For Jin Huahai himself, he only needed to disguise himself and keep a low profile, not caring whether anyone would recognise him. The former lord had made it very clear: the purpose of this trip was to attract the attention of relevant forces.
The new bride had arrived, the auspicious hour had come, drums and music filled the sky, and the wedding banquet began.
Jin Huahai and the others delivering the dowry belonged to the servant class. They were not entitled to sit in the main banquet hall.
A group of servants had no right to share a table with a crowd of honoured guests. After setting down the dowry in the side hall, they went down the steps and were led to the mountainside to drink wedding wine.
As soon as they left, several people immediately emerged in the side hall to quickly inspect the chests. The chief steward personally led the search, but nothing suspicious was found.
After the wedding, as the newlyweds prepared to toast, Hong Teng found a moment to meet the chief steward in a corner.
“Your Majesty, all the dowry chests have been searched. Nothing was found.”
“Then it must be the people delivering the dowry who need to be watched closely. At the same time, vigilance in the mountains must be increased. If anyone sneaks in, they must be detected in time.”
“Yes, there will be no mistake.”
Among the group of demon cultivators entertaining guests on the mountainside, one person seized an opportunity to approach Jin Huahai. He appeared to be warmly hosting them, but beneath his smiling face, he was saying something entirely different: “The entire Jianyuan Mountain is relaxed on the outside but tense on the inside, with eyes and ears placed everywhere. Hong Teng has sent a group of people to the ancient tomb.”
This was one of several informants mobilised by the Sinan Office before taking action. To carry out such a major operation, they could not simply barge in blindly without having any grasp of the situation. The fact that they had managed to dig out a cave on Jianyuan Mountain’s territory capable of hiding so many people spoke for itself.
Jin Huahai was slightly startled upon hearing this. According to Meng Po’s assessment, it was expected that the demon realm had noticed unusual movements from the Sinan Office, so the relaxed exterior and tense interior was understandable. But what did it mean to send people to the ancient tomb first? Had their plan already been seen through?
He felt it was unlikely. Among this group delivering the dowry, currently only he knew the next step of the plan, and he had not yet secretly notified the others. He immediately pressed, “What are they going to the ancient tomb for?”
The demon cultivator, smiling broadly and waving greetings to guests all around, replied, “I don’t know what they’re going to do. My knowledge is limited. Hong Teng hasn’t announced it to any unrelated people either. It was truly difficult to find out.”
Jin Huahai fell silent for a moment, then hummed, “Understood.”
Today, the atmosphere of great joy was destined to linger through the night.
The wedding banquet, however, did not last all night, though it did continue until midnight.
The group delivering the dowry left in batches. Some returned to their assigned rooms after leaving the table, while others used admiring the moon as an excuse to wander around. Jin Huahai, for instance, slipped into the forest when he reached an unpopulated area. Whether he would be discovered was a secondary concern.
They left the banquet in batches and disappeared in batches. Half returned to their rooms to rest, while the other half slipped into the forest to rush to the target location.
At the periphery of the ancient tomb, Jin Huahai and the others who arrived first waited for nearly half an hour before nearly a hundred people gathered.
Jin Huahai gave a hand signal, and the crowd jumped out from their hiding places one after another. They flew to the cave entrance only to discover that the blockage had already been dug open. They did not know whether it was the work of the people Hong Teng had sent. He could only lead the people inside first.
Those hiding in the dark to observe saw over a hundred people enter just like that, and immediately went to report the news…
After the Sinan Office team rushed through the ancient tomb for a while, Jin Huahai suddenly raised his hand to halt them. He sensed something was wrong.
The reason he had been entrusted with this task was because he had entered this ancient tomb back in the day. He could not remember the entire situation inside the tomb, but he still had some impression of the general layout near the entrance.
What was going on with having walked two or three li without reaching a corner?
Had he remembered wrong? He waved again, and the group rushed forward once more.
As the distance of their exploration grew further and further, Jin Huahai became increasingly certain that something evil was afoot. The entrance passage of the ancient tomb could not possibly be this long.
He realised that major trouble might be brewing and grew anxious.
In the original plan, he was merely bait to attract attention. After leading the people inside, he was supposed to immediately find a place to hide. Once the relevant forces were lured in and clashed with the evil spirits in the ancient tomb, he was to lead his people in retreating and leaving.
They were not to return to their lodgings on Jianyuan Mountain, but to run away immediately before anyone could figure out what was happening. There were people outside capable of confusing their tracks to receive them. As long as they ran out of Jianyuan Mountain, it could be proven that they had merely happened to pass by and had not entered the forbidden grounds of Jianyuan Mountain.
As long as they were not caught on the spot, the Sinan Office could stubbornly deny having trespassed into the forbidden grounds of Jianyuan Mountain.
After borrowing the strength of the relevant forces to clear the ancient tomb, those forces would assume that the Sinan Office had already obtained something and left. Once the matter at the ancient tomb was settled and all attention was thrown into confusion, it would be time for Meng Po’s batch of hidden personnel to make their entrance, secretly received by inside collaborators, so they could calmly enter the ancient tomb to conduct their survey.
For this scheme, the Sinan Office had invested tremendous effort in planning during the preparatory phase.
Now they had run into something evil. If they were caught red-handed inside the ancient tomb, the plan would be ruined, and all the preparations outside would be unable to proceed. How could Jin Huahai not be anxious…
Green smoke curled upwards. Yu Qing held a stick of incense in his hand, standing beside a pile of collapsed rubble.
