Chapter 1 I'm to Blame!

"It's my fault!"

South of Huzhou, in a small county seat, Monkey Wine and Sweet Potato Spirits weren't exactly skilled in interpersonal relationships, but they could see that Bald Zhang was suspicious and reluctant to fight.

Now was the time to seize the moment. The more they delayed, the more variables might arise outside. Sweet Potato Spirits was a little annoyed, saying, "That baldy doesn't know what's good for him!"

"I'll find out where his wife and kids live and have a good talk with him..."

"..."

Monkey Wine gently stopped Sweet Potato Spirits, advising, "People can't place their hopes on things they haven't seen. He doesn't believe that we two alone can solve his current predicament, so it's understandable that he's suspicious."

"We can only blame ourselves for not making him believe. It's already good of him not to chase us away directly."

"..."

Sweet Potato Spirits looked at the patient Monkey Wine in surprise, saying, "You're actually a pretty good guy..."

Thinking back to the meeting, no one wanted to team up with him. She thought he was unpopular, but now he seemed gentle and polite, just a little aloof, as if he wasn't good at communicating with people.

Sweet Potato Spirits wanted to help this honest young fellow, to find an opportunity to enlighten him, as this kind of personality wasn't going to get him far in this world. She smiled and said, "So, what do you plan to do if he doesn't believe you?"

Monkey Wine softly said, "Forcing him to send troops will easily lead to misunderstandings. So, of course, we have to choose a way of speaking that won't cause misunderstandings to persuade him."

Sweet Potato Spirits was immediately curious, wanting to see what method he had that wouldn't cause misunderstandings. She followed Monkey Wine, who had figured things out, back into the military tent.

Then she saw Monkey Wine look around at the people in the tent, and then ask Bald Zhang, "Snake, scorpion, centipede, toad, gecko..."

"Which one do you like best?"

This question came out of nowhere. Bald Zhang was worried, unwilling to abandon this place and retreat, lest his lifelong reputation be ruined, and his future under the Ming King destroyed. But he also knew the terror of the Mixed-World King, so he couldn't care less about other things.

He was quite disgusted with these two "martial world eccentrics" who claimed to be here to help, but offered neither advice nor troops. But he didn't dare offend them.

Faced with this sudden question, he was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously said, "Toad?"

Toad could be roasted and eaten. Old Zhang had eaten a lot of it when he was poor.

Monkey Wine got the answer and nodded, "Easy."

He gently waved the flute in his hand in the air, and then from outside, from a cart pulled by oxen and horses, from a shriveled cloth bag, a loud croak suddenly sounded.

"Ribbit!"

The noise was sudden, and Bald Zhang and his guards didn't react for a moment.

Then their eyes changed, their pupils turning yellowish-brown for a moment, like a toad's, and bumps rose on their foreheads, but then quickly subsided, so that they looked no different from before.

But their faces wore a look of sudden realization, and even a hint of self-reproach. They slapped themselves in the face and said to Monkey Wine, "Sir, you selflessly came to save us, yet we were hesitant and cautious. We truly shouldn't have been!"

"Now, the brothers under my command, Old Zhang, although they have suffered heavy casualties, can still raise their swords. Whether we go to a mountain of knives or a sea of fire, sir, just give the order."

"Anyone who frowns isn't a good man!"

"..."

Monkey Wine nodded, saying, "No need to go to a mountain of knives or a sea of fire. Pack your bags and go south with me, without delay!"

"I promised the Zhu family that I would visit within three months, and now I'm almost late!"

Bald Zhang was immediately filled with self-reproach, saying, "The older I get, the less courageous I become. I, Old Zhang, was scared out of my wits by the Mixed-World King, and almost delayed your important business, sir!"

"Quick!"

Saying this, he ordered his men to pack up immediately and leave the city.

Not only was he anxious, but even his subordinates, guards, and two disciples in the tent became anxious, deeply ashamed of their hesitation, wishing they could first receive a hundred military rods.

Sweet Potato Spirits, who still thought Monkey Wine was too pedantic, paled.

She first secretly looked at her eyes in the water tank, and then patted her small chest, saying with some lingering fear, "So, the precise method you were talking about is this?"

No sooner said than done, the troops under Bald Zhang had died or fled, leaving only eight hundred or so men, his last bit of capital.

With these eight hundred men, there was hope to raise ten thousand or even tens of thousands of troops again.

