Chapter 9: Guan Yu, The Cloud Long

  The face of victory, with a hint of iron and ferocity, twisted like the evil spirits of hell!

  "Bang!" Wang Fu's body fell straight down in front of everyone!

  Stillness, a stillness like death! The crowd only felt that there was a chill on their backs, spreading up to the brain!

  "Hah...!" Mu Shan lay on the ground, his four limbs splayed out in all directions. His face, twisted in agony, wore an extremely strange and sinister smile of joy and satisfaction.

  His twisted smile was more terrifying than the Grim Reaper's in the eyes of everyone!

  "This child, absolutely cannot be kept!" Even though Jiang Shiping had experienced many things and was knowledgeable, at this moment he also felt a chill run down his spine. He didn't have time to think about Qing Long, and with a flick of his wrist, the cyan-colored magic ring shot out like an arrow leaving a bowstring, striking Mu Shan who lay on the ground.

  "How dare you! You think you can be so presumptuous in front of me?" The Green Dragon roared, flipping his massive knife upside down, its momentum like a rainbow piercing the sun, as he charged forward with haste!

  "Clang...clang..." Jiang Shiping's magic ring collided with the Qinglong's protective aura, producing a series of metallic clashing sounds, before being knocked back by the Qinglong.

  "Hmm..." Jiang Shiming's face was pained, and he took two steps back with his feet, clasping his hands together in front of his chest before quickly pulling them apart to either side.

  One blue and one red, two Dharma rings suddenly appeared between Jiang Shiming's palms, entwining and chirping, like old friends reunited after a long separation.

  "Drink!" The green dragon roared again, the large knife trailing behind him tore through the air with a force that could split mountains and rocks, emitting a deafening roar like a divine dragon's angry howl, slashing towards Jiang Shiping's forehead!

  "Clang......" Jiang Shiping's hands swiftly passed through the magic ring, intersecting and blocking at the top of his head. With two rings' bodies, he forcibly blocked Qing Long's fatal slash.

  "Uggghhh..." Jiang Shiping only felt a surge of overwhelming power coursing through his body from his hands, his throat sweetened, and a thread of fresh blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth. His body retreated backwards, his feet scraping two deep gashes on the ground.

  Taking advantage of the brief moment when their blades intersected, Jiang Shiping was already able to gauge the gap between them at this moment. Although his heart was unwilling, he could only temporarily retreat first.

  "Ah......" Mu Shan's body began to convulse, as if there were millions of ants biting inside, both painful and itchy. His skeleton kept making cracking sounds, shrinking bit by bit.

  A robust body, gradually withering away, slowly reverting to its original appearance, turning back into a 12 or 13-year-old child!

  …………

  Darkness, endless darkness!

  Mushan walked forward alone, he didn't know where he was or where he was going, he just kept walking instinctively.

  In front of him, several blurry yet familiar figures gradually appeared in Mu Shan's line of sight.

  "Changsheng, Fengxian, Jixiang, Xiuniang!" As the distance drew closer, Mu Shan finally saw the faces of those few people, and it turned out to be his four best friends!

  The twinkling lights, in Mu Shan's line of sight, wove back and forth, depicting the prosperous scene of Tian Yin Village.

  "Xiu Niang, don't worry, with me around, no one dares to bully you!" Zhang Sheng patted his chest confidently and said with a heroic tone: "People from our Guan Jia Zhuang are not easy to bully. Later, I'll beat Li Xing from the neighboring village until he kneels down and begs for mercy, and avenge your grievances!"

  "Long life, this isn't good. If we go to the neighboring village to fight and my dad finds out, he'll kill me for sure!" Ji Xiang, with a clear brow and bright eyes, timidly advised: "Let's tell my dad and let him take charge, get justice for Xiū Niáng!"

  "Hey, Jixiang, it's not that I want to say you're the one who's losing face for our Guan family. You're just a small fry, I can take care of dozens like you with just one hand!" Changsheng said displeased: "If Master Zhuang blames us, you just push everything onto me, whatever punishment, I, Guan Changsheng, will take it all on myself!"

  "No, Changsheng, don't go, can't go..."

  Mushan listened clearly to one side, this scene, was obviously they left Tianyin Village, found Li Xing to revenge, as a result on the way back encountered the win again.

