Wei Yunhe and the others were already standing there as Yu Lingyu approached the entrance gate. The unarmed people seemed to have been given a weapon by their benevolent Da Shixiong. All of them were dressed in the official uniform of Jun Peak. Approaching them, Yu Lingyu handed out talismans to everyone. "Why is there only one demon charm talisman?" Wei Yunhe asked, frowning.
"Oh Da Shixiong, weren't you the one who said to give them to Wu Shixiong?" San Jie asked in a suspicious tone.
"Why do I do that?" Wei Yunhe also looked hesitant.
"I knew that pig was lying."
Yu Lingyu didn't know what to say. "Please, San Shidi, don't disrespect them when they aren't." He screamed inwardly.
"Never mind, never mind, let's leave now." Yu Lingyu said. Called the entrance gate, it is a long flight of steps that extends down the center of a pair of huge towers. The surroundings were full of hills and the peak facing the entrance was Chuangzhou Peak.
Wei Yunhe did not go for further questioning. Made sure not to say anything even though his mouth darkened when he heard that Juyao was joining.
"Lingyu, stay behind me when we enter the city. Don't go anywhere else." Whenever they were alone, Wei Yunhe liked to call Lingyu by his name.
The apprentices were running down the stairs shouting, and Yu Lingyu and Yunhe followed close behind.
Soon they reached the bottom of the stairs, and the street ahead led directly to Lilan City. To the left and the right, two lanes were joining other peaks to the main road. Wei Yunhe had brought several horses. Ahead on the road was a horse-rental place, and he must have got them from there.
"But Da Shixiong, why are there only eight horses?" asked one disciple.
Wei Yunhe, who was untying the tethered horses, turned around. "Huh, and that's all they had. Two sharing one horse right?" He said. However, the disciples began to pair up, and surprisingly, Luo Cheng had agreed to travel with Duan Xia. "Why should I travel with him?" Again Shen Ming's voice rose as usual.
"It's not like I want to go with you either." San Jie then turned around and shouted. The others couldn't stop their laughter.
"Aren't they fighting like man and woman?" One person said and this time both San Jie and Shen Ming shouted at the same time.
"Shut up!"
Wei Yunhe tried to share his horse with Lingyu, but after all, it was inappropriate because he was Da Shixiong. Yu Lingyu tried to switch his traveling companion, Mo Dong, for San Jie, but Mo Dong refused, so Shen Ming and San Jie had no choice but to travel together.
"Why are you riding?" Shen Ming shouted.
"You short mushroom, can you even see the road?"
"I'll ride, go away."
"If you come, then come. if you don't, then just stay." San Jie's patience was also running out.
Yu Lingyu, who was on the horse, slapped his hand on his forehead.
This is the first time he has come across such troublesome apprentices.
"Need I tell you again?" Wei Yunhe, who was riding a black horse, growled. With a frown, Shen Ming reluctantly got on the horse behind San Jie.
However, until entering the city, Shen Ming's mouth was not lacking in scolding. If Wei Yunhe hadn't been there, San Jie would have already pushed Shen Ming off the horse.
The city of Lilan was already covered in the red light of the setting sun from the long shadows. The narrow winding alleys were bustling with people and the aromas of pork dumplings and freshly baked mooncakes wafted from the doors of restaurants. Delivering the horses to a nearby shed, Wei Yunhee paid to take care of them and returned to the group.
"Is there a demonic menace here?" Yu Lingyu asked. The city was busy and crowded as usual.
"We must head north." Wei Yunhe said.
"Isn't that towards the ancestral graves?" Luo Cheng asked and Yunhe nodded to indicate that it was correct.
"Why didn't we come during the day but when it was almost night?" It was Shen Ming again.
"foolish bull! Demons come out mostly at night." San Jie replied.
"Let's go." Wei Yunhe said that no further conversation was allowed between them. They walked forward through the crowded streets. Street food was being sold on both sides of the street. "Yu Shixiong," someone suddenly called out and Lingyu turned around. Luo Cheng stood behind him, holding a paper bag. "Mooncakes, do you like them?" He asked, pointing the paper bag at Lingyu and smiling slightly.
Lingyu smiled and picked one up. "Thank you Shidi." Luo Cheng followed behind with Yu Lingyu as he happily watched Lingyu eat it.
"Do you like it?"
"Yes, it's delicious," Lingyu said as he took another piece of cake at Luo Cheng's urging.
"I'll bring them every day if you want."
Lingyu smiled.
"You don't need to strain yourself so much Luo Shidi."
"What? I said I would make them myself. don't you believe me, Yu Shixiong?"
"Oh, no, no, not like that. Well, if you like, do it." Yu Lingyu said as he waved his hands.
"Huh, please share with everyone, Luo Xiong," San Jie said, snatching the paper bag from Luo Cheng's hand. Giving one to Duan Xia, he ate the last remaining cake. "San Xiong, don't you always fight with Shen Xiong," Duan Xia said fearfully.
"It's not me who starts it. It's him." San Jie kicked a nearby stone and nodded.
As they advanced, the city slowly became empty of people, and the bustling market, which had once been so full of life, was empty, its shops abandoned, and newspapers scattered about the lane as if blown to the wind. The air was thick with an oppressive silence, broken only by the occasional sound from an ancient building or the meow of street cats lurking in the darkness.
The once vibrant lanes were left empty and shrouded in darkness. In the middle of the rising moonlight, the cobblestones that made up the street appeared with a strange glow, and the air was heavy with the stench of decay, and the smell of rotting meat spread throughout the whole place.
"Ah." San Jie snorted and covered his nose with his hands. "Da Shixiong, are we near?" Mo Dong asked.
"Yu Shidi, do you have any repellent talismans?" Wei Yunhe asked as he turned around. Rummaging through his wallet, Lingyu found one and gently handed it to Yunhe. Holding the talisman with two fingers, he fed his soul energy into it, and for a moment nothing happened.
"It's not a demon," Luo Cheng let out a sigh of relief. "Seems to be only walking corpses. No need to worry." Yunhe insisted. Giving the talisman back to Lingyu, Yunhe took the lead.
"Ahead of us is the graveyard, so don't make unnecessary noise," Yunhe said, looking specifically at Shen Ming and San Jie.
"Okay, Da Shixiong."