Chapter 70 Annihilation

As the sky grew dim and murky, the six-tendon shackles were finally completed. True to expectation, someone soon came to inspect them, paid the artisan, and ordered the porters to carry them to a courtyard in the town. Looking from afar, Liuchou saw that several carts and horses were already prepared in the courtyard, their beds piled high with cargo. As soon as the shackles arrived, loading commenced. Elsewhere in the yard, people were drying provisions, whetting weapons, and filling water skins, presenting a scene of imminent departure.

After watching for a short while, Liuchou and Qingmei did not linger. They casually bought some food in the town and departed, waiting outside the perimeter for the caravan to set off so they could trail it into the mountains.

Since the foreign monk required the six-tendon shackles, it meant that some monsters were still alive. Those surviving beasts were bound to have intricate ties with the original Seven Mountains. Therefore, rather than wandering aimlessly through the mountains in search of them, it was far simpler and surer to go directly to the foreign monk's camp, secretly rescue a demon, and interrogate it.

Naturally, Liuchou had weighed the comparative strengths of both sides. Having spent quite some time traveling in the same boat as Guique, Liuchou had a rough measure of the monk's abilities. Now that Liuchou had surpassed the ninth tier, he was far superior to the Guique of that time. Thus, he was extremely confident in his ability to evade the foreign monk's pursuit, not to mention having Qingmei by his side. Combining the strength of the two demons, short of using divine spiritual artifacts, even ordinary foreign monks would find it hard to do them harm.

Not long after leaving the town, Liuchou and Qingmei stopped to find a hidden vantage point that overlooked the town gates, intending to recuperate and build up their strength. At that very moment, seven or eight men rushed out from the town in a disorderly mob, surrounding the two of them tightly.

Looking closely, they were all strangers, though two of them looked vaguely familiar, perhaps seen at some shop. Meanwhile, near the town gate, the burly man who had previously collected money from Liuchou stood with his arms crossed over his chest, watching coldly without a word.

When Liuchou turned his head back, someone in the crowd cursed angrily, "What are you looking at? By the town's rules, once you leave the gates, your life and death are your own and no one will interfere. Looking does you no good."

"Ah, so that's how it is!" Liuchou nodded and suddenly smiled. "Well then, no one cares about us, but does anyone care about you?"

"Naturally, they also—" Halfway through his sentence, the man abruptly realized what Liuchou meant and flew into a rage. "You shriveled brat, how audacious!"

"Perhaps so!"

As he spoke, Liuchou had already drawn his iron-shafted weapon, gleaming with a freezing light and radiating an aura of blood...

In mere seconds, all seven or eight men were beaten into heaps of minced meat by Liuchou, blood staining the ground entirely. When Liuchou cast his second glance back toward the gate, the expressions of the burly man and his companions had completely changed. Seeing Liuchou look over, whether remembering that they had once taken money from him or not, their legs turned to jelly, and they collapsed limply to the ground, wetting the crotches of their trousers with warm urine.

Liuchou smiled, turned around, and headed straight into the mountains with Qingmei.

Although both of them were arriving here for the first time, guided directly, Qingmei quickly found a cave that was deep, quiet, and long. Liuchou lit a bonfire, unwrapped the lotus leaves containing the food bought in the town, and toasted it over the flames. Before long, a faint aroma drifted out. Though it was merely crude pork and dog shoulder meat, it was enough to make one's mouth water.

The two shared the roasted meat and drank some mountain spring water. Just as they finished and were rubbing the grease off their paws into the dirt, Liuchou suddenly said, "Go ahead and ask!"

"Hm?" Qingmei turned her head, looking at Liuchou with a half-smile. "Ask what?"

"I mean, if you want to ask about the timing, just ask. There's no need to hold back," Liuchou said without turning his head, continuing to clean the grease from his paws with soil. "Along the way, several times I saw you had something to say, only to end up making small talk instead. I knew you had something you wanted to know. Today is the same, and it must have to do with why we are returning to Mount Mei, right?"

