Hibiskus als Gemälde

Kapitel 110

"No way, isn't that old demon supposed to be very good at light footwork? How could he be captured so easily? Maybe this is the legendary 'wild man' from the Wild Man Mountain, but why is it wearing a mask?" The Hakka grandmother carefully examined the creature and said, puzzled.

Nizi walked up curiously, staring intently at the "wild man" for a long time, before asking Jia Shiming, "Master, can it speak human language?"

"Hey, can you talk?" Jia Shiming asked, and casually sealed the giant bone acupoint in the joint between its shoulder and upper arm bones. This was a major acupoint for treating hemp in humans, and it seemed to work on it as well. Then he threw it next to the campfire.

Amin rushed forward, pressed the muzzle of his carbine against the "wild man's" chest, ripped off its mask, and shouted, "Are you the 'Wild Man Mountain Demon'? Where did you take my daughter?!"

"Ah...ah..." The 'savage' had two thick, long lips and uttered indistinct sounds in fear, indicating that it did not yet speak human language.

The Hakka woman squatted down and touched the back of the 'wild man's' skull, then parted the long hair around its genitals and glanced at it. She stood up and said, "This is a female wild man. Its brain capacity is less than half that of a human, so its language and thinking abilities are very poor. At best, it is just an ape."

"Grandma... Dudu's brain... its capacity is smaller, but I understand everything..." Dudu retorted unhappily, standing next to Shen Caihua.

The Hakka woman smiled and said, "Dudu is a different story."

“Grandma, his talent can communicate with animals…why don’t we wake him up and ask him?” Clever Dudu suggested.

“Yes, young master has that ability,” Xiong Dahai chimed in from the side.

The Hakka woman nodded, helped Chen Caihua sit up, then placed her hand on his back and slowly channeled a stream of Zhu You Qi into him.

Before long, Shen Cai slowly woke up, but still felt weak and exhausted. He stared blankly at the Hakka nanny and mumbled, "Nanny, I'm so tired..."

“Talent, the Zhuyou relic in your mind has absorbed the magnetic field of the souls of 50,000 expeditionary soldiers, so it's natural that it's feeling very tired. Once we return to the Central Plains, we'll release them. Now, Master Jia has captured a long-haired savage. Can you try to communicate with it?” the Hakka nanny asked softly.

Shen Caihua turned his head and saw the brown-haired savage sitting by the campfire. He then stuck two little fingers into his nostrils, stared at it, and began chanting the sixteenth move of the Zhuyou Divine Skill, "Human Face, Beast Heart": "Beast, hare, otter, macaque, badger, hare, slug, slug..."

The savage was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then a look of joy appeared on his face, and he kept calling out, "Ah...yeah..."

“It can understand me,” Shen Caihua nodded and said.

"Is it the 'Wild Man Mountain Demon' that kidnapped Xiaomei?" Amin asked impatiently.

As Shen Caihua continued chanting the incantation, he sent out a mental inquiry.

“Baa… Ye…” The savage still uttered one or two monotonous notes.

"It's the 'Old Demon of Savage Mountain's' maid. She spotted the firelight in the rainforest and came to investigate," Shen Caihua explained to Amin.

“Talent, quickly ask it, where is my daughter Xiaomei?” Amin asked anxiously.

Shen Caihua communicated with the savage for a while before turning back and saying, "All the kidnapped children are being raised in the 'Savage Palace'."

"Where is the 'Savage Palace'? I need to go save Xiaomei!" Amin jumped up and grabbed his carbine.

Shen Caihua said, "It was willing to take us there, but for some reason it couldn't stand up."

The Hakka woman snorted, "Master Jia, why aren't you releasing its pressure points yet?"

Jia Shiming smiled awkwardly, gathered his true energy in his arm, and stepped forward to open the wild man's sealed Giant Bone Acupoint.

