Walking in the cycle of reincarnation

Chapter 22 Displaying Supernatural Powers

Meng Shi's heart was pounding with excitement, his gaze burning beneath his thick brows:

"Brother, this spirit seed has been recovered! This...this is a gift from heaven to the Meng family!"

Meng Cang sat back in his chair, lightly tapping the table with his fingertips, smiling without saying a word.

Meng Shi was still marveling at the scene. He paced around the pavilion a few steps, then suddenly stopped, his joy turning to doubt:

"Brother, I personally caught it and put it into the bamboo basket that day..."

Meng Shi continued, recalling the events of that day:

"At that time, I only thought it was a strange creature with exceptional toxicity. Although it possessed some spirituality, it was far from being as miraculous as Xiaochuan described. What Golden Toad Ancestor, what Enlightenment Elixir, I had never even heard of it."

His voice grew deeper as he continued:

"Brother, Xiao Chuan has always been quick-witted and loves reading strange tales and miscellaneous books from Dongzhou. I'm afraid... could he be overthinking things and lying?"

Meng Cang chuckled softly upon hearing this, and lightly tapped the ceramic vase on the table with his finger:

"Third brother."

"You could fabricate this by lying?"

Meng Shi was taken aback and was speechless for a moment.

"But...this saying has been around for so long that it's hard to tell whether it's true or false..."

Meng Cang suddenly chuckled:

"Do you really believe this legend?"

He leaned back in his chair, his smile undiminished.

"Our ancestors were slaves who, with the help of the Golden Toad, mastered poison techniques and built their empire... They were just deceiving their descendants into being diligent. Haven't you and I been the same since childhood?"

His smile faded, and he subtly changed the subject:

"However... what Ogawa said about all the strange things may not be entirely untrue. Even if that spirit seed is not the legendary golden toad, it may have come from... the miasma eye."

"Miasma?!"

Meng Shi's eyes widened, a vein throbbed on his forehead, and he blurted out:

"Brother, perhaps..." Meng Shi leaned closer, his voice extremely low, "...ask the altar? Investigate whether anything has happened to the miasma eye, or..."

"Ask?" Meng Cang interrupted calmly, "How should I ask?"

He got up, put his hands behind his back, and walked to the window.

"If those old fogies at the altar find out, will the Spirit Seed still belong to my Meng family?"

He turned half his face to the side, and his words were like cold water drenching the heart:

"Once it's forcibly taken, neither of us will be able to find such a spiritual seed again. At that time, we might even face the threat of being silenced. Third brother, is this what you want?"

Meng Shi was drenched in cold sweat and hurriedly lowered his head:

"I...I was confused for a moment."

The hall remained silent for a long time.

Meng Shi calmed himself down, but then a concern arose:

"But we can't let Xiaochuan run wild. He's young and impetuous; what if something goes wrong..."

"Let it run rampant?"

Meng Cang chuckled, his smile as gentle and refined as ever.

......

The next day, before dawn.

Meng Jinchuan stood in front of the village with a basket on his back, waiting, a layer of dew already clinging to his shoulders.

Meng Cang emerged from the mist, carrying a bulging leather bag.

"Xiao Chuan," he called tenderly, as if yesterday's questioning had never happened. "Come on, let your uncle pack it for you."

He picked out the poisonous insects from the bag and put them into the bamboo basket, then tied the rope around Meng Jinchuan's back tightly.

"Be careful on the road."

"Thank you, Uncle Xie."

Meng Jinchuan responded in a low voice, his figure gradually disappearing into the woods.

Meng Cang stood there, hands behind his back, gazing into the distance for a long time.

After an incense stick had burned, a figure emerged from the shadows. The man was as thin as a monkey, with a sallow complexion, but his eyes shone with a sharp light.

He walked to Meng Cang's side, bowed, and did not utter a word.

Meng Cang gazed into the depths of the forest and nodded slightly.

Upon receiving the signal, the man ducked low and disappeared into the woods.

......

On the path, Zhang Nanfeng lay hidden behind a rock.

Down the slope, Meng Jinchuan knelt like a child being punished.

