Chapter 13

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Lan…lanterns?

In the desolate mountain wilderness, where would two lanterns descend from the sky? Lu Liangsheng’s face turned pale as he took a step back, clutching his <Emerald Heart Dream Nourishment>. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that his master, who had hidden in the bag, didn’t seem to have any intention of coming out to help.

His retreating footsteps crunched on a dry twig, making a sharp snapping sound. In the next moment, the two lanterns outside drew closer, and with a loud crash, the earthen wall crumbled inward. Debris, including the window frame, flew everywhere, and the slanted roof and thatch poured down.

Smoke and dust filled the air. Lu Liangsheng barely had time to be scared as he brushed away the fallen thatch from himself. Outside, a harsh, rasping voice called out.

“Toad… come out now. I know you’re hiding here.”

Crimson eyes swam through the dust, with two long, antennae-like appendages swayed as they probed into the room. Seeing the young boy standing inside, the creature’s long body slid forward, its mouthparts clashing.

“Hmm… what a strange young man. But after I finish with the toad, I’ll deal with you. Don’t run around, it’s dark at night, and the mountain paths are treacherous.”

As the dust settled, a massive red-headed centipede broke through the earthen wall. A faint black mist flickered around it. Its antennae, like long spears in the hands of soldiers, swept through the room, tearing through another earthen wall and creating a deep crack. The air surged, and the bundle in the corner was flipped over, a curled-up toad being thrown out.

“Master—”

Liangsheng was in a panic. If it had been wild beasts like wolves or tigers, he might have been somewhat prepared, but encountering a monster straight out of the stories told by the elders was overwhelming. Given his age, remaining calm without soiling his trousers was already quite an achievement.

By the wall, the Purple Star Daoist got up, his gaze shifting between the little centipede demon and the boy before him, and then he climbed up.

“Liangsheng, hold it back.”

“How… how do I hold it back?”

“Use your brush. Write the characters from that day—”

The centipede demon glared over and suddenly lunged forward. Its entire body came halfway in, and the already unstable earthen wall collapsed under the force. The roof beams shook and fell.

Lu Liangsheng quickly pulled out a brush from behind his waist and began writing on the back of the book. Nearby, the Purple Star Daoist’s frog-like mouth split open into a grin as he stood up excitedly.

…Let that little demon eat you. I’ll kill the little demon and avenge you. How wonderful!

In an instant, the toad leaped up, its lumps turning purple, and smoke gathered in its mouth.

“Master!”

Suddenly, Liangsheng’s voice rang out. The young man turned around: “There’s no ink—”

In an instant.

A falling roof beam struck the leaping toad in mid-air, causing it to let out a pained cry, “Ribbit…” The purple smoke it had been gathering dispersed as it was knocked away by the beam’s force, sending it flying forward.

The toad soared over the young man’s head and collided with the red-headed centipede demon that was lunging toward him, crashing directly into the demon’s forehead.

The Purple Star Daoist lifted his face and struggled to produce sound.

“Your mother…”

Boom!

The wooden beam fell, and the entire roof collapsed with a deafening crash in the night.

A short distance away, Lu Pan and the other seven, rushing out of the forest, saw the collapsed hut and their hearts leaped into their throats: “Liangsheng, please be okay…”

In the next moment, the wreckage of the collapsed hut was pushed aside with a loud crash. Straw and broken wood were hurled into the night sky, and a long shadow with its lower half outside the ruins lifted its upper body.

“Little toad, you insult me!!”

A high-pitched hoarse roar erupted. The toad, pinned to the centipede’s head, was thrown into the air with its legs stretched out. It then fell back down, hitting the half-collapsed earthen wall with a loud thud, nearly spurting out its insides.

Hiss~~

Hiss~~

The crawling shadow writhed, its dense, long legs moving slowly across the ground. It reared up, hissing as it brandished its long antennae at the toad lying atop the rubble.

“It’s unlucky for this old man to fall into the hands of such a little demon today.” The Purple Star Daoist groaned, unable to move. The fall just now was a bit heavy.

The long shadow swayed, moving left and right, with its two large red eyes scrutinizing the scene carefully.

“You have so little demon qi, yet you can speak… What kind of strange toad are you…”

As the words were spoken, sparks from the collapsed ruins ignited the thatch, flames flickering up, illuminating the surrounding scene.

It was a large centipede with a long dark red body and red head, its segments of carapace writhing and twisting, its long antennae and legs clawing in the firelight.

