172: Discovering the cave

Night came early to Iron Rock City. The wind and sand had subsided slightly, but a chill seeped up from the ground, permeating the streets and alleys through the gaps in the stone slabs.

Chen Linsheng returned to the "Old Soldier's Inn." The one-armed shopkeeper was wiping an iron waist token by the light of an oil lamp. Seeing him enter, he lifted his eyelids slightly. "Young man, did you hear the commotion?"

"What commotion?" Chen Linsheng stopped in front of the counter.

"A lot of new faces have appeared in the city." The shopkeeper slowly wiped the rust off the waist token with a cloth. "Thirty percent more than this time in previous years. They're all heading for that 'thing' to the north."

Chen Linsheng's gaze fell on the waist token—a dark iron plate with edges worn smooth. On the front was a relief of a powerful eagle spreading its wings, and on the back, the words "Northern Guard Army · Scout Battalion" were faintly visible. This one-armed old man likely hadn't been an ordinary soldier back in the day.

"Does Senior know the specifics of that 'thing'?" Chen Linsheng asked respectfully.

The shopkeeper stopped his movements, tucked the waist token into his robes with his single arm, and looked at him for a moment with cloudy but sharp eyes. "A quarrying team found it. After the black sandstorm, a set of ruins emerged deep in the Gobi—stone pillars, broken walls, and a fissure that serves as an entrance. Of the original team of quarrymen who found it, only three came back alive. Two went mad, and the only sane one said... there's light down there."

"Light?"

"Not the light of torches, nor fluorite," the shopkeeper lowered his voice. "That man said it was as if a sun was burning beneath the ground. They didn't dare go deep; they only picked up a few 'Warm Stones' from the outskirts. They were warm to the touch and sold for a high price when brought back. That's how the news spread."

Chen Linsheng's heart stirred. "Warm Stones? Are they crimson red with feather-like patterns?"

The shopkeeper shook his head. "I haven't seen them. But I heard the 'Sand Scorpion' people took most of them. The few remaining pieces that hit the market were auctioned off to noble families at high prices. After that, all sorts of characters started flocking there." He paused. "Young man, do you want to go too?"

"Just to see and learn," Chen Linsheng admitted frankly.

The shopkeeper was silent for a moment, then fished out a gray-brown stone half the size of a palm from under the counter and pushed it toward Chen Linsheng. "I picked this up on the edge of the Gobi the year before last; it also appeared after a black sandstorm. Take a look."

Chen Linsheng picked up the stone. It felt heavy in his hand, and the surface was rough, but he could faintly sense a trace of extremely weak warmth. He focused his gaze; the stone was dense, and under the oil lamp's light, he could vaguely see faint, feather-like dark red patterns inside.

The residual aura of a crimson flame great peng feather?

He calmly put the stone back. "It is indeed somewhat peculiar."

"Peculiar things are often deadly," the shopkeeper took back the stone. "Over the years, more than one set of ruins has emerged from the depths of the Gobi. Some yielded ancient weapons, others yielded fragmented Cultivation Techniques, but most... are places to bury bones. Last year, thirty-seven of the 'Vulture' group went in; five came out alive. Three died suddenly within a month, and the other two are still lying in the city's infirmary, delirious."

Chen Linsheng nodded. "Thank you for the warning, Senior."

"A warning is just a warning; the path is yours to choose." The shopkeeper waved his hand. "If you want to buy maps and supplies, go to 'Old Hu's Sundries' in the East Market tomorrow morning. That old fellow's goods are honest and won't cheat you. But go early; many people have been looking for him lately."

"Duly noted."

Back in his room, Chen Linsheng sat cross-legged on the bed and took out the crimson feather from his robes.

The feather flowed with a warm luster in the dim light, the feather-like patterns inside appearing as if magma were slowly flowing through them. He compared the faint warmth of the stone from earlier with the feather's aura—they were of the same source, but the stone's was a thousand times thinner.

"The 'Warm Stones' the quarrying team found are likely special Ores formed by the aura contamination of an ancient Crimson Flame Great Peng's nesting site or battle site. That newly emerged ruin... is very likely related to this feather, or even to the Crimson Flame Great Peng itself."

He tucked the feather close to his body and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

As the Five Viscera Absorbing Essence Art circulated, the Five Elements Qi vortex spun slowly. In this bitter cold borderland, although the Heaven and Earth Origin Qi was thin and violent, it had a unique effect of tempering the physique and sharpening the will. The faint golden Qi membrane of the Golden Robe Skill grew increasingly solid under the nourishment of the Origin Qi.

The night passed in silence.

The next day at the end of the Yin hour, before dawn, Chen Linsheng had already risen.

He first went to the well in the backyard to wash up, checked the condition of the Date-Red Horse, and provided it with plenty of fodder and fresh water. After a few days of rest, the horse was in high spirits and affectionately rubbed its head against his hand.

