12. The timeliness of corpse driving

Seeing that the two brothers no longer spoke up, I continued:

"First, before you set out for the mountain, no one came to ask me, nor did you say you needed my help. Didn't you accuse me of deceiving others? Second, I found out while I was out and about, and I told Anna afterward. It wasn't intentional to keep it from you. Heizi here can vouch for me, who are you even questioning? Third, I thought a Mojin Brigadier should be familiar with this kind of terrain and I hoped to rely on you all. Now it seems there's no reliance to be had."

Seeing Jia Bodong still wanting to charge forward, my anger flared up as well.

"What? Thinking of going three against one?"

Master also showed no signs of weakness, secretly exuding his power, howling twice. In less than two minutes, a dozen or so Yellow Skins jumped into the courtyard, all baring their teeth and claws, glaring at Jia Boren and Jia Bodong.

Swearing they would tear the two brothers limb from limb!

The whole group was scared by this display, no one daring to speak. Jia Boren stood frozen in place as well.

All this talk of Mojin Brigadiers and renowned figures was just rubbish.

I said coldly from where I stood:

"Uncle Lu said that finding the way in the mountain is your own affair, and if someone dies, it's because your skills were lacking. You come over here and blame me? If I don't give over the Leaf, what can you do? You're just furiously powerless with unimpressive tactics."

The Yellow Skins were either on the rooftops or on the haystacks, each one snarling with bared teeth, itching for a fight, just waiting for the Jia brothers to take a step forward. With one step, they would immediately rush them.

I knew what the Immortal Family was like, they're highly principled. Even Huang Family's reputation wasn't always good, they still wouldn't repay kindness with malice.

Many of the Yellow Skins here had come from Changbai Mountain. Now, with someone disrespecting me, it was a slight against my grandmother, against Huang Shufen, against the head of the house, against the old ancestors, against the entire Huang Family.

Of course, they had to come and show their support and strength.

Jia Bodong finally realized what was going on, let go of Anna's hand, stepped forward, and pulling his own brother away, he sighed and said:

"This isn't your fault; we underestimated the situation. When sending people out, we should have asked you first. It was wrong to come blame you afterward… sorry."

Anna hurriedly pulled Jia Boren aside and scolded:

"If it weren't for Xiao Bai bringing this thing, I would have perished inside. You hothead. Can't you stay calm in a crisis? Having more friends is always better than more enemies. This was our own oversight, and no one else is to blame."

Seeing his brother and Anna speaking like this, Jia Boren felt embarrassed, and not wanting to apologize, he got up from the ground and turned to leave.

"She wasn't well-intentioned, and you're still speaking for her. My good intentions are taken as donkey's liver and lungs. Just you wait, she can't be a good person. Several of my brothers died, and you tell me to calm down? How can I be calm! You're all cowards, ah... my poor brothers."

I ignored the bitterness of the fat man and bowed to the Immortal Family. The Yellow Skins were preparing to leave, and just before they did, the leading Yellow Skin spoke up:

"We'll follow you into the mountain. We'll find a way to deal with the Poisonous Miasma ourselves. We can't be outwitted by these few brats, otherwise, we won't be able to face Aunt Shufen. You be careful in everything."

The Immortal Family always keeps their word, a spit is a promise, no dilly-dallying.

Once they promise something, they are willing to lose their lives to uphold it.

After they left, I felt more at ease.

There was even more to attend to now. Uncle Lu started discussing strategies with us. The Mojin Brigadiers were in complete disarray, proposing masks and oxygen tanks. Yet, Lu Mingwei's expression grew worse, until finally, he fell to his knees before me...

"Benefactor, there isn't much time left. If I can't complete this by midnight tonight… I..."

Oh, there was a time constraint.

I checked the time, indeed there were only a few hours left,

Puzzled, I looked at everyone and they gave me a confused glance in return. I asked, looking down:

"Uncle Lu... with time running out, why the delay? Why not set off earlier?"

As I bent down to help him, Lu Mingwei refused to get up, stubbornly knelt again, and said with a half-bowed body:

"They said within seven days of death, but when his son contacted me, it was already the fourth day. I've been hurrying along slowly… I..."

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Ah...

No wonder the corpse was covered in livor mortis spots, it was already the seventh day since the old man's death.

I glanced at the brothers Jia Boren and Jia Bodong, and then at Anna:

"I don't have any spare leaves for you, so there's no way you can bring a dozen brothers in... Besides, I'm not sure about the situation inside. The more people go, the higher the chances of casualties. Just the three of you, plus Uncle Lu and me. Otherwise, you should go look for leaves now."

Definitely, the leaves couldn't be given away; nobody knew how long the effects of this medicine would last. What if one needed a replenishment? Wouldn't that mean there'd be no way out?

Anna shook her head, now also convinced.

"I just went looking for these leaves. They're on a cliff that our people simply can't climb, and even if those yellow weasels just now managed to get up there, they couldn't reach them. Now, we have no choice but to grit our teeth and proceed..."

I had no particular fondness for Anna and Jia Bodong. To put it bluntly, they had just realized they weren't in an advantageous position,

Had they been at an advantage, the situation would probably be quite different.

"Let's set off then."

I hoisted my worn sack on my back and led the way forward. Once we were in the mountains, I immediately put a leaf in my mouth. At first, we made quick progress thanks to the path that Lu Mingwei had fixed, but then the paving stones started to get messy, and the faint scent of fresh grass filled the air.

It was the Lost Soul Fragrance.

It must have been the Lost Soul Fragrance that affected the workers Uncle Lu had hired. They thought they were fixing the path straight, but it had long since become chaotic.

A few of us toughed it out over a mountain and then, what entered our view was a pale purple poisonous miasma, with no particular smell...

Only the eyes felt a bit sore.

This must be the Five Senses Miasma.

I wasn't concerned and continued walking forward. If the Immortal Family said it could counteract the poison, then it definitely could. They wouldn't harm me.

However, I also gained a new piece of knowledge, and that was...

Master is not afraid of the poisonous miasma, and it even seemed to be able to absorb the toxins for its own use.

I had actually forgotten about Master, and when I remembered, I didn't know where to put it. Finally, I found that Master was behaving like nothing was wrong, its body just turned a bit purple, no longer the pitch-black color it used to be.

But then again, who has ever heard of feces getting poisoned?

If this ability could truly be developed in the future, Master would be formidable. However, Master scoffed at the idea; it still wanted to return to its original form as soon as possible.

The types of trees here were similar to those in Changbai Mountain, with most of the trees tall and straight, and the ground covered in a thick layer of fallen leaves. The humidity in the northern forests was much less compared to the South, like when picking mushrooms, the variety in Yunnan was much richer, whereas the North was more limited.

Throughout the journey, the brothers Jia Bodong and Jia Boren barely interacted with me, simply focusing on carrying the corpse. Anna, on the other hand, was very willing to engage in conversation with me.

I also exchanged some basic knowledge with her, such as why Mojin Brigadiers light candles, and shared some common sense with her, like what to do when encountering Yellow Skin worshiping the moon.

I was happy to discuss this, as it was favorable to maintain appearances.

However, I held back some information in our conversations. It's said that Mojin Brigadiers are united in life and divided in death. The Huang Family's relationship is as solid as a rock; it's likely they sent Anna to gather information.

Apart from Lu Mingwei, who was not in the best physical shape, everyone else in the group was very fit.

The Huang brothers were still lively and quick, even while carrying the elder's body.

Lu Mingwei, not wanting to risk his life by lagging behind, was pushing himself to the limit to keep up with the main group.

Several times, it was by tumbling and crawling...

"Wait... wait for me..."

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