The two days after walking out of the mine tunnel were surprisingly peaceful.
The team descended along the valley river, and the road gradually became gentle. The mountains on both sides gathered together to form a narrow valley. The water flow was rapid, and the sound of rocks being struck was rumbling. The air was moist and smelled of earth and rotten leaves.
Qin Tiexin was walking in the middle of the team. His left hand was wrapped in coarse cloth, and the wound on his palm was scabbed, but his movements were still stiff. When he adjusted his breath every day, he could feel that the Dantian cyclone was more solid than before. The barrier of the fourth layer of Qi refining was as thin as a cicada's wing, but it was never broken.
He is not in a hurry, his practice is like a drop of water passing through a stone, he cannot be in a hurry.
Li Yun walked beside him, occasionally looking at his left hand, but hesitated to speak. After that day in the mine tunnel, the two of them still didn't talk much, but some things had changed - for example, when sharing dry food, she would leave an extra half piece of cake for him; for example, when sleeping at night, she would sit down by the fire nearest to him.
The head of the Feng family was still guarding the baggage cart, not leaving even an inch. But his face was worse, his eye sockets were sunken, as if he hadn't slept for days. Yang Scarface patrolled back and forth with his guards, never leaving his hand with the knife.
On the evening of the second day, the team traveled to the open area of the river valley.
The river here is wide and the water flow is slow. There is a gravel beach on the shore, which is flat and open and suitable for camping.
"That's it tonight." Yang Scarface reined in his horse, "If we walk for half a day tomorrow, we can get out of the mountain."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Unloading the truck, tying the horse, and lighting the fire were much more efficient than in the previous days - with the mountain in sight, everyone wanted to end this difficult and dangerous trip as soon as possible.
Qin Tiexin helped unload the boxes and cages on the Nuanyu cart. The boxes were not heavy and had warm tentacles. They were fine Nuanyu. He moved three of them and placed them beside the fire.
"Master Qin." A young guard came over and handed over the water bag, "Drink some water."
Qin Tiexin took it and took a sip.
The guard squatted beside him, hesitated for a moment, and asked in a low voice, "That mask in the mine... are you really Qi Refining Third Layer?"
Qin Tiexin glanced at him. "Yeah."
"But..." the guard scratched his head, "I have seen Qi Refining Third Layer immortal masters, but none like you..."
He didn't finish what he said, but the meaning was clear.
Qin Tiexin didn't explain and just returned the water bag to him.
Night falls.
The fire was lit, and seven or eight spots of light danced on the river beach. The guards roasted dry food around the fire and talked in low voices. Some talked about their wives and children at home, and some talked about their plans after the trip - buy wine, eat meat, and sleep all night.
Qin Tiexin sat by the fire near the river. He ate six Linggu cakes and nibbled half a stick of dried meat. Li Yun handed him a bamboo tube of hot water, and he took it and drank it slowly.
The head of the Feng family was sitting by the fire next to the baggage train, talking to Yang Scarface. His voice was low and could not be heard clearly. Feng Ming was taking a nap against the box.
Late at night, Qin Tiexin got up to patrol the night.
He walked along the river beach and checked outside the camp. Behind the moon and the clouds, the valley was dark, and he could only hear the sound of water flowing and the cry of night owls in the distance. On the edge of the gravel beach, there were thick bushes and shadows.
Everything is business as usual.
When he returned to the camp, he saw Li Yun sitting by the fire, wiping an ice soul needle in her hand. Qin Tiexin looked like a middle-grade Law Artifact at a glance. The spiritual patterns on it had formed a pattern. The needle was three inches long and was ice blue. It glowed with a ghostly light in her palm. She wiped it carefully, spiritual power flowed through her fingertips, and the needle was filled with mist.
"Not sleeping yet." Qin Tiexin sat down.
"Yes." Li Yun put away the needle and looked up at his left hand, "Is the injury better?"
"Soon."
The two were silent for a moment.
"The poisonous miasma in the mine tunnels," Li Yun said suddenly, "Doesn't look like a natural formation."
Qin Tiexin looked at her.
"I checked the rock wall." She lowered her voice, "Those colorful films have traces of artificial smearing. And... before the miasma came out, I heard the sound of the mechanism."
