Chapter 143 Fleeing for Life

Chapter 143: Escape

Madam Chen had a grievance she couldn't voice, "Ever since a living person escaped the town last year, no one from the nearby villages and towns dares to enter. Only occasionally do outsiders come in unknowingly. This time, the outsider who came was not easy to deceive. We barely managed to force him into town by threatening him when his family was away, but he drugged my maid and escaped."

Some townsfolk, fearing mishaps, would still lure outsiders into town and then secretly hide them, keeping them safe from the mountain demon to throw to it to temporarily save their own skins. This made it even harder for the Chens to find living people for the Taoist.

"I don't care about your difficulties. If you want my medicine, show sincerity. Otherwise, don't even think about it!" The Taoist didn't care about the Chen family's troubles. Theirs was a mutually beneficial relationship. Without living people to offer, they wouldn't get his miraculous medicine.

Madam Chen, needing a favor and knowing the Taoist's temper, called out. A servant threw in a tightly bound woman. Judging by her figure, she was the one who had burst into Meng Wan's room two nights ago.

Her hands and feet were bound, her mouth tightly gagged. She couldn't speak, only staring at Madam Chen with venomous, regretful, and incredulous eyes, knowing full well what would happen to her in the hands of that strange Taoist.

The Taoist pinched the woman's chin, examined her, then tossed a bottle of medicine to Madam Chen. "A month's supply. Tell Chen Yong to pace himself, or I won't have any more."

Madam Chen carefully wrapped the bottle, tucked it into her bosom, and without a glance at the woman on the ground, hurried away.

After she left, the Taoist suddenly instructed the mute young Daoist, "Pack up the things in the temple these two days. We're leaving."

The Taoist often roamed, bringing back weird medicinal ingredients. The young Daoist gestured, "Going for half a year?"

The Taoist glanced at him, then pulled out a sharp, slender blade and gestured at the woman's face. "No. Clean out everything in the dungeon. We're not coming back this time."

Pingshi Town no longer had outsiders daring to enter. The Chen family's servants were almost all killed. The ones left weren't stupid. Even if they were bonded servants, without their lives, what did being a servant matter? This place could no longer provide him with enough living subjects. He needed a new place that could keep supplying him.

The young Daoist led the mountain demon out of the room. Through the closed door came the woman's desperate, muffled groans and a thick smell of blood.

The mountain demon's lazy beastly pupils instantly turned bloodshot, saliva dripping restlessly. Its twisted human face became greedy, sniffing fiercely at the young Daoist but never biting.

The mountain demon was, after all, a beast. After eating so many corpses and living people, it had grown increasingly ferocious.

Seeing this, the young Daoist quickly locked the mountain demon in a room. Something in there calmed it down after a few furious roars.

He bit his lip, hoping that guy's plan would work. Otherwise, there would be no more chances.

He sneaked into a secret passage in the temple. It looked like a large slaughterhouse, with seven or eight iron cages holding various fierce beasts: mountain leopards, tigers, brown bears, jackals, wild boars, and more.

In one cage was a white wolf similar to the mountain demon, but smaller, with a normal wolf's head. Beneath it were two white cubs.

Seeing him, the mother wolf, sensing danger, bared its teeth at the young Daoist.

He threw a handful of white powder inside, and the wolf collapsed instantly. He picked up the two cubs. He knocked out all the beasts and opened every cage.

The Taoist had his own poison that kept all beasts away, including the mountain demon. But the mountain demon was becoming harder to control. If he added fuel to the fire, as that young man had suggested, it might actually work.

The young Daoist's heart pounded wildly. He first took one cub to his room and handed it to Meng Wan, writing on paper, "Hold the mountain demon's cub. Other beasts won't dare come near. Soon, all the beasts will rush out. The townsfolk will flee, and no one will bother you. Rest assured."

Meng Wan was satisfied. For once, he showed concern for the young Daoist: "What about you?"

Whether inspired by Meng Wan, the young Daoist, burning his bridges, wrote a line: "Either my master gets eaten by the mountain demon, and I find the antidote to leave, or he discovers my betrayal and skins me alive. Hurry and go while my master is making medicine and the mountain demon's wild instincts are stirred. I'll go after you leave."

Meng Wan hugged the cub. Before leaving, he took a deep look at the young boy whom everyone, himself included, had been scheming against. "If you survive, you can find me in Heshan County. My name is Meng Wan."

The young Daoist wrote stroke by stroke, "My name is Chu Ci."

—

In the front yard of the Chen residence, on the second floor, was Chen Yong's bedroom. Madam Chen had claimed he was away, but he had been hiding there all along.

Normally, the door was heavily guarded, but today there was no one.

Chen Yong lay face down on the bed, licking and sucking a pink pill, his expression lewd.

Chu Yujing pushed the door open. A strange smell hit her. Chen Yong roared, "Who let you in? Get out!"

He covered his sunken cheeks, sharp cheekbones, and sallow face.

The more he hid, the closer Chu Yujing got. "You've committed heinous crimes, killed countless. And now you can't face me?"

"You tricked me into marrying you under false pretenses, killed my entire family in this foreign land. Do you even feel shame?"

Chu Yujing's hatred burned like fire, threatening to consume him. Her gentle face contorted, veins bulging.

"Xiao Yu, don't come near. Don't come near."

