Chapter 25: A Fierce and Murderous Aura Emanated from Xiao Ge's Body

  I was carrying that eerie round mirror, already trembling with fear. Now hearing the young man say that this forest is very evil, a thick chill rose involuntarily on my back, and I couldn't help but ask, "Young man, what's so evil about it?"

  The young man, however, was completely nonchalant and replied casually, "This is a forest filled with blood and curses! Legend has it that over 1,000 years ago, the Western Xia people gathered dozens of tribes with more than 80,000 people to engage in a decisive battle with the Tang army of 100,000. After several days and nights of fighting, although the Western Xia people killed tens of thousands of Tang soldiers, they were almost completely annihilated!

  The blood flowing out of the Western Xia people dyed the mountains red for hundreds of miles, and the corpses were left unburied, devoured by wild beasts and insects, gradually rotting and buried underground. But their spirits did not disperse, lingering here, calling out to their loved ones... Later, people called this place Duansheng Mountain, where ordinary people dared not enter.

  Are there 80,000 vengeful spirits on this Soulscourge Mountain? My heart skipped a beat as I trembled and asked, "Then how dare you bring me into this Soulscourge Mountain?"

  The little brother smiled and turned back to look at me, "What? Afraid? We're taking the shortcut through Duanhun Mountain because it'll get us to my village half a day earlier than going around!"

  The little brother finished speaking and ignored me, walking quickly forward. I was like walking on thin ice, afraid that if I wasn't careful, a dead person's bones would suddenly appear under my feet, or a gloomy voice would come from behind my back.

  It's often said that there are ghosts in places you fear, and indeed, I had just walked out a few steps when I suddenly felt as if I had stepped on something.

  Because of the thick layer of withered branches and dead leaves under my feet, I couldn't see the situation on the ground. In horror, I lifted up my right foot to take a look, oh my god, there was actually a skeleton's ribcage wrapped around my right foot!

  The corpse's black chest was completely trampled by me and got stuck on my foot, while beside the withered grass heap there was a big black hole!

  I let out a loud "ah"!

  "What's the big deal? It's just a skeleton... " The young man said nonchalantly, and with a wave of his hand, he picked up a branch and pulled my foot out from between the ribs of the corpse.

  I was still in a state of shock, cold sweat dripping down my face, and I cried out in terror, "I'm scared to death! Little brother, how much longer until we can get out of this Soul-Taking Mountain?"

  The young man tossed his long hair back from his forehead, narrowed his eyes to observe the surroundings, and replied, "It's almost time, I estimate we can leave in about half an hour! Don't be afraid, it's noon now when the yang energy is strongest. Generally, evil spirits and ghosts don't dare to come out and cause trouble!"

  He looks so menacing! This special aura lingers on for a long time, making me shiver with fear!

  This handsome young man with an air of mystery, what is his identity after all? Why would a fierce and murderous aura suddenly appear on him?

  This was once a place where the Western Xia people lived, could he be a descendant of the ancient Western Xia people? What secrets did the rough map he showed to Jin Xiangyu, the owner of Phoenix Inn last night, hide? If that map was indeed a treasure map, why would he let me accompany him on this trip?

  I can't figure out the secret!

  After walking forward for about a few hundred meters, the little brother who was walking in front suddenly stopped his footsteps, turned around, made a gesture of silence with his hand on his lips to me, and then pointed to the woods behind me.

  This gesture I understand, he is hinting that there is movement behind me, perhaps someone is following!

  I was shocked and didn't dare turn back, took a few steps to the little brother's side, and asked him with my eyes what to do.

  The little brother pointed to a large stone in the nearby woods, and with a flick of his mouth, told me to hide behind it. I didn't dare make a sound, and quietly ran over, just as I hid my body and peeked out from behind the stone, I saw the little brother grab onto the trunk of a tall tree, agilely climbing up like a monkey!

  He clung tightly to the trunk of the tree, about two or three meters off the ground. Unless someone came looking for him on purpose, it would be impossible to discover his presence.

  I crouched behind a rock, a pair of eyes staring intently in the direction we had just come from, my heart pounding non-stop.

  Is it a human or a ghost? If it's a human, how dare he enter this Soul-Breaking Mountain of 80,000 vengeful spirits?

  Before long, the sound of "rustling" came from the front, and the mountain boots trampled on the dry leaves. Damn it, this person's tailing skills are too bad?

  Before I could even finish my thought, a sturdy man in his thirties suddenly appeared in my line of sight. The sturdy man walked while sneakily glancing around him from side to side, gradually approaching the big tree where Little Brother was hiding.

  That person actually had a face that wasn't human, my heart rose to my throat, I quickly focused and forgot about the past. Under the sunlight, I saw clearly that the person's face was emitting a dark glow, apparently wearing an iron mask!

  Before he could finish speaking, the young man jumped down from the tree and landed right on top of that person.

