CHAPTER 529: CHAPTER 528 SHAVING THE HEAD

"Ahhh—"

The White Lotus Sect Member felt an unbearable, intense itching sensation on the back of his hand, as if thousands of ants were crawling beneath his skin, ravenously consuming his flesh.

He screamed miserably, desperately clawing at his entire arm. Even as his skin split and bones were exposed, he seemed insensible to the pain. With a pleading gaze, he looked at Gongyang Han and the others, who were continuously retreating.

"Young Master, save me..."

As everyone shielded Gongyang Han and retreated, Gongyang Han’s gaze flickered.

In just a few seconds, the sect member’s arm was covered with white fuzz. A light scratch caused copious amounts of fungal threads to fall off, scattering wildly.

"Zheng Liu, don’t come any closer!"

The group quickly retreated, shouting angrily at their former companion with a fierce exterior but timid hearts, their weapons trembling in their hands, ready to strike at any moment.

"Save me..."

Zheng Liu, the White Lotus Cultist, humbly pleaded, but as he staggered forward a single step, a Crossbow Arrow silently pierced through his eye socket.

The one who shot that Crossbow Arrow was none other than Gongyang Han.

He lifted his arm, his palm tilted up, revealing the Miniature Arm Crossbow hidden under his sleeve.

With a slight movement of the finger wearing a ring, one Crossbow Arrow after another cascaded out, nailing Zheng Liu firmly to the tunnel wall.

HISS.

Inscribed metal Crossbow Arrows burst into flames, burning fiercely with waves of heat, illuminating Zheng Liu like a torch.

Gongyang Han, expressionless, aimed his crossbow at another White Lotus Sect Member who had come into contact with the white fungal threads.

That sect member stiffly turned around, his entire body creaking and grinding with the harsh sound of bones rubbing against each other.

He held his head tilted, but his arms and body were normal,

Except that his face had sprouted clusters of thriving fungi, reminiscent of dead wood covered with mushrooms on a rainy day.

What is this thing!

All were terrified, their backs cold with sweat.

Only Song Jie swallowed hard, his eyes shining as he murmured, "Shiitake, wood ear, bolete, button mushroom, tremella..."

The myriad of mushrooms on that face were densely packed, varying in color, and one could vaguely make out the features of a human face through their different colors.

Suddenly, the Mushroom Man opened his mouth, or rather, the area that used to be his mouth, and uttered a string of muddled, unclear words.

He raised his arms and slowly stepped towards the group.

Once again, Gongyang Han fired a Crossbow Arrow, pinning the Mushroom Man against the wall and setting him ablaze like a torch.

The firelight was dazzling. The airborne fungal threads were scorched by the heatwave, instantly melting into droplets that fell to the ground, losing their vitality.

However, many more fungal threads, already airborne, were propelled by the heatwave, rushing towards the White Lotus Sect Members at an even greater speed.

Gongyang Han, ice-cold, put away the Miniature Arm Crossbow, lowered his arm, and made a hand gesture, whispering, "Wind, come!"

A breeze materialized from nowhere, whooshing in from behind them, blowing the airborne fuzz back down the tunnel, where it was completely consumed by the two torches on either side.

Gongyang Han’s expression cleared slightly, but he was powerless against the fungal threads that had already penetrated the tunnel walls.

Centered around the insect’s carcass, white fungal threads that had burrowed deep into the soil spread in all directions, slowly turning the tunnel walls white.

"Let’s go. Don’t touch the walls."

Gongyang Han made a swift decision and led everyone deeper along the tunnel.

Soon, they arrived at a three-way fork, with tunnels leading off in three different directions.

Above the intersection, a few lines of small text were written:

"If you encounter a Tiger that has cultivated into a Tiger Demon in the wild, the correct survival method should be:

Claim to be Wu Song, draw your weapon and fight.

Turn around and run; strive to run faster than your companions.

Kneel and acknowledge it as your father."

The white-browed elderly man, holding a torch and walking at the front of the team, narrowed his eyes. This should be the so-called second layer of the underground tunnels.

To continue downward, one must answer the question correctly...

While the white-browed elder was still pondering the answer, Song Jie strode out from the crowd and took the lead into the third tunnel.

The white-browed elder hurriedly called out to him, "Leader Song, please hold on. If you choose the wrong path, it might lead to punishment..."

"It won’t," Song Jie said without looking back. "The first and second options are incorrect. Only kneeling and acknowledging it as your father will make the Tiger Demon spare your life because even a tiger does not eat its cubs."

On the other side of the tunnel, Yu Qingqiu was also leading soldiers who had just descended into the tunnels, standing in front of the fork in the road.

"Chenxiang splitting the mountain to save his mother is one of the classic ancient myths. To save his mother and reunite the family as quickly as possible, Chenxiang should:

Option one: Use explosives to blast open the mountain and save his mother.

Option two: Get a haircut in the first lunar month.

Option three: Find his father another wife and start a new family."

What is all this about?

The soldiers looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what to do, while Yu Qingqiu let out a light sigh, saying calmly, "We take the middle path."

The Labor Officer from the West Factory dared not ask further questions, and the Wude Army Guards exchanged glances before bowing and asking, "Lord Yu, what about the other two paths...?"

Yu Qingqiu indifferently said, "The second option is the correct one, because getting a haircut in the first lunar month ’kills your uncle,’ which can directly subdue Erlang Shen, the True Lord."

The soldiers’ eyes widened. A bearded Wude Army Guard asked in a low voice, "But isn’t it the Jade Emperor who insists on imprisoning the Third Holy Mother?"

What’s so hard about that?

Yu Qingqiu took a deep breath and continued in an indifferent tone, "Chenxiang can first get a half-shaved head, cursing Erlang to near death. Then, by capturing Erlang alive, he can threaten Erlang’s uncle, the Jade Emperor, to shave Erlang bald.

Wouldn’t that result in releasing the Third Holy Mother?

You all still don’t understand these tunnels well enough.

Actually, the third option might be possible, but since the question mentioned saving the mother as quickly as possible, the act of finding a stepmother naturally becomes inappropriate."

Now, Yu Qingqiu had become rambling and verbose. He was completely different from his previous aloof, proud, and untamed demeanor before entering the tunnel. This was because he had been tormented so badly by these tunnels, suffering countless losses, that his way of thinking had begun to shift towards that of the tunnels’ designer.

A cause for celebration, truly a cause for celebration.

Under Yu Qingqiu’s leadership, the Wude Army Guards entered the middle tunnel and successfully opened the stone gate.

Just as Yu Qingqiu had said, in this layer, correctly answering the question allowed them not only to proceed to the next layer but also to claim the rewards bestowed by the tunnels from the stone platform behind the gate.

For instance, an ointment that, upon application, could erase all wrinkles (with an additional note that it must not be ingested as it could paralyze the intestines, nor applied on the belly button or lips).

A scented candle that when lit could make people fall madly in love with the user (effective on rats and cockroaches, so the room must be thoroughly cleaned before use).

Although these treasures were not particularly strange or powerful, the ladies in the emperor’s harem would probably love them.

Yu Qingqiu instructed his subordinates to collect the treasures and, following the Compass’s directions, they opened doors as they encountered them, finally arriving at the location of the cage indicated by the Compass.