Things Buried Beneath Green Mountain

Things Buried Beneath Green Mountain

"No road anymore." Luo You'er whistled.

No one needed her to say it. The wooden track came to an abrupt end at the cliff's edge, while the width of the valley on both sides looked nothing like something a bridge could span.

"So we can go back now?"

She turned around, only to find Luo Qingqing silent, while the other senior brothers and sisters all wore thoughtful expressions.

"The people who built the tracks didn't intend to reach the other side. Their destination was here."

"To throw something away?"

"That's the only explanation that makes sense."

"I agree. And if they needed to build a dedicated wooden track for it, that means there was quite a lot of it."

"Then... perhaps we can find the answer at the bottom of the cliff?"

Everyone chimed in with their own thoughts.

"Uh, what are you all talking about?" Luo You'er scratched her head.

Luo Qingqing glanced at her and sighed helplessly. "Wooden tracks aren't easy to make, and laying them takes considerable labor. No one would casually branch one off unless it were important. Since someone once built tracks all the way here, whatever was discarded below might help us unravel some of our current doubts."

"I see." The latter suddenly understood, but quickly tilted her head again. "Then what exactly are our doubts?"

"...No, nothing." Luo Qingqing pressed a hand to her forehead and decided to ignore her junior sister's question. She leaned over to look down the cliff. This low valley seemed to extend from the direction of the suspension bridge, cutting the entire Green Mountain into a half-isolated peak. Yet while the cliff mouth before the town was only five zhang wide, this place was already over ten times wider, and the height difference was far greater as well. More than fifty meters below, clouds and mist swirled about, making it difficult to see the bottom clearly.

"Looks like we can only solve this with Sorcery Arts." Luo Qingqing nodded to her fellow disciples behind her. "Luo Tang, Luo Changtian."

"Understood."

"Leave it to us."

The two simultaneously took materials from their waist pouches. The former held a crane folded from red paper, while the latter held two feathers.

Luo Tang stuck a Talisman onto the paper crane, then flicked his hand. "Qian Art, Guiyou, Life Bestowal!"

Luo Changtian followed right after, pointing the feathers at the folded paper that seemed to have come alive. "Xun Technique, Guichen, Longwind!"

In the blink of an eye, the feathers transformed into a spinning ball of wind and wrapped themselves around the paper crane. After flapping its wings twice, the crane flew straight toward the bottom of the cliff!

The instant it plunged into the clouds and mist, Luo Changtian clenched his right fist in the air and shouted, "Break!"

The paper crane exploded violently. A wild gale erupted with a thunderous boom, instantly shredding the mist into tatters. With nowhere else to go, the wind rushed back up along the cliff walls, uprooting weeds and vines from the rocks and carrying them out of the valley.

When the wind dissipated, a huge "gap" appeared amid the clouds and mist.

"Was that... delayed casting?" Luo You'er said in surprise. "Senior Brother, you're amazing."

Attaching a Sorcery Art to an object without triggering it, then activating it upon reaching the right place, counted as an advanced technique for controlling arts. It demanded greater proficiency and a deeper understanding of the art. For novices like them who had not yet passed the Scholar Examination, it was already quite rare.

"Compared to your senior sister, I'm still far behind." Luo Changtian smiled, though his gaze fell upon Luo Qingqing.

"Not bad. Its power has improved compared to before." Luo Qingqing merely offered a simple assessment before turning her attention back below the cliff.

A faint trace of disappointment appeared on Luo Changtian's face.

"How is it? Did you find anything?" The others crowded forward as well.

"It's a little too far away. I can't see clearly."

"Who has the best eyesight here?"

"Don't rush. Once the mist blown upward disperses, we should be able to see."

"Um... does that look like a lot of white stones?"

At first, everyone was still making noise, but a moment later, they all unconsciously held their breath.

A chill that seemed capable of freezing blood rose from beneath Luo Qingqing's feet and instantly raced up her spine, spreading through her entire body.

The late-summer sun had not even set, yet she felt cold.

"I... didn't see that wrong, did I?" Luo You'er swallowed.

"What I saw should be the same as what you saw."

"Senior Sister, the things down there are..."

"Bones." Luo Qingqing spoke slowly.

Not one or two corpses, but thousands upon thousands—their remains were piled atop one another, forming a raised mound. At first glance, it looked like a mountain of white stones. No one knew how many years these skeletons had been thrown here. Many were no longer even human-shaped, yet even those incomplete bones were enough to reveal what had once happened on Green Mountain.

"What kind of place... is this?" Luo You'er murmured.

No one answered her question.

Luo Qingqing knew clearly that this Scholar Examination would likely not pass in peace.

The morning of the fifth day.

Xia Fan was awakened by a rapid knocking at the door.

He climbed up from the floor, glanced at the Fox Demon still sleeping deeply, and cautiously walked to the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Brother Xia!" Wei Wushuang's urgent voice came from outside. "Get up quickly, something terrible has happened!"

"Wait a moment."

He turned back and gathered up the straw mat spread across the floor, restoring the room to its original state before opening the door and slipping outside. "What happened?"

"The people in the town, they're all gone!" Wei Wushuang said in great unease.

"...Who's gone?" Xia Fan gave him a puzzled look. "Aren't you still here?"

