Mountain Silently Moves Itself

With a few more slashes and chops, wildly swinging his saber without pause, the other strange ape that had tripped was also heavily wounded, completely immobilized, and only spasming on the ground.

Lin Jue finally breathed a little easier.

But when he glanced to the side, he was startled.

The Martial Artist surnamed Luo was facing an even greater number of strange apes, including their leader. The strange apes not only understood group attacks but were also throwing stones. Yet, he was completely unharmed, and two strange ape corpses already lay on the ground.

These strange apes were not human; their advantage was instinct, not a willingness to fight to the death. Seeing this situation, they were already terrified and wanted to flee.

However, this man had led Lin Jue to such a dangerous place. Originally, the group of strange apes had surrounded them in the narrow angle of the river. Now that their positions had switched, this man alone was blocking the entire monkey troop.

Anyone who wanted to run couldn't escape his saber.

If they threw stones, he easily dodged them, and soon there would be no stones left by the river.

He stepped forward with steady steps, meeting them head-on with a great cleaving strike. How could an ape's body withstand such saber momentum? They cried out and fled in a panic. As soon as they dodged this cleave, the martial artist spun around and swung his saber horizontally, cutting across their waists. The saber's force seemed light, but two strange apes were immediately cut in half at the waist.

Their intestines and guts spilled onto the ground.

The many strange apes not only had no power to resist but now had no desire to resist at all.

All of this happened in a very short time.

At this moment, the strange monkey leader's eyes widened, and it screamed incessantly, unsure of what to do. It pondered for a moment, then jumped back a distance, its eyes wide, and actually inhaled.

"Hiss..."

"Pfft!!"

It actually spat out a mouthful of green smoke.

Although the strange monkey leader's position and the wind direction were unfavorable, it had plenty of strength. With one breath, only a small portion was scattered by the wind, and the grass-like smoke still rushed towards the Martial Artist surnamed Luo, spreading wider and wider as it traveled.

Lin Jue's eyes immediately narrowed.

What a creature, it can really exhale Qi.

At the same time, he felt the wind blowing towards him.

Lin Jue knew that most spirits and ghosts exhaled Qi that tended to be Yin Qi, which was mostly countered by Yang Qi and fire. Without hesitation, he also opened his mouth.

"Boom..."

A burst of flames shot out, colliding with the front.

The green smoke and fire met with a chzzzt, and they dissipated into nothingness, leaving only a foul odor.

"Huh?"

The effect was beyond Lin Jue's expectations.

No wonder this thing can exhale Qi, yet it's still so afraid of fire. It's completely countered.

The Martial Artist surnamed Luo had just dodged with his movement technique. Amidst his evasive maneuvers, he heard the roar of flames and the chzzzt sound. When he landed and turned to look, both the flames and the green smoke had disappeared.

Beside him stood the surprised strange monkey leader and Lin Jue, who had exhaled all his Qi and was recovering.

The intense heat had just washed over him.

The Martial Artist surnamed Luo naturally understood what had happened. He couldn't help but glance at Lin Jue, but his movements didn't stop. His steps rotated powerfully, his long saber sweeping like a full moon, annihilating an army.

Kachh! He killed two strange apes and quickly moved forward, stepping up and slashing. Even though the strange monkey leader could exhale demonic mist, it was still made of flesh and blood. How could it compare to this refined steel hundred-battle saber?

It was split in half from bottom to top.

The scene was so bloody that Lin Jue couldn't bear to watch.

The remaining few strange apes, without their leader to restrain them, completely exposed their animalistic nature and just ran. As they ran, the martial artist killed two more with his saber, and in the end, only one managed to escape.

The martial artist calmly nocked an arrow.

"Swoosh!"

"..."

"Swoosh!"

His archery wasn't great; it took two shots to hit.

"Hmph..."

The martial artist snorted coldly, calmly put away his bow, flicked the blood off his long saber, and took out a dry cloth to wipe it.