Losing these eight hundred men would be equivalent to a complete defeat. Originally, it was extremely difficult for him to decide, but now he waved his hand, reorganized the remaining troops, and, along with the five hundred hemp-clad soldiers brought by Sweet Potato Spirits, raised their banners and left the county seat together.

They headed towards the Hundred Thousand Mountains, which had once seemed like a nightmare, and which they dared not set foot in again, marching forward with great fanfare.

Earlier, they had been taking each step carefully and cautiously, but now they simply abandoned caution altogether, traveling day and night, and in seven or eight hours, they had penetrated deep into the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

But this blatant entry into the mountains had long alerted every plant and tree in the mountains. Soon, the sound of willow whistles began to ring out around them.

Starting with one sound, they became continuous, everywhere, as if surrounded by the sound of willow whistles.

"Not good, it's...it's the bamboo raft army..."

The soldiers under his command, hearing the noise, had long been scared out of their wits.

Even Bald Zhang, who was under a spell, immediately picked up his saber and stood at the front, but his hands were shaking.

The Mixed-World King's bamboo raft army was like a nightmare to Bald Zhang. These soldiers, dressed in blue skirts, wearing silver ornaments, and carrying bamboo tubes on their backs, moved through the deep mountains like ghosts.

Previously, Old Zhang's ten thousand soldiers, plus tens of thousands of farmers who could grab weapons and join the battle, had died at the hands of this bamboo raft army.

Their battle formations weren't very powerful, but the bamboo tubes they carried on their backs were extremely strange.

Once they fought, and the enemy started banging on the bamboo tubes, even the fiercest men would roll on the ground, clutching their heads in pain.

Not only were those who died at their hands miserable, but those who were rescued were also covered in strange insects, incurable by doctors.

The sound of the willow whistles was a sign that they had discovered the enemy. For Old Zhang's men, it was like Yama calling their names.

"Sir...Sir..."

Although he was also a master of the Shou Sui School, and his saber was strong, Bald Zhang was really timid at this moment, holding his saber in front, but he had already chickened out.

He kept turning back to look at Wu Song, his face full of entreaty.

"I know!"

At this time, Monkey Wine, sitting in the cart pulled by oxen and horses, just nodded slightly.

Then he cocked his ear slightly and muttered to himself, "This is the bamboo raft army?"

"How many are coming?"

"..."

Hearing him ask, Bald Zhang immediately replied in a trembling voice, "The bamboo raft army hides in the mountains and never shows its face easily. But I've fought them several times, and I know that they have at least two or three thousand people. Although that's not a lot, they're too strange. Ten thousand men can't defeat them!"

"Not that many..."

At the side, Sweet Potato Spirits suddenly looked up, as if she had heard someone reporting to her, and said, "Only seven or eight hundred."

Monkey Wine also withdrew his gaze at this time, saying, "Eight hundred and thirty-two."

Everyone was stunned, wondering how he could be so sure, but Monkey Wine didn't explain. Instead, he slowly took out a pipe from the cart.

While stuffing tobacco into it, he said, "This bamboo raft army can be said to be the most stupid troops trained by the Zhu family."

Bald Zhang shuddered when he heard this. His own troops had been tormented by this bamboo raft army, and yet he said they were stupid?

Three of his eight disciples had died from those strange bamboo tubes...

But Monkey Wine continued, "Among the shamans, it's easy to find eight hundred people who know how to use Gu, but it's impossible to have them all refine the same Gu, and to have them act with the discipline of an army."

"This is determined by the characteristics of the Gu insects and the people who refine them. So, these eight hundred bamboo raft soldiers were originally soldiers, and the Gu insects they carry were all refined by others."

"Since they're using other people's Gu, and they have to guard against the Gu insects backlashing against them, they need a uniform method for the Gu insects to recognize them."

"As long as you see through this method, you can make them suffer the consequences of their own actions."

"..."

Although Bald Zhang was under a spell, the Gu was so clever that other than listening to Monkey Wine's words, his other thinking abilities remained.

Hearing this, he couldn't help but rejoice. If he knew how the bamboo raft army prevented the Gu from backlashing, then couldn't he also use it on his own troops? Wouldn't that be the same as breaking their Gu? Of course, this method must be a secret of the bamboo raft army, and it would be difficult to find out.

And the others listened to Monkey Wine's explanation, thinking about it, but seeing that he had said these words, he took out a fire stone, lit the pipe, and smoked slowly, without saying anything more for a long time, they felt strange.

