The Taiheng Sect was located in the northeast of Yongsheng and was not considered far. However, Shi Jingzhi did not want to leave too many traces, so they did not hire any horses or carriages. The group disguised themselves and took a shortcut on foot.

They walked for a full four days.

During the first two days, Shi Jingzhi and Yin Ci studied the Compassion Stone Sword while on the road.

A divine physician needed to observe, listen, ask, and feel, while solving a formation was like diagnosing and treating difficult illnesses. It had to be done in a quiet room filled with incense, and tested with tools and medicine.

However, in the wilderness, their conditions were limited. The two of them had nothing but their bare hands and could not find any clues left by Yan Budu.

One of them had a burnt hand, and the other had frozen fingers, and they could not find any leads left by Yan Budu.

Now that everyone was heading to the Mi Mountain Sect, they were not in a hurry to search for Kongshi's tomb. Shi Jingzhi simply handed the Compassion Stone Sword over to Yan Qing, letting him practice with it however he pleased.

After all, only Yan Qing could handle this thing.

However, compared to before, the journey of the Ku Mountain Sect was far from easy this time.

After four days of walking, except for Yin Ci, the three of them had many blisters on their feet - the most severe being Yan Qing, whose shoe soles were soaked with pus and blood.

However, Yan Qing remained silent. As long as he had time and could move, his hand rested on the handle of the Compassion Stone Sword, with blisters on his palms no less than on the soles of his feet.

Perhaps the bloodline of Yan Budu had given Yan Qing a bit of fierceness, but he used all of that fierceness on himself. He was originally a serious person, and now he was even more so, with every move and gesture carrying an air of wanting to break his bones through training.

As he became more serious, Shi Jingzhi, as the sect leader, could not sit still and decided to join in on the self-torture.

So, when Yin Ci prepared breakfast each day, the three of them were already practicing with their bodies contorted and gasping for breath. Despite their unrelated techniques, the Ku Mountain Sect began to resemble a proper martial arts school.

On the fourth day, a fine, cold rain began to fall from the sky.

The dreary and murky surroundings made the already muddy path even more difficult to traverse. When they finally reached the Taiheng Sect's border, Shi Jingzhi did not force his disciples to continue. Instead, they found an abandoned house to rest in and indulged in some rare leisure time.

The house was small and seemed like a temporary shelter for hunters, with no village or shop nearby.

The ground inside the house was still made of mud, with no stones laid down. The salt jar had more ash than salt, and the small iron pot was covered in reddish-brown rust and had a few holes in the bottom. Fortunately, the walls of the house didn't let in too much wind, and the air was still relatively fresh, without any unbearable odors.

Yan Qing brushed off the dust on the bed, laid down a dry cloth, and made a clean and dry spot.

Meanwhile, Yin Ci started a fire and cooked some soup with salted meat and wild vegetables. As the pot heated up, he turned his head and saw Sect Leader Shi teaching the other two how to use their inner force to dry their clothes. The three young people had steam rising from their heads, giving off a pitiful smell.

"When we borrow the Arrow Horse, we won't have to suffer like this anymore."

The gloomy and rainy weather was getting to them, and seeing the poor and shabby state of the Kuishan Sect, Shi Jingzhi quickly stabilized the morale.

"The Arrow Horse is fast and stable, and we can all sit in the carriage. Each person can hold a small heater, and we'll be very comfortable."

Su Si hummed twice in a perfunctory manner, not taking Shi Jingzhi's comfort for real. Yan Qing regained his breath and began to wipe the Compassion Stone Sword, as if he wanted to polish the sword to a shine with the cloth.

The goose demon Lord Bai lay motionless in the corner of the bed, as if dead.

In recent days, Lord Bai had suffered the most.

Shi Jingzhi deliberately reduced his contact with the outside world, and Lord Bai had no more fresh and tender vegetable leaves to eat, and could only find some wild vegetables to eat. He couldn't eat whenever he wanted, and most of the time he was held in Su Si's arms to enjoy the breeze. The once plump Lord Bai had lost a lot of weight, and his former aura had diminished by half.

When Shi Jingzhi's attempts at comforting failed, he decided to pick two particularly fresh and tender wild vegetables to comfort the not-so-bright goose. But as soon as he offered the vegetables, Lord Bai slowly lifted his head and looked in another direction.

