MOF Chapter 10

“He, he’s dead?” Xie Yiling spoke first.

Adhering to the rule of playing the part thoroughly, he edged closer to Nangong Ci, fear evident on his face.

The Azure Maple Forest rustled intermittently with the sound of flapping wings, while Wen Zilao’s corpse remained kneeling motionless.

Nangong Ci stepped forward to examine the body. He found no wounds on Wen Zilao. He lifted the man’s face, his thumb and forefinger pinching Wen Zilao’s gaunt cheeks. He squeezed hard, forcing the mouth open to reveal a blackish oral cavity.

Nangong Ci released his grip, and Wen Zilao’s corpse slumped to the side. “He hid poison in his mouth. He must have bitten through the poison when we weren’t paying attention and committed suicide.”

“Why would he commit suicide?” Xie Yiling asked.

“Exactly,” Si Wumian said, sounding somewhat regretful. “This Wen Zilao definitely wasn’t telling us the truth before. If he hadn’t killed himself, perhaps Fufeng Daozhang could have used a spiritual curse to make him tell the truth.”

Nangong Ci said, “One lie requires ten thousand lies to cover up. He tried to deceive us in Mo City earlier, but instead, he led us to the clue of the ‘Rebirth Technique’. I suspect he simply ended his life to prevent us from learning more. Besides, he had many sins on his conscience, and sooner or later, he would have been dealt with by the Immortal Sect.”

“As the saying goes, ‘A heart full of lies is like weaving a web; eventually, the truth will be revealed. Exchanging lies for peace is ultimately not a long-term solution.'”

As Nangong Ci spoke, he seemed to glance at Xie Yiling inadvertently.

Xie Yiling’s expression stiffened, then he smiled, “Master is right. This disciple has benefited greatly.”

In his heart, however, he felt inexplicably uneasy, feeling that Nangong Ci’s words were alluding to something. But on second thought, Nangong Ci had long forgotten him, so it was probably just his own guilty conscience.

Si Wumian asked, “So, which way should we go now?”

“What does Gu San Gongzi think?” Nangong Ci tossed the question to Gu Huanzhi.

“Me?” Gu Huanzhi hadn’t expected to have a say. He was new to the Immortal Sect and had little experience. He had originally intended to “borrow the wisdom of others to form his own” by meeting Fufeng Daozhang, but now the other party was asking him to make the decision, so he quickly came up with a plan. “I want to find Yan Wuji and eliminate him first. However, he disappeared after entering Mo City, and I can’t sense where he is.”

“If he’s hiding somewhere in Mo City right now, Master,” Xie Yiling carefully tugged at Nangong Ci’s snow-white sleeve, looking somewhat like a puppy pawing at its owner, “do you have any way to find him?”

Nangong Ci’s eyelashes lowered slightly, his gaze lingering for a second on Xie Yiling’s hand gripping his sleeve. Xie Yiling noticed and guiltily released his grip.

“I can.” In the next second, Nangong Ci drew his spirit sword Azurefall, chanted a spiritual incantation, and the sword emitted a sparkling white light. Xie Yiling stared intently at Azurefall, watching it rise above their heads. The sword slowly rotated, finally stopping in one direction. He used his eyes to question Nangong Ci.

Nangong Ci retrieved Azurefall and said calmly, “Near Peace Town.”

“Peace Town?” Gu Huanzhi craned his neck to look in that direction and thought for a moment, “It seems we have to pass through Wind-Tricking Mountain to get there.”

Nangong Ci took out a talisman, stuck it on Wen Zilao’s body, and chanted a few words. Soon, Wen Zilao’s corpse turned to ashes.

They immediately set off for Wind-Tricking Mountain. Before long, the group had arrived.

Wind-Tricking Mountain was located at the border of Mo City. The large expanse of red maple forest on the mountain looked like wildfires spreading across the land. But upon entering, they found themselves amidst slanting, cold mist and gusts of yin wind.

Nangong Ci reminded them, “There’s a fox demon on this Wind-Tricking Mountain. Its cultivation is not shallow, so everyone be careful.”

“Swish, swish–” As soon as he finished reminding them, a sound suddenly came from the bushes ahead, and the other disciples immediately huddled together.

Xie Yiling narrowed his eyes, vigilantly on guard. The demonic aura here was too strong. The wild fox’s cultivation was probably no less than five hundred years, if not a thousand.