"Hmm."
"You know?"
Qin Tiexin didn't answer, and just added a piece of wood to the fire. The flames crackled and sparks flew up.
In the middle of the night, Qin Tiexin was on duty for the last time.
At the beginning of Yin hour, the moon was setting in the west. The wind rose in the river valley, causing the fire to flicker and burn. He sat cross-legged on a stone at the edge of the camp, closed his eyes and regulated his breathing. The spiritual power slowly flowed through the meridians, and when it passed over the injured part of his palm, he still felt a stinging pain.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes.
There was a strange smell in the wind - not vegetation, muddy water, but the smell of animals, mixed with some kind of... bloody smell.
He stood up.
Almost at the same time, a roar came from the upper reaches of the valley.
It was not the sound of water, but the muffled sound of heavy objects hitting the ground. Thump, thump, thump, the rhythm was slow, and every sound made the gravel beneath my feet tremble slightly.
The camp woke up with a start.
The people around the fire stood up one after another, drew their swords, and looked upstream into the darkness.
"What's the sound?" Feng Family Master asked in surprise.
Yang Scarface had already rushed to the front of the camp with his knife in hand, squinting his eyes and looking into the distance. In the upper reaches of the river valley, in the shadow of the trees, two scarlet light spots slowly moved, getting bigger and bigger.
"Be on guard!" he shouted.
The guards quickly formed a formation. Five people held shields in front, and five people held bows in the back. The driver hid behind the vehicle, and the head of the Feng family dragged Feng Ming to the baggage vehicle.
Qin Tiexin walked to the front of the formation.
Li Yun followed him, with the Ice Soul Needle already clasped in her palm.
The roaring sound is getting closer.
On the upper river bank, the trees suddenly fell to both sides. A giant beast broke through the trees and stepped onto the river beach illuminated by the moonlight.
He is more than a foot and a half tall, and his body is nearly three feet long. His whole body is covered with black mane like steel needles, and the mane on his back is particularly thick and long, like a sword inserted upside down. His limbs are as thick as pillars, and his claws are more than a foot long. When he steps on the ground, gravel flies. His head is huge, his mouth is cleft to the ears, his fangs are exposed, and his saliva drips, corroding white smoke on the stone.
The most horrifying thing was the eyes - red as blood, with dilated pupils, surging with rage and pain.
"Steel-maned violent bear." Li Yun's voice was tight, "Eighth level of Qi refining... that's wrong, these eyes..."
The giant bear raised its head and roared.
The sound waves exploded as if they were real, making people's eardrums hurt. The water on the river surged, and gravel rolled down from the shore. The legs and feet of several shield-wielding guards became weak and they almost fell to their knees.
It saw the camp.
Its red eyes locked onto the fire and the crowd. It stood up, slapped its chest with its front paws, and made a dull sound like a war drum. Then it stepped on the ground with all four legs and charged.
The ground trembled.
Thirty feet away, half the blink of an eye.
"Fire the arrow!" Yang Scarface roared.
Five arrows shot through the air. Three of them hit the bear's body and were nailed to its mane, stopping just short of entering the flesh. One of them grazed the eye socket and was slapped away by the bear's paw. One of them missed.
The arrow wound angered it. The bear's paws swept across, and a tree as thick as a bowl on the shore broke in half, and its trunk roared towards the camp.
Qin Tiexin stepped forward quickly, not evading or giving way, and punched out with his right fist.
Fist and wood clash.
There was a loud crack, the tree trunk exploded, and sawdust flew into the air. Qin Tiexin took three steps back and stood firm. The sleeve of his right arm collapsed, revealing his muscular forearm.
The giant bear has rushed into the Perfected Person group.
The fishy wind blew against my face.
"Disperse!" Yang Scarface ordered.
The guard formation was scattered. But the bear was too fast. With a palm strike, a guard holding a shield was knocked away with his shield. The shield cracked, the man fell to the ground, spitting blood, and stopped moving.
Another guard slashed the bear's legs with a knife. The blade rubbed against the mane, causing sparks to fly, and only cut off a few hard hairs. The bear's legs kicked off, and the guard flew out like a kite with a broken string, hit the rock wall, and slid down softly.
Just two breaths and two injuries.