"No problem," Kong Yuhui said, his expression unchanged. "Let's keep going, it's just a Corpse Monkey."
Ouyang Qing then slowly exhaled and looked at the others.
"Don't worry, Corpse Monkeys have their own territory, usually spanning dozens of miles. That one won't come back after Brother Kong injured it."
"That means we won't encounter another one for now?" Shi Lei asked softly.
"That should be the case, but we still need to stay vigilant," Ouyang Qing nodded.
While they were talking, Lin Xin was looking around the cemetery. Indeed, just as the mission brief described, it was desolate with hardly a sign of life, even the sound of insects was rare.
Leading the group, Kong Yuhui circumnavigated the cemetery once, and soon they stopped in front of a redwood grove.
Looking up at the vast expanse of red leaves above him, he said, "This is the place. The Yin Blood Birds should land around the Blood Leaf Trees. We need to make some preparations here."
Following the plan they made on the road, the other six began checking for hidden dangers nearby, while also sprinkling the beast-repelling powder provided for the mission around the area.
Standing beneath the Blood Tree Forest, Kong Yuhui took out a small bag of dried insect powder from his waist pouch and sprinkled it in a few spots directly under the Redwood Forest that were easy to spot.
After everything was done, everyone quickly wrapped up and retreated back the way they came.
Back at the town, everyone resumed their usual activities, the resting ones continued their rest, and the cultivators continued with their cultivation practice.
Lin Xin also returned to his room and started circulating his Inner Qi in a cross-legged meditation.
After practicing for a while, just as he completed a circulation cycle, he felt the urge to urinate and got up to look for the nearby latrine. He already had a good grasp of the layout here, where they had separate latrines for men and women. Although ancient, it was almost odorless inside and extremely dry, but still usable.
The sunlight was bright, even dazzling at times.
Walking through the corridor, Lin Xin had just entered the latrine when he faintly heard the sound of someone talking from behind the adjacent wall.
By the sound of it, it seemed to be the Shi brothers, Shi Kun, and Shi Lei.
With a sense of curiosity, Lin Xin quietly moved closer and leaned gently against the wall to listen.
"... Do they really think I have no way to kill him?" Shi Kun's voice sounded frustrated.
"Don't forget our purpose here," said the more composed Shi Lei in a soft voice. "Keep your voice down."
"Keep it down my ass! That guy Kong Yuhui, does he really think that I didn't see him last night at the fourth watch?" Shi Kun said, extremely annoyed, "Thinks he can monopolize that thing, let's see if he has the skill...!"
"Enough! Quieter!" Shi Lei rebuked sternly.
Their voices immediately softened a great deal.
Lin Xin recalled that the other side of the wall was where the Shi brothers stayed. Feeling puzzled, he found a more concealed spot and continued to eavesdrop.
There were rustling sounds coming from the other side, and it was unclear what the brothers were doing as they seemed to deliberately keep their voices low.
After a good ten minutes, the voices gradually returned to normal.
"... Whatever happens to him, we.... at the fourth watch, we will go... together and..." Their voices grew fainter as the brothers seemed to gradually walk away.
Lin Xin crouched in the corner by the wall, his entire body hiding in the bushes, and as he gradually couldn't hear any sound, he prepared to stand up.
Suddenly, he felt a touch on his back.
"Who's there!"
He turned around to look behind him, but there was nothing there, just the brilliant sunlight streaming through the bushes. Only an eerie silence surrounded him, not a single insect could be heard in the bushes.
Turning back, he got up and gripped the hilt of his sword, not knowing why he had the feeling that someone was staring at him from behind.
"Maybe it's just the leaves and branches?" he guessed.
The voices of the Shi brothers had completely disappeared, the surroundings only filled with a light breeze.
Lin Xin felt a tingle on his scalp, his gaze quickly scanning his surroundings as he slowly left the bushes and headed towards his abode.
On the way back along the corridor, he met Ouyang Qing coming toward him.
She seemed slightly taken aback upon seeing Lin Xin.
"Junior Brother Lin."
"Senior Sister Ouyang," Lin Xin replied politely.
"You're always on guard, aren't you..." Ouyang Qing commented, her eyes falling on Lin Xin's hand that was still holding onto his sword hilt, a trace of admiration on her face.
"After the recent attack, I have no choice," Lin Xin said succinctly. "Since I've run into Senior Sister, I'd like to ask about that Corpse Monkey."
Ouyang Qing smiled.
"Right, Junior Brother, you probably haven't been to the mission stele often and might not be very familiar with Corpse Monkeys," she said, brushing her fringe from her forehead with her hand and pressing her food against her face veil which fluttered slightly in the wind.
"Corpse Monkeys aren't something we can face alone. A Corpse Monkey is equivalent to the Second Layer to the Third Layer of the 'Return to Origin' cultivation level. If you encounter one alone, it's best to stay put and shout for help loudly, focusing as much as possible on defending yourself. After all, even I and Brother Kong are no match for a Corpse Monkey in single combat."
"Is it really that formidable?" Lin Xin was taken aback. He had previously seen Kong Yuhui repel the Corpse Monkey with a single strike and thought that thing couldn't possibly be a match for any of them alone.
"That's right. Corpse Monkeys move as fast as the wind and carry deadly poison, making them quite difficult to deal with. In any case, Junior Brother, just be careful on your own and don't get isolated," Ouyang Qing smiled, "I'll take my leave first."
