Chapter 348
The River of Women Washing
"Just caught a few demons, heh!"
"We've subdued a few more demons. How come he has so many evil spirits and monsters..."
On the dark mountain road at night, the child's cheerful singing voice, with its melodious tune, was very catchy.
The red line transformed into a little monkey, which walked and tumbled as it went, singing a song in monkey form, and it couldn't be more excited.
She wielded a dragon-spitting fire spear like a golden cudgel, creating a powerful and fierce gust of wind that bent the surrounding trees and sent withered leaves flying like dragons.
After singing "The Road to Heaven is Wide and Broad," Hongxian said with lingering enthusiasm, "Boss, boss, the song you taught me is really great to sing. I think it's even more enjoyable than singing opera!"
Before she could finish speaking, her monkey tail was lifted up.
Yu Zhensheng said irritably, "You little monkey, if you're going to sing, then sing. You're not allowed to look down on opera."
Holding it by the tail, Hongxian swayed gently like an upside-down bat, stuck out its tongue, and muttered, "Old stubborn."
"Hehe, when we get to a crowded place, I'll make you perform a monkey show to earn some travel expenses for everyone!"
"You, you're bullying a child!"
Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this.
Yu Tianheng was the most direct, mocking, "Idiot."
Hongxian said angrily, "Damn it, can't such a big Zhou family troupe even tolerate an idiot?"
Yu Tianheng's smile froze instantly, and for a moment he didn't know how to respond.
Zhou Sheng shook his head and chuckled, saying, "I'll let you turn into a monkey for me to observe. Who told you to start singing?"
"Speak again, and I'll sew your mouth shut."
Hongxian's eyes lit up, and he scratched his head, pretending to be mute: "Aba... Aba..."
Zhou Sheng was so angry he almost laughed. He was about to scold her when his expression suddenly turned serious, as if he had sensed something.
Immediately afterwards, Yu Tianheng and Yu Zhensheng also focused their gazes and looked ahead.
Yao Taifeng placed her hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist. The red hair on her body stood on end as if she had been startled, and she subconsciously tightened her grip on the spear.
Tan Sheng's whole body tensed up, his middle and index fingers slightly extended in his sleeves, while the other three fingers were bent. This was a signature finger gesture of an old male actor, ready to sing at any moment.
Even the brocade zither, which had been hiding inside the zither, slowly floated out, its body shimmering with light, its ten fingers like jade, as if it had plucked the invisible strings of the zither.
Within a day or two, it can produce a sound as clear as metal or stone.
As for Xiao Wu and the others, they hid inside the Yin-gathering jar and did not come out. After all, they were Yin spirits, and traveling would attract too much attention and be very inconvenient.
Even so, this team is already considered luxurious.
The two grandmasters of the Yinxi lineage, Yu Zhensheng, the Demon of Play, and Yu Tianheng, the Grand Master of Emperor Play, along with their successors, the Feng family who have cultivated a golden body and wear the Wind and Thunder Swords, the world's number one qin player Jinse, and Hongxian who possesses a congenital stone fetus and greatly increased magical power.
Faced with this team, most demons and monsters in the world would probably tremble in fear and tremble with dread.
Therefore, they traveled for several days without encountering any ignorant demons blocking their way. Even the ghost messengers on the Yin-Yang Road would avoid them from a distance.
But now, this once-proud team has come to a standstill.
In the distance, a thick aura of resentment rose into the sky, obscuring the moon and the stars, and the invisible black mist enveloped the surrounding area like a dome.
“When resentment and venom are concentrated, smoke will emerge from the seven orifices. The smoke is bluish-black and will turn into frost when it touches anything.”
Looking at the frost on the surrounding rocks, Yu Zhensheng couldn't help but speak up.
Yu Tianheng, not to be outdone, quickly said, "When resentment soars to the heavens, the celestial phenomena are thrown into chaos. With such heavy resentment, it seems we've arrived at that place." Hongxian's eyes lit up, and she asked, "Have we arrived at the City of the Wrongfully Dead?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Sheng shook his head and laughed, "It's still a long way off. We've only gone about halfway. According to the instructions on the invitation, we've already completed the land route. Next, we'll take the water route."
Jinse slowly opened her closed eyes and said, "I heard a lot... the sounds of babies, filled with resentment and sorrow. It must have come from that great river in the distance."
Zhou Sheng's eyes flashed, and he said, "It seems that river is the starting point of our waterway."
They had been traveling for three days, following the directions on the invitation. These three days had been incredibly winding and circuitous, with them going in and out of the Yin-Yang Road four times.
Zhou Sheng even suspected that such a complicated road was probably designed to be unremarkable.
"Everyone, please be careful. Jinse, you go back to the zither first."
Zhou Sheng patted the guqin on his back. This simple action made the aloof and ethereal guqin fairy tremble. She lowered her eyes and returned to the guqin without saying a word.
A bitter smile crept onto his face.
During this period, Jinse almost never showed herself on her own initiative. Even when she had to appear, she remained silent when she encountered him and Yaotai Feng, not daring to even make eye contact.
She was intentionally or unintentionally avoiding him and Yaotai Feng.
"Hehe, you brat, you still have a lot to learn..."
Yu Zhensheng transmitted his gloating voice, then patted his apprentice on the shoulder and was the first to walk forward.
Yu Tianheng then took the opportunity to quietly educate his disciple: "Women only affect our training. Look at us now, how embarrassing."
Zhou Sheng, his face dark, said, "Senior Yu, could you please use telepathy? We're all people with open hearing, it's really a bit noisy..."
"Hehe, see, you're angry now, even your mood is easily affected."
Yu Tianheng shook his head, his words harsh, but in reality, he waited until everyone had followed before stepping forward to cover the rear.
In such eerie places, the two most dangerous spots are always the head of the line and the tail of the line.
The two masters of Yin-Yang magic walked one after the other, and even though the resentment in front of them was extremely heavy, they still walked very relaxed. They even had the leisure to make jokes to ease the atmosphere of the group.
This is not arrogance, but rather the result of years of experience.
The more dangerous the situation, the more one should maintain a relaxed exterior but a tense interior. If an opera singer becomes too tense, their voice will be affected, and the performance will sound off.
Not long after they started walking, Zhou Sheng noticed that the rocks and trees around them were indeed covered with frost, just as his master had said.
As if crossing some invisible dividing line, the temperature was dropping rapidly, and a bone-chilling wind whistled in, carrying a hint of dampness, penetrating straight into one's bones.
Fortunately, everyone had cultivation to protect them and were not affected.
Before long, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a very wide river with calm, shimmering water that was bottomless.
The wind blowing across the river carried a faint, sweet, metallic scent of blood.
The soaring resentment rose from this great river. Ordinary people could not see it, but to cultivators, it appeared as plumes of black smoke rising into the sky, turning the bright moon charcoal-colored.
"It really is this place."
Yu Tianheng sneered and said, "Old fool, you're familiar with this place, aren't you? Back in the day, many of our old opera buddies died in this river."
Yu Zhensheng stroked his beard and sighed softly.
"The azure waves connect to the dark sea, and the resentment is like the smoke of war. How can we forget this River of Washing Women?"
...(End of this chapter)