that old man came to Chen Shi's home, where they met Grandpa Chen and the large black dog. Catching a glimpse of the Hongyi Cannon standing in the corner of the courtyard and the black iron pellets in the doghouse, Li Tianqing felt his heart leap. He gave a cough and said, "Grandpa, we'd better not trouble these people. Let's just stay the night under Godmother's tree for now."

The old man didn't look toward the corner, smiling instead. "Since we've come to someone's home as guests, how can there be any reason to move out again? Older brother, I am Li Jindou from Quanzhou. Please pardon this abrupt intrusion."

Grandpa Chen hastily returned the courtesy. "I am Chen Yindu, a native of Ganyang Mountain. My humble home is not large, but there are still two spare rooms suitable for lodging. I only fear we might treat our two guests with discourtesy."

Seeing that his diction was uncommonly refined, Li Jindou felt pleased and smiled. "Not at all, not at all."

Li Tianqing hurriedly tugged at his lapel. Uncomprehending, Li Jindou watched as Li Tianqing pursed his lips toward the corner. Only then did Li Jindou see the Hongyi Cannon, and a chill struck his heart.

Li Tianqing pointed quietly toward the main hall again. Li Jindou looked over and saw that the main hall was set up as a mourning hall, with candles and incense lit on the offering table, alongside a spirit tablet bearing a person's name.

What did this older brother just say his name was?

A jolt ran through Li Jindou's heart. The name written on the spirit tablet was none other than Chen Yindu!

It should just be a rural custom... No, there is the scent of a corpse on Chen Yindu!

A chill gripped him. This was the distinct odor given off when a human body died, and it was exceedingly unique.

Once smelled, this scent was impossible to forget!

This person's body has already died, yet he is somehow still alive! He is not a malevolent Sui, he is merely transforming into one. What kind of secret technique is this?

His mind raced as he searched the classics he had read and heard of to see if there were any records of such a secret technique, but he found nothing.

A tiny village conceals such a figure. Could it be that he and his grandson also came for the True King's Tomb? Is Li Kefu's death related to him?

At this thought, Li Jindou smiled. "Elder Chen, we cannot stay here for free. This is a small token of our appreciation. Please do not refuse it."

He produced a small ingot of silver weighing a little over three Liang.

Looking at the silver in his palm, Chen Yindu's pale, greenish face revealed a hint of a smile. "You are too courteous, younger brother." With that, he accepted the silver.

The very instant their palms touched, a wind rose on flat ground. Suddenly, a fierce gale howled. This wind was bizarre beyond measure, blowing straight up from the ground. While it felt like nothing down in the Chen family's courtyard, high above the house it raged into a tempest that soared into the heavens!

A cloud in the sky suddenly dissolved like melting snow, scattering in the wind until it ceased to exist.

This violent wind came quickly and went just as fast. In the blink of an eye, the gales ceased and calm was restored.

The courtyard remained peaceful, without the slightest anomaly. Chen Shi and Li Tianqing only heard the howling of the strange wind from the sky and felt nothing else.

Raising their heads to look up, the two saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Li Jindou's expression shifted slightly, and he laughed aloud. "To think a recluse of extraordinary abilities is hidden away in the wilderness. Older brother's breadth of spirit commands my admiration."

When he had touched palms with Chen Yindu just now, it appeared to be a mere exchange of silver, but in truth he had wanted to test the other's skill, which was why the sudden squall had been triggered.

Yet this probe failed to measure the other's depth.

His gaze flickered. He had expected Chen Yindu's hand to be piercingly ice-cold, but instead it had been warm, deepening his curiosity.

He has a heartbeat and circulating blood; he is like a corpse yet not a corpse. Bizarre, truly bizarre. What sort of secret technique can temper an aged, dying human body to this degree?

I must find an opportunity to test him again!

As noon approached, Chen Yindu spoke. "Younger brother Li, the countryside has nothing fine to entertain honored guests with. I have lost my sense of taste and dare not tend the stove to cook, so I must trouble our esteemed guests to look after yourselves."

Li Jindou hastily cupped his hands and bowed low. "Not at all, not at all. Please attend to your affairs, Elder Brother. My grandson and I have brought our own spirit jerky to make do."

The very second he bowed, a sound like thunder echoed across the courtyard. With a deafening crash, Li Jindou's body shook violently, and a brilliant divine radiance involuntarily surged up behind him, illuminating Huangpo Village until it shone with a stark, snowy white!

Within the divine radiance stood a primordial spirit three to four zhang tall, which flickered into existence and vanished in an instant.

Li Jindou's body swayed slightly before he finally steadied himself, smiling. "Older brother, I am going out for a stroll."

Chen Yindu replied, "Please feel free, younger brother."

