Journey to the West: The Mountain Shaker

Chapter 90 The Damaged Rat 1

"It's really... Waaah... I'm so terrified, waaaah... Old Mountain Master, more than forty people have died in one day, so much blood, so much blood..." The one-armed man, who had been crying, looked up and spoke, sobbing as he begged for mercy, "My wife, children, and whole family, I just can't bear to see them die like this, my child is only six years old, only six years old..."

"Scared out of your wits?" Zeng Fuhu kicked the cripple into a corner, his face full of sarcasm. "Not necessarily. I'm thinking, spreading rumors about your own mountain lord takes guts, doesn't it?"

"Sigh..." Xu Pingan sighed, saying helplessly, "Those who spread rumors should slap themselves twenty times, and the rest can be let off the hook."

With a "smack," before Xu Ping'an could finish speaking, the one-armed man slapped himself hard across the face. The other two men looked up at Xu Ping'an and quickly joined in, slapping themselves as well.

For a moment, all that could be heard in the room was the sound of "slap, slap, slap, slap." The two men with both arms quickly finished slapping each other, and they were both quite heavy-handed. Both of their faces were red and swollen. But the one-armed man was the most ruthless to himself. He started the fight the first and finished the last. Both of his faces were swollen high from the slaps, and his palms and face were bleeding. In comparison, the other two seemed dishonest.

"Go if you want to leave. My Wujialing is a place where people come and go as they please. Besides, this is an old feud between Wujiazhai and the Thirteen Families, and it really has nothing to do with you." The old mountain lord waved his hand, indicating that they could get lost.

Several people started crying again, this time very loudly. The three leaders, however, were more decisive. They kowtowed several times, then stood up and went out the door first.

Then came a series of thuds as people kowtowed on the ground, one after another, and went outside. In the end, only one child remained, neither kowtowing nor getting up, stubbornly kneeling there without moving.

"Nanzi, kowtow to the mountain lord, we should go." A middle-aged woman bent down to the child and urged him.

"No!" The boy named Nanzai raised his head, his face full of stubbornness, and said, "I'm not leaving!"

"You brat!" The one-armed man strode back from outside, forcefully pressing Nanzi's head down. "Kneel down, then leave!"

"I'm not leaving! You lied to me! You said Grandpa Mountain Lord left—that's when I left!" Nanzi suddenly turned his head and broke free from the one-armed man's wrist, shouting at him, "If Grandpa Mountain Lord isn't leaving, I'm not leaving either! If I die, I'll die with him!"

"You brat!" The one-armed man snapped, grabbing the boy by the back of his collar and dragging him outside. His face, swollen and bloodied from his own beating, was now contorted in a terrifying grimace. "You're the only heir in my Yu family. We can't afford to die, understand?! Come with me now!"

"I won't go! I just won't go!" The boy struggled desperately, shouting at Xu Ping'an, "Grandpa Mountain Lord! Grandpa Mountain Lord!"

Xu Pingan glanced at Zeng Fuhu, who chuckled and flicked his fingers. The one-armed man's knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground with a thud. Nanzai struggled free, rushed to Xu Pingan's bamboo couch, and cried while clutching the bamboo strips.

"If you don't want to leave, you'll remain a member of Wujialing. No one here can take you away." Xu Ping'an patted his head and looked at the one-armed man. "The three of you can stay, or you can leave and he can stay."

The one-armed man sat down on the ground with a thud and didn't move for a long time. In the end, the family of three stayed, and a total of eight people left.

At midnight, eight men, carrying torches and holding white flags, walked slowly through the mountains and forests, shouting every few steps, "We are leaving Wujialing!"

Not far from the main mountain of the Chu family, the eight people encountered cultivators from thirteen families. Two cultivators perched on treetops pulled the eight people onto paper kites and took them to a secluded valley.