"Not the examinees—the residents of Qingshan Town!" He hurriedly waved his hands. "This morning, I went to the main hall for breakfast as usual, but no matter how we called, Xiao Er wouldn't come. Later, when more people arrived, they realized something was wrong and went to search the kitchen. There wasn't a single person inside!"

"Closed for the day?"

"Then they should have told us. At first, everyone thought so too, but the teahouse soon started causing a stir as well. We went out and looked around, only to discover it wasn't just the inn and teahouse. There wasn't a single soul in the entire town!"

"You're certain not one resident remains?" Xia Fan also began to feel the severity of the matter.

"Yes. Some people even pried open the residents' doors and checked inside. It was as though..." Wei Wushuang bit his lip. "It was as though they vanished overnight."

"Where is everyone now?"

"They've gathered in the center of town."

"The atmosphere... probably isn't very good, right?" Thinking of how the examinees had been wary of and plotting against each other before, Xia Fan could not help frowning.

"Everyone's arguing. Aside from the residents' disappearance, there are also disputes from the past few days and people waiting to take revenge."

After thinking for a moment, Xia Fan said, "Let's go too. No matter what, that's bound to be the place with the fastest news. If anything new is discovered, we'll know immediately."

"Brother Xia is right." Wei Wushuang nodded.

"Wait." Xia Fan had just taken a step when he pulled it back and turned to duck into the room. When he emerged again, a porcelain bottle was in his hand.

Wei Wushuang froze when he saw it. "Could it be that you've already..."

"That's right. I was lucky enough to gather a whole bottle of Source of Spirit Fire."

He had decided to carry the bottle mainly to dispel any thoughts the Luo Family might have of sneaking in. If, amid this upheaval, they split off someone to raid his place, recovering the Spirit Fire would be one thing. But if they discovered a Fox Demon lying inside, that would be trouble.

Letting the Luo Family see that the bottle was on him would at least keep them from setting their sights on his lodging.

"Brother Xia, you truly are... full of surprises!"

Wei Wushuang admired him so deeply he practically fell to the ground in reverence.

"Enough of that. Let's head to the center of town first." Xia Fan quickly walked out of the main hall.

After another few dozen steps, the small square was already in sight. Just as Wei Wushuang had said, the scene was a complete mess. Everyone was shouting on their own, with no central voice whatsoever. The aristocratic families and Sanmen factions were openly hostile toward one another, their lines clearly drawn. Unlike the situation at the fork halfway up the mountain, where Sanmen examinees came and went in batches and could not match the Fei, Luo, and Fang families in strength, nearly all Sanmen examinees had now gathered here. Their numbers far exceeded those of the aristocratic family descendants.

It was clear that Fei Nian and the others looked much more grave.

"This is a signal sent by the Proctor!" Brother Yan, who had previously been taught a lesson by Fei Nian, shouted loudly. "The residents evacuated so we can fight to our hearts' content! Now all the Source of Spirit Fire is in the hands of the aristocratic families. Unless we bring them down, none of us can pass!"

"That's right, this is our final chance! Don't be afraid, we outnumber them by far. If we attack together, why should Fei Nian be able to stop us? Seize Spirit Fire, live in private rooms, become high officials—it all depends on this one gamble!"

The Fei Clan's side was not entirely silent. Someone immediately spoke up in rebuttal. "What a joke. Why don't you go first? You just want others to block the swords for you so you can fish in troubled waters!"

"I remember you. Fei Nian's senior brother knocked you down with one sword before, and when the real fight began, you got up and ran faster than anyone. You're so skilled at playing dead—you must practice it often, right? Everyone, take a good look. Those he incited have all been eliminated, yet he's still standing here. What that means hardly needs saying!"

Boos immediately rose all around. The two sides remained deadlocked for the moment, neither able to overpower the other.

Of course, not everyone was preparing to "seize Spirit Fire, live in private rooms, become high officials." Some examinees were arguing over other matters.

For instance, "food."

"You mean there isn't a scrap of food left in the kitchen? Could the first people who found it have divided it all up?"

"How could they have done that so quickly? As far as I know, the inn stopped serving food last night."

"Could the people who evacuated have taken all the food with them?"

"Forget the inn. I searched every residence in Qingshan Town, and guess what? Every rice jar was empty! At this rate, forget competing with the aristocratic families for Spirit Fire—we won't even last until the Scholar Examination ends."

"How could this happen..."

Similar conversations could be heard everywhere. Just as the crowd sank into panic and unease, a loud voice suddenly rolled over their heads.

"Everyone, quiet down and hear me out!"

Xia Fan raised his brows in surprise. A woman leaped onto a long table beside the notice board, looking just as she had when he first saw her.

It was none other than Luo Qingqing of the Luo Family.

"Junior Sister!" another young man hurriedly tried to dissuade her.

But she remained unmoved. Once everyone's attention had focused on her, she said, "I suggest that everyone withdraw from the examination immediately and return in three years!"

The crowd instantly exploded—

"What did you say!?"

"Why the hell should I listen to you!"

"If anyone is withdrawing, let your Luo Family set the example first!"

"That's right, that's right!"

Luo Qingqing took out another Talisman and drowned out everyone else's voices. "Listen carefully. This is no longer a question of whether we can pass the Scholar Examination. It is a question of whether we can survive! The place we are in—was never Qingshan Town!"