The savage moved his body and found that he could move his limbs. He looked at everyone in surprise. At this moment, his gaze fell on the big black cat "Xiao Cui'er" in Ni Zi's arms. His eyes lit up and he licked his thick lips thirstily.

"Meow..." The big black cat made a threatening meow at it.

The savage sniffed the air, reached out and grabbed a piece of fragrant cured meat from the fire, stuffing it into his mouth with smacking sounds, his mouth dripping with oil.

Amin extinguished the campfire. By then it was broad daylight, and white mist rose from the forest. The group followed the savage who walked upright with straight legs, heading deeper into the rainforest.

Chapter 167

The Hukawng Valley, also known as the "Wild Man Mountain," means "the place where the devil lives" in Burmese. It consists of the Taro Basin and the Xinpingyang Basin. It is characterized by high mountains, dense forests, crisscrossing streams and swamps, and floods during the rainy season, making it a sparsely populated area.

The wild man led the Hakka grandmothers through the Wangtian Forest, across the rushing mountain stream, and over two mountain peaks. Ahead, a swamp appeared in the rainforest. The black humus soil was like paste, with bubbles rising from the depths of the ground, and the air was filled with a putrid smell.

A dead Hopea tree, about ten feet thick, lay across the swamp like a large log bridge. Steps were carved into its massive plank roots. The savage was the first to climb up, and the others followed closely behind.

After crossing this "single-plank bridge" that is dozens of meters long, a steep cliff stands in front of you. At the bottom of the cliff is a stone cave about two zhang high. The cave is pitch black, so dark that you can't see your hand in front of your face. Gusts of cold wind blow, making your hair stand on end.

Xiong Dahai pulled a flashlight from his backpack and shone it on the slippery stone ground beneath their feet. Amin gripped his carbine tightly, his mind on high alert, and followed closely behind the savage. The others, all possessing unparalleled martial arts skills, walked with ease.

Gradually, a sliver of light appeared ahead. As they approached, they realized it was the exit of a cave. Once outside the cave, the view suddenly opened up before them...

This is a valley surrounded by high mountains. The sun shines brightly, the grass is lush and green, the forests are dense and the bamboo is tall, the stream is babbling, there are four or five bamboo fences and thatched cottages, several vegetable plots, chickens crowing and dogs barking, and wisps of smoke rising from the chimneys. It is like a paradise on earth.

Everyone was stunned. It was hard to believe that such a tranquil and secluded place existed in the Savage Valley, which was known as the "deep mountain hell".

"Yah...hey..." Suddenly, several shouts rang out, and several brown-haired "wild men" jumped out of the bamboo forest. Their faces were covered with white masks, and they fiercely blocked the way of everyone. They appeared to be both male and female.

The savage leading the way mumbled something for a long time, as if explaining what had happened.

"What are they saying?" Jia Shiming put Nizi down, stood with his hands behind his back, and asked in a low voice.

Shen Caihua replied, "The savage who led the way asked them to inform the old demon."

Upon hearing this, Amin turned pale, his carbine trembled, and he pulled another MK-2 American-made fragmentation grenade from his pocket, ready to go all out.

Just then, a person with disheveled hair, barefoot, wearing a white robe and a large white mask, silently floated out of the middle hut. He was strong and did not resemble the physique of a local Southeast Asian. Strangely, when he walked, his knees did not bend, as if he were floating on the ground.

The Hakka woman reached out and pressed down on the muzzle of Ah Ming's carbine, saying softly, "Don't fire blindly. As long as the old demon is human, this old woman can capture him."

"What kind of demon dares to play tricks here, harm children, and wreak havoc on the village?" Jia Shiming shouted, his words filled with fervor and passion.

The white-robed monster seemed oblivious, floating directly to the savage woman who had led the way, its gaze fixed intently on it...

"Mwah..." The female savage knelt down and gently licked the white-robed man's toes with her tongue.

With a "thud," the white-robed man raised his hand and smashed the female savage's skull, then kicked her corpse to the ground.

