Meng Dongge

The so-called patrolling and guarding the Dao also had its intricacies.

The locations where the disciples were stationed were not randomly assigned; they were set up according to the important trade routes for entering Ghost Ridge Palace from the outside.

This arrangement was primarily to protect these trade routes.

Ghost Ridge Palace was located deep within the mountains, and most of its resources had to be supplied from the outside.

If external supplies were cut off, the Black Market would cease to function, which would put Ghost Ridge Palace in a very difficult position.

The disciples sent to patrol and guard the Dao had a minimum cultivation of the second layer of the Spirit Nurturing Realm, making them much faster than ordinary people.

Even when traveling through rugged mountains, their speed was not slow.

As time passed, disciples continuously arrived at their assigned posts and departed, and the long, dragon-like procession grew shorter.

Departing in the morning, by sunset, only the last ten or so teams remained.

"That must be Ox Horn Ridge."

Su Jie passed through a narrow valley filled with gullies, and two small mountains, positioned like horns, appeared in his sight.

"Finally, we're here."

Sun Zhihai, panting and drenched in sweat, sat down on the ground, supporting himself with his knees. The journey had nearly exhausted his frail body.

"Black mountains, white waters, twin peaks like horns, a Sha piercing the heart – a dangerous place, a dangerous place!"

Looking at the environment of Ox Horn Ridge, Gu Weinan rubbed a string of prayer beads with his left hand, murmuring to himself.

Su Jie looked over curiously, "Brother Gu, you understand Feng Shui?"

Gu Weinan chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Just a little. My cultivation realm isn't improving, so I can only learn more miscellaneous skills."

Su Jie's group, consisting of two teams and a total of six people, walked towards Ox Horn Ridge. As they reached the foot of the mountain, they saw wooden houses built every few hundred meters in the forest. However, the area was already occupied.

Six disciples were waiting there, looking at Su Jie and the others with friendly expressions as they arrived.

The leader of this group of disciples was a middle-aged man with a refined demeanor. Upon seeing them, he happily stepped forward and said, "You must be from Old Daoist Qiu's lineage. We received a letter from the Hall of Directives a couple of days ago, and we've been waiting for you. My name is Meng Dongge. I arrived twelve days before you and am under Elder Zhong's tutelage."

"Meng Dongge. This person is at the fifth layer of the Spirit Nurturing Realm. I heard he offended some inner disciples, and it seems to be true now. Otherwise, with his strength, why would he be assigned here?"

Gu Weinan whispered to Su Jie. He had lived in Ghost Ridge Palace for many years and could gather a lot of gossip.

"Fellow Daoist Meng, hello. We are here to be stationed as ordered."

Su Jie took out his token and spoke formally.

"Hello, Brother Meng. We've just arrived, so please excuse any disturbances."

Chen Yun spoke very politely, representing her family.

Meng Dongge's eyes flickered slightly, as if he sensed that Chen Yun was the strongest among the six. His tone became quite enthusiastic.

"No trouble at all. I'll take you to the stationing point first. With more people, we'll feel safer. You have no idea, I haven't had a good night's sleep in the past half a month I've been here."

"Thank you."

"Let's go. We'll head over together."

The group walked towards the temporary stationing point. Soon, Su Jie's and Chen Yun's teams were assigned adjacent wooden houses on the left peak of Ox Horn Ridge, about two kilometers away from the right peak where Meng Dongge and his group were.

Meng Dongge distributed some daily necessities to everyone and gave them some important points to note before turning to leave.

"He's such a good person! Much more likable than that guy Chen Koudang from earlier."

Watching Meng Dongge leave, Sun Zhihai sighed. It was rare to find such a sincere disciple in the cold and ruthless Ghost Ridge Palace.

Gu Weinan nodded and said, "Meng Dongge just mentioned that he hopes our arrival will share the burden and help resist the threat of the Strange Ghosts. It's only natural. He seems quite sincere."

"Right."

Seeing someone agree, Sun Zhihai turned his gaze to Su Jie and asked, "Brother Su, what do you think?"

"Instead of discussing this, let's clean the house first."

Hearing Sun Zhihai's words, Su Jie didn't comment further.

After all, he felt that in a Devilish Cultivator sect like Ghost Ridge Palace, finding a genuinely good person was exceptionally difficult.

As he spoke, Su Jie stepped forward and pushed open the three-story wooden house in front of him.

These wooden houses were not temporary structures; they had been built long ago.

When disciples went out on patrols, they sometimes rested here temporarily. The houses were equipped with dry rations and simple beds.

However, such situations were rare, and since it was only for temporary rest, no one cleaned them, making these houses generally very dirty and messy.

Creak!

The grating sound of the heavy wooden door being pushed open echoed as Su Jie entered the house first.

To his surprise, the interior was not as dirty as he had imagined. Instead, it was meticulously clean.

