Chapter Thirty-Five: Retreat and Regroup

  From start to finish, I never figured out the identity of Horse Face and those two short and stout men in black and white. Liu Weimin couldn't explain it either. After arriving at Guan Cun Village, I gradually forgot about it, but unexpectedly, Horse Face appeared again, still as light as a feather, standing beside me without making a single sound.

  As Xu Qi saw the horse-faced monster for a moment, his head slightly tilted back, his eyes wide with fear, apparently also startled. However, he immediately reacted and pointed his sword at the horse-faced monster, his face stern, shouting: "Who are you? Let go of my disciple!"

  Xu Qi's slender figure and horse face made him look like a thin bamboo stick challenging a tall one.

  Wearing a Daoist robe, the lone figure of Xu Qi, with his single sword, suddenly burst forth with an aura that he had never shown before, sharp and piercing, shooting straight up into the sky. Once again, he became the same existence I saw for the first time, looking carefree and natural, yet as if he was a towering peak that pierced the heavens, making people involuntarily look up to him.

  I don't know which one is the real Xu Ji, maybe at that time he was saved by him and felt grateful in his heart, or maybe it's all him, but when facing us, there's no need to show a side with murderous intent.

  The horse-faced man remained calm, and I even suspected that he hadn't looked at Xu Qi, but was staring at the grave behind him. He said lightly: "There's not what you think in the coffin, can't dig."

  Xu Qi refused to listen and insisted: "Let him go first."

  As soon as he finished speaking, the horse-faced man released my shoulder and slapped me hard on the back of my head. I stumbled forward a few steps, almost falling flat on my face.

  I wasn't far from Xu Qi, and after a few steps, I arrived in front of him. Just as I was about to subconsciously turn my head, Xu Qi suddenly shouted: "Don't turn your head, don't look."

  Just like a thunderclap in my ear, I was so scared that I shuddered, thinking that the horse-faced monster was transforming into an eerie and terrifying appearance, so I didn't dare to turn my head.

  Xu Qi dragged me to the front by my collar, but pinched my neck and didn't let me turn around. Her eyes passed over my shoulder and she said to the horse-faced monster: "What do you want to do?"

  The horse face still says the same thing: "What you want is not in the coffin, and it can't be dug up!"

  Xu Qi asked him who he was, but Ma Lian remained silent.

  Xu Qi angrily asked him what he meant, Ma's face remained silent in response.

  I stood between them two, unable to see what was behind me, and I always felt a chill down my back.

  After a silence of over ten seconds, Xu Qi raised the ancient sword in his hand several times, but ultimately put it down. His voice was slightly tinged with defeat as he said to Ma Lian, "You say it's not, then it's not? I don't believe it! Sir, why don't you and I join forces and split whatever we dig up 50/50?"

  The horse face still said: "Can't dig, what you want is not here."

  Xu Qi's face twisted in a scowl as he stubbornly said, "I don't believe it."

  "You don't have to believe me, I'm just telling you so that you can be a smart ghost!"

  Xu Qi was shocked, and then burst out laughing, shouting three good words, before releasing my collar. Two fingers wiped the treasure sword, and suddenly a buzzing sound came, I was amazed, didn't expect this seemingly ancient relic to be so mysterious.

  Xu Qi stretched out his hand from the cloth bag and pulled out a well-drawn talisman, clutched it between his fingers, held a sword in his other hand, and asked the horse-faced monster: "Can you let my apprentice go first, and then we can fight?"

  Can't see the horse's face, anyway Xu Qi took out something from his bosom and stuffed it into my palm, instructing: "Wang Zhen, you take this back to the village, when you see Xiao Jiu under the willow tree, throw this thing at him from a distance, tell the village chief that after sunrise tomorrow, burn Xiao Jiu's corpse."

  I was just about to ask him if he could beat Horse-Face.

  Xu Qi then said: "After you've done this, don't stay in the village for long. Gather your friends and go to the mountains more than 40 miles west of Dali, Yunnan. There's a Lisu tribe settlement there called Niutou Village. Tell them you're a disciple of Xu Qi from Longhu Mountain and they'll protect you."

  I see it now, Xu Qi is making a dying declaration.

  My heart skipped a beat.

  I and Xu Qi were just fleeting acquaintances, first he saved my life, then I had ulterior motives to ask him to be my master. I dare say Xu Qi would never think that with a single shake of his body, the aura of a turtle would disperse, and I would bow my head and acknowledge allegiance.

  He knew I had a small mind, but he didn't care, and still treated me sincerely. At that time, I thought I had some secrets worth using, but now it seems very ridiculous. Xu Qi really wanted to use me, but once he became my master, he really took me as his apprentice.

  At a critical moment of life and death, he still didn't forget to arrange a safe place for me to settle down.

  People's hearts are made of flesh, how can I not be moved?

  Although I don't know why, the horse-faced monster appeared twice by my side, obviously coming for me. At this moment, I thought of turning my head to tell him that no matter what he did to me, I would accept it as long as Xu Qi left.

  But just as I was about to turn around, Xu Ji pressed down on the back of my head and turned my face straight, his tone somewhat violent: "I told you not to look back, how can't you remember it in your heart? Don't you even listen to Master's words?"

  To be honest, I'm still a bit fed up with the title of "Shifu", this new century's young man, I can consider him as my brother, but it's hard for me to accept him as my elder without any reason. But now is not the time to care about titles, so I said to him: "I won't leave, let's take down that horse-faced monster together."

  Xu Qi, who had always been gentle and pleasant with me, slapped me instead and scolded angrily: "If you're going to leave, then hurry up and go, what's with all the fuss?"

  He didn't hit hard, and it was due to his anxiety. I didn't take it to heart, but instead turned around and said to him: "What's there to be afraid of? The two of us can't handle him? If we really can't handle him, this is several miles away from the village, and if we run back, we'll be caught up."

