Chapter 108: The Crowd of the Dragon Taming Gate
Whoosh—
The massive python coiled its thick body around, actually wrapping around several levels of the tower ship, squeezing them until they creaked and groaned. All over the ship, scholars stood frozen in shock, and the boatmen were scared witless.
"Wei Yong, can you fly?" Qin Mu suddenly asked.
Wei Yong hadn't snapped back to his senses yet: "What?"
Qin Mu raised his hand and tossed the chubby fellow off the tower ship. Wei Yong's screams came up from below: "I can't fly, ah—"
Qin Mu leaped, jumping off the tower ship. Hu Ling'er, who had been drunk and drowsy moments before, was now as alert as a night owl. The moment Qin Mu jumped, the little fox cast a spell, and a gust of wind rose up to carry him.
Qin Mu stepped on the wind current, rushing downward with a whoosh, reaching out to grab Wei Yong. Wei Yong, still shaken, looked down and screamed again.
"Stop shouting!"
Qin Mu sprinted with all his might. Above them, the massive tower ship groaned and cracked, broken sections of the vessel crashing down with a roar. Qin Mu dodged repeatedly in midair, evading the massive beams that whistled past, charging into the distance.
Wei Yong looked back, his gaze dull. The ship's structure had already been shredded—the great serpent was coiled around the vessel, squeezing with deadly force, and the tower ship was about to be snapped in two!
The scholars on the ship jumped off one after another. Some cultivators had learned flying techniques and manipulated their spirit weapons to fly, while others hadn't, flailing their limbs in the air as they plummeted downward with screams.
"Long Jiaonan! Are you trying to rebel?"
The captain of the tower ship flew into a rage, transforming into a giant of flame and charging at the flamboyant man. His divine abilities were extremely domineering, but the tower ship could no longer withstand the battle of two experts. The core alchemy chamber was crushed by the giant serpent, and the alchemist and apprentices inside rushed out, leaping off the ship.
At the same time, the giant serpent spat a cloud of poison mist onto the captain's face. The flame giant immediately went out, toppling over stiffly on his back.
"We're doomed..."
Wei Yong's face turned pale: "The Dragon Taming Gate has betrayed us. The one who keeps this giant serpent is the young gate master of the Dragon Taming Gate, Long Jiaonan—a notorious scoundrel..."
Qin Mu struggled to support him, running toward the ground. Below was a mountain foothill where they could hide their tracks and avoid being discovered by the Dragon Taming Gate's experts.
A moment later, they finally landed. Hu Ling'er dispersed her spell and was about to speak when suddenly a scream came from above. A scholar crashed through the dense canopy and fell before them, shattered into pieces, brains and blood splattering everywhere.
Thud!
Another dull sound came from not far away.
Thud, thud, thud...
The mountain foothill was like rain falling—scholar after scholar plummeted from the sky, their bodies smashed to pieces!
Wei Yong's face was ashen, his body trembling. Qin Mu's ears twitched, and suddenly he grabbed Wei Yong and sprinted forward. Behind them came a thunderous crash—half the ship slammed down, destroying a stretch of forest, with broken trees shooting in all directions like arrows, terrifying beyond measure.
The massive hull of the tower ship slid a hundred zhang, nearly crushing Qin Mu who was running for his life, before finally coming to a stop.
Qin Mu kept sprinting forward with all his might. From within the tower ship came an earth-shattering explosion—the alchemy furnace had detonated, and the surging blast wave sent the two men and one fox flying!
Qin Mu landed, released Wei Yong, and said in a low voice: "Let's go quickly. Experts from the Dragon Taming Gate will be here soon to check for survivors!"
Wei Yong, still recovering from his shock, immediately ran forward, asking: "What will they do to the survivors they find?"
Hu Ling'er shot him a glance, looking a bit tipsy—she'd clearly been sneaking drinks—and said: "Fat Wei, what do you think?"
Wei Yong shuddered: "The Dragon Taming Gate is incredibly bold this time, daring to attack the ship of scholars heading to the capital for the examinations right outside the capital city! Once the National Preceptor recovers from his injuries, he definitely won't let the Dragon Taming Gate off!"
"Do you really think the National Preceptor is injured?"
Qin Mu shook his head: "In my view, the National Preceptor was never injured at all. He deliberately set a trap to lure the snakes out of their holes—to draw out all the forces within Yan Kang that oppose him and wipe them out in one sweep. Isn't the Dragon Taming Gate proof that he succeeded?"
Wei Yong was stunned, then blurted out: "You mean... impossible! I've heard there are no fewer than twenty rebellions right now, cities being besieged and plundered, countless civilians dead, and bandits running rampant everywhere. How could the National Preceptor tolerate such things?"
Qin Mu said: "This is naturally political maneuvering. If he weren't injured, how could he lure out all these traitors and rebels? So he became injured. He suffered defeat in the Great Ruins, was ambushed on the way back, and gravely wounded—both his reputation and his strength greatly diminished. Who would pass up such a golden opportunity?"
He said firmly: "In my view, the National Preceptor has long had a plan. He won't act to suppress the rebellions until all the traitors and rebels have shown their hands."
Wei Yong still found it hard to accept, muttering: "But so many people will die..."
"But the National Preceptor's future troubles will be completely eliminated, right?"
