Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 785 This tastes wrong.

Tang Zhishang and his group trudged along the slippery dirt path. The path beneath their feet had long been occupied and torn apart by the intertwined roots of huge trees, making it more of a narrow passage naturally formed between the roots than a path.

The air was thick with a heavy, oppressive smell of damp earth and decaying plants, a scent that weighed heavily on everyone's chest, making their breath feel viscous.

After a three-hour trek, even beginners like Tang Zhishang were starting to feel the strain.

However, we can already see Miao villages in front of us.

"That's quite a large scale."

Tang Zhishang looked at the village in front of him with a solemn expression. Although the company was willing to offend these Miao people from Micheng for the sake of those two old men, the company hoped to educate them slowly rather than force these natives of Micheng to rebel.

Thinking of this, Tang Zhishang took a deep breath and led the group behind him quickly into the village.

"Wait a minute!"

At this moment, Miao Zongpan, who was walking in front, stopped and turned to Tang Zhishang and the others, saying, "Gentlemen, please follow my people to my tribe to rest. If the priest king is willing to meet with you, I will send someone to invite you."

"This..." Upon hearing this, Tang Zhishang couldn't help but curse inwardly, "No, the company sent me here to protect those two old guys, and the secondary objective was to get the High Priest King to cooperate with the company. Now both sides have abandoned me? What am I doing here??"

For a moment, Tang Zhishang was filled with doubt, wondering, "Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?" But he had a premonition that he might have messed up the mission and had to go back and accept a demotion.

But like most working people, Tang Zhishang saw that the plot had completely deviated from his own script, so he simply started to give up.

He agreed to Miao Zongpan's invitation without hesitation.

He led his team and followed Lingxi, who was standing next to Miao Zongpan, to Miao Zongpan's clan territory to rest.

Miao Zongpan, on the other hand, headed straight for the large village where the king was to be worshipped.

Soon, the sound of drums could be heard from inside the village.

Upon hearing the drumbeats, many Miao people looked up and followed the sound. Soon after, one high priest after another hurried towards the direction of the main village.

As night falls, the sound of leaves rustling can be heard from time to time in the mountains.

A campfire crackled and popped beside a sheltered stream.

Glug glug..."

The small aluminum pot on the stove was bubbling happily. Amei carefully tore open three buckets of instant noodles. The rich aroma of seasoning mixed with hot steam spread out, briefly dispelling the chill of the mountains and fields.

"Here, Grandpa, the noodles are ready, eat them while they're hot."

Amei served the noodles to Li Qing and Zhou Shang, and also took a bowl for herself.

Li Qing slurped up a big mouthful of noodles and sighed contentedly, "Hey, hot! So comforting!"

They seemed to be there for a camping trip, relaxed and not in a hurry at all.

Zhou Shang ate slowly and deliberately, his gaze calm and unwavering. However, he wasn't eating noodles; instead, he was eating the snacks that Amei had brought.

Seeing this, Ah Mei couldn't help but say, "Grandpa, don't eat so many sweets, it's bad for your health."

Hearing this, Li Qing chuckled and pulled Amei over, saying, "Never mind him, let him eat."

Amei was puzzled when she heard this: "But..."

"Hey, it's their business, don't pry."

"A couple?"

Li Qing's words puzzled Amei even more, but Li Qing did not explain, and Amei did not press him further.

Holding the bowl of noodles in his hands, he sat down and started eating.

As night fell, Amei grew increasingly nervous. Finally, she couldn't hold back and said to Li Qing, "Grandpa, are we really going to have to fight our way up the mountain tonight? What I mean is, the night is actually the Miao people's domain, especially since those Gu worms become very active at night."

"Haha, you silly girl, do you really think we two old bones would climb a mountain in the middle of the night? If we're not careful, we might fall and die in the mountains without the other even having to help us."

Upon hearing this, Amei's heart skipped a beat: "Grandpa, are they Grandpa Xiao and Grandpa Zhao?"

"Hey!" Li Qing reached out and tapped Amei's head: "Finally figured it out, huh? Now eat your food and relax."

At this moment, inside the Jiuxian Mountain stronghold.

A huge bonfire roared, dispelling the chill of the night dew.

Surrounded by numerous Miao people, several high priests, dressed in magnificent robes and exuding a chilling aura, sat in the center.

These high priestesses varied in age, but all were women of extraordinary beauty.

Even as their appearance ages, their extraordinary temperament is still evident.

At the head of the procession, surrounded by a woman wearing a ferocious totem mask whose face was obscured, was the high priestess of the entire Miao tribe. Miao Zongpan stood below the high priestess; she had just recounted the entire process.

The high priests also made no attempt to conceal the appalling attitudes of Li Qing and Zhou Shang.

The other high priests were also ashen-faced, their eyes flashing with anger. They had never seen anyone so arrogant and domineering in all these years.

