After waiting for another month or so, Qing Ya finally wrote back to inform them that no one knew exactly where the three-legged crows usually appeared. After inquiring with several sellers of three-legged crows, the results showed that the places where they were found were basically scattered everywhere. There was no specific place where they generally appeared.
However, there was one place where someone had seen a three-legged crow more than once. It was unknown whether this could be considered a place where they generally appeared.
The letter was passed around among the group.
Nan Zhu frowned and muttered, “Tianji Mountain, could it really be in that wretched place?”
Qing Ya’s letter stated that the three-legged crow had reportedly appeared a few times at Tianji Mountain, sparking some hunts and causing quite a stir. This was no secret in the Tianji Mountain area, but it seemed no one had ever managed to catch one there.
Furthermore, according to Gao Lao Er’s inquiries with the seller, the dead bird they had just purchased was coincidentally caught in the Tianji Mountain area.
This indirectly corroborated Qing Ya’s information.
Yu Qing also wondered, “So, the probability of a three-legged crow appearing at Tianji Mountain is relatively high.”
Wu Hei, who had read the letter last, looked up and said, “I heard the Tianji Mountain area is a bit chaotic.”
Gao Lao Er nodded, “The Seventh is right. It is a wretched place and indeed quite chaotic.”
Speaking of Tianji Mountain, the group clearly had reservations, and their desire to search for it personally was evidently shaken.
Tianji Mountain, true to its name, was said to have been created by the Immortal Realm. It was reportedly a place where immortals dumped their waste, forming a massive accumulation over countless years.
What was trash to the immortals was a treasure mountain to the people of the lower realm. In the early era after the immortals disappeared, that place was once occupied by powerful figures leading large armies, naturally with the aim of rummaging through it for treasures.
After several generations and hundreds of years of searching, if not all the treasures were exhausted, the value of further searching was greatly diminished. Moreover, the place was never habitable. The waste dumped by immortals was not all valuable. Some of it was lethal. Consequently, the later yields were no longer sufficient to sustain the occupation by large forces. In short, the losses outweighed the gains.
Thus, the occupying forces withdrew from Tianji Mountain.
The result was predictable. A place where the losses outweighed the gains for the powerful remained a treasure trove for other miscellaneous individuals.
As one force declined, another rose. Once the powerful left, other miscellaneous individuals immediately swarmed in to scavenge the trash, and news of someone striking it rich there would occasionally surface.
For a disorganised group of people making a fortune in such a lawless zone, the living environment was predictable. Bandits ran rampant, and arson, murder, and plunder were perfectly normal.
In short, it was simply too chaotic. Going to Tianji Mountain to look for a three-legged crow was indeed a bit reckless.
Unexpectedly, Gao Lao Er suddenly volunteered, “I will go to Tianji Mountain!”
Several pairs of eyes immediately locked onto him.
He added, “Seventh, Ninth, are you interested in coming with me?”
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie were initially stunned. Their gazes quickly turned peculiar. Without going so far as to say they looked at him like a fool, their doubt about his capabilities was obvious.
They knew perfectly well how dangerous their previous adventures had been. It was truly like playing with their lives. If they went out with this fellow, the Second, they truly had no confidence in returning alive. They really did not know where the Second got such immense confidence, especially since they had certainly warned him about the dangers involved.
Seeing their reluctance, Gao Lao Er’s expression darkened slightly. He turned his gaze to Wu Hei and Chong Er. “Da Hei, Sixteenth, how about we go together?”
Wu Hei shook his head and refused directly, “I will not go.”
He had made it clear from the moment he arrived that he would not take such risks. Unlike these fellows who were all alone, he had a family, and his son was not yet grown up.
Chong Er, however, nodded with a hint of excitement.
Unexpectedly, seeing that she was the only one nodding, Gao Lao Er ignored her on the spot, stood up, and left without a word.
In the end, someone still did the reckless thing.
After dawdling for a few days, the still troubled Nan Zhu, Mu Aotie, and Yu Qing set off anyway. They wanted to solve their own problems and did not want to implicate others. The reason they gave for refusing Gao Lao Er’s company was that he was the manager here and too many people knew him.
Chong Er also really wanted to come along, but Yu Qing refused her quite roughly, giving her a sharp flick on the forehead and kicking her away.
After leaving Youjiao Port, on the way to the horse farm, Nan Zhu beckoned and led his two junior brothers to another location.
After crossing a few mountains, they saw a person in a black cloak guarding four horses in a mountain hollow.
Seeing the long box strapped to the person’s back, Yu Qing and Mu Aotie immediately guessed who it was.
Sure enough, when the face under the cloak lifted, it was exactly Baili Xin.
The expressions of Yu Qing and Mu Aotie immediately darkened. They had not informed Baili Xin when they set off, nor did they want her to know. When they left, they heard she had gone out shopping and thought it was perfectly convenient. Who would have known she was actually waiting for them here.
Both of them stared sharply at Nan Zhu. Yu Qing, who had stopped, even grabbed Nan Zhu to halt him, asking, “Fatty Nan, what is the meaning of this? Do not even think about saying you do not know what is going on.”