Chen Yong clung to the pill. As she approached, he swallowed it whole.

The pill had some miraculous effect. The jittery Chen Yong snapped to attention in an instant. His dull eyes regained focus.

"Xiao Yu, weren't you happy with me?" He stood up, still tall despite the drug's ravages, looking older than Chu Yujing. Yet his features showed he had been handsome in youth.

Chu Yujing felt only disgust. She had been deceived by such a man, such a mask, costing her whole family their lives.

In the endless days and nights trapped in Pingshi Town, she only felt nausea, including for the child she bore Chen Yong.

She closed her eyes. Pingshi Town was finished. The Chen family's retribution had come. She had wanted to take the child and die together with him, but... whatever.

Suddenly, flames licked up outside the room. Chen Yong lunged for the door, but Chu Yujing blocked it firmly.

Heat surged. Outside was a sea of fire. Chen Yong's frail body slammed into Chu Yujing. "Bitch! What have you done?"

"Help! Someone!"

"Where the hell is everyone?"

Most buildings in Lingnan were made of wood. The Chen's small building was no exception. Doused in oil, it burned fast. Soon, wood groaned, and the whole building collapsed, burying the pair who were closest and most hateful.

Madam Chen, loaded with bags of gold and silver, stared blankly at the blazing building and cursed, "Crazy!"

She turned to flee but saw a group of riders galloping up. The leader had sharp brows and bright eyes, his face stern. His lips pressed tight, he asked with no expression, "Where's my husband?"

—

After parting with Chu Ci, Meng Wan hugged the cub and went to the main street. At first, he kept dodging people, then crept back to the area near Wang Mama's house, which was deserted. From afar, he saw her door wide open, with a large pool of blood and the gnawed remains left by the mountain demon.

His stomach churned again. Covering his mouth, he slipped into the yard. The cub, sensing unease, nuzzled against him.

He gave it a couple of pats like a dog, leaning against the wall to wait. Hearing panicked shouts from the main street, he knew it was time. He took the cub back to the main street.

The street was in chaos. Whether the young Daoist had drugged the beasts or they had gone mad from confinement, townsfolk were being attacked and mauled everywhere.

Seeing the carnage, Meng Wan felt uneasy. He cautiously tossed the cub in front of a person a brown bear was tearing apart, then nimbly scampered up onto a nearby wall to watch.

As expected, the brown bear sniffed the cub, hesitated, then reluctantly backed off from its prey.

Meng Wan's eyes lit up. It actually worked!

Just now, he had moved too abruptly, and his stomach began to ache dully again. Meng Wan dared not make any more big moves this time. Carefully, he climbed down from the wall and hugged the little wolf cub back into his arms. Strangely enough, the furry warmth against his belly felt quite nice.

Even though the little wolf cub worked wonders, Meng Wan still didn’t dare to be overconfident. He tried his best to avoid the beasts and townspeople along the way, and didn't dare to run too fast either. He would walk a bit, then rest, afraid of tiring the baby inside him.

It was precisely because of this that he stood out conspicuously among a group of fleeing people. Among them were the very people Meng Wan had seen at the Chen family banquet that day—the ones who had tricked away Min Geer’s loved ones.

“Meng Fulang really is taking it easy!”

They stared at Meng Wan, who should have been offered as a sacrifice, their expressions shock and uncertainty. How could a frail husband be walking unharmed among these beasts?

“Now probably isn’t the time for catching up. Aren’t you all busy fleeing for your lives?” Meng Wan took two steps back. The little white furball in his arms was too conspicuous to hide, immediately making everyone think of the mountain demon.

At this point, no one was pretending anymore. One of them asked viciously, “What’s that in your arms? Is that why the other beasts don’t attack you?”

Meng Wan looked utterly innocent and said something completely unexpected, “Yes.”

He admitted it! The group grew restless, ready to snatch it away.

“Don’t you want to know why it can protect me from the beasts?” Meng Wan asked them.

“Who cares why? Hand it over if you know what’s good for you!” They were all grown men, reaching out to grab it.

Meng Wan shouted, “Because it’s the real mountain god!”

This shout stunned everyone. “What? Mountain... god?”

Meng Wan said solemnly, “That’s right! Only the true mountain god can make all beasts fear him. Only the true mountain god can protect everyone! Now hurry and gather your family members, and together we’ll rely on the mountain god’s power to escape the town!”

When it came down to survival, these men had abandoned their wives and children to escape. Hearing there was still a chance to save their families, they hesitated.

Just as they were about to discuss it, one sharp-eyed man suddenly yelled, “He’s running!”

The group turned and, sure enough, saw that the young man who had been speaking with such conviction moments ago was now sprinting away as fast as his legs could carry him.

But no matter how fast Meng Wan was, he couldn’t outrun men running for their lives. He was about to be caught.

“You son of a bitch, how dare you trick us! You—”

Before he could finish, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the Chen family’s alley. The next moment, an elegant short blade was embedded in the neck of the man who had almost caught Meng Wan, and he fell straight to the ground.

Song Tingzhou, helped by Xue Sheng, dismounted with difficulty. He embraced the frightened Meng Wan and comforted him, “Wan’er, it’s all right. I’m back.”

Meng Wan was dazed for a moment in his arms, then tears streamed down his face. “Where did you go? What took you so long?”