He lightly wiped his finger across the tabletop and rubbed his fingers together. There was no dust.

Looking up, there were no spiderwebs on the ceiling either.

It seemed someone had lived and cleaned here not too long ago.

Su Jie looked back at Gu Weinan and Sun Zhihai as they entered, saying, "This room should have been occupied before we arrived. Did they say if any disciples besides Meng Dongge's group have been stationed at Bull Horn Ridge?"

Gu Weinan was taken aback. "Who knows! You'd have to go to the Order Hall to check disciple dispatch records, but if you're not an inner disciple, no one will bother with you."

"Perhaps some disciples cleaned it up when they were temporarily stationed here. That saves us the trouble."

Sun Zhihai put down his pack, opened all the doors and windows, and then began to pick a room for himself.

"Brother Su, what are you thinking about?"

Seeing Su Jie frown slightly, Gu Weinan didn't understand.

"Meng Dongge only mentioned fearing the threat of Strange Ghosts. I don't recall them encountering any, do you?"

"No, he didn't seem to say that. Is there a problem?"

"Did you notice? Meng Dongge's two teams were perfectly intact, exactly six people, no more, no less. If a team was stationed here before we arrived, and they encountered Strange Ghosts and met their end, yet Meng Dongge's group remained unharmed and complete, do you think that's suspicious?"

Su Jie voiced some of his suspicions. After all, they were all in the same boat now; there was no time for riddles. An extra fighting force meant extra security.

Gu Weinan, being experienced, immediately became alert after Su Jie's point. He couldn't help but ask, "Are you saying we've been trapped?"

"I'm not sure, but it's possible. After all, Meng Dongge chose this house for us."

Su Jie's tightly furrowed brow relaxed. He continued, "I want to find another place to stay. Regardless of whether it's a trap, it's better to be safe."

As the saying goes, a wise person doesn't stand under a dangerous wall. Su Jie didn't want to take risks, especially risks that could cost him his life.

"Yes, yes, we should find another place."

Having survived in a brutal sect like Ghost Ridge Palace for so long, Gu Weinan might not have had exceptional talent, but to put it nicely, he was cautious, and to put it bluntly, he was afraid of death.

Hearing Su Jie's words, Gu Weinan, who was already suspicious, wisely decided to follow along.

At this moment, Sun Zhihai came down from the second floor after choosing a room. He asked curiously, "Hey, aren't you two picking rooms yet? I've claimed the room on the second floor to the left. You can pick others."

"Brother Sun, we're planning to find a different place to stay."

Upon seeing him, Gu Weinan immediately relayed Su Jie's suspicions.

"Ah! Could you be worrying too much?"

Hearing this, Sun Zhihai was reluctant. Having to clean another room would be a hassle.

"I'm leaving anyway."

Su Jie glanced at him, picked up his pack from the ground, and turned to leave.

"Brother Sun, it's best if you come with us."

Gu Weinan kindly reminded him, picked up his pack, and hurried to catch up with Su Jie.

"Hey, you two, I'll come too, I'll come too! Don't leave me behind!"

Although somewhat reluctant, Sun Zhihai was even more afraid of being left alone.

Seeing the two of them walk away, he quickly went back to pack his belongings and chased after Su Jie and Gu Weinan.

There were several similar wooden houses on Bull Horn Ridge. Su Jie didn't go too far, finding a wooden house about seven to eight hundred meters away and stopping.

"This is the one. Let's clean it up first."

Su Jie pushed open the door of the chosen wooden house. As soon as he entered, a musty smell wafted out. The tabletop and floor were covered in a thick layer of dust, indicating it hadn't been inhabited for a long time.

"Brother Su, regarding Chen Yun, should we go and warn her..."

Gu Weinan hesitated for a moment before stammering.

"I'm not that petty, but I doubt others will believe us or be willing to move."

Su Jie remained noncommittal. It wasn't easy to be a good person these days.

Gu Weinan patted his chest. "It's okay, I'll just go and tell her."

"Then go quickly and come back."

Su Jie glanced at the sky; the sun was already gradually setting.

Although Strange Ghosts appeared day and night now, nighttime was still their most active period. Going out alone at night would be too dangerous.

"Alright, I'll go now."

Gu Weinan immediately set off, as the distance wasn't far.

Su Jie and Sun Zhihai began to clean the house. They didn't do a thorough job, just sweeping away the accumulated dust from the living area.

Afterward, Su Jie set up some simple bell traps. These might not be effective against Strange Ghosts.

Strange Ghosts weren't beasts; they were highly intelligent and knew how to avoid conventional traps.

The real security measure was the dozen or so dragonflies Su Jie released. The panoramic vision of these small insects would greatly facilitate reconnaissance and early warning.

In addition to the dragonflies, Su Jie also released a few small moths. Dragonflies had poor night vision, and moths, being nocturnal insects, could compensate for their vision.