Chapter 1 Approaching the Gulch Ridge of Tong County

They chatted and laughed along the way, the few of them accompanied by a donkey and a horse, which wasn't so boring. Watching the sun set and the stars rise, they had been traveling for seven or eight days to reach the Twilight Boundary blood food mine in Tong County, Gunzhou.

Earlier, Hu Ma had traveled a long distance to Anzhou, which took a month, but he hadn't expected that going to this blood food mine would take seven or eight days due to the rugged roads, wading through mountains and rivers, and traversing ridges.

By this time, they had already penetrated deep into Gunzhou territory, surrounded by nameless wild mountains. The mountain forests were deep, and strange rocks could be seen everywhere.

No wonder Steward Xu was able to overcome all opposition and assign this good job of the blood food mine to a newcomer like himself, who had only been a shopkeeper for two years.

Just looking at this place, one could tell that it was not easy to deal with, so the other shopkeepers might not have been so keen to snatch it. He had just gone along with the flow.

But Hu Ma didn't mind. It was better to be far away. Anyway, all that mattered here was having enough blood food.

"Finally arrived…"

Taking out the map and identifying the surrounding terrain, Old Abacus massaged his old waist: "According to the map, once we pass this mountain ridge, we should reach the mine. Everyone, be vigilant. We're going to grab food, and they might not be so polite!"

Zhou Datong said in a domineering tone, "What? Do they dare to attack?"

"Most of those guarding the blood food mine have families and businesses, so they don't dare to go too far, after all, if they run away, they're afraid our association will reason with their families, right?"

Old Abacus said: "But the greatest hatred in the world is taking away someone's livelihood. We're here to take away their livelihood, so don't expect them to speak kindly. Even if they don't dare to kill people openly, there will definitely be no shortage of petty tricks."

"In short, it would be best if we could take over this blood food mine smoothly. There are plenty of opportunities to make a fortune; we don't need to rush."

"..."

"Got it!"

Hu Ma heard that Old Abacus was deliberately reminding them, so he smiled and said, "If they speak nicely, we naturally won't be rude."

"But if it really comes to a showdown, then blood will inevitably be shed."

"..."

These words were already quite blunt. Old Abacus was afraid that they were young and impulsive and would argue with the other party. Hu Ma needed to remind Zhou Datong and the others not to really think that they were just here for an outing.

They could avoid a complete falling out, but the preparation for that falling out had to be made in advance.

Continuing forward, they went deeper into the mountains. Looking into the distance, there were layers upon layers of peaks and valleys. They only knew that they were in the mountains, but didn't know where. They could only follow the barely discernible mountain road on the map and inch forward.

This blood food mine had to transport blood food out every year, so there were roads, but the forest here seemed abnormally lush, with weeds growing all over the roadside. The road underfoot was almost non-existent, giving off an eerie feeling of a deep forest.

Gradually, they didn't even know if they were still on the original mountain road. They just kept waving their knives to chop down the vines blocking the way, to prevent them from tripping the donkey's hooves or the wheels.

This journey was naturally arduous, and coupled with the knowledge that the blood food mine was near, there was less laughter and conversation, and the atmosphere was slightly dull.

Logically speaking, they should arrive after crossing a mountain ridge, but they had been walking quickly in this forest since noon until dusk. Everywhere they looked was still towering ancient trees, and the mountain road under their feet was completely invisible.

"Could it be…"

Hu Ma couldn't help frowning and glanced at Old Abacus, seeing that he was also holding up the map, looking at it back and forth.

Just as he was hesitating, he suddenly heard a "woof" sound from the roadside.

It was so sudden that everyone was startled. They quickly looked to the side and saw a big yellow dog. It was hiding behind a tree, sticking out half of its head, its eyes dark red, watching everyone with a sinister gaze. After barking this once, it quietly retreated into the forest.

Everyone stopped together, feeling a chilling atmosphere. Looking at the direction where the yellow dog disappeared, they felt a strange feeling in their hearts for a moment.

"This…"

After a long while, Zhou Datong awkwardly laughed, taking the lead: "Whose dog is this? It gave people a fright…"

"Where did the dog come from in this wilderness?"

Zhou Liang next to him opened his mouth in a muffled voice: "I think we should be careful."

Zhou Datong retorted without hesitation: "It's just a wild dog. What's so strange about a dog running out in the wilderness?"

Zhou Liang said, "Where there are people, it's called a dog. A wild dog in the mountains is called a wolf."

Zhou Datong was immediately choked. He looked at Hu Ma and Old Abacus, but saw that neither of them said anything, just silently moving forward. The atmosphere, which was still full of laughter and chatter when they first entered the mountain, seemed even more silent.

Earlier, it seemed that they could reach the place after crossing a mountain ridge, but now it felt like they had been walking for several hours. The surroundings were still the same deep forest and giant trees, with faint mist drifting out from the forest. The twilight was even deeper, and there was only the monotonous sound of wheels rolling over the vines on the ground.