"Shadowless Yin Palm!" Jia Shiming was taken aback upon seeing this.

The "Shadowless Yin Palm" originated from Mei Yiying, a eunuch in the Forbidden City during the late Qing Dynasty. Few in the martial arts world know it, because mastering this skill requires castration, so only eunuchs and women are willing to learn it. Jia Shiming knows that only one person currently knows this evil martial art, the "Shadowless Yin Palm"—Ni Zi's mother, the Old Ancestor. However, she died six years ago in the rainforest from her own "innate qi" (vital energy).

"Give me back my Xiaomei!" Upon seeing the legendary "Old Demon of the Savage Mountain," Amin was filled with rage. His eyes turned bloodshot, and he roared loudly, raising his carbine at the same time.

The man in white robes suddenly turned around, his hand slamming down silently in mid-air. A chill swept over him instantly, and Amin's hands felt as cold as if they were in an ice cellar, numb and losing all feeling. He lost his grip on the carbine and dropped it to the ground, while the MK-2 American grenade rolled into the grass.

Jia Shiming had already gathered his energy in his arms, and with a faint, cold laugh, he pushed out both hands simultaneously, sending two extremely fierce streams of innate qi striking the white-robed man's chest...

Watching the white-robed man's body rise like a piece of paper in the wind, swaying in mid-air as if it were not supported at all...

Strange, the Quanzhen Sect's innate qi struck the white-robed man, yet he remained completely unharmed! Jia Shiming was secretly astonished. Infinite Heaven, is this a human or a ghost?

The white-robed man seemed to defy Earth's gravity; his seemingly robust body hovered almost lightly in mid-air, his gaze fixed intently on Jia Shiming, while his two palms struck him one after the other.

Master Jia dared not be careless. Seeing the palm wind approaching, he hurriedly dodged to the side. Unexpectedly, Ni Zi was standing right behind him, completely unprepared. It was too late to dodge now, and he could only watch helplessly as the two "Shadowless Yin Palms" attacked from mid-air...

Shen Caihua was shocked and, in his haste, let out a loud fart. His body suddenly appeared out of nowhere and blocked Nizi's way. As he did so, he hurriedly chanted the first move of the Zhuyou Divine Skill, "Ghost Wall": "Hehe Na, Shejie Ting Ting Po..." His two little hands moved horizontally from side to side.

The white-robed man's palm strike was suddenly blocked by an invisible wall of energy, causing him to pause for a moment before his body floated lightly to the ground.

Nizi glanced gratefully at Chen Caihua, sniffed the air, and said, "You farted again."

Shen Caihua turned to look at Nizi, his face flushed, and replied, "I... I tend to fart when I'm anxious..." Just as he was speaking, he stopped his incantation, and the door behind him opened wide. The white-robed man took the opportunity to strike again with a sinister palm, aiming straight for Caihua's back.

Upon seeing this, Ni Zi flew into a rage. She swung her left hand repeatedly, unleashing the "Severed Arm Standing in the Snow" technique, sending several faint arm shadows hurtling towards the white-robed man's head from a distance.

"Bang bang bang..." The white-robed man was struck in the face repeatedly by arm strikes. His body swayed back and forth like a willow branch in the wind, unharmed, but the mask he was wearing was knocked off by the arm strikes, revealing his true face...

It was a large, stubby face covered in purple pimples...

"Ancestor!" Jia Shiming exclaimed in astonishment.

The man in white robes froze upon hearing this, standing there dumbfounded, his eyes fixed on Jia Shiming...

After a long while, she spoke: "Who are you people?" Her accent was quite peculiar, and her pronunciation was even more unclear and stiff.

"You're not the Ancestor?" Jia Shiming asked in surprise. In his memory, the Ancestor's voice was definitely not like this.

