Chapter 41: The Real Encounter

  "Since you've come to the door, why don't you come in?" The house door was closed, and a hoarse voice came from inside.

  Tian Qi listened to the voice and felt a bit familiar, stretched out his hand to open the door, but he didn't walk in, instead standing on the side of the door.

  "Hehe, don't worry, it's safe inside this house. If you don't come in now, I'll change my mind."

  Tian Qi leaned sideways, but he saw a person sitting on a stool in the house, who was none other than the Fourth Master who had secretly plotted against them.

  Tian Qi walked in and found another empty stool, which seemed to be prepared for him. However, he didn't sit down, but kept a certain distance from Fourth Master.

  Tian Qi's cautiousness was naturally seen by Fourth Master, who only smiled slightly and didn't say anything, but his smile was somewhat piercing.

  "Where are my friends?" Tian Qi asked, this was his most concern at the moment.

  "If you were my apprentice, it would be great. It seems that my apprentice losing to you is not unjustified, indeed having two brushes." Fourth Master did not answer Tian Qi's question, his glasses stared at Tian Qi, making Tian Qi feel very uncomfortable.

  Tian Qi's heart skipped a beat when he heard Si Ye say this, and indeed there was a reason for it.

  "What about that person named Shen Yanqiang?" Tian Qi asked.

  Fourth Master nodded.

  It's actually quite easy to think of, because he hasn't come into contact with many people in the same line of work, and there is one person who isn't very good, that being Shen Yanqiang, the boss who used his own child's ashes urn as a money box.

  It's indeed true that a master will have apprentices who follow in their footsteps. If the master is only skilled in these heretical and evil ways, how can his apprentices turn out any better?

  "I don't care about his business, but he's been harming others for his own benefit and now someone has lost their life. I'm helping people with their affairs, how can I just ignore it? And I've already shown mercy." Tian Qi didn't know what Shen Yanqiang had said to his master, but he had to make things clear, this matter wasn't his fault.

  After hearing what Tian Qi said, Fourth Master still didn't respond, and Tian Qi had no idea what he was thinking.

  "Where's my friend?" Siye could wait, Tianqi couldn't. Every second they delayed increased their danger by a second.

  "Your friend is fine for now, but..."

  "But what?"

  "If you agree to be my apprentice, then I will naturally let your friends go."

  "Is there any other condition?" Being his apprentice would be worse than letting Tian Qi die directly. If the mentor found out that he had taken such a sinister and evil person as his master, he would not be killed even if it was himself who could not accept it.

  "You won't reconsider?"

  Tian Qi shook his head firmly, as long as there was another way, he would not choose this one.

  "Well, I won't force you then. Let's see what you're capable of. That Longsheng clan that opposed me is your master, right? I'm curious to see what he taught you."

  Fourth Master stood up after finishing speaking, Tian Qi thought he was going to do something to himself. If it were hand-to-hand combat or something like that, although he wasn't as good as Chou Shen and Yingying, at least he was young and strong with a head on his shoulders. Fourth Master was not young anymore and had a hunched back, so he shouldn't be his opponent.

  But things weren't as Tianqi thought, the originally soft candlelight suddenly became piercing, and Chou Shen had to close his eyes.

  When he opened his eyes, there were no houses around him, but many winding paths. He was now standing at the center point where all the winding paths converged, and Fourth Master was nowhere to be seen.

  Just now, Fourth Master said something that Tian Qi heard clearly. He mentioned the Longsheng tribe, could it be Zhang Xin? How would he have a relationship with Zhang Xin, and it seems like he even misunderstood himself as Zhang Xin's apprentice.

  Tian Qi didn't know what was going on, but he suspected it had something to do with Zhang Xin's sudden disappearance, and could only wait for later to verify.

  "You don't have a light source on you now, so I'll lend you a hand. Consider it repayment for sparing my disciple's life earlier. From here on out, whether you live or die is up to you, and whether you can rescue all your friends will depend on your own abilities."

  Tian Qi heard such a voice by his ear, it was what Fourth Master said, but he didn't see him and couldn't tell the direction of the sound.

