Chapter 243 — Lanruo, the Scholars

Ningxia Town was located more than twenty li south of Shangyong County in Jinzhou, in the northern lands. The mountains around it were relatively gentle, and those traveling toward Sichuan and Shu or heading north would usually pass this way. Many traveling merchants and caravans would stop here to rest or spend the night, while martial artists of the jianghu and wandering heroes who knew some martial arts also came here to inquire about news, or seek some way to make a living.

There was only one long street paved with blue bricks, with several low and narrow alleys interspersed along both sides. Just after summer had passed, a heavy rain had fallen, and droplets fell from the tiled eaves. A muscular blacksmith hammered away at iron with a clang-clang, loudly cursing and driving away a jianghu man who had only asked the price without buying anything. A loudly cursing madam was scolding the girls in the brothel, but when she saw a guest carrying a saber and sword enter, her fat face squeezed out a fawning smile, while flakes of powder rustled down.

Compared to the somewhat lively scene of the small town at the foot of the mountains, the continuous mountain foothills to the north were quiet. Birds flapped their wings and flew out in a dark mass from the forest, while branches hung with water droplets suddenly shook, splashing water onto the flying straw raincoats and bamboo hats.

In the dim forest, Zuo Zhengyang dragged his long saber as his footsteps stirred up fallen leaves and he dashed forward. He stepped onto the trunk of a tree, turned around in midair, and swung the saber with his single arm, furiously slashing downward behind him.

Puff!

The roots that had drilled out of the earth split in two and snapped apart, emitting green smoke as they shrank back into the ground. They burrowed beneath the surface, then with a swish spread across the patches of light on the ground, retreating in the direction of Lanruo Temple.

The one-armed figure in midair landed on the ground, and the raised leaves of his straw raincoat one by one settled back against his body. With a sigh of relief, Zuo Zhengyang lowered the blade of his saber and dragged it along the ground as he walked toward a nearby piece of blue-green rock. Leaning against it, he sat down upon the damp, moss-covered surface.

He rummaged through the small leather pouch at his waist and sighed. He cupped the dry rations, already soaked and softened by the rain, in his palm and made do with eating them. Even though his martial arts had broken through and he had almost reached the realm of cultivation, when it came to food, as well as the monster in Lanruo Temple opposite him, human strength ultimately had its limits.

Chewing the soggy dry rations in his mouth, he opened his water pouch and took a gulp, washing the choking food down. For more than half a month, he had gone to provoke that monster almost every day. He knew he could not defeat it, but if he could delay it for a while, that was better than nothing.

After resting for a while, he grabbed his long saber, rose from the ground, and once again walked toward Lanruo Temple.

“Just take it as honing my martial skills and tempering my Dao heart.”

His broken shoes stepped over the damp dead branches. He walked through the patches of light cast down through the gaps between the trees. Several old crows flew onto the stone stele covered in withered vines, folding their wings and landing upon it.

Caw—

Amid the ominous screeching, Zuo Zhengyang planted the hilt of his saber against the ground, looked toward the dilapidated and desolate temple, and let out a furious roar.

“Tree Demon, I’m back again!!”

The voice rang out loudly and thunderously, shaking the crows on the stele into flapping their wings and flying away, yet the buildings not far away remained completely silent.

“Shameless tree demon, you suck the blood and flesh essence of people; sooner or later, you will face a lightning tribulation and have both body and soul destroyed!!”

“Tree demon, you dare prey upon people, so why don’t you dare come out!!”

Roar after roar echoed through the air. The walls surrounding the dilapidated temple were like corridors, while the flying celestial figures and the painted Buddhas adorned with blue-black ink seemed to give rise to the illusion of glaring angrily at him.

Behind the temple, beside the collapsed Earth Spirit Stele, a sound of water emitted a soft plop from the deep ancient well. Beneath the dark green layer of water, the mud and sand were blown into a haze by the sinister, baleful qi, while water plants, dense like human hair, swayed back and forth with the ripples. Through the gaps, the entrance to a cave was revealed, with a passage extending through the water, and faint lamplight reflected upon the surface.

Breaking through the water’s surface was a spacious cavern. The surrounding cave walls were steep and overlapping, taking on many strange and bizarre shapes, while stalactites hung unevenly upside down from the ceiling.

A bronze lamp pillar that had stood there for many years was mottled with rust, leaning against the wall and burning quietly. Occasionally, a faint breeze would blow from somewhere unknown, gently causing the bean-sized flame to sway several times.

“Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm…”

There were several openings in the cavern, and from one of them came a faint, muffled sound, as though someone were covering their mouth. Five figures, wrapped like rice dumplings in countless tiny roots, stood on the ground, filling the air with the unbearable stench of urine and feces.

When it was time to eat, the roots would move away from their mouths, and some nutrient-rich sap would be fed to them, lest they starve to death midway.

Feeling the roots beside his mouth move away, Wang Feng hurriedly pursed his elongated lips and exhaled a breath, then quickly spoke in a low voice.

“Brothers, are you all still alive?”

As soon as his words fell, a cacophony of voices immediately sounded around him.

“Can’t die!” “We were not born in the same year and month, but if we’re going to die, we definitely have to die together.”

“Don’t say such unlucky things about dying or not dying. Ah, right, do you all eat that tree sap too? It’s truly bitter and hard to swallow.”

This was Ma Liu’s voice speaking. Zhang Ti, who seemed to be beside him, split his mouth open and squeezed out a smile.

“Haha, then I’ve got it better over here. It tastes pretty good, like it’s been mixed with honey.”

“Then why does mine taste like citrus?”

Wang Feng sighed. Seeing the root tendril reaching toward him, he knew that even if he did not open his mouth, it would forcibly stuff itself inside, so he simply sucked on it while speaking.

“When trapped at sea, even bitter work becomes one’s boat; why mock each other so hastily?”

The other three around him fell silent. In the last cage of roots, a scholar named Ning Caichen strained to stick out his face, biting down on the root, his eyes glancing toward the other four.

“My good four brothers, what exactly are you talking about?”

The four of them opened their mouths in unison. “Shut up!”

“Oh.” Ning Caichen shrank his neck and continued letting the sap flow into his stomach. The taste was extremely difficult to swallow; the first time he had eaten it, he had nearly vomited up his bile, but there was simply no other food in the cave, and later, whether he wanted to or not, he had to swallow it.

Sometimes the demon would also come over to look at them, then leave again. None of them knew what things were like outside now, or how much time had passed.

Water droplets seeped from the tips of the stalactites, falling with soft drip, drip sounds into the dim stone chamber. In another part of the cave, deep and spacious, there was also a huge stone bed in the center, with black gauze hanging on all four sides. By the wall, a broad black dress with golden trim revealed the back of a woman. Facing a bronze mirror, her fingertips gently kneaded beneath the veil.

Occasionally, she tilted her face to listen to the commotion outside at Lanruo Temple, tilted her head and thought for a moment, then continued kneading, letting out a soft hum.

“He keeps coming back. I won’t fall for it this time.”

At a certain moment, the fingers that had been kneading suddenly stopped. She turned her head toward the cave wall, as though seeing through the thick layers beneath it. Sensing something, she hurriedly lifted her skirt and stood up, took several hurried steps, then coughed twice and steadied her movements. She walked to the cave entrance and reached out her hand. In the darkness, a little demon child wearing only a dudou came over to support her. Only then did she kick aside her skirt and walk slowly into the cave chamber with lotus-like steps.

Water droplets fell from the tips of the stalactites. Wang Feng, who had still been eating the strange sap from the branches, saw a black shadow slowly swaying as its outline emerged. Frightened, he shut his eyes and shrank back into his cocoon.

The other four were also badly frightened, thinking that the demon was finally going to take them out for a meal, and they began swaying wildly from side to side.

“Elder Sister, the five of us are so hungry that we’re nothing but skin and bones, and our teeth are chattering. Go outside and find someone else.”

“That’s right, we scholars are all thin. We can’t withstand even one bite from Elder Sister.”

“What nonsense! What’s wrong with us scholars?! You have studied the classics of the sages for nothing. A scholar should remain unchanged even when the mountains collapse, yet you speak like this? You should call her Granny!!!”

From the innermost part, Ning Caichen weakly squeezed out a voice: “Granny.”

At the cave entrance, the tree demon heard the five men spouting nonsense from beneath her veil. Her red lips parted slightly, and she gave a soft laugh. With a sweep of her black gauze sleeve, she turned and left. As though she had some urgent matter, she led a group of little demons away, paying no attention whatsoever to the people inside the root cocoons, transforming into black smoke and seeping into the stone cave.

The daylight slanted slightly. Outside the temple, Zuo Zhengyang leaned on his long saber, resting against the stone stele, his mouth dry from a long bout of shouting. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the sunlight behind the gaps in the trees.

“That tree demon probably isn’t coming.”

The daylight suddenly darkened. The branches and leaves of the forest shook wildly, roaring with a whoosh, whoosh all around.