The Prodigal Son

The next morning, after repeated attempts to persuade them failed, Yuan Dingguo sent someone to lead them to that mountain path.

After handing the horses over to Yuan Dingguo's men, the group quickly traveled along the mountain path.

At first, the mountain path was relatively easy to walk on, except that it was a bit narrow.

But before they had gone far, the mountain path suddenly became rugged and treacherous.

Many places were carved directly out of the mountainside.

In some places, it's so narrow that only one person can pass by bending over and turning sideways.

Below the mountain path is a bottomless cliff.

Everyone says the roads to Shu are difficult; this place is probably just as difficult.

Qin Yu felt that they weren't walking on a mountain path, but rock climbing!

No wonder there are hardly any roads here, even though they exist.

Such a treacherous mountain path, a slight misstep could result in the entire village being wiped out.

Moreover, it was the kind where there was no body.

Fortunately, all six of them were quite strong, so although their speed was much slower, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Qin Yu walked and inspected the surroundings as he went.

He secretly pondered that if they needed to continue this standoff with Bei Qi for a long time, it would be best to open up a new path.

This mountain path is practically nonexistent.

I have no idea why the people of Yan went to such great lengths to build this mountain road.

With that kind of energy, it would be better to build a plank road in the mountains.

Qin Yu silently complained all the way, while also considering the possibility of using explosives to open up a road.

Even if we use explosives, it would probably take several years to carve out a passage from here!

Before we knew it, the sky had gradually darkened.

Just as Qin Yu thought they would probably have to find a place to spend the night on this cliff, wisps of smoke suddenly appeared in the distance.

"Someone's there!"

Qi Dachui also noticed the smoke and immediately shouted a warning.

"Don't make a fuss! Some people are perfectly normal."

Ning Huang glared at Qi Dachui, "There's someone there, not a ghost, what are you yelling for!"

"..."

Qi Dachui's face stiffened slightly, then he nodded in agreement.

Qin Yu was amused by Ning Huang's words, "It's good that someone's here. We can stay here for the night and continue our journey tomorrow!"

As they spoke, the mountain path gradually widened and meandered downwards.

Following the mountain path down, they finally arrived at a valley.

A winding stream flows through the valley.

Houses are scattered on both sides of the valley.

At this time, wisps of smoke were rising from the chimneys of many homes.

It seems like quite a few people live here.

To be honest, at first glance, it even has a bit of a Shangri-La feel to it.

Seeing the six people coming down the mountain path, several children dressed in coarse cloth clothes and animal skin jackets immediately ran over.

However, once they got closer and saw Qin Yu's face clearly, they immediately ran away in a swarm.

"We're not bad people, don't run away."

Qi Dachui shouted at the children.

However, hearing Qi Dachui's rough voice and seeing the weapons on their bodies, the children ran even faster.

"Let's go! Let's find someone to stay with for the night first."

Qin Yu called to the others and they walked into the valley.

However, just as they reached the entrance to the village in the valley, Nan Que'er suddenly stopped and called out to them, "Wait!"

"What's wrong?"

Qin Yu looked at Nan Que'er with a puzzled expression.

"Gu worms!"

Nan Que'er simply answered with two words, while simultaneously summoning her natal Gu.

Gu worms?

Everyone looked at Nan Que'er with surprise.

There are actually Gu worms here?

Does that mean that the people living here might also be descendants of the Wind Clan?

"Squeak..."

The natal Gu emitted a piercing cry.

At the same time, something started moving rapidly beneath a pile of leaves at the village entrance.

Qin Yu quickly stepped forward and gently flicked his palm to part the leaves, revealing a dense swarm of black insects beneath them.

The insect was very small, barely larger than the tip of a pin.

These insects were clearly afraid of Nan Que'er's natal Gu, and were frantically fleeing.

It really is a Gu worm!

"It seems there really are remnants of the Wind Clan here!"

Qin Yu looked at Nan Que'er with surprise.

This is truly an unexpected delight!

"I never expected to encounter my people here!"

Nan Que'er also showed a bright smile.

The mountain people here are definitely not from that branch of the family.

But they should be of the same origin as them.

Most of them fled to these remote, untouched mountains and forests to escape being hunted down, and have lived and multiplied here for generations.

However, that's not important.

Importantly, she encountered her own kind again.

Their clansmen were already extremely few, so to meet fellow clansmen in this isolated place was indeed a joyous occasion.

"Then we really need to go and have a talk with them!"

Qin Yu's face was also full of smiles as he walked towards the village.

"Clang clang clang..."

They hadn't gone far when the sound of rapid iron clattering echoed through the village.

As the sound of iron clattering rang out, large groups of men and women carrying all sorts of weapons rushed toward the village entrance.

Hoe, pickaxe, kitchen knife, fork...

Only a very small number of people charged to the front with proper spears and broadswords.

Seeing the villagers approaching menacingly, Nan Que'er rushed forward, releasing her natal Gu at the same time.

"stop!"

The moment they saw Nan Que'er's natal Gu, the burly man with the knife at the front suddenly raised his hand to stop the crowd behind him, then warily sized up Nan Que'er, "Who are you?"

"I should be considered one of your people, you can call me Nan Que'er."

Nan Que'er smiled and said, "However, we should not be from the same branch! My ancestors were the ones who fled south after being hunted down and slaughtered."

Hearing Nan Que'er's words, the man couldn't help but look puzzled.

After giving them a wary look, the man called over another person and whispered in his ear.

The man nodded and ran away quickly.

"Don't worry, we meant no harm. We just happened to wander in here while we were passing by."

Nan Que'er maintained a smile throughout.

"Just wait!"

The leading man didn't seem to sense Nan Que'er's goodwill and simply replied coldly.

A moment later, a beautiful woman with bird feathers in her hair and some silver jewelry walked over, surrounded by a crowd.

As soon as the beautiful woman arrived, a Gu worm almost identical to Nan Que'er's natal Gu flew out from her hair and chirped at Qin Yu and the others.

Nan Que'er's natal Gu sensed the provocation, so you flew out and let out a piercing cry at the Gu worm.

"Squeak..."

With just one glance, the beautiful woman's natal Gu was so frightened that it quickly hid back in her hair.

The beautiful woman was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly knelt down in fear and excitedly cried out, "Greetings, Master Witch!"

"Greetings, Lord Wizard!"

In an instant, all those who rushed towards the village entrance knelt down and shouted.

"The...master?"

Qin Yu curled his lips into a smile, looking at Nan Que'er with a hint of teasing.

She finds it easy to recruit followers!

Nan Que'er was also confused by how everyone addressed her. After a brief moment of disbelief, she hurriedly said to everyone, "Get up, everyone, get up!"