On the other side, the eight people at a distance saw the full appearance of the red-headed centipede. They were trembling all over, their weapons clattering to the ground, unable to move.

The flames spread, lighting up the long body of the centipede as it slowly crawled, staring at the toad below, its mouthparts opening.

“If it weren’t for the fact that I’m about to molt, I doubt you toad would even think about…”

Before the rest of the sentence could be spoken, from beneath the burning hut, with beams and thatch sliding away, a figure stood up. Holding a brush that emitted a faint glow, the figure wrote in the air with steady strokes.

The character “Huang” appeared briefly and then vanished. The red-headed centipede, about to strike the toad, turned its head. Its long body swayed slightly as if struck by something.

[TL_Note: Huang = Radiance]

There, Lu Liangsheng kept writing with the brush in hand. After finishing the character “Huang,” he continued with “Xia Guang Qi Qian Zai” until the final grand characters “Shen Wei Zhen Qian Kun” were completed in one continuous motion.

[TL_Note: Xia Guang Qi Qian Zai = Glow of Dawn Endures for Thousands of Years, Shen Wei Zhen Qian Kun = The Divine Might Shakes The Heavens and Earth. All together -> The Radiant Glow of Dawn Endures for a Thousand Years, Divine Might Shakes Heaven and Earth]

In the firelight, the centipede’s head recoiled slightly. Instinctively, it turned its head, a small sound echoed from its antennae, and a small segment fell off.

“This is… Incense… and Wish Power.”

The red-headed centipede wasn’t significantly harmed. Just as it was about to charge at the figure in the ruins, it suddenly stopped, it stared at the detached segment of its antennae, and then its scarlet eyes fixed on the young man.

A faint, resemblance to laughter seemed to resonate, and the long body of the centipede twisted and writhed.

“I understand now… I understand… Why have I been trapped in the Spirit Connection Realm for so long, making so little progress… so this is it… wish power, incense offerings… hahaha.”

Laughter echoed as the red-headed centipede looked toward Lu Liangsheng, slowly nodding its head.

“You unintentionally gave me a hint, allowing me to gain this opportunity, which counts as a favor. I will spare this toad along with you today, so leave quickly!”

Lu Liangsheng’s toe poked out from his shoe, digging into the mud. He forced a stiff smile and respectfully returned the gesture with his brush, trying to keep his tone calm.

“We’ll leave at dawn tomorrow.”

The red-headed centipede seemed eager to do something and did not say much more. A cloud of green smoke began to rise, and it swiftly darted into the forest, carrying its long body with it.

“Did you all see that just now?”

Lu Pan’s mouth was left hanging open, unable to close, while the seven men around him nodded in shock. The tall, skinny man squeezed out a disbelieving remark.

“That big centipede seemed to bow to Liangsheng…”

The night wind blew irregularly, sometimes strong, sometimes weak, and the toad beside the burning thatched house struggled to get up, looking at the approaching young man with a complex expression.

“Your cultivation is so low, so why did you save me?”

Lu Liangsheng’s face was pale, and beads of sweat covered his forehead. He forced a small smile.

“You asked me to stall it… Besides, you’re still my master, I couldn’t just leave you.”

As soon as he said this, a warm liquid trickled from his nose. He touched it and saw a smear of bright red on his fingers. After swaying a few times, he turned to look at his master, but his eyes rolled back, and with a thud, he fell backward.

“Liangsheng—”

The Purple Star Daoist was about to go check on him when a series of footsteps rushed over. Lu Pan saw a figure collapse through the firelight and realized it was Lu Liangsheng. He hurried over, moving faster than the other seven men, and picked up the boy. Turning to his companions, who had just caught up, he said: “We can’t stay here. Hurry up and gather whatever we can salvage. We need to head to the county town by nightfall.”

The seven men, already terrified, were eager to leave immediately. They quickly put out the fire and rummaged through the ruins for their belongings. One of them found something that resembled a spike, and someone else recovered a few pages of <Emerald Heart Dream Nourishment>, though seven or eight pages had been burned.

Ignoring the heartache, Lu Pan stuffed everything into Lu Liangsheng’s bundle, hoisted the boy onto the old donkey’s back, and led them down the road.

Once they reached flat ground, the eight men finally felt a bit more at ease. They turned back to look at the hazy mountain behind them and then glanced at each other, knowing they would likely never return.

It was now the latter half of the night, and after traveling about half of the fifteen-mile journey, the sky began to brighten. The road started to fill with travelers and merchants.

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