The Hakka woman walked over, looked at the man in white with a puzzled expression, and asked Jia Shiming, "Master Jia, isn't the ancestor you mentioned Momo, who is also Nizi's mother?"

"My mother?" Ni Zi exclaimed in surprise, grabbing Jia Shi Ming's collar and staring directly at the man in white robes. "No! My mother isn't like that..."

At this moment, a distant memory gradually surfaced in Shen Caihua's mind: deep in the rainforest, a withered old tree, its bare trunk covered with clusters of bright orange-red flame flowers, incomparably beautiful. Under the tree sat a woman with her breasts exposed, her two dull eyes staring blankly at the sky, a trace of dried blood at the corner of her mouth...

“You are Momo’s mother…” Shen Caihua said dreamily.

"What did you say?" Nizi stared with bewildered eyes, as if she couldn't believe her ears.

"You're Momo's mother!" Shen Caihua shouted at the woman in white, then murmured in bewilderment, "Weren't you already dead? You were buried with Hansheng's father, with lots and lots of stones on top of you..."

“Little Caihua, look closely, isn’t she Momo’s mother?” the Hakka nanny asked softly, bowing her head.

Shen Caihua nodded affirmatively.

The man in white robes laughed heartily, his voice filled with an unusual sense of grief and desolation. After laughing, his expression suddenly hardened, and he demanded, "Who is Mo Mo?"

Nizi looked at the strange man timidly and whispered, "I am Nizi, and they say I am also Momo."

The man in white stared intently at Ni Zi for a long time before asking, "Are you the baby girl that Chaweng Bing of Mengla hid six years ago?"

Nizi stared at her, a slight thought stirring within her.

The white-robed man suddenly uttered a series of strange sounds: "Blood-life Doroi washes itself holy, curses the heavens, the dead are heartless and green, purple enters without heart and obtains the earth, ha ha Xiluo Doroi..."

Suddenly, Nizi stiffened, her eyes widened, her face flushed, cold sweat beaded on her forehead, she crossed her legs and fell to the ground, her hands clasped to her chest, her two index fingers pointing to the sky and earth respectively, without uttering a word.

The man in white robes spread his legs and sat on the ground, his expression blank as he slowly stretched out his hands towards Nizi, gently pressing his palms towards her...

Shen Caihua was shocked and was about to step forward to stop her when the Hakka old woman stopped him. "Don't touch her yet. It looks a bit strange. It's like Southeast Asian black magic..." she said, puzzled.

Shen Cai nodded upon hearing this, then cautiously tilted his head to look at Ni Zi. Suddenly, he was surprised to see in Ni Zi's bright, dark eyes an image of an old man with a high nose, a long beard, and a slender wig sitting upright...

"Hahaha..." Nizi suddenly let out a chilling, guttural laugh, and said in an extremely aged voice, "Cousin Kunba, your death is finally here..."

Chapter 168

With a loud bang, the door of a thatched hut flew out, and a gray figure suddenly darted out, landing in front of everyone.

An old man with a tangled head, protruding nose, and sunken eyes sat facing Nizi. Underneath his gray robe were two withered, crippled legs. His hands were pressed on the ground, indicating that he walked by the strength of his arms.

"I am the Grand Master of Siam, Mengla Chaweng Kunba," the old man said, his deep eyes fixed on Nizi. His words were stiff, exactly the same as the voice of the man in white robes who had spoken earlier.

Nizi sneered, "The Grand Master has been scheming to seize the secret technique of 'Blood Curse.' Hmph, how could the supreme secret technique passed down by Elder Fang of the Ayutthaya Dynasty fall into the hands of a treacherous villain like you? Now, since Master Fang, the greatest sorcerer of Siam, Mo, has finally descended into the world. The curse of that year is about to be fulfilled. Prepare to die."