Someone plucked up the courage to ask, "Sir...Sir, since you have guessed the skills of this bamboo raft army, then...do you have a method to subdue the enemy?"

Monkey Wine slowly smoked the pipe in his hand. Only when someone asked did he slowly knock the pipe on the edge of the cart, saying, "They're already all dead."

"What?"

Everyone was shocked, listening as if it were a fairy tale.

But soon someone plucked up the courage to rush into the forest, and saw corpse after corpse, all lying behind the bushes, dressed in the attire of the bamboo raft army.

At this moment, their faces were black, their mouths were foaming, and strange Gu insects were drilling in and out of their orifices. They were already dead beyond dead.

Moreover, it wasn't just those nearby who were dead.

When the pipe was lit, the faint smoke drifted into the forest, seeming to blend with the thin mist in the forest, making it difficult to distinguish.

Bald Zhang and his soldiers didn't notice at all, but in the depths of the forest, it was like a pot had exploded. In groups, in teams, those who had been ordered to approach Bald Zhang and the others.

Some had already taken the bamboo tubes on their backs in their hands, and some were blowing willow whistles to transmit information.

But when the smoke drifted out, their faces changed drastically, and the Gu insects in the bamboo tubes on their backs inexplicably became agitated, disobedient, and crawling around in the bamboo tubes.

Moreover, in the forest, from all directions, there was only the sound of rustling. On the trees, on the ground, in the dead leaves, in the weeds, countless insects crawled out.

These bamboo raft soldiers wanted to shout, but they couldn't even make a sound. Their bodies were already covered in Gu insects.

They wanted to escape, but the more they escaped, the more they saw snakes and insects surrounding them.

Moreover, behind this bamboo raft army, far away on a low slope, three men, one tall, one short, and one thin, were sitting cross-legged, with a Gu basin in front of them.

"Not good..."

Sensing the abnormality of the Gu insects, the three men were shocked and jumped up.

They circled the Gu basin, jumping in strange dances, and reciting obscure incantations quickly. Some even cut their palms and sprinkled blood into the Gu basin.

But in the Gu basin, the mother insect was still restless, screaming and hitting the Gu basin with a thud.

The three men tried their best, struggling for a long time...or perhaps, it wasn't long at all, not even the time it took to smoke a pipe. Cracks had already appeared on the Gu basin. Two of the three men turned green and slowly knelt on the ground.

Only the last one gritted his teeth, raised his curved knife, chopped off his arm, and then fled desperately into the deep forest, howling constantly, as if he had seen a ghost.

...

...

"You killed eight hundred Gu soldiers in the time it takes to smoke a pipe?"

On the other side, even Bald Zhang, who was under a spell, was now trembling as he looked at Monkey Wine, who was sitting on the cart pulled by oxen and horses, slowly putting away his pipe.

His men had scattered and discovered corpse after corpse of the bamboo raft army. Some went forward and found the corpses of two Gu masters on the hillside, as well as a broken Gu basin.

He didn't understand. It was beyond his understanding of the martial world. Because of the unknown, he even felt fear.

"Their Gu is too rigid."

Monkey Wine explained politely, but you could hear a little incomprehension in his voice, "They only know how to refine Gu by clinging to the skills passed down from their ancestors, but they don't understand that the many strange things in this world are brought about by the Tai Sui. The skills passed down from their ancestors can only utilize a part of it."

"They learn and learn, but they don't know how to adapt, sticking to the rules. Isn't this obviously handing their lives into the hands of their opponents?"

Everyone who heard this had a question mark in their heads.

Although this white-robed gentleman seemed very polite, not putting on the airs of a martial world figure, answering every question.

But they just couldn't understand when they asked.

The more calm and polite he seemed, the more frightened people became.

Only Sweet Potato Spirits was a little bolder. She had already discovered that this white-robed little brother seemed different from what she had thought, but Sister Gua also had her pride. She didn't submit to anyone except Hu Ma.

At this moment, it was she who led people to patrol around in the forest, checking several times, and soon, she came out of the forest.

Several soldiers in white hemp clothes helped her drag the corpses of the two "Gu masters," saying, "Brother Wu, you didn't do a thorough job. I saw the footprints of three old men on the slope, but only two died. One ran back..."

"I let him go back to report."

Monkey Wine slowly looked up, looking at the direction where the Gu master had escaped, saying, "To let others prepare."

Sweet Potato Spirits was stunned, "Eh?"

