Chapter 158: Together to Elope

Ling Yuxiu staggered to her feet. The green ox also shook its head, feeling groggy. Qin Mu picked up the small fox, tucked it into his satchel, and holding Ling Yuxiu with one hand and the green ox with the other, rushed down the mountain.

Still a little dazed, Ling Yuxiu giggled at him, "Cowherd boy, you're still alive..."

Qin Mu ignored her, whistling as he rushed down the mountain, almost dragging Ling Yuxiu and the green ox off their feet, making them float.

Upon reaching the bottom of the mountain, Qin Mu looked at the wooden boat. He saw that the sheep-faced High Shaman on board had also been knocked out, tumbling into the water with his rear end sticking up, half his body still on the boat. He presumed the Weak Water had already drowned him.

Qin Mu quickly boarded the boat, flipped the High Shaman's legs into the water, and then braced himself with a bamboo pole, but the boat didn't budge.

Qin Mu pushed several times, but the boat remained motionless.

"The Weak Water has no buoyancy!"

Qin Mu instantly realized. He channeled his vital qi into the bamboo pole, causing strange patterns to appear on it. When he then pushed against the Weak Water, he felt resistance from it.

Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief. He used the pole to propel the wooden boat across to the opposite bank, making it shoot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring. Even so, he found it too slow.

If the Shaman Kings and Shaman Lords of Loulan Golden Palace returned to the mountain, they would likely immediately neutralize the mind-altering incense and realize that these people were merely knocked out, not poisoned.

If they pursued them now, Qin Mu and the others would undoubtedly face a tragic end.

Finally, they reached the opposite bank. The green ox recovered its senses and quickly said, "Master is still on the mountain!"

Qin Mu replied, "Don't worry. If we can escape, he certainly can too. He's much stronger than us; searching for him would only make us a burden! Besides, the Shaman Lords and Shaman Kings returning to the Golden Palace to investigate will give Grand Chancellor Ba Shan an opportunity to leave."

He leaped onto the bank and extended a hand, but Ling Yuxiu and the green ox had already jumped ashore without needing his help.

The Vermilion Pearl Purple Fruit had completely restored them. This fruit was the antidote to the mind-altering incense, which the Apothecary had originally used to knock out a powerful Flood Dragon, an entity as strong as a Celestial Being. Yet, the Apothecary had managed to incapacitate it.

The only counter to this anesthetic was the Vermilion Pearl Purple Fruit.

"Green Ox!"

Qin Mu called out. The green ox understood, immediately hunkered down, and with a shake of its body, revealed its true form: a majestic, colossal green ox, its hooves trampling on wind and clouds.

Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu leaped onto its back. "Green Ox," Qin Mu urged, "run as fast as you possibly can!"

The green ox's four hooves flew, not touching the ground, as it galloped atop the wind and clouds. The two on its back felt the fierce wind stinging their faces. Behind Qin Mu, Fox Spirit awoke. She had just poked her head out of the satchel and was almost blown away by the oncoming gale. She quickly grabbed the satchel, her body already pulled out, the strong wind stretching her tail and body rigidly straight.

Each time the green ox's hooves rose and fell, they would stop about a foot from the ground, with wind and clouds surging beneath them, propelling its massive body forward at an astonishing speed.

Qin Mu looked back, his hair disheveled – a shaman's style, without a hair tie. He then noticed Fox Spirit. The little fox's two paws were gripping the satchel, her body held rigidly straight by the wind. He quickly scooped up the small fox to prevent her from being swept away.

Ling Yuxiu shouted, "Cowherd boy, I'll hold her! You fix your hair!"

Qin Mu handed Fox Spirit to her. As Ling Yuxiu held Fox Spirit in her arms, Fox Spirit felt her chest was soft and fragrant. She let out a contented hum, feeling a mix of discomfort and comfort, wanting to rub against her more, truly conflicted.

Qin Mu took out a hair tie and bound his hair. Looking back, he saw that they were getting further and further from the Loulan Golden Palace. He could vaguely discern golden rays flying from the snowy mountains, approaching the Golden Palace unhurriedly.

