Beginning with the Ubume Bird
Chapter 678 - Chapter 678 Chapter 64 Munis Feast (Part 1)

Chapter 678: Chapter 64 Muni’s Feast (Part 1) Chapter 678: Chapter 64 Muni’s Feast (Part 1) Qian Wu looked down from the mountaintop, the river dividing the entire fishing village, with many blue-and-white corrugated iron shanties and sampans lining the waterfront, and decrepit motorboats moored everywhere. In the distance stood white wind turbines, the sea breeze blowing directly into his face, carrying an indescribable briny bitterness.

“It should be the Dragon Head here,”

he said.

Muni took a deep breath with his face turned upwards, then opened his eyes, “I can’t smell anything.”

Qian Wu sat cross-legged on the ground, pointing at the river in front of him, “Dragons can change; they can grow large or small, rise or hide. When large, they swallow clouds and exhale mist; when small, they hide their form like mustard seeds. Hidden, they stay beneath the waves; risen, they soar beyond the ninth heaven. Moreover, the Dragon Vein concerns the lives of billions in our nation. Ordinary Qi watchers and Feng Shui practitioners can’t apply their usual methods. Without the Luojing Instrument of Taixu Monk and cleansing it of the accumulated Earthly Fiendish Qi with supernatural abilities, it’s delusional to think one could pinpoint the Dragon Vein’s location. I’ve been puzzled about why Jiang Sihai would collect the Four Pillars Divine Fiend. After witnessing today, I understood–he wants to deceive fate by sacrificing human lives to refine a pair of inverted sun and moon, to blind the Dragon Vein.”

He pointed to the wind turbines at the foothills, “I’ve already inquired with the villagers during the day–the funding for these wind turbines comes from the bank of Xue Wenhai and the Mr. Rong behind him. Fifty-four wind turbines, each should have a corresponding Fierce Fiend in place. The turbines are equipped with spotlights, and on the last day of the month, which is the new moon according to the calendar, the lights will shine all day, like a huge moon. At first, many villagers complained, but later, Xue Wenhai used a large sum of money to bribe and coerce them into silence. This is inverting day for night; I’ve had a look, except for the biggest wind turbine whose lights are yet to be installed, the turbine moon is already taking shape. If my guess is right, what’s lacking is the Ten Evils Grand Defeat Fiend.”

If it were Wenle at this moment, he’d definitely ask one thing, since there is a pair of inverted sun and moon, the moon is there, but where is the sun? But Muni wouldn’t. He simply said, “Anyway, to open the Dragon Vein, we must come here, right?”

“Within a ten-mile radius, there must be a Dragon Head; if someone really intends to trigger the Dragon Vein, it should be nearby.”

Having heard this, Muni simply sat down cross-legged. A faint drizzle began to fall from the sky, raindrops trickling down the brim of his hood and the occasional rumble of distant thunder. Muni looked up expressionlessly. To the uninvolved observer, his broad ears and expansive forehead gave him a Buddha-like appearance.

Qian Wu, prone to rheumatism in cloudy weather, slung his hands behind his back and walked under a tree for shelter. Then he took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, took a deep drag, exhaled rings of smoke, and sized up Muni repeatedly, “Are you really with Yu Shu?”

Muni withdrew his gaze from the clouds, “I don’t know. When I joined, she had already betrayed us.”

Qian Wu showed an understanding look and asked further, “After Mr. Rong passed away, who took over the leadership?”

Muni was stunned, “What did you say…”

He suddenly fell silent, his gaze sharpening and bloodthirsty as he surveyed the mountains.

Qian Wu also sensed something and silently took two steps back.

“Don’t move.”

Muni said softly, and Qian Wu felt his heart being suddenly squeezed, his body instantly stiffening.

Muni licked his lips as his gaze pierced through the dark night, landing on a small motorboat by the sampan, which was unsurprisingly occupied by the first appetizer of the night…

Although Muni’s appetite was indiscriminate, to him, Daqian Yanfu was a boundless candy house. However, when hungry, his first thought was always the taste of Yan Fu on the move. This was why he was among the most sensitive to the traces of Yan Fu on the move among the Eight Sufferings.

But Muni’s expression froze slightly when he saw the man on the motorboat–a nervous, fidgeting fat man. Muni was certain that he was indeed a Yan Fu on the move,

For a long time, to Muni, the Yan Fu on the move was a tag for delicious food, each distinctive and incomparable in taste. Especially the previous tall, skinny one–although the taste of his flesh was average, the vibrant life force within fascinated Muni, and Yu Shiqie’s flavor was not bad either, albeit a bit too spicy…

Just one glance or whiff of either would unleash Muni’s hunting desire, a flaw in his nature that he could hardly overcome.

However, for some reason, the sight of this fat man before him did not provoke any appetite, which was indeed a rare occurrence.

No matter, there’s always something else…

Yang Zheng jumped off the motorboat, feeling the eyes on him from an unknown location; the hairs on the back of his hand stood on end.

