Chapter 67: Becoming an Apprentice

  First, some wolves and leopards kept appearing at the foot of the mountain, one after another rushing into the white mist, never to be seen again. Later on, some ferocious demons much larger than ordinary wolves and leopards would occasionally emerge from the depths of the forest, coming to prowl around the foot of the mountain or rush into the thick fog, disappearing without a trace, or fight to the death with other demons!

  The dense white mist emanating from the Man-Eating Mountain seems to attract all kinds of ferocious beasts, making most of them irritable and lose control of their emotions. As a result, villagers inevitably fall victim to these beasts' attacks and are devoured. In less than a year, dozens of people from over ten nearby villages have been swallowed by the beasts! The remaining villagers are terrified, leaving their homes in the mountain village and fleeing for their lives.

  The anomaly here naturally caught the attention of the "immortals" on Yuding Mountain. The "immortals" who came to hear the news displayed various magical powers to slay demons and beasts at the foot of the mountain, but they didn't expect that as time passed, the white mist at the foot of the mountain grew thicker and the demons summoned became more ferocious. Many "immortals" were swallowed by the beasts, while another group of "immortals" who followed the injured demons into the white mist also disappeared in the mist, never to reappear again.

  In the third to seventh year after the emergence of the Man-Eating Mountain, the area below was filled with a stench of blood and rain. After the seventh year, whether it was ferocious beasts or "immortals", they appeared less and less frequently, until no more ferocious beasts appeared, and the area below the mountain began to regain its former tranquility. Although the Man-Eating Mountain was still shrouded in white mist for many years, nothing would happen if one did not venture into the mist.

  Eight years later, the villagers who had fled to avoid disaster began to return to the village one after another. The old beggar was among those who returned with his family in the eighth year. Unexpectedly, two years later, disaster struck again. A group of ferocious wolves appeared out of nowhere and charged into the dense white mist of the Man-Eating Mountain, followed by various other ferocious beasts. The villagers watched as their nightmare seemed about to repeat itself, and they were forced to flee their homes once more.

  Who would have thought that a great disaster would befall, and in the process of escaping, the entire village of more than 60 people was eaten by a pack of vicious wolves, leaving only two people, a grandfather and grandson. If they hadn't hidden in the gap between the rocks, if it wasn't for the fact that a strange flute sound suddenly echoed from afar, the pack of wolves would have followed the sound and left, and the two would have lost their lives as well!

  After listening to the old beggar's story, Shui also felt a surge of fear towards the mysterious Food Mountain. After sending away the old beggar and his grandson, he carefully examined the small black box again, trying to open it, but no matter what method he used, he couldn't open the lid, so he reluctantly put the box into his storage bag and began to inspect the cleaning results of the Qin brothers in a pretentious manner.

  Seeing the four of them covered in dust, sweating profusely, Shui's heart was extremely satisfied, but his face maintained a cold expression from start to finish, not uttering a word, which scared the Qin brothers into working even harder!

  The four Qin brothers spent half a day sweeping the house until it was spotless, and then Qin Hu invited Shui Sheng to take a bath in the outhouse. With the accompaniment of the four Qin brothers, Shui Sheng swaggered over to the large wooden tub filled with hot water, undressed, and when he saw his own tattered clothes, he furrowed his brow.

  Qin Bao, who was waiting with his hands tied behind his back, said cleverly: "If the immortal grandfather doesn't mind, I'll buy a few sets of clothes that fit him!"

  Shuǐ Shēng sighed inwardly, originally being a "god" had such a "wonderful place", but on his face he wore an icy expression, looking at Qín Biāo, not saying a word. Qín Biāo's complexion changed drastically, and he hastily lowered his head. Just as he was in a state of panic, he heard Shuǐ Shēng say calmly: "Alright! No need to buy too many, one or two dozen sets will be enough!" Qín Biāo's heart suddenly relaxed, and he asked: "Godly grandfather, what color do you think is suitable for the clothes?"

  Before Shui Sheng's clothes were all made by his mother, who didn't care about the color. After some thought, he suddenly remembered Wu Mu Dao Ren and Tie Yi Jiang Jun, and his heart moved, saying: "Black!" Qin Bao was taken aback, thinking to himself that children's clothes are usually blue, red, white, or yellow, where is black? He wanted to speak up and explain this point to Shui Sheng, but he didn't dare. After careful consideration, since his family had a tailor shop anyway, he decided that even if several tailor shops worked on it at the same time, he couldn't let Shui Sheng be dissatisfied because of this small matter. He bowed to Shui Sheng and turned to leave.

  Shuǐ shēng glanced at Qín Hǔ, Qín Biāo, and Qín Xióng who were standing stupidly beside him and said: "I've already spared the lives of you four. You three can leave now! Remember, if you dare to bully your neighbors again, I'll come over and kill you anytime!"

