Chapter 64: Breaking the Deadlock!

Zhang Hao's thoughts burst open, his mind's ideas branching out uncontrollably.

Once he figured out this logical relationship, a completely new perception of the entire matter naturally emerged.

Simply put, the fox weddings encountered by successive generations of mountain-walkers were never the same group of foxes, and most importantly, never the same mountain treasure.

After all, the quantity of mountain treasures is extremely limited. Even when stretched across long spans of time, the appearance of a mountain treasure remains a low-probability event, and the possibility of it repeating in a short period is close to zero.

Therefore, past mountain-walkers never recorded what specific mountain treasure they encountered during a fox wedding.

This led to a problem: because the mountain treasures differed, their influence on the foxes also varied, which in turn might have caused slight differences in how the fox wedding ritual was performed.

This was merely Zhang Hao's conjecture, yet this hypothesis could explain why the day of the fox wedding he encountered had neither clear skies nor rain, and why the wedding time was still set during the Hour of the Rooster.

Instead, clear skies and rain arrived early the next morning, requiring them to come and pay homage to the mountain treasure precisely at that time.

After digesting everything, Zhang Hao narrowed his eyes, quietly contemplating a matter of utmost importance in his heart.

Most of the time, records in ancient texts served as guiding beacons, leading him to the true destination.

However, on rare occasions, records in ancient texts might merely be a faint flicker of firelight, requiring him to grope forward continuously and synthesize his own experiences to reach the ultimate destination.

Therefore, there were times when one could not blindly follow what was written in ancient texts.

Because some events could never have been anticipated by previous mountain-walkers. Changes in society, changes in the environment, and even changes in ideology were completely uncontrollable and unpredictable.

With this realization, the tension, irritation, and all other negative emotions in Zhang Hao's heart vanished into thin air in an instant.

He began to comprehend the true meaning of the Illustrated Records of Mountain-Walking Travels, and why certain descriptions left by past mountain-walkers in ancient texts were so vague, or even crude.

He let out a long breath, the corners of his mouth curving slightly upward as his eyes fixed firmly on the Tribulation-Struck Wood.

As long as he took that piece of Tribulation-Struck Wood down the mountain, the true purpose of his participation in the fox wedding would be fulfilled.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

Suddenly.

A sharp fox cry, laden with obvious hostility and aggressiveness, rang out abruptly beside his ear.

Zhang Hao snapped back to his senses, subconsciously looking in the direction of the sound.

He saw that the three foxes, previously prostrate on the ground, had already stood up. Their bared lips revealed sharp fangs, their four paws extended sharp claws, the fur all over their bodies stood on end, and their brown pupils gleamed with a red light.

This was... the posture of foxes about to attack!

Not good, the aura of a living person on me has been exposed!

In a flash of lightning and flint, Zhang Hao's mind raced, immediately deducing the possible cause.

According to his calculations, starting from the cave and arriving here took no more than twenty minutes, but the time spent lingering here had already exceeded five minutes.

Initially, he estimated he had at most half an hour to conceal the living aura on his body.

Yet that was merely his estimate. As time passed, his living aura would only become increasingly pronounced, and evidently, it had now reached the point where the foxes could detect it.

He had been careless... far too careless.

The moment he saw the mountain treasure, his mind was filled solely with the treasure itself, causing him to completely forget such a vital matter.

Now that the foxes had discovered him, there was no longer any need to hide.

Seize the mountain treasure, and get down the mountain!

At that moment.

Liu Wenchang, standing nearby in a daze, looked toward the three foxes and asked in bewilderment, "What's wrong with you guys? What happened?"

The three foxes completely ignored him, only lifting their noses to sniff back and forth in the air as if searching for a target, and they were already consciously closing in on Zhang Hao.

Clearly, they seemed to have found their target—they had found Zhang Hao.

Damn it...

Did this pack of foxes have to be so smart?

Things having reached this point, he could only proceed according to his earlier plan.

With a flicker of thought, Zhang Hao shifted his footing, instantly dodging behind Liu Wenchang, raised his palm, and heavily struck the back of the other man's head.

Liu Wenchang felt a gust of chilly wind sweep across the back of his head, but he had no time to dodge.

Crack!

A crisp sound echoed. Liu Wenchang felt a surge of pain, his entire mind throwing a fit of confusion as if beaten into mush.

Barring his teeth, eyes tightly shut, and both hands clutching the back of his head, he yelled angrily, "Are you out of your damn mind?! Why did you hit me? And—hiss, hiss, ouch, hitting so hard! It hurts like hell..."

Liu Wenchang opened his eyes, casting a glare of fierce rage toward Zhang Hao.

Yet at that very moment.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of three furry creatures covered in hair, possessing two pointed ears, baring their fangs, and emitting beast-like whimpers—yet standing on two legs and walking upright like human beings.

Stunned, he turned his head and finally saw the appearance of those strange creatures clearly.

Foxes... Foxes!

Wait, weren't the bride, groom, and elder family members standing right here just a moment ago?

How come they suddenly, how come they suddenly turned into foxes?!

What the hell, what on earth just happened?!

Besides, how could these three foxes stand up? Are these things actually foxes or people...

Liu Wenchang shivered violently, every hair on his body standing on end. An intense wave of horror, dread, and a primal fear of the unknown surged into his heart all at once.

"Ah!!!!! Who... who are you people?! Foxes... Foxes!"

Liu Wenchang collapsed straight to the ground, pointing a finger at the three foxes, his eyes wide with terror, his face a mask of panic as he kicked his legs frantically against the ground, trying to back away rapidly.

His shout immediately drew the attention of the three foxes. They shifted their gazes, focusing all their attention squarely on him, and marched straight toward him.

"Ah!!! Don't come closer!" Liu Wenchang screamed frantically, but it was completely useless.

All of this was witnessed by Zhang Hao standing nearby.

The slap he had just delivered was a method to snap Liu Wenchang out of his hallucinations.

There was a specific spot on the back of a person's head known as the 'Ming Sui Cavity', which was generally considered the storage place of a person's soul fire, functioning similarly to the three fires of heaven, earth, and man. Simply put, striking this spot could quickly snap a person back to clarity within a short time.

However, striking the Ming Sui Cavity tested the practitioner's control of force; using excessive strength could lead to severe consequences.

According to his plan, once Liu Wenchang regained consciousness and saw the three foxes, he would inevitably be terrified. Even a professional poacher would instinctively feel fear upon seeing three foxes behaving like humans and displaying aggression.

As long as Liu Wenchang was frightened and temporarily drew the attention of the three foxes, Zhang Hao would be temporarily safe from being exposed as a living human.

In this way, he could seize the opportunity to get the job done.

He took a deep breath, turned around without a moment's hesitation, and sprinted with all his might toward the Tribulation-Struck Wood.