Muni turned his head, his gaze locking onto a black vintage car in the mountains, driving bumpily towards the wind turbines.

Wan Die in the driver’s seat felt her blood freeze in an instant–a natural fear instantly shattering her combat spirit. But just as she felt interest, Muni lost it and looked away.

“This one’s average too.”

Normally, Wan Die would already be separated from head to body, but now Muni, preoccupied, longed only for Li Yan or Yu Shiqie, to make up for the immense loss he felt at his first appetizer being Mo.

Muni’s gaze searched for something else, and quickly, he spotted another Yan Fu on the move across from the wind turbines.

Ren Ni.

“Is this all?”

Muni felt somewhat disappointed. Just then, another speedboat entered his view, with a man on board wearing a blue scarf.

This time Muni finally got excited, looking at Yang Zheng as if he were eyeing a rare delicacy.

…

In the midst of the roaring speedboat, Yang Zheng glanced at the hairs standing on the back of his hand and knew that Muni had set his sights on him, so he silently cocked his hammer.

“Muni’s strength should easily put him in the top three of the Yan Zhao Club’s second seats. I’m not his match either. Considering the reality of the first seat, there are no more than ten people capable of killing Muni alone in the entire club,” Yang Zheng recalled what Yu Shiqie had said: “I know that in theory your Red-Hearted Roar can kill an ordinary member of the Six Ministries, but I’ve tested it for you. Muni is faster than you; there won’t be time. In a head-to-head fight, you only have one chance to shoot. Good luck.”

He had lost to Li Yan at the last Lou Master’s funeral, and with it, his reputation as the number one under the Six Ministries, but no one cared that he first had a mutually destructive fight with Jie Master’s beloved disciple Pang Chunhao and was then confined to an enclosed space by a paper cup, preventing the Red-Hearted Roar from unleashing its full power.

However, Yang Zheng didn’t care about those things. He detested the atmosphere at the funeral and despised Commissioner Bai’s arrangements even more. If he really had to say there was something he couldn’t get over, it was his desire to make a different deal and compete with Li Yan once more.

“Half a minute, right?”

Yang Zheng gripped the trigger tightly, raised his hand, and as soon as the barrel was level with his line of sight, Muni’s face was already pressing against the muzzle.

Bang!

Wenle pushed open the door with a chuckle, and in the room waited Zhao Jianzhong, Se Kong, and Yu Shiqie.

“I’m flattered.”

Wenle made an exaggerated face.

Se Kong glanced at Wenle impatiently: “You’ve been gone for so long, and there’s not even a hint of a bloody smell on you? Weren’t you supposed to kill that walker?”

“There’s been a little accident.”

Wenle brushed it off, sitting down with a grin: “What kind of cards are we playing? Mr. Zhao?”

“Anything is fine; you guys decide.”

Zhao Jianzhong smiled.

Wenle looked at Se Kong and then said, “Let’s follow the local custom then, Cantonese cards.”

“Okay,” Zhao Jianzhong nodded.

Only then did Wenle notice the two black chips next to his hand. One was painted with the character for “life” and had a complex number next to it: eleven thousand three hundred eighty, while the other was painted with the character for “longevity,” with the number eight hundred sixty-seven.

His gaze quickly swept over the chips of the other three players. Across from him, Yu Shiqie had the number thirteen thousand on her “life” chip and six hundred on her “longevity” chip.

Se Kong’s “life” chip read nine hundred ninety-nine million nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, and his “longevity” chip read nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, both numbers at the chips’ display limit. This suggested that Se Kong’s actual numbers might be even higher than that.

As for Zhao Jianzhong, his numeric chip was covered by a water glass, only the last digit a nine was visible, probably like Se Kong, it displayed the limit.

Seeing these numbers, Wenle pondered: “The longevity character must refer to yang life. Normal emissaries of the Six Ministries generally have a lifespan of a thousand years, but due to various depletions, this number would be lower. My yang life has over eight hundred years left, that should be correct. As for the number of lives…”

While Wenle was still pondering, Zhao Jianzhong began to explain: “The ‘longevity’ chip refers to yang life, while the ‘life’ chip represents the value Ying Tianshou places on your whole being. It’s also the general stake used by Ying Tianshou; each round consumes one year of the ‘longevity’ chip. Additionally, a large part of the value in the ‘life’ chip is lifespan, so if you lose to the point of having only yang life left, then both ‘life’ and ‘longevity’ chips will be deducted simultaneously. The ‘life’ chips you win will be cashed out after each round. Then, you can demand from the person you won from anything you desire of equivalent value – lifespan, legacy, memories, whatever. Once the card game starts, there’s no going back.”

Wenle’s mind raced.

“The base bet is two hundred life chips; every extra win doubles the base bet. We’ll play five rounds. Five…”

Having said that, Zhao Jianzhong paused before asking, “Any other questions?”

Wenle did some quick calculations and suddenly felt a chill; this way of playing could indeed put the lives of titans like Se Kong and Zhao Jianzhong at risk in a single hand, let alone his own. But with the arrow on the string, he couldn’t refuse.