Chapter 3

In the midst of the wind and snow, Dategui held onto Jiang Chen and Guo Xiang's wrists, leaping forward swiftly. The lightness kung fu he used was quite different from ordinary techniques, making him leap like a large frog, short in stature but each leap covering a great distance.

Jiang Chen and Guo Xiang's wrists were gripped as if by an iron hoop, causing them intense pain. Guo Xiang's heart pounded, unsure where Dategui was taking them. She had been personally taught by Guo Jing and Huang Rong since childhood, and her martial arts foundation was quite solid. Initially, she could keep up with Dategui's leaps, but later, like Jiang Chen, she could only follow by being pulled and lifted by him.

After leaping for about a mile, someone suddenly called out from behind the mountain, "Dategui, why are you so late? Ha ha, you even brought a beautiful girl and a young boy!"

Dategui replied, "She is Guo Jing and Huang Rong's daughter, and this boy is unknown. He says he wants to meet the Divine Condor Hero, so I brought them here."

The person was taken aback and had not yet spoken. Another person from behind the mountain said in a sinister voice, "It's almost the third watch of the night, let's hurry up and go!" The sound of hooves was heard, and dozens of horses emerged from behind the mountain.

The snow continued to fall, and in the reflected light of the white snow, Jiang Chen saw that there were nine people riding on the dozens of horses, with more than half of the horses having no riders. Dategui went over and led three horses, handing the reins of two horses to Jiang Chen and Guo Xiang, and mounting one himself. He shouted, "Get on the horses quickly!"

Guo Xiang, light as a swallow, leaped onto the horse with ease. Jiang Chen, however, said timidly, "I... I don't know how to ride a horse."

"What?!" Dategui's eyes widened in anger.

"Don't scare him, Uncle. I'm light, so I can carry him." Guo Xiang, seeing Dategui's anger, quickly extended her hand and said to Jiang Chen, "Big brother, get up, I'll carry you."

"Okay." Jiang Chen nodded and reached out, using Guo Xiang's pull to mount the horse. His heart pounded: "My goodness, I never thought I would ride the same horse as the goddess Guo Xiang!"

Fortunately, as an adult, Jiang Chen had good self-control. He tightly gripped the handrails on the sides of the saddle and did not dare to hug Guo Xiang in front of him, otherwise, even if martial artists were not bound by formalities, he would likely face serious trouble afterward.

"Let's go." Dategui whistled, and the dozen or so horses galloped westward.

Among the nine people, two were women. One was an old woman, and the other wore a bright red dress, standing out in the snow. The faces of the other seven were not yet clear.

In a moment, they had galloped over ten miles. The leader called out, and the dozen or so horses stopped. He rode up a small hill and turned his horse around. Jiang Chen and Guo Xiang were both surprised and amused when they saw his appearance. He was a short man, with a body no more than two feet tall on the horse, but his beard was three feet long, hanging past the horse's belly. His face was full of wrinkles, his brows tightly furrowed, and he looked extremely sorrowful.

He said, "We are less than three miles from Damaoping. Many in the martial arts world say the Divine Condor Hero is extremely skilled. We must plan carefully and not lose the morale of the West Mountain Ghosts."

The old woman said, "Brother, he subdued the seventh brother with one move, indicating he is very agile and his skills are somewhat unorthodox. We should rely on our numbers. You lead, and I and the fifth brother will assist from the side. We will attack him three against one and kill him immediately, not allowing him to use his skills."

The long-bearded old man thought for a moment, then raised his head and said, "The Divine Condor Hero has a great reputation, and many have fallen to him over the past decade. He must have extraordinary skills. This battle is no small matter. I and the second sister will attack from the front, the third and fourth brothers will engage in close combat, attacking his lower body, the fifth and sixth brothers will attack from behind, the seventh and eighth brothers will use long weapons to harass him, and the ninth sister will use hidden weapons, and the tenth brother will release poison mist. The West Mountain Ghosts have never all fought together before, and this is the first time. If we fail to kill him, we will all become real ghosts!"

Dategui said, "Brother, ten of us against one is not fair. If this spreads, the heroes of the martial arts world will laugh at us."

The old woman said, "Who else will know about tonight's events besides these two children?" She raised her arm slightly. Dategui quickly waved his left sleeve in front of Jiang Chen and Guo Xiang, then picked up two fine needles from his sleeve and said, "Second sister, these two children are my guests, and they cannot be harmed." He turned to Jiang Chen and Guo Xiang and said, "Young man, young lady, if you want to see the Divine Condor Hero, you must not tell anyone about tonight's events. Otherwise, you should go back quickly to avoid losing your lives."

