a reason to lag behind Deng Baichuan’s group. She then jumped off a cliff to end her life but was rescued by Yun Zhonghe. Currently, being rejected in the face by her beloved, Wang Yuyan was heartbroken to the brink of madness and nearly vomited blood. Out of the blue, she had an epiphany: Mister Duan is fully devoted to my well-being. Despite that, I was often discourteous to him. In this moment, he has even lost his life because of me. I owe him so much. Mister Duan has perished in this deep well; there must be sharp rocks at the bottom of it. Since I am tired of living, why don’t I join him in death in order to compensate him for his strong dedication?

As she contemplated, she strode slowly to the side of the well. Turning her head back, she proclaimed: “Cousin, may all your wishes come true. Marry the Xixia Princess and become the Emperor of the Yan Dynasty.”

Murong Fu knew she is going to end her life and took a step closer. Stretching out his hand, he initially wanted to grab her arm and cry: Stop! But in his heart, he is fully aware that once he cried out and pulled her arm, it will complicate matters and will only worsen the love entanglement between him and his cousin. Cousin Yuyan is soft-spoken and attractive, a rare beauty. With such a spouse, any decent man will no longer have any regrets in his life. Moreover, she has been loyal to him since they were young. Nevertheless, if Murong Fu loses self-control and perform a heedless deed, it would severely hamper his ambition to restore the Great Yan Empire. With this mindset, his mouth was open but no sound came out; his hand was outstretched but he did not grab onto Wang Yuyan.

Observing his expression, Wang Yuyan deduced his emotions. In her mind, she concluded: Even if you wish to abandon me, we are still related as cousins. Now that I am seeking death, you made no effort dissuade me. You are even worse than the evil creep, Yun Zhonghe, to reach this level of cold-bloodedness.

Casting everything aside, Wang Yuyan announced: “Mister Duan, I am joining you in death!” With a jump, she disappeared into the well.

With an exclamation ‘AH!’ Murong Fu took a step closer to her, his hand reaching out and thinking of grabbing her leg. Based on his martial arts, it is extremely easy to reach her but ultimately, he was hit by indecisiveness and allowed her to complete her jump. Letting out a sigh, Murong Fu shook his head and remarked: “Cousin, in your heart, you truly love Mister Duan. Although the two of you cannot live as a married couple, but by dying in the same hole, at least you should die a fulfilled death.”

Out of a sudden, someone behind him scolded: “Crying crocodile tears, hypocrite!”

Murong Fu was taken aback. He wondered: Somebody had crept up on me and I failed to sense it?

First, he sent a palm stroke to whoever is behind him before turning his body around. Under the moonlight, he witnessed a flashing shadow evading his palm strike by nimbly floating away. It is considered a rare feat even among top martial artistes.

Murong Fu dashed forward and without waiting for the mysterious figure to descend, he sent out another palm stroke and cursed: “Who is it? How dare you make fun of a noble Mister?” Whilst in mid-air, the person send out his own palm to match Murong Fu’s palm blow and their skills are evenly matched. Using the momentum to float another several yards away, the figure finally landed on the ground. It was TuBo’s Grand Priest Jiumozhi.

Jiumozhi continued: “It is fully obvious you are responsible for causing Miss Wang to commit suicide by jumping into the well. Yet, here you are, saying she is getting a fulfilled death. Mister Murong, don’t you think you have gone too far in your scheming and cruelty?”

Murong Fu was incensed: “This is my personal affair. Who are you to interfere?”

Jiumozhi declared: “You have committed such a heinous crime; of course I, a monk, must get involved. Furthermore, since you intended to become the Prince Consort of Xixia, then this is no longer a private affair.”

Murong Fu demanded: “Are you telling me that you, as a monk, is vying to be the Prince Consort as well?”

Jiumozhi burst out laughing and replied: “A monk becoming a Prince Consort? What logic is that?”

Murong Fu icily state: “I am well aware of the evil motives of the TuBo Empire. In this case, you must be acting on behalf of the TuBo Prince.”

Jiumozhi countered: “What do you indicate by evil motives? If all the admirers of the Xixia Princess are deemed to be hiding evil motives, may I enquire about your personal motives? Are they upright or evil?”

Murong Fu commented: “In order to win the hand of the Princess of Xixia, I shall compete to become the Prince Consort based on my own abilities. I am not the kind of person who will instruct my subordinates to create trouble in Lingzhou, earning the disapproval of heroes and the horror of the population.”

