Chapter 32: A Long Way back Home (2/2)
After some hesitation, Junior Leopard decided to go. After all, he had asked for leave and also knew that staying at that remote village was much safer than Qingyang Market.
Therefore, putting on his coir raincoat and renting a little donkey from the carriages and horses shop of the Ding's, he left. On such a rainy day it was better to ride than to walk. Because he could not ride a horse, he had no choice but to rent a little donkey that looked like a strong one.
Riding on the donkey and wearing a coir raincoat, he went towards the mountain village. Walking under the drizzle he felt free without a care in the world.
”Unexpectedly, the surrounding scenery on such a rainy day is actually very beautiful!”
Seen from afar, the outside of Qingyang Market was enveloped by the undulating mountains. The mountains were not high, but amid this misty rain, they became more appealing to the beauty of obscurity. Junior Leopard on the donkey looked at them with a carefree mood.
At that moment, with a burst of lightning and thunder, a fierce gale sprang up and soybean-sized raindrops blew down. It was so violent that the coir cap on Junior Leopard's head was blown off.
Without his coir cap, Junior Leopard's head was exposed to the heavy rains.The rain was too heavy to even open his eyes.
”Come on! Be quick!” Junior Leopard dared not wonder anymore. There was no shelter all around. Junior Leopard had no choice but to whip his donkey. Naturally, the donkey felt the pain and rushed out randomly. After a quarter of an hour, it gradually stopped raining. The donkey then stopped at a mountain stream.
The original mountain stream was a mere trickle, which Junior Leopard had to pass through when he went home. In the past, it was easy for people to leap over that mere trickle, and even more so for a donkey. But now, after the heavy rains, the flood currents on the mountain came down and the river banks rose up. The mere trickle stream had turned into a great river, about 10 to 13 meters wide. Because the flood currents rushed down from the top of the mountain, sometimes trunks and animals would be carried downstream, which caused obstacles for him on the way home.
”It can't get any worse than this!” looking at the flowing mountain stream, Junior Leopard sighed. Junior Leopard was worriedly pondering how to pass the river, when he heard a light shout over his head. He raised his head and saw a light blood shadow galloping from the southwest. The blood shadow moved so swiftly that it arrived over Junior Leopard's head in the blink of an eye. At that moment, Junior Leopard saw it clearly, it was a light of mournful blood. When Junior Leopard turned his head, he caught a whiff of evil blood.
Junior Leopard felt the back of his neck tighten and then he was lifted up about hundreds of meters high by a force. The donkey rushed into the mountain stream. After struggling for sometime, the donkey sank to the bottom of the river and completely vanished.
”Ah------!” Junior Leopard uttered a brief sound and stopped abruptly. A wave of hot strength entered into his neck and closed all acupoints of his body off. He was forced to watch the raindrops and smoke in the air with eyes wide open, only to find that his body did not belong to him, it was as if he became a ghost that couldn't feel anything.
”Eh?” at that moment, although Junior Leopard could not utter a single word, the senses of his eyes and ears remained normal. After the wave of hot strength went through his body, Junior Leopard clearly heard a sound of shock.
The sound was short but clear. Soon it was silent. The force lifted Junior Leopard's neck and flew towards the deep ends of the Misty Mountain. Even, during the flying process, the little village he lived in flashed away and disappeared quickly in front of his eyes.
”Am I flying?” Junior Leopard had finally managed to regain his composure. He could not move anymore, so he was not able to see who had lifted him up.
”Shit, isn't this the world of a wuxia? How can he fly? Are those legends about Gang Qi real? Is Gang Qi able to really make people fly?” Full of questions, he did not feel as though he was in a crisis at all. Rather, Junior Leopard felt a sense of excitement.
After flying for a while, Junior Leopard could see an expansive green. Junior Leopard knew that they were heading deep into the Misty Mountain.
Misty Mountain, stretched on for tens of thousands of miles. At this time he was lifted up by someone and flying in the sky, yet he saw the routes below, and it was composed of tall mountains and great rivers. A few mountains formed the ridges, as if it was an undulating wave, flying past him as if it was retreating back. Sometimes they would penetrate the cloud area; surrounding him were fine clouds which were smashed apart by the Gang wind. Slowly the soul became dense, it started flying, becoming a ball and being able to be caught by hand.
”It was clearer than the airplanes in his previous life!” The surrounding clouds shaped like rolls and strips of cotton. ”What a pity! I can't move, otherwise, I could stretch myself out.”
Junior Leopard was pitying himself secretly, when he felt his body sinking down. Soon with a heavy fall, he felt that all the inhibitors in his whole body were being released suddenly. He looked only to find that he was approaching the steep cliffs. A cluster of sharp rocks at the bottom, like the tip of a sword, were facing Junior Leopard. If he fell down, he would definitely die. Soon he was panicking and uttered a weird sound.
”Hahahaha!”
When he made the strange sound, he perceived the strong blood evil energy again. Then, there was a pause and he was held by a big hand and fell down slowly.
”I thought that you were unafraid of anything. I never thought that you would be afraid of death!”
He heard someone speaking in his ears ruggedly with a thick sense of taunting.
When this man flew in the air, lifting Junior Leopard, he was curious about why Junior Leopard was not scared. Generally speaking, no matter who met this thing, he or she would be greatly frantic, but this guy who he lifted was abnormal. Hence, the man released Junior Leopard to test his reaction.
”Only fools are not afraid of death!” Junior Leopard realized that this time he could speak, hence he shouted, ”Even the old man in the heavens fears death!”
”Right! Right! Even the old man in heaven fears death!” The man roared with laughter and rushed into the depths of the mountain forest while carrying Junior Leopard.
When Junior Leopard was about to land, the man released him. Junior Leopard found that all his strength came back. He was about seven to eight feet above the earth. After a strong breath, Junior Leopard threw his body into reverse, which was just what he had learned in PE in the previous world. After several reverses, he stood steadily, with his feet on the ground and stabilized himself. He found that he did not get injured at all. He raised his head, delighted. Looking at the place that he fell down, he found that it was a little road in the valley. Along the roadside of both cliffs, there were towering trees and old vines. With fine rains and steaming mist, the valley looked like a fairyland.
Seeing Junior Leopard being intoxicated by the beauty of the valley, the man did not know whether he should be angry or happy. It seemed that this guy did not fear him at all.
”Little fella, have you seen enough?”
”Hum!” Junior Leopard was aware that he was in a crisis and turned around immediately.
”Oh, my god! How can I have such bad luck?”