Chapter 236
“Are you here to ask about the woman up there?” the woman inquired.
“Exactly,” he replied.
“I haven’t had much contact with her, so I don’t know where she went. But I’ll tell you everything I do know,” she said, eager to help.
The woman had been worried about her daughter that day, her gaze never leaving her.
So she recounted everything she had seen in detail.
Li Mo nodded. “She flew away on the back of the Peng demon? This Peng demon doesn’t seem too fierce.”
“Hmm... they even trimmed its feathers? If it were me, I’d probably behave too...”
Murong Xiao felt a strange sense of empathy.
“Fairy Ying is truly clever. She didn’t venture into the Southern Wilderness alone; the Peng demon is fast and knows its way around,” Huang Donglai praised.
“...”
Li Mo recalled how he had shown the map to Bing Tuozi, who pointed to his home.
The directionally challenged Bing Tuozi likely did that to avoid getting lost herself...
However, the mother and daughter had no idea where Ying Bing had gone.
Not knowing her exact whereabouts left Li Mo feeling uneasy.
Before heading to Murong’s family home, he wanted to clarify this matter.
That meant he had to ask the Peng demon.
The four of them exchanged glances.
Li Mo stood up. “Thank you for the information. We won’t disturb you any longer.”
Just as they were about to leave, the woman hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn’t voice her thoughts. Instead, she said, “Wishing you safe travels, gentlemen.”
“Mm.”
Before Li Mo left, a flicker of something obscure flashed in his eyes.
At the door, however, Fu Yingzi slipped out when her mother wasn’t paying attention.
“Brother Mooncake, I... I want to ask you for a favor.”
“What is it?”
“Mother misses Father, just like Fairy Sister misses you. She even wrote him a letter, but she doesn’t know how to send it.”
Fu Yingzi pulled out a few sheets of grass paper, covered in dense writing, her voice growing softer. “I miss Father too...”
Li Mo took a look and saw that the letter was addressed to the military camp; Fu Yingzi’s father was also a soldier.
He smiled warmly. “Mooncake Express, delivering with care!”
“Thank you, Brother Mooncake!”
Fu Yingzi was overjoyed.
With the letter full of longing tucked away, Li Mo couldn’t help but glance back at the dilapidated bamboo house.
He saw the woman scraping the leftover porridge from the bowls of the three men, putting it into a small bowl for her daughter, while she stood beside her, her weary, emaciated face reflecting a sense of relief after surviving hardship.
“Peace and joy...”
Li Mo took a deep breath, momentarily lost in thought.
These four ordinary words seemed to carry more weight than he had imagined.
A moment later.
“Foolish child, why did you give your letter to a stranger?”
“Because Brother Mooncake looks like a good person...”
The woman anxiously pulled Fu Yingzi back, but by then, Li Mo and the others had vanished from sight.
All she saw were a few bags of dry rations piled up by the fence.
And a bright red talisman hanging on the fence, swaying gently in the wind.
“There are hard little beans inside,” Fu Yingzi said curiously, pinching the talisman.
The woman opened the talisman’s pouch and was momentarily stunned.
“Mother, do you think Father will see your letter?”
“Mm, he will.”
....
PS: One more chapter coming later. For those who sleep early, you can read it tomorrow morning. Mwah!
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**Chapter 253: Combination Technique — Zhan!**
Li Mo and the others emerged from the garrison’s camp, traveling through the dark for over a hundred miles before finally reaching Baoping Mountain.
As for why they went to the military camp:
First, to clarify the Peng demon’s frequent haunts.
Second, to amicably show the hammer to Qi, the garrison commander, indicating that he would return, hoping that Fu Yingzi’s family would be well in his absence.
Otherwise, within three days...
Under the night sky, towering trees loomed like a woven net, with the occasional chirping of insects and birds breaking the silence.
Huang Donglai darted around like the wind, his nose twitching.
While searching for traces of the Peng demon, he casually picked herbs along the way.
“Brother Huang, your agility is impressive,” Li Mo remarked, amazed.
Murong Xiao felt a twinge of envy, still unsure when he would make it onto the Hidden Dragon List. “No wonder they call you the Flying Poison Double-Faced Turtle.”