The soldiers next to her, and several brave strategists, couldn't understand at all at this moment.

In battle, you had to be unexpected and quick.

Winning by catching the enemy off guard before they could react. Why give them advance warning?

It would be one thing if the forces on both sides were equal, but it was clear that their side had fewer people...

And noticing their suspicion, Monkey Wine explained politely, "The Hundred Thousand Mountains are too big to search one by one. It's troublesome, so I need them to gather together first."

...

...

As Monkey Wine expected, the Gu master, at the cost of losing an arm, fled back to the Mixed-World King's army and reported to him.

The Mixed-World King was shocked. He got up in the middle of the night to ask. When he learned about the situation in the mountains, he was so angry that the teacup in his hand fell to the ground. He cried out in pain, "Eight hundred bamboo raft soldiers! Those were the most powerful troops that Grandpa Zhu gave me, to conquer the world with..."

"You're saying that they all died in the forest without even seeing the enemy's shadow?"

"..."

"Someone broke their defense method, causing the Gu insects to backlash..."

The Gu master who had escaped not only had a broken arm, but his face was also pale, his eyes were filled with stars, and he felt as if all the bones in his body were falling apart. All the Gu insects in his body were out of control, drilling into his internal organs.

With all his remaining strength, he could only scream, "It's an evil...an evil...They've already entered the mountains with the Huzhou troops..."

He wanted to remind the Mixed-World King that the evil in the forest was powerful, to tell him to be careful, but when he finished saying these last words, he felt his internal organs tearing apart, his body disobedient, and he went limp.

"They're asking for death!"

The Mixed-World King was furious when he saw the Gu master die in front of him. He slammed the table and stood up.

For him, the eight hundred bamboo raft soldiers were not difficult to support. They had repeatedly performed meritorious service in battle. With just eight hundred people, they had caused panic in the Huzhou area and dispersed the army. They were truly his darlings. Now, they had suddenly been buried in the mountains. How could he not be angry?

Hearing that the enemy actually dared to enter the mountains, he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Gather the troops! Set out at dawn! Go into the mountains!"

"Grandpa Zhu taught me the art of waking the mountains! The Hundred Thousand Mountains are mine to command!"

"I want to see how they seek their own death!"

"..."

As soon as the strict order was issued, the cooks immediately got up, started the stove, and cooked. When dawn broke, the entire army had filled their stomachs, and immediately raised their banners. The generals led their troops and entered the mountains. He personally cast a spell in front of the mountains and started drumming.

This drum was personally bestowed by Grandpa Zhu. It was one of the three Guanshan Drums, the Ferocious Heart Drum.

Inside the drum, there was a living human heart, beating constantly.

The leg bones of a living person were used to make the drumsticks. Once struck, the sound shook the mountains and forests, which could wake the mountains to eat people.

It could be said that wherever there were mountains, the Mixed-World King's army could stand invincible.

"Dong!" "Dong!" "Dong!"

The Ferocious Heart Drum sounded, its sound carrying for miles. The dark, endless, deep, and vast Hundred Thousand Mountains, the drum sound echoed between the peaks.

It seemed to be awakening this ancient mountain forest. Some shocking, vast, and strange changes were occurring in the mountains.

The first time you looked at the mountains, they were continuous. The second time you looked, you felt that the mountains had changed, like pieces on a chessboard. They had just been here, but the second time you looked, they had moved to another position.

...

...

"They're coming, they're coming..."

Near Bald Zhang's group, the bamboo raft army had been wiped out by a pipe of smoke, and their courage seemed to have grown a little.

But with only a thousand or so people, you couldn't even see a shadow of them in the mountains. As they walked, facing the dark and invisible mountains, they still carried an indelible sense of awe, and didn't dare to speak loudly.

As they walked, they suddenly heard the sound of drums coming from the depths of the mountains.

The sound of the drums was like a heartbeat, deep, heavy, with a chilling and eerie aura.

The entire army suddenly looked up and saw that the continuous mountains seemed to have changed. The lush pines and cypresses in the mountains seemed to have turned into people, and the withered vines and weeds seemed to have turned into people's hair, rising and falling like waves.

The mountain peaks that they had just climbed over not long ago now appeared in front of them. The strange cliffs and secluded valleys seemed to have opened their eyes and were looking at them.

"The...the mountains are alive again..."

Someone shouted in a low voice, and everyone seemed to have lost their souls, their voices filled with uncontrollable tremors.

