141: Chapter 141 [Item Obtained: West Mountain Jade Token]

The three of them found a van. The driver was a local, about fifty years old, surnamed Yang. His skin was dark, and his fingernails were embedded with dirt that couldn't be washed off.

When he heard they wanted to go to Fuxi Village, he shook his head and said that the place didn't have a paved road, so he could only take them to the foot of the mountain, and they would have to walk the rest of the way.

The car drove for two hours, and the road got progressively worse.

The asphalt road turned into a concrete road, the concrete road turned into a gravel road, and the gravel road turned into a dirt road.

It was bumpy, and the van shook as if they were on a boat.

Zhou Rui's face turned pale from the jolting. One hand gripped the handle, while the other covered his mouth, holding back the urge to vomit.

Yun Xi was steady, leaning against the window and closing her eyes to rest, as if she were in her own bed.

Chen Zhen sat in the passenger seat, looking at the mountains outside the window.

The mountains grew higher, the trees grew denser, and the road grew narrower.

Master Yang pointed to a fork in the road ahead and said that going down from there would lead to Fuxi Village.

The three of them got out of the car.

Master Yang turned around and left, agreeing to come pick them up tomorrow afternoon.

Chen Zhen stood at the intersection and looked down. A dirt road wound its way toward the valley, flanked by large bamboo forests. When the wind blew, the bamboo leaves rustled like rain.

The three of them walked along the dirt road.

After about twenty minutes, a village appeared ahead.

The village wasn't big, with only a few dozen households scattered throughout the valley.

The houses were all old-fashioned wooden structures with black tiles and white walls, covered in moss.

At the entrance of the village stood a large ginkgo tree with a trunk so thick it would take several people to embrace it.

An old man sat under the tree, wearing a blue Zhongshan suit and Liberation shoes, holding a dry tobacco pipe in his hand.

Seeing the three of them approaching, he squinted and sized them up for a moment.

"Who are you looking for?"

Chen Zhen walked over and squatted down. "Old man, is there a mountain called Fu Mountain around here?"

The old man took a puff of his pipe and slowly exhaled. "What do you want with Fu Mountain?"

"Looking for something."

The old man stared at him for a few seconds.

"You can't go to that place."

"Why?"

The old man tapped his pipe against the sole of his shoe.

"That mountain is evil. Some people who go in never come out, and those who do come out are crazy. Even us locals don't go there."

Zhou Rui whispered from behind: "Master, could it be…"

Chen Zhen raised his hand to signal him to be quiet.

"Old man, we aren't going climbing. We'll just take a look at the foot of the mountain."

The old man looked at him for a while, then sighed.

"You young people, you won't listen to reason. Fu Mountain is behind the village. Follow that small path, cross two ridges, and you'll be there. Don't go too deep inside, and make sure you're out before dark."

After saying this, he stood up, picked up his small stool, and slowly walked back into his house.

The three of them followed the path the old man had pointed out.

The road was worn out by the villagers; it was very narrow, with waist-high weeds growing on both sides.

After walking for more than an hour and crossing two ridges, a mountain appeared in front of them.

The mountain wasn't high, but it was steep.

The mountain was covered in dense vegetation, making it almost impossible to see any rock.

But with Anomaly Perception, Chen Zhen could feel a faint energy fluctuation.

It came from deep within the mountain, very faint and very stable.

He quickened his pace.

Arriving at the foot of the mountain, the three of them circled it but didn't find any man-made traces.

No stone tablets, no inscriptions, no cave entrances, nothing.

Zhou Rui panted. "Master, did we find the wrong place?"

Chen Zhen didn't speak.

He squatted down, reached out, pressed his hand against the ground, and probed with his spiritual power.

There was something underground, very deep, about five or six meters down.

It was an irregular shape, about the size of a stone tablet.

It was directly beneath this mountain.

Not inside the mountain, but underground.

He stood up. "It's under the mountain."

Yun Xi frowned. "Buried that deep?"

"Maybe a landslide buried it."

Chen Zhen looked around. "Look for an entrance."

The three of them split up to search.

Zhou Rui discovered a depression on the north side of the mountain, looking like a dried-up creek bed filled with gravel and fallen leaves.

He squatted down and brushed away the leaves, revealing several large stones underneath. There were gaps between the stones, and he could see that it was hollow inside.

"Master! Here!"

Chen Zhen walked over, squatted down, and reached his hand into the gap.

The air was cool, blowing out from within.

There was a breeze, which meant there was space below.

He stood up. "Dig."

The three of them started moving stones.

After moving stones for more than half an hour, they cleared an entrance just big enough to squeeze into.

The entrance was small, only wide enough for one person to pass through sideways.

Chen Zhen turned on his flashlight and crawled in first.

The tunnel was very narrow and low. He bent his waist, turned sideways, and inched his way in bit by bit.

The tunnel walls were damp and covered in moss. The air was cold and humid, carrying the scent of rotting leaves.

After crawling for about ten meters, the tunnel suddenly widened.

He straightened his back, and the flashlight beam illuminated a space.

It wasn't big, about four or five square meters, like a secret chamber.

In the center of the chamber stood a stone tablet.

It was the same as the ones in East Mountain and North Mountain, but smaller.

The surface of the stone tablet was covered in runes.

A core circle with three dots, radial curves, nested geometry, and an outer dot matrix—seventy-two dots.

Just like East Mountain, clockwise.

Not counter-clockwise.

Chen Zhen walked closer, squatted down, and shone his flashlight on the runes.

The lines were clear, the carvings were deep, and they hadn't weathered because they were buried underground.

He took out paper and a pencil and began to make a rubbing.

Zhou Rui and Yun Xi also crawled in through the entrance.

Zhou Rui squatted beside him, staring at the runes.

Yun Xi stood behind, shining the flashlight.

After finishing the rubbing, Chen Zhen put the paper away.

He placed his hand on the stone tablet and probed with his spiritual power.

There was something inside the stone tablet.

Like North Mountain, it was a stone box.

But the position was different; the North Mountain one was at the bottom, this one was on the back.

He went around to the back of the stone tablet and felt around with his hand.

At the base of the stone tablet, there was a groove with a stone box embedded in it. He pried it out and opened it.

Inside was a jade plaque.

It was exactly the same as the one from North Mountain.

Milky white, palm-sized, smooth surface, no runes.

But holding it in his hand, the energy fluctuation was twice as strong as the North Mountain one.

[ Item Obtained: West Mountain jade plaque ]

[ Effect: Resonates with East Mountain and North Mountain jade plaques, can activate hidden functions ]

[ Usage: Unknown ]

Chen Zhen put the jade plaque into his Storage Space.

He stood up and looked around the secret chamber.

There were also runes on the cave walls, different from those on the stone tablet; they were simpler, like some kind of markings.

He shone his flashlight around and noted down several positions.

Zhou Rui was also looking. "Master, these runes on the cave walls are different from the ones on the stone tablet."

"They're signposts. Marking the direction."

"To where?"

Chen Zhen shook his head. "I don't know. But there's definitely somewhere to go."

He turned and walked toward the cave entrance. "Let's get out first. It's getting dark."

The three of them crawled out of the entrance. It was already dark; night falls quickly in the mountains, and as soon as the sun sets, the light vanishes instantly.

Chen Zhen stood at the entrance and looked back once.

The cave was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything.

But with Anomaly Perception, that energy fluctuation was still there, and it was a bit stronger than before.

The stone tablet had been disturbed.

What was it waiting for?

Chen Zhen turned and walked down the mountain.