A Spirit Ape in the Mountains

The next morning.

Li He followed his phone's navigation, walking along a desolate path paved with bluestone slabs, heading deep into the park.

This was Huangshan Park, built upon the Huangshan mountains, which had once seen bustling crowds and lively times.

Later, with urban expansion and industrial development, the trees withered, the streams grew murky, and the place gradually became desolate and lonely, nearly forgotten by all.

It wasn't until the arrival of the Abyss era, when martial arts halls moved in and the Federation vigorously promoted ecological restoration, investing heavily in pollution control and reintroducing water and forests, that the ecology finally began to recover.

Li He passed through a dense bamboo forest, and a quaint little courtyard came into view.

The courtyard walls were covered in moss and had collapsed in many places; the two heavy wooden doors stood wide open, their panels rotting and colors faded.

A crooked plaque hung from the lintel, its characters blurred, though the words Huangshan could vaguely be made out.

Is this the Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall?

A gentle breeze blew, and a strange aroma of wine drifted into his nose—the scent was crisp and clear, carrying the fragrance of flowers and fruits, mellow and lingering upon closer inspection.

Li He double-checked his navigation; this was indeed the place.

Suppressing the doubts in his heart, he stepped over the weeds, entered the courtyard, and followed the scent of wine to a side room that remained relatively intact.

The door was ajar, showing no signs of human habitation.

Li He pushed the wooden door open, and the scene before him left him stunned.

Inside the room, seven or eight sturdy White Ape were gathered around a stone table in the corner, drinking wine!

The largest White Ape among them took a wide leaf, scooped up the liquor from an earthenware jar, and distributed it to its companions.

The troop of apes sipped the liquid, emitting satisfied grunts.

Li He's intrusion shattered the tranquility. "Squeak!" A sharp ape cry rang out, and the White Ape turned their heads in unison.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak--!"

Sharp ape cries echoed one after another, sounding from all directions—from inside the room to outside!

He saw dozens of White Ape appearing silently on the courtyard walls, on the roof, and even among the branches of the surrounding ancient trees.

They crouched or stood, climbed or hung, their cold eyes flickering with a ghostly light in the morning sun.

These White Ape were clearly well-trained and likely connected to the Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall. Rushing into a conflict would not only be disadvantageous, but if it turned out to be a misunderstanding, it would be embarrassing for everyone.

Since this group of apes could brew wine, their intelligence shouldn't be low; perhaps he could try to communicate?

"I am Li He, a traveler who has wandered here by mistake. I bear no ill will, so I ask that you be accommodating and let me leave."

The surrounding apes showed no reaction.

Li He frowned slightly and spoke again: "My purpose here is to seek enrollment at the Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall. Since this place is named Huangshan and is related to the hall, you must have ties to it. I ask that you please be accommodating."

This time, the old ape's eyes flickered slightly, and the low growl in its throat paused for half a second.

"Chi-chi, chi-chi!"

The old ape called out a few times, and the apes cleared a path. Then, with a very human-like gesture, the old ape raised its hand in a "please" motion.

Li He breathed a sigh of relief, while also feeling surprised by the old ape's sentience. Could this old ape be a beast from the Abyss?

He did not linger, quickly leaving the courtyard. After walking about a hundred meters away and confirming the apes were not following, Li He took out his phone and sent a message to Lin Feng.

He had already messaged Lin Feng the night before, saying he was prepared to join the Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall.

The other party replied instantly: "Apologies, apologies! Junior Brother Li, that is our hall's old site, which has now been turned into a wine cellar. Those apes are indeed beasts from the Abyss, responsible for guarding and brewing. It's great that you got out safely; I'll come pick you up right away!"

Less than five minutes later.

Lin Feng came running over, panting.

"Junior Brother Li, I am truly sorry, it's my fault, my fault." Lin Feng apologized repeatedly, "This is the old site of our Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall; the map hasn't been updated. I was in a rush yesterday and sent the wrong one."

Li He looked at him without responding.

Lin Feng didn't seem like the type to be so careless; this was likely the first test of the martial arts hall.

But he didn't dwell on it too much. A martial arts hall with an old site guarded for generations by such sentient beasts likely had a foundation far deeper than it appeared on the surface. Being able to learn was what mattered most.

"Let's go, Junior Brother Li, the other new students are already waiting." Lin Feng greeted him.

Passing through a bamboo forest, they soon arrived at the edge of the park.

Several ordinary-looking residential buildings appeared before them.

On one of the buildings, a brand-new plaque hung above the entrance, engraved with four vigorous characters—Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall.

Li He first followed Lin Feng to the payment office. One had to pay a membership fee to enter the hall, and the larger the hall, the higher the cost.

The membership fee for the Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall was paid monthly, requiring one thousand credits.

In the current era, after several rounds of inflation and deflation, the value of currency had stabilized. For an average family, the annual disposable income was around one hundred and twenty thousand.

Li He's parents both worked at the power company and had decent incomes, with an annual disposable income of about one hundred and fifty thousand, so covering the costs of the Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall was not a burden.

After paying the fee, Lin Feng officially brought Li He into the hall.

Seven people were already waiting in the hall.

The first to catch the eye was a slightly chubby man with a fair complexion and a full beard.

He leaned leisurely against a multi-functional training machine, toying with an exquisite small vial of energy supplement in his hand.

Seeing Lin Feng and Li He enter, he immediately put on a gentle and appropriate smile, taking the initiative to walk over, his gaze sweeping quickly over Li He: "This must be Junior Brother Li He, right? A pleasure to meet you, my name is Jin Yousheng, we'll be fellow disciples from now on!"

"Hello."

Li He shook his hand and swept his gaze over the other two.

One person stood alone by the window; this man was named Sun Ao, and his posture was as upright as a pine tree. He stood with his arms crossed, quickly sizing up Li He without initiating a greeting, merely giving a slight nod as a gesture of acknowledgment.

The other person had a determined look in his eyes and dark skin; upon seeing Li He, he immediately greeted him enthusiastically: "Hello, my name is Shi Lei, please take care of me in the future!"

As for the other four people.

They were all unremarkable background characters, with mediocre fluctuations of life force.

"Is everyone here?" A pleasant voice rang out.

The newcomer was a girl of seventeen or eighteen, her long, jet-black hair tied into a ponytail that bounced behind her with her movements.

She came before the group, her gaze sweeping quickly over the eight new disciples before finally landing on Li He: "You must be Junior Brother Li He, right? Senior Brother Lin Feng didn't stop talking about you when he came back yesterday. Fifth-grade bone structure but with three Ancient Martial Arts at minor completion, impressive, truly impressive! My name is Yuan Lingling, and I am your Senior Sister!"

Li He remained expressionless, feeling slightly displeased inside.

This girl had laid out all his information the moment she arrived.

Although he wasn't particularly sensitive, in this current setting, facing fellow disciples of unknown backgrounds and temperaments, it was somewhat inappropriate.

He didn't know if she was simple-minded and outspoken, or if she had done it on purpose, but either way, it made Li He decide to keep his distance from her in the future.

"Lingling, stop fooling around."

An old man walked over slowly; he wore a traditional Daoist robe, had graying hair, and a lean build.

He was the master of the Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall, Yuan Shan.