Hiding in the Mountains

The small boat headed east.

No one knew how far they had traveled from Huangzhi Mountain when they suddenly entered a stretch of river with rushing currents. Large rocks jutted out one after another from the riverbed, while most of the hazards were hidden reefs.

"Qingyu, hold on tight!"

Lu Qingfeng called out a warning. Gripping the oar, he concentrated on controlling the small boat and dodging the reefs.

Splash!

Splash, splash, splash!

The swift river water crashed against the reefs jutting above the surface, ringing out with a crisp roar.

A little sampan carrying the three Lu siblings wove nimbly among the reefs.

The small boat rocked unsteadily, as if it might capsize at any moment.

Lu Qingyu clutched the handholds on the boat with both hands, pressing Lu Qingshan beneath her body.

Sweat beaded on Lu Qingfeng's forehead.

He had only practiced rowing in the Primordial World for two or three months. He could keep the small boat from capsizing, but he was far from an experienced hand. This complicated waterway had already exceeded his abilities.

Bang!

Bang, bang, bang!

The reefs grew more numerous. The small boat kept striking them, and water began to leak in.

"Big brother!"

"We're taking on water!"

Lu Qingyu saw that the river had already risen above her feet and hurriedly shouted.

"No good!"

"We have to reach the bank quickly. If this goes on, we'll end up dying in the river sooner or later!"

Lu Qingfeng hurriedly adjusted the boat's course and steered toward the northern bank.

The southern side was fraught with danger, with demons and monsters prowling there. Even an inner disciple of the Return to Truth Sect might die after going there. With Qingshan and Qingyu in tow, Lu Qingfeng did not dare land on the southern bank.

Bang, bang!

Lu Qingfeng's decision had been made swiftly enough. The instant the small boat reached the bank, it sank completely.

The surging, turbulent Chengyang River was no less mighty than the Yangtze Lu Qingfeng had seen in his previous life.

When the Chengyang River passed through Jiuzhai County, it burst through layer upon layer of lofty mountains, forcing its way onward and carving out a magnificent, majestic canyon unlike any other in the world. It resembled the Three Gorges in many ways.

At that moment.

The three Lu siblings stood in a sorry state atop a protruding rock by the bank. Three feet beneath their feet, the river rushed and roared.

"Big brother, how do we get up?"

Lu Qingyu clutched her elder brother's arm and looked up at the nearly vertical cliff wall behind them as she asked.

"Qingyu, stay here and don't move. Keep an eye on your second brother—don't let him fall."

"I'll go up first and find some vines, then come back for you."

Lu Qingfeng placed the unconscious Lu Qingshan on the rock.

The cliff was far too steep. He could barely climb up by himself, but bringing Qingshan and Qingyu along was definitely impossible. He could only go up first and find some tools.

"Okay!"

Lu Qingyu nodded, then helped Lu Qingshan sit down on the rock.

Lu Qingfeng knew that time was pressing and could not be wasted.

He picked out a foothold, then leaped into the air and landed steadily. After reaching the first level of the Embryonic Breath Realm, his body had become light and buoyant. After nearly half an hour, he finally climbed up.

Only after reaching the top did he realize that this cliff was a full hundred zhang high.

Standing atop the cliff, he looked into the distance.

Below, the rivers surged with stirring force, roaring and churning as waves crashed against the banks, unyielding despite countless bends!

All around him, layer upon layer of mountains and rocks rose high, while sheer cliffs faced one another, veiled and locked in mist!

He had no idea where he was at all.

Lu Qingfeng had no time to admire the scenery. After climbing up, he plunged straight into the jungle. A quarter of an hour later, he had torn down more than a dozen vines and braided them into rope, draping the bundle over his shoulder.

Then he returned to the cliff.

Lu Qingyu leaned against the rock, holding Lu Qingshan with one hand while craning her head toward the top of the cliff. When she saw Lu Qingfeng appear, delight spread across her soot-blackened little face.

After hauling Lu Qingyu and Lu Qingshan up one after another, two hours had passed, and it was already afternoon.

