Chapter 18: Encounter
“They’ve run into something?” Li Qi looked toward A’Du, seeking his opinion.
“We go around. Whatever it is, we don’t get involved!” A’Du immediately replied. He had experience with this sort of thing, no matter what the trouble, jumping in blindly was never wise.
Li Qi nodded. Since the other party had the means to deal with it, they might as well take a detour. Better to avoid unnecessary trouble, less entanglement meant greater safety.
With the decision made, the two of them decisively turned around and darted off the mountain path, plunging into the forest.
Their plan was simple: take a route through the woods, then circle back to the main road after bypassing the source of danger. In doing so, whatever threat was drawn to the merchant group would be lured away, and they could safely slip by like scavengers picking up the spoils.
However, just as they were about to enter the woods, a burly man among the merchants suddenly stepped out and shouted, “You two boys over there! Don’t go into the forest!”
Li Qi found the voice oddly familiar. Looking up, he recognized the face.
It was the same man from earlier that day, the one who had risen to confront him.
After shouting, the man said nothing more. He resumed swinging his machete, clashing it against others’ in rhythm, shouting in that strange chant.
Li Qi clearly saw that the moment the man performed those movements, the “barrier” progress bar accelerated significantly which meant... the time it could last had shortened.
In such a situation, it was obvious: the man had risked shortening the barrier’s duration just to warn them!
“A’Du! Stop! Don’t go into the woods!” Li Qi shouted the moment he realized what was happening, halting himself and calling out loudly.
But A’Du had already stepped halfway into the forest.
Li Qi’s pupils contracted sharply. In the darkness ahead, a progress bar appeared, reading: “Attack”.
Just as it was about to reach full charge, Li Qi surged forward, grabbed A’Du’s basket from behind, and yanked him back with force!
A’Du had just been pulled out of danger when a stench-laden, gaping maw suddenly lunged from the forest’s shadow. It had no visible head, just a mouth opening out of darkness itself, as though the gloom had split open to devour them!
There was no time to sing the chant now. But Li Qi acted on instinct, his body swelled, muscles rippled, and he clenched his fist before slamming it forward with all his might!
Boom! The ground trembled. Li Qi’s fist went numb, as though he had struck solid rock.
But the great maw dispersed at once into a cloud of black mist, vanishing into the air.
That punch, however, stirred the forest around them into motion!
“Roar!” came a beastly cry from deep within. The once-silent woods churned like black water, swirling and undulating. Dark mists slithered between the trees, revealing to Li Qi what true demonic miasma looked like.
A’Du turned deathly pale with fright and immediately began chanting, “Radiant are the Seven Luminaries, brilliant above!”
It actually worked to some degree, Li Qi saw his reinforcement progress bar rising. Simultaneously, the surrounding mist recoiled a little.
As A’Du continued singing, his body began to emit a faint glow. A warm light radiated from him, dispelling the cold and pushing back the black fog.
One glance and Li Qi understood, this chant must be designed to work in concert with a specific cultivation technique. That method couldn’t be taught to outsiders, which was why only A’Du could unleash the full potential of the song.
For a brief moment, the dark mist retreated but A’Du didn’t hesitate. He turned and fled, sprinting toward the group.
Seeing this, Li Qi also turned to run.
No question, only a fool wouldn’t run now. There was strength in numbers, and the way those merchants were rhythmically banging their machetes clearly had power!
Li Qi took three strides to cover the distance of six, relying on his great strength to bolt toward the caravan.
The merchant group didn’t block their approach. In fact, they moved closer to welcome them, machetes still clashing, chants still echoing.
A’Du scrambled forward, stumbling and crawling. His faint glow and the caravan’s clashing steel created a surge of yang energy. In an instant, the mists and demonic aura were driven back, unable to advance.
Seeing this, Li Qi began to chant as well, lifting his voice in the same archaic rhythm:
“Radiant are the Seven Luminaries, brilliant above,
Bold is the warrior, mighty and proud!”
With the Bull Strength Art active, his blood surged like a furnace. The chant ignited his qi, and steaming heat radiated from his body like a blast from a furnace. His skin, already flushed from the technique, now glowed like red copper, tinged not only with crimson but with a metallic gleam.
The yang energy Li Qi released was even more potent than A’Du’s, despite A’Du’s compatible technique!
With Li Qi and A’Du now supporting them, the merchants looked visibly heartened. Perhaps… they just might survive the night.
The group operated with tacit understanding. Though their chanting and shouting left no room for conversation, both sides knew what needed to be done. They knew that fleeing now would be futile, the goal was to endure until dawn.
This black mist could be repelled by yang energy, so imagine what the rising sun’s brilliance could do! Its yang energy was ten thousand times greater than the body’s. Once sunlight appeared, the mist would surely vanish.
So they formed a circle, exhaustion forgotten. Their machetes clashed. Their voices rang out in chants and cries. No one dared stop, not for sore arms, not for parched throats. Not even a moment to drink.
At first, Li Qi had relied on the Bull Strength Art to emit waves of yang energy. But ten minutes later, as the technique wore off, he became the weakest of the bunch. All he could offer was physical stamina to keep going when others collapsed.
Thus, the group fought on, enduring an hour of darkness.
Judging by the moon’s phase, it was still midnight. Dawn was still far away.
Weapons clashed. Yang energy boiled. The black mist could not press closer.
And yet it lingered. As though locked in a grudge with this group, it refused to leave. It howled and circled around them, waiting for exhaustion to claim them all.
After an hour of singing, Li Qi furrowed his brow and simply stopped. He was the least effective anyway, his voice wouldn’t change much.
But he didn’t rest. Instead, he stood beside A’Du and addressed the group: “This won’t work. We won’t last until dawn. When we all collapse, that’s when we die.”
He spoke as he scanned the group. Even after just an hour, A’Du’s forehead was drenched in sweat. His voice hadn’t gone hoarse, but it was already faltering.
The machete-clashing was especially taxing. Some of the weaker merchants were soaked in sweat and gasping for air. They might last another two hours at best. Beyond that, they’d collapse.
The others looked at Li Qi as he spoke but their hands didn’t stop. Clearly, they all knew the reality, but had no solution.
Stopping meant death.
“Everyone, listen. I have an idea,” said Li Qi.
(Chapter End)