121: Chapter 121 The Mysterious Village

"This guest... is something wrong?"

The driver in the front row glanced at Lu Cheng through the rearview mirror, his foot still on the gas pedal, as the vehicle continued along the road toward Baijin Mountain.

The cabin swayed.

Several local passengers turned their heads, their eyes filled with a bit of confusion and the impatience of having their journey suddenly interrupted.

Lu Cheng did not explain.

The next second, the blood energy within his body shook violently!

Hum!

A scorching and heavy wave of blood energy exploded from him, causing the air in the cabin to sink.

The seats vibrated slightly, and the expressions of the passengers sitting nearby changed instantly; they even subconsciously held their breath.

Le Jinghe's glasses nearly slid off.

He knew Lu Cheng was fierce, but to suddenly unleash such a display in this cramped cabin, the impact was still too intense.

Lu Cheng stood up, his voice steady and his speech extremely fast.

"I am a student from Wu University, and I am currently on a special mission. There is a problem with Baijin Mountain ahead. The vehicle must return immediately."

As soon as these words fell, the driver's hand trembled, and the steering wheel wobbled.

"Wu... Wu University?"

"There's a problem with Baijin Mountain?"

"What do you mean?"

"Is that for real?"

The cabin instantly erupted in an uproar.

The driver finally reacted and slammed on the brakes.

Screech~

The old bus came to a sudden halt on the side of the road, and everyone in the car lurched forward, with cries of alarm immediately breaking out.

Lu Cheng steadied himself by holding the front seat and spoke immediately.

"Don't panic yet. Turn around and hurry back to the nearest town entrance."

He looked at the driver, his tone unquestionable.

"Also, contact your security office and report it. Tell them that there is a suspected high-risk anomaly in the Baijin Mountain area. Tell them to seal off the road immediately and don't let anyone else enter."

The driver's forehead was already sweating, and he nodded repeatedly.

"Okay, okay, I'll report it right now!"

The security forces in this area were extremely poor; the strongest might only be in the Meridian Opening Realm. This was the reason they had assigned the task to the school.

Lu Cheng didn't waste any more time and looked back at Su Wan and the other two.

"Get off."

The four of them moved quickly and got off the bus directly through the back door.

Soon, the bus turned around and drove back the way it came.

The wind by the side of the road was a bit cold.

In the distance, Baijin Mountain stood there, dusty and quiet. Several villages at the foot of the mountain were scattered on the edge of the mist, appearing unnaturally calm.

Lu Cheng stared ahead for two seconds, then turned to look at the three of them.

"This Baijin Mountain is very dangerous."

He paused, his voice dropping lower.

"It's still not too late for you to leave now."

Le Jinghe was stunned for a moment, then lifted the mechanical box on his back and gave a dry laugh.

"Don't look at me like that... I'm actually quite strong."

After he finished speaking, he patted the box.

"If it really comes to a fight, the Mechanical Institute is no pushover."

Ning Wei nodded, her expression very steady.

"Although I'm not as strong as you, since we've accepted this mission, how could we give up without even executing it?"

Her speech was always brief, but this sentence was very grounded.

Su Wan didn't say anything; she had already broken through to the Source Gathering Realm.

If she were to say she was afraid, she really didn't believe that a General-level monster would be lurking in this mountain; otherwise, there would be ways to deal with it.

Lu Cheng's gaze swept across the faces of the three, and finally, he nodded.

"Alright."

"Then we will follow the original plan and explore as intended. Don't expose yourselves, don't take action rashly, and find out the situation first."

"If there are any problems, give a signal immediately."

The three of them all responded.

The four of them continued to walk along the road, not moving fast.

The closer they got to Baijin Mountain, the heavier the warning sign in Lu Cheng's heart became.

That kind of "fierce" aura was becoming increasingly clear in his field of vision.

At this moment, the entire area at the foot of the mountain looked to him as if it were covered in a very faint, grayish-black aura.

A thin layer, spread over the roadside, ridges, village entrances, and under the eaves, the range was frighteningly large.

They soon entered the first village.

At the entrance of the village stood a few old trees. Under the trees sat several elderly people, with piles of freshly dried corn stalks nearby.

A few local dogs were lying in the shadows; they raised their heads to look at them, then slowly lay back down.

Lu Cheng put on a casual expression and walked toward an old farmer under the tree.

"Sir, I'd like to ask about something."

The old farmer looked up at him with cloudy eyes and deep wrinkles on his face.

"What is it?"

Lu Cheng smiled, his tone relaxed.

"I heard that you have a local specialty here in Baijin Mountain called the Baijin Spirit Mushroom? We came from the city and wanted to dig some up to taste. Do you know where we can find them?"

Upon hearing the words "Baijin Spirit Mushroom," the old farmer squinted.

"Baijin Spirit Mushroom, huh..."

He raised his hand and pointed toward the mountainside.

"There are many damp areas on the mountainside; they grow easily near tree roots and under rock crevices. It rained two days ago, so you should be able to dig some up recently."

"Go up the dirt road to the east, pass the old locust tree, and walk a bit further in, and you should be there."

Lu Cheng nodded.

"Thanks, sir."

The old farmer waved his hand.

"It's nothing."

Lu Cheng smiled and backed away, but his heart had already sunk a few notches.

In his eyes, this old farmer was wrapped in a layer of faint grayish-black aura.