Jiumozhi laughed: “We were generally threatening the incompetent challengers to forfeit the competition. Our intention is to prevent the capital of Xixia from descending into chaos, and from being flooded by weaklings and unworthy bachelors. From your perspective, we are also clearing your path of unnecessary hindrances; isn’t that to your benefit?”

Murong Fu interrogated: “If what you said is true, then it sounds pretty awesome. Nevertheless, is the Prince of TuBo Empire depending on his own abilities to win the competition?”

Jiumozhi affirmed: “Indeed!”

Noting his fearless composure and overwhelming aura of confidence, Murong Fu was highly suspicious and questioned: “Has the Prince of your prestigious empire mastered a set of superb martial arts, rendering him invincible and therefore, 100% confident of victory?”

Jiumozhi highlighted: “The young Prince is my disciple and his martial arts is above average. Although he is not considered an invincible opponent, his victory is still guaranteed.”

Murong Fu was even more perplexed than before. He wondered: If I were to probe him directly for an answer, he may give an ambiguous reply. It is better that I try to agitate him and he may inadvertently reveal his secret. Thus, he challenged: “That’s odd. The Prince of your prestigious empire has full confidence in his victory; however, I believe I will emerge victorious too. After the competition, I wonder who the real winner will be.”

Jiumozhi laughed: “You must be itching to find out the real reason why our Prince is guaranteed to win the competition, aren’t you? Why don’t you share your plan with me and I will share our plan with you. We can co-analyze and compare our plans, and judge for ourselves who has a more brilliant strategy.”

Except for his confidence in his excellent martial arts and outstanding appearance, Murong Fu did not have any concrete plan to guarantee his victory. Hence, he remarked: “You are full of evil schemes and often go back on your word. If I share my plan first and you refused to share yours, wouldn’t I be at a disadvantage?”

Jiumozhi let out a big laugh: “Mister Murong, I have been acquainted with your Father for many years and we admire each other very much. Even if you find me overbearing, I am still considered your elder (senior). Regarding your harsh speech, don’t you think you are being disrespectful?”

Murong Fu bowed in a salute and apologized: “MingWang’s (Bright King) censure is appropriate. Please accept my apology.”

(Jiumozhi’s official title is DaLunMingWang. Can be addressed as MingWang too. Da=giant / big. Lun=wheels. Ming=Bright / Wise. Wang=King. In this context, King is not the highest title, Emperor is. The King title is equivalent to Duke / Lord / Minister, etc. I will use Bright King instead of Wise King for obvious reasons.)

Jiumozhi smiled: “Mister is a true genius. Since you acknowledge you are my junior, I shall not take advantage of you for your father’s sake. The secret behind the guaranteed victory of TuBo’s Prince is actually an amateur trick. We simply remove all the contenders who are entering the competition. Without any competition, wouldn’t our Prince be guaranteed victory? Hahahaha.”

Murong Fu’s face turned pale and he stammered: “In this case, I…”

Jiumozhi advised: “The ties between your Father and I run deep. Naturally, I wish to spare your life. I sincerely recommend Mister to depart from Xixia. This is the best outcome for you.”

Murong Fu asked: “What if I refused to go?”

Jiumozhi smiled: “I will still spare your life but will require Mister to dig out both your eyes or chop off an arm and a leg, essentially making you a handicap. The Princess of Xixia will naturally avoid marrying a handicap, even if he is a righteous hero.” When Jiumozhi mention the words: righteous hero, he intentionally emphasized them in a sarcastic manner.

Murong Fu was furious. Frightened of Jiumozhi’s superior skills, he dared not carelessly engage him. Lowering his head, he thought hard and fast for a solution.

Under the moonlight, he abruptly detected some fine, snaking movement. Peering closer, he discovered it was the shadow of Jiumozhi’s right hand. Murong Fu was alarmed, deducing that his opponent is consolidating his energy and ready to strike in an instant. He secretly gathered his own energy in preparation to meet the attack.

Beyond his expectations, Jiumozhi added: “Mister, when you forced your very own cousin to commit suicide, that act itself is a great violation of morals. If you make haste and depart from Xixia, I will no longer hold you accountable for this act of pressuring Miss Wang to her death.”

Murong Fu snorted: “She jumped into the well and committed suicide for love; I have nothing to do with it.” As he spoke, he stared at the shadows on the ground and noticed the shadows of Jiumozhi’s hands are shaking intensely.