While wiping, he looked at Lin Jue.

"I was wondering how a frail scholar like you dared to walk this path alone and confront this pack of beasts by yourself. So, you had a trick up your sleeve."

"A minor skill, not worth mentioning. It can't compare to a great hero."

Lin Jue's statement wasn't just humility. He recalled that the old man who mastered the Fire-Repelling Technique had thought the same.

Specifically for this situation, he was also well aware that his own performance art was utterly useless against these beasts, let alone this martial artist. Without him, he wouldn't even have been able to avenge himself for being toyed with by these strange apes. Compared to the versatile and miraculous various spells, what this martial artist possessed were true, pure killing techniques.

"The martial arts I practice are for fighting humans. Killing these beasts doesn't allow me to fully utilize them," the Martial Artist surnamed Luo said in a deep voice.

"Your martial arts are that powerful..."

"These beasts used to live deep in this mountain, but for some reason, they've recently come out. This one must be very old, or it's eaten people and is about to become a spirit," the Martial Artist surnamed Luo said, continuing to wipe his long saber while staring at the largest and oldest strange monkey leader on the ground. His tone held a sigh, and his brow was furrowed with worry. He couldn't help but lament, "Lately, there seem to be more and more Ghosts and Monsters on the roads."

"Do those count as Ghosts and Monsters?"

"These don't. They're likely just strange beasts from the mountains. There are some records in ancient books, but they're becoming rarer and rarer."

"Then what do you mean by 'more and more Ghosts and Monsters on the roads'?" Lin Jue couldn't help but be curious. When he was in the village, he had also heard the village elders lament similar things, and some of his own experiences seemed to confirm it—

In times of peace, many people might not encounter Ghosts and Monsters even once in half their lives. Only when they grew old, their Qi and Blood weakened and their eyesight blurred, did the probability increase, but even then, it was hard to tell if it was blurry vision or a hallucination.

But in recent years, even strong young men have often encountered Demonic Ghosts while traveling at night.

"What else could it mean? Haven't you heard about what happened a few years ago?"

"What happened?"

"A large mountain inexplicably moved from the southwest to the southeast all at once."

"What?"

Lin Jue's eyes widened. "That actually happened?"

"You've really never heard of it?"

"I was studying in the village before and didn't concern myself with outside affairs. I truly haven't heard of it."

Lin Jue was quite surprised. This world was strange, but was it strange to this extent?

"Then it's not your fault. The incident caused quite a stir, but the court also intended to suppress the news. They say it happened less than a thousand miles from here, where a mountain appeared out of nowhere. The locals were very surprised. It wasn't until a scholar who loved to travel the world and see all the landscapes visited the place that he discerned from the mountain's appearance that it was originally a mountain in the southwest. Later, people went to the southwest to ask, and indeed, a mountain was missing there."

Perhaps because they had fought side-by-side, this person didn't hold back his words, chatting casually and expressing his worries with such earth-shattering news:

"The ancients said: 'When mountains silently move themselves, it signifies that the world is in turmoil and the state is perishing.'

"Another book states: 'When mountains move, it means the ruler does not follow the Way, worthy scholars do not rise, or positions are lost. Rewards and punishments are not administered by the ruler, private factions form and are not rectified; this is a sign of great change.'

"The world has been unstable these past few years, with internal and external troubles. One has to worry about bandits and thieves even when traveling. If this continues, I fear a great catastrophe is coming, one that will change the world."

Lin Jue was incredibly surprised, listening intently and pondering seriously.

The inexplicable movement of a great mountain was already astonishing enough, yet there were ancient sayings in this world that specifically recorded such events, even detailing what they portended.

No wonder this Martial Artist, despite knowing such shocking news, felt more sorrow than surprise.

Perhaps to the people of this world, such an event, while rare and shocking, was not entirely impossible. At least ancient books had recorded it, so its occurrence might not have surprised them as much as it did Lin Jue.

