Chapter 1426: Bite the Hand that Feeds

“You successfully killed the Fengxi Boar?” Yun Jianyue asked doubtfully. “Why did I hear that it was Yi who killed it?”

They had personally experienced how strong the Fengxi Boar was. It wasn’t something a normal person could defeat at all!

The strong man replied, “Yi was my master.”

The others were speechless, feeling truly shocked. This guy was actually Yi’s disciple?

“Just what is going on?” Zu An quickly asked for details.

When he saw that they didn’t intend to finish him off, the robust man who claimed to be Pang Meng began to explain, “Yi was indeed my master. In the past, I heard of master’s great reputation, so I traveled from afar to ask him to take me in as his disciple. Eventually, master was moved by my sincerity and finally agreed to take me as his disciple, teaching me archery skills. Later, he took me with him to defeat the calamity. Back then, when he faced the Fengxi Boar, I was with him.

“When we killed the Fengxi Boar, I accidentally let the demonic energy into my body. At first, there was nothing wrong, but later, I gradually began to turn into a demon. In the end, I became like the Fengxi Boar. I was too ashamed to face my master, and I was worried about hurting the people, so I hid in the Mulberry Forest.”

Zu An asked with a frown, “Don’t tell me your master just abandoned you?”

“I was too ashamed to meet him again, so at first, I deliberately hid from him. Later on, I heard that something happened to him. Meanwhile, my consciousness was gradually being overwhelmed by the demonic energy, causing me to fall into a muddle-headed state. I don’t know what happened afterward,” Pang Meng replied.

Everyone immediately recalled that when they were fighting the Fengxi Boar, there was black energy coming out from its body from time to time. Was this that so-called demonic energy?

“What happened to Yi?” Zu An keenly pinpointed what he was saying.

“I don’t know what happened to my master either. I couldn't even take care of myself,” Pang Meng said, sounding wronged. “Thankfully, you brave warriors removed the Fengxi Boar’s demonic energy today, and that let me see the light again. You’ve all shown me such favor today. Even if I have to work like an ox to repay all of you in the next life, I won’t hesitate to do so.”

Zu An said impatiently, “I’m not even a farmer, so what would I do with an ox?”

Pang Meng was speechless. He was at a loss for words. Why didn’t this guy speak like a normal person at all? He suddenly didn’t even know what to do.

“That wild boar earlier was so perverted, but in the end, it was you?” Yun Jianyue asked with a frown. For some reason, when she remembered what had happened earlier and thought about what this guy looked like, she subconsciously felt a bit unhappy.

Pang Meng quickly exclaimed, “I’m being wrongly accused here! I was led by the Fengxi Boar’s demonic energy, and I didn’t know what happened! If I’ve offended this goddess in any way, I ask for your forgiveness.”

Yun Jianyue raised her brows. She hadn’t expected to actually be called a goddess by someone one day. No wonder that stone cold woman is usually so self-important. This feeling really isn’t bad.

Zu An asked, “Why don’t you introduce your master to us a bit? We’re pretty curious. What kind of person was he?”

Pang Meng said, “My master was a true hero among men. He excelled in archery and was known to be the number one at it. In his earlier years, he obtained the appreciation of the Celestial Emperor, who bestowed a red bow with white arrows to him. That made him even more unrivaled. Later, when Emperor Yao took the throne, ten suns emerged together and all sorts of monsters began to roam the world, so Emperor Yao sought out my master.

“Because the ten suns were the Celestial Emperor’s sons, master refused at first. The Celestial Emperor had treated him with great kindness, after all. Eventually, however, when he saw how the people were suffering, he could only give up on his personal feelings and agree to act. He used the red bow and white arrows the Celestial Emperor gave him to shoot down nine out of the ten Golden Crows…”

Zu An frowned. He had already heard most of that before. He took the chance to ask, “Who is the Celestial Emperor you speak of?”

“The Celestial Emperor is simply the Celestial Emperor, the emperor of the immortals in the heavens, and the most respected and most powerful being in the heavens above and earth below,” Pang Meng said. His voice was full of admiration, as if he really wanted to have similar prestige. He continued, “My status was too low, though, so I never had the opportunity to meet the Celestial Emperor.

“In the past, I asked my master about the Celestial Emperor out of curiosity. However, back then, he got really upset at me,” Pang Meng said with a sigh. “His mood must have been terrible when he had to personally kill the sons of his benefactor. From then on, everyone around master knew that subject was a taboo, so no one asked again.”

