Wangxiang Village

Saint Aunt had waited in vain in town, so she used a mechanical parrot to give Wu Haishan a thorough scolding.

Wu Haishan led his people in another frantic chase and found their way to the valley.

Only Ah Hua remained, clucking her approval of the roasted insect skewers.

One of Wu Haishan's Martial Cultivators kicked a stone away in a fury. "Damn it all, that little brat fooled us again!"

The stone shot through the air, straight toward Ah Hua.

The big rooster's head jerked, its eyes bulging. It crushed the stone in one claw, then pounced on the Martial Cultivator like lightning and pecked him hard.

The Martial Cultivator let out a scream. A bloody hole had appeared in his arm!

Furious, he drew his saber, but the big rooster had already flapped up to the treetop.

The Martial Cultivator cut the tree down with one slash. Ah Hua flew to another tree and stood on its highest branch, glaring as it let out a string of taunting clucks.

Go on, chop it down. If you've got the guts, chop down every tree on this mountain.

Wu Haishan grabbed him. "The real business comes first."

The Martial Cultivator put away his saber, cursing under his breath. "I'll come back with a bow and arrow and shoot that beast dead!"

Victorious, Ah Hua threw back its head and crowed from atop the tree, brimming with smug delight.

The group followed the traces again, weaving through the mountains to avoid powerful evil spirits. Wu Haishan repeatedly thought he was about to catch that kid, but the boy was as slippery as a loach and always managed to slip away at the last moment.

They entered a valley, barren and desolate. The wild grass and trees had all withered in an unnatural way.

Ahead stood a lone, imposing rock, tall and slender, with a slightly thicker top that looked like a head.

Stout vines wound around the strange rock, covered in tiny pale-pink flowers.

The rock towered seven zhang high. When Wu Haishan first saw it, he jumped, thinking it was a colossal green-skinned, white-flowered venomous python, raising its head to the sky and swallowing the essence of the sun and moon.

Wu Haishan had the feeling that the strange rock was staring at him with ill intent.

Irritably, Wu Haishan scratched his neck. Inner Fire burst uncontrollably from his nostrils.

He didn't need to ask Ah Guang to know that, in Ghost Witch Mountain, rocks like this were nine times out of ten something uncanny.

"This mountain is downright evil!"

The person leading the way stopped. "That kid went southwest."

Wu Haishan impatiently snapped, "Then chase him. Do I have to spell it out?"

As he spoke, sparks of his uncontrollable temper flew from his mouth.

Wu Haishan hadn't wanted this job at all. He'd wanted to stay by Saint Aunt's side and see what this so-called "bait" actually was. For a Pill Cultivator, it was a rare chance to broaden his horizons—and a form of cultivation.

The group rounded the foot of the mountain and followed the traces onward.

Xu Yuan was actually about two li ahead of them. His clothes had been snagged and torn in several places by thorns and branches, leaving him looking rather bedraggled.

Several times, they had nearly caught up to him.

He had only managed to escape thanks to the ability of Fate Gazing.

Pingtian Society's people crept toward him through the woods and undergrowth. Xu Yuan could see their "fate" a step ahead of time.

The "Sky Rock Python," on the verge of transforming, had been watching him from afar the whole time. A fine layer of goose bumps rose across Xu Yuan's back.

That uncanny thing could see every prey within a ten-li radius.

"Reach Wangxiang Village before dark. We absolutely cannot spend the night in the mountains!" Xu Yuan calculated the distance. Time was tight, so he quickened his pace.

Wu Haishan chased for another hour or so before suddenly grabbing Ah Guang. "It's almost dark. Where could that kid be going? Does he want to die in Ghost Witch Mountain?"

Ah Guang answered, "He's probably going to Wangxiang Village."

Wu Haishan continued, "Can he find lodging in Wangxiang Village?"

Ah Guang answered again, "No. The villages in the mountains never take in people for the night."

"Then how will he spend the night there?"

"He'll pretend to be a merchant who's come to buy goods from the mountains. The rule in the mountains is that you have to accept whatever the villagers give you, pay a fair price, and never cheat or swindle them."

