Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 324 Parting
"Oh? The Jinhua exam has been cancelled?"

In the small courtyard in the woods, Niu Yi looked at Ning Caichen, who was carrying a box on his back, with surprise. He hadn't expected that the Jinhua Grand Examination would be suddenly canceled.

Ning Caichen said helplessly:

"I heard that it's because recently in Jinhua, there were rumors of demons eating people, and then the mountain god was enraged and sent down lightning."

"In short, perhaps the higher-ups felt that the feng shui in Jinhua was very bad, and that the selected talents might be affected, so they directly canceled this major examination."

While feeling helpless, Ning Caichen was also somewhat relieved. He knew that the lightning had struck this very mountain, causing the entire mountain to tremble, and he had been quite frightened.

From that moment on, he completely believed his brother Guo's claim that there were monsters in Lanruo Temple; perhaps there really were gods and demons in this world.
Niu Yi was momentarily speechless, not expecting that he had been the one to orchestrate this whole affair.
All the scholars who gathered in Jinhua this time have made a wasted trip, and it is estimated that there are already complaints from scholars throughout Jinhua.

However, the current imperial court doesn't care about these things. The emperor is incompetent and treacherous officials are in power. This is the current state of the court.

"Now that the Jinhua exam has been cancelled, are you returning to your hometown, Brother Ning?"

“Indeed, I was just about to say goodbye to Brother Guo,” Ning Caichen cupped his hands toward Niu Yi. “I am truly grateful for Brother Guo’s care during this time. I felt an instant connection with Brother Guo, and I will certainly miss him often even after this parting.”

"If Brother Guo ever needs anything in the future, please send me a message, and I will do my best to help you!"

Seeing the seriousness in Ning Caichen's voice, Niu Yi knew that he was also extremely serious about this matter. Niu Yi smiled and said:
"It's a pity that my several jars of fine wine are still unopened, and I am about to leave this place. But we will meet again in the future, and I will invite Brother Ning to taste the fine wine again then."

"It's a deal! We'll drink until we drop!"

"A word is settled!"

Niu Yi bowed to Ning Caichen in farewell, and then stood at the door to see Ning Caichen off until he could no longer see Ning Caichen's figure before turning around and walking back into the courtyard.

Xiahou Jianke got up, stretched, glanced at Niu Yi, and then looked at Yan Chixia.

"It seems you still have some trouble to deal with, so I won't stay any longer."

He came to find Yan Chixia to have a sword duel, but he found that the people in front of him seemed to be in a very troublesome vortex.

Moreover, when those bolts of lightning struck the front mountain, he and Yan Chixia originally intended to go together, but he was persuaded not to by Yan Chixia. Clearly, these people had some secret, and this secret was probably on Guangyi.

He admitted that he had some connections with these people, but now that they were clearly hiding secrets and in trouble, it would be inappropriate for him to stay any longer.

"Gentlemen, we'll meet again someday."

Xiahou the swordsman smiled, cupped his hands in greeting to the people in front of him, then leaped up and flew into the air, leaving gracefully.

Now that he's gone, those remaining in the courtyard are all Niu Yi's own people.

The hooded sorcerer, still wearing his hood, respectfully said:

"Young master, all the Kunlun Sect disciples have had their magical powers sealed and are imprisoned in Lanruo Temple."

"Before, there were rumors that demons existed there, so no one dared to go there. I also laid Gu worms around the area, so if anyone appears there, I will be able to get the news immediately."

Seeing how smoothly this guy addressed him as "Young Master," Xiao Hai couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed and frustrated.

He always felt that among the few people in this small courtyard, he was the most useless, and it seemed that this was indeed the case.
Seeing Xiao Hai's expression, Niu Yi knew exactly what the kid was thinking.

Niu Yi's expression remained unchanged as he looked at the Poison Witch and said:

"These Kunlun Sect disciples are nothing to worry about, so we don't need to pay them any attention. We should also prepare to leave this place, as trouble will likely come knocking soon."

"Yes."

"I will not travel with you."

Niu Yi turned around and looked at Yan Chixia.

Just then, Yan Chixia stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder, and laughed:
"Now that you are powerful enough to protect yourself, I will not stay by your side. I suppose you have already made up your mind."

“I’ve retired, and you don’t seem to need this old guy anymore, so go do your young man’s work.”

The poison witch watched this scene with a strange look in her eyes.

He firmly believed that his young master was an old fellow with exceptional skills in preserving his youth and enjoying life to the fullest. He had clearly seen those terrifying bolts of lightning on the mountain earlier, thanks to the Gu worms.

This person shouldn't have anything to do with young people, right?
Yan Chixia and Gongziwei are so close, but he doesn't seem to know this.

Seeing that Yan Chixia had made up his mind, Niu Yi bowed respectfully and said:

"Guangyi thanks Senior Yan for taking care of me during this time."

Yan Chixia nodded with satisfaction.