The old man was none other than the Grand Master Mengla Chaweng Kunba. Six years ago, on the very night Han Sheng and his men stormed the sea palace, he was ultimately defeated and fled in panic. He initially hid under an assumed name in Mandalay, northern Myanmar, but was found by private detectives from Pinkerton, USA. In a fierce battle, he was shot in both legs and captured. The detectives tortured him to find out the whereabouts of the infant girl Zumo. Kunba didn't know where Mengla Chaweng Bing had hidden the baby, so he couldn't tell them. Afterwards, fearing that Zumo would one day seek revenge, he hid in the primeval forest of Myitkyina, preparing to refine new black magic to counter future threats. In the rainforest, Kunba happened to discover a newly built stone grave, which he dug open, revealing the old master's body. The old ancestor was ambushed and killed by Jia Shiming. A sense of resentment condensed in her body. In addition, her true energy was extremely yin and cold, so her body decomposed later. When Kunba dragged her out, her body was still intact.

Seeing that it was a fresh corpse, Kunba began to cast a spell on it, intending to transform the ancestor into a "Yin-type Person" to serve as his substitute. However, the corpse's soul had already been absorbed by Han Sheng's incantation relic, and its appearance could no longer be altered. According to Elder Fang's ancient Siamese secret technique, a "Yin-type Person" was initially created by becoming as light as paper, then gaining one-tenth of their weight each year until, after several years, they were indistinguishable from an ordinary person. But a person without a soul could not gain weight, so even after six years, the ancestor remained as light as a sheet of paper. In this state, the "Yin-type Person" had neither thought nor speech; it could only be controlled by the practitioner at close range. Ironically, the ancestor possessed superior martial arts skills, which proved helpful.

Mengla Chaweng Kunba, who rose to the rank of Grand Master of Siam, was also a renowned sorcerer. An extremely intelligent man, although he didn't practice "blood sorcery," he devised a powerful "yin infant sorcery." This technique was incredibly insidious and cruel. It involved raising twenty-four one-year-old female infants in "King's Blood Bamboo." Once mature, the bamboo was split open to extract the infants, yielding twenty-four small yin infants, each possessing immense magical power, comparable to Mengla Chaweng Bing's "Great Blood Flea." Therefore, he manipulated the highly skilled "Yin Xiangren" ancestor, using the name "Wild Man Mountain Demon," to abduct one-year-old female infants from Miao villages in the Shui Dai Mountain region. Over several years, he had already captured twenty-three infants and raised them in "King's Blood Bamboo," but one was still needed. Therefore, he targeted the villages of descendants of the Chinese Expeditionary Force. Several teams of hunters were sent from the Shui Dai and Shan Miao villages to track him down, but they all perished under the "Shadowless Palm" of their ancestor. Later, everyone turned pale at the mention of the "Wild Man Mountain Demon," and any female infants in the villages were sent far away to be fostered by relatives in other places.

Now, his "yin infants" are about to be born, but at this very moment, Zu Mo, the descendant of Mengla Chaweng Bing, has found his way here. At this moment, Kunba already feels the aura of death approaching...

Nizi slowly lowered her eyelids...

Six years ago, Mengla Chaweng Bing used the most bizarre "head-infusing technique" of ancient Siam to implant his "blood curse" deep into Momo's memory, simultaneously adding his own vengeful intent. He waited for a sudden external stimulus to trigger it someday when the child grew up, awakening the "blood curse" to inherit his will, kill the Grand Master Kunba, and become the greatest sorcerer in history. Originally, Momo was still young and needed several more years to develop. However, she accidentally knocked over a glass bottle of corpse oil, swallowed a hibernating giant blood flea, and also comprehended the Buddhist Zen technique "Five Forms of Bodhidharma," creating a connection between her and the "blood curse," thus prematurely activating the dormant memory. However, once the portion of Mengla Chaweng Bing's intent was released, it disappeared, and Momo remained Momo.

"Mo Mo, danger!" Shen Caihua exclaimed in alarm when he saw that the "Ancestor's" two dark palms were already pressed on Ni Zi's chest.