From midnight onward, Lu Qingfeng's nerves had remained taut the entire day.

Killing Wu Yuan, steering the boat downstream, climbing the cliff!

His physical strength had long since been exhausted.

Once he reached the top, he collapsed directly onto the ground and gulped in great breaths.

Not long after they came up, before they had even recovered their wits, several boats stopped upstream of the reef-filled stretch. More than ten people looked around in all directions, yet failed to notice the three Lu siblings above the cliff.

After resting for a while, Lu Qingfeng recovered some of his strength.

At that moment, Lu Qingshan also awoke.

"Big brother, Qingyu, where are we?" Lu Qingshan had only just woken up. His face was pale, and he looked somewhat dazed.

"On the mountain!"

"We've already left Blackwood Village and Huangzhi Mountain!"

Lu Qingyu had been looking after her second brother all along. Seeing him wake, she replied in her clear voice.

"We—"

Lu Qingshan remembered.

They had killed Wu Yuan and five servant disciples, then boarded the boat.

"Big brother, did we succeed?" Lu Qingshan looked toward his elder brother and belatedly grew excited.

"More or less."

"But we don't know where we are now. We have to cross this forest and get over several mountains before we can truly be safe."

Lu Qingfeng pointed east.

From high ground, one could see far!

The east and north stretched into boundless forest. The trees were enormous and the vegetation luxuriant, hiding everything beneath their cover. All they could see were endless ranges of mountains, high and low, with no idea where they ended.

They could not go north. They might well run into the Return to Truth Sect's forces again.

Lu Qingfeng planned to head east and put as much distance between them and the Return to Truth Sect as possible. The forest was equally dangerous, but without the Return to Truth Sect looming over them like a great mountain, Lu Qingfeng would be content even if they were eaten by jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards the very next moment!

"That's wonderful!"

"That's wonderful!"

"That's wonderful!"

Lu Qingshan was too excited to say anything else. He only repeated those three words over and over, his voice gradually growing softer. Sitting on the ground, he buried his head deeply between his knees, his shoulders trembling.

The sound of sobbing drifted over.

Lu Qingfeng watched quietly without going to comfort him.

The pressure he had endured in Blackwood Village was nothing compared to what Lu Qingshan had suffered in the Return to Truth Sect. The dense scars covering his body alone showed what sort of life Lu Qingshan had lived in the sect these past few months.

Lu Qingfeng even regretted not carrying out his plan sooner and taking Lu Qingshan away from the Return to Truth Sect.

"Second brother, you can cry today. I cried today too."

For once, Lu Qingyu did not kick her second brother while he was down. Instead, she reached out and gently patted his back.

Lu Qingfeng led Qingshan and Qingyu deep into the mountains, heading east.

He had originally planned to cross the forest quickly, putting distance between them and the Return to Truth Sect while searching for a place where people gathered.

The facts proved that Lu Qingfeng had overestimated himself and had completely failed to anticipate the dangers of the forest.

Within the dense forest, ancient trees rose to the heavens, blotting out the sky and sun.

Once inside, it was impossible to tell southeast from northwest. After burrowing in, they became dizzy and disoriented within moments, with no idea where they were.

Wandering blindly and without direction made it easy to trespass into the territory of ferocious beasts.

Lu Qingshan's injuries had not yet healed, while Lu Qingyu was only twelve years old and physically frail.

In this situation, Lu Qingfeng could only bring the two of them to find a patch of level ground and stop.

"Anyone who enters a dense forest like this will lose their sense of direction. Even if the entire Return to Truth Sect came out, finding us wouldn't be easy."

Lu Qingfeng had ultimately lived beneath the Return to Truth Sect's iron-blooded tyranny for sixteen full years, and his fear of the sect had sunk deep into his bones.

In truth, setting aside whether the Return to Truth Sect would expend such great effort to hunt down the three siblings, even if they truly pursued the matter relentlessly, they absolutely would not find them in the short term.

Rather than blundering around the dense forest, it would be better to recuperate where they were for a while. Once their strength improved, they could leave.

