Chapter 178 – Ha! The Eight Vajras of Mount Qixia!

By the time it was afternoon, the sunlight had begun to slant, shining across stretches of woodland that swayed lightly in the wind.

Under the shade of the trees, a group of eight sturdy men had rested for a while. Lu Pan, carrying a blade on his back, swung his thick arm and called for the others to get moving.

“We’ve stayed here for about an hour. Let’s patrol the lower slope!”

The other seven braced their arms against the ground and rose one after another, stepping out from beneath the shade. Sweat stains on their bodies gleamed with an oily sheen, outlining the high ridges of their muscles, which twitched now and then.

“Come on, come on—let’s finish the patrol and hurry back to the village to eat.” “We should just hunt a deer. That’d be good nourishment.”

“Hunt a deer? What’s that worth? If we ran into an old brown bear, now that would be something.”

“Enough talking—move!”

Lu Qing, with a circle of twigs around his head, waved his hand, unfastened the small wine jar at his waist, took a swig, and couldn’t help humming:

“Liangsheng told the eight of us to patrol the mountains, circle those ridges, widen my eyes, pound my chest, and chase those mountain spirits till they scatter all over the hills…”

The group ambled along, branches and belts swinging as they descended the mountainside. The nearest next peak was still two or three li away. Walking in the middle of the eight, the slightly shorter Lu Xi’s stomach let out a rumble.

“Let’s find something to eat. I’m getting a bit hungry.”

Lu Pan glared back at him, reached for the leather pouch at his waist, felt around, then pulled out a strip of dried meat and tossed it over. “This is the last one. Hurry and finish the patrol—when we get home, I’ll treat you all to wine and mutton.”

“Don’t try to fob us off with pork paste again.”

Chewing the dried meat, Lu Xi’s remark drew loud laughter from the group. It had happened before. Amid the laughter, Lu Qing suddenly stopped walking and raised his hand sharply.

“Don’t make a sound!”

He dropped straight to the ground, pressing the side of his face against the earth. The thunderous rumble… rumble… of horse hooves came from far to near.

“Someone’s coming on horseback.”

“Not just someone—there are a lot of them.” Lu Pan’s voice came from ahead.

Lu Qing got up quickly, brushing the dirt off his face, and blinked in surprise.

“How do you know?”

Behind him, someone poked his waist, then pointed ahead. “See for yourself.”

Looking in the direction of the pointing finger, at the bend of the mountain path ahead, a squad of eight riders was thundering this way at full speed, hooves rumbling.

“Hurry! They’re catching up!” “Old man, don’t move around—careful you don’t fall!”

“There are people ahead—tell them to get out of the way!”

At the front of the horse team, a rider swung his long blade and shouted, “People ahead, move aside!” At the same time, the eight men here stood in a row, watching them with the look of men ready to block the way. Lu Pan thrust his blade into the ground beside his foot, clenching his fists.

He shouted, his voice booming, “Dismount!!”

The roaring voice echoed through the mountains, the earth beneath their feet shaking loose clumps of dirt.

Hiii—!

The sudden shout startled two of the horses, and the charging riders hurriedly yanked on their reins. They galloped a few more steps before stopping. The old man being carried by one of the guards slipped from the rider’s grip—pa!—and was dropped to the ground.

“Aiyo…”

Wang Banxia clutched his waist and rolled twice on the ground, but no one paid him any attention. Someone within the riders yelled anxiously:

“You bunch of peasants, get out of the way at once!”

Hm? Peasants?!

Lu Pan and the other seven exchanged glances, then narrowed their eyes. Under the gaze of the horse team ahead, they each grabbed their collars and tore off their short jackets with a fierce pull.

Rrrrip—

“Form up!!”

The torn jackets flew outward and drifted to the ground. The instant they landed, the eight men let out a thunderous “Ha!” and stepped forward half a pace, the muscles in their arms tensing, fists pulled downward or drawn upward, lines standing out. Their sweat-slicked chests bulged with coiled muscle; under the sunlight, their bronzed and dark skin looked like slabs of iron, raised high and solid.

