Chapter 55

Listening... Lianxin Talisman?

Yang Junshan touched his chest; he had also been implanted with a Lianxin Talisman by Yang Tiangang shortly after his birth. Not only him, but his second younger brother and younger sister had also been implanted with the talisman at birth.

This talisman is used for sensing among direct bloodline relatives. Within a very short distance, it can even allow for simple communication through the connection between talismans. At a greater distance, it can still be used to determine if the person implanted with the talisman is safe.

Since this bound youth had a Lianxin Talisman, he must have a direct relative who is a cultivator at the Martial Person Realm. From the conversation between Senior Brother Ma and Junior Brother Niu, Yang Junshan could roughly guess that the youth had been kidnapped to coerce his elders into agreeing to something.

Looking at the three carts filled with spirit grains, Yang Junshan naturally associated it with the purchase of spirit grains in Wasteland Town. Then a thought sprang to mind: Could it be that the youth's elder, the cultivator called Ning Ji, is the guardian of Wasteland Town, and because of the youth's kidnapping, the guardian of Wasteland Town had no choice but to agree to their large-scale, high-priced purchase of spirit grains in the town?

This thought immediately began to churn in Yang Junshan's mind. The secret path of Quwu Mountain connected to Zhang Prefecture and Yu Prefecture. These people were clearly from Zhang Prefecture. If they were buying spirit grains on such a large scale at this critical moment, could it be that they had already learned in advance that a locust disaster was imminent, and they were certain that the disaster would target Yu Prefecture?

No matter what, I have to follow them and see!

Yang Junshan moved through the forest like a cat, carefully and swiftly, using the trees for cover to trail behind the two cultivators. From a distance, he could only see the two of them talking non-stop.

Yang Junshan did not have spiritual sense to probe their cultivation levels from a distance, but he could confirm again that these two were not Martial Person Realm cultivators. Emboldened, Yang Junshan circled around to hide ahead of them, intending to eavesdrop on their conversation to verify his suspicions.

"Senior Brother, what do you think Senior Brother Zhao and the others are doing in the deep mountains of Quwu Mountain for one or two months?"

"Don't ask what you shouldn't. You'll know when you get there!"

"Senior Brother, do you really think we'll let this little brat go? We've all been seen by him. His father is a Martial Person Realm cultivator. What if he causes trouble for us later?"

"Hehe, whether his father will still be alive is uncertain. If that father falls for our trap because of this kid, we'll be safe. If Ning Ji is smart, we might just cut off his son's head and send it back, hahaha!"

"Ugh, ugh, ugh..."

Every word of their conversation reached the youth's ears, and he immediately struggled fiercely. The two were caught off guard and the youth managed to run away from them.

Senior Brother Ma cursed from behind, "Damn it, with your upper body bound, where do you think you can run? We should have let Senior Brother Yao seal your cultivation earlier to avoid this trouble!"

Junior Brother Cheng also laughed, picked up a stone from the ground, and threw it forcefully towards the youth running into the forest, shouting, "Hit!"

The stone flew over ten yards and accurately hit the youth's heel, causing him to fall forward, face-planting into the ground. Senior Brother Ma and Junior Brother Cheng laughed heartily from a distance.

However, what the two did not see was that when the youth fell, half of his body had slipped into a patch of grass. As the grass flattened, a pair of eyes and half a face suddenly came face-to-face with him.

The youth was clearly stunned by what he saw and was about to shout, but the eyes on the half face suddenly narrowed, and a faint voice reached his ears: "Don't shout!"

The youth was taken aback and then heard the voice again: "If you want to be saved, don't shout!"

The youth finally calmed down and realized that the half face in front of him was actually lying in a layer of soil, with the body completely covered by wild grass. If he hadn't directly run into the grass, he would have been hard to spot even if he had approached closely.

"Turn around and sit up!"

This time, the youth did as the voice instructed without hesitation. He turned his body, which had been lying on the ground, and struggled to sit up, just in time to see Senior Brother Ma and Junior Brother Cheng approaching with cold smiles. The youth's action looked like a reaction to being cornered.

As he sat up, the youth also revealed his bound hands, with a long, thin object placed between them. He quickly covered it with his hands, feeling that it was a broken arrowhead. At that moment, he heard the faint voice again: "Wait, act when the time is right!"

Junior Brother Cheng walked up to the youth, grabbed him from the ground, and cursed, "Little brat, can't you just stay still? If you run again, I'll break your legs!"

