But their naked eyes couldn't perceive any of it; the two could only see because they had smeared the whites of cat eyes onto themselves. Yet those infants did not cease their movements, instead writhing and crawling on the ground, constantly heading toward the two of them. Watching the infant charge forward, Yang Baosan’s mouth stretched wide, about to cry out loudly.

Fortunately, Young Master Liu reacted swiftly, quickly igniting a talisman while instructing Yang Baosan to scatter the remaining chicken blood over the Qiankun Great Array. With a hiss, as if concentrated sulfuric acid had splashed onto the infants, they let out roars. The sound was thunderous to the ears, truly unsettling to hear.

“What do we do next?” Yang Baosan looked at Young Master Liu and asked. Damn it, burn these sons of bitches to death. With the words spoken, Young Master Liu tossed the fire talisman from his hand.

With a thunderous boom, a pile of raging fire sprang up, its red flames thrashing about wildly like demons. The infants let out heart-wrenching wails, their shrieks like the sibilant hiss of venomous snakes, only sharper and louder than any such sound. After crudely dealing with the swarm of infants outside, Young Master Liu finally exhaled a deep, ragged breath, looking at Yang Baosan, whose face was ashen green.

Looking at the burning infants, Yang Baosan didn't dare take a full breath. Young Master Liu took a heavy breath and said, “It’s done, it’s done. Yang Baosan, sit down and rest for a while.

By daylight, these things will naturally be evaporated by the sun. Let’s pay them no mind.” Only then did Yang Baosan snap out of his stupor, setting up the feast again to offer drink to Young Master Liu. Truthfully, there was nothing to celebrate.

Each time these infants came, they sucked away sixty years of Yang Baosan’s lifespan. After coming just a few times, Yang Baosan was likely near his end. Forget it, I won't tell him this news, lest the fellow locks himself away completely upon hearing it.

If he disrupts the workings of fate by doing so, I won't be able to bear that responsibility. In any case, the fellow hadn't done much good while remaining in the mortal world. In less than a few hours, the sky finally brightened.

When the light shone upon their eyes, the cat eye-whites instantly evaporated, and the courtyard became spotless. However, Yang Baosan refused to stay there any longer; staying there, he would eventually be devoured by those things. He decided it was best to move out as soon as possible.

Although Young Master Liu repeatedly assured him the place was clean, Yang Baosan, who always prioritized his own life, moved to the head of the village instead. Young Master Liu couldn't keep him, so he also packed up his few belongings and left. He vaguely sensed that these infants had some connection to the infants inside the cave on Bodhisattva Mountain.

However, what exactly that connection was, he still couldn't quite grasp. “Damn it, kid, why did it take you so many days to get back?” Huang Shitai was the first to see Young Master Liu return and swarmed over him. The other few who had gone to Bodhisattva Mountain also gathered around.

“Mr. Liu, what happened over there? Do tell us all about it?” Fan De Biao spoke quite politely.

“Heh heh, actually, it’s nothing much. Let me rest for a bit first. Damn it, the torment of so many days has truly worn me out.” With that, Young Master Liu walked to the cot and collapsed onto it.

Fan De Biao walked to the opposite side, looking at the drowsy Young Master Liu with some disappointment. Huang Shitai and the others also crowded around, their faces showing disappointment as they looked at the half-conscious fellow. They had originally hoped to take advantage of his rest to hear Young Master Liu recount the thrilling tales from the village.

But who knew the fellow would start snoring the moment he got back? The others shook their heads and lay down on their respective beds, thinking of their mothers and wives back in their hometowns. A wave of melancholy washed over them, and when the melancholy became too much, they resorted to self-gratification, even though they had never seen what a real airplane looked like.

“Let’s get to work, get to work.” When Young Master Liu awoke again, the first words he heard were Fan De Biao’s: “Damn it, interrupting my beautiful dream!” Young Master Liu reluctantly rolled off the bed. He hadn't realized that a single nap had lasted a day and a night; waking up, he felt quite dizzy and muddled. “Master Liu, if you’re not up to it, just take the day off,” Fan De Biao showed him some consideration, after all, he had displayed some unexpected capability that day by suppressing those things.