Murong Fu’s suspicions are aroused. He thought: Jiumozhi has mastered an incredibly high level of martial arts. If he intended to harm his rivals, why waste time on trivial persuasion and putting up a show of authority? Could he be putting up a false front and trying to scare me into submission?

Another quick scan of the shadows revealed that the corners of Jiumozhi’s pants and sleeves are vibrating tenderly, betraying a fact that Jiumozhi’s entire body is actually shivering uncontrollably. In a split second, Murong Fu had an epiphany. He swiftly remembered: “That day, inside Shaolin Monastery’s Sutra Chamber, the nameless old monk mentioned that Jiumozhi had mastered Shaolin Sect’s 72 Legendary Skills and afterwards, forced himself to practice the Yijing Sutra. This is the wrong flow of learning these skills and the practitioner faces an impending disaster. The old monk explained that when learning these Legendary Skills, the student must possess a high level of compassion. A learner with a violent nature will be faced with obstacles and danger to his health. When this old monk pointed out the discomforts of my father and Xiao Yuanshan, his predictions were accurate and precise. Therefore, the diagnosis of Jiumozhi cannot be too far from the truth.”

Think about this point, Murong Fu was overjoyed: “Hey Hey. This monk himself is facing an impending danger and yet he dared to threaten me, demanding that I lose my eyes or my limbs.”

Still, Murong Fu cannot be absolutely sure and needed to test this theory. He exclaimed: “Ai! The wrong flow of learning skills and the practitioner will face an impending disaster! When learning top echelon skills, the backfire effect (from fire-deviation) is simply the worst.”

Out of the blue, Jiumozhi erupted in a spine-chilling roar. It was a terrifying scream, sounding more like an animal than a man. His hands reached out to grab Murong Fu as he hollered: “What are you talking about? You… Who are you talking about?”

Murong Fu slanted his body to avoid his hands. Jiumozhi turned his body to follow the momentum. As the moonlight shone on his face, it highlighted his bloodshot eyes, shrunken brows and a face filled with violent rage. Despite the fearsome aura, nothing can conceal the tinge of fear on the same face.

There is no longer any doubt in Murong Fu. He advised: “I have a piece of sincere proposal. MingWang (Bright King) should quickly leave Xixia and return to TuBo. As long as you do not activate your internal energy, do not get angry and do not exchange blows, you can return to your hometown safely. Otherwise, the prediction of the Shaolin Divine Monk will come true.”

Jiumozhi is a shade of his former self. His usual calm and patient demeanor had vanished without a trace. He yelled: “You… What do you know? What do you know?”

Observing the ugly complexion, in complete contrast with the normally strict and saintly monk appearance, Murong Fu could not help feeling dreadful and took one step back. Jiumozhi demanded: “What do you know? Tell me quickly!”

Murong Fu forced himself to steady his nerves. Letting out a sigh, he explained: “Bright King’s internal energy has taken the wrong path and your life is in danger. If you do not leave for TuBo immediately, you should at least consider going to Shaolin Monastery and seek medical help from the Divine Monk. There is still hope for you.”

Jiumozhi let out a false laugh: “How do you know my internal energy has taken a wrong path. Utter rubbish.” As he spoke, his left hand shot out, making a grabbing frontal attack at Murong Fu.

Although his five fingers are still quivering, the grab is still a powerful one, backed by years of experience and foundation. There is no sign of internal energy injury. Murong Fu was secretly traumatized and he thought: Did I guess wrongly?

Summoning his own internal energy, he focused on receiving the blow. Using his right hand, he blocked the blow and tried to hook the wrist of his opponent. Jiumozhi bellowed: “For your father’s sake, I will not employ any killing moves in the first ten stances. It is a token of my friendship to the child of my old friend.” Whoosh! A punch flew out towards Murong Fu’s right shoulder.

Murong Fu floated away to avoid the punch but Jiumozhi’s second attack is following up closely behind without a gap. Although Murong Fu is talented in the , which allows him to use the opponent’s attack against himself, Jiumozhi’s attacks are too intricate for that. Every strike would transform in the middle of the stroke, giving Murong Fu no opportunity to reverse the blow. Eventually, Murong Fu could only guard the critical parts of his body and wait for a window to counter attack.

Jiumozhi’s attacking stances are truly mysterious and rarely seen in the martial world. An original punch attack would evolve into a jab; a grab technique transformed into palm attack right before making contact. Jiumozhi thundered: “The ten strokes are completed, face your fate!”