Wu Haishan breathed a sigh of relief. "Then he just has to spend some money."

Ah Guang fell silent, his face blank.

That dose of medicine could make someone obedient and answer any question, but Wu Haishan's last remark hadn't been a question. So Ah Guang didn't explain that it wasn't as simple as just spending a little money.

Night fell earlier in the mountains than in town. Xu Yuan had misjudged the time, and night was almost upon him. He was still half a li from Wangxiang Village.

The ravines and hollows around him had already sunk into darkness. All kinds of strange noises rang out, as if something were crawling out of the ground.

Xu Yuan sprinted. Just as he passed a small grove, a pair of mural-like eyes opened in a tree trunk. Branches sharpened like Ghost Claws reached for him, but only grazed his back.

The eyes brimmed with regret and hunger as they watched their Blood Food escape.

"Clack! Clack! Clack!"

The sound of a wooden clapper rang out from the village, like a night watchman's signal in the city.

When the clapper fell silent, the village gates would close.

Xu Yuan panicked and shouted, "Wait a moment—"

Once the gates were shut, no one could enter or leave. Anyone who dared force their way in would face the Mountain Runners' woodcutting axes and crossbow bolts.

If you could beat the Mountain Runners, then the village rules weren't rules for you. You could do whatever you pleased throughout the entire village.

But Xu Yuan clearly wasn't capable of that yet.

Wangxiang Village was home to more than thirty families and fewer than two hundred people.

Outside the village stood stakes of peachwood, with peach branches woven into a fence around it.

The gate was narrow and small, not even as large as the front entrance of the Yitingfang Inn.

A hunched old man in his early fifties, with dark, rough skin and a face full of sorrow, was closing the gate while striking a wooden clapper.

Hearing the shout, the old man merely shifted his eyes toward it. Seeing a stranger, he didn't even pause.

Xu Yuan hurriedly shouted again, "I'm here to buy goods! I'll pay a fair price, I promise!"

The old man's eyes rolled upward again. Seeing that it wasn't completely dark yet, he paused.

The gate had closed halfway, and now it stopped there.

Xu Yuan rushed to the gate as fast as he could and slipped into the village.

"Wait for us!" Another shout suddenly came from behind. "We're here to buy goods too."

The old man lifted the gate to close it. By now, it was completely dark.

But then he recognized one of them: Ah Guang.

Knowing Ah Guang was familiar with the Mountain Runners, he slowed his hands a little.

Wu Haishan and his group were all Enter Stream cultivators, and they could run at tremendous speed when they went all out. Xu Yuan wished he could help the old man slam the gate shut.

But Xu Yuan didn't dare make a move inside the village.

They won't make it, they won't make it, they won't make it... Xu Yuan repeated to himself, watching as the gate closed until only a crack remained. It was about to shut completely.

Suddenly, a hand thrust through the crack and wedged the gate open.

According to the rules, as long as the gate wasn't shut, they could still enter.

Wu Haishan was drenched in sweat. He had brought three cultivators, making five of them in total with Ah Guang.

Everyone but Wu Haishan and Ah Guang was injured.

The worst off had been bitten by something, and the arm below his left elbow was gone!

They were still behind Xu Yuan, but the evil spirits and uncanny things had already come out.

Seeing Xu Yuan, Wu Haishan gave him a cruel smile. "You little brat, you sure can run—"

He moved in to attack, but a long-stemmed pipe reached between them and blocked his way.

"Settle things from outside outside. That's our village rule." The old man spoke with a thick, phlegmy rasp that made his voice unpleasant to hear.

Wu Haishan frowned in displeasure. This old geezer wasn't even a Mountain Runner. How dare he try to lay down rules for me?

The old man took a puff from his pipe. The copper bowl glowed red-hot in an instant. Wu Haishan cried out as a huge blister formed on his arm!

He stared at the old man in shock. He was a Pill Cultivator with Inner Fire. Ordinary flames couldn't burn him.

Never mind scalding him.