It didn't have the strength to stare at the four people, but it weakly let out a couple of "ang ang" sounds and tugged on Su Si's sleeve with its mouth, pulling him towards the direction of the door - even when the group went to Huilian Mountain last time, it never had been so proactive.

All of them had blisters on their bodies, and the smell of blood was strong. Shi Jingzhi couldn't detect anything unusual around them. Instead, it was Yin Ci who stopped stirring the soup and raised his eyebrows.

"Somebody is coming this way," he said succinctly.

"Let's hide, Lord Bai is warning us," Su Si made a quick decision. "This place is desolate and remote, and whoever is coming may not be friendly."

Yin Ci shook his head. "It's too late to hide now. The smoke from the cooking fire can be seen from outside, and it's a barren land out there. You can see all the way to the end. We've been careful enough on this journey, and the person outside may not necessarily be targeting the Ku Mountain Sect."

Upon hearing this, Shi Jingzhi pondered for a moment before hastily rummaging through his bag and throwing a few old clothes to Su Si, saying, "Ah Ci and I will hide, Su Si, you deal with the intruders."

Su Si enjoyed finding faults at every opportunity, but he never talked too much in critical moments. He wrapped himself in the clothes, tied a headscarf, and wrapped his hands with cloth, perfectly portraying an old man's demeanor. Yan Qing quickly blindfolded himself and covered the Compassion Stone Sword with a blanket.

Suddenly, they looked like a poor father and son struggling to survive in the wilderness. The room was small, and Shi Jingzhi and Yin Ci had nowhere to go but under the bed. On this rainy and dim day, the tattered cloth covering the bed made for an excellent hiding place.

Yin Ci adjusted his position and tightly gripped the Hanging Shadow Sword, ensuring that if anything were to happen, he could rush out and kill the enemy first. Shi Jingzhi, on the other hand, held onto Lord Bai and seemed more interested than nervous.

He even had the leisure to take a few more glances at Yin Ci and help him brush off the cobwebs from his hair.

The rainy weather was cold and damp, and the smell of mud penetrated their nostrils. Yin Ci had originally been holding his breath and focusing his mind, but Shi Jingzhi's constant fidgeting on the side made it difficult for him to maintain a sense of tension.

[Are you not afraid?] Yin Ci couldn't help but ask in a whisper.

[Perhaps if I were alone, I would be afraid,] Shi Jingzhi replied with a smile. [But hiding like this, I find it rather familiar and amusing. It reminds me of the past...]

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence and pressed his forehead, his face turning slightly pale.

After hesitating for a moment, Yin Ci freed up one hand and lightly pressed it against Shi Jingzhi's forehead. The latter let out a sigh of relief and his tense body relaxed slightly.

Once Yin Ci confirmed that his condition had not worsened, he withdrew his hand and focused his attention back outside the bed. Shi Jingzhi stopped talking and he and Lord Bai were lying next to each other, listening to the wild vegetable soup bubbling away.

Half an incense stick's worth of time passed.

Just as the pot of wild vegetable soup had just boiled, there was a hurried knocking at the door. Su Siqing cleared his throat and tremulously asked, "Who is it?"

"Help me!" The person's voice was hoarse and broken, and they were gasping for breath. "Old man, please let me hide. My Taiheng Sect will definitely repay you for your kindness!"

Yin Ci's movements under the bed came to a halt.

...Taiheng Sect?

Although this place was remote and desolate, it was still considered part of the Taiheng territory. Who would be so foolish as to attack a Taiheng disciple here?

Su Si and Yan Qing exchanged a glance. Su Si climbed onto the bed, facing the wall, and unsheathed his knife. Yan Qing took two steps forward and carefully opened the door--

"It's you?!"

Someone at the door exclaimed. The voice was not very loud, but it was recognizable. It was Jin Lan, one of Shi Zhongyu's followers in the Ghost Tomb.

Yan Qing also recognized him and quickly spoke, saying, "It's Jin Lan."

"Let him in," Shi Jingzhi muttered under the bed. With permission granted, Yan Qing pulled Jin Lan into the room and then locked the door.

"What are you doing here?" Yan Qing asked.

"I was going to ask you the same thing, what are you doing here? And who is that old man on the bed?... Never mind, let's not talk about that. Quick, let me find a place to hide and make sure you lock the door tightly."

With that, Jin Lan took a deep breath and crawled under the bed with his bundle.

