Chapter 262

Grandpa Sun was not without influence. Seeing that the five members of the Righteous Alliance agreed to accompany him, he gave a whistle with his lips, and the forest stirred. Dozens of strong men emerged, all clad in tiger and leopard skins and armed with bows and spears.

Grandpa Sun ordered them to bury all the dead constables and lamas, and then to carry Yan Beian and find a sunny place to put him down. He left two men to keep a lookout from a distance to make sure that the body was not eaten by wild animals, and that he could go his own way when he woke up.

Then he led everyone back to his mountain villa.

Mie Jie didn’t want to delay any longer, but his master and apprentice’s horses had run out of strength. Grandpa Sun said, 鈥淭he nun has travelled a long way, so she must have a means of transport. These horses can simply be given to me, and I will replace them with a few more powerful and hardy mounts for the nun to drive.鈥�

So the Master and his disciples also followed the crowd, winding their way through the mountains for more than 30 li, up hills and down valleys. Suddenly, the landscape opened up before them, revealing a vast flatland spread out between the mountains for tens of li. A small stream running through the center, with hundreds of houses on both sides at different heights, and further out cultivated fields with all kinds of vegetables, and wild flowers blooming on the field ridges, it was like a paradise.

Yu Panghu praised, 鈥淲hat a place! If someone didn’t show us the way, even if 10,000 troops searched the mountains, it would be hard to find.鈥�

Seeing that Sun the old man was back, hundreds of people in the village, young and old, joyfully came out to greet him. Mie Jie saw that these people were genuinely smiling and said to Ye Guhong in private, 鈥淭his old man is very well-liked. If he weren’t a good person, why would he be here? My master shouldn’t have made him fall.鈥�

Ye Kuhong said, 鈥淧eople in the world of martial arts don’t get to know each other without a fight. Besides, didn’t the master hold back? He didn’t really hurt him.鈥�

Mie Jie shook his head and said, 鈥淚t’s not a good sight after all, to see such an old man beaten up in public and lying on his back…鈥�

Master Sun led everyone into the central mansion and sat them down. He first brewed some tea with mountain eucommia leaves and served everyone a bowl, clearing their bowels. Before long, giggling peasant women started bringing out large basins of dishes.

Ye Guhong looked at them and didn’t recognize half of them. He was about to ask Master Sun, but Sha Yu, who was very knowledgeable, introduced them to him while dripping with saliva

鈥淭hat big bowl is braised tiger meat in miso, that piece is braised musk deer, that tightly packed one is freshly grilled python, that jar is marinated fox meat, those are not mice, they’re all rabbit, and that is chopped dried venison…鈥�

There were also a few dishes that Ye Luhong knew himself, namely, steamed suckling pig, tender lamb, young chicken, and a fish soup that had been simmered until it was white.

While everyone else was picking up chopsticks and eating, Miexie sat smiling, not moving an inch.

When Sun saw this, he gave himself a pat on the back of the head, went out and gave a few orders, and in a short while a few women came up with a few dishes, smiling and saying, 鈥淧lease don’t reject us, Master. We just carefully cleaned the pots, brushed and washed them, used sesame oil to fry the tofu and stir-fry the woodears, and made a clear soup with bamboo shoots and pine nuts. We also boiled some white-faced sorghum. It’s all very clean and pure food.鈥�

Then a young daughter-in-law came forward, holding a porcelain bottle, and opened the wax seal in front of her face. She poured a cup of wine for the monk and said with a smile, 鈥淧lease try the ice wine that we mountain people brewed ourselves. It’s made from grapes that were harvested last summer, but instead of pick it, but instead put a net over it to keep birds from pecking at it. When the cold winter snow fell, it froze into ice balls. Only then did they pick it off during the coldest night and squeeze the juice to make wine. It is the best way to beat the summer heat.

Mie Jie was overjoyed and quickly got up to take it, drinking several cups in a row. He couldn’t describe just how beautiful it was, and couldn’t stop praising it.

As for the men, they all drank strong spirits. They ate and drank like wind and rain, soothing their hungry stomachs, and then slowed down and started chatting about trivial matters.

