Chapter 382 - 372: Hidden Dragon, Riding the Wind (Part 2)

Chapter 382: Chapter 372: Hidden Dragon, Riding the Wind (Part 2)

.....

The path grew steep after they entered the mountains. Moss covered the stone cliff to one side, and the ground was damp underfoot.

Their guide, He San, was full of enthusiastic service. His mouth hadn’t stopped moving since they set out, regaling Fu Juemin with endless tales about the scenery and local lore.

It was probably because Hong Huan had paid him so generously.

He San had initially worried that a Young Master like Fu Juemin wouldn’t be able to keep up, so he had deliberately set a slow pace.

But gradually, he discovered that both Fu Juemin and Hong Huan traversed the mountain path as if it were level ground. Their steps were swift, their stamina seemingly endless. In fact, he was the one, the guide, who was starting to fall behind.

Eventually, He San fell silent. He had to focus all his energy just to barely stay at the front of the group and fulfill his duty as their guide.

It was impossible to say how much ground the three had covered in just two hours. They walked until they reached a wide crossing, where they saw a group of sturdy laborers, CLANGING and CLANKING as they hammered at stones, seemingly building a new path.

Fu Juemin stopped and couldn’t help but ask, "Who’s paying to build a road out here in the mountains?"

He San, drenched in sweat, quickly took the chance to rest his feet. He panted heavily as he replied, "Westerners."

"Westerners?"

"Yes."

He San pointed up past the road-building laborers and explained, "Some Westerners took a fancy to a spot on the mountainside and want to build a summer retreat there.

The road up there is already finished, and they’ve built quite a few Western-style houses. Young Master, do you want to go up and have a look?"

Fu Juemin was a little tempted, but after a moment’s thought, he shook his head.

"Let’s find the place first."

The treasure map detailing the Nine Spirits Filth Loading Technique stated that the entrance to the Qianming Emperor’s Armory was located behind Lu Mountain’s Hidden Dragon Waterfall, but it didn’t specify the exact location.

Lu Mountain was immense; they still had a lot of searching to do.

Though he wanted to reach the Armory before the Nine Banners, Fu Juemin was in no particular hurry.

The deeper they ventured into the forest, the quieter it became. The only sound was the ever-present roar of waterfalls, and the air that greeted them was a mix of pine scent and mist.

Fu Juemin saw no shortage of waterfalls along the way. The large ones were majestic in their grandeur, the small ones exquisite in their delicacy. He took his time appreciating the splendor of the natural world.

They spent half the day roaming the Five Elders Peaks, nearly working their guide, He San, to death in the process.

By afternoon, with the sun low in the sky, they were on a rugged mountain path. He San, half a dry biscuit dangling from his lips, steadied himself against the cliff face as he walked and chewed. He pointed ahead and managed to gasp, "Young Master, up ahead... that should be the Hidden Dragon Waterfall you’re looking for...

It’s just that there’s a cliff separating that spot from the waterfall. You can’t get around it, and there’s no plank bridge.

If you want to get behind the waterfall, you’ll have to find another way."

As a guide, He San had originally hoped his clients would want to wander the mountains for as long as possible. Every extra day they stayed meant another day’s pay for him.

The client wanted a specific waterfall, and he would have loved to take them to every single one, saving the correct one for last.

But now, He San had to rack his brains, desperately trying to recall the peculiar waterfall his client had described—one that "tumbles down between two peaks, leaving a gap in its center"—so he could end this job as quickly as possible.

Otherwise, he was genuinely afraid he’d be worked to death in these mountains today.

’The two men he was guiding this time... the imposing, guard-like middle-aged man was one thing. He must have practiced martial arts, so his strong constitution made sense.

But the other one, the young man who looked like a nobleman, seemed to know no fatigue. They had been walking for the better part of a day, yet he hadn’t broken a sweat. His fine clothes weren’t even wrinkled or stained with a speck of dust. The man was a marvel!’

"If that’s really it,"

Fu Juemin, walking calmly behind He San with his hands behind his back, said casually, "I’ll triple your pay."

"Young Master, are you serious?!"

Hearing this, He San’s spirits were instantly lifted. His depleted energy seemed to return all at once, and he hurriedly quickened his pace.

Just as the three of them were meandering towards the waterfall He San had mentioned, suddenly—

BANG!— ℴℴ𝘮

A sudden gunshot startled a large flock of birds into flight nearby.

The half-eaten dry biscuit fell from He San’s mouth. He froze on the spot, his face a mask of terror.

He instinctively glanced back at Fu Juemin and Hong Huan.

But he found that neither of them had broken stride. It was as if they hadn’t heard the gunshot at all as they quickly walked past him.

"Hunting! Someone must be hunting! That’s it..."

He San muttered to himself, trying to calm his own nerves. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to follow.

.....

In a dense patch of forest facing a cliff, the ground was strewn with the bodies of porters and maids.

A dozen or so menacing men holding steel blades had surrounded three young women in Western-style dresses. One of the men was slowly digging a brass bullet out of his own shoulder.

TING—

The crisp sound of the bullet hitting a rock was unnervingly clear in the quiet forest.

"Eldest Miss."

The man who had dug out the bullet looked at the three girls huddled together. Facing Ren Xiuxiu in the center, he revealed a cold, grim smile. "You know... this thing is useless against me."

Ren Xiuxiu’s face was ashen. Her hands, clutching a pistol, wouldn’t stop shaking.

’She never would have imagined that a guard from her own family’s Nursing Home would collude with Horse Bandits to kidnap her for ransom while she was out with her friends.’

"Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!!"

Suddenly, the skinny girl next to Ren Xiuxiu shrieked.

"My dad has money! He has more money than the Ren Family! He’ll pay your ransom!"

"Your dad has money? My ass!"

Before the skinny girl could finish, one of the guards—who had been embedded in the Ren Family for months—cut her off with a spit. "Your dad racked up a mountain of gambling debt. He had you get close to the Ren Family’s eldest miss and befriend her, right? Wasn’t that also just to cheat the Ren Family out of their money?"