  "Didn't you hear me? Don't go, you'll run into that beast!" Mu Shan yelled anxiously, but Zhang Sheng and the others seemed to be completely unaware, continuing to walk forward.

  Mu Shan's heart was burning with anxiety as he rushed forward, but the person who was clearly in front of him seemed to be separated by a vast distance, and no matter what, they couldn't close the gap between them.

  "Long life......" Mu Shan shouted loudly, but the scene in front of him was constantly changing. There were no streets, no pedestrians, only a thatched hut roof.

  Pain, all over the body, every inch of skin, every nerve, seemed to be groaning.

  Mu Shan just wanted to turn his neck, but it hurt so much that he sucked in cold air.

  "Mother, brother woke up!" Feng Xian's voice, with a few points of surprise, rang clearly in Mu Shan's ear.

  "Auspicious, you've finally woken up! You scared your mother half to death!" Before Mu Shan could even call out, a very urgent and deeply concerned voice entered his ears.

  "Mother..." Mu Shan turned his eyes and saw a woman in her 40s, wearing light blue clothes, standing guard beside him, looking at him with anxiety and pain: "Mother, where are Changsheng and Fengxian? And Jixiang, are they all right?"

  This person is Qin Mei, the mother of Mu Shan and Feng Xian!

  "How are you, is there anywhere uncomfortable, tell your mother." Qin Mei looked up and down at Mu Shan, still not at ease, checking back and forth until she didn't find any external injuries, then let out a sigh of relief. Her expression began to turn angry: "Tell me, who allowed you to go outside the village! You're such an unmanageable child, this time you didn't lose your life, it's all thanks to our ancestors' protection! What kind of world is outside, if by chance you ran into mountain bandits... what would I do..."

  Qin Mei thought about it more and more, and became increasingly frightened, speaking of it brought her to tears.

  Mu Shan wasn't afraid of Qin Mei scolding him, what he feared most was Qin Mei crying in front of him. Upon hearing Qin Mei's sobbing, Mu Shan suddenly felt as if he had done something unforgivable, and struggled to get out of bed: "Mother, it was my fault, I promise you, from now on I won't leave Tianyin Village again, I won't fight with others, just forgive me this once..."

  "Good luck!" Chang Sheng's voice came from outside the door, still as calm and composed as ever.

  Changsheng quickly walked to the bedside, knelt down in front of Qin Mei and kowtowed: "Auntie, don't blame Jixiang, it was Li Xing from the neighboring village who scolded Xiuniang for being a fox spirit. I couldn't bear it so I went to settle accounts with him. Jixiang only followed me because he didn't want anything to happen to me. All the fault is mine, if you want to punish someone, punish me, and let Jixiang and the others go!"

  Qin Mei looked at Changsheng with a scowl, her face stern as she lectured: "Changsheng, I don't care how you make trouble, but our family's only hope for the future is Jixiang, and he will be the one to carry on the Mu family's legacy. You absolutely cannot behave like this..."

  Feng Xian hugged Qin Mei's leg and swayed back and forth, coquettishly saying: "Mother, it has nothing to do with Brother Changsheng. That Li Xing was too much, not only humiliating Sister Xiuxiu but also hitting her with a stone. Sister Xiuxiu is really pitiful, all alone without a father or mother, and when she's bullied, there's no one to turn to. Brother Changsheng was just being chivalrous!"

  "Hey!" Qin Mei's anger was reduced by 70% as soon as he heard the two words "Xiu Niang". He shook his head and sighed, "Isn't Xiu Niang still in charge of Guan Zhuang? When did it become your turn... Forget it, my words are just going in one ear and out the other for you guys. You won't take them to heart anyway. However, this is just this once, don't think it's a precedent. If you dare to sneak out of the village again, I'll break your legs."

  "Thank you, Aunt!" Changsheng bowed his head again and stood up to walk beside Mushan. With an excited face, he said: "Ji Xiang, I've become a disciple! The Green Dragon Uncle who saved us on the mountain wants to take me as his apprentice and even gave me a name. From now on, I'll have a great name. Remember it, my great name is Guan Yu! Green Dragon Uncle also gave me a courtesy name in advance, called Yun Chang, meaning like clouds in the sky, eternal for all ages!"