Yan Xuehen noticed the way Pang Meng had worded his sentence and asked, “Who was there at your master’s side, apart from you?”

When he saw her beautiful appearance, Pang Meng was stunned. However, he quickly lowered his head and replied, “Master always moved alone. Great heroes are always solitary individuals. Fortunately, at least martial mother accompanied him.”

“Martial mother?” Zu An’s group replied stunned.

“Martial mother was the Chang clan’s saintess. She was extremely beautiful… Ahem. I heard that they didn’t get along at first, but later, as they spent more time around each other, they gradually developed feelings for one another. Eventually, they became one and loved each other dearly.”

“Their affection for each other didn’t seem to be all that great to me.” Yun Jianyue harrumphed. “Didn’t Chang’e eat that medicine and ascend by herself, leaving Yi behind and separating them forever?”

Pang Meng’s expression changed a bit when he heard that, but he didn’t refute it, saying, “That can’t really be blamed on her. There aren’t that many people who could resist the temptation of immortality.”

Yu Yanluo gave Zu An a loving look, thinking, I wouldn’t make that kind of mistake.

Yan Xuehen also instinctively glanced toward Zu An. When she saw Yu Yanluo’s expression, she immediately withdrew her gaze, as if she had been zapped by electricity. What in the world is wrong with me? What kind of nonsense am I thinking?

Yun Jianyue also subconsciously thought that she wouldn’t do such a thing. However, she then realized that she didn’t even have a lover, so what was she getting so worked up for?

Then, Zu An asked some things about Yi. However, he noticed that apart from knowing a bit about his master Yi and Chang’e’s relationship, Pang Meng didn't really know much about other things.

As if sensing his dissatisfaction, Pang Meng said apologetically, “The main reason is that I didn’t follow master for long. He was a habitually silent man, and he always moved from place to place, helping the people eliminate disasters. He rarely had any breaks. Later, I was infected by the Fengxi Boar’s demonic energy, and don’t know what happened after that.”

Seeing as Pang Meng had already told them pretty much everything that he knew, and that he had only became a monster while hunting down disasters in the past, but was now back to normal, there was naturally no need to kill him anymore. As such, Zu An released him from the formation.

Zu An then asked, “What do you plan to do now?”

“I don’t know. This world seems to be different from the world I recall. Besides, I don’t know how long I can remain in my current state either,” Pang Meng said, sounding a bit bleak.

Zu An fell silent. This person wasn’t an immortal, after all, nor had he eaten any undying medicines. The fact that he could exist for so long was solely due to the Fengxi Boar’s demonic energy. Now that the demonic energy had been erased, he probably wouldn’t be able to live for much longer.

“Are you still going to continue forward? Up ahead is Dongting Lake, the Xiushe Snake’s territory. That fellow is incredibly violent and extremely poisonous. You must be careful,” Pang Meng said. He then told them a bit about the Xiushe Snake’s characteristics.

…

The group thanked Pang Meng and bid him goodbye. Zu An said with a sigh, “Things actually went rather smoothly this time. I hope the Xiushe Snake isn’t that difficult to defeat too.”

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Yan Xuehen looked at Yu Yanluo, saying, “Since it is a snake, little sister Yu should be able to speak with it.”

Yu Yanluo’s face heated up, but she said, “I’ll give it my best attempt.”

Zu An gave Yun Jianyue a curious look and asked, “What’s wrong, big sis Yun? Why have you been quiet this whole time?”

“I don’t like that person from before. The way he looked at me was strange. I can’t help but feel as if he has some dishonest intentions,” Yun Jianyue said.

Yan Xuehen had a strange look as she said, “Earlier, you… You… Who would still be able to look at you normally? Even Zu An, even he…”

Suddenly, a faint voice called out in their minds, “Be careful!”

The group was alarmed. When they turned around, they saw that Pang Meng had drawn a bow and aimed it at them. When he saw that he had been discovered, he immediately loosed the bowstring. Then, sharp arrows flew forth one after another, streaking toward the group like shooting stars.

When they sensed the ridiculous speed and terrifying aura of the arrows, they felt that were able to empathize a bit with the despair of the Golden Crows in the past.

As expected, Pang Meng’s archery really was Yi’s true inheritance!