The thirteen families were overjoyed—such a negative example should naturally be put to good use. A kind-looking, smiling, fat monk entertained them, promising them a way to survive, land, and lodging, painting all sorts of rosy pictures, and gave them a good meal to appease them. Then, he sent the eight of them to sleep in the tent.

The next morning, a sumptuous breakfast of wild boar meat, honey water, and steamed buns was laid out on a large rock. After eating and drinking their fill, the three cultivators, along with four adults, boarded a large ironwood eagle.

Just then, a short, stocky man emerged from a nearby tent. Seeing them about to leave, he raised his hand and said, "Do you need any help? I can help you pilot the Ironwood Eagle."

"It would be great if Brother Baisun would be willing to help!" The fat cultivator was overjoyed and happily invited the short, stocky man onto the ironwood eagle.

This short, stocky fellow was none other than the Hundred-Benefit Rat. The failed assassination attempt at Flower Fruit Mountain was a shameful thing, but since it was the Great Sage who had revealed himself, there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

Xingyue also believed that they were not guilty of any wrongdoing, and generously added another 100,000 deposits, changing the mission to "defeat the Chu Family Village". After the mission was completed, the spirit stones and spirit land promised last time would still be valid.

So the Three Evils of Aolai turned around and came to Chu Family Village, one on each of the three sides: east, south, and west. Bai Sunshu volunteered to come to thirteen families, but since he arrived yesterday, his face has been very cold, and he does nothing but eat and sleep.

Last night, thirteen families launched a sneak attack in seven groups, and he pretended not to know anything. Now that he suddenly offered to help, the fat cultivator was naturally overjoyed.

As they spoke, the Ironwood Eagle took to the air, with Hundred-Burning Rat sitting in the main control position at the eagle's head. Two cultivators from the Thirteen Families stood on either side, while the fat cultivator and four ordinary people stayed in the center. Together, they flew towards the direction where the people of Wujia Ridge were located.

"Listen carefully, I'll say a sentence and you repeat it, come on, shout it together—'Following Xu Ping'an, there's only one way to die; escape from Wujialing, and you'll save your life and have a full stomach!'" After the Ironwood Eagle took off, the fat cultivator smiled and spoke to the group.

The four ordinary people looked at each other, speechless for a moment.

"Slap! Slap!" Two hard slaps landed on the faces of the two middle-aged men, knocking them to the ground against the ironwood eagle's tail.

"You have to shout. If you shout, you get paid. If you don't, you have to jump." The fat monk took out a bag of copper coins and tossed it in his hand. He was still smiling, but no one felt that he was kind and approachable anymore.

"Following...following...Xu Ping'an, there's only one way to die." A woman stammered, but her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

"Slap!" Another slap landed, leaving the middle-aged woman who had spoken with a bruised and battered face.

"Didn't you eat enough? Half a wild boar wouldn't even fill you up!" the fat monk shouted. "Louder!"

"Follow..."

"Not enough, fucking not loud enough! Say it again, or I'll kick you down!" The fat cultivator roared as the Ironwood Eagle flew close to the hill where Xu Ping'an was.

"Following Xu Ping'an means certain death..."

"Louder! Louder!" The voices were louder and more orderly, but the fat monk was still not satisfied and kept shouting at the four people.

The voices grew louder and louder, more and more synchronized. That's how people are; once they do something shameless in public, they simply become shameless afterward.

Seeing that they had reached the hill where Xu Ping'an was, the fat cultivator activated the sound-emitting array to release the sound, while lowering the ironwood eagle to circle around the small hill.

"Following Xu Ping'an means certain death; escaping Wujialing means survival and a full stomach!"

This is just shouting slogans.

"On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, one is destined to suffer the death of one's father and mother, and the destruction of one's family and clan!"

This is an attack on Cai Fei, aiming to undermine the fighting spirit of his subordinates at its very root.

"Thirteen families are wealthy and own land, and they specifically take in orphans and children from Wujialing. We welcome them to surrender."

This is for my own GG.