"Cannot go, cannot go, that place cannot be gone to."
In a village at the foot of a mountain in Xizang, China.
An elderly woman blocked the way of everyone and said, "This mountain is cursed. Legend has it that a demon is sealed within. You absolutely cannot go up it."
In a room, upon hearing that someone intended to ascend the mountain, the eldest and most experienced elderly woman in the village rushed to the place where the group led by Kasa Sahara was staying. She faced Kasa Sahara and explained the dangers and curses of the mountain.
However, Kasa Sahara was not afraid. "Don't worry, old woman. We are fully prepared this time. Even if there are demons on the mountain, we won't be afraid. Isn't that right, A Qiang?"
As Kasa Sahara said, because the entire mountain was covered by righteousness, and Bai Qi's magic mostly consisted of dark energy, it couldn't provide any magical assistance. All it could do was have the Umbrella Corporation provide as much help as possible in terms of equipment and personnel.
Now, Kasa Sahara had both manpower and equipment. The mountaineering team they had assembled was undoubtedly top-tier. Apart from Kasa Sahara, almost all the team members were mercenaries hired at great expense by the company. They not only possessed extensive experience in mountaineering and mountain combat but were also people who only cared about money and not people. As long as the money was right, anything could be arranged. Their equipment was also the most advanced in the world.
As for the A Qiang mentioned by Kasa Sahara, he was a guide hired from the village. He usually hunted wild game on the mountain and was very familiar with the mountain's conditions.
Of course, as a member of the village, A Qiang knew about the curse. However, the compensation offered was too generous. It was said that just completing this job would make buying a house, a car, and getting married no longer a dream.
For this reason, A Qiang was willing to take the risk.
"Don't worry, Granny. I'm very familiar with the paths on this mountain. It'll be fine."
"But the old saying goes..."
Facing the elderly woman's earnest persuasion, before she could finish, A Qiang sent her away with a few words.
After seeing the elderly woman off, A Qiang, who had returned, said apologetically to Kasa Sahara and the others, "I'm truly sorry. She's just a bit superstitious about some things."
Kasa Sahara waved his hand dismissively, "It's alright, it's alright. She's old, I understand."
"By the way, can we set off tomorrow?"
After acquiring the ability of the Origami Master Thief, Kasa Sahara had lived a life of luxury. It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, and difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Having grown accustomed to a life of privilege, he could no longer tolerate living in such a dilapidated house with no air conditioning and drafts everywhere.
Now, all he wanted was to complete the task assigned by Sheng Zhu as quickly as possible and return to his comfortable home.
Upon hearing Kasa Sahara's words, A Qiang said with some difficulty, "Boss, I'm afraid we can't go up the mountain tomorrow."
"Cannot go? Why?"
A Qiang continued, "Not only tomorrow, but probably not the day after either. We can only go up after three days when the snow has mostly melted."
It could only be said that Kasa Sahara and his group were extremely unlucky. Not long ago, there was a heavy snowfall on the mountain, which blocked the mountain pass. Only recently had some of the snow begun to melt. If they wanted to ascend the mountain, they would have to wait three days until the snow had mostly melted.
"Is it really impossible? I can pay more."
A Qiang shook his head. "This is not about money. It's too dangerous to go up the mountain now."
A Qiang really wanted to earn this money, but not to the point of risking his life for it. If these people insisted on going up the mountain tomorrow, A Qiang would have to say goodbye to the money he had been dreaming of.
Kasa Sahara wanted to insist but was advised against it by the mercenaries beside him.
As mercenaries, they were well aware of the dangers of attempting to climb the mountain at this time. Frankly, it was no different from seeking death.
"Alright, alright. Three days it is, then."
The general will of the people could not be defied. Reluctantly, Kasa Sahara agreed to wait an additional three days.
The scene shifted to an international airport. Xiao Yu and Uncle Long walked out of the airport gates. Seeing the familiar streets, Uncle Long couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Indeed, it was most comfortable to be in his own country, where he didn't have to worry about language barriers, racial discrimination, or criminals with guns appearing at any moment.
"Uncle Long, hurry up!"
Seeing that Chen Long hadn't kept up, Xiao Yu turned her head and urged him.
"Easy for you to say. Dad, what's in this bag of yours? It's so heavy."
Chen Long was dragging two suitcases, one in each hand, with a large backpack on his back, and Xiao Yu's cartoon backpack hanging from his chest. Every bag was packed to the brim, making it no wonder that every step Chen Long took was arduous.
Chen Long's appearance attracted the attention of many travelers around them, who speculated that this family might be fleeing a famine.
Uncle Long walked up to Chen Long and smacked him on the forehead.
"Ouch, Dad, what was that for?"
"The bag is filled with important magical ingredients. Do you want me to fight the Sacred Master's subordinates with my bare hands?"
Chen Long took out a large bag of dried cranberries from his backpack and asked, "Are these also magical ingredients?"
Uncle Long glanced at it and said, "No, these are some specialty products I'm bringing for someone. I'm going to visit some old friends when I get back."
The reason for the Chen Long family's presence here was not coincidental. Two days ago, Black had coincidentally received news of Kasa Sahara's whereabouts and happened to discover that Kasa Sahara might be connected to demons. To ensure everything was safe, Black immediately informed the Chen Long family and booked the earliest flight to send them back to China.
In order not to alert Kasa Sahara's group, the Chen Long family intended to act secretly and enter the country as ordinary travelers. Unfortunately, Uncle Long insisted on bringing a large pile of strange and miscellaneous items, which was inevitably stopped by the security personnel. In the end, it was only after Black negotiated with them for a long time that they were grudgingly allowed to proceed.
However, this incident instantly ruined their plan for a secret operation.
Before the plan began, Bai Qi had anticipated that righteousness might attract the protagonists to cause trouble. He had made preparations in advance, deploying a large number of ninjas outside the protective shield at the airport. Every action of the Chen Long family was fully observed by Bai Qi.
Knowing that the protagonists had arrived, Bai Qi immediately contacted Kasa Sahara in Xizang, urging them to act quickly and be ready to engage with the protagonists at any time.
Meanwhile, Bai Qi, who had been drifting at sea for over two weeks, was also preparing to come ashore at the repeated urging of the dark energy.
Bai Qi could clearly feel the anger of his dark energy "mother." If he delayed any longer, he feared he would truly be spanked.
Moreover, with the protagonists on the other side of the Earth, it was a perfect opportunity to land and stir up some trouble.