"Another trip? How long will you be gone this time?"
At home, over dinner.
Hearing what Hu Long said, He Yanling asked reluctantly.
"Don't go. How about Mom takes you on an overseas vacation in a couple of days?"
At that coaxing tone, as if she were talking to a child,
even Hu Long couldn't help feeling a little speechless.
"Your son's grown up and has things of his own to do. Don't interfere too much,"
Hu Chengwen said from the side.
As for Hu Long's plan to go away for a while,
Hu Chengwen might have had some objections before and agreed with his wife.
But things were different now.
His son had entered that circle.
He had far more potential than taking over the family business.
Naturally, he had things of his own to do, and Hu Chengwen certainly couldn't hold him back.
"Do you have enough money? If not, tell me!"
Hu Chengwen patted Hu Long on the shoulder.
In just a few days, his son seemed to have grown even sturdier. He was even a head taller than Hu Chengwen now.
"Okay!"
Hu Long nodded.
Though this "father" hadn't been exactly cold toward him at first, he certainly hadn't shown much concern for someone suffering from a "mental illness."
After all, in Hu Chengwen's eyes, the original owner was probably already half a lost cause.
It wasn't that Hu Chengwen disliked the original owner. He had never treated him poorly.
Still, rather than a father, Hu Chengwen seemed more like a competent businessman.
He was rational and knew how to weigh the pros and cons.
Even when it came to his own son.
Based on the original owner's circumstances and what was known at the time, Hu Long was certain Hu Chengwen had noticed something unusual about Xue Wu long ago.
But he hadn't exposed him. Instead, he had used the family's background as a pretext to make a demand, keeping Xue Wu occupied.
It was essentially giving Xue Wu something to hope for, buying time and preventing him from taking extreme action.
Hu Long even had a darker suspicion.
From what he had observed, Hu Chengwen was intensely eager to gain supernatural power.
When he realized there was no way forward in Secret Martial Arts,
perhaps he had still hoped to obtain Old Arts from Xue Wu.
Otherwise, Hu Chengwen couldn't have remained inactive for so long.
Of course, this was only Hu Long's guess. There was no point in dwelling on it.
Ever since Hu Long had lifted the cauldron during the Ancestral Rite and become the "Hammer Holder,"
Hu Chengwen's attitude toward him had changed dramatically.
The scales of his attention had tipped back in Hu Long's favor. The shift was obvious.
"You can go, but take someone along to look after you. I'd feel better that way."
He Yanling said.
"No need. I'd feel less comfortable like that."
Hu Long refused outright.
Then,
he changed the subject and brought up something else.
"You don't need me to say anything about what happened to Xue Wu's family, do you?"
Ignoring Hu Zhao, who had paused briefly in the middle of eating,
Hu Long continued.
"I just saw the news. The killer who murdered Xue Wu's family has died."
"Xue Wu's family was involved with a cult. To be safe, I've already let the Main Family Compound know. You should move there for a while."
Of everyone in the family, He Yanling and Hu Zhao had treated him best.
Even Hu Chengwen, though he hadn't always acted like a good father, had never treated him badly.
Hu Long knew this was all because of the original owner, not because of him.
But what made people human was that they still had some kind of moral bottom line.
No matter how low that line might be, it still had to exist.
So he couldn't knowingly leave them in danger and stand by while they died.
He didn't mind offering whatever warnings and help he could.
The Main Family Compound, as the name suggested,
was where the families of the main clan members lived.
It was patrolled by armed guards, and Secret Martial Artists from the Hu Clan lived there too.
It was extremely secure.
The only downsides were that getting in and out wasn't very convenient, and it wasn't in Huanyang City.
Besides, they were used to living in such a large villa, where they could come and go freely, so they had never moved there.
"Your theory makes sense. We'll head over right away.
You'd better not go out either. Come with us."
After hearing Hu Long's suggestion, Hu Chengwen's expression grew serious.
He wasn't stupid. He immediately understood what Hu Long was implying and knew how uncanny the Old Arts could be.
"No need. I can protect myself."
Hu Long shook his head.
"...All right, then."
Hu Chengwen opened his mouth, but in the end swallowed his words of protest.
His observations over the past few days had shown him that Hu Long had grown a lot and wouldn't do anything he wasn't prepared for.
Then, after talking things over with Hu Zhao and He Yanling,
Hu Chengwen called the household staff together after dinner and gave them time off.
The five of them immediately set out for the Main Family Compound in neighboring Yangang City.
It wasn't far—just over a hundred kilometers—and they didn't bring anything extra.
The Main Family Compound had everything they needed. Anything it didn't have could be bought.
Qi Province.
This region lay in a basin and had no shortage of famous mountains and rivers.
As a result, its tourism industry was extremely developed.
Little Rock Sinkhole wasn't little at all. It was a massive pit.
It had once been a well-known tourist attraction.
But for various reasons, after several people died there, it was closed off and visitors were banned.
At that moment, the sun hung high in the sky, bright light spilling down.
On a rock beside Little Rock Sinkhole,
a figure appeared, carrying a black hiking backpack.
It was Hu Long, who had spent the whole day traveling to get here.
He had come to find Snake Bone and obtain Source Value.
As for the Tongbei Club,
now that he had mastered Mountain Standing Stake,
there was no requirement for him to go there.
So it didn't prevent him from traveling.
He stood at a high vantage point, gazing down below.
From the rim to the bottom, Little Rock Sinkhole was more than three hundred meters deep.
There was a lake below, along with a large stretch of trees and scattered rocks. From above, it looked like a small, self-contained ecosystem, all lush green.
Perhaps because it had rained here not long ago,
a faint rainbow could be seen arching across the middle of the sinkhole.
Just then,
his gaze sharpened as he looked toward a certain spot.
"Someone's actually down there?"
The weather was clear.
And after breaking through to the Body Casting Realm,
his physical constitution had been strengthened. The nearsightedness he had inherited from the original owner was gone, and his vision was excellent.
From where he stood, the angle allowed him to see several blurry figures beside the lake below, along with a gray tent and a thin trail of smoke rising into the air.
Because of the sinkhole's unique terrain, there were no stairs leading down, only steep cliffs. Ordinary people couldn't get down, and no railing had been put up nearby.
But that didn't mean there weren't outdoor adventurers who came to explore.
If they were lucky, they'd be fine. If not, they'd die.
That was true in his previous life as well as this one.
There had been plenty of news stories like that.
But there were always people who knew the risks were high and still insisted on courting disaster.
He didn't pay them much mind, as long as they stayed out of his way.
He withdrew his gaze and surveyed the surrounding area.
Not far away stood a rusted metal sign.
Its lettering was mottled and barely legible:
"Steep cliffs and deep ravines. Toxic miasma within. Do not approach."
Ignoring the warning, he took a coil of climbing rope from his backpack.
He looped one end several times around a tree as thick as a bucket, tied a secure double-loop knot, and tugged hard to make sure it was firm.
He fastened the other end to his safety harness, then adjusted the rope length and descender.
Turning to face the cliff, he slowly stepped backward until his body began to hang in the air.
At first, his balance was unsteady, and his body swayed slightly.
The cliff face was covered in slippery moss and ferns, and this was his first time descending this way, so his movements were bound to be awkward.
But it didn't cause him any trouble.
Thanks to his excellent coordination, Hu Long steadied himself in just a few seconds.
He braced his legs against the cliff, held his body at an angle to the rock face, controlled the rope with his right hand, and used his left to keep his balance. Then he began lowering himself at a steady pace.