Their voices exploded as one:

“We are the Eight Heroes of Mount Qixia—if you have the guts, come closer!”

Their bones crackled crisply all over their bodies, and all eight pairs of pectoral muscles throbbed up and down like balls embedded beneath the skin, pumping aggressively toward the eight riders opposite them.

Gulp…

Across from them, the eight riders were men who possessed martial skill as well. Not first-rate by jianghu standards, perhaps, but at least of second-rate ability. With a single glance, they could tell that these eight hulking men had trained external-body cultivation; without more than a dozen years of work, they would never have such a presence.

In that moment, Min Yuerou glanced at the eight men’s heaving chests and, feeling a bit embarrassed, urged her horse forward, squeezing past the guards in front. She lowered her gaze and cupped her hands in salute.

“Eight heroes, we are not here to cause trouble. We are here looking for someone. Do you know where Lu Liangsheng of Mount Qixia lives? I am the daughter of Min Chang, Minister of Personnel.”

Min Chang?

Earlier, the eight of them had accompanied Liangsheng to the magistrate’s hall, so the name was naturally familiar. Lu Pan frowned.

“Min Chang, wasn’t he the county magistrate of Fushui County from back then?”

Hearing that the other party recognized her father, the young woman’s face brightened with joy. She nodded. “I also lived in Fushui County for four years. When Lu Liangsheng went to the capital to sit for the exams, he even stayed in my family’s home.”

“Ah, ah—so you’re one of our own! No need to fight, no need to fight.”

Lu Pan quickly raised his hand and waved. The seven men—Lu Qing, Lu Xi, Lu You, Lu Gui, Lu Lai, and the others—who had been standing in formation, finally relaxed their stances and began speaking all at once.

“So she’s Magistrate Min’s daughter.” “She’s really quite pretty.”

“…Coming from the capital—must be far.”

“Traveling such a long way from the capital, what business do you have with our Liangsheng?”

Amid the babble of voices, Min Yuerou dared not say too much—after all, something behind them, possibly a demon, was still in pursuit. She hurriedly urged her horse forward, drawing closer.

“Uncles of the Lu Family Village, there’s trouble in the capital. My father drew away part of the pursuers so I could come find Lu Liangsheng. He said Liangsheng would have a way. Please, tell me where he is. We have monsters chasing us from behind—we cannot delay!”

Lu Pan and the other seven feared nothing more than a woman crying. They quickly cried out, “Don’t cry! Don’t cry!” and stepped aside to open the path, waving her on: “Go first—”

Just then, a gust of wind swept through the mountain path. Mountain folk were always deeply attuned to their surroundings; even the wind could feel different to them. All the more so for Lu Pan and the others, whose bodies had been tempered to great success—highly sensitive to any shift in qi.

“Go first. We’ll hold them off for a while.”

The horses neighed in alarm, hooves stamping restlessly. Min Yuerou squeezed her legs against the horse’s belly and shot past Lu Pan and the others. As she passed, she called back: “Leave four of your men behind to help!”

Then she snapped the reins—“Hyah!”

They whipped their horses and raced along the mountain path. Lu Pan looked away and waved his hand. The seven men, together with him, blocked the road completely, while the four guards who stayed behind dismounted and stood behind the eight of them.

Lu Qing turned his face toward the guards. “What kind of monster is it? Three heads? Or six arms?”

“Didn’t see—”

Just as a guard was about to answer, Lu Xi suddenly cried out “Aiyo!” and clutched his chest, stepping back half a pace.

“Something hit my chest!”

When he moved his hand away, a clear streak of blood showed on his right pectoral.

The next moment, Lu Pan felt a burning sting across his shoulder, as if he had been slashed with a blade. He instantly roused his qi, making his muscles swell and tense, shouting: “Form the formation!”