The deeper they went into the forest, the thicker the white fog became. They could only make out a blurry silhouette of those beside them if they were more than half a meter apart. Perhaps because of his rebirth, Xie Yiling could see clearly in this environment. His dark eyes shone brightly as he looked around warily.

Meanwhile, the notorious wild fox was brazenly lying on a thick branch above their heads, its fox eyes shining as it stared at the people below.

Sure enough, it was that fox demon!

Xie Yiling subtly tugged on Nangong Ci’s sleeve, signaling him with his eyes. Nangong Ci immediately summoned, “Azurefall!”

The cold sword trembled in its scabbard, then “whizzed” out of the silver-white sheath. The sword energy slashed toward the sky, and then came a “crack” as a branch broke.

“Awoo–” A roar rang out, like a thunderclap. Seemingly angered by the sword, powerful gusts of demonic wind suddenly swirled around them. Nangong Ci protected Xie Yiling with one hand and used his spiritual power to control the sword, rushing toward the center of the demonic wind with the other.

“Awoo–”

Nangong Ci retrieved Azurefall, quickly holding it in front of him. A huge fox tail swept over with violent force, instantly knocking down several trees. He calmly said in the midst of the chaos, “Don’t panic, everyone. Retreat and find a hiding place.”

The wild fox’s roar rang out again in the demonic wind, and countless fox hairs shot out like poisonous needles. Some disciples were careless and were struck, falling to the ground with cries of pain.

Nangong Ci attacked in the thick fog, relying on his senses. Azurefall directly slashed at the fox tail. Despite Azurefall being a spirit sword forged from top-grade spirit stones and black iron, it only managed to cut a shallow gash.

The wild fox, however, seemed to have suffered some serious injury, its roar shaking the heavens and the earth. The fox tail relentlessly swept over again, as fast as lightning.

Xie Yiling’s heart suddenly tightened. He abruptly stepped in front of Nangong Ci, but he was forcibly swept up by the fox tail, heavily slammed into a tree, and fell to the ground, rolling down the tree trunk into the bushes. The moment he landed, he cried out. It wasn’t so much from a serious injury, but because there was a small rock on the ground that happened to dig into his lower back.

Nangong Ci’s body shook. Azurefall’s white light flashed, piercing forward like an arrow. At this moment, he took out the Jade Clarity Fan, his wrist swirling, and with a flip of the fan, most of the fog in front of him cleared. His gaze fell upon Xie Yiling in the bushes, who was frowning in pain, and his eyes deepened slightly.

Seeing the fog dissipate and himself exposed to the enemy, the wild fox immediately turned and fled. Gu Huanzhi saw the wild fox running away and, in a moment of hotheadedness, chased after it.

Nangong Ci didn’t have time to stop him. He retrieved his sword and fan and quickly walked toward Xie Yiling. Xie Yiling was rubbing his aching lower back. When he looked up and saw Nangong Ci looking down at him, his movements froze, and he explained somewhat awkwardly, “I, uh, just got poked by a rock.”

Nangong Ci calmed himself, lowered his eyes to look at Xie Yiling. There were many emotions in his eyes, but they were all quickly suppressed. He simply extended a hand to him, “Let’s get you up first.”

Xie Yiling stared at the fair hand in front of him, stunned for a moment. Realizing that Nangong Ci was going to help him up, he quickly grabbed his hand and used his strength to stand up, not forgetting to say, “Thank you, Master.”

When he released his hand, Nangong Ci’s fingers lingered slightly on his fingertips, but Xie Yiling didn’t notice.

“Fufeng Daozhang!” Si Wumian, fortunately uninjured, came over with several disciples, supporting the injured ones. “This wild fox has such a vicious heart. It actually concealed poison within its fox hairs and turned them into needles, causing the disciples to be unfortunately struck.”

Nangong Ci took out medicine and handed it to them. “Take the medicine quickly. If the injuries are too severe, take them back to Southern Return first.”

After the injured disciples took the medicine, most of the poison in their bodies dissipated. However, the residual poison had not yet been eliminated, and there might be future complications. Nangong Ci then had Si Wumian and the other disciples take the injured back.

Si Wumian hesitated, “But, Gongzi Yue asked me to follow you…” His voice grew softer and softer under Nangong Ci’s gaze, eventually turning into, “Yes, Fufeng Daozhang, rest assured, I will definitely escort them safely back to Southern Return!”