  Before he could react, "thud" fell to the ground, and Xiao Ge gave him a punch on the head. The man let out a loud cry of pain!

  The young man lifted the person's head with one hand and said in a low voice, "Who are you? Why are you sneaking around and following us?"

  The newcomer shouted loudly, "Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

  The young man suddenly tore off the mask of the approaching person and exclaimed, "How is it you?"

  "Who are you?"

  "Am I a little brother? Don't you recognize me?" The tone of the little brother's voice revealed a kind of delight, could it be that this person following us is someone he knows?

  The man got up from the ground and punched Xiaoge, shouting, "Xiaoge, it's you! Ah... I'm dying of pain!"

  The young man seemed a bit embarrassed and replied, "It was me! Sorry, I didn't mean to hit you so hard. Are you okay, Uncle Rock Dragon?"

  It turned out that they were actually acquaintances, the young man called him uncle, and naturally they became one family! It seems that just now was just a misunderstanding, the flood washed away the Dragon King Temple, and family members fought with each other!

  I put down the heart I was carrying and stood out from behind the mountain rocks.

  "Hey, little brother! It's really you! How did you end up on this Soul-Breaking Mountain?"

  "Brother, I have something to discuss with Old Man Ba back in the village, so I'll take a shortcut through Duansheng Mountain. Hmm, what are you doing here? And why are you following us?"

  This is also what I want to know!

  Yue Long let out a long sigh and replied, "This is a long story... actually I'm also here to keep watch under the orders of Eighth Master!"

  "What's going on? Has something happened in the village?" The young man asked in surprise.

  Yue Long replied, "It's like this, recently there have been a lot of mysterious outsiders appearing in the village. Eighth Grandfather suspects that these people are plotting something against our Huang Long Village, perhaps trying to ruin the village's feng shui... So, he has us villagers take turns putting on various masks and pretending to be ghosts on Duan Hun Mountain." He pointed at the iron mask lying on the ground and continued, "Therefore, Eighth Grandfather had us bring all sorts of masks to Duan Hun Mountain to scare those people away!"

  I walked closer to where the iron mask had fallen, picked it up and took a look. The craftsmanship of the mask was exquisite, at first glance it looked just like a real person's face. The expression on the mask was vivid and lifelike, the entire expression was abnormally terrifying.

  Yue Long saw me suddenly appear in front of him and asked in a loud voice, "Young man, who is he? Who is he?"

  "Hey, Uncle Rock Dragon, don't worry about it, he's a friend of mine!"

  "Ah," said the old dragon, fixing his gaze on the young man's face. "You're back! You've got a lot of experience and have handled many things. Maybe you can give Old Eighth some good ideas too! Just the other day, Old Eighth was mentioning you, saying that if everyone in our village were as capable as you, it would be great!"

  I can tell that the Rock Dragon is being sincere, if this handsome young man is indeed as the Rock Dragon said, then he must have a very high prestige in their village.

  The little brother's identity has become even more mysterious in my heart! What is his true identity?

  I was guessing, when suddenly I heard the young man say, "Alright, I originally wanted to go back to the village to discuss things with Old Man Ba. Since something has happened in the village, I must find Old Man Ba! Let's go, if we're late, something unexpected might happen in this forest!"

  Yonglong responded with a sound and followed Xiaoge forward, I hurriedly followed up with the strange round mirror on my back. Unintentionally, I turned my head to take a look, and suddenly felt that not far away, behind a large tree, a black and white striped skirt seemed to flash by, and instantly disappeared without a trace!

  Who? Why does the color of that skirt look so familiar? When I stopped in my tracks and turned back to look again, was there anything moving in front of me? There was only the faint sound of the mountain wind blowing through.

  It seems this must be an illusion, caused by my eyes being blurred from looking at flowers!

  I didn't say a word and quickly quickened my pace to catch up with Xiao Ge and Yan Long.

  Yonglong suddenly turned back and smiled at me, his face showing a strange expression. He asked, "Young fellow, what is that thing you have on your back? It's round like a mirror."

  This guy's eyes are really sharp, and he actually saw that I was carrying a mirror behind my back at a glance! I replied nervously, "Uncle Rock Dragon, you have good eyesight, it is indeed a mirror!"

  "Mirror? Why are you carrying a mirror on your back?" Long Yan was puzzled.

  "Hey, Uncle Yan Long, don't pry into the pot and ask to the bottom... His name is Lan Tian, just call him Little Lan, we should hurry up and get going!"

  The rock dragon seemed to listen to the young man's words and stopped asking me why I was carrying a mirror on my back. But in my heart, it still felt strange, anyone who saw me carrying a mirror on my back would think it was abnormal.

  But I am also helpless, and it is much better for me to have it on my back than to have this damn mirror suddenly appear in front of me!

  After walking for about half an hour, we finally walked out of Duanhun Mountain.

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