  "Don't worry, Master will stake his old life to hold him back for you."

  Now that you mention it, I couldn't leave anymore. However, Xu Qi leaned in close to my ear and said: "Although I'm not his match, escaping shouldn't be a problem. You go first, wait for Master to come find you. If both of us stay behind, neither of us will be able to escape!"

  After weighing the pros and cons, I couldn't help but nod in agreement. I don't know if Horse Face is human or a ghost, but this setup definitely isn't something an ordinary person can handle. The combined combat power of me and Xu Qi wouldn't be two, but rather I would drag him down to -1.

  Since he took me as his apprentice and is now in a life-or-death situation, I must make him happy no matter what.

  Kneeling on the ground, I knocked my head three times and shouted "Master, take care!" Then I got up to run, but Xu Qi grabbed me again. We stood face to face, circling around the horse-faced monster for half a circle, refusing to let me see what the horse-faced monster had transformed into!

  At the crossroads, Xu Qi grasped my shoulders and solemnly instructed me, "Disciple, on your way down the mountain, you absolutely must not look back!"

  There's a kind of crying that I impulsively agreed to, and with a sobbing voice, I shouted: "Master, don't die, I still want to be a Taoist with you!"

  Xu Qi chuckled softly and kicked me lightly on the butt, saying in a warm tone: "Stop being so sentimental, scram."

  I spread my legs and ran wildly, in just three to five seconds, I heard Xu Qi's loud shout and the sound of fighting from behind me. My heart felt anxious, wanting to see if Xu Qi was injured, but hesitated and didn't dare turn around.

  I ran another three to five steps before I heard Xu Qi shouting loudly: "Good heavens!"

  The tone was panicked, filled with intense fear, and I could no longer hold back the worries in my heart.

  Turned his head and took a glance.

  Two figures, one tall and the other short, were chasing each other, while not far away, another figure stood still, motionless, almost merging with the night.

  Dark clouds covered half of the moon, and I couldn't see that person's face clearly. It was just a black shadow darker than the mountain that made me certain, apart from Xu Qi and Ma Lian, there was a third person present, and this person made Xu Qi as nervous as if he were facing a great enemy.

  Slightly surprised, but also didn't have time to think about his identity, just as he was about to hurry back to the village, that person suddenly moved.

  It's as if his gaze, which had been fixed on me all along, has come alive?

  He first threw his head back, extremely painful and despairingly let out a loud roar, then suddenly turned around to face me, with reckless abandon rushing over.

  The collar fluttered, and a fierce wind was born. Xu Qi let out a mournful howl: "Who told you to turn your head? Run, run fast!"

  As he spoke, he pulled something out of the cloth bag and slammed it onto the man's chest. Instantly, a burst of flames illuminated the iron-gray face, revealing an expression of utter despair and hatred. And his features were strangely familiar to me, so much so that I could say that the person might just be... myself?

  My heart skipped a beat, my foot tripped, and I fell flat on my face. When I got up, Xu Qi had already rushed to the man's side, lifted him up by the waist, and didn't care about the horse-faced monster chasing behind, took big strides towards the tomb, still shouting wildly, telling me to run fast.

  I don't know if turning my head would kill Xu Ji, but the anxiety and urgency in his words made me worried and guilty. I hastily didn't dare to look again, and ran wildly down the mountain, wishing I could slap myself a few times. Regret and sadness forced tears to gush out. If I hadn't known better, rushing back would only put Xu Ji in a desperate situation. I really don't want to be a deserter.

  I sprinted all the way, feeling like my throat and eyes were bleeding, until I finally saw the rows of houses under the night sky. I only wanted to save Xu Qi, so I didn't go look for Jiu Ge by the willow tree, but instead rushed back to the hostel in one breath, wanting to use the phone to notify the village chief to send people to help.

  The hostel had already locked its doors, and San Shu was living on the second floor. I didn't have time to call her, so I rushed downstairs to my room, preparing to break the window and jump in. However, I found that the room was lit up and there were voices laughing and chatting. I shouted for You Mo, who came over to open the window but suddenly let out a panicked scream: "Grandpa Gan save me, zombies are coming!"

  I was startled by him, and only then did I remember that I was wearing a Qing dynasty official robe. My mind shook, and suddenly I discovered that the person who looked exactly like me just now seemed to be wearing similar clothes too?

  Before Yu could speak, Liu Weimin jumped out of the window. The fifty or sixty year old man was not slow or numb in the slightest, and with a swift and neat kick, he sent me flying into the wall. Then, his arms wrapped around mine like a python, and his right hand pressed firmly against my chin, pinning my head to the wall.

  "Quickly fetch some blood... King Zhen?"

  After finding out it was me, Liu Weimin let go of his hand and stopped Yu Wu, who was holding a half basin of stinky water and running to the window, and asked me in surprise: "What's wrong with you, why are you wearing such strange clothes?"

  I shed tears and said with a runny nose: "Enough silver, Guizhou three items are enough to mortgage the death symbol."

  Liu Weimin and You Wu were both stunned, asking me why I was speaking Cantonese.

  I cursed inwardly, "Damn your ancestors!" I spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. Liu Weimin's hands were really ruthless. Just now, when he pushed my chin down, I almost bit off my own tongue. It's a miracle I can still speak clearly!

  Liu Weimin simply and clearly understood what I meant after a brief gesticulation.

  Grave mound, Horse Face Ghost has arrived, killing Taoist priests.

  He pushed me into the house and jumped in himself, then said very seriously: "Don't worry, everything will be fine with me here. You stay here and wait calmly."

  After he finished speaking, he walked away with the straw whip still inserted at his waist, looking very calm and not putting the horse-faced man in his heart at all.