Chapter 43: The Mountain Guardian Beast
The staff wages and benefits at the scenic area are not without reason; the chaos was swiftly quelled by the workers dressed as Taoists.
The tourists gradually pulled themselves out of their panic, their attention shifting to Fang Ji, who lay motionless on the ground.
Seeing more and more tourists gathering, Fu Xinyi glanced around and elbowed Lu Yi Bei, “Junior, we should hurry and get this guy to Dachunyang Palace, right?”
“……” Lu Yi Bei looked at the now-unresponsive Fang Ji, pondered for two seconds, and pointed at a nearby melon stand, “Hmm, wait a moment.”
Fu Xinyi tilted her head in confusion, quickly spotting Lu Yi Bei walking over, crouching in front of the melon stand, meticulously weighing each melon, calculating the price in his head, scanning the QR code on the stall, paying 217.5, completing the acquisition of the stall.
“What are you doing?”
Lu Yi Bei scratched the back of his head, earnestly stating, “The old man asked me to keep an eye on the stall. If I leave now and the watermelons get stolen, it would be bad. If I buy them all, there won’t be a problem, right?”
Mainly, he was afraid that Fang Ji would use this as an excuse to renege on their deal about the raw watermelon performance.
After all, he still owed me eight hundred; deducting 217.5 isn’t a loss.
Thinking this, Lu Yi Bei stood up and followed Fu Xinyi and the staff member carrying Fang Ji, heading towards the iron suspension bridge.
At the same time they left, two tourists in the crowd cast curious glances at them, their eyes jumping back and forth between Lu Yi Bei and Fang Ji for a long time.
“Did you feel that just now? The fragrance of the Miracle Flower blooming!” said a middle-aged man with a grim expression and a gray-white beard.
“I felt something, but…” The teenager beside the middle-aged man frowned, “Which one is the Saint? The one who’s ambiguous in gender, or the one with the cold expression?”
He had deep brown curly hair, yellow skin and black eyes, with deep-set features, typical of Central Asian descent.
“Most likely the one with the cold expression!” the middle-aged man said. “Did you not see how he cut those two melons? And even amidst the chaos, he remained unperturbed. I think it matches the temperament of the Saint.”
“But what is the Saint doing in Dachunyang Palace? That place is one of the Siye Society’s strongholds.” The teenager questioned.
“……” The middle-aged man pondered for a few seconds, looking in the direction Lu Yi Bei had left with a hint of reverence in his eyes, “He might be searching for the remains of the first generation?”
The remains of the first generation Saint of the Miracle Cult have been passed down through generations since his d*ath, accumulating countless incredible miracles from the successive Saints, which is undoubtedly a treasure for the Miracle Cult.
However, after the fall of the previous Saint, the remains of the first generation were lost, with reliable information indicating they were in the hands of the Siye Society, Assassins, and several powerful Spiritual Ability Users or urban legends.
Their journey following the Miracle Saint has taken them from Persia to Z Country, passing through multiple nations, aiming to find the remains of the first generation Saint. So far, they have found the right eye, heart, and toe of the remains, but the fingers and brain are still missing.
During their passage through Yancheng, the Saint clashed with the notorious Pestilence Taijie over the heart remains, resulting in a fierce battle, and since then, he has been missing. Their goal then shifted from finding the remains of the first generation Saint to seeking the current Saint.
After all, without the Miracle Saint, they would have to wait ten days for the Miracle Flower to bloom again.
“However, it’s also possible that the Saint went to create a miracle!” the middle-aged man added.
While speaking, he seemed to envision the Miracle Flower blooming atop Zhenwu Mountain, leading to the downfall of the important Siye Society stronghold, resulting in a grand spectacle of decline.
“But, Elder…” the teenager quietly asked, “What do we do now that the Saint has entered Dachunyang Palace?”
“……” The middle-aged man thought for a few seconds, earnestly saying, “We wait, the Saint will surely come out. When the time comes, we only need to emit the fragrance of the Miracle Flower; he will surely recognize us, and then we can unite with him to create miracles.”
As he spoke, there was a fervent glint in his eyes.
————
The stone steps from the foot to the top of Zhenwu Mountain are long, nearly nine thousand steps, and very few people can walk the entire distance. Most tourists do not continue to climb once they reach Xuanyun Flat.
From Xuanyun Flat upwards, the number of tourists gradually dwindled, and the surroundings became tranquil. In this peace, the fresh scent of grass and trees wafted through the air.
In the distance, a not-so-grand ancient structure stood, with white walls and blue tiles, its flying eaves and dougong adorned with a layer of antiquity, exuding a long-lasting charm.
It indeed had a hint of an otherworldly vibe.
Although… this otherworldly aura is all fake.
This still belongs to the scenic area, where there are many riddle speakers earning an eight-thousand-month salary. Lu Yi Bei thought.
The workers in the scenic area calculated fortune-telling based on templates provided by Dachunyang Palace, and while their predictions were generally accurate, they rarely spoke in straightforward terms.
In the grandest of terms, they claimed that heavenly secrets shouldn’t be revealed and should be comprehended on one’s own after going back.
However, during casual conversations with Fu Xinyi, Lu Yi Bei learned that among these workers, there were many retired soldiers from special forces like the Snow Leopard Commando and the Dragon Commando, who bore either no rank or low-rank spirit patterns, their work scope resembling that of the Special Action Team members.
The robust man carrying Fang Ji was one of them.
This meant that the Taoists at Zhenwu Mountain might actually do things like cheerfully say to you, “Believe in science,” and then leap three to four meters in one bound.
It was precisely because of this that Lu Yi Bei didn’t risk being beaten to ask the Taoists for the next lottery jackpot number.
……
As he proceeded, Lu Yi Bei quickly noted the surrounding terrain, constantly comparing it against the map drawn by Qing Ji in his mind.
