Encounter

Early the next morning.

The three of them set out.

Three Skylark Birds, each about the size of a palm, perched on the shoulders of the three Lu siblings.

Lu Qingyu took a fingernail-sized Yellow Chestnut Pellet from the small cloth pouch at her waist and placed it in her palm.

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

The Skylark Bird on her shoulder let out a happy cry. With one tight spiral, it swallowed the Yellow Chestnut Pellet, its little face showing satisfaction before it returned to perch on Lu Qingyu's shoulder.

"Good girl, Little Nine."

Lu Qingyu teased the Skylark Bird, and even the nervousness she had felt about entering the county soon dissipated quite a bit.

"Chirp chirp!"

"Chirp chirp!"

Seeing their companion get a Yellow Chestnut Pellet to eat, the Skylark Birds on Lu Qingfeng and Lu Qingshan's shoulders grew anxious. They chattered incessantly.

"Qingyu, the Skylark Birds are so small. Two Yellow Chestnut Pellets a day is enough. Don't keep feeding them, or you'll make Little Eight fuss along with you!" Lu Qingshan complained, yet he had no choice but to feed the "Little Eight" on his shoulder a Yellow Chestnut Pellet.

"Little Nine and the others have worked so hard. What's wrong with letting them eat a little more?"

Lu Qingyu shot back. Little Nine on her shoulder also shook its head and wagged it provocatively at Lu Qingshan.

Lu Qingfeng had long grown used to this. He helplessly shook his head.

A few months ago, while fleeing, they had spotted a nest of Skylark Bird eggs in a tree, along with an adult Skylark Bird that had died from poison.

Lu Qingyu had brought the eggs back and carefully incubated them.

After discovering this, Lu Qingfeng had an inspiration and studied the Beast-Taming Art in the "Primordial World" for a while. Although he had not even grasped its superficial aspects, taming several Skylark Birds was not difficult.

The nine Skylark Birds that hatched were raised by Lu Qingfeng on Yellow Chestnut Pellets containing a trace of spiritual energy. They had also developed a sliver of intelligence of their own, could understand human speech, and were exceptionally lively.

Pill: Yellow Chestnut Pellet

Grade: Low-grade

Evolving Method: Five enhancements

Annotation: Bird feed, used to raise Skylark Birds

At first, while they were in the deep mountains, they would be caught off guard by attacks from wild beasts, accidentally trespass into the territories of ferocious beasts, or be caught up with by the pursuers from the Return to Truth Sect. They could not even sleep soundly.

But after taming the Skylark Birds, the situation improved greatly.

The Skylark Birds were only palm-sized and had no combat power whatsoever. Their advantage lay in their speed, as well as their ability to understand human speech, making them perfect for reconnaissance.

Whenever danger arose, the Skylark Birds would warn them immediately, allowing the three of them to respond calmly.

The rough map in Lu Qingfeng's hands had also been completed with the help of the Skylark Birds.

"Chirp chirp!"

As the three traveled, a Skylark Bird that had been scouting ahead turned back. It traced a graceful arc through the air, landed before Lu Qingfeng, and shook its little head.

Shaking its head meant there were no humans or large wild beasts ahead, and they could pass safely.

With the Skylark Birds scouting the way, the three Lu siblings avoided wild beasts all along the journey and continued northeast.

About ten-odd days later.

There was finally a change!

"Humans?"

"Five of them?!"

Lu Qingfeng looked at the Skylark Bird before him as it chattered out its report, and his heart tightened.

"Big Brother, what do we do now?" Lu Qingshan asked.

"We'll go up and make contact, and learn about the situation nearby. If they're from the Return to Truth Sect, kill them directly! If they're too powerful, use the Earth-Burrowing Talisman to escape!"

Talisman: Earth-Burrowing Talisman

Grade: Low-grade

Evolving Method: Five enhancements

Description: Used for earth escape

Walking out of the mountain forest rashly and entering a place where humans gathered carried risks as well. If they could learn some basic information from these five people, it would undoubtedly be much safer.

With the Earth-Burrowing Talismans in hand, they had a way to advance or retreat, so there should not be any major mishaps.

