Chapter 381: Let’s Split up and Search.

Chapter 381

Having seen this younger brother's identity was not questioned by the eldest brother, Mo Jiuye went ahead and explained.

"Eldest Brother, Second Brother, years ago you were tricked by the southern border people on the battlefield..."

Mo Jiuye gave a brief account of what happened.

Upon hearing that the Mohist men had suffered so much misfortune for no reason, and the Mohist family was ordered by Emperor Shunwu to have their family assets seized and be exiled, Second Brother was immediately furious, the veins on his forehead bulging.

He clenched his fist and smashed it heavily onto the stone bed.

A muffled boom rang out inside the cave, and the stone bed instantly cracked and shattered.

Second Brother nimbly leapt up from the broken bed and landed steadily on the ground. Angrily he said,

"These scoundrels! My Mohist men were utterly loyal to Great Shun, but in the end we were reduced to this!"

As he spoke, he glanced down at himself again - calling his appearance half-naked would be too generous.

If not for his face being kept filthy from years of captivity here, the blush spreading across it now would surely be visible, red as a baboon's bottom.

Mo Jiuye had witnessed Second Brother's temper flare like this many times already.

By comparison, Eldest Brother was much calmer.

"Sixth Younger Brother, Ninth Younger Brother, you just said our father suffered the same fate as us brothers, and you still haven't found his whereabouts?"

"Mm. We'll go out and search for him right away. If all goes well, Father should be nearby."

As Mo Jiuye spoke, he was already striding towards the cave exit.

He had observed that despite being under the puppet worm's control, Eldest and Second Brother were luckily kept fed by Mr. Si Meng, so their bodies seemed fairly healthy.

Especially Second Brother - his inner power was as strong as ever, able to smash through such a thick stone slab in one blow.

Just then, Second Brother also regained his senses. He had indeed lost control of his emotions for a moment there. After venting them out, his rationality instantly returned.

"Let's search separately," he said.

Hearing Ninth Younger Brother's words, he realized that he and Eldest Brother must have been living here for quite some time. Yet he was completely unfamiliar with the surroundings here, having no memories at all.

Passing through the barrier, they were met with the same rainbow frogs, followed by scorpions.

This confirmed that the path ahead likely led to the Seventh Mountain Ridge.

Mr. Si Meng had set these obstacles to prevent intruders coming from the direction of the Seventh Mountain Ridge.

Mo Jiuye decisively gave up on that path.

"Elder brothers, let's head back and search the other directions."

While Mo Jiuye's judgment made sense to him, it wasn't so clear to the others.

"Ninth Younger Brother, this area looks completely different. Why should we search the other directions?"

Mo Jiuye pointed back the way they had come. "The obstacles here are the same as when we first entered the Sixth Mountain Ridge center. In all likelihood, just past here is the Seventh Mountain Ridge, not far away. That old fox is a top-class poison master, he must have full confidence in his toxins. In his mind, no one could possibly intrude upon the Sixth Mountain Ridge clearing and leave alive. So he had no need to create two sets of barriers. The ones we just passed must be to prevent entry from this direction."

Sixth Elder Brother had the most interaction with Mo Jiuye, so he knew Ninth Younger Brother was far smarter than himself. Hearing Mo Jiuye's explanation, he was the most convinced.

"What Ninth Younger Brother says makes sense. Eldest Brother, Second Brother, let's listen to Ninth Younger and head back."

Eldest and Second Brother's impressions of Mo Jiuye still lingered from when he was 16 or 17. Facing such a clever and wise younger brother now felt somewhat unfamiliar.

However, Ninth Younger Brother's words did seem reasonable.

"Alright, we'll listen to Ninth Younger and go back for now."

Returning to the open space, the sky had gradually darkened.

But the brothers showed no intention of giving up the search.

Eldest and Second Brother found some thick wooden staffs, while Sixth Elder Brother used flint to light them as makeshift torches so they could continue searching the surroundings.

Just as the moon began to rise, a sudden roar of a tiger came from behind the brothers.

They halted in their tracks, with Mo Jiuye and Sixth Elder Brother already grasping their daggers.

In the blink of an eye, a vividly striped fierce tiger bounded towards them.

Accustomed to protecting their younger siblings since their youth, Eldest and Second Brother's instinct was to place themselves between the tiger and Mo Jiuye and Mo Jinnian.