Some even wanted to throw away the weapons in their hands and turn around to flee.

The bamboo raft army was terrifying enough, but at least the bamboo raft army was human. No matter how terrifying people were, there was always a limit. What Bald Zhang's soldiers feared most was the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Previously, they didn't know how many troops were stationed in these mountains, taking advantage of the mountain terrain. There were indeed many places that were like one man holding the pass, ten thousand men could not open it, but what happened later broke the defenses of the entire army.

The Mixed-World King's troops were not the strongest in the world, and their armor was not the most solid.

Only this art of waking the mountains, which could awaken the mountains to eat people, inexplicably caused the enemy troops to hang themselves in the mountains in droves.

This kind of thing was inexplicable, impossible to block, and impossible to dodge. It was easiest to demoralize the army.

Now, with the sound of the drums, the fear in their hearts could no longer be suppressed. They just stared wide-eyed, watching the fog in the mountains become thicker and deeper. In the dimness, they only saw ropes hanging down from the hillsides and under the ancient trees.

Some of the corpses hanging on them were fresh, some were mostly rotten.

Now, they were slowly turning their heads at the same time, showing strange, greenish smiles to their former comrades, as if inviting them to stay on this hillside together.

...

...

"Things are a little big..."

Sweet Potato Spirits didn't even bother to guess Monkey Wine's abilities at this moment. She was constantly sneaking glances here and there, and said cautiously, "Why have these mountains become so evil?"

"Even more evil than my brothers..."

Others didn't know, but Sweet Potato Spirits understood very well in her heart. It seemed that she had only brought five hundred hemp-clad soldiers, but in reality, she had brought thousands of troops, but the living couldn't see these troops.

But now, entering these mountains, she could feel those troops fading in and out of her perception, little ghosts wandering aimlessly in the mountains, as if they were lost.

She naturally knew that they had encountered a ghost wall.

But the brothers she had brought were ghosts to begin with. Ghosts encountering ghost walls? Was there no justice?

Some things were beyond her understanding, so she became humble and looked at Monkey Wine cautiously, with a hint of questioning, "Big brother, do you have any other ideas?"

Monkey Wine slowly jumped down from the cart pulled by oxen and horses, saying, "It is a little tricky."

Sweet Potato Spirits heard this. Was he stumped?

She felt a little happy, puffed out her chest, and was about to say the good idea she had come up with.

Then she heard Monkey Wine look at the eerie and terrifying mountains all around, saying slowly, "How could they be so stupid as to awaken the Hundred Thousand Mountains, and then send their own hundred thousand troops into the mountains, to be the nails that fix this art of waking the mountains?"

"Back then, we made an agreement with the Ten Clans to compete in magic, in order to reduce the number of deaths."

"Now, if these hundred thousand troops all die here in the blink of an eye, wouldn't it seem a little..."

"..."

After a moment of thought, he found a suitable phrase, "Wasteful?"

As soon as the words came out, it suddenly became much quieter around. Everyone was stunned, thinking they had misheard.

Sweet Potato Spirits opened her mouth wide, "Damn, are you serious?"

"I don't like killing people."

Monkey Wine didn't explain much, just shook his head slowly. Then he had Bald Zhang bring down a bamboo basket from his cart, held the flute, stood in front of the bamboo basket, and breathed deeply.

He looked up at Sweet Potato Spirits and said gently, "But I'm here to compete in magic with the Zhu family. The Zhu family is a good opponent, so I need to do my best."

"If I want to do my best, then I can't hold back. I can't consider the lives of these people while breaking the Zhu family's magic."

"It's a good thing you're here."

He seemed to have thought of something, turned to look at Sweet Potato Spirits, and smiled, "I also know that your hemp-clad soldiers are just a cover. You have some powerful means hidden. Then it's up to you to drive away those Mixed-World King troops!"

"If you can let more of them escape from these mountains, then you'll be saving more lives for this new world."

"..."

After saying these words, he gently looked up. It was silent in the mountains. Even the sound of drums in the depths of the mountains seemed to become light and airy at this time.

And Sweet Potato Spirits was stunned, "Me? Save people?"

"That's right!"

Monkey Wine looked at her, smiling gently, "I can tell that you're a very warm-hearted girl."

"Since I can't consider these things, then the troops who entered the mountains with us, and the troops driven by the Zhu family, I'll leave it to you to protect!"

"I believe you won't have any problems!"