Qin Mu glanced at Wei Yong. This fatty was surprisingly agile, able to keep up with his pace, though he clearly had little understanding of wind—he couldn't ride the wind's edge to fly. Qin Mu continued: "Once he thoroughly eliminates his troubles, if he goes out to wage war again in the future, who would dare make moves behind his back? Moreover, if the National Preceptor wipes out all his enemies this time, if he wanted to ascend the throne, who would dare object?"
Wei Yong shuddered several times, looking at him like he was a monster: "Brother Qin, you're about the same age as me, right? How can you come up with so many schemes and plots? Little fox, is he actually an old fox spirit who cultivated into human form?"
Hu Ling'er hopped excitedly: "Fat Wei, you noticed too? I've long suspected the young master is a male fox who became a spirit!"
Wei Yong said: "Don't call me Fat Wei. My Wei family of Jiangling is at least a well-known and respected great clan—it's embarrassing if word gets out."
The little fox said: "Then I'll call you Blubber Wei."
Wei Yong was silent for a moment, then said hoarsely: "You might as well call me Fat Wei. At least it's only slightly fat."
Suddenly, Qin Mu asked: "Brother Wei Yong, what's your cultivation level?"
"I've already broken through the Five Radiance Wall and opened the Five Radiance Divine Treasury, though my cultivation doesn't seem much higher than yours."
Wei Yong asked curiously: "What's your cultivation level?"
"Embryonic Soul stage."
Qin Mu's primordial energy swirled, and he drew out the Butcher's Knife, saying: "Brother Wei Yong, you handle two, I'll handle two!"
Wei Yong didn't understand what he meant. Suddenly, four giant serpents slithered out from the forest ahead. Accompanying the serpents came the sound of a flute—a melodious, lighthearted tune, like a playful village girl teasing green snakes in the grass, the melody startling and rising and falling unpredictably.
The flute player should be a disciple of the Dragon Taming Gate. Qin Mu followed the sound, but didn't see any Dragon Taming Gate experts—they must be hidden.
The Dragon Taming Gate was originally a sect from Daxing Prefecture near the capital, making their living by raising snakes. They raised great serpents so well that they called themselves Dragon Tamers.
This sect had been subdued by the National Preceptor and had always behaved obediently. Even the military's tamed exotic beasts included giant serpents raised by Dragon Taming Gate disciples.
The flute sound was clear and crisp, and the serpents slithered along with the melody.
"Brother Qin, the Dragon Taming Gate's weapons appear to be the great serpents, but in truth it's the flute music—their flute controls the serpents' attacks..."
Wei Yong was about to explain the Dragon Taming Gate's attack methods when Qin Mu had already charged out. Wei Yong had no choice but to step forward and rush in as well.
Suddenly, the flute music became dense and staccato. One red-crested serpent after another accelerated sharply, lunging at the two men.
The moment Qin Mu encountered the first serpent, a blade light suddenly flared, exploding like a great silver ball!
Night Battle, Wind and Rain Over the City!
In an instant, flesh and blood flew everywhere. The red-crested serpent hadn't even had a chance to strike before the silver light wrapped around its body, racing from head to tail. When the silver light vanished, all that remained was a massive serpent skeleton—not a shred of flesh left.
At the same time, Hu Ling'er manipulated a wind-blade crescent to strike at another serpent. The flute-controlled serpent opened its mouth and inhaled, sucking the wind-blade crescent into its maw, then prepared to spit out poison mist.
Qin Mu pressed his fingers together and thrust forward—the Young Protector Sword pierced into the serpent's eye. He flicked his fingers upward, and the sword burst through the serpent's skull from within!
On the other side, Wei Yong charged forward. His cultivation was deep and solid, and he carried a sword case on his back, manipulating flying swords one after another to stab at the serpent. The sword case was also a spirit weapon, though its sharpness was inferior to Qin Mu's Young Protector Sword and Butcher's Knife.
Wei Yong moved nimbly under the attacks of two serpents, inflicting more and more sword wounds on them, but he couldn't find an opportunity to kill them both.
His cultivation was very deep, but his combat technique was far inferior to Qin Mu's, and his moves were academic—textbook style—without the power to kill in one strike.
Suddenly, Hu Ling'er bounced and scurried into the forest, while Qin Mu charged into the woods from another direction. Wei Yong cried out in alarm and tried to follow, but was entangled by the two serpents with no chance to escape.
Just then, the flute music abruptly stopped. Without the flute's command, the two serpents became sluggish and confused. Wei Yong immediately seized the opportunity, killing both serpents, then hurried into the forest. He heard the little fox's voice: "Fat Wei, over here!"
Wei Yong quickly ran over. There he found Qin Mu and the little fox, with a towering ancient tree beside them that was bleeding. Wei Yong didn't see anyone at first, but looking more carefully, he realized the bleeding thing wasn't a tree—it was a man. This man's clothing was patterned exactly like tree bark, and even his face was painted with bark-like textures!
This person had hollowed out a hole in the great tree, just enough to hide inside. Without careful observation, you'd never spot him.
"He's a Dragon Taming Gate disciple!"
Wei Yong's heart leaped: "Brother Qin, Dragon Taming Gate disciples always operate in groups!"
"You mean..."
Qin Mu's expression changed too. He looked deep into the dense forest. There, tree after tree stood lush and green, and then a hundred or so figures stepped out from within the trunks, all covered in bark-like patterns.
The flute music began. From behind the forest, countless great serpents slithered forward, the snake swarm covering the mountain wilderness. Their red crests swayed like a field of flowers dancing in the wind.