Chapter 159: The Blind Man's Eye

Two gazes, belonging to a figure flying overhead, swept across the grassland. The golden beams of light fell, illuminating the vast expanse, briefly passing over the small village nestled below the hillside before fading into the distance.

Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief, opened the door, and looked up at the sky. He saw the two large stars casting pillars of light that encompassed an area of six to seven li, moving further and further away.

"I wonder how Senior Brother Ba Shan is doing..."

He was truly worried. The person who had just passed by must have been a powerful expert from Loulan Golden Palace, a being at the Witch King level, searching all the way. The green ox hadn't left any tracks, and this village was hidden in the mountains, inhabited by elderly people who went to bed early without lights on, so the Witch King hadn't discovered it.

However, the fact that this Witch King flew all the way here to search for them indicated that Ba Shan Priest hadn't been able to stop him. It was highly probable that Ba Shan Priest was injured or trapped in an encirclement.

"Time to sleep!"

Qin Mu handed Ling Yuxiu a small jade bottle and said decisively, "Sister, the dragon saliva has miraculous effects on your injuries. Apply it to your body, and once you're done, go straight to sleep. We'll set off first thing tomorrow morning!"

Ling Yuxiu nodded and went inside. A moment later, the girl opened the door and peeked out, her dark hair falling over her chest, revealing one smooth shoulder while the rest of her body was hidden behind the door. She said shyly, "Herdboy, there are some places I can't reach, so it's difficult to apply..."

"I'll help you!"

Hu Ling'er excitedly ran over, smiling, "I'll help you apply it; you don't need to trouble Young Master!"

The night passed without incident.

The next day, before dawn, Qin Mu was already up, stretching his limbs. Several elderly villagers were also awake; the sounds of chickens being fed, sheep being driven out of their pens, and old folks greeting each other filled the air. For a moment, Qin Mu felt as if he were back in Crippled Old Village in Great Ruins.

"Are you two lovebirds awake yet? Breakfast is ready; come to my house to eat!" The voice of the old granny came from outside the door.

Qin Mu replied, roused Ling Yuxiu and the green ox. He then pulled Hu Ling'er out of her covers and walked out of the dilapidated house.

Just then, a voice from outside the village said, "There's a village here; let's ask for directions."

"Why ask? I can't possibly get lost!"

A fiery voice sneered, "I've been there before; I even blocked the place for a hundred days back then. How could I get lost?"

Qin Mu froze, an expression of disbelief on his face. He hurried towards the village entrance.

"There's no harm in asking for directions. You said you remembered the way, but you've had me wandering the grasslands for so long. It's not like I'm that scoundrel Cripple, running so fast..."

Qin Mu quickly reached the village entrance. He saw Cripple approaching, tapping his bamboo cane. Beside him was a grizzled old man, missing his lower body, with two pig-slaughtering knives stuck into his back, looking fierce and menacing.

Qin Mu was both startled and overjoyed. He rushed over and, without a word, picked up the old man missing his lower body, hugging him tightly. Then he tossed the half-bodied old man aside and tightly embraced the thin, withered Cripple.

"Butcher, I told you we took the wrong path again, didn't I?"

Cripple quickly turned his head away from Qin Mu, struggling as he spoke to the Butcher, who was dumbfounded after being thrown into the corner: "You took me to the frontier, and what happened? You brought me back to Great Ruins, back to our village! Mu'er, let go, you're choking me! Where's the Village Chief? Is Granny back too? Apothecary, Apothecary, stop hiding, I see you!"

A moment later, Cripple and the Butcher greeted several elderly villagers. The villagers, seeing that these two were even older and more infirm than themselves, felt immense admiration, secretly praising their enduring strength in old age.

Ling Yuxiu stepped out of the house, having just washed her hair. She was startled to see the two old men and quickly scurried back inside, her heart pounding. "Those are the two old men who scared me and General Qin on the Surging River that day!"

Qin Mu avoided the villagers and took out the cloth bag from his waist. He held up the bottom of the bag and reached inside, rummaging around. A moment later, he pulled out two legs, then half a body, and said, "Grandpa Butcher, is this golden lower body what you lost?"

"No. That's not my body."

The Butcher examined the golden lower body. After a moment, he made a cut on one of the legs with his knife, touched the flowing golden blood, and said suspiciously, "This body... it seems to belong to the Witch Venerable. I fought that old fellow once, and I'm very familiar with his blood. This lower body is mostly dead; it's useless now."

Qin Mu also stepped forward and touched the golden blood. It was semi-congealed but still contained traces of fire energy. A drop of blood even wriggled on his fingertip, trying to burrow into his body.

Qin Mu quickly activated his vital qi, transforming it into Vermilion Bird vital qi, continuously burning, and it took him a great deal of effort to incinerate the drop of blood. He then said, "Since this is the Witch Venerable's lower body, then Grandpa Butcher's lower body must be with the Martial Venerable."

"That old fellow admired me? To this extent?"

The Butcher stroked his beard, saying triumphantly, "So, if he had a son, would it be his son or my son?"

The stubble on his face was as hard as steel thorns, rustling when he touched it.

The more he thought about it, the more pleased he became, unable to help but burst into laughter.

Cripple unhurriedly said, "If he really gave birth to a son for you, or a litter of sons, would you acknowledge them or not?"

The Butcher froze, then his face fell. His earlier triumph vanished without a trace.