The three brothers had passed through this passage and discovered a collapsed area on the side.
There were quite a few similar collapsed areas inside the underground palace. They had likely been caused by combat or something of the sort.
What was slightly different was that Yu Qing paused for a moment.
Through observing the smoke in his hand, Yu Qing sensed a weak disturbance in the airflow. The airflow came from the gaps between the rubble.
Behind this pile of rubble, there was very likely another exit.
In other words, this was no ordinary collapse. It had likely been deliberately caused by someone who was intentionally concealing something.
“Why stop? Are you not verifying the map?”
A woman’s voice suddenly rang out behind the three of them.
The three turned around to see the woman in white had appeared out of nowhere again.
Yu Qing: “Of course we will continue. Let’s go!” He called to his two brothers to continue forward.
Based on experience, with the entrance to the ancient tomb sealed, the fact that airflow could still circulate meant there was more than just the exit before them. He did not mind continuing to delay, taking the opportunity to find a third exit.
Furthermore, he felt that the collapsed area at this exit seemed rather long. With just the three of them, it was not very likely they could clear an opening to escape after being discovered and before interference arrived. It was better to find another exit to have an extra possibility.
However, the woman in white called out to them, “Another batch of people has entered.”
The three stopped and turned around. Yu Qing asked, “What people?”
The woman in white: “I don’t know. They didn’t announce themselves. They are not demon cultivators.”
Yu Qing: “How many?”
The woman in white: “About a hundred.”
Yu Qing understood immediately. If the Blue Sea Shipping Line had not sent additional personnel into the mountain, then it should be people from the Sinan Office.
Seeing her staring straight into his eyes, he could not help but ask, “What is it?”
The woman in white said in a deep voice, “The underground palace is only so big. More and more people are coming in. If you don’t put in some effort to gradually resolve this, once this underground palace can no longer contain them, I cannot guarantee that I won’t find another partner… and tell others the secret of ‘Xiaoyun Jian’.”
She was openly threatening.
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie exchanged a glance. Yu Qing took a deep breath and turned to ask Mu Aotie, “Old Nine, has there been any discrepancy in the map route along the way?”
Mu Aotie: “No problems have been found so far.”
Yu Qing estimated there probably would not be any problems either. Otherwise, she would not have let him verify for so long. Added to the fact that no problems had been found up to now, he immediately said to the woman in white, “I am a frank and open person. I have said that as long as your promise is reliable, we will certainly keep our word as well.” He turned back to ask, “Isn’t that right?”
Nan Zhu responded, “Yes!”
Mu Aotie nodded.
The woman in white waved her hand to indicate, “Then let’s begin.”
Yu Qing: “Lead the way.”
The woman in white: “The personnel are in four locations. The demon cultivators with you have split into three groups, each moving about in one area. The hundred or so people who just entered are still wandering in the passage near the entrance. Which should we deal with first?”
Yu Qing: “Let the larger group in first.”
The woman in white: “Not deal with the smaller groups first, but the larger group?”
Yu Qing: “Why should we do it ourselves? After going over, have a batch of ghost foetuses transform into our appearances and Liu Piaopiao’s appearance. Once they make a move, we can mix in among them and launch a sneak attack. Won’t it be easy to handle the two groups the next time they meet? Wouldn’t it be better to induce them to kill each other?”
The woman in white’s eyes flickered. She nodded slightly and immediately led the way in front.
Yu Qing took the map from Mu Aotie’s hand, looked at it, memorised their current position, and then put the map away…
The neatly stacked passage finally broke off, and the descending steps from his memory finally appeared.
Before walking down the steps, Jin Huahai turned back to gaze at the path they had come from. There was worry in his eyes. He turned back again and led the group quickly down the steps, relying on his memory to find a place to hide.
When they reached a fork in the road, they discovered three people standing by the intersection. One was tall, one was fat, and one was thin.
These three were none other than Yu Qing and his two brothers. All three smiled and waved in greeting.
The crowd was first on guard, then looked at each other in astonishment because of the three people’s reaction, thinking, who are these three, acquaintances?
Jin Huahai recognised Yu Qing. Back when Yu Qing had returned after falling into the ancient burial wasteland, he had specifically summoned him to understand the situation.
Why had this fellow also appeared here? Was there a ghost foetus transformation here? That seemed unnecessary. Why would a ghost foetus transform into this fellow?
He ignored them, also hoping that his makeup was effective and that Yu Qing would not recognise him.
He truly did not want to be recognised. If he really was recognised, what was he to do? Kill him to silence him?
Killing him to silence him was certainly not wrong, but the problem was that this fellow was the fiance of the Earth Mother’s disciple. Although there had been a falling out between the young couple, it was not for outsiders to interfere. It would be inappropriate for an outsider to kill him. Who knew what the Earth Mother’s disciple would think when the time came? Some things were best not touched.
The group remained on guard against the three people and followed Jin Huahai into the other intersection.
Not long after the group disappeared, the surfaces of the three brothers’ bodies squirmed, revealing their original ghost foetus forms, and they flew away…
Elsewhere, the woman in white who was leading the way nodded slightly. She suddenly turned back to the three and said, “I won’t accompany you. Follow the guidance on the ground.” With that, she resumed her ghost foetus form and rushed away.
The three brothers had no choice but to follow the root guidance on the ground. Yu Qing seemed quite enthusiastic, actively suggesting they go faster.