Seeing that Liuchou had laid it out, Qingmei made no attempt to hide it and said frankly, "Indeed, I do wish to know our purpose in coming to Mount Mei. Though you haven't said it, I know it must be a matter of great importance; otherwise, we would have already returned directly to West Province. If it's inconvenient, you needn't say!"

Liuchou thought for a moment and said, "Actually, I don't even know if I'm allowed to speak of it, because the person who tasked me with this didn't give any warnings. Come to think of it, it should be fine... This matter seems to be related to the Gate of Haotian!"

"The Gate of Haotian? The Demon-Calling Banner?"

The moment Liuchou uttered those four words, Qingmei's expression changed instantly, and she blurted out anxiously, "How could this be related to the Demon-Calling Banner? Tell me the details of this matter from the beginning. Besides, when did this happen, and who asked you to handle it? Anything connected to the Demon-Calling Banner is bound to be momentous!"

All her previous composure and leisureliness had vanished entirely. Just from her expression and demeanor, Liuchou sensed the gravity of the situation. Without delay, he recounted the entire affair to Qingmei from start to finish, glossing over the matters involving Chang Xiangzhi while focusing heavily on his encounter with the Gold Cicada.

Qingmei wore a peculiar expression on her face. After a long silence, she nodded heavily and said to Liuchou, "So this matter actually involves the Demon-Calling Banner and the Ancestor of Demons. The stakes are immense; we must see it through to success... Also, I wonder if the various Demon Kings of West Province are aware of this. I must send word to them."

With that, Qingmei plucked a leaf from a nearby branch and blew a breath upon it. The leaf instantly transformed into a skylark, which landed in her palm, chirping incessantly. She then retrieved a porcelain bottle from her bosom, poured out a glowing pill, and fed it to the skylark while chanting incantations. Afterward, she tossed the bird toward the cave entrance. It immediately fluttered its wings, soared into the sky, and vanished swiftly into the dark night.

Then, she turned to Liuchou and asked, "Did the Gold Cicada clan explicitly instruct you to ensure the safety of that Chang family snake-girl?"

Upon receiving Liuchou's confirmation, Qingmei thought for a moment and stated with certainty, "That settles it. The Gate of Haotian must be hidden within the snake-girl's body. Only through her can one enter the Minor Thousand Realm to retrieve the Demon-Calling Banner. Therefore, we don't need to look anywhere else; on this trip, we need only find her!"

"What?" Liuchou was somewhat baffled. "Isn't it a gate? How can it be hidden inside a snake-girl?"

"This is a mystic technique of Goddess Nüwa. The Gate of Haotian will randomly descend into the body of a descendant of the Seven Sages. The gate is her, and she is the gate. This is to prevent mortals from obtaining the Demon-Calling Banner through the gate prematurely," Qingmei explained roughly. "Since the Ancestor of Demons instructed you to protect her safety, coupled with the fact that you mentioned she was being hunted by the monstrous beasts of the Twenty-Ninth Valley when you met her, judging by all indications, it can only be her."

Hearing her treat the matter with such gravity, Liuchou asked subconsciously, "What if your judgment is wrong?"

Qingmei frowned and pondered for a moment. After a long while, she finally shook her head and said, "It cannot be wrong!"

Since Qingmei had made up her mind, Liuchou did not question it further. He merely gave a wry smile and said, "Had I known she was so important, why did I bother letting her go back then? We had already traveled thousands of miles away from Mount Mei, so why are we heading back now? It seems this time we truly ran a wild goose chase; if we want to find her, we'll have to go all the way back to Quanqiu!"

"This is Heaven's will, why blame yourself?" Qingmei had no intention of reprimanding him and instead consoled him. "However, since we've already come, we might as well see how things unfold. If she truly cannot be found, then we must make a trip to Quanqiu—this matter is of such magnitude that even if Quanqiu is a pool of dragons and a den of tigers, we must go."

Liuchou hesitated for a moment and nodded.

Facing Qingmei's gaze, he truly could not refuse. Deep down, although he knew he had once been a human being, he was now beginning to feel somewhat blurred...

"Let's not trail them anymore. Tomorrow, when they emerge, we'll intercept them directly and interrogate them for our destination. As long as we arrive two or three days ahead of their scheduled time, there will be no trouble," Qingmei said again. "Following behind them secretly is simply too slow."

