One-eyed Uncle, who belonged to the same group, had gone to a meeting with his elder apprentice, and had not noticed Li Wenli’s departure.
Moreover, since the Fool and Bai Junjun were always by the cart and complied with the guard rules, other patrols from the Elite Troop did not notice the shortage of personnel.
Thus, Li Wenli moved as swiftly as the wind, and hurried back to the guard post where they had rested.
By then, the sentinel station was deep in slumber. Silently, like a specter, Li Wenli skirted past one tent after another.
Finally, in a large tent, he found the squad leader and his confidants.
Li Wenli slightly curled his lips and raised his hand to throw the Wind Blade.
At that moment, as those men were still in their dreams, they suddenly felt a gust of wind and frantically opened their eyes. Outside the tent stood a lean young man; bathed in moonlight, his eyes shone as if belonging to a soul-devouring Mountain Goblin.
One of them started to speak, but as soon as he did, he was suddenly beheaded.
The crowd, shocked by the scene, instinctively scrambled to flee, but just as they got off their beds, they felt a sudden pain and their bodies uncontrollably split into pieces.
It was as if unseen hands were manipulating invisible blades, slashing at them through the void.
The squad leader’s three confidants died instantly, and he fell back onto his bed in horror. He watched as his comrades turned into fragments in mere moments, his legs trembling uncontrollably, and soon, a smell of urine spread through the tent; he had been scared into wetting himself.
Li Wenli said softly,
"Weren’t you acting tough this morning? To whom were you making those obscene gestures?"
Upon hearing this voice, the squad leader suddenly looked up, "Is... is it you!"
"Yeah, sorry I’m late, but I’ll soon offer you a severing lineage service package."
Li Wenli said, grinning like an Asura.
His hands moved through the air, and the Wind Net whooshed towards the squad leader. In no time, he too was split into pieces like his companions.
Li Wenli glanced at the foul-smelling tent, surmising that these sleazy losers had nothing of value. He then used the wind to pick up the squad leader’s severed hand and wrote the words "Mountain Goblin Hunting Draft" on the tent, before leaving silently.
Mountain Goblin, a fierce and long-lived mountain spirit, immensely strong, could tear apart tigers and leopards, consuming their blood and fur, reigning as the king of the mountains.
It was said that highly experienced Mountain Goblins could evolve into Mountain Gods. At that stage, a Mountain Goblin, like humans, would have maids and would attack humans to capture them for draft.
The next day, this incident inevitably caused a huge sensation.
The soldiers gathered for a roll call early in the morning but did not see the squad leader and his men, so the Superior Officer went directly to kick open the tent. However, the scene inside was gruesomely vivid; the men were in pieces, unrecognizable and brutally mutilated.
Inside the tent, the words "Mountain Goblin Captures Puppets" were clearly inscribed, leaving the soldiers who saw the scene horrified. Those with weaker psychological endurance instantly vomited and fainted.
The Superior Officer fell ill, unresponsive to medicine, insisting that he had been attacked by a severe ghost.
Later, this bizarre event was reported to the Great General. However, the Great General was also powerless. To avoid further panic about the Mountain Goblin, the guard post had to be dismantled.
This incident remained an unresolved mystery and was written into unofficial history as an inexplicable horror story.
Of course, that’s a story for another time.
Meanwhile, having taken his revenge, Li Wenli returned to the camp.