“Ha!”

The eight men bellowed in unison, their bodies jolting. In the invisible air around them, light twisted rapidly, and sounds like clashing metal struck against Lu Pan and the others.

Ping ping pang pang…

Their skin and flesh trembled. As Lu Qing clenched his teeth to endure it, he suddenly felt something step on his shoulder. He turned back and shouted:

“The monster leaped over!”

One of the guards behind them swung his blade on instinct. A metallic clang burst in mid-air, sparks flying. A heavy thud followed as something landed on the ground and continued running along the mountain path.

“It’s chasing after the young lady.”

“After it!!”

The four guards leapt onto their horses, wheeled around, and lashed their whips, galloping after it. Left behind on the mountain road, Lu Pan and the other seven—lacking real battle experience—found their formation broken for an instant. Lu Qing’s teeth loosened, and seeing the air warp in front of him, he grit his teeth, shouted, and threw himself forward.

As if colliding with something solid, he wrapped his arms around it in one swift grab. Using the momentum, he tackled the thing to the ground, rolling with it.

“Come quick! I caught one!”

The sensation of blades cutting around them vanished at once. Lu Pan and Lu Xi, seeing this, endured the pain in their bodies and pounced ferociously, pressing down on Lu Qing as well, punching and striking at the unseen thing.

“This fellow’s strength is really something.” “Bring a few more over!”

“Coming!” “Old Pan, spread out!”

The remaining four men charged over with a roar. Grabbing hold of the invisible yet solid thing, they pinned it down. The eight of them possessed tremendous strength, and each had trained in external-body cultivation; their weight alone was far beyond that of ordinary men. Together they crushed the thing beneath them—some grabbed its hands, some its legs—pulling and wrenching with force.

At the side of the road, close against the mountain wall, Wang Banxia clutched his stomach—still ignored by everyone—and groped at the rocks as he slowly got up.

The next second.

A sharp, wretched scream suddenly rang out. Blood sprayed through the air with a whoosh, splattering across the old man’s face. Over there, all eight men toppled in different directions at the same time, each holding a human limb in his hand.

“Aiyo…”

Terrified, Lu Xi hurriedly flung the severed arm far away. On the ground, within a pool of dark red blood, lay a headless, limbless body.

“It’s even a woman—this is a monster too?”

To the side, Lu Pan looked at the woman’s head—still staring lifelessly in death—in his hands. He shivered, dropped it to the ground, and quickly waved his arms.

“Go! Hurry! Best we leave—looks like we’ve killed someone.”

Most likely assuming she was a spell-wielding cultivator like Liangsheng.

“Yes, yes! Let’s go!” “Don’t get into trouble!”

The other seven were thoroughly exhausted as well. They threw aside the torn limbs and chunks of flesh, grabbed handfuls of dirt to wipe off the blood, and ran toward Lu Family Village.

“Eh—wait for this old man!”

Wang Banxia, his face smeared with the foul stench of blood, stretched out his hands and groped his way forward. In front of his stumbling steps, the soil suddenly cracked open, and a pair of feelers poked out. A centipede—half the length of a person—struggled its way to the surface.

It was also nearly dead; the moment it crawled out, it collapsed on the ground and fainted.

His toe brushed against its cracked carapace. Wang Banxia reached down, felt around, picked it up, tucked it into his arms, and limped after the others, shouting as he went:

“Hey, hey—wait for this old man! You dropped something!”

At the same time—

In the direction where the horses had raced away—after breaking through the mountain path, the view opened wide. Ahead lay barren fields, and farmers could be seen working among the crops.

At the western side of the distant mountain village, beneath the welcoming ancient pine, eight spiritual swords were vibrating with a deep hum.

Lu Liangsheng watched as threads of spiritual essence, visible to the naked eye, converged upon them.

“The first step is done.”

He raised his hand. One strand of spiritual energy rushed first into Veiled Moon, causing it to bloom with a radiance of spell-light.