Liuchou found it somewhat strange. The initial plan to trail them had been his suggestion, and Qingmei had not objected at the time. Yet, according to what she was saying now, a direct interception and interrogation seemed much better. Liuchou had no idea why she had suddenly thought of this superior method, nor why she hadn't mentioned it initially.

It seemed Qingmei herself had not even been aware of it...

The next day, the Tiansi Chamber of Commerce indeed emerged from the town. Liuchou and Qingmei waited a little while longer, until the caravan had entered the mountains, before suddenly revealing themselves. With Jinjing included, just the three of them surrounded the entire convoy. The caravan's elite guards were startled at first, but upon realizing there were only two people and a beast, they burst into loud laughter.

Before they could laugh twice, someone ordered them to stop, and Liuchou saw a man walk out from the midst of the carts, accompanied by several capable wanderers. Seeing Liuchou face-to-face, the man first cupped his fists in salute before speaking: "Brother, I wonder why you've blocked our path? If it's money or provisions you want, just say the word, and we will split half of it with you. If that's not enough, wait until I return to town to make up the rest. How's that?"

The man was around thirty years of age, with a thin face and long eyes, bearing a striking resemblance to the former Baili Shuyi. Had Liuchou ever met Baili Shuyi, he would have recognized this man as his offspring and descendant. Unfortunately, when Liuchou was captured back then, he had not crossed paths with him.

Baili Gu spoke with humility. The others felt perplexed and exchanged glances, not daring to speak out of turn. Instead, Liuchou shook his head and said directly, "I don't want money or provisions. I only want answers. If you speak honestly, I'll spare ten of your lives."

Baili Gu laughed angrily, his laughter causing the leaves in the forest to rustle, demonstrating his profound cultivation. Then, he slammed his palm against a nearby tree, sending leaves cascading down like rain, and said in a deep voice, "You leave me no way out! Do you truly think that because my father has passed away, there is no one left in the Tiansi Chamber of Commerce?"

"Your father is dead?" This reply somewhat caught Liuchou off guard, and he immediately guessed that this man was the son of the former head of the Tiansi Chamber of Commerce. He shook his head and said, "What a pity, I actually wanted to kill him!"

Faced with such provocation, how could Baili Gu restrain himself? He had been courteous earlier only because he had heard about yesterday's killings by Liuchou and Qingmei and wished to avoid unnecessary complications. But now, with his deceased father being so insulted, if he were to swallow this anger, how could he still be considered a dutiful son?

Baili Gu's eyes bulged with rage, and he roared abruptly, "Charge! Take this person down alive; I'll deal with him slowly!"

The men behind him surged forward, brandishing swords and sabers, hacking fiercely toward Liuchou.

However, Liuchou's speed far outstripped theirs, and his strikes were far more ruthless. A blur of staff-light flashed, accompanied by endless screams. Qingmei and Jinjing joined the fray as well. When the dust settled and they stood still, the forest was a scene of utter devastation, thick with the stench of blood. Aside from Baili Gu, only a few people lay on the ground, still struggling in their dying breaths; the rest had all perished.

Baili Gu was so terrified that his hands and feet turned ice-cold, and the saber he was gripping slipped from his trembling hands to the ground. He stammered in horror, "You... how could you..."

Yet, who cared to pay attention to him?

Liuchou whistled, and Jinjing walked right up to the dying men in front of Baili Gu, stepping down heavily. Accompanied by sounds resembling watermelons shattering, the heads of the dying men were crushed, spraying brains and blood in all directions.

Only then did Liuchou glance at him, smiling slightly. "Look, you couldn't even save ten people, could you?"

How could Baili Gu endure such a spectacle? With a heavy thud, he collapsed to his knees, wailing miserably and crying out loudly for mercy: "I'll talk! I'll say anything! Please spare my life, my lord... Spare my life..."

He slammed his head repeatedly against the muddy ground, mixing blood with brain matter and smearing soil all over his face. Where was there any trace of his former bravado?

"How much better it would have been to say that sooner..." Liuchou murmured softly, then turned to Qingmei. "You go ahead and interrogate him."