Walking outside the house and arriving beneath the ancient tree, Li Jindou could no longer hold back. A mouthful of blood spewed from his mouth, and he hastily produced a spiritual pill, swallowing it rapidly.

After a moment, he felt somewhat better.

Yet his complexion remained far from favorable.

He still had failed to gauge the depth of the old man named Chen Yindu, but his own depth had been sounded out instead.

Chen Shi helped the grandfather and grandson tidy up the western wing room, sweeping it clean before bringing Li Tianqing to show off his Hongyi Cannon.

When meeting a peer, if one could not flaunt their most prized treasure, would it not be like walking in embroidered garments at night while playing the blind fish?

Causing the Hongyi Cannon, Li Tianqing suddenly spoke. "I heard that Prince Xiao stole the West King's Jade Seal and was hunted down by the Divine Machine Battalion. The Divine Machine Battalion deployed eighty-nine Hongyi Cannons, eight hundred and ninety soldiers, one eunuch commander, one military official, a center army, left wing, right wing, and numerous experts. They bombarded Ganyang Mountain, yet suffered heavy casualties. The gunpowder residue inside this cannon's barrel is still quite fresh. It must have been taken straight from the battlefield, right?"

Standing beside him, Chen Shi smiled. "Tianqing, your observation is remarkably meticulous. When Prince Xiao and Jin Hongying were conversing, I sat at the same table with them. After the battle ended, I rescued Prince Xiao and carried away this still-intact Hongyi Cannon."

Li Tianqing's heart skipped a beat. He sat at the same table as Prince Xiao?

Then he must be an accomplice of Prince Xiao!

Could it be that this grandfather and grandson duo had entered a den of thieves?

Lifting the Hongyi Cannon onto his shoulder, Chen Shi said excitedly, "I'll act as the gun carriage, you shove the black iron pellet inside, ignite it from the back, and fire at the distant mountain peak!"

Startled, Li Tianqing hastily refused.

Living in the city, the children around him were all just like him—well-behaved and observant of aristocratic etiquette. Where had they ever played with anything like this?

"Besides, black gunpowder must be loaded into the barrel for it to blast out."

Reminding Chen Shi, Li Tianqing added, "Nowadays, the Divine Machine Battalion also has a type of mechanism box loaded with gunpowder. It's a cylinder equipped with a firing mechanism and a striker on top. When a pellet is rolled in from the muzzle, it strikes the striker, and the gunpowder inside the mechanism box explodes, propelling the black iron pellet outward. If you want to fire again, you just take out the mechanism box and swap in another one. It's much more convenient."

Chen Shi's eyes shone brightly. "Where can one get those?"

Shaking his head, Li Tianqing replied, "That is the Divine Machine Battalion's newest creation; it's not easily acquired. Using yourself as a gun carriage is extremely perilous. You cannot play with it like this."

"How should I play with it then?" Chen Shi humbly asked for instruction.

Hesitating, Li Tianqing said, "Perhaps two Yellow Turban Strongmen could carry the Hongyi Cannon, which would eliminate the need for a gun carriage. But I don't know how to draw talismans..."

"I do!"

Chen Shi said excitedly, though he hesitated a moment later. "I don't know how to make black gunpowder..."

Li Tianqing answered, "I do."

At this, a trace of regret arose in him. He shouldn't have said that. Judging by Chen Shi's expression, he knew that with those words spoken, trouble was bound to follow.

Sure enough, Chen Shi handed the task of making black gunpowder over to him, while he and the large dog huddled in a corner, whispering furtively about something. Then the large dog endured the pain as Chen Shi pricked it for a drop of blood.

Fetching writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, Chen Shi mixed cinnabar with the dog's blood and channeled the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art. With supreme familiarity, he executed the Yellow Turban Strongman Talisman in a single stroke, quickly drawing dozens of them. Meanwhile, the divine shrine behind his head remained intact, and his true qi was not exhausted.

Such robust true qi! Li Tianqing praised inwardly.

The old Chen family had ready-made materials on hand, and Li Tianqing had also prepared the black gunpowder. Chen Shi hoisted the Hongyi Cannon, while Li Tianqing cradled several head-sized black iron pellets. The two youths sneaked away stealthily, with Black Pot following behind them with a furtive canine gait.

"You two little ones, stop running outside!"

Li Jindou's voice traveled over, calling them to a halt with a smile. "I just discussed things with Elder Chen, and he said little Chen Shi knows where the kiln is. We'll have little Chen Shi lead us there. Don't go carting that Hongyi Cannon outside; be careful someone sees it. You can fool around with it after we get back from the kiln."

Utterly disappointed, Chen Shi dispiritedly put the Hongyi Cannon back down.