Huang Donglai froze, nearly crashing into a tree.
“Brother Huang, have you found the Peng demon’s recent resting place?” Li Mo asked, looking up.
“This is indeed a place it occasionally frequents,” Huang Donglai nodded, then added with a sense of camaraderie, “But it’s likely wary of ambushes, a cunning rabbit has three burrows; this must just be a decoy.”
“What about its real lair?”
“Don’t worry, Brother Li, I can find it!”
Huang Donglai picked up a clump of dirt and tasted it thoughtfully.
“Reliable!”
Li Mo gave him a thumbs-up.
Bringing Huang Donglai along was indeed a wise decision; it not only avoided many troubles but also provided a living map of the Southern Wilderness, complete with navigation.
Before long.
At the mountain’s peak, a sheer cliff.
Huang Donglai tasted the dirt again, nodding toward a nearby cave. “This should be the true lair of the Peng demon.”
“However, it hasn’t returned in about two to three days, likely because of Fairy Ying.”
“Then it should come back here.”
Li Mo pinched his nose to block the foul odor emanating from the lair, frowning. “Brother Huang, shouldn’t we prepare for something?”
The Peng demon’s flying speed was incredibly fast.
Speed was currently Li Mo’s weak point; even with his superior footwork and the Cloud-Soaring Shoes, he couldn’t compare to the extraordinary speed of avian demon beasts.
Huang Donglai, on the other hand, was not lacking in speed. With the Cloud-Soaring Shoes, he could definitely keep up.
But he might not be able to take the demon down.
As for Murong Xiao...
His internal energy level didn’t even count as half a combat force.
“Traps for dealing with avian demon beasts...” Huang Donglai pondered.
However, before he could think of the most reliable method...
Li Mo’s genius mind sparked with an idea!
“Hey, Brother Huang, you can catch up, but you might not be able to defeat it, right?”
“Exactly.”
“I can’t catch up, but I can definitely defeat it, right?”
“Of course.”
Huang Donglai looked puzzled.
Their strengths couldn’t be combined, could they?
Then he saw Li Mo smile and say, “Then it’s simple: I’ll ride on you!”
Huang Donglai: “??”
Li Mo turned to Murong Xiao. “Brother Murong, you have the bloodline of the Ming Jiao, and the Ming Jiao and the Peng clan are sworn enemies, right?”
“Mm, my family’s letter mentioned that I must avoid the territory of the Peng clan.”
Murong Xiao snapped back to reality; this was indeed something he had told Li Mo.
Li Mo clapped his left fist into his right palm, grinning. “Then it’s settled! Brother Murong, you’ll lure it into a trap! I’ll teach you some techniques to provoke it. When it comes charging at you, just throw out the Soft Muscle Powder.”
“Ah?”
Murong Xiao pointed at himself. “Me?”
Li Mo said confidently, “Once it’s enraged, I’ll ride on Brother Huang and charge out. How will the Peng demon respond?”
“The odds of it coming back without a trace will be a thousand percent!!”
This strategy combined the essence of fighting techniques with his combat power and Huang Donglai’s speed!
It was bound to be flawless!
“!!!”
Murong Xiao leaned back in shock. Huang Donglai gasped.
He had faced many enemies but had never seen such a bizarre tactic.
In a different place, even he, facing this combination attack, would probably only meet his doom.
Thank goodness he had a good relationship with Brother Li!
...
The next evening.
Outside Baoping Mountain, a massive avian shadow flew in, creating a strong wind pressure that sent birds and beasts fleeing in the forest.
As a soon-to-be sixth-grade demon with a powerful bloodline, the Peng demon preferred not to rely on its clan.
Now, the entire Baoping Mountain was its territory—what a delight!
The setting sun shone on its head, reflecting a dazzling glow, revealing its displeasure.
“Xiao Qing doesn’t even want to see me anymore.”
“It’s all that human woman’s fault!”
The Peng demon cursed as it flew, its tone a mix of anger and fear.
It certainly had reason to be afraid.
The Qing Luan clan had once been a powerful force during the Great Shang era.
Since then, they had guarded the Southern Wilderness alongside the Great Shang’s strongest warriors.
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