That water well should be a focal point, but why isn’t any spirit energy fluctuation coming from it? Could it be abandoned?
That wall has been renovated, and all the spell inscriptions have been worn off…
I wonder if the former headmaster’s little Liu Bei that the Ancestor hid under the statue in the main hall is still there.
After observing for a while without any gain, Lu Yi Bei quietly planned his escape route.
He would inevitably sneak away with some items from Dachunyang Palace, so it was necessary to scout in advance.
After bypassing the palace at the mountain top, he walked along an unremarkable long corridor behind it and was soon blocked by a huge stone. Beside the stone stood several sturdy pine trees.
Under the cover of the boulder and pine trees, there was a narrow path. Following the path led him to the iron suspension bridge.
The iron suspension bridge hung between two cliffs, extremely dangerous, with a narrow walkway constantly eroded by wind and rain, exuding a somewhat dilapidated aura. The iron railings were thin and low, and the cliffs below jutted perilously, shrouded in mist, making people feel frightened, reminiscent of a “glass walkway in the air.”
Lu Yi Bei, “……”
Is this arrangement really okay?
If a few daft tourists were to heed the warning signs and fall off the bridge, wouldn’t they end up losing everything, even their briefs?
According to what Qing Ji said, the number of people who fell to their deaths from this iron suspension bridge must be at least in the hundreds.
“Don’t be afraid; this iron bridge may look dangerous, but it’s actually protected by a spell formula. If you fall, you’ll only faint and then get teleported to a special place at the foot of the mountain.” Fu Xinyi explained to Lu Yi Bei.
Knowing that Lu Yi Bei is a B-grade Spiritual Ability User, she didn’t elaborate too much on the hidden mysteries of the iron suspension bridge and continued walking ahead.
Lu Yi Bei slightly furrowed his brow and then nodded thoughtfully.
It seems that the changes in Dachunyang Palace are much greater than expected…
But, considering the last time the Ancestor visited here was over a hundred years ago, changes are quite normal.
In these one hundred years, Z Country has made great advances; why shouldn’t Dachunyang Palace reform?
While Lu Yi Bei was deep in thought, Fu Xinyi’s voice reached his ears.
“After we cross the iron bridge, we will see a huge pool of water, where the Mountain Guardian Beast resides. It might come to observe you, so don’t be scared.”
“Wait, your Dachunyang Palace raises urban legends too? It can still be like this?” Lu Yi Bei asked.
He had wanted to ask this question for a long time.
He mainly wanted to know how Dachunyang Palace manages to legally raise urban legends, so that he could go back and provide a “household registration” for Wang Ying.
The child is still young; he can’t be an undocumented resident!
However, if it’s some dreadful thing like a Moonlight Project contract, then forget it.
“What’s so strange about that?” Fu Xinyi shot him a glance, “Urban legends can be good or bad! Junior, don’t develop biases against all urban legends just because you’ve spent some time in the Siye Society!”
Though it wasn’t the answer he wanted, he found it quite agreeable, after all, I’m just a law-abiding good urban legend… Lu Yi Bei thought, opening his mouth to express his agreement, only to be choked back by what Fu Xinyi said next.
“Our Dachunyang Palace even considered establishing a specialized study category beyond talismans, spell formulas, sword techniques, and body techniques specifically for taming urban legends.”
Lu Yi Bei, “……”
Thank goodness you didn’t open such a category.
Otherwise, just thinking about it—after urban legends are tamed, meeting the crazies from Dachunyang Palace who come at me with collars, lassos, and Poké Balls shouting to tame me, I already feel scared!
Lu Yi Bei thought, pressing on, “Then why was it never set up in the end?”
Fu Xinyi pouted, “That’s a rather complicated story; essentially, not everyone in Dachunyang Palace believes that urban legends can coexist harmoniously with humans. A portion of people thinks that urban legends have their own will, and forcibly taming them is inhumane, so it was dismissed.”
“Forget it, let’s not talk about that. Let’s talk about something serious. Where were we? Oh right, we were discussing how the Mountain Guardian Beast might come to observe you, but you needn’t fear; it’s just taking a look and won’t do anything else.”
“It can be understood as a face-to-face representative or something like that.” Fu Xinyi shrugged, “Every year many disciples find it hard to choose between Taishi Palace, Nanshan Temple, and Dachunyang Palace, and they often decide to stay because they saw the Mountain Guardian Beast during their visit.”
Indeed, the world has changed. Back in the time of the Ancestor, the Mountain Guardian Beast was very mysterious, staying in the back mountain and hardly appearing. Now, even mythical beasts have to be forced to work, coming out to serve as “recruitment pamphlets”… Lu Yi Bei nodded thoughtfully.
“However, if an unidentified urban legend attempts to intrude into Dachunyang Palace, they will be attacked by the Mountain Guardian Beast, hehe!” Fu Xinyi said, her face lighting up with a bright smile.
Lu Yi Bei, “……” Hello, there’s an unidentified urban legend right in front of you.
He had long heard of the Mountain Guardian Beast’s reputation in Dachunyang Palace. It is an A+ grade urban legend, not only with a high level of spirit energy fluctuation but also considerable physical strength.
It’s fine in a one-on-one fight, and in urban legend form, he was confident he could escape if he couldn’t defeat it. But the issue here is that in Dachunyang Palace, being an urban legend means being besieged by thousands or tens of thousands of Spiritual Ability Users.
What should I do about this?
If I get exposed, will I be collared, stuffed into a Poké Ball, and tamed on the spot?
As the water pool where the Mountain Guardian Beast resides drew nearer, Lu Yi Bei felt a sudden surge of crisis.
(Suddenly, it started raining heavily, there was a power outage for a while, so today’s update is a bit short…)
