Rabbit Must Die
Chapter 429 - 42 Feeling Frustrated from Being Beaten_1

Chapter 429: Chapter 42 Feeling Frustrated from Being Beaten_1

Guanyun was continuously forced to retreat by the overwhelming presence of Yao Bofu. Just as Gouyun was about to step forward, Yao Bofu glared dominantly and said, "Gouyun, do not provoke me here!"

Gouyun’s anger flared up, and just as he was about to retort, a hearty laugh came from behind.

It was the handsome man in white who spoke up. With one hand on the hilt of his sword, he said with an imperial air, "Gentlemen, why be angry over a few words? In this matter, Brother Guanyun was indeed in the wrong. Who in the world doesn’t know of Brother Bofu’s character? He could have refused to let us enter and fought us to the death; since he has allowed us to come in, he will not stoop to trickery. Brother Bofu is a descendant of Emperor Shun of Great Virtue, a man who conducts himself with transparency and integrity, a person of virtue! You may kill him, but you must not insult him."

"What Emperor Jin said is true. Brother Bofu, I apologize. I spoke out of turn and misspoke earlier," Guanyun immediately apologized.

Yao Bofu snorted coldly and remained silent. He was no fool; by now, it was clear that everyone present, aside from himself, was in league.

Even Emperor Jin, who seemed to be speaking up for him, had a hidden edge in his words, employing virtue and invoking Emperor Shun to pressure Yao Bofu, reminding him that it was he who agreed to let them enter and that he could not engage in deceit.

Emperor Jin chuckled and said, "Brother Bofu, there is no need for anger. Rest assured, as I have said, we are only here to pay a visit and will have no designs on Emperor Shun of Great Virtue, nor will we tolerate any disrespect towards the Mausoleum of Emperor Shun. Should there be any, my iron cavalry of Tang Dynasty will help you flatten their lairs and landscapes."

By the end of his speech, Emperor Jin’s face was filled with a mixture of dominance and sincerity.

Only then did Yao Bofu nod, his expression slightly clearing.

In truth, had Emperor Jin not arrived in the nick of time, swearing in the name of Tang Dynasty to ensure the safety of Emperor Shun’s Mausoleum, Yao Bofu would rather have died in battle than allow Gouyun and the others to take half a step into Jiuyi Mountain’s main peak!

Moreover, with the ancestor box safeguarding Lingling Ancient City, a mere Fuchai Spear was insignificant!

Although Emperor Jin was a prince of Tang Dynasty, not even the great Emperor Taizong of Tang would dare to lightly start a war with the Yu Family, for they represented the root of humanity’s virtue. Whoever dares to wage war against the Yu Family, it would be akin to waging war against the whole world. Those who have once received Emperor Shun’s favor and his disciples would surely emerge from seclusion. That would be a scene Tang Dynasty would not wish to witness.

Beyond that, Emperor Jin also conveyed a shocking piece of information to Yao Bofu in secret, which was the real reason he agreed to let everyone enter the ancestral mountain.

As everyone was discussing, a man following Emperor Jin whispered a warning: "Be careful!"

As soon as his words fell, the surrounding trees began to twist wildly, each raising itself with two long ears protruding—a curious sight as these trees now looked like rabbits.

Princess Mudan exclaimed in surprise, "Are these rabbits?"

The treelike rabbits wielded their fists and kicked their large feet, lashing out fiercely at the crowd!

Their strength was tremendous; they left everyone somewhat flustered.

After barely fending off the rabbits’ assault, they saw the trees suddenly morph into the form of a Taoist, swinging a large axe in a flurry of chops. Fortunately, the attacks were weak and easily parried by the group.

However, before they had a moment to catch their breath, all the trees around them came to life, standing upright like giant monkeys, each wielding a large staff and smashing towards them with astonishing force!

Emperor Jin’s men were left crying out for their fathers and mothers in a sorry state. Had they not formed a Formation and defended desperately, many would have perished in that onslaught.

Even so, they were in such a miserable state—those who spat blood spat blood, those who screamed screamed...

Finally, someone couldn’t bear it any longer and let out a pained scream, directly struck by an old tree’s root-staff and turned into a pile of mush on the spot!

Seeing this scene, Emperor Jin finally exploded with anger!

However, before Emperor Jin could make a move, Gouyun completely lost his temper. He shook his Fuchai Spear, ready to strike, but Yao Bofu said, "Defend, don’t counterattack."

Unfortunately, Gouyun didn’t listen at all. As the Fuchai Spear danced, he thrust it toward a large tree!

The tree was struck with a clang and was shaken open!

Resulting from that, the tree suddenly turned around, and to Gouyun’s astonishment, it had transformed into a figure resembling Gouyun himself, brandishing the Fuchai Spear and attacking with even greater force!

Startled by this, Gouyun, being a man of quick wit and intelligence, managed to block a critical strike by holding his spear horizontally to withstand the blow!

With a clang, Gouyun was sent flying, but as he was in mid-air, he flipped and landed steadily on the ground.

Emperor Jin said, "Bofu, before when we counterattacked, these trees didn’t strike back. What’s happening now?"

Yao Bofu replied, "These are the ancestral rules set in place—the deeper we go, the more rules we encounter, the greater the restrictions. At this point, if we counterattack, these living tree guardians will retaliate with the same methods but with more powerful force. If we go further, once you fight back, even if it’s just defense, you’ll be drawn into an endless battle.

Here, unless we can shatter the great path rune that constitutes this world, we can only fall into an endless loop of death. Until we die from exhaustion!

So, no matter what happens, it’s best for all of you to only defend and not to retaliate."

Guanyun, who was walking at the front, couldn’t take it anymore. Being the one at the forefront, he was always the first to be hit and faced the brunt of the assault. Hearing that he couldn’t even fight back and could only passively take the hits, he complained, "What if we can’t defend any longer and are going to die?"

Upon hearing this, Gouyun glared at him fiercely and said, "You still can’t fight back, don’t drag others down with you!"

Guanyun hummed in dissatisfaction and stepped back, refusing to move forward. His intention was clear: walking at the front meant certain death sooner or later, and he didn’t want to lead the way any longer.

Gouyun, somewhat displeased, was about to scold him.

Then Emperor Jin said, "Gentlemen, indeed, it’s somewhat improper to always have Guanyun lead the way. How about this: we take turns leading the way, and when others are at the front, those at the back can take the time to rest properly. This way, we won’t be dragged to exhaustion, dying on the road."

Hearing this, Guanyun nodded and said, "Emperor Jin is right."

Gouyun glared fiercely at Guanyun. Guanyun was brought by Gouyun, and the two had a somewhat complicated relationship.

On the surface, it seemed that Guanyun followed Gouyun’s orders, appearing to be subordinate to Gouyun, but at this moment, his disobedience was clear—it was obviously not so simple as that of a subordinate’s relationship.

While they were talking, among the tree guardians around them, rabbits and Taoists wielding axes began to appear. Then it was a kick from a rabbit, a chop from a Taoist, and a beating from a monkey, turning the scene into ever-growing chaos...

What’s more outrageous was that the number of monkeys, rabbits, and Taoists was not fixed, constantly changing, causing utter confusion.

At that moment, Gouyun said, "Could these monkeys and rabbits be the same Monkey and Rabbit we saw outside earlier?"

Yao Bofu did not speak, but his expression suggested that they probably were.

"How did they end up here?" someone asked.