Murong Fu was bedazzled as he became surrounded by several images of Jiumozhi. On his left came a kick; on his right flew a punch; from the front a palm movement is rapidly closing in and a jabbing strike is almost at his back. It is as if he is being simultaneously hammered by a group of people. Unable to meet the barrage, he summons his internal energy for defense and let loose both his palms in a series of wild, confused parries.

Out of a sudden, he heard Jiumozhi’s relentless panting. The wheezing noise began to worsen, drawing Murong Fu’s attention. He thought: “This monk’s internal circulation has gone haywire. If this persists, he will surely collapse and die on the spot.”

But as Jiumozhi’s panting became even more severe, his strokes increased in intensity as well. With a sudden roar from Jiumozhi, Murong Fu felt pain concurrently at his waist‘Juzhong point’ and stomach ‘Sangqu point’. With these two acupoints blocked, his limbs lost all their strength and he became immobile.

Jiumozhi coldly laughed for a while despite his persistent breathlessness. He panted: “I kindly persuaded you to get lost but you chose to stay instead. Now, you cannot blame me for your predicament. I… I… What should I do with you?” He pinched his lips and whistled loudly.

In a short spell of time, four TuBo warriors emerged from the woods. Bowing, they acknowledged: “What are Bright King’s orders?” Jiumozhi commanded: “Hack this kid to pieces!” The four warriors replied in unison: “Yes, Bright King!”

Although Murong Fu is immobile, his ears are still working fine. He groaned inwardly: “Earlier on, if only I had accepted Cousin’s love and promise her to give up on the Xixia Prince Consort dream. Currently, I will not be losing my life to the sword. After my death, the restoration of Great Yan will extinguish with me.” He wanted to communicate this information but cannot find his voice. Furthermore, Jiumozhi did not spare him a second glance. Even if Murong Fu can signal with his eyes, it is to no avail.

The four TuBo warriors received Murong Fu’s body; one of them unsheathe a curved sabre and is getting ready to chop towards his neck.

Jiumozhi interrupted: “Hold it! I am an old acquaintance of this kid’s father. Let him die with a complete corpse. Throw him into that abandoned well. After that, seal the well with big rocks. Even if he unblocks his acupoints, there is no way for him to climb out!”

The TuBo warriors replied: “Yes, Bright King!” After depositing Murong Fu into the abandoned well, they could not locate any suitable rocks in the vicinity. As a result, they speedily travelled to the back of the hill to search for large rocks.

Standing beside the well, a distressed Jiumozhi is gasping for breath.

Back at Mount Shaoshi, after he ambushed Duan Yu with the , he was afraid that the numerous martial experts would gang up against him. Therefore, he immediately escaped down the mountain. Halfway down Mount Shaoshi, he could already feel his ‘Dantian’ point swelling with a burning sensation. At once, he halted his steps and tried to regulate his internal energy. To his shock and surprise, it was extremely difficult to do so. He thought: “That old rascal (monk) mentioned that I mastered Shaolin’s 72 Legendary Skills without the matching level of compassion, causing my energy flows to be blocked, thereby planting a ticking time bomb. After learning the Yijing Sutra, my energy flows become topsy-turvy, and now I am at the brink of internal energy disaster. Could it be… Could it be that old rascal (monk) ‘s prediction coming true?”

Without any delay, Jiumozhi sourced for a mountain cave and sat down to meditate. As long as he does not activate his internal energy flows, the burning sensation in his body will slowly subside. Any minor exertion will instantly trigger the full burning sensation at his ‘Dantian’ and it felt as if his organs are on fire.

His meditation lasted till evening. Unable to detect any pursuers from Shaolin Monastery, he slowly head south towards home. Along his journey, he encountered a TuBo messenger spy and learnt about the TuBo King sending the Prince to Lingzhou for the marriage and application for Xixia Prince Consort. The spy detailed: On this mission, the Prince is accompanied by a large entourage of highly-skilled warriors. They are furnished with copious amounts of gold, silver, precious jewellery, rare valuables, famous steeds and prized swords. The steeds and swords are tribute items to the Emperor of Xixia; the rare valuables are gifts for the Princess; and the gold, silver and precious jewellery will be used to bribe the Xixia eunuchs, concubines and officials of various grades.