The youth's mouth was stuffed with a cloth, but he still growled defiantly at the two. Senior Brother Ma slapped him on the head and cursed, "If you don't behave, I'll send you on your way right now!"

The two dragged the youth, who stumbled, deeper into the forest. The youth took the opportunity to look back but saw only the grass swaying in the wind, with no sign of anyone hiding there.

From a distance, the voices of Senior Brother Ma and Junior Brother Cheng, who were escorting the youth, could be heard: "Senior Brother, where do we go next?"

"First west, there's a mountain stream there. We'll rest there for a while, ..."

Yang Junshan was now moving quickly through the miasma, no longer fearing detection. His speed increased, and his destination was the small stream in his memory, not far from the secret path of Quwu Mountain.

Senior Brother Ma led the two for about half an hour before they heard the sound of flowing water in the forest. The heat and humidity of the mountain forest had already made them impatient, and the sound of water invigorated them, making their steps lighter.

When they reached the stream, the clear, babbling water flowed like a dark green jade ribbon through the forest, and the cool mist was refreshing.

Junior Brother Cheng licked his lips, kicked the youth's leg, and said, "Senior Brother, you go cool off first. I'll watch this kid."

Senior Brother Ma laughed, "Junior Brother, you're too cautious. In this desolate place, who would come to save him? Alright, I'll quench my thirst first!"

Senior Brother Ma squatted by the stream, drank two handfuls of water, and then washed his face. At that moment, a gentle breeze blew through the forest, rustling the leaves and combining with the sound of the stream to create a serene atmosphere.

Just as Senior Brother Ma was enjoying the peaceful surroundings, a heavy thud came from behind him. Startled, he quickly moved five feet to the right and turned around. A beast skin talisman in his hand emitted black smoke, which formed a black curtain in front of him.

A sharp whistling sound broke the air, and a talisman arrow pierced through the black smoke, causing it to collapse and explode, pushing Senior Brother Ma back several steps until he stopped in the middle of the stream. The black smoke curtain, though thinned, still protected him.

Only then did the sound of a bowstring being released come from the depths of the forest, indicating that the arrow had traveled faster than the sound.

At this point, Senior Brother Ma had a moment to see what had happened. He saw Junior Brother Cheng lying on the ground, a talisman arrow through his back, blood still gushing from the wound, but he was already dead.

Next to Junior Brother Cheng, the youth was still bound and sitting on the ground, staring at the scene with a stunned and surprised look, clearly unaware of what had happened.

"Who is it? Come out! Sneaking around isn't a skill. If you have the guts, come out and face me one-on-one!"

Senior Brother Ma quickly calmed down from the shock of the attack. Since it was a sneak attack, the opponent was likely not a Martial Person Realm cultivator. The arrow had traveled faster than sound, indicating the use of a very strong bow. Based on the force of the arrow that had hit him, the opponent might be a cultivator at the Fourth Level of the Mortal Realm or higher.

However, with the Wolf Smoke Talisman protecting him, he was not afraid of the opponent's strong bow or talisman sword. Once the smoke rose, Senior Brother Zhao and the others would receive the signal and come to his aid. The key now was to prevent the attacker from rescuing Ning Ji's son.

With this in mind, Senior Brother Ma turned the black smoke curtain towards the direction the arrow had come from and walked confidently towards the youth sitting on the ground.

However, just as he reached the youth, "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" three more arrows whistled from the depths of the forest. The attacker had fired three talisman arrows in quick succession, and Senior Brother Ma did not dare to be careless. He quickly turned to face the direction of the arrows, gathered a flame at his fingertips, and shot it out rapidly, causing the first two arrows to explode in front of him. The third arrow, however, hit the black smoke curtain, pushing him back again.

But just as Senior Brother Ma took two steps back, his expression suddenly stiffened, his eyes bulging. Looking down, he saw a spot of crimson spreading on his chest.

He tried to turn around, but his strength drained away instantly. As he fell to the ground, he finally saw the youth, who had been bound and sitting on the ground, now standing behind him, holding a broken talisman sword.

---

My daughter developed a rash all over her body in a short time at noon, and the bumps grew from the size of millet grains to the size of beans. We rushed to the children's hospital, and after about an hour, the rash disappeared on its own. Since we were already there, we decided to consult a doctor, and we waited for another hour before getting a tube of ointment.

PS: For those with children, remember to take photos of any sudden illnesses on your phone for the doctor's reference. This is what the doctor advised.

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