Departure

Lu Yang then went to the stall selling sesame cakes.

The seller was a Senior Disciple Sister, expertly preparing the dough, letting it rest, kneading it, and slapping it into shape, a process she had clearly practiced countless times.

She pinched off small pieces of dough and, using her hands, wrists, arms, and torso... her entire body, kneaded them into flat cakes.

Her movements seemed to align with some deeper principle; this wasn't just simple kneading, but a way to train physical coordination.

The Senior Disciple Sister placed the flattened dough on a forging platform, raised a large iron hammer, and slammed down repeatedly, creating a series of loud BANGS, sending sparks flying that burned small holes in the ground.

She quenched the dough in cold water, which instantly boiled, bubbling furiously, and soon a sesame cake was ready.

Lu Yang was amazed. Hundred Refinements Peak truly had some innovative ideas, seamlessly combining food and Artifact Refining.

"One sesame cake, please."

The food in the cafeteria was indeed cheap. Lu Yang saw many impressive items here, and if his contribution points weren't limited, he would have bought everything.

The next morning, Lu Yang met the other two at the Dao Seeking Sect's mountain gate as agreed.

"We were just waiting for you." Meng Jingzhou waved when he saw Lu Yang. Behind him was a carriage, the same one that had taken them to the Dao Seeking Sect, pulled by the same old horse.

The only difference was that the third person was Man Gu instead of Senior Disciple Sister Yun Zhi.

Man Gu was diligently studying, even taking advantage of the waiting time to learn. His wide scholar's robe concealed his muscles, making him look surprisingly like a tall Confucian scholar.

"We're not taking a Flying Boat?" Lu Yang was prepared to travel by Flying Boat. Although his Shrink Ground to Inch was convenient, it wasn't as fast as a Flying Boat after all.

He had temporarily abandoned learning Shrink Ground to Inch, focusing instead on Shrink Ground and Inch Size.

Meng Jingzhou patted the carriage, proudly saying, "This carriage of mine is a rare treasure. It contains a spatial formation. We may feel like it's slow inside, but to outsiders, it's as fast as a Flying Boat."

Come to think of it, the Meng family was far away in the Imperial City. Meng Jingzhou couldn't have relied on the old horse to travel step by step from the Meng family to the Dao Seeking Sect; it would have taken a year to reach the Dao Seeking Sect that way.

The carriage activated its formation on the way to the Dao Seeking Sect, moving at lightning speed, and only deactivated the formation and slowed down when approaching the Dao Seeking Sect to show respect for the Dao Seeking Sect.

What Lu Yang had seen before was the already decelerated carriage.

The three of them boarded the carriage, and the interior was as spacious as ever. Only now did Lu Yang realize the true value of this carriage.

"By the way, where are we going? What's the mission?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you? We're going to a place called Qinghuai Commandery. Man Gu can tell you the details, since he's the one who found the mission."

Man Gu placed a bookmark in his book, closed it, and slowly explained, "I heard about this when I was out on a mission, from a passenger on a Flying Boat. He was a merchant leader who knew many things that ordinary people didn't. He told me a story circulating among merchants, which has a certain degree of credibility."

"Between Qinghuai Commandery and Yanjiang Commandery, there is a large mountain range. Merchants who want to cross this mountain range must be led by local hunters."

"A terrifying presence has appeared in the mountains, forcing the hunters to abandon the mountains they depend on for survival..."

Night fell, and the wildly growing branches blocked the moonlight. Thunder rumbled, and heavy rain poured down, making the ground muddy and treacherous.

Seven or eight people were tied together with ropes around their waists to prevent anyone from slipping and sliding down the mountain, potentially getting lost.

The sound of the heavy rain was deafening. Even if someone fell and shouted, it would be difficult to hear them.

They wore raincoats, leaned on hiking sticks, and carried baskets on their backs, taking each step carefully, afraid of stepping into a deep pit.

The cold, biting rain made them disheveled. Looking up, the dense rain obscured their vision, forcing them to follow the old hunter in front.

"Watch your step, the mountain path is very slippery in the rain!"

"Don't stop even if you're tired. Push yourselves, we're almost there. If we stop now, it'll be even harder to get going again!"

"I, I really can't... Help me! I'm falling!"

Someone slipped, lost their footing, and slid towards the cliff at the edge of the mountain path.

The merchants felt the force coming from the end of the rope, realized someone had fallen behind, and immediately stopped, frantically pulling on the rope.

"A Yue, hold on tight to the rope, let's pull together!"

"I have no strength left." A Yue was suspended on the cliff, the thick hemp rope around his waist preventing him from falling.

He was tired and hungry, with no strength to spare, and it was difficult to climb up the rope.

The old hunter, experienced and calm, directed the others while personally pulling on the rope.

"You guys hold onto the big tree, don't let all seven of us slide down!"

"The rest of you wrap the rope around your wrists. I'll count to three, and we'll all pull together!"

"One, two, three, pull!"

"One, two, three, pull!"

After a great deal of effort, they finally pulled A Yue up. The already exhausted group was so tired that they could barely stand.

The old hunter didn't relax, anxiously checking A Yue's condition: "A Yue, how did you slip? Did you feel someone push you?"

A Yue shook his head blankly, not understanding why the old hunter was asking that. He had slipped on his own, of course. Could someone have been trying to harm him?

"Old Sun, what do you mean by that?" Qi Wu asked. He was the leader of the merchants and vaguely sensed a problem from the old hunter's question.

The old hunter shook his head, pointing to the dilapidated temple ahead, "Let's move on first. We'll talk when we get to the Mountain God Temple."

The rain was pouring down, not conducive to conversation. Qi Wu nodded, said a few words of encouragement, and told everyone to hurry to the Mountain God Temple to take shelter from the rain.

When they arrived at the Mountain God Temple, everyone disregarded appearances, took off their raincoats, plopped down on the ground, and gasped for breath. Then, they quickly checked whether the things in their baskets had been soaked. If they had been, their trip would have been in vain, and they would have lost everything.

"Thank goodness, we wrapped them in waterproof cloth beforehand. Qi Wu was really insightful."

The Mountain God Temple wasn't exactly great, but it was spacious. Three old, dusty Mountain God statues were located in the center, surrounded by dirt and excrement. The tablets with the Mountain Gods' names were nowhere to be found. The offerings had been eaten by wild animals long ago. Both large doors were missing, and the windows were broken, letting in gusts of cold wind.

The group didn't care much. To them, any place that could provide shelter from the rain was a good place.

Qi Wu took out some goods from his basket as offerings and presented them to the three Mountain Gods, thanking them for lending them the Mountain God Temple to take shelter from the rain.

The three Mountain Gods were clay sculptures, and the craftsmanship wasn't exquisite, but the differences could still be seen. The Mountain God in the middle held the Gentleman Sword and had a righteous expression. The Mountain Gods on either side were one civil and one martial. One wore a Confucian robe and held a book, in the civil position, and the other possessed pure yang energy, in the martial position. The hierarchy was clear and orderly.

"May the Mountain Gods protect us on this journey."

Qi Wu always felt that the three Mountain Gods were very spiritual, as if they were alive.