Boom!
Meanwhile, deep in Great Azure Mountain, thunderous crashes rang out without end. Ghost Child's muscles were taut as he relentlessly hammered the cave entrance shrouded in azure light!
Punch after punch, as though he meant to blast the mountain apart.
Beside him, Chen Qing covered his ears and watched Ghost Child. "Be careful. Don't get hurt..."
Ghost Child blushed at the concern and chuckled. "Don't worry, Daddy. Nezha knows his limits. I won't hurt myself."
"Good boy..." Chen Qing smiled, then looked toward the entrance. "That black-robed sorcerer is badly wounded. He can't keep the entrance sealed with a reversal spell for long. There's no need to rush."
"Okay, Daddy..."
Inside the cave...
Master Huang carefully supported Mister Miao, whose complexion was even worse than before. His face was the color of gold paper, giving the impression that he might drop dead at any moment.
The monster outside struck again and again, each blow booming like thunder, as though every one landed squarely on Mister Miao's chest. Master Huang watched anxiously from his side.
Just as they were about to fight earlier, Old Miao had exhausted every means at his disposal to bring him into Azure Dragon Cave. Then, by analyzing the spell, he had forcibly harnessed the Azure Dragon seal to block the entrance, finally giving them both a chance to breathe.
But from the looks of it...
Master Huang glanced at Mister Miao's steadily worsening complexion and felt that he probably could not hold on much longer.
"Hei Wu... is dead!"
Mister Miao clutched his chest, desperately keeping his last breath of Qi and Blood from dispersing as he spoke weakly between heavy gasps.
"Hei Wu is dead? How?" Master Huang's face instantly went pale too. Hei Wu's spell was particularly effective against martial fighters like Ghost Child and Yuchi Peng, so after Old Miao was wounded, the first thing they had done was send word to Jiangnan for Hei Wu to come support them.
They had never expected him to be gone so soon...
"Alas..." Mister Miao sighed. "I warned him repeatedly not to clash with Yuchi Peng unless he had absolutely no choice, but he refused to believe me. His spell counters martial fighters, but that still depends on who he's facing..."
"Then... what do we do?" Master Huang completely panicked.
Hei Wu... had more or less been their last playable card.
Had he arrived in time, with his spell and Old Miao working together, they might not have subdued Ghost Child, but escaping unscathed would not have been much of a problem. Now, though...
Had they known, they would never have let Mountain Ghost leave Liuzhou to provide support in the capital...
"At this point... we can only take a gamble!" Mister Miao forced himself to sit upright, and Master Huang hurriedly steadied him.
"What do we have left to gamble with?" Master Huang sighed. "Why don't we just do as he says and hand over Mr. Mirror?"
"Bullshit!" The Mirror Demon in his arms immediately unleashed a torrent of abuse.
"It's no use..." Mister Miao smiled bitterly. "Do you really think that student of yours is a kind soul? With methods that calm, he certainly isn't softhearted. Mr. Mirror's abilities are far too heaven-defying. Naturally, the fewer people who know, the better. How could he fail to understand that?"
"That damned brat! The King of Qin was right. Human nature is inherently evil!" Master Huang was so angry that he blew his beard up.
Mister Miao shook his head in amusement. This old fellow was still just as self-centered. When he skinned humans and pulled apart their bones, why didn't he discuss his own nature?
"As things stand, I won't survive, but you still have a sliver of hope..." Gasping heavily, Mister Miao laboriously pointed at the nearly finished puppet on the ground.
"Wang Ye?" Master Huang froze. "What use is he now?"
Had they finished him first back then, they could have used the time difference to send Wang Ye to the capital and help A Li complete the final step. Now... they could not even get out of the cave. What good would finishing Wang Ye do?
"Wang Ye's core hasn't been installed yet, has it?" Mister Miao asked with a smile.
"You..." Master Huang abruptly turned toward the smiling Mister Miao, roughly guessing what he had in mind.