  He was still amazed when he saw those narrow paths, the flashlight in his hand had run out of power, how could he still see the road, it turned out to be like this.

  Although these four men are not very good, it's already rare that they can do this, and Tian Qi's annoyance towards him decreased a bit.

  It's really up to himself now, Tian Qi carefully looked around at the winding mountain path, he didn't see any difference anywhere, all of them couldn't see the end, nor could they see anything on the road.

  Which way should I go?

  Tian Qi made an effort to recall the knowledge he had grasped and the methods of catching ghosts recorded in that Ghost Catching Diary.

  He remembered his mentor saying that if he was trapped in a situation and didn't know which way to go, but could still tell the direction, then choose the east, because generally the east is where life begins.

  But now except for the winding path, there is no reference point at all, and Tian Qi can't tell east, west, south or north.

  Racking his brains, Tian Qi still couldn't think of a solution and didn't know what kind of situation this was, so he simply stopped caring.

  He lifted his foot and chose a path to walk over, coming to meet the soldiers and covering up with earth when water came.

  This road is no different from the one they just came from, and Tian Qi's heart has also put down a lot. He thought that once he stepped onto the road, something evil would definitely appear.

  They walked for about ten minutes without any discovery, and Tian Qi called out a few people's names as they walked.

  They aren't on this road, should they go back and change roads? Tian Qi stopped in his tracks and turned around to look.

  Just then, he spotted Fatty lying motionless on a nearby road, his body covered in ants that seemed to be biting him all over.

  "Chubby!" Tian Qi shouted loudly, directly rushing towards Chubby. He no longer cared what was in the darkness by the side of the road.

  But no matter how hard Tianqi tried, it seemed like there was an invisible barrier on the side of the road. It didn't seem like anything was obstructing him, but after wasting half a day, Tianqi hadn't moved forward at all.

  "Fatty! Wake up quickly!" Tian Qi had no choice but to return to the intersection and choose the road where Fatty was.

  After walking for over ten minutes, Tian Qi didn't realize how far he had gone, but now even if he ran, he felt that time was not enough. Seeing more and more ants on the fat man's body, a dense black mass, Tian Qi's heart grew increasingly anxious.

  Finally arrived at the center, Tian Qi didn't think much and entered another road.

  But Tian Qi ran for half a day and didn't see Fatso on the road.

  He was certain that he had no choice of roads, although he was very anxious at the time, it was impossible to make such a mistake again, and how could he choose the wrong one on the road near him.

  Tianqi ran forward for a while longer, still didn't see the fat kid, nor did he find any ants.

  But he found someone else, right on the road he had just walked that day, and he saw Yingying.

  A disheveled woman, clad in a long black dress covered in mud and grime, with some parts torn. A pale face visible through her hair and eyes stained with deep red blood.

  She was using her slender hands to pull Yan's legs forward, while Yan lay on the ground with his head bleeding, leaving a trail of blood wherever he was dragged.

  "Yingying!" Seeing this scene, Tian Qi felt his head was about to explode, and he ran back and forth frantically, wanting to save Yingying.

  Pangzi and Yingying have been in this situation one after another, Tianqi's heart has already collapsed, the last bit of respect for Fourth Master is gone, he now hates him thoroughly, if there is a chance to meet again, he will definitely kill him with his own hands without hesitation, no matter what price he pays.

  Tian Qi ran back to the center and chose the road where Yingying was, but the result was the same as that of the fat boy just now.

  There was no sign of Yingying at all.

  Tian Qi had no choice but to return to the middle of the road and sat down on the ground.

  The excessive mental pressure and over-exertion from the exercise made him almost unbearable, he didn't dare to move forward anymore, he was afraid of seeing that terrifying scene again, and didn't know how Chou Shen was doing now, or if he was still safe.

  Just as Tian Qi was being constantly bombarded by negative emotions and was about to fall into despair, a person walked up from a small mountain path, holding the black staff that belonged to Tian Qi.

  "Is it you, Tian Qi?" The man came closer to Tian Qi and asked tentatively.

  "Deep hatred! Are you really...? Are you alright?" Tian Qi lifted his head, momentarily overcome with joy and tears.