Nine, Eavesdropping on the Wind and Clouds (First Update)

  The two soon arrived in front of the great forest, but saw that the surrounding fog was getting thicker and it was hard to see far.

  "It's getting late, let's start from that big tree over there and head in?" Zhang pointed ahead, forty meters away, where a tall wild jujube tree stood, its branches still bearing quite a few wild jujubes, making it rather conspicuous.

  When hunting at night in an unfamiliar forest, it's crucial to find a good landmark. If you take this jujube tree as the center and hunt around it within a few miles, even if it gets late, you won't get lost.

  Tan Yun casually responded with a murmur, but in her heart she thought: "Yiyang's Jin Wei and Linxiang's Zeng Yinyin are famous families of Jingnan that Master specially mentioned. How did they all end up in this small town within one day?"

  Zhang Xun introduced him to the strong men of Nanjing after Qin Yu said he wanted to go south to Wuling to start a business. Although Jiangnan has fewer counties than Jing and Xiang, it also has many high-ranking masters in the dark realm, of course, about four or five of whom pose a great threat to Qin Yu.

  It just so happened that Zeng Yinyin and Jin Wei, whom I had met earlier, were two of them.

  This extremely unreasonable coincidence couldn't help but make Qin Yu start guessing wildly.

  "Brother, you take the left and I'll take the right?" Zhang Ren handed a set of bow and arrow to Qin Yu, looking at him with doubt.

  Tan Yun nodded, took off his crane cloak, folded it neatly and put it in the quiver. Then he took out his own hunting bow, slung the quiver on his back, and pulled out an arrow.

  "Good!"

  The two entered a hunting state, each quietly flanking left and right, silent and soundless.

  ……

  Shennongjia is said to be the place where Shennong, the ancestor of Chinese civilization and the Red Emperor, set up a wooden frame to collect herbs and cure people's diseases. He "set up wood as a ladder to help climbing", "set up wood as a house to avoid wind and rain", and finally "set up wood as an altar, riding a crane to ascend to heaven".

  It's fortunate that this place is on the edge of a large forest, where humans often come and go, and there are some obvious small mountain paths to walk on, so it's not necessary to cut through thorns.

  Having walked for more than half a mile, Qin Yu could no longer sense his junior brother's aura and knew that he had also gone far away. He calmed down and began to search for prey.

  This year's climate is particularly cold, like today's freezing weather, all things are withered, and the beasts are hiding. It's rare to see anyone running wildly outside at night. After walking over two small hills, except for picking some medicinal materials, I didn't encounter any prey worth shooting.

  Looking at a small squirrel picking pine nuts on the pine tree tens of meters away, Qin Yu put down his bow with a gloomy face and thought: "A fat pheasant would be good too!"

  Suddenly, a rustling sound of leaves and twigs came from afar, accompanied by the occasional shrill cries of monkeys.

  Qin Yu's spirit shook: "There is a situation." The sound came from within thirty meters, perhaps it was a tiger or leopard that passed by, startling the vigilant macaques with its scent.

  He bowed his waist and quickly moved stealthily towards the source of the sound.

  Suddenly, a thread of warning emerged from the bottom of his heart and pierced into his mind.

  Tan Yong suddenly stopped his body.

  His current strength is only at the peak of Mingjing, but due to long-term practice of half-step Tuna technique, his heart and spirit feel particularly keen, comparable to a top-notch dark boundary master.

  The shocking feeling made Qin Yu's mind seem to burst into a boiling oil flower, stimulating his body to be numb and scorching.

  Very dangerous!

  Tan Yu crouched in the dark grass, not daring to move, his forehead sweating coldly. He thought: "Why is it even more terrifying than when I encountered Xie Zilan's night raid last time? Such a chilling killing intent pervades, could it be another powerful hidden expert?"

  Suddenly, about ten meters away, someone sighed in the shade of a tree thicket: "Deng Jingfu, you and I had an old grievance in the past, but it was settled three years ago. Why are you not keeping your promise today, hiding in the dense forest and ambushing me?"

  This man spoke in a gentle and elegant manner, with each word and sentence slow and deliberate, but as Qin Yu listened to him speak, she couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine.

  "Ah... Cough! Cough!... Cough!" A sudden fit of coughing burst out, and another person who had been trying to hold back finally couldn't bear it anymore, wanting to speak but instead started coughing even more violently.

  "Ugh!" A strange and eerie voice.