"Exactly what you're thinking..." Still smiling, Mister Miao pointed at his own head. "Fuse my core with Wang Ye's, then complete the final step!"
"But..." Master Huang immediately stood up. "No. No, absolutely not... Without your core, you'll truly be beyond saving."
"Why put on an act, you old bastard?" Mister Miao rolled his eyes at him. "Don't you know perfectly well whether I can be saved? Aren't you just waiting until I die to take this step?"
"Nonsense... I am not!" Master Huang rose, his hands twisting unnaturally, plainly betraying his feelings.
"I know you've wanted to do this for ages..." Master Miao shook his head in amusement. "Ever since my father passed his core to me, you've been eyeing it greedily. You've wanted to experiment with it for a long time, haven't you?"
"When have I?" Master Huang shrieked as though someone had stripped off his trousers. "If I'd had thoughts like that, would you have lived this long?"
"You had some thoughts. You just held back from acting on them..." Mister Miao kept rolling his eyes. "My father did save your life, after all. If you'd laid hands on his son's brain core, you really would have had no conscience left..."
"You..." Master Huang's beard bristled with anger again.
"Since ancient times, people have been judged by their deeds, not their thoughts..." Mister Miao looked at him sincerely. "You didn't do it back then, and you raised me with care. That means you treated me well..."
Master Huang: "..."
"Come on... stop hesitating." Mister Miao closed his eyes. "Once I die, my brain core will be uncontrollable, and the chances of success will be even lower. We can't afford any more mishaps at this point. With my spell fused with Wang Ye's own power of the Evening Elephant, you'll at least have the strength to fight that Ghost Child!"
Master Huang remained silent and did not move.
"Stop dawdling..." Mister Miao gasped. "If you don't act now, I really won't be able to hold on. And don't feel guilty. I have conditions too. You know where my descendants are, don't you? Once this is over, transplant the crystal core formed from Wang Ye and me into my descendant. Heh, the power of the Evening Elephant in exchange for my life. That's no loss!"
At that, the previously silent Master Huang laughed in exasperation. "You really are dreaming! Your old Miao Household started out in trade, and even after all these generations, you still can't shake that crooked merchant's ways!"
Mister Miao smiled with his eyes closed and said nothing more.
This old fellow had attached himself to his family back in his grandfather's generation. He had accompanied his grandfather, then his father, then him. If possible, he truly hoped the old fellow could keep living and continue accompanying the next generation of the Miao Household.
The King of Qin's ideals were right. Demons... and humans could coexist!-
"What's wrong?"
Outside the cave, Chen Qing looked curiously at Ghost Child. For some reason, Ghost Child had started growing agitated a little earlier, losing his previous ease.
"Daddy!" Ghost Child's face was unusually grave. "Move farther back. I don't know what that old bastard is doing in there, but it feels like something dangerous has appeared."
Something dangerous?
Chen Qing froze. At a time like this, what dangerous thing could there still be? The most dangerous thing in Azure Dragon Cave was Ghost Child himself, wasn't it?
Painted Skin Mister had no fighting ability. Mister Miao was indeed formidable, but he was already an arrow at the end of its flight. What danger could there still... wait!
Something suddenly occurred to Chen Qing, and his expression changed!
Could it... be that?
He remembered a deranged sorcerer player from the closed beta in his previous life. To obtain a higher-level spell, the player had fused his own inner core with a sealed sorcerer boss. In the end, he had actually succeeded.
That had sparked a wave of popular fusion builds, making high-level sorcerers' brain cores incredibly valuable. Even sorcerer players had begun killing one another. What a beautiful sight that had been.
He remembered them discussing whether to treat it as a bug and disable the feature...
Had they disabled it back then?
If they hadn't...
Chen Qing frowned. "Nezha, break the seal as quickly as possible!"
"All right, Daddy!" Excitement flashed across Ghost Child's face. His muscles instantly swelled like balloons, but just as he was about to strike, an eagle's cry suddenly rang out from the sky!