“No need, I’m fine!” Young Master Liu didn’t want to rest. He knew that if he wasted even today, not only would his work credits for the day be deducted entirely, but tomorrow’s credits would likely be affected too. If that happened, the days he would be criticized would drag on.

Without dwelling on it further, he got up and went to the mountain to work with Huang Shitai and the others. Clang, clang, clang. The never-ending sound of hammering stones echoed from the mountaintop—they were clearing a tunnel, as a slab of rock was blocking the path.

None of them had expected the rock exposed on the surface to be so massive; it had even broken a pickaxe, yet the large stone remained completely unmoved. “Damn it, what the heck is inside this thing? Why is it so tough?

The few of us can’t even budge this thing,” Huang Shitai cursed loudly: “Truly a blockhead of a rock.” Hu Beikang mocked, “This big rock is just like your head, stubborn all over.” Since Young Master Liu was working on the other side of the mountain, he was completely unaware of what was happening here. After a full day of back-breaking labor, his entire body ached intensely, and he had earned meager work credits, which filled him with vexation. It wasn't until he was heading back to the dormitory that he noticed the massive stone—a boulder as large as a big room, embedded right into the mountainside.

Moreover, this stone was incredibly smooth, clearly a single, continuous piece. Strange, why would such a thing be in this place? Young Master Liu was extremely curious.

“Young Master Liu, what are you doing, spacing out? Hurry up and go eat!” Hu Beikang lifted his aching waist and looked at Young Master Liu with a hint of exasperation. “Let’s go, let’s go, we’ll walk together.” With that, Young Master Liu walked over to Hu Beikang’s side.

Even with Hu Beikang’s considerable strength, he had struggled against that massive stone for the entire day without making the slightest dent, so he was immensely frustrated. He hadn't spoken a word on the way. “Tell me about that big stone, why is it positioned right across the path?

Did you notice anything strange about it?” Young Master Liu finally couldn't contain his curiosity and asked Hu Beikang. Hu Beikang replied, “Ay, don’t even mention it. That damned rock, it’s not leaning left, not leaning right, but deliberately stuck right in the middle of the path.

But that’s not the worst part—this thing keeps getting bigger the more we dig! At first, it was only the size of a small stool, but later it grew as large as a house! And I bet if we keep digging, that thing will just get bigger.

Who knows what kind of thing it is?” Hu Beikang sighed in annoyance, “Aiya, damn it, we’re unlucky souls. By the way, Young Master Liu, you must have earned a lot of work credits today, right? I saw that Fan De Biao seems to have a bit of a soft spot for you…” “Get lost, Hu Beikang!

No matter what, I’m a craftsman. If it weren't for me last time, would you guys have made it out of Bodhisattva Mountain alive? That’s called gratitude, don’t you understand?” Young Master Liu shot back.

“Heh heh, I was just joking,” Hu Beikang let out a couple of silly chuckles before returning to the dormitory. After getting their food, the two started eating in the dormitory. Must say, although the living conditions here were hard, the food was richer than in many other places.

When I was being criticized, seeing even a bit of lard residue once a month was considered good fortune, but here, under Fan De Biao’s management, the food was quite decent. After dinner, Fan De Biao also came over. Looking at Young Master Liu, he asked, “Master Liu, can you tell us fellows what exactly happened with that Ge Shuanwa?

Why did he steal that scripture, or whatever it was? What’s so important about that scripture?” Fan De Biao’s eyes were filled with confusion. “When I met him on the road, he was just a little brat.

I never expected him to have such power; it’s truly unexpected.” Young Master Liu sighed and said, “It seems Ge Shuanwa had been plotting for a long time. That Book of Great Peace (Taiping Jing) is rumored to have been created by Zhang Jiao of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. It supposedly contains the secret to immortality.

But that secret is probably false; who would believe in actual immortality? If immortality were real, why did the Yellow Turban leader Zhang Jiao die?” Young Master Liu explained to them.