Afterward, he settled the room charge. The one-armed shopkeeper silently took the copper coins and suddenly spoke as he turned to leave: "If you're really going, take the 'Chiyan Mountain' road on the southwest side. The terrain is dangerous, but there are more water sources, and fewer sand bandits and wolf tribes."

Chen Linsheng cupped his fists solemnly. "Thank you for the guidance, Senior."

"Come back alive." The shopkeeper lowered his eyelids and continued wiping the counter.

As the sky began to brighten, Chen Linsheng led his horse out of the inn and headed toward the East Market.

Iron Rock City's East Market was already bustling. This was the distribution center for border supplies, with stalls lined up along the street selling a wide variety of goods: dried beef and mutton, coarse furs, various Ores, herbs, weapon and armor repair stalls, and even a few Jianghu scammers shouting about "talismans" and "treasure maps."

Following the shopkeeper's directions, Chen Linsheng quickly found "Old Hu's Sundries."

It was a semi-open shed. The owner was a man as thin as a dried stick with a goatee, squatting on the ground organizing a pile of leather water skins. The shop's goods were cluttered but orderly: the walls were covered with various maps, the shelves held compasses, flints, ropes, iron pots, and other items, and several bundles of coarse cloth masks for sand protection were piled in the corner.

"Boss, I want to buy some supplies for entering the Gobi," Chen Linsheng said.

Old Hu looked up, squinting as he sized him up. "Alone?"

"Yes."

"Going to the ruins?"

Chen Linsheng remained noncommittal. "I heard it's lively over there and wanted to take a look."

Old Hu chuckled and didn't ask more. He stood up and patted the dust off his hands. "What do you need?"

"A detailed map of the southwest region of the Death Gobi, the newer the better. Six large leather water skins, twenty catties of dried meat, fifteen catties of travel rations, two sand masks, and a compass." Chen Linsheng paused. "Also, do you have any specially made sand goggles?"

Old Hu gave him a surprised look. "An expert, I see. I have goggles—ground from crystal, expensive."

"How much?"

"Five Taels of Silver a pair."

"I'll take one pair."

Old Hu moved nimbly, turning to take a rolled-up goatskin map from a wooden chest in the back room, then successively bringing out the supplies Chen Linsheng requested. The water skins were made of double-layered cowhide with a waterproof lining; the dried meat was cured with salt and spices until it was as hard as wood; the travel rations were cakes made of roasted barley mixed with bean flour, durable for storage; the sand masks were coarse cotton with a thin felt lining, leaving only the eyes exposed; the compass had a brass casing and a sensitive needle.

The goggles he brought out last were the most exquisite: a brass frame with lenses made of smooth natural crystal, edges wrapped in soft leather, and an adjustable leather strap.

Chen Linsheng checked them one by one. The map was drawn quite finely, marking not only major terrain, known water sources, oases, and abandoned relay stations, but also using different symbols to mark areas where sand bandits frequently appeared, the activity range of wolf tribe raiders, and several suspected ancient ruin sites. Among them, the "Chiyan Mountain" area was highlighted in cinnabar with a small note: "Many anomalies in recent years, enter with caution."

"How much for this map?" Chen Linsheng asked.

"Ten Taels." Old Hu held up two fingers. "The latest version, updated just last month by the Shunfeng Trading Company's survey team. In all of Iron Rock City, I'm the only one who has it."

Chen Linsheng didn't haggle. He also picked out a bundle of thirty-zhang-long tough hemp rope, a pack of trauma medicine, and a small jar of insect repellent powder, settling the bill for everything together.

It cost a total of twenty-eight Taels and seven mace of Silver.

Old Hu wrapped the items in oilcloth and tied them securely, finally handing over a folded piece of stiff paper. "A bonus. Illustrations of common poisonous insects and plants in the Northern Border and how to deal with them, plus a few simple water purification methods. In the Gobi, water is more valuable than life."

"Thank you." Chen Linsheng took it, packed most of the supplies into the leather bags on both sides of the saddle, and kept only the map and compass on his person.

Leaving the East Market, he led his horse to a quiet corner in the west of the city and began checking and maintaining his weapons.

The "Heavenly Fire" bow's string was still tight and powerful, with no cracks on the bow body; twenty arrows with sharp heads and neat fletching; the iron sword unsheathed, its blade like a pool of autumn water, cold and bright; the two daggers were also wiped clean and re-oiled.

He adjusted every weapon to its optimal state and checked his inner soft armor and several hidden pockets. Once everything was in order, he found a noodle stall and slowly ate a bowl of hot noodle soup and two large flatbreads.

At the start of the Chen hour, he flipped onto his horse and headed toward the side gate of Iron Rock City.