Chapter 11 Cloud Hidden Village

I looked at Zhuan Shanbao with a smile that wasn't quite a smile when someone outside the door called out in a loud voice, "Southern School Tantian Gate requests an audience with Masters Li and Ye."

"Northern School..."

In less than a minute, five or six sects announced themselves outside the door, all inviting me and Ye Yang to a banquet.

Zhuan Shanbao, sitting across from me, said without changing his expression, "Since so many people are inviting Master Li, I won't insist any further, lest I offend my fellow martial artists."

I laughed and said, "I appreciate the goodwill of my fellow martial artists, but I'm having a pleasant conversation with Zhuan Shanbao, so I won't be leaving just yet."

This time, it was Zhuan Shanbao's turn to be stunned.

I rather liked Zhuan Shanbao's style. If he had really killed that subordinate to curry favor with Ye Yang, I wouldn't have even bothered talking to him.

Martial artists value profit, that's true, but someone who readily sacrifices his subordinates for personal gain is someone I can't cooperate with!

I looked at Zhuan Shanbao and smiled, "I'm already sitting here, shouldn't the master offer me a drink?"

Zhuan Shanbao was stunned for a few seconds before laughing heartily, "Come, bring the wine! I must have a good drink with Master Li today."

Zhuan Shanbao didn't bring out anything fancy.

The wine was gaoliang liquor, the dishes were "butcher's stew" (sha zhu cai), and raw radishes, cucumbers, and green onions—the typical fare for Northeasterners to drink with.

Martial artists don't need lavish banquets to drink. As long as they see eye to eye and have compatible personalities, a bag of peanuts is enough to keep them drinking until dawn.

Conversely, if they don't get along, they might flip the table and start fighting before even finishing a cup of wine.

Zhuan Shanbao finished a bowl of wine, showed me the bottom of the bowl, and wiped the remaining wine from his mouth before saying, "Master Li, are you here for the things on the mountain as well?"

I shook my head, "I don't know what's on the mountain. I'm just here to join in the fun with my brother. If we weren't interested in the things on the mountain, we might leave tomorrow morning."

Zhuan Shanbao looked at Ye Yang before nodding, "I see!"

The reason I gave Zhuan Shanbao sounded like a perfunctory excuse, but it was actually the most believable.

Martial artists love to join in the fun. Some people, upon hearing about an exciting event, especially one related to their profession, would travel thousands of miles to see what's happening.

Because these events might bring opportunities and expand their network. If they don't have anything important on hand, why not join in the fun?

Zhuan Shanbao looked at me for a long time before nodding, "Master Li, I'll be honest with you. My family has been squatting in this Yunyin Village, guarding the mountain, for over a hundred years, since my grandfather's generation. The longer I squat, the more I feel like there's nothing in this Yunlin Mountain!"

I immediately became interested, "What do you mean?"

Zhuan Shanbao waved his hand, "Go get the map!"

Zhuan Shanbao scolded when his subordinate didn't move, "Look at how stingy you are. That map can be bought at the entrance of the village. We just added a few strokes, right? What's there to be reluctant about? Go quickly."

Zhuan Shanbao spread the map on the table and said, "Look!"

"This Yunlin Mountain is known as: Nine mountains, eighteen villages, one thousand eight hundred graves."

"Starting from this place, going into the mountain and pushing forward, the mountain peaks don't need to be mentioned. There are plenty of mountains in the Northeast. You can find not just nine mountains, but ninety."

"The main thing is these eighteen villages!" Zhuan Shanbao pointed to the circles drawn in red pen, "These places are strongholds built by masters of the arcane arts. We've always suspected that there were masters of the arcane arts who were advancing into the mountain on a large scale. They would set up camp after traveling a certain distance, and then continue to advance."

Ye Yang interrupted, "Have you been to those villages? Are they camps or civilian houses?"

"I've only been to a few of them!" Zhuan Shanbao pointed at the map, "These few villages are all civilian houses, and the architectural style doesn't seem to be from the Northeast."

Zhuan Shanbao drew another circle with his hand, "There are graves near all the villages, big and small, of all kinds. Some of the graves are quite elaborate."

Ye Yang shook his head, "Then those aren't camps of arcane practitioners. People must have lived in these places. Have you brought anything out of the camps?"

Zhuan Shanbao mocked himself, "I've only been to the third village at the farthest. In the first three villages, even the window frames have been taken away by those bastards. I didn't even smell a fart when I went there."

"I can't even get into the villages further back, how would I have the ability to bring things down from the mountain?"

Zhuan Shanbao suddenly changed the topic, "However, those people on Kongdao have brought down a lot of things from the mountain. And the further into the mountain the village is, the more bizarre the things they bring down! It's easy to cause deaths!"

I asked curiously, "Have you seen the things they brought down?"

Zhuan Shanbao pointed outside, "The things on the stalls outside are some of the things brought down from the mountain. Those are just small items. The real big items are hidden in the hands of those people, and no one wants to let them go. They're waiting for big customers to come and see the goods."

"I haven't seen those things with my own eyes, but I've heard about them."

"A few years ago, someone sold a golden hand bone. It was said that the arm was taken from a pure gold skeleton. They didn't catch the whole golden skeleton."

I turned to look at Ye Yang, and the latter said, "What's the most bizarre thing you've heard of?"