Swearing Allegiance and Entering the Mountains

Early the next morning, Chen Yulou and Luo Laowai gathered everyone at the drill ground to swear an oath.

Lu Yan had only just risen and did not approach; he simply nodded at them as a greeting and stood in the distance, watching Chen Yulou's performance.

Chen Yulou was dressed in a long white gown, holding a folding fan, and wearing spectacles; he looked refined and elegant, much like a scholarly teacher.

Luo Laowai, however, remained in his military uniform with the collar unbuttoned, standing in a slouching, unrefined posture—the spitting image of a bandit.

Chen Yulou stood on the platform, looking down at the dense crowd of Xieling brothers below. Showing no sign of stage fright, he paced a few steps before turning to ask Luo Laowai, who was seated in a chair: "Commander Luo, would you like to say a few words first?"

Though Luo Laowai was not shy, he lacked any real education and dared not take the bait. He shook his head with a laugh: "Brother Head, you are the boss. You speak, we listen."

Chen Yulou nodded and turned back to face the brothers below.

"Very well, then I shall say a few words."

Chen Yulou snapped his folding fan shut, tucked it behind his back, and stood tall with his chest out: "Brothers, our Xieling sect rose from the Red Eyebrows. Since the days of our ancestors, it has been our practice to distribute the wealth of emperors to the impoverished."

"In this current age, the people's livelihood is withered and their suffering is beyond words. Most of us Xieling brothers come from humble beginnings; we ought to contribute our meager strength to these chaotic times."

"Now, there is a treasure land in Western Hunan, filled with gold and jade—all of it the blood and sweat of the common people. We can follow the example of the Red Eyebrows and uphold the teachings of our ancestors."

"Furthermore, by cooperating with Commander Luo, we shall seize the treasures of the mountain to provide relief to the suffering masses in this chaotic world."

The Xieling thieves below were all from poor backgrounds and lacked education; they could not resist Chen Yulou's silver-tongued eloquence. Their blood boiled, and they shouted in unison.

"Seize the treasure, save the masses!"

"Seize the treasure, save the masses!"

Seeing that the morale of the troops had been stirred, Chen Yulou smiled with satisfaction. He turned around and gave orders: "Red Maiden, Kunlun, Hua Maguai, I intend to take you three to scout the nearby Miao village first. The main force will follow behind and wait for orders."

"Agreed. Brother Head, I'll go with you."

Luo Laowai was addicted to grave robbing and eager to get rich, so he also intended to follow them into the mountains to scout the site.

"Fine. Brother Lu, come over and let's discuss the matter of entering the mountains."

Chen Yulou nodded and beckoned Lu Yan to join them in their secret planning.

After breakfast, Lu Yan, Chen Yulou, and the others disguised themselves as traveling merchants and peddlers.

The terrain of the Mengdong River basin in Western Hunan was complex, with rugged and difficult mountain paths. Since ancient times, it had been sparsely populated, with weak government control and rampant banditry.

Because of this, the local tribal villagers were highly xenophobic; if they did not pose as merchants, they feared it would lead to unnecessary trouble.

Old Bear Ridge, located by the Mengdong River, was a vast expanse of towering mountains and dense forests. Although Lu Yan and Chen Yulou's group were physically fit, the journey was far from smooth.

After stopping and starting several times, they finally reached South Village on the mountain ahead.

The village was nestled between strange peaks and lush valleys, the surrounding scenery as beautiful as a landscape painting.

Upon entering the village, they discovered a series of stilt houses arranged in rows. Beneath each house, a wooden carving of a mysterious bird was etched, revealing a hint of eeriness amidst the mystery.

The local folk were simple and honest, and Lu Yan's group successfully passed through under the guise of merchants and peddlers.

Since the mountain folk preferred to barter, they frequently approached Lu Yan and Chen Yulou to trade various mountain goods for salt, needles, and other small necessities.

Chen Yulou had planned thoroughly; the items he brought were exactly what the villagers needed. Moreover, since they weren't there to conduct business, they were very generous, quickly winning the favor of the villagers.

Chen Yulou took this opportunity to employ the "Questioning" method from the four arts of grave robbing—"Observing, Listening, Questioning, and Feeling"—to pry information from the locals. He effortlessly gathered several clues.

Near Old Bear Ridge was a strange peak called Bottle Mountain, shaped like a heavenly bottle fallen to earth, containing countless rare flowers and herbs.

Since the Qin and Han dynasties, emperors of various eras had liked to send alchemists to Bottle Mountain to refine pills of immortality. They built Taoist temples and shrines in the caves, filling them with rare treasures in hopes of obtaining medicine from immortals.

Over the millennia, the caves within Bottle Mountain had become filled with grand halls and pavilions, surpassing those of the mortal world.

Unfortunately, when the Yuan dynasty extinguished the Southern Song, the cave dwellers, unable to bear the tyranny, rose in rebellion. The Yuan soldiers and generals slaughtered the inhabitants of Old Bear Ridge, nearly wiping them out entirely.

However, due to the hot and humid environment and the prevalence of poisonous insects and beasts, the Yuan soldiers suffered heavy casualties, and even their commanding general died of illness in the mountains.

To suppress the cave dwellers and ensure they would never rebel again, the Yuan people turned Bottle Mountain into a tomb, burying their fallen soldiers there. They looted the mountain of its rare treasures to serve as burial goods and slaughtered the remaining cave dwellers to serve as sacrifices.

Hearing that the tomb was filled with countless treasures, Luo Laowai was already itching with greed. If not for Chen Yulou holding him back, he would have likely given himself away in front of the villagers.

By the time Chen Yulou had finished his inquiries, the sky had turned dark. However, because bandits and horse thieves had been so rampant in recent years, the village never allowed outsiders to stay the night, so Lu Yan and Chen Yulou's group had to leave in a hurry.

Along the way, Luo Laowai was still cursing, feeling he had never seen such stubborn peasants who gave him no face. If not for Chen Yulou stopping him, he would have already drawn his gun.

"Commander Luo, why bother getting angry with a group of mountain folk? I heard there is a Justice Manor ahead used for holding coffins; we shall make do there for the night."

"Tomorrow morning, we will head deep into the mountains to examine the layout of Bottle Mountain and see if that ancient tomb is worth raiding."

Chen Yulou walked in front, finding the grumbling Luo Laowai somewhat amusing, and offered his consolation.

Among the group, Lu Yan had long grown accustomed to the dead in the Wizard World and the Naruto World, so he had no taboos. Chen Yulou and the others were frequent grave robbers, all bold and daring, and they cared little about spending the night in a Justice Manor.

The group made their decision and walked until it was completely dark before finally finding the Justice Manor.

The manor appeared to have been converted from a mountain god temple. It was quite large, but having gone unmaintained for a long time, it was dilapidated, with the front hall half-collapsed.

Under the cold moon and sparse stars, swarms of bats circled in the air. When the mountain wind blew against the paint-peeled temple doors, they creaked and groaned.

In the desolate mountains and wild temple, with no one around at midnight, even the bold Chen Yulou and his men felt their hearts pounding. Chen Yulou even walked up to Lu Yan and whispered, "Brother Lu, if there are any mountain spirits or ghosts later, I will have to rely on you."

On the other side, Luo Laowai also leaned in, lowering his voice: "I find this ghostly place chilling. Brother Lu, if any ghosts appear, my life will be in your hands."

Lu Yan looked at the two of them and smiled, comforting them: "Rest assured, both of you. I have already checked; there is no ghostly or demonic aura here. It is perfectly clean."

With that, Lu Yan pushed open the gates of the Justice Manor and walked inside.