Cripple's single remark left the Butcher utterly disheartened. He then turned to Qin Mu and asked, "Mu'er, what are you doing here?"

Qin Mu explained the whole situation. Cripple exclaimed, "You actually went to Loulan Golden Palace to block their gate? How bold of you! I came out with Butcher this time to go to Loulan Golden Palace as well. We found out that Butcher's lower body was taken by them. Butcher wants to retrieve it, but he's not sure if it can still be reattached."

Qin Mu smiled. "If the lower body is dead, it certainly can't be reattached. However, since Grandpa Butcher's lower body is on the Witch Venerable, then the Witch Venerable must have attached it while Grandpa Butcher's lower body was still alive. As long as we find the Witch Venerable and chop off his lower body, I can help Grandpa Butcher reattach his body!"

Cripple smiled and said, "That's a small matter. That scoundrel Butcher, he'll finally be complete. He didn't even have a 'bird' before."

The Butcher was enraged. "How can I not have a 'bird'? I can manifest a body with vital qi! I can pee and poop just fine!"

The two started arguing again, giving Qin Mu a headache.

Qin Mu quickly interjected, "Senior Brother Ba Shan is still trapped in Loulan Golden Palace, his fate unknown. Grandpas..."

The Butcher shook his head and said, "Don't bother with that scoundrel. He can't keep his mouth shut; he blabs about everything, constantly chattering away. When I met him in Yankang, he hadn't even been beaten to death for saying the wrong thing. I found him too talkative, feared he'd cling to me, so I left."

Despite his words, he was ready to set off immediately for Loulan Golden Palace, still concerned about Ba Shan Priest's safety.

Hu Ling'er and Ling Yuxiu had already packed their bags. Ling Yuxiu went to the old granny and the old man's house and left a few gold ingots. Although they only stayed for one night, they had received care from the elderly villagers. As the villagers were all old and there were no young people in the village, leaving some money would help them in their old age.

The Butcher looked at Ling Yuxiu, clearly not recognizing the Seventh Princess. He smiled and said, "This brat has good taste; this girl isn't bad-looking."

Ling Yuxiu bravely stepped forward, greeted him and Cripple, and said, "The green ox ran off to eat grass this morning and hasn't returned yet."

"Let's go find him."

Everyone left the village. They saw a giant green ox grazing on the grassland, tears streaming down its face as it mumbled, "Ever since I followed Master, I've always eaten vegetables, never grass. Master even built me a vegetable plot of several mu and planted flowers for me..."

Hu Ling'er ran forward and said, "Ox Two, stop crying. Your master's master is here; your master is saved!"

When the green ox saw Cripple and the Butcher, who only had his upper body, its ox-face twitched, somewhat doubtful of their abilities.

Everyone climbed onto the ox's back. Qin Mu said, "Green Ox, don't worry, they are very powerful. Let's hurry to Loulan Golden Palace to rescue Senior Brother Ba Shan."

The green ox could only start trotting back the way they came. From its back, Ling Yuxiu looked back and saw the small mountain village disappear into the forest.

"Those old folks said that several Khans in the frontier are constantly fighting each other, indicating that the frontier has also developed a sense of crisis due to the rise of Yankang Kingdom."

Ling Yuxiu composed herself and said, "They also want to establish a unified empire, gathering all their strength to contend with Yankang. This Khan of the Barbarian Di Kingdom must be an ambitious and powerful ruler. If he unifies the frontier, I fear our Yankang Kingdom will face difficulties. Currently, internal conflicts are frequent in Yankang..."

Qin Mu nodded. "There must be instigation from Loulan Golden Palace. After all, Loulan Golden Palace is a sacred ground, and if they supported the Khan of the Barbarian Di Kingdom, unifying the frontier wouldn't be difficult. I estimate Loulan Golden Palace is also somewhat hesitant, worried about cultivating another Yankang Kingdom and losing control over the frontier. That's why the Barbarian Di Kingdom hasn't unified the frontier yet."

Ling Yuxiu thought about it and realized it made sense.

However, the three major sacred grounds within Yankang Kingdom—Dao Sect, Great Thunderclap Temple, and Heavenly Devil Cult—did not support Yankang Kingdom. Not only did they not support it, but some sects were even causing trouble.

If the Barbarian Di Kingdom received full support from the Golden Palace, they would likely gain the power to attack Yankang.

The green ox galloped for half a day. Suddenly, Cripple said, "Stop."

The green ox immediately stopped. Cripple pointed southwest and said, "Go that way. I see people fighting over there."

The green ox was puzzled. Cripple saw people fighting? How?

However, it was not in a position to ask, so it merely changed direction and galloped southwest.

Ling Yuxiu was also somewhat confused and looked at Qin Mu. Qin Mu explained, "Grandpa Cripple is the one with the best eyesight in our village."

Cripple looked pleased. Ling Yuxiu looked at his "eyes," only to see empty sockets with nothing in them. She wondered, "Why is Cripple the one with the best eyesight? What's the meaning of this..."

The green ox hadn't galloped much further when it suddenly saw distant flashes of blades on a mountain peak. The distance was too great to see anything but faint glimmers, and only then did it truly admire Cripple.

Ling Yuxiu was both surprised and uncertain: "Is he really blind?"

The Butcher also praised, "Cripple's eyesight is truly excellent."