"You two old bastards are courting death! How dare you be so arrogant? Zong Pan, I think you're getting old and blind. Not only did you not kill them, you even brought them to Jiuxian Mountain."

The speaker was a woman sitting on the lower left, dressed in a deep purple Miao costume with silver trim, her head full of silver braids adorned with tiny silver bells.

Her name was Daiya, and she was second only to Miao Zongpan among the twelve priests. The two had always been at odds and had been secretly vying for power for a long time.

Daiya stood up abruptly, the silver bells jingling coldly and rapidly with her movement. She pointed at Miao Zongpan, her voice rising, filled with a inflammatory anger and disappointment:
"Two old men on their deathbeds scared you so much that you didn't dare kill them on the spot, and even let them kill our people right under your nose! Now they're even allowing them to rant and rave at the foot of the sacred mountain!"

Then she abruptly turned to the high priest, who sat at the head of the table in the center of the bonfire, and bowed deeply, her posture respectful yet her words piercing:

"Supreme Priest King! Miao Zongpan's actions are utterly cowardly and have damaged the dignity of our tribe! She not only fails to represent the fierce spirit of our Miao people, but also disgraces the title of 'High Priest'! Daiya humbly begs the Priest King to make a holy judgment and strip Miao Zongpan of her position as High Priest, as a warning to others! Otherwise, what will become of the face of our twelve tribes? Outsiders will all think that our Nine Immortals Mountain is weak and easily bullied!"

At this, an eerie silence fell around the campfire, broken only by the crackling of the burning firewood and the faint tinkling of the silver bells. The other high priests' eyes flickered, some in agreement, others with doubt.

Miao Zongpan's aged face twitched violently, but the light in his eyes sharpened, like a lurking old wolf.

"Ignorant brat, what do you know!"

Miao Zongpan addressed the High Priest and the group of high priests, saying, "These two are both experts, no ordinary martial artists. They are proficient in thunder magic, spells, and hidden weapons, and are extraordinary. I do not consider myself their match, so I am unwilling to rashly alert them. If they were to hide in the shadows, it would be a disaster for our clan."

Upon hearing what Miao Zongpan said, the high priests were also moved.

Spells and hidden weapons are one thing, but lightning magic is what truly makes them wary.

There is a Miao proverb: "When thunder roars, all insects freeze."

This lightning magic is precisely the nemesis of these high priests, making it extremely troublesome.

To prove that what he said was true, Miao Zongpan even took out some corpses of Gu worms.

Everyone present was an expert, and they could tell at a glance that these Gu worms had been pierced by lightning in an instant.

Because only lightning can carbonize the entire worm while preserving its shape and appearance.

The high priest, seated at the head of the table, looked at the charred corpse of the Gu worm and was about to say something when...

Light footsteps could be heard outside.

A staggering Miao man, carrying two dusty jars of pickled vegetables, practically tumbled and crawled to the center of the square.

"Reporting...reporting to the High Priest King! Reporting...reporting to all the High Priests!"

He was out of breath, his face showing the excitement and nervousness of discovering a treasure, and he shouted, "Down the mountain...the treasure that those two old guys hid down the mountain...I...I got it!"

Suddenly, everyone's attention was focused on the two inconspicuous jars in his arms.

Miao Zongpan glanced at the two jars. He recognized them; they had been held in Amei's arms since he got on the bus, but he didn't know what they were.

Miao Han held the jar high as if presenting a treasure: "This is what they sneakily stuffed into the tree hole! It must be... it must be something important! I only brought it after I saw them walk away, but I couldn't figure out what was inside."

"Damn it, they dare to bring in anything. What if it's some kind of deadly poison?"

Daiya suddenly walked up to the jars, looked at them, and couldn't help but sneer, "Isn't this just a jar for pickling vegetables?"

She glanced at it, then opened the jar on the left, looked down, and looked at the grayish-white powder inside with a puzzled expression.

I smelled it; it didn't seem to be highly poisonous.

I reached out and pinched a small amount; it didn't seem to be any kind of Gu or insect source.

Finally, I simply put it in my mouth and tasted it.

Seeing this, Miao Zongpan walked over. Seeing that Daiya didn't seem to be able to taste what it was, he became curious and also reached out and dipped his hand in the powder and put it in his mouth.

Seeing this, the other priests also came over and tasted it, not wanting to be outdone.

The texture is quite delicate, like wheat flour, but the taste... is sour, astringent, bitter, and a bit hard to swallow.

Did you taste anything?

"No, it doesn't taste like poison either, but this smell... is wrong."

The high priests whispered among themselves. One of them thought the amount was too small, so he grabbed a handful and stuffed it into his mouth. Good heavens, as soon as he took that bite, a cold wind suddenly blew in from all around, and the campfire roared and turned into a dark green flame right before everyone's eyes.

Just then, a helpless sigh could be heard through the wind: "Ladies, please stop eating. I only have so many ashes left, and they can't withstand your tasting."

(End of this chapter)