The Fall of Three Mountains

Old Ghost Hei's gloomy face bore a strange smile that made Qin Yang's skin crawl.

"Old Ghost Hei, if you've got something to say, just say it."

Old Ghost Hei didn't speak, only rubbed his fingers together, staring at Qin Yang.

Qin Yang's face darkened. He took out a hundred and one spirit stones, paused, then pulled out another nine hundred and placed them in Old Ghost Hei's hand.

This Old Ghost Hei was a master middleman, having worn burial clothes for decades without dying. When it came to ghost-related information, he was absolutely the most well-informed. Since he said that, he must have spotted something. Better to let him have his fill in one go, so he'd be happy enough to spill the news.

Sure enough, Old Ghost Hei pocketed the spirit stones, and the wrinkles on his old face seemed to smooth out a bit, his gloomy aura fading somewhat.

"Brother, you're a man of honor! Then I won't beat around the bush with you. With this many ghost soldiers, near Green Forest City, there's no other place they could come from except the Nether Acacia Ghost Tomb. These two hundred-plus ghost soldiers are all in deep slumber. Looks like you went all out, using spirit incense to get these poor ghosts drunk. But, I noticed some of these ghosts are wearing clothes with special markings—those belong to the Dole Ghost King's subordinates in the Nether Acacia Ghost Tomb. Brother, you wiped out one of his outposts. Outside, it's fine, but once you step into the Nether Acacia Ghost Tomb, heh heh..."

Qin Yang let out a dry laugh, cupped his hands in thanks, then turned and left.

Now he finally understood where those two words "Imperial Concubine De" came from. That insatiable female ghost really was a concubine—and the Ghost King's concubine at that...

Wiping out the nest of the Ghost King's concubine was far more serious than taking out one of the Ghost King's outposts.

If Old Ghost Hei knew the full story, that old ghost would definitely sell this information for a high price...

Good thing he'd been cautious and done the deal in disguise. Otherwise, he'd better run for it now. A Ghost King—anyone who dares call themselves that is at least two major realms above him. A single fart from them could blow him to bits ten times over...

Following the side path, he hurried back to the west of the city. He burned his clothes and the wig, removed the disguise, and with a shake, his figure grew three inches taller, returning to its original state. His hunched back straightened. After bathing and changing, he was once again the young shopkeeper.

It was just time to open for business. He unlocked the front door. The street was nearly empty, except for the tavern keeper from across the way, sitting at his own doorstep, clutching a purple clay pot, taking a sip now and then.

"Hey, Boss Qin, you're opening early today..." The tavern keeper waved a greeting, then leaned back to bask in the sun.

This keeper's surname was Li, with a very imposing name—Li Gang. He was a smiling fat man, but he haggled over every penny and was notoriously stingy, a classic iron rooster. Yet he had a knack for business. Even in this remote, rundown part of the west city, his tavern and inn always did well.

"Shopkeeper Li, what's got you idle today? Not preparing your stock?" Qin Yang opened the door, saw no customers, and made small talk with Li Gang.

"Ah..." Li Gang took a sip of tea and let out a long sigh. "Prepare my ass. Didn't you hear the screams outside last night? Absolutely brutal. If I get any business today, that'd be a ghost story. Everyone's taking detours. Who'd come to this dump in the west city just to save a few coins?"

"I used too much mental energy making talismans yesterday and went to bed early. What happened?" Qin Yang asked casually, keeping his expression neutral.

"That Running Three Mountains crew—wiped out overnight. Not a single survivor. They say the scene was a river of blood. All the bosses were tortured to death. The screams were like pigs being slaughtered, clear as day from several streets away."

"What about the City Guard?" Qin Yang's heart skipped a beat...

The "Three Mountains" in Running Three Mountains referred to the three mountains near Green Forest City. They were rich in resources, with few demonic beasts. Though dangerous, Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators could still venture in to dig for spirit herbs and resources. Hundreds of miles of mountains and rivers were enough to support quite a few cultivators.

Running Three Mountains referred to those who went into the mountains to dig for resources. In the west city, the routes for Running Three Mountains were monopolized by a group called the Three Mountains Gang. Anyone in the west city who ran the mountains had to sell their finds to them. Otherwise, they couldn't operate there.

And as luck would have it, the person who came to him yesterday for help was the Three Mountains Gang's contact—their Third Chief. The reason the jobs had gotten weirder over the past year was mainly because the Three Mountains Gang had the most work...

Originally, it was just handling corpses that died of plague, strange poisons, or other bodies people dared not touch—a tough, dangerous job. Now it had turned into a cleanup expert for covering tracks. Gotta say...

Money was a good thing.

Now the Three Mountains Gang was wiped out, definitely because of those two clients from yesterday.

Though the Three Mountains Gang wasn't that strong, their leader was a Qi Cultivation peak cultivator, and they supposedly had backing. Now they were wiped out without any cover-up. Hearing this, Qin Yang knew the Three Mountains Gang had played the "Yellow Sparrow" game and lost, pissing off someone they shouldn't have. Or rather, they'd learned things they shouldn't have, taken things they shouldn't have...

Qin Yang was lost in thought, but Li Gang didn't notice and kept talking.

"The City Guard wouldn't dare do a damn thing. You know who did it? People from the Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce in North City. The Three Mountains Gang broke the rules and took something they shouldn't have. They deserved to die. Even the city lord wouldn't casually provoke the Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce. The Three Mountains Gang really had their hearts blinded by lard—reckless fools. They say their Third Chief, that big dumb guy, died the worst. Cut into hundreds of pieces on sight. Guess the Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce folks figured he was worthless, just a pure thug. He died right at his own doorstep. Tsk, tsk, really tragic..."

"That's it? Nothing else?"

"Who says there's nothing else? The Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce people haven't left yet. Then two disciples from the Boundless Dao Academy showed up. They say the two groups almost came to blows, but somehow didn't fight in the street. With Boundless Dao Academy disciples here, who in the City Guard would dare interfere? The Three Mountains Gang's territory is sealed off now, and the bodies inside haven't even been collected yet..."

"We'll just have to take the loss."

"Ain't that the truth? With them stirring things up like this, hardly anyone dares come to the west city today. Business has tanked. What can us small-time merchants do but take the loss? I'm losing at least three or four hundred spirit stones a day..." Li Gang sighed, pinching his fingers to calculate, his face twisting in pain...

Qin Yang let out a dry laugh and went back inside the shop.

Once inside, he mulled it over, a flicker of doubt in his mind. What exactly had those two clients fought over that left them both battered and finished off by a third party? If it were ordinary stuff, would the Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce and Boundless Dao Academy disciples be in such a rush?

Damn. No wonder that big dumb guy was so generous yesterday. Turns out they'd gotten their hands on something good...