Chapter 15

Xuan Kong watched as Deng Li Zihong left, walking far away, before he called Wang Qi to his side.

After the intense struggle of the night, Wang Qi was utterly convinced of his senior brother's prowess. Seeing him drenched in cold sweat, he hurried over and asked, "Senior Brother, what's wrong? Are you injured internally?" As he asked, his hand reached out to touch Xuan Kong.

"Internal injuries, no," Xuan Kong swatted away Wang Qi's small thieving hand, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Just my legs are feeling very weak..."

This battle was indeed the most dangerous Xuan Kong had faced since he started his career. Several times he narrowly escaped death. Although he was roused by the fight and didn't feel afraid at the time, after it was over, Xuan Kong felt a severe numbness in his legs. When he jumped down from the roof, he almost stumbled and fell to the ground.

Princess Yun Luo, seeing Xuan Kong's weak legs, couldn't help but smile.

Wang Qi's eyes sparkled, and he loosened his grip, letting go of the arm he was supporting Xuan Kong with. Xuan Kong was so angry that he wanted to spit blood. He reached out and smacked Wang Qi on the back of the head with the Exorcism Talisman, shouting, "You fool, if you like it so much, why don't you go and return the talisman?"

Wang Qi was overjoyed, holding the talisman and returning it to Princess Yun Luo, his hand brushing against her little finger.

A fierce light flashed in Princess Yun Luo's eyes, and a chill immediately spread from her fingertip. By the time Wang Qi felt something was wrong and tried to pull his hand back, his entire right hand was covered in frost.

Princess Yun Luo dared to act against Wang Qi, but she absolutely dared not be impolite to Xuan Kong. She gave him a deep bow and turned to leave.

Xuan Kong suddenly noticed the hunter surnamed Nie standing there in a daze, winking at him. He slapped his head and hurriedly took a few steps to catch up with Princess Yun Luo, grabbing her hand and asking, "Princess Yun Luo, where did you seal the hunter's acupoints?"

Princess Yun Luo's small hand was pulled, and her pale face became even paler. She used her magic to force out a voice as small as a mosquito's.

Wang Qi, standing nearby, seemed to hear the words "firm and unyielding," wondering if his ears were playing tricks on him. When he turned to look, Xuan Kong had already walked to the side of the hunter surnamed Nie, using his sleeve to sweep and unblock the Jianzhen and Dazhui acupoints. He then understood.

The hunter surnamed Nie, with his acupoints unblocked, glared in the direction Princess Yun Luo had left, remaining silent for a long time.

Xuan Kong, worried that Deng Li might have done something to him, waved his hand in front of the hunter surnamed Nie's eyes and asked, "Mr. Nie, are you alright?"

The hunter surnamed Nie finally came to his senses and said dejectedly, "I never thought that I would once again bring trouble to the villagers." He had thought that by leaving the capital far behind, he could avoid the search by the National Master, Zhihang Pudu. But in the end, he was still tracked down.

He bowed deeply to Xuan Kong, but before he could speak, Xuan Kong waved his hand to stop him.

Xuan Kong guessed what the hunter surnamed Nie was about to say and stepped aside to avoid his deep bow, saying, "Mr. Nie, I am just a hermit from Laoshan. I don't understand the affairs of the world, let alone the affairs of the court."

A look of disappointment flashed across the hunter surnamed Nie's face, but Xuan Kong smiled and said, "However, I have some confidence in saving the villagers."

He instructed the hunter surnamed Nie to notify the other villagers to return. The village elders, hearing Xuan Kong's words, held his hand tightly, afraid that he would disappear with a whistle. The Laoshan hunters had lived in the mountains longer than the Laoshan Sect had existed.

The dozen or so families in the village, spanning several generations, were all intermarried, and thus naturally hoped that Xuan Kong's words were true.