Although those golden rays appeared slow, their actual speed was incredibly fast, reaching the Loulan Golden Palace from the snowy mountains in mere breaths.

Then, several golden rays shot out from the Loulan Golden Palace, flying towards them.

Qin Mu's heart sank slightly. Those golden rays must be the Shaman Kings from Loulan Golden Palace, having discovered their tracks and now pursuing them. Although the green ox was extremely fast, its cultivation was still inferior to that of a Shaman King.

Just then, a bright light rose, intercepting the golden rays mid-air. Several beams of light collided in the sky, separated, and collided again.

From Qin Mu's distance, these beams of light didn't seem very fast, but if viewed up close, they would likely be too quick to even discern.

The beams of light collided several times with the bright white light. Suddenly, a ball of light exploded, and then a puff of black smoke appeared in the sky, forming a skull. From this skull, several more streams of black smoke shot out, each transforming into another skull. This repeated, filling the sky with countless skulls.

Even from this distance, they could discern the skull shapes, suggesting they must be incredibly massive up close, as astonishing as mountaintops.

Then, Qin Mu saw a saber flash across the sky, and one of the golden rays abruptly extinguished.

The green ox ran faster and faster, and soon Qin Mu could no longer clearly see the battle.

After the green ox galloped past several foothills and traversed mountains, nothing could be seen beyond the large mountains.

The sun set, and the sky gradually darkened. The green ox had been running for half a day, panting and foaming at the mouth. Seeing a pond in a depression on the grassland ahead, it quickly ran over and lowered its head, gulping down water.

Before long, half the pond's water was gone.

In the shallow parts of the pond, the backs of green fish could be seen. Several foot-long fish wriggled back and forth in the mud, trying to reach deeper water, then plunged with two plops.

Qin Mu saw how exhausted the ox was, so he jumped off its back and said, "Green Ox, don't run anymore, rest for a while."

The green ox hadn't drunk its fill yet. Just then, an old voice said, "That ox, stop drinking! You'll drink all our village's water dry!"

The green ox looked up and saw an old shepherd passing by. He hurriedly left his flock and ran towards them, cracking his whip from a distance to drive the green ox away. Upon seeing how frighteningly large the ox was, the old man dared not approach, instead flicking his whip from afar, muttering, "Shoo, shoo—"

Qin Mu patted the ox's hoof. The green ox had revealed its true, colossal form; Qin Mu was only as tall as its ankle and could only reach its hoof.

The green ox stopped drinking. Ling Yuxiu quickly jumped off its back, and Fox Spirit wriggled out of her arms, leaping onto Qin Mu's back and standing on his satchel.

The old man didn't dare approach. The green ox twisted its body, gradually shrinking in size, and stood upright. Yet, it was still two or three people tall, and it swished its tail, swatting dead several approaching horseflies.

Qin Mu bowed from a distance and said, "Elder, we are just passing through. As night is falling, we stopped to rest. The journey has been truly exhausting, and we were incredibly thirsty, so my ox drank a bit much. Please forgive us."

The old man approached, looking up at the green ox with uncontainable awe, yet still feeling a little timid. He said, "Your ox is so well-fed, it's truly sturdy. Why is it green?"

Qin Mu chuckled, "It has dragon blood, which is why it's green."

The old man wanted to touch it but hesitated. Gathering his courage, he finally reached out and stroked the green ox, finding its fur like satin and its muscles like iron. He praised, "Its flesh is so firm. We have a few cows in our village; can it breed with them?"

The green ox looked displeased. "Elder, I am not a breeding bull; I do not mate. I already have someone in my heart."

The old man was startled, stammering, "A demon?"

Qin Mu quickly interjected, "It's not a demon."

Fox Spirit poked her head out: "I am a demon."

The old man suddenly understood. He looked at Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu and chuckled, "I see! You've escaped from a wealthy family, haven't you? Only wealthy families can afford to keep exotic beasts and fox spirits. It's getting late, why don't you rest in our village?"