  "What's wrong? Deng Jingfu, I, Shi Heng, have asked myself if I have been kind and righteous to you, with no regrets. In the past three years, I have also sold grain and weapons to nobles at a low price, and I have never treated you unfairly. Are you vomiting blood because of guilt towards me?"

  "Cough... cough! Vomit! Cough! Vomit!" Deng Jingfu couldn't stop coughing, slowly, almost with every cough, he vomited blood once.

  "Okay, since you don't want to talk to me, I'll leave first then!"

  "Hack... hack... cough! Cough! Ugh!!"

  "What dish? What dish?" Shi Huang's voice changed and suddenly became fierce.

  "My husband's intention is to ask Master Shi to leave the divine bell behind, and it won't be too late to leave afterwards." A woman's voice echoed faintly, with a hint of helplessness.

  Tan Yong muttered to himself: "Just now, you said there were no strong masters, but now three have come out at once. Deng Jingfu, what a strange name! Shi Huan...Shi Huan, this name sounds so familiar."

  In his induction, this Shi Huang's aura was the strongest, one person actually suppressed two top-notch dark realm experts, Deng couple.

  Suddenly thought of someone, instantly darkened his face, and was even more worried and anxious!

  "Could it be him?"

  This Shi Huang, also mentioned by Zhang Xuan, is the uncrowned king of South Jingzhou. He is at the peak of the Dark Boundary Realm and is said to be only half a step away from advancing to the Hua Realm. At the same time, he also has an official identity as the Prefect of Cangwu County in Jiao State, with high status and great power.

  This person has power and martial arts, can be called the top strongman in Jingnan.

  Zhang Xun's definition is: within ten years, no recruitment or disturbance is allowed.

  "How did I run into him? I really didn't mean to provoke him!" Qin Yu's whole body was covered in goosebumps, and even his cold sweat was strictly controlled, not daring to let it show, afraid of being unintentionally detected by Shi Huang. This person was different from Jin Gongzi, if he were to turn hostile, that would definitely be life-threatening, no one could save him.

  "He thought to himself: 'This Deng Jingfu has coughed up blood, yet he still dares to oppose Shi Heng, he's not a good person. And this woman, her aura is also very frightening. Could it be...?' He had some suspicions in his mind, but for the time being, he couldn't quite grasp them."

  Just as he was pondering, a sudden soft shout was heard, and the killing intent around him suddenly increased a lot, startling Qin Yu greatly.

  "Nonsense! How could the Panhu Bell be in my hands?" Shi Heng's tone was stern and authoritative, "Madam Deng, I have always shown you respect, do not speak such nonsense again."

  "That's still in your hands." Madam Deng sighed, "Alas! Master Shi has always been kind to our Wuling villages and I've been grateful. But, your son eloped with my young daughter and stole the divine bell, which is not what a good friend would do."

  Shi Huang hummed and seemed to have nothing to say, so he remained silent.

  The Deng couple also stopped talking.

  Silence!

  A suffocating silence lasted for nearly five seconds.

  "Ah!" A miserable cry, Shi Huang's voice suddenly came out, but shifted about 10 meters northwest, "You... I'm poisoned?"

  Mrs. Deng said in a low and mournful tone, "My husband's entire being is concentrated here. This tactic of my husband and I working together can only be used once... Lord Shi's martial arts skills are exceptional, so it had to be this way."

  "Are you out of your minds?" Shi Huan, even when scolding Deng's couple, was calm and gentle, with a soft voice like jade. At this moment, his voice finally carried a hint of panic, "You... how could you use such an evil poison? Quickly get the antidote."

  "This Gu worm has sucked the essence and blood of your husband and wife, and has grown into a Golden Silkworm Soul Gu. There is no medicine in the world that can cure it. The only way to detoxify is with the Divine Bell!" Madam Deng said in a low voice, but her words were tinged with self-pride, "As long as Master Shi of the Shi Manor hands over the Divine Bell, I will be able to use the Divine Bell to drive out the Golden Silkworm Gu from Master Shi's body."

  "Preposterous!" shouted Shi Huang.

  "Then you can just wait for death!" A low, hoarse voice suddenly rang out, followed by a light shock, two breaths colliding, Mrs. Deng exclaimed in a low voice: "Husband?" Suddenly spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.

  ……

  PS: Monday is over, let's get some fresh votes! It's easy for us to have a strong push, eat a meal of dumplings, everyone has to give enough numbers, right? Don't worry, there will be three updates today!