One day in reality was a full hundred days for Lu Qingfeng in the Primordial World.

If he stayed for a few days, his cultivation might not skyrocket, but his means of fighting and preserving his life would certainly become far richer.

Nameless Cliff Mountain.

Dense forest halfway up the mountain.

Lu Qingfeng held a plain saber and found a "small tree" as thick as a man's waist, then began chopping.

In theory, mountain caves could be found all over the mountains and forests. But Lu Qingfeng had searched the surrounding area and found none. Left with no choice, he could only build a simple wooden shelter himself to block the wind and rain.

"Big brother, let me help!"

Lu Qingshan struggled to stand. Before he could rise, Lu Qingyu yanked him back down.

"Argh!"

Caught off guard, Lu Qingshan dropped onto the ground, jarring the wounds in his chest and twisting his features in pain.

"Why are you showing off?"

"Your body hasn't recovered yet. You need to rest properly. Otherwise, if you can't get out of bed, won't I still have to wait on you?"

Lu Qingyu curled her lips and glared unhappily at her second brother. "Sit properly. You're not allowed to go anywhere!"

Lu Qingshan looked aggrieved and raised his head toward his elder brother.

"Listen to Qingyu and recuperate properly."

Lu Qingfeng wiped the sweat from his face and smiled at Lu Qingshan.

After leaving Blackwood Village, he felt as if he had shed two hundred grams of flesh from his entire body. From head to toe, he felt indescribably refreshed.

As he worked, he listened to Qingshan and Qingyu bicker, and dusk soon descended.

By then, evening smoke had risen everywhere, and the twilight stretched hazy and vast.

A bright moon hung from the edge of the mountain, its clear light shooting in all directions and illuminating the brows and hair of all who gazed upon it.

Seven or eight long wooden planks were wedged between the surrounding trees, forming a simple wooden shelter only two meters high.

The wooden shelter was open to the wind on all sides, with a bonfire burning outside.

"How wonderful."

Lu Qingyu sat beside the bonfire, hugging both brothers on either side. Her little face blossomed with smiles.

She found this kind of life very interesting. Compared to Blackwood Village, where they could neither say nor do anything, it was goodness itself—she did not know how many times better.

"Yeah!"

"Wonderful indeed."

Ever since entering the Return to Truth Sect, Lu Qingshan had not worn a smile for a long time. At that moment, he too laughed carefree and foolishly.

"Qingshan, I kept your 'fortuitous encounter' safe for several days. Now I'm returning it to you intact."

"And your little record book."

Lu Qingfeng took a purple-green jade pendant and a palm-sized booklet from his robes and handed them to Lu Qingshan. When he mentioned the booklet, Lu Qingfeng deliberately emphasized the words.

Lu Qingshan stole a glance at Lu Qingfeng. "Big brother, did you read it?"

"I did. But something like this is better committed to memory. If you record it with pen and paper, it won't be good if you lose it or someone else picks it up."

Lu Qingfeng replied.

"I know."

"But I was afraid I'd forget, and then I wouldn't be able to get revenge!" Lu Qingshan said with an embarrassed grin.

"Big brother, what's written in there? Let me see!"

Lu Qingyu poked her head over.

"Are you going to let her see it?"

Lu Qingfeng looked at his second brother.

"I only made this booklet because Qingyu told me to." Lu Qingshan scratched his head, revealing his familiar foolish grin.

"Hmph!"

"How dare he not let me see it!"

Lu Qingyu gave a light snort, took the booklet from her elder brother's hand, and flipped through it by the weak firelight.

As she read, she recited the entries in her clear voice—

"Seventh day of the third month, Zhang Chong, three lashes."

"Ninth day of the third month, Zhang Chong, three lashes, one kick."

"Ninth day of the third month, Qian Han, one flatbread, one punch."

"Tenth day of the third month, Zhang Chong, ten slaps."

"Twelfth day of the third month, Zhang Chong, three lashes."

"Thirteenth day of the third month..."