Xuan Kong would not speak without confidence. He instructed the hunters to lay out the bodies from which Princess Yun Luo had drained the yang energy in an open area. Xuan Kong spread his hands, releasing the yang energy he had reclaimed, and recited the Lingbao Duren Jing, personally transmitted by King Qin Guang:

"The Supreme Sage has become a true person, penetrating the profound and exploring the subtle, able to understand the chapters. Recite it ten times, and the heavens will sing from afar, the myriad emperors will pay homage, the rivers and seas will be silent, the mountains and clouds will hide, the sun and moon will pause, the celestial mechanism will cease, the demons will be bound, the ghostly spirits will be extinguished, the dead will rise, and the bones will become human. A learned scholar who recites it ten times will have the five emperors as attendants, the three realms will bow, the demonic spirits will lose their eyes, the ghostly demons will be extinguished, and the dying will be saved and brought back to life..."

Xuan Kong recited quickly, and the villagers, including the women and children, could not clearly hear what he was reciting.

Suddenly, a long, mournful cry echoed from the sky, and the yang energy that had been floating above the bodies returned to their respective bodies. The bodies lying on the ground began to breathe deeply, and soon, the healthier young hunters sat up.

"Ah, they're alive, really alive!" a villager shouted.

For a moment, the open area in front of the village became lively, with many relatives and friends gathering around the villagers who had come back to life.

"A husband, you're alive!" This was a woman whose husband had died, hugging him and sobbing softly.

"Child... next time, you better not stay up late!" This was a parent chasing and scolding a teenager who had been running around the village at night and was caught by Princess Yun Luo, draining his yang energy.

"Uncle Zhang, where did you go after you died, what did you see?" This was a curious onlooker whose family was unharmed, asking questions.

Only those who have died once can truly appreciate the value of life. Although they were innocent and encountered the female corpse, they were fortunate to be saved by Xuan Kong. Seeing their loved ones return, each villager shed tears of joy and embraced them tightly.

They repeatedly and tirelessly inquired about each other's safety.

The hunter surnamed Nie, watching from the side, felt a pang of envy. At this moment, no one was paying attention to him, the outsider. Wang Qi approached the hunter surnamed Nie and asked, "Hey, that's strange, they all have family and friends around them, but why don't you?"

Xuan Kong coughed, signaling Wang Qi to stop talking, but his ears perked up, listening carefully.

The hunter surnamed Nie looked up at the sky, where a streak of dawn light appeared, and sighed deeply, "I am not originally from Laoshan. My ancestral home is in the capital. In the capital, I was young and successful, married a wife, and had a daughter."

"What about your daughter?" This time, it was not Wang Qi but Xuan Kong who asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

"She is already dead..." The hunter surnamed Nie's eyes moistened as he recalled, "My daughter was very beautiful in the capital. Many princes and nobles' sons fell at her feet. If not for my involvement, she would not have fallen ill and died on the way to avoid the capital."

"Did you bury her on the way?" Xuan Kong thought that at that time, the hunter surnamed Nie had already offended Zhihang Pudu, and it would have been difficult to carry his daughter's body during his escape.

Indeed, the hunter surnamed Nie said, "At that time, I saw a temple with incense burning, and I entrusted a friend to bury Xiaoqian in the forest behind the temple, hoping that in her next life, she would be born into a good family and not suffer as I have."

"Interesting!" Xuan Kong's eyes lit up, and he asked eagerly, "Mr. Nie, is that temple called 'Lanruo Temple'?"

The hunter surnamed Nie was surprised and asked, "Has the Daoist also heard of Lanruo Temple?"

Xuan Kong laughed and avoided answering. He turned to Wang Qi and the village elders to bid farewell, then took Wang Qi back to the peak of Laoshan to report to the old Daoist. This trip down the mountain had been quite fruitful. Watching Wang Qi touch the silver bills in his pocket every few steps, Xuan Kong smiled. He had a premonition that something interesting would happen soon.

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**End of Chapter**