Chapter 19: Elsewhere
Li Qi looked around at the others and shared his idea: “That thing might not be able to hurt us for now, but this is just a slow death. If we keep this up, we’ll be too exhausted to even run when the time comes.”
“I know a spell technique, you’ve seen it before. It lets me borrow the strength of a bull. With my own strength added in, I can muster 6,800 jin of force. It also stirs the yang energy in my body, making it so this black mist can’t come near. I’ll go in and fight it head-on. You all bolster me from behind. If I start to lose ground, charge forward and clash your blades, sing your chants, and drive it off again!”
“In this way, not only can I inflict damage on the creature, but I’ll also stand in an invincible position. As long as we kill or drive it back before we collapse from exhaustion, we live.”
“It’s a gamble. But better than sitting here waiting to die. If you’re willing, nod your head. If not, shake it.” Li Qi addressed the group.
When he finished, he grabbed a waterskin and took a swig to moisten his parched throat. Singing for an hour, even with the strong physiques of this world’s people, had left everyone dry-mouthed and their throats aflame.
After he spoke, the group looked at one another in silence.
Li Qi didn’t bother with them, he simply focused on what he needed to do. Drinking water, eating rice cakes, restoring his strength.
All the while, he held his chest high, his bearing firm and unflinching, exuding confidence. He showed no fear toward the black mist surrounding them.
Seeing this, A’Du gritted his teeth and gave a firm nod in agreement.
To show his support, he even stopped singing outright, sat down to rest, and said, “I agree with Brother Li. This can’t go on. We’ve got to strike first. Let’s all stop, wait for that dog bastard to come!”
The merchants exchanged glances. Finally, the tall, burly man who had first stood up to Li Qi earlier in the day and had warned him just now, took the lead and nodded.
Once he did, the rest followed suit.
In a crisis, there was no room for hesitation. These merchants understood that well.
One of the man’s two companions sped up their blade-clashing movements, smoothly taking over his rhythm so the cadence remained uninterrupted, allowing him to break formation without disrupting the whole.
“We’ll go with you! Looks like you’ve got guts after all. Forget what happened earlier today. If we survive this, drinks are on me!” the burly man declared, stepping up to Li Qi with his machete in hand, exuding fierce intent.
“Alright.” Li Qi nodded, saying nothing more.
At a time like this, with lives on the line, there was no point getting hung up on past grudges. Better to move forward.
With everything decided, the merchants almost simultaneously lowered their machetes.
In that very moment, the black mist surged violently, converging and sweeping toward them from one direction, like a colossal mouth opening wide, seeking to devour these defiant travelers.
Since the plan was set, Li Qi and the burly man wasted no time and charged forward from the group, together rushing to meet the black mist!
The burly man charged faster, his strides longer than Li Qi’s. He led the charge, machete raised high as he slashed toward the gathered black fog.
The blade gleamed faintly with a reddish hue and reeked of blood as it cleaved toward the mist’s forming maw.
Boom! The sound wasn’t like a blade cutting mist, it was like chopping into a massive bronze bell, a muffled clang resounding.
The burly man was sent flying backward, his grip on the knife slipping as the webbing between his thumb and index finger was torn open, blood splattering into the air.
The black mist immediately split off a portion of itself midair, trying to catch the spilled blood and consume it.
But before it could reach the blood, Li Qi, already empowered by the Bull Strength Art, followed close behind. He struck the splintered mist with a precise, thunderous punch.
“Hah!!” Li Qi roared, slamming his fist forward with everything he had. 6,000 jin of brute force, along with his surging yang energy. That split-off mist was instantly scattered!
He didn’t know exactly what the black mist was or what it was trying to do but after several encounters, he’d learned one lesson well: in battle, the moment the enemy starts casting, interrupt them!
When the mist moved to devour the blood, a progress bar had appeared.
Li Qi had timed it perfectly before it completed, he delivered a punch straight into it, disrupting whatever it had planned. The blood splattered to the ground instead, soaking into the soil.
“This thing drinks blood!” one of the merchants shouted.
Li Qi’s attack seemed to have angered the mist. Just as he was about to follow up, before he could even catch his breath, more black fog surged toward him, coalescing into four or five gaping maws, filled with jagged teeth like those of wild beasts.
The burly man was already on the ground, disarmed. Li Qi fared better, but he too was caught off guard and couldn’t defend in time.
But that was when their formation showed its worth!
A’Du was the first to step forward, raising his voice in song.
The merchants followed closely behind, forming a tight formation. They raised their machetes and clashed them rhythmically, creating a cadence of war cries and steel.
More than a dozen voices rose together in shouting and song. The moment their battle chant erupted, the black mist scattered, the fanged maws dissolved and were forced to retreat.
Li Qi even vaguely heard what sounded like a faint, anguished wail.
“Yes, just like that! We can grind it down!” Li Qi leapt up, dashed a few steps, and picked up the fallen machete. He tossed it back to the burly man, who had just managed to get to his feet.
“Good! Looks like fate’s not done with us yet!” the man roared with excitement, catching the machete and throwing Li Qi a grateful glance.
Clearly, this method worked. And to think this little guy from earlier had such strength, it was far beyond his expectations.
Now that they knew the method was effective, the path forward was simple, just keep pressing it.
The battle resumed. A’Du and the merchants fell back again, letting the mist encroach.
And Li Qi and the burly man once again stepped forward, preparing to wear the creature down or drive it off in fear.
Only by doing this could they hope to survive.
However, just at this moment.
Not far from the black mist, beside the road, there stood a dilapidated little shrine.
It was the kind commonly found in mountain villages, crude rural shrines dedicated to shady deities like the Great Immortal Huang or the Five-Pass Spirits. These were not recognized by the official court, often the result of mountain spirits or forest monsters impersonating divinities to deceive the superstitious.
Some of them did possess real supernatural powers, but didn’t align with the state religion. For example, heroic spirits of fallen dynasties or generals of enemy nations who were later enshrined by their hometowns, honored with golden statues and incense offerings. Yet, after their nations were conquered, their worship was deemed illicit and not part of official rituals. All such shrines were categorized as heretical.
This shrine was clearly nothing grand, just a crumbling little hut. It couldn’t possibly house some great general. It was almost certainly one of those fake shrines built by wild spirits to scam offerings.
But inside this ruined temple sat a woman. A beautiful, graceful woman.
She furrowed her brows slightly, gazing toward the sounds coming from the distant chaos.
“The Grand Shamanic Spell of Baiyue… the Bull Strength Art? Could it be that a shaman has set their sights on me?”
(Chapter End)