As the Grand Priest (Advisor) of TuBo, Jiumozhi is involved in laying the strategies for the country’s political and military affairs. The success or failure of this marriage will affect the country’s future. So, despite his ill health, he headed towards Xixia to oversee the operation, dispatching the talented fighters to terrorize other potential contenders for the Prince Consort. By the 10th Day of August of the Lunar Calendar, the warriors of TuBo have already driven away hundreds of admirers from prestigious families as well as accomplished martial arts heroes. Despite the huge number of participants, every one of them is behaving in an individualistic manner, Battle Royale style. Since the applicants are mostly solo and no assistance is given to one another; one by one, they eventually succumbed to the group attacks of the TuBo warriors.

Since arriving at Lingzhou, Jiumozhi has been living in seclusion and healing his internal injuries. The turmoil of burning sensation in his body has greatly diminished, but once he triggers his energies, all his limbs and bones will tremble uncontrollably. Even when he eventually reached a new equanimity, his fingers, eyebrows, mouth and shoulders will still vibrate slightly and the spasms simply will not go away. He naturally wished to avoid exposure and chose to live alone, minimizing his contact with other humans.

Today, a subordinate has reported Murong Fu’s arrival into Lingzhou and that several TuBo Warriors have been killed or injured by Murong Fu’s entourage. Jiumozhi thought: Murong Fu is blessed with a charming appearance, good literacy background and competent martial arts. He is truly a top talent among his generation of martial artistes. If Murong Fu stays and compete, the Prince of TuBo would surely lose to him. Despite his plentiful warriors, none of them is able to match Murong Fu’s ability. This time round, he must personally get involved in order to overcome Murong Fu. Moreover, Murong Fu is well aware of Jiumozhi’s consummate skills. Based on this, he should be able to scare Murong Fu away without a fight.

With this thinking, he hunted for Murong Fu at the inn. By the time he arrived, Murong Fu had left with the captured Duan Yu. The inn is under surveillance by the TuBo warriors. Learning the direction where Murong Fu went, Jiumozhi gave chase. When he got to the woods, Murong Fu had already thrown Duan Yu into the well and is conversing with Wang Yuyan. After a bout of fighting, Murong Fu may have been captured but Jiumozhi is experiencing chaotic internal energy movements. Regardless of his arteries or meridians or acupoints, the energies are running amok, as if they are about to burst out from his body but no exit is available. Jiumozhi is heavily depressed by his predicament.

Using his hands, he clawed at his own chest as the internal energy continue to surge and expand. He felt as if his brain, chest and stomach are swelling like a balloon and at any point in time, his body would explode into a rain of mincemeat. Lowering his head to examine his chest and stomach, he could not see any physical deformity or swelling. Nonetheless, with the turbulent internal energy, he definitely felt as if his whole body has been inflated to become a large ball. In his state of helplessness, he used his right hand to stab at his left shoulder and both legs, piercing three holes in his flesh. Jiumozhi desired to guide his internal energy to these three holes and provide an exit for them to be expended from his body. Blood can be seen leaving the three wounds but the internal energy continued to plague him.

The words of the old monk from Shaolin Monastery Sutra Chamber rang incessantly in his ears. By now, Jiumozhi realised the monk was telling the truth and that he himself had been awfully greedy, mistakenly learning Shaolin Sect’s 72 Legendary Skills and Yijing Sutra in the wrong order and is presently on the brink of death. His heart was panicking but he managed to keep his wits around him. After all, he has accumulated many years of cultivation and his Buddhist meditation skill has reached a profound level.

Out of the blue, Jiumozhi had a brainwave. He thought: He… Why didn’t he himself try to master these skills? Why did he only learn selected skills and yet presented me with the complete set of 72 Legendary Skills? We barely knew each other before that and even if we can click very well and turned out to be bosom friends, there is no reason for him to bestow such generosity upon me.

In the midst of this precarious period, Jiumozhi suddenly understood Murong Bo’s agenda when the latter presented him with the manuals containing Shaolin 72 Legendary Skills. When Murong Bo first gifted the manuals, Jiumozhi did have some doubts about them, concerned that Murong Bo is trying to scam him. But after reading the manuals, he discovered that the Legendary Skills are truly peerless and such teachings cannot be easily falsified. He even tested the paper of the manuals for poison, which there are none, thereby removing all his doubts. From then on, he practiced the skills diligently and with every skill that he mastered, his gratitude for Murong Bo increased in tandem.