Grandpa Sun asked Mie Jie where he was going to sail to when he went to find Xie Qian. Mie Jie shook his head and told him the strategy that Liu Ji had proposed at the beginning: 鈥淚f there are no mistakes, you can reach the so-called Ice and Fire Island directly on the road, which will reduce many risks.鈥�

Huangluo Daoren suddenly interrupted: 鈥淚f you go by land, you must pass through the countries of Yasha and Liu Gui. When I was young, I once walked there with my uncle. The land is vast and sparsely populated, and gold and silver are useless things. You must bring a lot of things that the Yasha and Liu Gui can use. If you need to ask them for help or exchange goods, it would be good.鈥�

Mie Jie saw that he was speaking with conviction and hurriedly asked, 鈥淲hat are the things that will be useful there?鈥�

Huangluo Daoren said, 鈥淭he first is naturally food, but there are only two of you, so even your own rations would be too heavy to carry. How can you bring much? Then the second is utensils. The people there don’t know metallurgy, and often use bones as weapons. If you just bring a few dozen sharp knives, they will be better than dozens of gold ingots.鈥�

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Sun immediately said to the others, 鈥淕o prepare fifty short knives with the horns of cows and deer as handles. Pick the ones with good temper. Save them for the use of the master.鈥�

Mie Jie was greatly grateful and bowed, saying, 鈥淭hank you, Grandpa Sun. I was…鈥�

Seeing that she seemed to want to apologize for her earlier actions, Grandpa Sun quickly waved his hand: 鈥淕oddess, it is common for people in the martial arts world to become acquainted through fighting, and it is also our duty to help each other. There is no need for formalities or words!鈥�

Ye Kuhong nodded to himself, thinking that this old man’s kung fu was inferior to Huangluo Daoren’s, and even the Five Tigers of the Righteous Alliance, but he had a great reputation. It turned out that it was all due to his achievements as a person.

Huangluo Daoren then went on to explain in detail what they needed to pay attention to in the northern climate and geography, as far as he knew. Both Ye Guhong and Mie Jie felt that they had learned a lot, and when they looked at each other, they felt even more that the trip had been worthwhile.

The next day, the master and disciple got up, washed up, and went out of the room. They heard a lot of laughter and joy outside, so they went out to see what it was. They were both stunned to see two strange beasts, proudly standing in the crowd, led by Grandpa Sun.

The beast was extremely tall, much more majestic than a warhorse, with extremely long legs, a particularly towering shoulder, a large head, a long face, small eyes, a short neck, a fat nose, a bulging flesh sac under the chin, an extremely short tail, and a pair of terrifyingly large antlers.

Grandpa Sun was laughing heartily, talking to someone, and when he saw the Master and apprentice come out, he pointed at the two beasts and said, 鈥淰enerable, do you know what these beasts are?鈥�

After looking at it for a while, Mie Jie felt that it looked like a deer but not a deer. He was about to shake his head and admit that he didn’t recognize it, when he heard his disciple laugh and say, 鈥淭his is a mandrill, Mandrill da han!鈥�

Master Sun nodded in surprise: 鈥淵ou are indeed the Jade Warrior of Emei! You even know everything about our northern country! Yes, this is the Mandaharan. These beasts are usually unfriendly between males, and they fight viciously when they meet. However, these two Mandaharan are twins. They grew up together and would never separate. This is indeed rare. Even bears and tigers dare not go near these two males when they are together.鈥�

When she heard this, Mie Jie was overjoyed and couldn’t help but lift her hand to stroke the beast’s big nose. The beast, however, was willing to get close to people, and when she stroked its head, it felt so good that its little eyes closed, and its ears flapped back and forth. The other head even poked its head over to let Mie Jie stroke it too.

After all, Mie Jie was a woman, and seeing that the beast was so cute, she held up both hands high, stroked one with each hand, and used her golden-topped, soft palms to stroke it, thoroughly enjoying herself.

Grandpa Sun continued, 鈥淭his beast is naturally resistant to extreme cold, and its fur does not get wet in the rain or snow, which is far better than a horse’s. It is also very good at swimming. If you want to cross a river or sea, you only need to build a raft and let them pull it, and they will get you across. There is just one catch…鈥�

Mie Jie hurriedly turned his head to look, but heard him say, 鈥淭his beast likes to eat algae. The route it takes must not be far from water. Every one or two days, you must let them go into the water to have a good meal. You don’t have to worry about them running away.鈥�

While talking, he took out a bell, which seemed to be made of white bones, and handed it to Mie Jie, saying, 鈥淲hen this bell is rung, it can be heard within ten li, and they will come back immediately.鈥�

Mie Jie was overjoyed and said, 鈥淲ith this strange beast, this trip will definitely be a success! Thank you so much, senior.鈥�

Grandpa Sun said, 鈥淎t the end of a long journey, the more preparations you make, the safer you will be. Here are two sets of winter clothes, you will be able to use them soon.鈥