Shi Jingzhi and Yin Ci: "..."

Jin Lan: "..."

At the Ghost Tomb, Shi Jingzhi was usually wearing a Nuo mask. Jin Lan had never seen Shi Jingzhi's face before, so the sudden appearance of their faces caught him off guard. He was taken aback by the sudden appearance of their faces, and felt a bit dizzy. It took him a while to regain his ability to speak.

"Yan Qing! There are two foxes, fox spirits under the bed... Mmph!"

Jin Lan was about to crawl out, but Yin Ci mercilessly dragged him back under the bed and covered his mouth. Yan Qing cooperatively patted the bed to signal him to calm down.

Jin Lan had after all seen a lot in his life, so he quickly steadied herself and nervously stared at the door, holding the package tightly in his arms.

The next visitors were not so polite - the leader kicked down the wooden door and brazenly barged in.

"Search!"

Yin Ci saw a pair of feet in front of him. Judging by the legs, the leader was a sturdy middle-aged man dressed like a bandit. They didn't ask as Jin Lan had expected, but instead treated the "father and son" in the room as nothing and started rummaging through everything.

Judging by the sound of footsteps, there were three pursuers.

Two of them kicked and beat the broken cabinet and straw pile near the door.

The just-cooked salted meat soup was spilled on the ground, causing Shi Jingzhi's eyebrows to furrow and his face to turn even paler.

"Blind man, where did you hide the person?" The leader grabbed Yan Qing by the collar.

"We were just passing through, seeking shelter from the rain, and haven't seen anyone," Su Si replied with his aged voice, facing away from the group. "It's almost the New Year, why shed blood unnecessarily?"

"I actually do want to shed blood today," the leader sneered. "Let's kill these two first to prevent any trouble. Hurry up and search, don't keep the boss waiting--ah!"

Before the leader could finish his sentence, Yan Qing grabbed his wrist tightly. Yin Ci rushed out from under the bed, and with a flash of his Hanging Shadow Sword, he sliced off the man's feet.

Yin Ci's sword was incredibly fast, without any hesitation. The leader's ankles were severed, and a large amount of blood spurted out. The sturdy man widened his eyes and slowly fell backwards.

At the same moment the blood splattered, Shi Jingzhi smashed the bed board with his palm, his hand carrying golden flames, and slapped the nearest bandit underling. The underling took the hit and crashed into the wall, his long knife, used for self-defense, melted and deformed by the golden flames.

Su Si also chuckled lightly, leapt into the air, and pinned the last person to the ground. He pressed his knife against the person's throat, leaving a thin line of blood.

Everything happened very quickly. Before the leader's body even hit the ground, all three of them had already been subdued.

The leader gritted his teeth, his ankle bleeding and spreading a strong scent of blood on the muddy ground. The three of them looked at the group with a dark expression, none of them begging for mercy or screaming in pain.

Jin Lan held onto the package, his mouth agape, and looked at Lord Bai. The latter looked at him with a complex expression, but in the end, he leaned forward and twisted his nose fiercely.

Tears streamed down Jin Lan's face and he crawled away from under the bed disgracefully.

"You guys have some backbone, not like ordinary bandits, but more like martial artists."

Yin Ci sheathed his sword and stepped on the leader's wound. The leader's forehead bulged with veins, but he remained silent.

"Jin Lan, how did you provoke them?"

Jin Lan looked at Yin Ci fearfully and forced himself to swallow the question, "Who are you?" He replied, "I, I didn't provoke them! Senior Sister asked me to go to Yi City to collect some medicinal herbs. Who knew these bad guys would follow me all the way here... I thought they were after the herbs, I didn't think of anything else."

The leader's blood pooled around their feet, and Jin Lan took a deep breath. "The herbs are indeed valuable, but they're not worth going this far for..."

As he spoke, a dagger swept past his cheek and flew straight towards Yin Ci.

In an instant, Yin Ci dodged to the side. With a quick pinch of his fingers, he firmly held the dagger between them. Despite this, the dagger's forceful wind cut off several strands of his hair, and the powerful internal energy transmitted through the thin blade made his fingers numb.

If the medicine was as precious as the Ice Peak Snake Lotus, it wouldn't be Jin Lan who was tasked with escorting it. For the sake of a box of herbs, it was not necessary to go to such lengths.

Regardless of the purpose, the person who made the move this time was undoubtedly a true master.