"Sure." Lin Xin watched as Ouyang Qing passed by him and headed towards the women's latrine.
After a pause, he quickly returned to his own room.
This time, everyone didn't gather for a meal together. Instead, they split up and ate their own dry food. All the dry food for the group was in the carriage, and when Lin Xin went to get some, he didn't see anyone else come by. He used the campfire to heat the clean water he brought and ate it with jerky and flatbread.
The flatbread and jerky were very hard and tasted only faintly salty, and even the water had a stale taste, but in these circumstances, there was no other choice.
Moreover, there were no rivers nearby, and no one dared to drink water from the only deep well here.
After finishing his meal, Lin Xin returned to his room, where he faintly heard laughter and frolicking from Jiang Yue'er and Cheng Ruofei's room not far away.
"In such a tense and eerie place, they still have the mood to laugh and frolic." Lin Xin shook his head, ignoring them and continuing to rest in his own room.
Before he knew it, it was already evening.
Around four in the morning, Lin Xin, who was lying on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes and slowly sat up from the darkness.
He went to the window and looked at the moon outside, which was right at the center of the sky. In the middle of the yard, there was a rockery with a carved sun halo on it. At this moment, the shadow of the sun halo's pointer fell precisely between three and four o'clock, very close to four o'clock.
"About time." Lin Xin always remembered what the Shi brothers had said during the day and decided to get up at night to take a look. This place was indeed a bit strange, and he always felt that everyone in the group had their own hidden agendas, which made him uneasy. This was the perfect opportunity to do some investigating.
Standing by the window, he slowly hid himself in the shadows and quietly watched the yard outside the window.
The courtyard walls were tall, and if anyone wanted to leave, they would definitely choose one of the two gates at the front and back. The place where they were staying was nearest to this main gate, so the chances of someone choosing to leave from here were high.
As time gradually approached four o'clock, suddenly a shadow flashed. Lin Xin saw a figure dart across the middle of the yard and run towards the gate.
Just as he was about to follow, he saw two more figures quietly chasing out of the yard.
"The Shi brothers?" His eyes narrowed, he walked lightly to the door and opened it, only to discover that the Shi brothers had already disappeared.
Stepping out of the door and onto the corridor, he suddenly noticed someone standing to his right in a black shadow, just watching him silently.
Sweat beaded on Lin Xin's forehead; the figure had been standing just outside the door, and he had failed to notice it. If he had been attacked just now, it would have been really dangerous.
He gripped the hilt of his sword and confronted the shadow.
After a long while...
The shadow slowly turned and began to walk step by slow step into the darkness of the corridor.
He walked very slowly, very deliberately, as if he was extremely tired and weary, each step heading towards an unseen darkness.
Lin Xin suppressed the urge to draw his sword and looked around the yard. The Shi brothers were no longer in sight, and given their qinggong skills, he certainly couldn't keep up with them.
But this place was full of mystery and strangeness everywhere; he had to make sense of the situation as much as possible. The true intentions of Kong Yuhui and the Shi brothers needed to be understood; otherwise, he always felt he might become cannon fodder at any time, pulled in to take the fall.
Watching the figure slowly disappear into the dark, Lin Xin realized he could no longer keep up with the Shi brothers, so the person in front of him was the only clue.
He gritted his teeth and followed at a slow pace.
"Who are you?" he asked in a low voice.
The shadow was about to disappear into the dark, seemingly completely oblivious to Lin Xin's inquiry, silent as ever.
Lin Xin followed, and as he passed Ouyang Qing's room, he glanced inside. There lay a person on the bed, still with their back to him, unrecognizable.
After a thought, he gently knocked on Ouyang Qing's door.
Bang bang...
The crisp sound of knocking suddenly arose, sounding rather piercing in the quiet courtyard.
"Ouyang Qing is one of the strongest two in the group. I probably can't handle it alone, although she might have her own plans, but I must find someone to watch each other's back," Lin Xin thought to himself.
"Junior Brother Lin?" A voice suddenly came from behind him.
Lin Xin quickly turned around and saw Ouyang Qing standing right behind him, sword in hand, looking at him with a solemn expression.
"Stop knocking and follow me!" Ouyang Qing whispered, and quickly followed the shadow towards the dark.
Lin Xin made up his mind and hurried after her.
"Junior Brother Lin wants to know where Kong Yuhui and the Shi brothers went in the middle of the night, don't you?" Ouyang Qing said softly from ahead.
"They don't sleep at night and sneak out; what's the real purpose? Could it be that there's something about this mission we don't know?" Lin Xin also followed up quietly.
"Of course, it's for the Yin Blood," Ouyang Qing said lightly with a faint smile, "Kong Yuhui is like that, the Shi brothers are like that. Who would bother coming all this way just to kill Yin Blood Birds if not for Yin Blood?"
She walked in front and Lin Xin followed behind.
"What about the shadow I just saw?" Lin Xin asked in the darkness. He was not concerned about Yin Blood or anything like that; he just wanted to know if he could safely return from this mission.
"Shadow? What shadow?" Ouyang Qing was slightly stunned.
"I just saw a shadow right in front of me, slowly walking into the shadows, and I couldn't help feeling a chill," Lin Xin replied in as low a voice as he could.