The group of teenagers from the Da Yang village had grown up in the forest, but now they also felt a nameless sense of depression in their hearts. They always subconsciously looked into the depths of the forest, but couldn't see anything.

"Brother Datong, don't be scared, stop looking into the forest…"

Zhao Zhu, who was following beside the donkey cart, couldn't help but remind him: "Second Master used to say that when walking in the old forest, you can't look around randomly. If you suddenly see something in the forest waving at you, you'll be hooked away."

"Who's scared?"

Zhou Datong stubbornly said, "I'm just scouting the way for us…"

As he spoke, he moved closer to the donkey cart. His voice wasn't very confident, but Old Abacus on the donkey also raised his head, chuckled softly, and said, "Being careful is the right thing to do. We're going to the blood food mine."

"Where there are meat mountains, there are many evil things. This is well-known. Maybe this forest is also evil!"

"..."

When he said this, Zhou Datong immediately shuddered. If he had a tail, he would definitely have tucked it between his legs at this moment. He just walked closer and closer to Hu Ma.

Now that they saw the twilight getting heavier and heavier, they were anxious to reach the blood food mine as soon as possible to drink a bowl of hot soup. Their footsteps made rustling sounds in the dry grass.

But just as this sound seemed to be swallowed up by the forest, they suddenly heard a fierce sound from the roadside:

"Woof!"

"..."

This sound wasn't very loud, but the surroundings were too quiet, which scared everyone so much that their hair stood on end.

For a moment, their souls seemed to fly out of their bodies.

For a good one or two breaths, everyone stood on the spot without speaking. Then they came back to their senses slightly and turned their heads to look, only to see a dog.

It was slowly retreating into the forest, its eyes still staring at them eerily.

This time everyone saw clearly that the dog had yellow fur and a white spot between its eyebrows. It was actually the same one that had just barked at them.

For a moment, a strange feeling arose in their hearts. For no reason, they felt uneasy, and the swirling mountain wind around them became much colder.

Hu Ma gave Old Abacus on the cart a look, but the other party just shook his head slightly.

So Hu Ma didn't move. Zhou Datong next to him couldn't help but grit his teeth, grabbed his knife, and rushed over, slashing at the vines where the dog had just appeared, but it was empty. Where was there any sign of a dog?

It was as if the dog's barking they had just heard was just an illusion.

"It's run far away, let's keep going!"

Seeing that everyone was uneasy, Hu Ma reminded them in a low voice, then turned and slapped the donkey's backside, signaling it to continue moving forward.

Whether it was Zhou Datong, Zhou Liang, Zhao Zhu, the donkey pulling the cart, or the horse slowly following beside the cart, they all continued to walk, but invisibly, a shadow seemed to have cast over their hearts.

What exactly was that strange dog? It came twice to bark at them, and there was nothing else, but it just startled people and made them uneasy.

Moreover, it was the same one twice in a row. Could it be that it had been following them all along?

At the thought of this, they couldn't help but want to look back, but the branches and twigs behind them had sealed off their path, and they couldn't see anything clearly. The more they looked, the more they felt an ominous atmosphere in their hearts.

Moving forward again, they were all on their guard. There was no sound of talking, and their eyes were on the rugged road and vines under their feet, but their minds were focused on paying attention to their surroundings.

Unexpectedly, just after passing through a large tangled mass of thorns, everyone suddenly stopped at the same time.

Hu Ma saw it first and stopped. Immediately, Zhou Datong and the others also noticed it, curiously raising their heads and staring blankly.

As they looked, their eyes lit up.

It was now close to dusk, and the forest seemed to have reached nighttime, but now they had reached an open space, and there was still a faint golden light falling from the sky, illuminating the surrounding towering trees.

On one of the large trees in front of them, a girl wearing a blue dress and a head full of silver ornaments was climbing.

Her skin was somewhat eerily white in the forest twilight. She looked about ten years old and was very beautiful. She had a bamboo basket on her back and looked like a medicine gatherer.

At this moment, she was barefoot, and her sleeves and trouser legs were rolled up to her elbows. Her tender hands and feet were hugging the tree trunk, her posture was somewhat comical, and she was sticking her head out, looking down the tree.

Both sides saw each other and were somewhat curious, with several pairs of eyes staring at a pair of large eyes.

"Isn't this little girl dressed like a Xia person? Is she a Wu person?"

Hu Ma didn't expect to meet such a little girl. He looked her up and down curiously and suddenly felt a slight shock in his heart, reminding her: "Be careful."

After refining his seven apertures, his eyesight was extraordinary. He had already seen that above the girl's head, hidden between the branches and leaves, there was actually a strange snake with green scales, slowly sticking out its triangular head. The snake's body was rubbing against the tree trunk, slowly turning.

It looked like it was only inches away from the girl's head.

(End of Chapter)