https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-417-Forging-the-Malevolent-Blade/12918724/
Chapter 418: The Missing Shadow General
Chapter 418: The Missing Shadow General
"Lord Horse, do you want to stay here and rest, or come with me to the town for a stroll?"
On this day, Hu Ma prepared his outfit early and wandered around the valley, taking a look at Lord Horse who was lying in the valley.
Lord Horse turned his big eyes to glance at Hu Ma, then turned away, too lazy to pay him any attention.
"If you're not going, I'll take that donkey with me."
Hu Ma had no choice. Lord Horse had experienced several near-death situations in this valley, and his mood was terrible, probably due to a severe sense of defeat.
It was such a dangerous situation, with the entire valley filled with life-threatening dangers at every turn, yet he, being so big, hadn't encountered any of it. This was more devastating than the blow of having nothing to show for thirty years of hard work.
Leaving him to rest in the valley, Hu Ma went to the livestock shed to bring out the donkey.
The donkey had been fine all this time, leisurely hiding in the stable, admiring the mares. Its eyes were lecherous, and its body had grown plump. If it wasn't taken out for a walk soon, there would likely be more mules on the mine next year.
As he led the donkey out, just as they were about to leave the valley, he saw Old Abacus also coming out, wearing a wrinkled new outfit, holding a tobacco pipe, and wearing a black fox fur hat on his head.
Hu Ma smiled and said, "Why aren't you staying at the mine? What are you following me for? If something happens, at least there's someone on the mine who can speak up!"
"What could possibly happen?"
Old Abacus said, "I, as an old man, have settled the matter of wages. Most of the meat carvers have received their pay and returned to their fields. Now, the centipede's blood and flesh on the mine are still withering, so even if one wanted to be greedy, there's no profit to be made."
"If there's any trouble, big or small, your few disciples seem quite clever..."
"Except for that one who loves to use a fork!"
"..."
"Did you take care of that?"
Hu Ma was surprised to hear this, "That was sent by the Sun Clan's Seventh!"
"If I hadn't brought it up, would they have given it?"
Old Abacus, feeling righteous, added, "This time, don't think of leaving me behind. I'm going with you to see. During this time, I've found out all about the One Coin Sect. They've been causing quite a stir in the West Ridge area."
"The sect members are restless, and they're all eager to rebel."
"You're still young, and if you deal with them, you might get tricked into causing trouble, which would implicate our law-abiding Red Lantern Society."
"I'll go with you to help keep an eye on things, so you won't be fooled into joining the sect and getting entangled."
"..."
"Alright then..."
Hu Ma thought to himself that the world was probably about to descend into chaos.
The once notorious Red Lantern Society of Mingzhou was now also law-abiding.
The key was that, from his recent encounters, these words seemed to hold some truth.
As he waited for Old Abacus to bring out a horse from the livestock shed, unexpectedly, Lord Horse, who hadn't even moved at Hu Ma's command, slowly got up upon seeing Old Abacus. He stared deeply with his big eyes, as if he wanted to follow.
Hu Ma was astonished, "What's going on here?"
Old Abacus felt a bit embarrassed, "I promised him something last time, but I haven't fulfilled it yet..."
Hu Ma curiously asked, "What was it?"
Lord Horse immediately turned his head, glaring at Hu Ma with an unfriendly look. Hu Ma waved his hand and said, "Never mind, I won't ask."
The two of them, one on a donkey and the other on a horse, finally left the valley. Hu Ma sat on the donkey, following the mountain path, while Lord Horse followed beside him, and Old Abacus carried his small bundle and walked behind Lord Horse.
After walking for a few miles, Hu Ma couldn't help but ask again, "Since the horse is out, why are you still walking behind? Don't you want to ride it?"
Old Abacus, with a sullen face, ran after them, panting heavily, "It's because I haven't fulfilled my promise to him, and I'm not in the mood to ride. If I do, he might throw me off..."
"..."
Bringing this horse was more trouble than it was worth...
Hu Ma was speechless, but since he didn't know the history between the two, he just rode his donkey.
Old Abacus hesitated several times, his eyes signaling Hu Ma to give up the donkey, but Hu Ma pretended not to notice.
Anyway, they were walking slowly, and Old Abacus, being in good shape, could keep up.
They traveled for most of the day, their journey taking them through the mountains. As far as the eye could see, there were continuous mountain peaks, and occasionally, they would pass by a few small villages with only a few dozen households in the valleys or by the streams. These were probably people who had moved to escape the turmoil outside, which wasn't surprising.
However, Old Abacus, who had followed Hu Ma out, seemed very interested in these mountain villages. Every time they passed a village, he would stop to look around, sometimes even going into the village to check out the chicken coops and pigsties.
Suddenly, a woman carrying a baby and a rolling pin spotted them from a distance and mistook them for chicken thieves.
Hu Ma didn't follow him into the village; he waited outside. When Old Abacus came out, chased by a dog, with a dusty face, Hu Ma laughed and asked, "What are you looking for?
"Isn't it that Shadow General?"
