Walking in the cycle of reincarnation

Chapter 23 The Ephemeral Flower

Before the sun was high in the sky, the scout ran wildly until he saw the poisonous toad banner fluttering in the wind above the village gate, at which point he staggered and stopped.

He slumped to the ground, panting heavily, the chill in his heart still lingering.

Seeing his pale face, the Meng family youths guarding the gate couldn't help but step forward and tease him:

"Monkey Three, have you encountered some evil spirit?"

Monkey Three forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, waved his hand, and didn't dare to reveal a single word.

This mission was a complete disaster. If the facts are reported truthfully, I'll be lucky to escape with my life.

He didn't rush into the village, but instead stayed outside the gate, repeatedly considering his report.

But today he followed Meng Jinchuan into the mountains, completely unaware of his true purpose. Lies are inherently difficult to maintain, and he racked his brains, sweating profusely, yet still felt there were flaws everywhere.

As the sun rose high in the sky, a thin figure emerged slowly from the woods, head bowed and shoulders slumped, his steps dragging like a lost dog.

Looking at the dejected figure, Monkey Three felt somewhat calmer.

Since Jin Chuan's wishes were not fulfilled, he had an excuse to stall.

He composed himself, straightened his clothes, scratched his crotch, and steeled himself as he walked toward the high-rise building where Meng Cang lived.

......

Meng Cang sat upright behind his desk, toying with a jade-bone cutting knife. When he saw Hou San enter, he looked up and smiled, his smile as warm as a spring breeze.

"You're back?"

"Yes...yes, sir." Monkey Three knelt down with a thud, his forehead touching the floorboards.

Meng Cang rose and gently helped him up, personally pouring a cup of tea and pushing it towards him:

"Get up first, have some tea to calm down."

Meng Cang was gentle, and Hou San was terrified.

He held the cup with both hands, tilted his head back and drank it all. The emerald green tea went down his throat, sweet and mellow, with a lingering aftertaste.

"Good tea..." he murmured.

"This is the Dragon Beard Tea of ​​the Eastern Continent; ordinary people are not fortunate enough to taste it." Meng Cang's smile deepened as he picked up a cup himself, took a small sip, and said, "From today onwards, you will be my trusted confidant. From now on, you can decide your own monthly salary. What do you say?"

Monkey Three was taken aback, his heart filled with both surprise and joy, and he repeatedly kowtowed to express his gratitude:

"It's all up to you, sir. I... I will do anything to repay your kindness!"

Meng Cang nodded, went out and gave a few instructions to his servants, then turned back and sat down, lightly tapping the table with his fingertips:

"I have already sent someone to invite Third Master, and he will come to listen as well. You should rest for a while and carefully recount what you have seen and heard today, so as not to miss anything."

"Yes."

Monkey bowed his head in agreement and knelt down to wait quietly.

But for some reason, he suddenly felt a burning sensation in his abdomen, as if it were being warmed by a gentle fire. Gradually, this turned into an unbearable itch, spreading from his lower abdomen to his limbs and bones.

He instinctively scratched at it, but his hand grasped at empty air.

The itch isn't on the skin, it's in the bones, it's in the marrow.

A sense of unease flickered through Monkey Three's heart, and he stole a glance at Meng Cang. The latter was looking down at a book, his expression calm and undisturbed.

Perhaps he ran too fast just now, causing his blood and qi to surge.

He comforted himself in this way.

Shortly after, footsteps sounded outside the door.

Meng Shi and Meng Yuanshan entered the pavilion one after the other.

"Big brother," Meng Shi said, bowing.

"Uncle," Meng Yuanshan also bowed.

Meng Cang raised his eyes and smiled:

"Xiaoshan is here too? That's perfect. Monkey Three, everyone's here, let's get started."

Monkey Three swallowed hard and poured out the story he had been preparing for so long.

"Reporting to you, sir. Today, I followed Young Master Jinchuan into the mountains. To avoid alerting him, I dared not get close and only kept watch from a distance of thirty feet away on the slope."