This was undoubtedly another event that revealed a corner of this world and the common people's perceptions to Lin Jue.

He then keenly noticed something else—

This Martial Artist, besides being skilled in martial arts, also possessed considerable literary knowledge and was concerned about the country and its people, caring about the affairs of the world.

"May I ask, Great Hero..."

"What?"

"You are not an ordinary knight-errant, are you?"

"There's not much to say. My ancestors were a military family, but we've fallen on hard times. Because I feel this is a time of great change in the world, I left home to come to the capital. I want to rejoin the army, make a name for myself in the world with my martial arts, and in the crucible of life and death, bring glory back to my Luo family."

Young and ambitious, with soaring aspirations.

Lin Jue couldn't help but feel a sense of solemn respect.

"My apologies, my apologies."

"Don't mention it."

The Martial Artist surnamed Luo let out a scoff, sheathed his long saber, and took the cleaver from Lin Jue's hand. "These strange monkeys, you killed two. And you played a crucial role. I'll give you two more."

"That won't do!" Lin Jue said. "I said before that the bounty for these strange monkeys is yours. I've vented my anger, and I'm content!"

"Don't mention it."

"..."

"Then what about you? What are you out here for? Are you trying to go to the Gathering Immortals Mansion in the capital to seek fame and fortune?" the Martial Artist asked casually, taking Lin Jue's cleaver and chopping at a monkey's head.

"Gathering Immortals Mansion? What is that?"

"You don't know either?"

"No."

"Then forget it."

"Please, Brother Luo, enlighten me."

Lin Jue naturally changed his address.

"... It's a place in the capital... sort of like a government office. It gathers talented individuals and masters of Taoism and Buddhism from all over the world. Once you enter, you become an honored guest, essentially eating from the imperial granary, as the court supports you."

"I see." Lin Jue tried hard to remember it; this was quite useful information. "I only know a little Performance Art, how could I get into a place like that?"

"That's true."

The Martial Artist didn't mince words.

"Then where do you want to go?"

He immediately asked another question.

"I just want to find a famous mountain and temple first, seek immortality and ask for the Way, and learn some proper cultivation spiritual methods and sorceries."

"Which famous mountain?"

"Have you heard of Mount Qi Yun?"

"Of course, I passed by it on my way here."

"What about Mount Yi?"

"What Yi Mountain?"

"It's said to be a fairy mountain as well."

Amidst their conversation, the warrior had already decapitated all the strange apes, drained their blood, packed them into several cloth bags, and hung them on the horse's back.

"Let's go, to the county office."

"Alright!"

Lin Jue slung his book basket over his shoulder and followed him to the county office.

He would ask for directions to Mount Qi Yun on the way.

In the afternoon, the two entered the city. As they passed through, the bloody cloth bags on the horse's back attracted much attention. Some people recoiled in fear, while others boldly came forward to inquire. Upon learning they were strange apes from the road, merchants and travelers who needed to travel clapped their hands in approval.

The process of receiving the reward was also extremely smooth.

The warrior was truly carefree. He tossed eight taels of silver money to Lin Jue, said "we'll meet again," and then rode off on his horse, saying he wanted to go see that mountain that moved silently.

This left Lin Jue alone in the city.

With another eight taels of silver money, his total reached nearly eighteen taels. Lin Jue felt increasingly secure and confident. Compared to the poverty and confusion he felt when he first left Shu Village, he now felt a sense of elation, as if "the world is so vast, there's nowhere he cannot go."

"It feels good to have money!"

He needed to find an inn and take a hot bath.

He also needed to return the broadsword.

At the same time, this experience gave him much inspiration:

In this world, besides sorcery, martial arts are also extremely useful. Most monsters fear knives. Though he had no martial arts skills, he could still buy a knife. In this day and age, a small knife wouldn't suffice for traveling.

Of course--

The most urgent matter was to repair his book basket.