Chapter 81: Revealing the True Face

After hearing the beast’s roar, Qin Mu and Kong Fan didn’t dare stay there any longer.

They decided to move first and talk later—if they were unlucky enough to be ambushed by something shameless, it would be disastrous.

As time passed, Qin Mu still found nothing. However, the longer he stayed in the Mist, the more restricted his True Qi became.

Qin Mu could feel the speed of his True Qi circulation slowing down inside his body.

This Mist is too strange.

I wonder how Elder Sister Ruoshuang and Senior Sister Zi Xi are doing.

***

“Roar!”

A White Beast, wolf-like in appearance, lunged at a graceful figure.

“Awoo!”

The beast was instantly cleaved in two.

The figure held a long sword, a cold aura swirling around her.

All around Qin Ruoshuang were the corpses of over a dozen beasts.

Mu’er!

Qin Ruoshuang’s beautiful eyes were filled with anxiety.

She raised her snow-white wrist, and a wave of Sword Qi sliced through the Mist.

But soon after, the Mist closed up again, returning to its original state.

She increased her True Qi, and Qin Ruoshuang struck out again.

This time, it was obviously much stronger than before, forcibly cutting open a path.

Qin Ruoshuang walked along the newly-formed road, and before long, she found herself out of the Mist.

Before her eyes stood a great mountain.

When she arrived, there had been no mountain here at all.

It seemed the Mist had concealed it.

Without the slightest hesitation, Qin Ruoshuang walked toward the mountain.

***

On Liu Zi Xi’s side.

The surrounding Mist made it impossible to tell directions.

Liu Zi Xi took out a magical artifact: a Copper Mirror.

As she injected True Qi, the Copper Mirror emitted light.

The Mist nearby scattered instantly, and even the distant Mist grew fainter.

“This Ancient Mirror my father gave me is finally proving useful.”

When she set out, Liu Tiancheng had given his daughter several magical artifacts, enough to handle any danger.

***

On Qin Mu’s side, the two wandered in circles, still lost within the Mist.

This time, since Elder Sister Ruoshuang was coming along, and he thought, how difficult could a beginner disciple’s mission be?

So, Qin Mu had brought few magical items with him, but plenty of food—because Elder Sister Ruoshuang, unlike Elder Sister Mengyu, couldn’t cook.

Besides being skilled at sword practice and fighting, he had never seen Elder Sister Ruoshuang excel at anything else.

So now Qin Mu was in trouble, wandering in the Mist like a headless fly.

“Huff—”

He didn’t know how long he’d walked before collapsing to the ground in exhaustion.

“Senior Brother Kong, let’s rest for a while.”

They’d been wandering all day with no gains.

Well, maybe some—after all, there was Mist everywhere.

Kong Fan glanced at Qin Mu, recalling that Junior Brother Qin was just a new disciple, and nodded.

“Junior Brother Qin, you rest first. I’ll keep watch.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother Kong.”

Qin Mu took out a Water Flask from his Storage Pouch and took a sip.

“Want some, Senior Brother Kong?”

Kong Fan shook his head.

“You drink, Junior Brother Qin. I’m at the Foundation Establishment Stage—even if I go months without eating or drinking, it’s nothing.”

Qin Mu’s face stiffened.

Right, he’s at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

I’m only at Qi Refining Stage…

Ugh, why is it that, except for myself, no one around me is at Qi Refining Stage?

Originally, Senior Sister Zi Xi was still at Qi Refining Stage too, but now she’s at Foundation Establishment as well.

There’s no one left to hang out with anymore.

After resting for a bit, Qin Mu set off again.

Step by step, as he walked, Qin Mu was delighted to find that the Mist was thinning!

Sure enough, after about five or six minutes, the two of them finally emerged from the Mist.

Before their eyes, under the moonlight, a cluster of somewhat dilapidated houses appeared—it was a Village.

“Ah! Haha! I finally made it out!”

Kong Fan laughed up at the sky, then walked into the Village.

Qin Mu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He’d made it out of that damn Mist.

He followed after Kong Fan toward the Village.

But as they walked, Qin Mu suddenly felt that the ground beneath his feet seemed…a bit soft.

Looking down, he noticed some dark stains on his shoes.

He bent down and touched it—it was some kind of liquid.

Lifting his foot, he saw a clear footprint on the ground.

Qin Mu turned his head, and his eyes widened in shock!

On the road behind them, only a single pair of footprints led back—step by step.

A single pair…of footprints!

Shivers ran down Qin Mu’s spine, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

“Eh? Junior Brother Qin, why did you stop?”

Kong Fan’s voice drifted over.

But in Qin Mu’s ears, it sounded like the voice of death itself.

Qin Mu turned his head with difficulty, looking at Kong Fan’s figure—then at the path ahead.

No footprints!

“Gulp.”

His throat tightened, and Qin Mu instinctively took a few steps back.

But seeing Qin Mu frozen, Kong Fan began to urge him.

“Junior Brother Qin, why are you just standing there? Let’s go rest at the Village Chief’s house. Maybe by morning, everyone else will have returned.”

“Come, Junior Brother Qin, follow Senior Brother.”

Kong Fan reached out a hand, smiling innocently.

But to Qin Mu, that smile was bone-chilling.

Moments passed.

Seeing that Qin Mu still hadn’t moved, Kong Fan’s smile slowly stiffened.

“Junior Brother Qin, this isn’t very nice of you. As a Junior Brother, shouldn’t you obediently listen to your Senior Brother?”

As he spoke, his voice grew hoarser, until it was completely different.

“As expected! You’re not Senior Brother Kong!”

As “Kong Fan” finally dropped the act, Qin Mu hurriedly pulled away.

At that moment, “Kong Fan”‘s mouth split to his ears, his eyes curved like crescent moons, but the eye sockets were pitch black.

His features twisted together.

“Hehe, I didn’t expect you’d still notice, little brat.”

A harsh voice rang out.

“Kong Fan” drew the Heavy Sword from his back, revealing a ghastly pale face.

His white pupils stared eerily at Qin Mu.

Qin Mu’s heart sank instantly.

A fight was inevitable!

As “Kong Fan” revealed his true face, the surroundings instantly changed.

The houses turned into ruined shells, and even the ground began to seep with water.

Worse yet, countless Resentful Spirits appeared, their faces twisted—some floated in midair, others crawled on the ground, and some hung from the trees.

“So many!”

Qin Mu’s scalp tingled.

Dear heavens, there had to be at least a hundred of them!

As they say, two fists can’t beat four hands.

At this rate, even if Young Master Qin had three heads and six arms, it wouldn’t be enough.

“Little brat, wouldn’t it have been better if you just listened? Why make such a big fuss?”

“Kong Fan” walked toward Qin Mu step by step.

As he approached, Qin Mu could clearly see “Kong Fan”‘s flesh rotting and falling away, revealing gleaming white bones beneath.

Qin Mu nearly vomited on the spot, barely holding it in.

This is too nauseating!

Qin Mu stepped back, step by step.

But if he retreated any farther, he’d be back in the Mist.

He’d just escaped—if he went back in, who knew if he could ever get out again?

But if he stayed, with so many ghosts here, there was no way he could fight them all…