As soon as Si Wumian and the others left, only Nangong Ci and Xie Yiling remained, and the atmosphere suddenly became a little strange. The two searched for Gu Huanzhi along the path, without a word to each other. As they walked deeper into the forest, the white fog had completely dissipated.

Xie Yiling felt uncomfortable in this atmosphere. He picked up a sturdy wooden stick and held it in his hand, knocking it around like a game. As if to break the silence, he started a conversation, “Master, do you know how Wind-Tricking Mountain came to be?”

Nangong Ci glanced at him, asking, “Do you know?”

Xie Yiling proudly nodded, gesticulating as he spoke, “I heard that hundreds of years ago, this was just a barren mountain, with only some stinking ditches and rotten stones. There were neither flowers nor trees, and not even a living creature. It wasn’t until later that a wisp of wild soul from who-knows-where took up residence here, absorbing the turbid and spiritual energies of the barren mountain. It took shape and became a half-human, half-demon evil thing.”

“Thanks to him, trees began to grow on the mountain. Later, flocks of birds and herds of animals appeared. Whenever that demon appeared, there would be a great wind, and when it was angry, the storm would be even more violent, enough to topple large tracts of forest. Therefore, it was given the title of ‘Wind-Tricking Mountain Ghost’. The evil thing itself thought the name was good, so it directly took ‘Wind-Tricking’ as its name, and the mountain gradually became known as Wind-Tricking Mountain.”

After finishing speaking, Xie Yiling looked at Nangong Ci, raising one eyebrow at him, as if waiting for Nangong Ci to praise him for being knowledgeable. However, he forgot that he had read this passage in the *Record of Strange Contracts*.

Years had passed. The content of the books he had once read still remained in his mind, but the source of the content had been forgotten by its master. The peace that Xie Yiling had gained by playing dumb all along now showed signs of cracking due to his momentary lapse of carelessness.

Nangong Ci’s gaze suddenly became as deep and sharp as a carving knife, scraping across Xie Yiling’s face as if trying to carve out a flaw on that familiar but flawless face.

Xie Yiling felt a chill down his spine and finally realized something was wrong. He steadied his expression, blinked, and proactively confessed, “These rumors are all from an ancient book called the *Record of Strange Contracts* that I once saw.”

As if worried that Nangong Ci would overthink it, he licked his somewhat dry lips and hesitated, “However, I’ve heard that the *Record of Strange Contracts* is just a collection of strange anecdotes, and what’s recorded in the book isn’t necessarily true.”

Nangong Ci’s eyes darkened, containing emotions that Xie Yiling couldn’t understand. His throat felt tight, and his voice carried a barely perceptible tremor, “Where did you read this book?”

Xie Yiling thought for a moment, cautiously replying, “It was so long ago, I can’t remember.”

He continued, without changing his expression, “Although I failed to enter the Immortal Sect, my luck has been pretty good. I happened to have the opportunity to read the *Record of Strange Contracts*, and I was overjoyed, so I remembered some of it clearly. What’s more, now I’ve become a disciple of the famous Fufeng Daozhang, so it seems that fate has treated me well.”

Nangong Ci’s thoughts turned a thousand times, and he said nothing more.

Suddenly, the cold fog rose again around them, rushing toward them as if with a mind of its own.

Xie Yiling subconsciously tightened his grip on the wooden stick. “Master, could it be that there are other monsters on this mountain?”

Azurefall broke out of its sheath as he spoke, dividing into several swords to protect the two of them. The sound of fox howls rang out from the depths of the forest, the demonic voices like a mountain collapsing and the earth caving in, shaking Xie Yiling’s eyes until they went black, his ears aching, and his internal organs almost twisting into a ball.

Just as he was in pain, a refreshing scent like new snow entered his nose, and a pair of hands with a cool touch covered his ears. The sounds around him ceased instantly. He only vaguely felt the ground trembling and someone walking toward them.

After a while, Xie Yiling could finally see the scene before him clearly.

Ten steps away, there was a hint of peach blossom red. The newcomer had an exquisite appearance, a captivating look, and a graceful figure, with a hint of an evil aura, mixed with a demonic charm, making it difficult to tell their gender.

Xie Yiling could only look at Nangong Ci, with inquiry in his eyes.

Nangong Ci retracted his hand and slowly said, “I heard that in recent years, a thousand-year-old fox has come to Wind-Tricking Mountain. It often transforms into human form to scare people. It has three tails, and its color is gorgeous. It’s known as the ‘Flower-Tailed Fox’, named Hua Yeh Hu.”