Qin Mu hesitated, looking at Ling Yuxiu, who whispered, "The green ox is tired from running; it can't go on."

Qin Mu frowned. "If the Loulan Golden Palace pursues us, we might implicate them."

Ling Yuxiu whispered, "The green ox has been traveling on wind and clouds all along, leaving no footprints, so it will be difficult for them to find us. How about this: if their village is very secluded, we'll stay there overnight. If it's conspicuous, we won't."

Qin Mu nodded. "Elder, in that case, we will trouble you for one night and set off early tomorrow morning."

The old man chuckled, "You're welcome to stay a few extra days if you wish. There aren't many people left in our village, just us old folks, living one day at a time. You look sturdy; could you help me herd the sheep?"

Qin Mu stepped forward. His movements were incredibly swift, and he quickly gathered the sheep. The old man's eyes lit up. "Girl," he praised, "you have excellent taste. This young man is strong and capable."

Ling Yuxiu blushed. "Elder, it's not what you think."

The old man laughed heartily, then led them with the sheep, bypassing a mountain hollow to a small village nestled in the forest. The village was not large, with only about twenty houses, most of them empty, inhabited by a dozen or so old men and women. The forest was very quiet, with tall, untrimmed trees that obscured the small village.

"Why are there so few people here?" Qin Mu asked, relieved but puzzled.

"The Khans are fighting every day," the old man sighed, "you kill me, I kill you, you capture a batch of able-bodied men, I capture a batch of able-bodied men. With all the capturing, the population just dwindled."

The old man sighed, "Everyone capable in the village has moved away. Only a few of us old folks are left; we can't move, and we don't want to. Where would we go after moving? Luckily, in the past few years, they haven't bothered us old bones when conscripting men. Old wife, we have guests in the village!"

An old woman who was mending clothes quickly rose shakily, grinning, "Guests? I'll go cook!"

Qin Mu quickly said, "Let me do it. I often cooked when I was in the village."

The old woman couldn't argue with him and could only watch with the old man as he stir-fried dishes and cooked rice. Ling Yuxiu hurried forward and invited the two elders to sit down.

"Where are you from?" the old woman asked with a smile.

The old man winked, holding up two thumbs in a kissing gesture, and chuckled, "They've escaped from a wealthy family, a young couple, eloping."

Ling Yuxiu's face flushed crimson. She whispered, "It's not like that at all! We're innocent..."

"We've all been young; we understand, girl. You're just shy."

The old woman looked her up and down, revealing a few sparse teeth, and chuckled, "The girl is good, sturdy build, big chest, and ample behind. The young man is very blessed."

The old man chuckled, "The young man is also good; he's strong and honest, doesn't bully others, and is very respectful to an old man like me."

The old woman interjected, "Why don't you two run away for a year or two, have a baby, and then go back with the child? Your family won't be able to refuse you then."

Ling Yuxiu stammered in agreement, her heart pounding like a drum. She didn't know how to respond, thinking to herself, "If I go back with a child by this cowherd boy, wouldn't my imperial father die of anger... Phew, phew, my imperial father wouldn't die of anger, but he would definitely behead him! Good fortune, good fortune!"

Before long, the aroma of food filled the air. Ling Yuxiu quickly went to help. After dinner, the sky had completely darkened. The villagers were all old men and women who only lit oil lamps and went to bed as night fell. Qin Mu helped the two elders clear the dishes. The old man said, "There are many empty houses in the village; just pick one to stay in."

Qin Mu thanked them and walked into an empty house. Fox Spirit helped tidy up, clearing out three rooms. She mused, "One for Green Ox, one for the plump-chested fox spirit, and one for Young Master and me. Three rooms, no problem."

Suddenly, Qin Mu felt something amiss and looked up at the sky. He saw two large stars moving across the sky from the west. He quickly urged, "Everyone, get indoors!"

Ling Yuxiu, the green ox, and Fox Spirit quickly entered a house. Just as they stepped inside, they heard a hum, and two thick beams of light descended, illuminating the small mountain village as brightly as day.