  After all, Shuǐ Shēng is still a young man at heart. Seeing these four people suddenly become so serious and well-behaved, the various ways he had thought of to torment them beforehand instantly vanished into thin air!

  Qin Biao and Qin Xiong each performed a courtesy after rinsing their hands, then followed behind Qin Bao, quickly exiting the room. Shui Sheng looked at Qin Hu and said: "What's wrong, why aren't you leaving? Are you resentful that I didn't cut off your fingers and toes?" Qin Hu was startled, hastily exited the room, gently closed the door, stood still for a moment outside the door, seemingly lost in thought. Not only did he not leave, but instead knelt down with a thud in the courtyard.

  Shui Sheng was taken aback, unsure of what Qin Hu wanted to do. He looked at the steaming large wooden bucket, then at the dirt on his own body, feeling an unbearable itch, and too lazy to care about him, he lifted his leg and stepped into the bucket.

  For the first time in his life, he was taking a bath in such a large wooden tub. The warm hot water made him feel extremely comfortable, and he excitedly shouted and yelled. Qin Hu, who was kneeling outside the door, was startled and frightened. At first, he thought that the water for bathing was too hot, but later, seeing Sheng not angry, he was puzzled and wondered if "immortals" always made such a big fuss when taking a bath!

  Shui Sheng didn't expect that not only did Qin Bao bring back more than 20 sets of silk clothes, but Qin Biao and Qin Xiong also followed him back, and without a word, they knelt down with Qin Hu in the courtyard.

  He put on a new set of clean black clothes, looked at himself in the copper mirror in the room, and was very satisfied. He walked out of the house and asked the four people who were kneeling on the ground: "I have already spared your lives, why did you come back? Are you looking to be punished again?"

  Three brothers looked at Qin Bao, who knocked three loud heads on the ground and said: "Immortal grandfather, my brothers and I have discussed it and are willing to follow immortal grandfather to practice together. Please accept us as your disciples! We four are willing to serve immortal grandfather for life!" As soon as the words fell, Qin Hu, Qin Biao, and Qin Xiong also knocked their heads at the same time!

  Shui Sheng was taken aback at first, then burst out laughing and said: "Ask me to be your master? I'm only twelve years old this year, I don't even have a master myself, how can I take you as my disciples?"

  The four heard that Shui Sheng was only twelve years old, but instead of being disappointed, they were even more excited. Qin Hu said: "Immortal Grandfather, no, Immortal Master, you don't have a master yet, and your magical powers are already so high. If you had a master, wouldn't it be even better? Please, Immortal Master, accept us four as your disciples! We promise to be loyal to you from now on, if you tell us to go east, we will not dare to go west!"

  Qin Bao followed closely and said: "Immortal Master, if you take us four in, many troublesome small things won't need to be done by your own hands, just let us four brothers do it! Although we are rough, we know that the master's mouth is fierce, but actually a kind-hearted good immortal. If it were another immortal, with our behavior in the wine tower, we would have died ten times eight times!" After speaking, as if remembering something, a hint of fear flashed in his eyes, and he involuntarily shivered!

  The aquatic natural saw the expression on his face and stopped laughing, asking: "From what you said, does this Drinking Horse Town often have immortals appearing?"

  Qin Bao nodded and said, "Just half a month ago, in the south of the town, Hu Lao Han's family of five was also killed by a middle-aged immortal who asked for directions. The immortal released a big fire, burning Hu Lao Han's family of five to death on the spot, and even three passersby who were watching from the side lost their lives!"

  Shuǐ Shēng finally understood why the diners in the wine house were so terrified of him, one by one kneeling down and kowtowing nonstop. A thread of anger flashed through his mind, and he asked: "Are all immortals in this world like this, killing ordinary people at will whenever they disagree?"

  Qin Hu shook his head, a hint of anxiety appearing on his face, and said: "In the past, when the immortals from Yuding Mountain passed through the town, although they were high above, there was never any talk of killing ordinary people. But in these three years, the world has changed, even the gods have become fond of killing!"

  Shui Sheng's face sank, and he said: "All the immortals who have appeared here in the past three years are evil immortals from far away. They came to the foot of Yuding Mountain to kill all the immortals in Yuding Mountain. How could they be polite to the ordinary people at the foot of Yuding Mountain? I am also a person being pursued by those evil immortals. Don't you fear that if you follow me to learn magic, you will be mistaken for a Yudingmen cultivator and lose your life? Moreover, only those with spiritual roots have the possibility of cultivating immortality. Do you have spiritual roots?"

  Upon hearing this, the four of them looked at each other in dismay.

  For over a thousand years since the establishment of Yuding Gate, ordinary mortals have been unable to enter within 200 miles of the main peak of Yuding Mountain. Yinma Town is only about 400-500 miles away from Yuding Gate, making it one of the closest towns. The mortals in Yinma Town often see immortals flying by from this place.

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