At this point in time, when Jiumozhi is alternating between life and death, he finally comprehended Murong Bo’s intentions and malice. He figured: He has been hiding inside Shaolin Monastery for more than ten years; he must have overhead the monks’ conversations about these Legendary Skills. Perhaps these skills are not meant to be learnt spontaneously. When we met for the first time, he is probably conscious of my martial arts attainment and decided to pass me these Legendary Manuals. First, he wants me to be his guinea pig and see the consequence of someone who has learnt all the Legendary Skills. Second, he wanted to sow discord between Shaolin Monastery and me, escalating the fight into war between TuBo and Great Song. When that happens, his Murong lineage can profit from the chaos and revive the Yan Empire. Regarding the 72 Legendary Skills Manuals, he probably has an extra copy somewhere that he kept for himself.

When he captured Murong Fu earlier, he was reminded of the Shaolin Manuals from Murong Bo and the deep appreciation for him. Despite knowing that Murong Fu is a potential enemy, Jiumozhi did not execute him on the spot but chose to let him die in the abandoned well with a complete corpse. Now that he truly understood the reason behind Murong Bo’s gift of Manuals, he realised that his sufferings today is all because of this evil man and his evil deed. Naturally, he was mad with anger. Leaning against the opening of the well, he sent three consecutive palms strikes downwards into the well.

As the blows of the palm strikes travel down, the well remained silent, highlighting the depth of the well and the inability of the blows to reach the bottom. Furious with rage, Jiumozhi forced his strength to execute a punch. With this punch attack, the internal energies went into complete disarray. It felt as if these energies are trying to vent out through the 108,000 skin pores but wherever they go, the energies met with constraints and they remained trapped in his body.

Feeling traumatized and irritated, Jiumozhi suddenly felt a movement at his chest area. From his robes, an item fell out and into the well. He tried to catch the falling object but was too late. He hurriedly employed the from . Under ordinary circumstances, he could easily retrieve the object. But this time, his tendons are not under his complete control. The energy did expand but the effect could not be executed from his palm. With a ‘Pa!’ sound, the item has hit the bottom of the well.

Jiumozhi groaned to himself: “Not good!”

Using his hand to search his bosom area, he realised the dropped object is indeed his copy of Yijing Sutra.

He is aware that the internal energy chaotic movement originated from the practice of Yijing Sutra. The Yijing Sutra is therefore, the problem and the solution. To avert this disaster, he must consult the Yijing Sutra again. Since it is a matter of life and death, how could he afford to lose the Sutra? Without any further thought, he leapt into the well.

Worried that the bottom of the well may be lined with sharp rocks or thick branches that could impale his limbs; and afraid that Murong Fu may have released his acupoints and getting ready to ambush him, before his feet reached the bottom of the well, Jiumozhi utilize his right hand and sent two palms strikes downwards, with the aim of slowing down his descent. From his left palm, he executed , a stance which protects the critical parts of his body.

Unexpectedly, his internal energies are experiencing huge transformations. Although the palm movements are precise, there is no strength behind them. Eventually, the exerted energy inaccurately dissipated, missing their targets. The two downward palm strikes not only failed to slow down his fall, they increased his falling momentum. With a loud ‘PONG!’ his skull smashed heavily against the bricks lining the inner wall of the well.

Based on his original internal energy cultivation; although he is not impenetrable; when his skull is bashed against bricks, he would not suffer the slightest injury and the bricks will be smashed into smithereens. However, he is in his worst possible state right now. Feeling dizzy and seeing stars, he bent over and collapsed at the bottom of the well.

This well has been abandoned for ages. With large mounds of dead leaves and rotting vegetation, all that is left is soft mud debris after years of desolation. As time goes by, the soft mud debris has stacked to a considerable height. With this fall, Jiumozhi’s mouth and nose ended up buried in the mud debris. He can feel his body slowly sinking. When he struggled to stand up, his limbs are unable to exert any strength. In this state of anxiety, he suddenly heard someone calling from the top of the well: “Grand Priest! Grand Priest!”

It was the four TuBo warriors.

Jiumozhi tried to shout: “I am here!” The minute he opened his mouth to speak, mud entered his mouth. Accordingly, no sound was emitted from his mouth. Instead, he roughly overheard the four TuBo warriors speaking beside the well.

One of them wondered out loud: “Grand Priest is not here. Where could he be?” Another reasoned: “Grand Priest must have departed first due to impatience. Since he instructed us to seal the well with large rocks, let’s fulfill his command.” A third man