Nan Zhu glanced at Baili Xin, who was looking over from the hollow, and felt a bit awkward. He explained in a low voice, “It is true that I told her, but it is not what you think. I originally just wanted to say goodbye to her. Since we are going on a long trip and will definitely not be back for a while, it would not be appropriate for me to leave without saying goodbye, given our relationship.”
Yu Qing immediately asked, “What relationship do you have with her? Has she acknowledged any relationship with you? If I go over and call her sister-in-law and she actually answers, we will have no objections.”
“Sigh,” Nan Zhu sighed. “Good things take time. Some things must be taken slowly, and things will naturally fall into place when the time is right. Besides, has it not already been verified? If there were really any problem, she would have sold us out long ago.”
Yu Qing said with slight annoyance, “Is letting her stay at Taohua Ju not enough?”
Nan Zhu felt guilty and knew he was in the wrong, so he quickly reassured him, “Fifteenth, do you really think I am the kind of person who would betray my brothers for a woman?”
Yu Qing turned his head and asked, “Ninth, what do you say?”
Mu Aotie replied, “The facts are right in front of us.”
Nan Zhu glared and said, “What are you rushing for? Listen to me. I did not want her to come either, but she said she could help us. Tianji Mountain is very chaotic, a place with almost no rules. However, there is a type of person who is an exception there. They are protected by the rules of the cultivation world wherever they go in the world. At the very least, no one dares to openly attack them. Mountain Porters!”
Yu Qing and Mu Aotie exchanged a glance, then looked back at him together, waiting for him to continue.
Nan Zhu offered an apologetic smile and continued muttering, “She said she could find a way to get us a few Mountain Porter identities. Think about it. There are quite a few Mountain Porters mingling in Tianji Mountain. Sneaking into Tianji Mountain with the identity of a Mountain Porter would be much safer, would it not? Ask yourselves, if there were not such a benefit, how could I possibly agree to her?”
The two junior brothers remained silent for a while. Yu Qing asked, “Why did you not discuss this with us beforehand?”
Nan Zhu gave a dry laugh and scratched his face, falling silent. The reason was self-evident. If he had discussed it with them, they definitely would not have agreed.
Things had come to this point. Even their destination was exposed, so it was too late to say anything more. They had no choice but to leap down and land in the mountain hollow.
Facing Baili Xin, Yu Qing asked directly, “Can you get us the identities of Mountain Porters?”
Baili Xin replied, “Whether it is the military of the Yin State or the Jin State, I have fellow disciples in both. This kind of thing is difficult for us, but for some of them, they dare to do things that violate the rules. Therefore, I believe it should not be a big problem. I have already sent a letter seeking help to a fellow disciple I am close to. We can go to Kuilei City in Tianji Mountain and wait first. Once there is a result, someone will contact me. If it really does not work, then there is nothing I can do.”
Yu Qing stared at her, “If you have this kind of ability, why are you still hanging around us?”
Baili Xin said, “I cannot really accept those words. I thought we were already friends. If you feel we are not friends, please state it directly, and I will leave immediately.”
Such straightforward words actually left Yu Qing speechless.
He did want to drive her away directly, but the problem was that such a person could not be simply let go. She knew too much. Once released, silencing her would be the only option.
The key was that this kind of person was not easy to kill. If there was no problem, why kill her? If there was a problem, it was too late to kill her now, and no one knew what the consequences of killing her would be.
Nan Zhu wanted to say something, but Mu Aotie, standing nearby, reached out, patted his shoulder, and squeezed it hard to stop him.
Just as Yu Qing was in a dilemma, Baili Xin spoke up to give him a way out. “I know what you are worried about. I can swear that I will not harm you, nor will I betray you. As things stand, I only want to be your friend, or become one of you. I have absolutely no malicious intent.”
So Yu Qing walked to the side, grabbed a rein, mounted his horse, and asked Nan Zhu, “Who is paying for her travel expenses?”
In front of Baili Xin, Nan Zhu had no choice. He quickly patted his chest and said, “I will pay!”
Yu Qing immediately spurred his horse and rode off.
Mu Aotie swung onto his horse to follow, and then Nan Zhu and Baili Xin followed suit.
A few days later, Yu Qing and the others rode several large flying beasts, soaring high above the vast ocean.
Crossing the blue-green sea, they entered a vast landmass, with desolate oases retreating below them.
As the scenery ahead grew increasingly desolate, a vast sea of sand came into view.
The ochre desert was swept by dry, scorching winds. As the blazing sun gradually turned into the setting sun, rolling hills appeared on the endless desert horizon.
When they flew over the hills, the ground below had already fallen into dusk, making it impossible to see the situation clearly. However, the highest peak ahead was still bathed in the glow of the setting sun.
To call them mountains was a stretch. They were actually a disorderly pile of stones. The key point was that the stones here were enormous. Even the smallest one was like a small hill. Each block was cut with sharp edges, either cubic or rectangular, piled up without any rules.
This pile of giant stones was Kuilei City of Tianji Mountain.