The Tale Never Ends Chapter 193 Interference

My interference seemed to have saved Bian Dashou, much to his and the yeti's surprise. They paused for the briefest of a second with shock and I was shouting, "What the hell were you doing?! Use your magic! Or are they just for show?!"

But I know no one was able to hear me. Bian Dashou clambered up with flakes of frost falling from his robes and furs. But to my shock and dismay, the fool moved closer and closer towards the yeti like a lamb offering itself to be slaughtered!

I was utterly shocked by Bian Dashou's behavior and it somehow made the herd of more-than-ten yetis angry! Despite the snowstorm, I felt my blood froze. Is he mad?! Why is he not running for his life at least?! The yetis bared their fangs at him and roared, then they stormed at him again!

But Bian Dashou continued his casual stroll toward them! He would either have conveniently chosen to be blind at this exact moment, or he was willingly embracing Death! The yetis came at him with blinding speed and with no time to think, I yanked hard at the collar of his clothes. With my other arm fastened around the trunk of a little tree, I pivoted and spun, pulling Bian Dashou as hard as I could! Fortunately for him, it was able to propel him out of danger and the yetis certainly did not expect Bian Dashou would be able to move and avoid them with such an improbable move and cleanly evaded the pounce of the leading yeti the rest of the brood piled themselves on him like an American-football fumble! But quickly, they got to their feet.

By now, I had regained my balance and my hand instinctively traveled up to my shoulder, hoping to reach for my Shiyan Blade. But my hand grabbed at the air; I had forgotten that the sword was not with me! But in my haste, I did not stop; my other hand dug through my pockets and I could scarcely forget my glee and relief when I found my Spirit Gourd still with me!

I tore the stopper off the Gourd and screamed the incantations, summoning into form my six spirit wolves. But I could have not been any more disappointed; I immediately realized that the yetis to my spirit wolves were like kryptonite to Superman! None of my wolves dared to move even with my persistent urgings and they merely loped hesitantly at my heels, eyeing the ferocious ape-like beasts fearfully! The yetis regrouped for another assault and they rushed at Bian Dashou again, but not before I aimed the mouth of the Gourd at them and I muttered another spell: the Soul-banishment Curse!

The entire horde of yetis collapsed into the snow with a sickening thud as soon as I finished the last of the incantation; all of them as dead as doornails. I wiped some sweat off my forehead. Would that I am absent, Bian Dashou would have been ripped into shreds before he'd even make it to his destination! It seemed that I have to stay by his side, at least until the end. This way, I might be able to interfere and help, otherwise, the course of history might hit a snag and it could change!

But Bian Dashou, whose eyes were still closed, was none the wiser; he continued stepping forward, his boots biting deep into the snow until he paused when he heard the commotion ended. He stopped and opened his eyes, turning back and saw the carcasses of the dead yetis. With a wry look on his face, he gazed upon the dead bodies of beasts for seconds and he looked around. The rest of the party who had fled to the outside of the woods were already crawling back to him when they saw the yetis collapsed, making their way back miserably like a bunch of routed rats.

With hardly any regard to them, Bian Dashou turned to the front and continued venturing deeper into the woods. One of the peasants ran up and begged, "Lord Magistrate, please! We should stop for a rest until the snowstorm is over! There's no knowing what else might be ahead!" But Bian Dashou shook his head resolutely. "All is fated. Even the tribulations that are waiting for me up ahead. Turn back if you're afraid. I shall not force anyone of you to carry on the journey with me. But I have a mission and I'll not turn back until it's finished!"

Some people were about to speak against his decision. But their words got stuck in their throats after they heard Bian Dashou's dogged determination to press on. The men all wore troubled looks, even Jia Huan was looking pale himself. Then whispers began rising as the pall of gloom lingered over the party. "Li, let's go home! My wife is alone at home and I dread to think what will happen to my family if I die here!" "What about me?" The man called Li answered, "My youngest brother is only eight! My eldest brothers have all gone to join the army, so I'm the only man in the house!" But another voice stopped them. "Enough prattling. Look at the Lord Magistrate. Look at how calm he was just now! He must be blessed with the protection of the gods! Think about this: how do you expect to get your 100 taels of silver if you go back now?"

I groaned. By the end of the day, it is still gold and silver that makes the world spin!

Bian Dashou stood at the head of his party with his hands still held carelessly behind his back. Without so much as a look to the back, he called, "Have you all done reconsidering?" Then he walked on, showing no eagerness to wait for an answer. The archers and Jia Huan loped after him quietly, leaving the sixty peasants still gawking at each other wordlessly. But the decision came quickly for them; some shook their heads and left, wearing weak and resigned smiles as they turned their backs while some gritted their teeth and scampered after Bian Dashou and his men, resolving to survive while relenting to the fact that fortune only favors the bold.

Those who left have weighed and decided that they valued their life greater than all the riches in the world. They might also have difficulties or doubts of their own, although no one knew better than themselves. The remaining twenty-or-so people who caught up with Bian Dashou to renew their quest were looking no better themselves. But their eyes were steady, indicating their either their grave need or greed for silver and gold.

I might have cursed Bian Dashou as a madman earlier, but I knew full well the predicament he was in. The dangers that awaited him would be no less perilous even if the blizzard stopped, assuming if it would even stop in the first place. But one thing was certain: dangers abounded the path ahead of him and if he so chooses to turn and leave, his life would be spared.

Then again, turning back now was a decision that even I would not allow; as Father said before, Chance is a regular happenstance in the course of history. History could be changed with even the slightest ripples and if Bian Dashou were to waver in his convictions, everything in the future could crumble and disintegrate.

I scoffed. All the thinking is futile. I am here to find out the truth, I told myself, Otherwise, I will forever be groping in the dark, forever lost and unaware of the hidden hands that are steering things from the shadows. I withdrew my spirit wolves and followed after them.

The journey went on peacefully. For more than an hour, we trekked through the desolate forest and snow. Nothing happened and feeling more comfortable now, I took out my Spirit Gourd, wanting to take a look at the spirits of the yetis I had absorbed earlier. They could be valuable additions to my army of spirit minions if I could tame them.

But I stopped. The yetis were too ferocious for the present me to control. None of my earlier attempts to tame them with my spiritual will managed to dent their savageness and fearless. I scoffed again helplessly. I would have to try again later or I might just reduce their spirits into pills and medicines. As I put away my Gourd, I looked ahead. Everyone was gone and there was nothing else in my line of sight but a thick blanket of white, stubbled with thorny and denuded trees.

I swung my head around and found Bian Dashou's party. They had traveled somewhere ahead to my right, still wrestling against the snow as they made slow progress. I had been too deep in my thoughts that I barely noticed them veering off.

I ran after them as the party crawled slowly through the snow. Then I noticed that the entire party was slowly veering off the right again! Anymore right, they would be walking right off a cliff or moving back downhill! Something is wrong, I said to myself, These people have been confounded by a trick of some sort! Even Bian Dashou began to notice the error of their movements. The forest looked all the same to everyone; a vista of white with hardly any notion of directions, but they had begun moving down instead of climbing uphill.

Bian Dashou thrust an arm into the air and yelled a loud "Halt!" He turned to his guide, Li Cheng, and asked, "Where are we now?" Puzzled, Li Cheng croaked, "We should be nearly out of the woods by now. After the woods, we'll see the rocky face of a cliff. We'll have to scale that cliff." Bian Dashou's head shook. "Nay, look properly. Are we moving up or down now? Are we actually making progress or are we backtracking?" This made Li Cheng confused. He looked around, studying intently their surroundings and he gasped with shock, "Impossible! How have we been walking backward?!"

Chapter end