The next morning.
Li He followed the navigation on his phone along a desolate path paved with flagstones, heading deeper into the park.
This was Huangshan Park, built on Mount Huangshan. It had once been crowded with visitors, full of noise and excitement.
Later, as the city expanded and industry developed, the trees withered and the streams grew murky. The park gradually became desolate and deserted, nearly forgotten by everyone.
It wasn't until the Abyss Era arrived, the martial arts hall moved in, and the Federation poured money into ecological restoration and pollution control, bringing in water and replanting trees, that the ecosystem began to recover.
Li He passed through a dense bamboo grove, and a quaint little courtyard came into view.
Moss covered the courtyard walls, which had collapsed in many places. Two heavy wooden doors stood open, their planks rotten and their color faded.
A crooked plaque hung above the gate. Its characters were blurred, but he could just make out the words "Yellow Mountain."
Was this Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall?
A breeze wafted by, carrying a strange wine fragrance. It was crisp, with the aroma of flowers and fruit, and a slow taste revealed a rich, lingering finish.
Li He checked the location on his phone again. This was definitely the place.
He set aside his doubts for the moment, stepped through the weeds, and entered the courtyard. Following the scent of wine, he came to a side room that was relatively well preserved.
The door was ajar, and there was no sign of human habitation.
Li He pushed open the wooden door, and the sight before him made him pause.
Inside, seven or eight sturdy white apes were gathered around a stone table in the corner, drinking wine!
The largest white ape took a broad leaf, scooped wine from a pottery jar, and served it to the others.
The apes sipped their wine, letting out satisfied grunts.
Li He's intrusion shattered the quiet. "Squeak!" A sharp cry rang out, and the white apes all turned to look at him.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak—!"
Sharp cries rang out one after another from every direction, inside the room and outside!
Dozens of white apes appeared without a sound on the courtyard walls, the roof, and even among the branches of the ancient trees nearby.
Some crouched or stood, others clung or hung from the branches. Their cold eyes glimmered in the morning light.
These white apes were clearly well trained and were probably connected to Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall. Starting a fight rashly would end badly—and if it turned out to be a misunderstanding, it would be awkward for everyone.
The apes could make wine, so they were probably quite intelligent. Maybe he could try communicating with them?
"I'm Li He, just a traveler who wandered in by mistake. I mean no harm. Please, let me leave."
The apes around him showed no reaction.
Li He frowned slightly and tried again. "I came here to study at Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall. This place is called Yellow Mountain and is connected to the hall, so I assume you have some ties to it. Please, let me leave."
This time, the old ape's eyes flickered slightly, and the low growl in its throat paused for half a second.
"Chirp, chirp!"
The old ape called out a few times. The other apes made way, and then the old ape raised a hand in a remarkably humanlike gesture, inviting him to leave.
Li He breathed a sigh of relief, but he was also amazed by the old ape's intelligence. Could it be a mutated beast?
He didn't linger. He quickly left the courtyard and walked about a hundred meters away. After confirming the apes weren't following him, he took out his phone and messaged Lin Feng.
He had already told Lin Feng the night before that he planned to join Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall.
Lin Feng replied instantly: "I'm so sorry, Junior Brother Li! That's the old site of our martial arts hall. It's a wine cellar now. Those apes really are mutated beasts, responsible for guarding the place and making wine. I'm so glad you got out safely. I'll come get you right away!"
Less than five minutes later,
Lin Feng came running over, panting.
"Junior Brother Li, I'm really sorry. This is all my fault." Lin Feng apologized repeatedly. "This is the old site of Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall. It's never been corrected on the map. I was in a hurry yesterday and sent you to the wrong place."
Li He looked at him without replying.
Lin Feng didn't seem like the careless type. This was probably the martial arts hall's first test.
But Li He didn't dwell on it. A martial arts hall whose old site was protected for generations by such intelligent mutated beasts probably had more depth than it let on. Learning something was what mattered most.
"Let's go, Junior Brother Li. The other new students are already waiting," Lin Feng said.
They passed through a bamboo grove and soon reached the edge of the park.
A few ordinary-looking apartment buildings came into view.
A brand-new plaque hung above the entrance of one of them. Four bold, forceful characters were carved into it: Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall.
Li He first followed Lin Feng to the payment counter. Joining the martial arts hall required a membership fee, and the larger the hall, the more it cost.
Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall charged its membership fee monthly: one thousand yuan.
After several rounds of inflation and deflation, currency had stabilized in the current era. An ordinary family had about 120,000 yuan in disposable income a year.
Li He's parents both worked at an electric power company and earned a decent living. Their annual disposable income was around 150,000 yuan, so paying for Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall wasn't much of a burden.
Only after paying the fee did Lin Feng officially lead Li He into the hall.
Seven people were already waiting in the training area.
The first person to catch his eye was a slightly overweight man with fair skin and a full beard.
He leaned casually against a multifunctional training machine, playing with a tiny, elegantly made bottle of energy supplement.
When he saw Lin Feng and Li He enter, a warm, polished smile appeared on his face. He came over to greet them, his gaze sweeping quickly over Li He. "You must be Junior Brother Li He. Pleased to meet you. I'm Jin Yousheng. We'll be fellow disciples from now on!"
"Hello."
Li He shook his hand and looked over the other two.
One man stood alone by the window. His name was Sun Ao, and his posture was as straight as a pine tree. He folded his arms and gave Li He a quick once-over but didn't greet him, merely inclining his head in acknowledgment.
The other man had a resolute gaze and dark skin. As soon as he saw Li He, he greeted him warmly. "Hello, I'm Shi Lei. I hope we can learn from each other!"
As for the other four,
they were unremarkable background characters, with nothing noteworthy about them and average qi-and-blood fluctuations.
"Is everyone here?" a pleasant voice rang out.
The newcomer was a girl of seventeen or eighteen, her black hair tied in a ponytail that bounced behind her as she moved.
She came up to the group, quickly looking over the eight new disciples before finally turning to Li He. "You're Junior Brother Li He, right? Senior Brother Lin Feng couldn't stop talking about you when he got back yesterday. Fifth-grade aptitude, yet you've mastered three Ancient Martial Arts techniques. Impressive! I'm Yuan Lingling, your senior sister!"
Li He kept his expression blank, but felt a little displeased.
She had just introduced all his information to everyone.
It wasn't particularly sensitive, but in this situation, among fellow disciples whose backgrounds and temperaments were unknown, it was inappropriate.
He didn't know whether she was simply thoughtless and loose-tongued or had done it on purpose. Either way, Li He decided to keep his distance from her.
"Lingling, don't be ridiculous."
An old man walked over slowly. He wore a simple Daoist robe, and his hair was gray. He was lean and wiry.
He was Yuan Shan, the head of Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall.
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