"Sure, sure." Jiang Chen quickly responded, while Guo Xiang was both shocked and angry, thinking, "This old woman's attack is so vicious. If not for Uncle Dategui's rescue, we would have been killed by her invisible, silent needles." She said, "I won't say anything." Then she added, "You have ten brothers, doesn't he have any allies?"

Dategui laughed and said, "The Divine Condor Hero has been in the martial arts world for over a decade, and there's no word of him having any allies. He only has a large, mute bird as a companion." He pulled the reins and shouted, "Let's go!" After a while, he turned to Jiang Chen and Guo Xiang and said, "When the fight starts, don't leave my side." They nodded, knowing that the West Mountain Ghosts were ruthless, and Dategui's protection was the best.

As they were riding, a few tiger roars suddenly came from a dark forest ahead, and the horses began to neigh in alarm, some standing still and others trying to escape. The tall, thin man whipped his horse and charged into the forest. The old woman cursed, "Useless beasts, are you afraid of a little wild cat?" The horses were driven into the forest by the group. After riding for dozens of yards, they heard a fierce voice ahead, "Who dares to intrude on the Ten Thousand Beasts Manor at night?"

The West Mountain Ghosts reined in their horses and saw a man standing on the path, with two tigers crouching beside him. The horses were disturbed by the tigers' growls. The long-bearded old man bowed on his horse and said, "The West Mountain Ghosts are passing through your territory without visiting. Please forgive our rudeness."

The man on the other side said, "Are you the West Mountain Ghosts? You are the long-bearded ghost, Mr. Fan?"

The long-bearded old man said, "Yes. We have urgent business in Damaoping and will visit later to apologize." He knew that the people of the Ten Thousand Beasts Manor were not easy to deal with. The owner of the Ten Thousand Beasts Manor was a group of five brothers: the white-browed mountain lord Shi Bowei, the second brother Shi Zhongmeng, the third brother Shi Shugang, the fourth brother Shi Jiqiang, and the youngest, the eight-handed ape Shi Mengjie. Their ancestors had been animal trainers for generations, and these five brothers were born with extraordinary abilities. Not only were they skilled in animal training, but they also learned martial arts from the actions of wild animals. Shi Shugang, in his twenties, entered the mountains to hunt and met a strange person, learning profound internal skills.

After returning home, Shi Shugang taught his brothers the martial arts he had learned. As they raised more and more animals, their martial arts skills also improved. The reputation of the Ten Thousand Beasts Manor gradually spread in the martial arts world, and the five brothers were given the collective nickname "Tiger, Leopard, Lion, Elephant, and Monkey." Among them, the Golden Armor Lion King Shi Shugang was the most outstanding. They were determined to deal with the Divine Condor Hero and did not want any distractions, so they spoke very humbly.

However, unfortunately, although the long-bearded ghost was humble, his brothers were not so easy to handle. The eighth ghost, the Death Door Ghost, and the tenth ghost, the Smiling Ghost, took advantage of the conversation between Shi Mengjie and the long-beared ghost to set fire to the forest behind them.

As the flames rose, the Death Door Ghost and the Smiling Ghost cried out in alarm, running back in panic, "Tigers, tigers! A hundred, two hundred..."

At that moment, a small animal, resembling a dog, suddenly darted out of the dense forest and ran to the edge of the forest in an instant. The animal was small, with extremely long legs, a white body, and a black tail, neither a cat nor a dog.

"The Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox has appeared!" Shi Mengjie shouted and immediately leaped to chase it. Then, a high-pitched cry came from behind the forest, not quite a tiger's roar or a lion's roar, but more like a human's shout. Jiang Chen and Guo Xiang felt a chill run down their spines when they heard it. After this cry, the surrounding animals roared in unison: lions, tigers, leopards, wolves, elephants, apes, and gorillas, all indistinguishable. Then, the sound of hooves was heard, and thousands of animals emerged from the forest.

As they left the forest, a strange scene unfolded before them. Five people, each leading a group of animals, ran in different directions on the snow-covered plain. The animals were clearly well-trained, not fighting or biting each other, but running in groups, either east or west, in an orderly manner.

But the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox was even more cunning, disappearing in a few leaps. The five Shi brothers were furious and drove their animals to surround the West Mountain Ghosts. All five were dressed in short animal skin robes, standing about four or five feet away from the West Mountain Ghosts. Shi Mengjie spoke, his words filled with anger and killing intent, "The Ten Thousand Beasts Manor and the West Mountain Ghosts have no grudges. Why did you set fire to the forest and drive away the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox? Today, you will pay with your lives!"