"If you need me, just send a message via flying sword, and I will come immediately."

Yan Chixia left, saying he had some things to take care of. Before leaving, Niu Yi asked Yan Chixia to take the jars of wine with him for the journey, to which he readily agreed. As for Niu Yi himself, he set off with the Poison Witch and Xiao Hai towards Liuxi County.

In Jinhua City, on the top floor of Cuiwei Pavilion.

"Sister Wanyue, we've collected everything those people left behind, but..."

The elegant and graceful woman looked at the two hesitant maids behind her through the mirror in front of her, and gently placed the rouge in her hand back on the table.

"Don't worry, those people should never come back."

Wanyue's casual words sent a chill down the spines of the two maids behind her.

They dared not even think about what it meant to never be able to come back.
But they dared not say anything else, and could only bow in agreement and slowly leave the top floor of Cuiwei Pavilion.

Wanyue glanced at the two maids who had closed the door, then reached her slender hand to her neck and slowly tore it off.

"What a pity, such a beautiful appearance will soon be unusable."

As Wanyue spoke, she actually peeled off her entire face and placed it on the table in front of her. Then, she used rouge to apply makeup to the face on the table.

At Cuiwei Pavilion, one indulges in sensual pleasures and debauchery, living a life of debauchery day and night.

Only in the room on the top floor, amidst the noisy and playful sounds below, a faceless monster remained completely focused on applying makeup to its beloved body, quietly humming a song.

This bizarre scene unfolded silently.

Meanwhile, at the foot of Kunlun Mountain, a group of people were rapidly setting off towards Jinhua City.

"Elder Bai, is Elder Su really dead?"

The woman in white with silver hair, who was at the head of the group, glanced at the person behind her who had asked the question, and said calmly:

"Didn't you see the extinguished soul lamp? Why are you asking me? Su Baiming has already died and his soul has dissipated. That is indeed a fact."

"But...this is a bit much."

"There's no 'but' about it. His purpose in coming down the mountain this time was impure. Moreover, he has become arrogant and complacent over the past few decades, neglecting his cultivation and focusing on worldly pleasures."

"His Yellow Turban Warrior technique is indeed impressive, but that's all. Even if he's an elder, so what? He's long since lost sight of his own limitations. There are many strong individuals among the stewards of my Kunlun Sect who can defeat him. When faced with a powerful enemy, how can he escape unscathed?"

"You must also remember to cultivate yourselves well, because when you go out into the world in the future, you can only rely on yourselves."

"As the old sect leader said, we are not going to cause trouble, but to bring that person back to the Kunlun Sect. You should all be more discreet in your actions."

"Yes!"

On a small boat on a river, quite far from Jinhua City.

Yan Chixia slapped open the mud seal on the wine jar, and the aroma of the wine immediately caught his eye, making him swallow hard.

"This kid actually has this skill; the wine smells amazing."

Yan Chixia suddenly regretted leaving. If he had stayed with Niu Yi, wouldn't he have been able to enjoy this fine wine endlessly?!

"Oh well, never mind, I'll just go back and ask him for more wine later."

Yan Chixia picked up the wine jar, took a delicious sip, and then, reluctant to part with it, drank as he floated downstream along the river.

At Lanruo Temple, in the mass grave, the group of Kunlun Sect members, bound hand and foot and forgotten, gazed at the sky with despair and sorrow, their stomachs rumbling incessantly.
In the forest, two carriages traveled along a dirt road. In the second carriage, Xiao Hai, while driving, asked Niu Yi, who was reading a book beside him, with a somewhat excited tone:
"Young master, are we returning home this time to take the house back?"

Niu Yi chuckled:
"What do you mean by taking it back? That stuff was ours to begin with, so it's only right that we take it back."

Xiao Hai nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking at rice, his face full of undisguised excitement.

"Yes, yes, that's what you said, young master!"

For Xiao Hai, the Guo family compound held all his fondest memories, and he would be more than happy to snatch them back from those despicable bastards.

However, Niu Yi learned from the Divine Mirror that the Guo family compound had now become a haunted house.

The Kunlun Sect members took advantage of the night to massacre all the mortals in the entire courtyard, and even used their secret corpse-dissolving water to clean up all traces.

Those Guo family relatives who died and were filled with resentment have now become earthbound spirits, trapped in the Guo family's old house, unable to be reincarnated.

Presumably, by this time, that area in Liuxi County had become a notorious haunted house.

His plan upon returning was to resolve this trouble, then find a secluded mountain retreat to cultivate in peace until he had sufficient self-defense capabilities before venturing out to continue exploring the world, just as he had done at Golden Gourd Mountain.

Furthermore, Niu Yi was unsure whether his father in this life, Guo Kun, had truly left him no clues or objects.
During this period, Niu Yi would occasionally reflect on his past memories, and surprisingly, he actually discovered some interesting things.

(End of this chapter)