Journey to the West: Building a Celestial Empire Starting from Lion Camel Ridge

"Changgui" (伥鬼).

As Fan Qiming finished speaking, the shelter fell silent once more.

Liu Cheng rubbed his hands silently, without saying a word.

A thirteen-year-old child was lured away by a demon.

From yesterday until now, there have been six hours, and life and death are uncertain.

Chen Ping'an did not disturb the two, but walked to the side and looked at the pear saplings that were growing vigorously.

But the trolley problem came to mind.

Even though I'm not actually in that situation, what would I do if I did encounter it?

......

Liu Cheng glanced at Chen Ping'an who had walked away, lowered his voice, but his tone revealed barely suppressed anxiety.

"Boss, what do we do?"

Fan Qiming remained silent, his brows furrowed.

As the pillar of the shelter, he was responsible for everyone there; but Little Stone was someone they had watched grow up, and it would be somewhat heartless not to search the ruins.

The palms of the palms and the backs of the hands are all meat.

"I'm going there. You go back and guard the shelter."

Fan Qiming patted Liu Cheng on the shoulder and said in a deep voice, "Whether Xiao Shitou is dead or alive, I will bring him back."

"I'll go with you!"

"No!"

Fan Qiming stood up, his tone resolute and unwavering. He looked at Liu Cheng, who was anxious, and said, "Leaving aside how dangerous the ruins in the north are, now there's another strange creature that can control ghosts. What good will you do there?"

"But......"

"It's settled then."

Fan Qiming stood up, paused, and said, "Don't worry, I'll definitely be back before dark."

......

Silence fell outside the barrier.

Fan Qiming turned back, stepped into the barrier, and stood in front of Chen Ping'an, having regained his usual composure.

"Today's spiritual practice will be made up tomorrow."

Chen Ping'an nodded.

Fan Qiming didn't say anything else, and then left.

The sound of footsteps faded into the distance on the ruins and rubble, disappearing into the broken walls and crumbling walls.

Liu Cheng stood at the edge of the barrier for a while without turning back, and headed towards the Earth God Temple.

There are three people left in the shelter.

Chen Ping'an sat there, without moving.

There's not much to say; I can't get involved in this matter.

Fan Qiming was to guard the sanctuary of the Earth God Temple and protect its inhabitants.

Chen Ping'an has his own sanctuary and people he needs to protect.

......

The sun slowly moved westward.

The sky turned a grayish-orange, a color typical of wastelands, and the aura of death gradually rose, blurring the outlines of the distant ruins.

Fan Qiming did not return.

Or perhaps they went straight back to the local temple?

Chen Ping'an stood up, walked to the stone wall, and glanced to the north.

"What are you looking at? You seem restless."

Ali hadn't heard the conversation that morning, and seeing Chen Ping'an looking north frequently with a somewhat uneasy expression, she couldn't help but ask in confusion.

Chen Pingan recounted the events.

Ali paused for a moment, then remained silent.

She glanced northward, then slowly strolled off to sharpen her arrowheads.

......

into the night.

Bone demons have begun to appear.

The pale purple light arrows swiftly reaped the bone demons, and everything seemed no different from usual.

Meanwhile, in the ruins north of White Bone Town.

Fan Qiming hid in a blind spot, cautiously peering out.

On the ground beside him lay a pale-faced boy, unconscious.

Fortunately, I found the small stone.

Unfortunately, he was now surrounded by the demons.

It was a strange creature that resembled a human, with the fear of death on its face, and its deranged and vile demeanor.

They gathered around Fan Qiming, roaring, surrounding him but not attacking.

It seems they are waiting for something.

They waited until extremely heavy footsteps were heard.

Fan Qiming's spirits lifted; the main character had arrived.

All the evil spirits parted, creating a path on both sides.

A tiger emerged from the deepest part of the ruins.

It was a size larger than an ordinary tiger, with grayish-black fur and green light burning in its pupils, which were tempered from death energy. It was calm and composed, unhurried and unperturbed, as if it were taking a stroll in its own territory.

Its gaze fell on Fan Qiming, then on the child at Fan Qiming's feet.

It is both playful and extremely cruel.

Without hesitation, Fan Qiming activated his magical artifact, and the spiritual power of his Foundation Establishment stage surged into it.

Waaah!

The magical artifact suddenly glowed with black light, and swirling winds appeared on its surface.

call out!

Swift as thunder.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of the tiger, seemingly about to pierce its massive head.

But next second.

The furry tiger claws rose, slow yet swift, smashing the flying shuttle to pieces with a single slap!

Fragments flew everywhere!

Fan Qiming coughed up blood and staggered back two steps.

The tiger demon was about to step forward again, but suddenly slowed down.

Faint footsteps could be heard coming from the deep passage.

Unhurried and unhurried, extremely composed.

Both the man and the tiger turned their gazes toward it, seemingly trying to pierce through the thick darkness of the ruins to see what kind of being had arrived.

"We've come at just the right time."

The sound was clear and resonant, causing dust to fall in a flurry.

His tone was nonchalant.

It's like someone who's just finished a pleasant day of fishing, yawned, and casually said something like that.

It seemed out of place amidst the desolate atmosphere of the ruins.

A thin, gaunt man walked out of the passage.

He was dressed as a fisherman, wearing a straw hat and a raincoat, and carrying a fish basket.

His face was hidden under a straw hat, so it was not clearly visible.

The man stopped, first looking at Fan Qiming who was still coughing up blood, then glancing at the tiger demon who looked like he was facing a formidable enemy.

He nodded to himself, "What a coincidence! Mr. Shoucheng was right."

"Another big shipment."

Fan Qiming was surprised and doubtful. This middle-aged man was clearly dressed as a fisherman, so why would he call this big insect "big cargo"?

His gaze involuntarily lingered on the fish basket in the man's hand.

It's made of bamboo and looks old and worn.

There were still water stains on the outside, as if it had just been pulled out of the water.

A faint golden light emanated from within.

"you......"

The middle-aged man stopped looking at Fan Qiming and instead focused his gaze on the tiger demon.

He weighed the fish basket in his hand, took two steps forward, and walked right up to the giant tiger.

The tiger let out a deep roar, its green eyes wide open, and took a step forward.

The middle-aged man handed the fish basket forward.

"Go in."

These three words were spoken very flatly, as if they were being spoken to a fish that had been caught.

The demonized tiger actually lowered its head and burrowed its massive body into the fish basket until it disappeared from sight.

Fan Qiming was dumbfounded by what he saw!

His opponent, whom he was willing to risk his life for, was powerless to fight back against this middle-aged man.

What level of existence must this mysterious man be?

And why did the ruins of White Bone Town appear?

I've never heard of this before!

A storm raged within Fan Qiming's heart.

......

The lid was gently closed.

The middle-aged man hung the fish basket back on his waist, clapped his hands, and glanced back at Fan Qiming.

"Alright, take the child away. The ghosts will disperse on their own."

As the words fell, the howling ghosts became transparent one by one, then vanished without a trace.

In a short while, everything within a hundred paces was gone, leaving only moonlight falling on the ruins and rubble.

"I've finally met a living person, so I have something to ask you."

The middle-aged man spoke up.

Fan Qiming knew that this was someone calling him, so he turned around respectfully.

"Is this Bone Town?"

"Yes."

Fan Qiming's tone was incredibly humble.

The man's feat of using a fish basket to hold a tiger had truly stunned him.

The middle-aged man thought for a moment, then continued.

"You know someone named Chen Ping'an, right?"