The old abacus couldn't help but sigh, "Small-time folks have no sense. I, an old man, came to save their lives, but they thought I was sneaking into the village to steal chickens..."
As he spoke, he took out the eggs hidden in his sleeves and tucked them into his bosom.
'This is truly a thief who doesn't leave empty-handed...'
Hu Ma watched, speechless, and said, "You're worried that the Shadow General will run into the village and harm people?"
"Before, we organized a search party, but there wasn't a single trace to be found."
"..."
Such a thing had escaped from the mine, and for a while, everyone was on edge. Zhou Datong and Zhou Liang both led teams to search near the Blood Meat Mine. Later, it was said that Elder Sun had also arranged for people to search the mountains several times.
Of course, they didn't mention the "Shadow General" to Elder Sun, only that a demon corpse had escaped, and the miners didn't know what it was. They just wanted to warn others to be cautious.
But after searching for so long, not a single trace was found, and gradually, everyone relaxed, even forgetting about the incident.
"It's unsettling not knowing what's going on."
Hearing Hu Ma's words, the old abacus frowned and said in a low voice, "The Shadow General hasn't fully formed, but its innate nature is still there. How wild was it when it first escaped? And it shouldn't be able to get too far, so how is it that there's not a single trace?"
His voice carried a hint of doubt, "This thing's nature is similar to zombies, driven by instinct, feeding on humans and drinking blood. Logically, it shouldn't be able to hide so well."
Having searched for it before without success, and with many things on his mind, Hu Ma didn't pay it much attention. But hearing the old abacus's reminder, he slightly furrowed his brows and said, "Zombies and drought fiends have the habit of seeking revenge on their enemies."
"Could this thing, which was formed from Zhuang Erchang's senior disciple, be attracted to harm his family?"
"..."
"No."
The old abacus frowned and said, "I asked before. That senior disciple of Zhuang Erchang is surnamed Cao, and he only has an old mother at home. She's still alive and well, and doesn't even know that her son is dead."
"Moreover, the habit of seeking revenge is formed by the zombie's own bloodline, but this one is different. It was influenced by the demonic energy in the Heavenly Age Lord's blood and flesh, which overwhelmed its own bloodline instincts. It might not necessarily harm its relatives."
"..."
Hearing his explanation, Hu Ma was also confused, and he laughed, "So, according to you, this matter has become more mysterious?"
"Anything related to the Heavenly Age Lord is bound to be mysterious."
The old abacus also clapped his hands and gazed at the mountains and forests, sighing, "Anyway, looking at it now, it's indeed untraceable. There are probably only two possibilities. One is that this thing is more fragile than we thought, and as soon as it escaped, it disintegrated, rotting away in some corner."
"The other possibility..."
He shook his head slightly and said, "Tsk, the possibility is small, but it's not impossible."
"If it gained enlightenment in the mineral vein, then when it escaped, it became the Shadow General. Although it's demonic, it's still a righteous being. But since it hasn't fully formed, there's a chance it might have transformed into a demon."
"When a person dies and becomes a spirit, they can also turn into a drought stake. We just need to find and burn it. But not all drought stakes are so easy to deal with. If it grows fur on its body, it becomes even more formidable. If a demon corpse doesn't disintegrate, it becomes a disaster."
"You all have big hearts and don't care about anything. I, an old man, am working hard, looking around to prevent it from transforming like that."
"..."
Hearing his detailed explanation, Hu Ma was startled, "If it becomes that thing, is it very powerful?"
"Hehe, a thousand miles of scorched earth, with no living creatures..."
The old abacus chuckled twice and said, "But this matter is also uncertain. It was in the mineral vein before, nourished by the Heavenly Age Lord's blood and flesh, which allowed it to transform into such a mysterious form in a short time."
"Now that it's escaped, it'll be difficult for it to transform again. Without the nourishment of the Heavenly Age Lord's blood and flesh, it'll have to feed on humans and drink blood. But it's not a matter of eating one or two people; even a river of floating corpses might not be enough to satisfy it. There's no way it wouldn't be noticed."
"..."
"So, we still need to pay more attention."
Hu Ma also nodded, "However, if we want to search again, we'll need to arrange more people. Just relying on you searching around like this, we might not even reach Stone Horse Town by nightfall."
"That's fine, that's fine..."
The old abacus waved his hand, "I'm just checking these few villages to see if there are any traces of that thing. Now it's settled, let's quickly go to Elder Sun's place for the feast."
He quickened his pace and continued on the journey. The two of them, one on a horse and the other on a donkey, clopped along the mountain path, leaving behind the vast and deep mountains, the dark forest, the undulating tree canopy, and the faint, mysterious sound of some unknown creature's breathing.
On the trees, crows gathered in flocks, circling and dancing. Along the road, there were lonely graves and wild grass, with faint shadows appearing and disappearing. Only when they had traveled far did two figures suddenly rush out from both sides onto the mountain road.
They knelt on the ground, stretching out long tongues, greedily licking the path where the two had walked.
(End of Chapter)
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