The boy remained silent, kneeling quietly, completely devoid of his usual lively and energetic nature.

Seeing his appearance, Zhang Nanfeng's gaze swept across his profile and stopped at the clear palm print.

Meng Jinchuan's current state clearly indicates that he was interrogated, or even beaten, yesterday. And since the Meng family already knew this, they still allowed him to enter the mountains alone today...

Zhang Nanfeng's nose twitched as he suddenly caught a faint, undetectable scent of a stranger.

as predicted.

He immediately slipped away close to the ground and followed the scent to his doom.

Zhang Nanfeng took a long detour, climbed a tall tree, and looked down from above.

A lean figure was seen lying in the grass, spying on Meng Jinchuan.

Dew dampened his back, insects chirped among the grass, and a brightly colored poisonous butterfly landed just inches from his nose, yet he remained motionless.

Zhang Nanfeng observed for a moment and thoroughly understood the man's background.

This person's breathing was deep and steady, and his lower body was stable, indicating that he was a skilled fighter. However, his strength was probably inferior to Meng Shi's, and he was far from being comparable to Meng Cang.

They actually sent such a worthless piece of trash.

A cold glint flashed in Zhang Nanfeng's eyes.

Since you want to explore, then explore to your heart's content. But what you bring back... may not be what they want.

He circled around to the scout's upwind position, and using the wind direction, a strange gust of wind escaped from his throat.

The scout was completely focused when he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck and turned around abruptly.

However, all that came into view was morning mist and withered branches, with nothing else unusual.

The scout frowned, assuming it was just a mountain breeze and not giving it much thought. But the chill didn't dissipate; instead, it crept up his trouser leg. His crotch instantly felt icy, and his already unremarkable member immediately shrank.

The scout hurriedly covered his groin, touched and pinched it, but couldn't feel anything foreign.

Or is it just my imagination?

The refreshing coolness never returned, and the scout's anxious heartstrings eased slightly.

As the scout pondered, a gust of wind rose in the forest, howling and swirling around, its origin and destination indistinguishable. The scout felt as if the entire mountain forest was weeping.

Upon hearing the sound, the scout immediately drew his short knife from his waist and scanned the surroundings, but still could not find anything unusual.

Having spent half his life licking blood from the edge of a knife, he was confident that his courage had been hardened to the point of being as hard as iron. Even if he encountered a mountain leopard in the forest, he might not even flinch.

But at this moment... he panicked. He wanted to run away, but he didn't dare.

Having failed in his mission, he truly didn't know how to report back to Meng Cang.

The scout gritted his teeth, suppressing the surging fear in his heart.

Just then, another gust of cool wind swept over him. Suddenly, the scout's vision blurred, and the mist in front of him swirled, within which a human face seemed to emerge.

He could no longer hold back. The strange tales passed down through generations in southern Xinjiang exploded in his mind—

...An indescribable evil creature roams in the fog, devouring human hearts and especially attracted to those with great courage...

Screw the mission.

The probe sprang up, and he took off running.

Just as he stood up, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a golden-purple hue flashing by in the mist.

This sudden glance sent shivers down his spine, and his legs spun like wheels.

Zhang Nanfeng watched the disheveled figure disappear into the distance, then leisurely strolled out of the mist, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

He slowly opened his mouth, and a surge of golden poison welled up from his glands, a drop of crimson already forming on the tip of his tongue.

He then stirred the wind, crushing the crimson color and dissolving it into the wind, blowing it towards the scout.

The poisonous wind drifted out, dispersing into the thin mist, blending with the sky.

The scout was fleeing for his life when he suddenly smelled a strange odor coming from his mouth and nose. Without thinking, he hurriedly pulled out a malaria-curing pill and put it in his mouth. The bitter pill dissolved in his mouth, calming his fear slightly.

He never looked back, only ran further and further away, eventually becoming a black dot in the mountains.

Seeing that he had left safely, Zhang Nanfeng made no attempt to pursue him.

In that wind, he had already suffered a poisonous transformation—

"A fleeting moment".