Chapter 61: Hesitation leads to defeat, decisiveness leads to ruin, run!

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

The foxes continued to cry out, expressive and gesticulating wildly. Their parted mouths no longer displayed smiles, and their cunning eyes were filled with utmost reverence.

It was as if what they were discussing was the most important matter in the entire fox clan.

After listening, Liu Wenchang first frowned deeply, then nodded thoughtfully. "Is that so? Well, all right then, we'll accompany you."

With that said, he turned to Zhang Hao's side, patted his shoulder, and said, "Buddy, here's the situation. They say they want to go pay respects to their ancestors, and they have to do it while it's raining and thundering."

"And then, both of us have to go because we're their honored guests. We absolutely must follow them to worship the ancestors to receive their blessings and protection. They also said... well, they said that as long as we pay respects to the ancestors, our luck will get better or something. Oh, anyway, they're making both of us go along."

Zhang Hao's face was covered in black lines; he desperately wanted to draw the hunting knife from his waist and stab Liu Wenchang right then and there.

More than anything, he wanted to find a chance to leave this place immediately. Who had the leisure to go worship some fox ancestors with this bunch of foxes?!

The Yin energy in his body was about to be replaced by Yang energy any second now, and the time for the Five Elements Reversal technique was almost up. Once 6 o'clock passed... no, it wouldn't even take until 6; in just ten minutes or half an hour at most, the aura of a living person would return to him.

By then, the moment the foxes discovered he was a living human, he wouldn't even need to run—he could just wait for his natural end and become the very last Mountain Strider.

Yet Liu Wenchang had already agreed, and even if he hadn't, the foxes clearly had no intention of letting him leave.

What other choice was there? He would just have to bite the bullet and follow them, looking for an opportunity to escape along the way.

Surely this pack of foxes wouldn't assign a few guards to watch him?

*Swish, swish, swish—*

As his thoughts raced like lightning, the foxes had already sprung into action. They called out to their respective relatives and the surrounding pack members.

In moments, the foxes rapidly surrounded Zhang Hao and Liu Wenchang, all of them grinning with narrowed eyes.

Liu Wenchang looked around and explained, "The foxes just said we need to be well-protected, and under no circumstances can we get rained on or run into trouble."

Zhang Hao: ......Damn it.

Following that, the throng of foxes escorted the two men out of the cave amidst the heavy downpour.

Outside, the torrential rain continued unabated. Raindrops the size of beans pelted the ground like bullets with a pattering roar.

Streaks of lightning intertwined against the sunlight, tearing through the sky and unleashing deafening, rolling thunder.

The foxes used lotus leaves as umbrellas held high above their heads to shield themselves from the rain, and thoughtfully picked the two largest lotus leaves to hand to Zhang Hao and Liu Wenchang.

Just as the group of foxes had told Liu Wenchang, the two men were esteemed guests and must not be soaked by the torrential rain.

The fox procession marched in straight ranks, moving forward like a disciplined army.

It was just that their walking gait was somewhat peculiar—tiptoeing and stretching their necks, occasionally halting in unison to turn their fox heads and look around to both sides, before tiptoeing and stretching their necks once more to press onward.

The spectacle was somewhat comical, yet due to the absolute uniformity of the formation, it took on an eerie atmosphere.

*Crack!*

The rolling thunderous crashes never ceased. A bolt of lightning carrying an intensely destructive aura plunged straight down from the sky, striking deep into the dense forest, as if something hidden within those woods was actively drawing the lightning down.

Zhang Hao, however, paid no attention to this. He kept his head lowered, watching the path beneath his feet, occasionally raising it slightly to steal glances at the surrounding foxes as he searched for an opportunity to break away.

There was no help for it; he had to find a way to leave, a way to escape.

Fortunately, amidst the heavy downpour, the foxes' sense of smell and perception were somewhat dulled, which was why they hadn't yet noticed the faint, microscopic aura of a living human radiating from him.

Yet this was only temporary. The longer it dragged on, the higher his risk of exposure became, and the greater the danger of being torn limb from limb by the foxes.

"Sigh, buddy, I have to say, the rules around here are far too bizarre. How can anyone go worshiping ancestors on the day after their wedding? And where on earth are we even going? The further we walk, the stranger it feels."

Beside him, Liu Wenchang muttered under his breath.

Zhang Hao simply listened without making a sound, pretending not to hear.

Even so, he raised his head to survey the surrounding environment.

Indeed, just as Liu Wenchang had said, the forest was growing deeper and denser. At first, their path had been a winding, narrow trail, but by now, even the trail had vanished. Beneath their feet were only weeds and a muddy earthen track, every step splashing into a tiny puddle of water.

It was fine for him since he wore straw sandals; at worst, they would just get dirty.

Liu Wenchang, however, was in a miserable state. His shoes had already been filthy enough, but now they were completely ruined, covered entirely in mud spatters beyond any hope of saving.

Added to that was the ceaseless rain that showed no intention of stopping, the glaring sun hanging in the sky, and the unending thunder and lightning—everything felt deeply abnormal.

Especially with a pack of foxes leading the way to some unknown destination; no matter how one thought about it, it felt uncanny and wrong.

"This weather is truly haunted. Raining with a blazing sun and thundering too... seriously," Liu Wenchang continued to mutter, persisting even though no one answered him.

Zhang Hao glanced sideways at the pack of foxes, constantly monitoring their movements while observing Liu Wenchang as well.

To be honest, if the chance arose, he would not hesitate to sacrifice Liu Wenchang and use the opportunity to flee immediately.

Alas, no such opportunity presented itself.

The foxes had surrounded him tightly, forming an impenetrable wall. Forget leaving—he probably wouldn't even get the chance to step aside for a leak.

Was he really just supposed to wait for his Yin energy to exhaust itself, for the time to expire, for his living aura to surface, and for these foxes to discover he was actually a living human?

Oh, that was entirely too horrifying, and utterly, hopelessly doomed.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

Right at that moment, the leading file of foxes abruptly halted. From the very front of the procession came a series of shrill fox cries.

Zhang Hao started, stopping in his tracks as he craned his neck to look toward the front of the line, feeling somewhat bewildered.

Liu Wenchang, on the other hand, looked ahead thoughtfully. Upon hearing the sounds, a sudden realization dawned on him, and he nodded, whispering his explanation, "They're saying we've arrived at the place to worship the ancestors. Next, they just need to wait for the ancestors to open the gates so they can go in and pay their respects."

"But it seems there's some kind of ritual? I don't really get what they're saying, but apparently, they have to perform something out of the ordinary before they can enter to worship the ancestors. Both of us better get ready; they might make us go up there in a moment."

Zhang Hao nodded to indicate he understood.

He had no desire to care what kind of rituals those foxes were performing. He still wanted to run; he had no intention of meeting any ancestors.

This pack of foxes was bizarre enough. If that ancestor turned out to be even more bizarre, it would certainly be no blessing for him—it would be a disaster, a life-or-death crisis.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, the line of foxes standing before Zhang Hao and Liu Wenchang suddenly parted to the left and right, forming two living walls and clearing a path right down the middle.

At the very end of this fox-lined corridor stood the elder fox, along with the fox bride and groom. Their mouths were fully parted, eyes narrowed as they stared straight at them.

It was an expression that seemed to say they were simply waiting for the two men to walk on over.