"Prepare all the talismans and put them somewhere you can reach most easily." Lu Qingfeng looked at Qingshan and Qingyu and reminded them.

"Don't worry, Big Brother. They're ready!"

Lu Qingyu patted the spot at her waist and replied.

Lu Qingshan nodded as well.

Once everything was prepared, the three of them followed the Skylark Bird's guidance toward the five people ahead.

"This should already be within Lanjiang County, right?"

"More or less. Once we go around the mountain ahead and keep heading east, we'll reach the border of Lanjiang County. If we head north, we'll enter Hengshan County."

In the mountain forest, five men dressed as villagers in coarse hemp clothing moved through the jungle with nimble steps.

Judging from their conversation, they seemed to be heading to either Hengshan County or Lanjiang County.

It was simply unclear what territory these two counties belonged to.

Suddenly.

The hooked-nose man leading the five, who was around thirty, raised a hand and said in a low voice, "There's movement!"

The other four immediately stopped and fell silent.

Before long.

Bang!

Bang bang!

Bang bang bang!

A series of heavy footsteps rang out. The hooked-nose man, Yan Zhang, changed expression and cried out in alarm, "A mountain bear!"

Other than a mountain bear, nothing else could possibly make footsteps like that!

Yan Zhang held his breath.

"Chirp chirp!"

Yet a Skylark Bird above them cried out, breaking the silence.

Rumble!

The footsteps drew closer!

"Damn it!"

"Run!"

Yan Zhang cursed angrily. He tapped a foot against a tree and sprinted wildly down the escape route. Mountain bears had powerful defenses and strength beyond measure. Even though he carried a sharp weapon and knew martial arts, he did not dare meet one head-on.

"Run!"

The other four were startled as well. Seeing Yan Zhang flee, they followed close behind and ran for their lives.

Whoever fell even half a step behind would become food for the mountain bear!

Boom boom boom!

A commotion came from behind. Yan Zhang glanced back and saw a black bear nearly a zhang tall leap several zhang through the air and pounce toward them.

It was terrifying beyond words!

The five fled in panic!

At that moment, three figures appeared diagonally ahead to the side—two youths and a little girl of eleven or twelve.

Such a group appearing in the deep mountains was extremely strange.

"Are they villagers from a nearby settlement?"

"Use them to lure away the mountain bear!"

Yan Zhang's thoughts raced, and he immediately decided what to do. He changed direction and ran straight toward the three. The other four understood at once and followed.

Lu Qingfeng looked at the five people running toward him and breathed a sigh of relief.

He had been worrying about how to get information about the local territory from these five. Using violence for no reason would have been inappropriate. But since the five clearly harbored vicious intentions, there was no longer any need to worry about what methods he used.

"Qingshan, Qingyu, protect yourselves."

Lu Qingfeng swept them with the Heaven's Eye Technique and discovered that the cultivation of these five was about the same as that of the Return to Truth Sect's peripheral enforcement squad. Even the strongest among them, the hooked-nose middle-aged man, was only at the third layer of the Embryonic Breath Realm.

With his current strength, even if there were three to five times as many of them, he could still take them down with ease.

"Got it!"

Lu Qingshan and Lu Qingyu answered, gripping the Golden Light Talismans in their hands as they guarded against every possible enemy.

Lu Qingfeng stood at the very front, a gleaming Nine-Ring Saber clutched in his hand!

With the orthodox-grade Azure Origin Sword Art supporting the five-times-enhanced Cloak Saber Technique, dealing with these people who were even afraid of a black bear would be more than easy!

"Brat! Get out of the way!"

Yan Zhang charged recklessly forward. It was not enough for him to lure the black bear behind him toward Lu Qingfeng and the other two; he even shouted furiously and tried to charge straight through the gap between them.

A short blade gleaming with cold light protruded halfway from his hand.

Killing intent enveloped them!

Clearly.

This man had not taken Lu Qingfeng and the others seriously at all.

And that was understandable. After all, they were merely two youths and a little yellow-haired girl of eleven or twelve. What ability could they possibly have?