Hu Bayi (Evening brings another chapter)

"Haha, a pagoda tames the river demon!"

Wang Kaixuan laughed heartily. "Old Hu, you finally showed up!"

With this strong reinforcement, the threat from the Corpse Poison Victims diminished. Wang Kaixuan, Hu Bayi, and Shirley Yang fought side by side, driving the Corpse Poison Victims back or knocking them off the cliff.

Xiao Hen's pressure also eased considerably. Yoko was too impulsive, charging straight at the Corpse Poison Victims, so he stood in front of Ying Caihong, watching the Corpse Poison Victims attack Wang Kaixuan without being able to help.

"Wahaha, we're saved, we're saved!" Big Gold Tooth cheered.

"Who needs him to save us?" Wang Kaixuan snorted, smacking a Corpse Poison Victim away with his shovel. "Why not enjoy your capitalist comforts instead of coming all the way here?"

Shirley Yang held a metal umbrella, quite extraordinary—the canopy could defend, the tip could attack. She repelled a Corpse Poison Victim with one strike and smiled at Hu Bayi. "Looks like they don't need your help at all. Only you'd be dumb enough to travel so far just to get scolded!"

Hu Bayi took two steps, kicked a Corpse Poison Victim away, and shouted, "Stop bickering! Let's get out of here first!"

Thump, thump, thump... Hu Bayi kept driving back Corpse Poison Victims one after another, using his grappling hook as a weapon. After knocking one off the cliff, he yelled, "Go! Back the way we came!"

But one of Ying Caihong's men, carrying explosives, was tackled by a Corpse Poison Victim and accidentally dropped the bomb—right on the only narrow path leading back.

Boom!

Hu Bayi and the others froze. Xiao Hen, Yoko, and Ying Caihong looked up as smoke and dust billowed. The path was buried under countless rocks, sealing off their retreat.

Big Gold Tooth's face fell. "It's over, it's all over! We can't get out!"

"Don't panic. With so many caves, one of them has to lead out, right?" Wang Kaixuan squinted, scanning the area. He'd already scouted once.

"Master, our escape route is blocked. What do we do now?" Yoko approached Ying Caihong and asked.

"This..." Ying Caihong hesitated. She had no idea what to do.

Xiao Hen slid his dagger back into its sheath and turned with a smile. "Master, don't worry. These three are a professional Mojin Xiaowei team. I'm sure they can find a way out."

"Mm." Ying Caihong nodded, looking at Hu Bayi and the others with a glimmer of hope.

"Every cave around here has an animal—sheep, chicken, pig, dog, horse... These are the twelve zodiac signs!" Shirley Yang said, then narrowed her eyes and knocked back a Corpse Poison Victim crawling up from the ground.

Hu Bayi observed carefully and shook his head. "No, four are missing. There are only eight caves. It can't be the twelve zodiac signs."

"It's the Bagua!" Hu Bayi smiled and pulled out his Bagua Luopan.

Big Gold Tooth was on the verge of tears. "What is this? We've run through these caves back and forth several times and still haven't found an exit!" He'd indeed made plenty of trips while scouting with Wang Kaixuan earlier.

Hu Bayi glanced at him, then looked down at the Luopan, positioning himself and surveying the surroundings. "Each trigram represents an animal..."

"Seeking dragons and dividing gold, look at the winding mountains; one winding pass, one layer of peril."

"If the pass holds eightfold danger, it won't escape the yin-yang Bagua form."

"The entrance is the horse; the horse is the Li trigram. The rat meets the horse as Kan Li, the sheep meets the horse as Kun Li, the dog meets the horse as Qian Li. Above Qian, below Li, the Gate of Life appears."

Hu Bayi suddenly looked up at the dog statue. "The dog is the exit. Let's go!"

Hearing this, everyone immediately ran toward the dog statue.

"Master, be careful. Take it slow." Yoko supported Ying Caihong on one side, while Xiao Hen cleared the path ahead. Behind them, a group of black-clad henchmen wielded various weapons.

Seeing a way out, Big Gold Tooth cheered loudly. "Dog, dog! Haha, there's an exit!"

Unfortunately, as he passed a Corpse Poison Victim lying on the ground, he tripped and fell flat on his face. The Corpse Poison Victim grabbed his legs tightly.

Wang Kaixuan came to help, smashing the Corpse Poison Victim's head with his shovel, but it had no effect—the force was too weak to hurt it.

Xiao Hen stepped forward and kicked the Corpse Poison Victim flying.

"Ah, thanks, thanks for saving me, brother!" Big Gold Tooth scrambled to his feet, muttering thanks, then bolted straight ahead. Survival came first.

Behind them, the Corpse Poison Victims they'd knocked down earlier rose again, one by one. These things were even more tenacious than the zombies from Resident Evil—truly unkillable monsters.

"This... this is a dead end?" Big Gold Tooth reached the front and saw a cliff. He collapsed in despair.

Xiao Hen, Ying Caihong, and the others stood at a distance, watching Hu Bayi's group start arguing among themselves. Hu Bayi insisted on taking Wang Kaixuan back, but Wang Kaixuan refused, and the two began quarreling.

Shirley Yang mocked Wang Kaixuan for being blinded by money, signing the contract only for cash. But Xiao Hen knew that Wang Kaixuan's real reason for entering the Goddess Tomb wasn't money—it was for the girl who died twenty years ago: Ding Sitian. He was a man of loyalty and love.

Of course, Hu Bayi's urging Wang Kaixuan to go back didn't mean he was heartless. In fact, deep down, Hu Bayi understood that feeling all too well. Back then, he and Ding Sitian were practically boyfriend and girlfriend. He'd always blamed himself for her death, believing he was the reason she died. But Hu Bayi was very rational—he knew Ding Sitian was truly gone.

Wang Kaixuan thought Ding Sitian might still be alive, and his purpose in coming to the Goddess Tomb was to fulfill the promise he'd made to her: to get the Flower of the Other Shore.

Shirley Yang liked Hu Bayi, and Hu Bayi had feelings for Shirley Yang too. The tangled relationships were hard to explain—matters of the heart were always complicated.

Xiao Hen walked to the edge of the cliff, picked up a stone, and dropped it. He tilted his head, listening carefully to the sound below. After a long moment, a splash echoed back—water, a river below.

"It seems the Mojin Xiaowei have all gathered. This must be fate's arrangement. Come, lend me your strength!" Ying Caihong clapped her hands and walked over, interrupting the internal squabble.

Xiao Hen stood up and moved to Ying Caihong's side, watching the scene unfold. His heart was utterly calm.

"Oh, oh, big sister, we'll have to renegotiate this!" Big Gold Tooth's eyes lit up. He scurried over with a grin. "This one here, I'm sure you've heard of him!"

He pointed at Hu Bayi. "The famous Hu Bayi, Master Hu!"

"And this, Miss Shirley Yang!"

Big Gold Tooth chuckled smugly. "They're top-tier experts in the industry. One Master Kai alone has his own price, but a trio of Mojin Xiaowei like this? That's rare in the business. You're in for a real treat."

He swayed his head as he approached Ying Caihong. "Heh, but the fee... it'll have to go up a few times over!"

Ying Caihong smiled faintly and swept her gaze across the group. "The world is full of evil. Humanity faces a great calamity. If you help me succeed, the masses will be saved!"

Hearing this, Xiao Hen rubbed his nose and said nothing. Hu Bayi, Shirley Yang, and the others just looked baffled. What was all that about?