Gutter Cave and the Mountain Lord

Just as the group finished eating and drinking and were about to set off.

"Everyone, my stomach's a bit off—must've been something unclean I ate last night. You all go ahead; I'll catch up after I've taken a dump and rested a bit."

"Old Zhang, make a few markers for me along the way."

Zhao Han pretended to clutch his stomach, holding his breath until his face turned the color of a pig's liver.

"I can't hold it anymore, I've got to go."

In a flash, Zhao Han slipped into the woods and began mimicking the sound of a bowel movement with his voice.

"Lazy bones with plenty of piss and shit!" Yang Li curled his lip in disdain.

"Who's this kid Old Zhang? I've been meaning to ask you," another Skin Refining Warrior, Zhou Fei, inquired.

The others were puzzled and turned to look at Old Zhang.

"Pfft, how would I know? I just take the money and lead the way—I never ask about a client's background," Old Zhang said, taking a sip of wine and brushing it off casually.

"Hmph, if that brat tries to hold us back, I'll chop him in half."

"Don't bother with some greenhorn. He's probably just scared. We don't need to wait for him—let's just go on our own."

"True enough!"

The four packed up their gear and set off without waiting for Zhao Han.

In their eyes, Zhao Han was just a young punk who looked like he was there to see the sights.

Once they had left, Zhao Han crept forward and followed them in secret.

With his Muscle Refining Realm strength, tailing them was a piece of cake.

Bringing up the rear, Zhao Han kept his eyes fixed on the hunter.

That hunter had been normal yesterday, but today his back was hunched, and he was panting as he walked.

Around eight o'clock, the group arrived at the Gutter Cave.

"Everyone, the Gutter Cave is dangerous. Fifty meters in, there's a fork. The left leads to an Underground River with pythons lurking in it; the right has a stone chamber—no idea who carved it out. I can only take you as far as the fork."

"Old Zhang, spare the chatter and just lead the way."

"Drop your packs and light your torches. Follow me!"

Seeing their impatience, Old Zhang tossed his pack aside, wrapped some rags around a prepared torch, doused it with oil, lit it with a Fire Starter, and took the lead.

The other three did the same, all well-prepared.

Once they were about ten meters in, Zhao Han emerged. He didn't light a torch but crouched low and followed.

With four people scouting ahead, there was no danger, so there was no need for a torch—it would only risk being spotted.

Fifty meters came quickly. The temperature here was a bit higher than outside, which explained why the pythons liked living here.

Pythons prefer warm, damp environments—this place fit perfectly.

Yang Li looked around and said, "Old Zhang, go wait for us in the stone chamber on the right. We're heading to the Underground River first."

This man had clearly been here before, knowing there was a stone chamber on the right to rest in. Last time with Old Zhang, he'd waited there too.

"Then this old man won't tag along with you all. I'll head off first." Old Zhang nodded and walked toward the stone chamber on the right.

Only three remained, torches lit, heading toward the Underground River.

Zhao Han reached the fork and heard the sound of the Underground River's flowing water.

He frowned, glanced to the right, then looked left.

The left side probably wasn't far from the Underground River. Zhao Han wasn't in a hurry to deal with the pythons.

But the stone chamber on the right stirred up a strong curiosity in him.

A stone chamber in a place like this was strange enough—could someone have once lived in seclusion here?

With that thought, Zhao Han slowly crept toward the right.

He hadn't expected the path on the right to be somewhat narrow.

After about twenty meters, he saw firelight ahead and stopped.

From the stone chamber came Old Zhang's voice:

"Mountain Lord, four more clueless fools have arrived, including two Skin Refining Warriors."

Zhao Han's heart jumped, and he frowned deeply: Who was Old Zhang talking to?

Mountain Lord? That title sounded familiar.

Thinking it over, he realized what Mountain Lord meant.

Wasn't that another name for a tiger!

Was he talking to a tiger?

Connecting this to the existence of strange beings, Mountain Sprites, demons, and monsters in this world, Zhao Han understood.

A Mountain Lord wasn't strange, and one that could talk wasn't strange either—he was just making a fuss over nothing.

Immediately after, a somewhat pained and muffled voice sounded:

"Same as last time—let them hunt the python first. I'll have the Ghost Servant strike one from behind. Once everyone reaches the fork, you scatter the poison powder on them. Then I'll show up and bite them all to death, turning every last one into Ghost Servants."

Old Zhang gave a thumbs up and laughed: "The Mountain Lord's methods are truly brilliant. This old man admires them to no end. But about the reward..."

"You humans always love to flatter a tiger's rear, but I don't fall for that."

"What's yours is yours. I, the Mountain Lord, keep my word."

With that, the Mountain Lord pulled a ring, and a double door opened in the stone chamber.

Stepping inside, the Mountain Lord sneered inwardly: If that Willow Tree Demon hadn't gravely wounded me and devoured most of my Ghost Servants, forcing me to recover by eating humans...

Otherwise, hmph—dealing with a few ordinary warriors—would I need to cooperate with this old man?

Then, with a "creak," no more sounds came from the stone chamber. Instead, Old Zhang began sipping wine and eating peanuts.

Zhao Han pieced it together from outside. He understood that Old Zhang had likely struck a deal with the Mountain Lord—a tiger that had become a demon.

He would bring people to the Gutter Cave, and after they were killed, they would turn into Ghost Servants.

In return, Old Zhang would receive a handsome reward.

Perhaps the one who had possessed the hunter earlier was a Ghost Servant.

"Sounds like this tiger is injured, hiding here to recuperate."

"I don't know the situation inside, so it's not wise for me to enter. I'll go meet up with the three first, kill the python, and see how things play out."

Zhao Han didn't act immediately. Instead, he quietly left the stone chamber and entered the Underground River on the left.

Once at the Underground River, the three ahead were already out of sight—they had likely gone deeper in.

After advancing another dozen meters or so, Zhao Han spotted them. The three were hunting a python five meters long and three fingers thick.

"Too short." Shaking his head, Zhao Han had no intention of intervening. He simply watched from a distance.

The three cooperated reasonably well, using Snake Hooks and ropes to entangle the python, preventing it from moving or escaping.

Then they kept beating it with clubs until it was knocked unconscious.

A live python was worth much more than a dead one.

This python was easily subdued by the three.

After all, five meters long and three fingers thick wasn't considered a large python.

Once the python was dealt with, the hunter was clearly panting from exhaustion.

He found it strange—why was he getting so tired? He sat on a rock and wiped his sweat with his shirt.

"Damn, why am I so weak today? I didn't use my hand last night. This isn't normal..."

Turning his head, he saw the other two breathing steadily, full of energy. He thought to himself, So this is what it means to be a Skin Refining Warrior—completely different from ordinary people.

"When we split the money later, I'll probably only get two shares, and they'll each get four."

"Sigh, it's my own fault for not training hard back in the day."

Forcing himself to stand, the three continued deeper into the cave.