An Ill-Fated Departure

The mountain torrent had swept down with mud, washing away what little trace there had been of the mountain path.

It was impassable.

Lin Feng, Hundred-Household Officer Zhu, and their guide had just clambered across one washed-out stretch when they found the road ahead severed. Looking farther ahead, they saw that this was not the only break.

At the sight, even Hundred-Household Officer Zhu showed a trace of anxiety.

"What time is it?"

Lin Feng looked up at the sky. The sun was directly overhead, so it was probably noon.

The guide said it was a quarter to one. Map in hand, he was frantic.

They had walked for two hours, only to find the road cut off.

Who wouldn't be anxious?

Standing in the muddy channel gouged out by the flood, Lin Feng caught an ominous scent on the wind from the other side. It left him deeply uneasy.

His status was warning him.

Something extraordinarily dangerous seemed to be waiting for them up ahead.

[Mountain God’s Power]

Along with what he had just learned: Shaman Priest, Wind Spirit.

The word "spirit" might have sounded like an import from Western fantasy novels.

In fact, ancient texts also contained many references to spirits.

"Master Taoist, the shortest route is cut off..."

The guide's voice trembled, and despair filled his face.

They had walked for over two hours, only to find the road cut off.

If they turned back now, they would have to spend the night in the mountains.

Spending the night in the mountains was as good as asking to die.

The mood among the three immediately grew heavy.

Lin Feng looked ahead. This route was impassable. The torrent had completely destroyed the path before him. Never mind scrambling up and down the slopes—the rocks constantly tumbling down nearby would be trouble enough. Remembering what the mountain path had looked like on their way up, Lin Feng knew the rain had been torrential.

They could not take the mountain path.

Not to mention that ominous presence.

They needed another way.

"What about a different route?"

Lin Feng asked.

The guide pointed to a nearby path. "There's this one, but we can't take it."

Lin Feng looked over. A putrid wind blew from that path.

He did not know whether he was imagining it, but Lin Feng felt that the leaves surrounding this mountain trail—barely wide enough for one person—were darker than those farther away.

Dark green, almost black.

Looking deeper in, he could see a sinister aura clinging even to the path itself.

Ninth-rank Qi Gathering, the ability to observe qi.

Deep among the trees, black shadows were watching them in broad daylight.

It was a quarter to one, when the sunlight was at its fiercest!

There really was something sinister about this path!

The guide stared at it, seemingly afraid.

After struggling for a long time, he repeated himself, trembling so badly that even his lips shook.

"We can't take that path!"

He could not get his words out clearly. Hundred-Household Officer Zhu silently closed his hand around his saber's hilt, intending to give the guide a hard blow with the sheathed weapon and knock some sense into him.

Seeing the Taoist master's gaze turn hostile and Hundred-Household Officer Zhu's hand reach down, the guide jolted. "This is a corpse drivers' route! This path isn't meant for the living. If we go up there, we won't come back. It's no different from walking to our deaths! If some lord of the underworld casually snatches us away, we'll have nowhere to plead our case or air our grievances.

"There's a Ghost Yamen in there!"

The guide held a profound fear and reverence for this path used by Corpse Drivers!

"Corpse Drivers can take it, but we can't?"

Lin Feng asked again. The guide was on the verge of tears.

"Master Taoist, that's not how it works."

In his panic, everything came spilling out.

As it turned out, the professions of this world were divided into a strict hierarchy.

Corpse driving was one of the shady trades. Among the various classes and professions, yamen runners, night watchmen, charlatans, dog catchers, porters, stage performers, ceremonial musicians, circus performers, and prostitutes belonged to the lowest nine professions. They sat at the bottom of the social hierarchy and were called base people.

Yet shady trades like corpse driving ranked even below those lowest nine. They were the lowliest of lowly occupations. No decent person would do such work.

But what outsiders thought was their own business. The guide worked in a shady trade himself, and he knew very well that anyone who made a living in these professions and survived for years had genuine skills.

He had heard a few stories about corpse drivers, and they terrified him.

Among the shady trades, the Corpse Driver was considered one of the foremost professions.

Western Hunan had many mountain paths and much miasma. When someone died an untimely death, they still needed to return to their roots. That was what the Corpse Driver did.

"Besides, gentlemen, the recent downpours have killed so many people that this path has probably become a Yin Road. Never mind nighttime—even if the sunlight weakens just a little, you won't be able to tell humans from ghosts here. One careless moment, and something is sure to hook your soul away."

The guide slapped his thighs in agitation, almost wishing he could stab himself to demonstrate how urgent the situation was.

Lin Feng gestured for him to stop talking.

"We're taking this path."

He had not forgotten the second-stage Blood God behind them. No one knew when it might catch up.

"Do as Lord Lin says."

Hundred-Household Officer Zhu drew his Wild Goose Feather Saber and delivered a terse command.

"Walk, or die."

There was no choice. Between grave danger and immediate death, the guide chose grave danger. With a mournful expression, he led Lin Feng onto the narrow path.

The moment they entered, Lin Feng sensed something wrong. The whispering around them was like the experience of a schizophrenic episode: everywhere, there was a face speaking to you.

The surrounding canopy was dense. As soon as the three entered, everything seemed to darken before their eyes.

It was not a visual darkness, a matter of light and shadow, but the darkness of an oppressive curtain.

As they walked along the path, a glance from the corner of the eye seemed to reveal something hiding behind the trees, watching them furtively.

But when they turned to look directly, there was nothing there.

Lin Feng had not forgotten his [Wild Fox Zen]. If there really was something here that should not be here, it would surely love to cozy up to him.

Fortunately, Lin Feng still had a layer of [Embroidered Uniform Guard] protecting him.

Lin Feng kept getting a vague impression.

To put it in a way that spoiled the atmosphere—

He felt that he and Hundred-Household Officer Zhu were like Super Saiyans from the manga Dragon Ball, surrounded by a ring of dragon-tiger qi that protected them completely.

Those lurking dregs did not dare approach Lin Feng at all.

The wind blew over and wound around him, lingering at his side.

The wind gave Lin Feng no warning of danger.

The mountain path was steep, and they all had to watch their footing. If they slipped and rolled down the mountain, they would be in trouble.

The group continued in silence until they finally reached a slightly gentler stretch of path, wide enough for three people. Lin Feng was neither sweating nor out of breath—a world of difference from when he had first started. But just as he was about to ask a question, the guide pitched forward, hit the ground, and stopped breathing.

Somewhat awkwardly, Lin Feng withdrew his finger.

What, was this game designed so guides could only die on the road?

Were they trying to create another meme like the witcher with no knees?

It happened in act one, and now again in act three?

Was this supposed to be fun?

Before he could get in another complaint, Hundred-Household Officer Zhu swayed twice behind him, then fell to the ground with a thud and went silent!

Lin Feng turned to look. Hundred-Household Officer Zhu showed no signs of life either.

Of the three of them, only one remained alive in the blink of an eye. He did not even know how the other two had died!

They had not so much as seen an enemy on this path, and two of them were already down.

It was just as the guide had said.

This path was sinister!