"Hmm?" Ghost Child whipped his head around and stared warily into the sky. "It's that guy from the city!"
Chen Qing looked over too. The newcomer was diving from high above. Who else could it be but Yuchi Peng?
Why had he come?
Had the fake education commissioner in Liuzhou City been dealt with? Was he that easy to beat?
"Ha! I've finally found you, vile beast!"
Yuchi Peng roared excitedly and drew his great saber, ready for battle. Chen Qing hurriedly shouted, "Might you be General Yuchi Peng? This humble official is Chen Qing. Greetings, General Yuchi!"
Those words brought Yuchi Peng's dive to an abrupt halt. He looked doubtfully at the frail scholar. "You're Chen Qing?"
It seemed Wei Gongcheng had told him about Chen Qing.
Without hesitation, Chen Qing tossed up the token Wang Ye had given him.
Yuchi Peng caught it with a frown. After a glance, his expression grew grave. "It is indeed Wang Ye's token, but why are you with this monster?"
Being called a monster made a vein throb on Ghost Child's forehead. He could barely resist dragging that winged fellow down and pounding him senseless.
Chen Qing's eyes shifted, and he hurriedly cupped his hands. "This is Ghost Child. An ancestor of my Chen Household met him five generations ago, and he is a spiritual being who has protected our household for generations. Rest assured, General. Since joining our Chen Household, Ghost Child has never harmed anyone!"
"What?" Yuchi Peng froze, looking at Ghost Child in disbelief before looking back at Chen Qing. "Such a thing actually happened?"
He had seen demons and ghosts mingling with humans before. There had, after all, been some such cases in the final years of the previous dynasty. His father had told him that the King of Qin, who had nearly unified the realm, had intended for humans and demons to coexist.
"Every word is true!" Chen Qing hurried forward. "Over the past few centuries, have you ever heard of Ghost Child harming anyone, General?"
"Well..." Yuchi Peng was stumped again. The Record of Strange Tales described Ghost Child as savage, but... there truly had been no reports of him harming anyone for centuries.
If this creature had spent those centuries with the Chen Household, as the man claimed... that did seem... to make sense?
"No!" Yuchi Peng caught himself. "Last time in Liuzhou City, countless people were killed or injured. Wasn't that because of him?"
"Bullshit!" Ghost Child immediately roared. "You birdman, you're slandering Nezha! You were the one who caused those deaths and injuries! Nezha listened to Daddy and was being careful not to hurt anyone else. Then you suddenly charged down from the sky..."
"Daddy?" Yuchi Peng's face darkened. What kind of address was that? And what the hell was "birdman"?
"General!" Chen Qing hurried forward. "Now isn't the time for this. Lord Wang Ye was taken into the cave by Painted Skin Mister, and we don't know whether he's alive or dead. We've been held outside by this seal for a long time. If we delay any longer, Lord Wang's chances will be grim. Please help me, General!"
Yuchi Peng's face alternated between ashen and pale. He kept feeling that he was being hoodwinked, but there did not seem to be anything wrong with what the man said...
"Fine. I'll trust you this once. Tell me, how do you need me to help?"
Delighted that his bluff had worked, Chen Qing was just about to speak again when a sudden crash rang out, and the seal over the entrance shattered on its own!
Ghost Child hurriedly backed up to shield Chen Qing, while Yuchi Peng swooped down, watching the entrance warily.
After a long while, the smoke dispersed. When the three of them saw the scene inside, all of them were shocked!
Thank you to the readers for your support and tips. Thanks to lliilioo, Fengguo Wuhenzk, Shuyou2022813221133578, Ningmeng Bu Gai Xianmu Xigua De Tian, Chaoji Lei Shuchong, Xinren Deng Ren, Xiaoyao Langwang, and Chengfeng Polang for your tips and support. Thank you, everyone!
Mofang will work hard on this book!