390: The sixteen-character mantra appears! (asking for monthly tickets)

At a quarter past Wei Shi, in the side hall of the Zhonglang Hall on Ninth Mountain, the atmosphere was solemn.

"Whoosh whoosh"

Outside the hall, two figures, walking with a steady pace and holding a black object in one hand, strode into the hall.

One had an ugly face, thick hair, a tiger's back and a bear's waist, and a face as black as charcoal; the other wore silver chainmail, a white cape, and had a tall, slender figure, exuding the demeanor of a scholarly general.

The arrivals were none other than the two Recorders who had served under Commander Pei and were now assisting Chen Yuan in defending Jinguancheng!

General Fan Chou and Gao Yu!

The two held a black square stone, about a foot square, and their gazes quickly swept over the four people in the hall, finally landing on the only green-armored figure among the three red-armored ones.

They naturally recognized Cloud Skyborn and the two Piaoji. But this person was unfamiliar.

And judging from his seat, this person's background was not simple. Why was he wearing green armor?

Cloud Skyborn and the other two stood up. Liu Qing stepped forward, speaking rapidly, turning his body towards Gongsun Yang.

"This is Mister Gongsun, the General's mouthpiece. He is here on the General's orders to have you two Councilors open the Weapon Repository and retrieve an item. There must be no mishaps."

Gao Yu and General Fan Chou were surprised to see Liu Qing's solemn tone, and the other people's burning gazes, and the somewhat chilling atmosphere in the hall.

Could it be related to the intruders who broke into Ninth Mountain last night?

"What item?" Their eyes narrowed.

"The Ten Thousand Mountains Regional Distribution Map!"

Gongsun Yang stepped forward.

"Hmm?" General Fan Chou was astonished, while Gao Yu's mind began to wander.

This item implied many things.

Was Ninth Zhonglang planning a counterattack on the Ten Thousand Mountains?

Gongsun Yang, Cloud Skyborn, and Liu Qing, seeing the expressions on the two, tacitly chose not to say more.

The fewer people who knew about the General's affairs, the better.

It wasn't that they didn't trust the two Councilors!

"We two will go open the Weapon Repository and retrieve it!" Gao Yu was perceptive. He didn't ask, and immediately nodded.

With that, he exchanged a glance with General Fan Chou, then acted swiftly, his feet blurring as he transformed into two streaks of light, one black and one white, and flew out of the hall.

And while the two Recorders hurried off to retrieve the item, Cloud Skyborn's eyebrows suddenly twitched.

"Mister Gongsun!"

"You followed the General from Qingshan County. Now there's someone from Qingshan County on the mountain who should be an old acquaintance of yours, and she's also concerned about the General's whereabouts."

"Someone, go invite Captain Lian!"

After half a cup of tea, a red-clad figure arrived outside the hall, moving like a raging fire.

When Gongsun Yang saw that red attire, he recalled his first arrival in Qingshan County, on the Nu River, where he saw a red-clad woman riding a horse across the river, looking heroic and spirited.

From that moment, the gears of his destiny with Qingshan County began to turn!

Past memories overlapped with the red-clad figure who just entered, and he was momentarily in a trance.

"Miss Lian!"

"Long time no see, I hope you've been well!"

Gongsun Yang stroked his beard and bowed.

Lian Nishang, who had just walked in, showed no surprise. She had been in the backyard and had seen everything clearly. She returned the bow to the Storyteller, who was now "famous throughout Shu Land."

"Ni Chang and Mister have only been apart for a year, yet it feels like an eternity. Does Mister know of my brother's whereabouts?"

Gongsun Yang stroked his beard and glanced at Cloud Skyborn.

Cloud Skyborn then relayed the news of the General being trapped in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

"Actually, in this order, the Lord also mentioned Captain Lian. I was planning to send another message to Qingshan County, but I didn't expect Captain Lian to be here as well. Perfect!

"What did my brother say about me?" Lian Nishang's eyes immediately brightened.

"The Lord said that he had previously mobilized the troops from the Three Passes to the southeastern front, preparing to resist the demonic army that was about to Break through the Restriction and rampage north. However, an unexpected incident occurred in Qingshan County, leading to a lack of leadership."

With that, Gongsun Yang paused, then looked at Lian Nishang, "Therefore, the Lord hopes that Captain Lian will take on this important responsibility and lead the remaining troops to complete the Lord's previous deployment!"

"The Lord did not force it!" Gongsun Yang added.

This was a heavy burden, but unexpectedly, Lian Nishang did not hesitate in the slightest.

"Good!"

"Ni Chang will not fail my brother's trust."

At this moment, Cloud Skyborn and the others could clearly feel that Captain Lian's Divine Qi instantly condensed, and her pupils shone brightly.

She seemed eager to try!

Around this time, a whooshing sound came from outside the hall.

"We found it!"

The two Councilors stepped into the hall, holding a dusty bronze box that looked as if it was covered in mud.

It was clearly old, having accumulated years of dust in a corner of the Dao Fu Division's Weapon Repository.

If it weren't for the consistently detailed records in the Weapon Repository, and the fact that this item was both useless and peculiar, they might have had a hard time finding it.

"Good!"

Gongsun Yang's eyes lit up when he saw the box.

...

"You said your Martial Spirit was directly enveloped by a golden light from the direction of Ninth Mountain's peak and evaporated into nothingness!"

"Yes, Saintess!"

In a room north of Jinguancheng, a muscular, bare-chested Hunter with a pointed nose and deep-set eyes knelt on one knee, his voice weak and trembling.

The Hunter's bare skin was covered with dense black patterns, like some tribal totem, with a large eyeball on it.

At this moment, as the Hunter spoke with his head bowed, his throat sounded like a broken bellows, and the black patterns on his body seemed to melt, dripping downwards, his aura rapidly fading.

He looked like a melting candle, about to burn out at any moment.

It was very strange!

Across from the Hunter, separated by a translucent white curtain, the sound of water splashing could be heard from behind the curtain.

Behind it was a bathtub, with a peerless beauty bathing inside, her astonishingly fair back and curves faintly visible through the white gauze curtain.

"Did you see what that golden light was?"

From the water, the voice was ethereal, as if far away, yet also close at hand, very indistinct.

"This subordinate does not know. It might be some powerful Restriction of Ninth Mountain. However, this subordinate has discovered important information: the identity of the person in the only sedan chair of the escorting team was very secretive. Even the soldiers who accompanied them all the way did not know. Could it be the person the Saintess is looking for?" The Hunter's body trembled, his voice extremely weak.

It was the same voice as the one who fought Cloud Skyborn and the others last night.

"Heh, I said I waited, but didn't say. This time, the effort was in vain. It seems this Saintess still underestimated Ninth Mountain. That Prince of Northern Liang has no guts, but that one seems..."

From behind the white gauze curtain, the soft, enchanting voice was like a seductive hook, but suddenly, the voice changed, becoming somewhat rough and hoarse.

"Wait!"

"What is that smoke coming from you?"

The Hunter, dripping with "black ink," suddenly began emitting white smoke.

Soon, the smoke grew thicker and rapidly filled the room.

"Pfft!"

The Hunter's eyes widened, and his body burst into flames from the inside out.

And in the flames, an aged voice resounded.

"Heaven and Earth Profound Sect, Slaying Demons and Binding Evil, Eight Directions of Divine Might, Make Me Natural!"

"The Lord wants to see what you are!"