Li Tianqing was also very crestfallen. Putting the black iron pellets back into the doghouse, a sudden realization struck him: What on earth am I doing? I came here to investigate Seventh Uncle's disappearance, and upon discovering this household acts suspiciously and is likely a gang of major bandits allied with Prince Xiao, how on earth did I end up playing with cannons alongside Chen Shi in a daze?

He secretly reminded himself that he must never be led astray.

After tidying up, Chen Shi strapped on his book basket and headed out the door. Li Jindou called out, "Tianqing, hurry up and keep up!"

Hastily composing his mood, Li Tianqing quickened his pace to follow Chen Shi.

Although he was mature for his age, he was still a child after all. Soon enough, he cast his recent wariness to the winds, chatting and laughing merrily with Chen Shi. Hearing Chen Shi recount amusing tales of the countryside, he burst into hearty laughter, yearning for such a life.

Entering the mountain forest, they saw that the woods were dense, with white, hazy mists drifting among the trees. This mist was peculiar, floating only at the height of a person's chest—patchy in depth, with no mist below the chest and none above it either.

Walking through the mist, the clamor of birds and insects vanished, replaced by an extraordinary stillness where they could hear their own heartbeats and breathing.

Li Tianqing actually felt a sense of the sacred rising from this mountain forest, solemn and majestic.

Every now and then, a wondrous sound could be heard—low and long-drawn, resembling the earth whispering.

Slowing his pace, Chen Shi came before a massive ancient vine, upon which was tied a tattered red cloth strip that snapped apart at the slightest touch.

Laying down his book box, Chen Shi pulled off the old red cloth strip, retrieved a new one from the box to tie in its place, and produced a stick of incense, which he lit and inserted into the earth at the root of the vine.

Only then did Li Tianqing notice that someone had piled stones into a circle around the base of the vine, with traces of past incense offerings inside the ring.

Li Jindou spoke in a low voice, "Tianqing, Heavenly Eye Talisman."

Hastily taking out a Heavenly Eye Talisman, Li Tianqing activated it. In that instant, another world belonging to the great mountains sprang into his vision.

Seated upon that ancient vine was a little girl in red, who slowly nodded at Chen Shi, accepting his incense offering.

The qi of the incense drifted upward, absorbed by the little girl in red and transforming into an extraordinary power that condensed into an image.

This little girl's image was not yet entirely clear, and as the mountain breeze blew, she took on the appearance of being on the verge of scattering.

Having finished this, Chen Shi led them deeper into the forest.

Walking a short distance further, he halted before a stone statue lying sideways among the mountain rocks and soil. The statue was gigantic, with the portion exposed above ground standing over a person's height.

Before the statue also sat a stone-piled circle, and a red cloth strip was tied around one of the statue's fingers.

Chen Shi replaced the red cloth strip and burned incense for the statue.

Li Tianqing noticed that the extraordinary power of this stone statue had also formed an image—a chubby toddler, sitting smilingly atop the statue's head, accepting his incense offering.

Following Chen Shi into the forest, they saw that throughout these ancient, profound mountains, towering ancient trees, jagged strange rocks, and ancient ruins all possessed images condensed from extraordinary power.

Chen Shi offered them incense and replaced their red cloth strips as he walked. Along the way, the mountain forest remained tranquil, free from the intrusion or harassment of any strange beasts, which was rather peculiar.

"Little Shi, what are you doing this for?" Unable to contain his curiosity, Li Tianqing asked.

"These are the villagers of our village, the paths into the mountain."

Straightening his back, Chen Shi replied, "There are also passing mountain travelers who frequently walk this route, carrying mountain goods to sell in the towns and cities. By tying red strings to these tree trunks and stone statues, they won't get lost."

Li Tianqing was enlightened, then asked, "And what about burning incense?"

"The incense is food for these mountain spirits, out of reverence."

Chen Shi explained, "Once the mountain spirits receive the incense, they protect the people walking this mountain path, keeping wild beasts at bay and bandits from harming them. If someone loses track of time and it grows dark, they can hide in a place with a red cloth strip, and the mountain spirits will protect the traveler from being harmed by malevolent Sui."

"Is it useful? Their images are so weak." Li Tianqing felt puzzled.

"It's useful."

Looking toward the spirits along the mountain path, Chen Shi's expression was serene, his eyes filled with a deep love for these great mountains. "Once, when I was playing and stayed out too long in the mountains, I lost track of time. When I noticed it was dark, I rushed home in a panic. A malevolent entity set its sights on me, and I hid beneath that tree. The tree spirit protected me, fighting desperately against the malevolent entity until it was torn to shreds. Grandpa came searching, and that was how I was saved."

----At midnight on July 1st, On the Great Dao will officially launch. I ask all my elder brothers for your support! Zhai Zhu bows in thanks!