Chapter Nine

The spirited young woman rode up beside the three men. "Mingzi, Big Brother Hu, Fatty, I'm Yingzi! The old village secretary was worried you might run into danger on Niuxin Mountain, so he specifically sent me to guide you and keep you safe." Yingzi was very forthright, and she said it with a smile.

"Keep us safe?!" Fatty burst out laughing when he heard that. "You little girl are going to protect us? What on earth was the old village secretary thinking?"

Seeing that they looked down on her, Yingzi immediately pouted and protested, "What's wrong with being a girl? Do you look down on us women? Without me to guide you, you'd never find Wilderness Gully!"

Wang Fatty turned to look at Hu Bayi and Hu Ming. "Old Hu, this girl's got some nerve. You think the old village secretary sent her to guide us, or to cause trouble?"

Hu Bayi frowned slightly. "Yingzi, it's not that I look down on you. This expedition really is dangerous. We might run into wild boars, black bears, or something like that. I heard that a group of people went into Wilderness Gully years ago, and not a single one of them ever came back out."

"Enough. You're already headed in the wrong direction!" Yingzi paid no attention to either man. She tugged on the reins and gave them a beautiful profile.

Hu Ming saw this and said, "All right. Since the old village secretary arranged it, let's do as he says. Yingzi knows these roads. With just our memories to go on, we'd have a hard time finding Wilderness Gully—we'd struggle just to get through this forest."

Once Hu Ming had spoken up, Fatty and Hu Bayi accepted it without further argument. After all, they did need a guide.

The others followed Yingzi. There was no denying that she was a living map of Niuxin Mountain. With her leading the way, they avoided a lot of detours.

After three days of crossing mountains, wading through streams, and trekking across grasslands, the four of them safely reached the area near their destination.

As the sky gradually darkened, they had no choice but to lead their horses and find a suitable place to rest.

"Hey, you two, tie the horses up over there. Make sure they're secure!" Yingzi pointed to two nearby trees and calmly gave Fatty and Hu Bayi their instructions.

Yingzi had done a good job as their guide, and Hu Bayi and Wang Fatty no longer looked down on her as they had before.

Still, Yingzi had been ordering them around throughout the trip, and the two men had gotten a taste of the temper of this girl from an ethnic minority.

"Why do I feel like I've been a company commander in name only and a private the whole way?" Hu Bayi said helplessly after tying up the horses and giving the reins a shake.

Wang Fatty looked just as disgruntled. "You tell me. We're grown men, and this past few days we've been worked like servants by that little yellow-haired brat."

Hu Ming smiled. "But let me tell you, I don't think this girl is as simple as she seems. We owe it to her that we made it to Wilderness Gully without a hitch!"

"Pah!" Fatty spat and said with great feeling, "For all we know, Wilderness Gully isn't even that scary."

Night fell completely...

Yingzi brought out the two wild rabbits she had caught during the day. "Everyone, come over and get the fire going. And take care of these rabbits while you're at it."

Hu Ming vaguely remembered that in the original story they had encountered a wild boar, but none had appeared so far. He didn't give it much thought. This was the real world, after all, and things didn't necessarily happen the way they had in the original story.

Everyone nodded at Yingzi's words and got to work.

"Keep busy. I'm going to find some firewood." They were nearly done eating, and when Yingzi saw that there wasn't much wood left on the fire, she slung her rifle over her shoulder and started to leave.

Seeing this, Wang Fatty patted his round belly. "Hey, miss! I'll go with you. I'll protect you!"

Yingzi wasn't about to be friendly to Fatty, who had looked down on her at first. She said bluntly, "No, thanks. Mingzi, are you busy? Could you come with me?"

Hu Ming nodded. "Sure. I'll go with you. It's dangerous to go alone."

Then Hu Ming went into the forest with Yingzi to look for firewood.

Fatty pursed his lips at the sight. Just then, he noticed that Hu Bayi hadn't paid any attention to their conversation. Instead, Hu Bayi was holding a compass and pacing around, looking in every direction.

Seeing what Hu Bayi was doing, Wang Fatty perked up.

He couldn't help asking, "Old Hu, what are you doing over there? Did you find something? Could there be a big tomb here?!"

Hu Bayi shot him a glance. "You actually guessed right. There really is a big tomb here. Let me tell you about the feng shui in this area—"

Hu Bayi was about to launch into a detailed explanation of the feng shui around Wilderness Gully for Fatty when a scream suddenly rang out in the distance.

"Ah..." It was Yingzi's scream!

Hu Bayi and Wang Fatty looked at each other and said in unison, "This is bad. Something's happened to Yingzi!"

Meanwhile, Hu Ming, who had been gathering firewood separately, immediately ran toward Yingzi when he heard the scream. He saw her trembling as she stared ahead, and quickly pulled her behind him. When he looked forward, he saw several skeletons.

Behind him, Yingzi said, "Mingzi, you scared me half to death! Why are there so many bones in this shack?"

Hu Ming reassured her. "It's all right. They're just a few skeletons."

Just then, Wang Fatty and Hu Bayi rushed over at the sound of the scream. When Yingzi saw how worried they looked, she let go of the prejudice she'd had against Fatty and Hu Bayi at first.

Seeing that Yingzi was all right, Hu Bayi relaxed. He shone his flashlight into the shack, where several bodies lay just as expected.

Fatty glanced back at Yingzi, who looked frightened, and asked, "Are you scared of dead people?"

Yingzi was already so frightened, yet Fatty was still teasing her. He was the very definition of a male chauvinist.

Yingzi shot Fatty a look and said irritably, "I'm not scared."

Hu Ming said to Yingzi, who stood behind him, "Stay behind us. Let's go in and have a look together."

At that moment, Old Hu pulled a notebook from the pocket of a dead soldier's uniform inside the shack. "The ones inside the shack are Japanese. The ones outside are grave robbers. The Japanese killed all the grave robbers, then couldn't find their way out of the forest. In the end, they disemboweled themselves."

Meanwhile, Hu Ming found a toolbox outside the shack. Inside were a Luoyang shovel, an engineer shovel, and other grave-robbing tools.

Hu Ming smiled. "If I'm not mistaken, this is a tomb."

Fatty grew excited when he saw it. "Well, I'll be damned. Those grave robbers came prepared!"

Hu Bayi agreed. "Mingzi's right. This must be the entrance to a tomb. There's bound to be a grave robbery hole nearby!"

Hu Ming nodded. "Now that we know the tomb is here, there's no need to rush. Let's go back and get some rest. We can look for the grave robbery hole and enter the tomb tomorrow."

Everyone nodded and went back to rest.