This was his Seeking Good Fortune and Avoiding Bad Luck talent warning Lu Cheng...

Lu Cheng didn't understand why an old man with no blood energy fluctuations would bring danger...

He didn't stop and led the three of them further into the village.

An auntie picking vegetables by the side of the road was stopped by him.

"Ma'am, may I ask where we can pick Baijin Spirit Mushrooms around here?"

The auntie looked up and smiled quite enthusiastically.

"You're from out of town, right? Go east, out of the village, and you'll see plenty of mushrooms under the trees on the mountainside."

"Alright, thank you."

Further ahead, a middle-aged man carrying firewood was also asked a couple of questions.

"Baijin Spirit Mushroom?"

"Yes, there are plenty on the mountainside... I'm busy right now, otherwise, I would have taken you there on my way."

They asked a few people in succession.

The answers were all about the same.

The four of them walked out of the village without stopping, and it wasn't until they were some distance from the village entrance that Le Jinghe lowered his voice and spoke.

"How is it?"

Ning Wei also turned her head to look at Lu Cheng.

Su Wan was also waiting for his judgment.

Lu Cheng frowned and looked back at the excessively quiet village.

"These people... are likely all problematic."

Le Jinghe's scalp tingled.

"All of them are problematic?"

Just as he finished speaking, Lu Cheng's heart skipped a beat.

A sense of danger rushed up from the front.

Lu Cheng almost instinctively took a step forward, standing directly in front of the three, raising his arm slightly, his whole body instantly tensing up.

Le Jinghe was startled, and his mechanical box almost opened.

Ning Wei's hand had already touched her short sword.

Su Wan's eyes were cold, and her Source Power was quietly raised within her meridians.

On the small road ahead, a figure slowly walked over.

It was exactly the old man from under the tree earlier.

He was walking with his hands behind his back, his pace unhurried, and his face still wore that gentle expression common among rural elderly people.

"Oh, young man."

The old man walked closer and smiled at Lu Cheng.

"I forgot to tell you just now... Baijin Mountain is very eerie. If you want to eat Baijin Spirit Mushrooms, just dig some on the mountainside, but head back early, don't stay too late..."

After he finished speaking, he didn't linger and slowly turned around with his hands behind his back, walking back to the village along the path he had come from.

Le Jinghe was stunned for two seconds and whispered: "This... what does that mean?"

Lu Cheng stared at the old man's back, his eyes sinking little by little.

It was not what he had expected.

He had originally thought this place might be a den for bounty hunters, or that the organization behind Wei Heng had a stronghold here, which was why Baijin Mountain gave him such a strong sense of crisis.

But these villagers with the "fierce" aura didn't seem to want to conflict with them.

Ning Wei whispered: "There's a problem at night."

"Hmm."

Lu Cheng nodded.

"Since they are all warning us not to stay at night, it means that the real danger should be after nightfall."

Su Wan looked up at the sky.

There was still some time before dark.

Le Jinghe pushed up his glasses and whispered: "Then what should we do now? Go straight up the mountain, or retreat first and call for support?"

Lu Cheng pondered for a few seconds and finally made a decision.

"Let's not alert the enemy for now."

"Find a hidden place to hide and wait for dark."

"Let's see what kind of tricks this place is pulling tonight."

The few of them looked at each other, and none had any objections.

Soon, they bypassed the main road, walked along a grassy slope toward the side of the mountain, and hid behind a piece of abandoned stone wall.

This location was remote. From the front, they could see the village entrance and a stretch of the mountain road, and behind them were dead trees and scattered stones for cover, making it suitable for observation.

Time passed bit by bit.

The sky slowly darkened. In the meantime, Su Wan had Lu Cheng eat her bento again, but since the food was cold and the environment was poor, she only gave it a score of 60 in the end.

The mountain wind turned cold. During the day, one could still hear chickens clucking and dogs barking, but by evening, those sounds grew fewer and fewer.

Smoke from cooking fires rose in the village for a while, then quickly dissipated.

The surroundings became increasingly strangely quiet.

Ning Wei leaned on the other side, her gaze always fixed on the village entrance.

"It's too quiet."

Lu Cheng kept staring into the depths of Baijin Mountain.

As the night pressed down, the world in his eyes began to change.

That layer of faint grayish-black "fierce" aura had become significantly thicker by night.

When it became completely dark, the mist on the mountain began to thicken.

First, it was a thin layer drifting out from the forest.

Then, more and more, it slowly spread down along the slopes, bushes, and dirt roads, and before long, it had swallowed half of the mountainside.

Lu Cheng had never heard of there being mist at night...

Just after the mist rose, there began to be some rustling sounds around them.

First, it was a very light rustling sound, like someone walking barefoot through the grass.

Then, from further away, there was more rustling, like many tiny things burrowing in the soil...

And then, from some direction in the mountain, came a long, drawn-out, strange noise.

Woo...

The sound was muffled and hollow, like wind passing through a hole, and it carried an indescribable shrillness.

The hair on Le Jinghe's back stood up.

"What the... what is this thing?"

Ning Wei's expression also changed, and her hand was already pressed tightly on the hilt of her sword.

Su Wan's eyes were cold, staring at a direction in the mist, and she whispered: "Something is moving."

Lu Cheng slowly narrowed his eyes.

In that mist, the grayish-black "fierce" aura was gathering bit by bit...