"When the young master arrived at a narrow path, he knelt down and did not rise. I then lay in the grass and watched from a distance. After about an incense stick's time, a thick fog suddenly rose in the forest, and no one could be seen five steps away. I dared not move rashly."

"After another half a day, the young master emerged from the mist, all alone, looking dejected. Seeing that he was unharmed, I followed him all the way until I was sure that he had returned to the village safely before I came back to report."

He spoke fluently during the conversation, and even he himself almost believed it to be true.

After listening, Meng Cang stopped tapping and slowly raised his eyes:

You're saying you can't see a person from five steps away?

"Yes...yes, that fog came with an eeriness, swallowing the entire forest in an instant..."

Monkey Three's forehead was covered in sweat, and his voice trembled.

"Since you're thirty feet away, how could you possibly see clearly in the fog that Xiao Chuan looked 'despondent'?"

His lie was exposed in a single sentence, and Monkey Three's face turned pale. He slammed heavily onto the floor, no longer daring to make any more excuses.

"Sir, spare me! I deserve to die! I... I encountered an evil spirit in the forest, a spirit that was gold and purple. But then... then I don't know why, I became frightened, so... so I ran away! I made up this story because I was afraid of being questioned by you, sir."

"They escaped?"

Meng Yuanshan sneered, strode forward, grabbed Hou San by the collar, and lifted him up, his feet dangling in the air.

"Useless! Your uncle sent you to investigate, but you deserted your post! Tell me, did you pocket some information?!"

He spoke sternly, his palms wielding a deadly force, pinching Hou San's throat bones until they creaked.

Monkey Three kicked wildly, his face turning purple, and pleaded desperately:

"Young clan leader... I didn't... I really just..."

Before he could finish speaking, Monkey Three paused.

Wisps of golden-red light emanated from beneath his skin, spreading like veins in a leaf, causing his body to swell and become transparent, resembling a human-shaped lantern.

With his heart as the core, his flesh and blood rolled and slowly stretched out in all directions.

A stunningly beautiful, fleshy epiphyllum blooms in mid-air.

Meng Yuanshan was the closest. The epiphyllum bloomed before his eyes, and he was momentarily lost in thought, murmuring:

"What a nice view......"

The next moment, a shockwave exploded, sending him flying backward and crashing heavily into the bookshelf, scattering the wooden boxes of books all over the floor.

Although Meng Shi and Meng Cang retreated in time, they were still thrown back by the shockwave. Meng Shi was covered in blood, while Meng Cang hid behind the desk, with only a few bloodstains on his face, like a few fallen petals.

"ah--!!!"

A heart-wrenching scream tore through the attic.

Meng Yuanshan covered his eyes, blood gushing out between his fingers. His left eye was now a bloody hole, a mangled mess.

"Hill!"

Meng Shi was the first to regain his senses. He rushed to his nephew's side, pressed his hand against the bleeding eye socket, and unleashed a burst of poisonous energy in his palm, attempting to seal the meridians and stop the bleeding.

Meng Yuanshan was in so much pain that his whole body convulsed. His fingernails dug into the floorboards, leaving five bloody marks, but he could not withstand the excruciating pain and eventually fainted.

Meng Cang stood amidst the chaos, his hair disheveled, his eyes, which usually held a gentle smile, now fixed intently on the spot where Hou San had been kneeling.

No bones. No limbs. Not even a trace of intact flesh remained.

He crouched down, his fingertips hovering three inches above the bloodstain.

That pool of blood contained a power he had never encountered before, surpassing all ordinary poison techniques, ethereal and profound, which he had vaguely sensed at the sacred altar.

Evil spirits? Gold and purple interspersed...

Meng Cang slowly straightened up, his gentle demeanor shattering to reveal the trembling beneath.

He looked out the window. The daylight was perfect, and wisps of smoke rose from the village chimneys. Yet, he clearly felt as if a pair of eyes were looking down from the heavens above, overlooking the pavilion and the entire Meng family.