Chapter 166 Entering North Que Mountain

After deciding in her heart that Zhou Qing was not a bad person, Mu Kongxue was about to speak when Zhou Qing interrupted her.

“Miss Mu, I have no acquaintance with you and your two senior brothers, so there’s no need for me to lie to you. You three continue on your way, I’ll follow behind. We won’t disturb each other—does that suit you?”

As Zhou Qing spoke, Kong Ning awoke by the distant campfire. He glanced over and saw his junior sister standing alone by the river, then called out to her loudly.

Hearing Kong Ning’s shout, Zhou Qing saw that Mu Kongxue did not respond to him, but simply nodded in his direction. He gave her a slight smile, then slipped once again into the muddy river.

As Zhou Qing’s figure vanished beneath the water, Kong Ning walked up beside his junior sister.

“What’s the matter, Kongxue?”

“Nothing, really. I couldn’t sleep, so I came to sit by the river and watch the crescent moon in the sky.”

Turning to see her senior brother approaching, Mu Kongxue answered with a smile, then tossed a stone into the river, letting the splash cover the disturbance Zhou Qing had made diving beneath the surface.

“You must've been frightened by last night’s events. Don’t be afraid, silly girl. Go rest—your brother promises you’ll never be in danger again.”

By the river, the two siblings exchanged a few words, then Mu Kongxue returned to the tent, while Kong Ning remained by the muddy bank, his face full of puzzlement.

When he woke earlier, he’d seen his junior sister standing by the river, and seemed to hear her speaking with someone. Yet when he approached, there was no one else.

“With Kongxue’s character, she’s never hidden things from me since childhood. Maybe it was just my imagination?”

Muttering to himself by the river, Kong Ning turned and walked back to the fire.

The night passed without incident. At dawn, the three siblings continued their journey along the river.

As they traveled, Mu Kongxue walked alone at the rear, glancing back at the river from time to time. Whenever she saw the traces Zhou Qing left as he moved beneath the surface, a smile appeared on her lips.

After an hour of travel, they reached the edge of a mountain forest.

“Sister, what’re you looking at? We’re about to enter the woods.”

“Nothing, just saw a strange bird fly by, so I looked a bit longer.”

At the forest’s edge, Kong Ning glanced at Kongxue, feeling something odd.

Normally, this little sister always complained about the distance and spoke endlessly, usually running ahead of everyone. But today, she was uncharacteristically quiet.

Kong Ning wasn’t the only one who noticed; Kong Hai found it strange as well. In the end, they attributed it to the events of the previous night.

They thought Kongxue must have been frightened, hence her silence.

“Sister, don’t be afraid. What happened the night before won’t happen again. If anything similar occurs, your second brother will protect you.”

Entering the forest, the plump Kong Hai came to comfort his junior sister.

He was only a few years older than Kongxue, and though the two often quarreled, the bond they’d built since childhood was deep.

“Thank you, second brother. I’ve already forgotten about that night. Let’s keep moving.”

Smiling at Kong Hai, Kongxue darted to his side, and the two walked shoulder to shoulder, following Kong Ning into the woods.

Not long after the three siblings entered the forest, Zhou Qing emerged from the riverbank, stepping onto the shore.

“That Miss Mu really is a good person.”

After traveling a while through the woods, Zhou Qing noticed that every so often, there were guiding marks along the way.

Some were carvings on the trees, others were a single broken blade of grass among the greenery, and some were branches oddly placed to indicate direction.

To Zhou Qing, it was clear these were left for him by Mu Kongxue.

Though he could have followed without them, seeing the effort she made for him filled his heart with gratitude.

Following the siblings for nearly two hours, Zhou Qing finally stopped at the foot of a small mountain ridge.

Below the ridge lay a modest hollow, with a thatched hut erected upon it. The three siblings entered the hut directly.

Behind it rose the foot of a great mountain, and looking to either side, Zhou Qing saw other huts in the distance.

It was clear that the forest behind the huts was the forbidden zone of North Gate Mountain, as mentioned by Cao Linliang earlier, and the huts in front belonged to cultivators from various sects maintaining the barrier.

After surveying the ridge, Zhou Qing moved swiftly down, preparing to enter the forbidden woods behind the hut.

But as he reached the foot of the mountain, an invisible force stopped him.

An ordinary person, unable to perceive spiritual energy, would be baffled by such an obstruction. But Zhou Qing, seeing the faint aura before him, recognized it as a protective shield formed by spiritual power.

Stopped by the shield, Zhou Qing frowned and stepped back, ready to draw his Phantom Twin to break the barrier. Just then, an old man emerged from the nearby hut.

The elder, spotting Zhou Qing in his bright red robes, quickly strode over and stopped, his arrival catching Zhou Qing’s attention. They exchanged glances.

Following the elder, Kong Ning, Kong Hai, and their junior sister also came out of the hut.

“Who are you?” the elder asked, scrutinizing Zhou Qing.

“Eh? Why is it you?” Kong Ning asked, puzzled upon seeing Zhou Qing.

Zhou Qing merely glanced at the three cultivators from Mount Lao, then raised his hand in salute to Mu Kongxue standing at the left.

“There’s something my grandmaster left in these woods. I’ve come to retrieve it. As for who I am, I see no need to answer.”

With that, Zhou Qing gripped the handle of his Phantom Twin, and with a thought, conjured a long, three-bladed sword.

He struck the barrier with the sword, tearing a wide opening in the shield.

Stowing his Phantom Twin, Zhou Qing moved forward, his red figure slipping into the woods beyond the barrier.