212: Stone Mountain Encounter

What a coincidence, this small town was invested in and built by the Tulip Merchant Group.

Han Huohuo woke up, checked his location on the map, and found that he had traveled quite fast in the past half-day, already reaching Qiong Ridge. At this speed, he could definitely make it in time for the opening of Ten Thousand Snakes Valley, which put his mind at ease.

Ten Thousand Snakes Valley opens once every hundred years, and each opening lasts for seven days.

There are still more than ten days until the Snake Valley opens.

Studying the map and calculating the journey, there was plenty of time.

Han Huohuo was very relieved and slept like a pig.

Late at night, the howls of wild beasts echoed throughout the mountains, quite eerie. Around the small town, there were some dilapidated wooden fences and a few makeshift arrow towers.

The defenses were crude, and wild wolves occasionally broke into the town at night, scaring those drunken louts who went out to pee, sending them running in terror.

With the strength of Tulip, it could certainly have been built more securely, but that would cost money. Businessmen naturally calculate economic accounts, and in the eyes of capitalists, human lives are just a string of numbers linked to gold coins.

Han Huohuo hadn't been drinking, but he also had to pee in the middle of the night, so he went out to find a secluded corner.

Just then, two hungry wolves were lurking in the grass, their green eyes extremely fierce. Then Han Huohuo lowered his head and whistled at the hungry wolves.

The hungry wolves, seeing Han Huohuo, howled in fear, thinking, 'What kind of monster is this? It's so terrifying!' They howled and fled the town with their tails between their legs.

Before long, all the wild beasts in the town fell silent. Except for domesticated cats and dogs, all other wild beasts, even rats, had scurried away.

The guards were very unaccustomed to this; the night was a bit too quiet.

Spending every day with a group of mechs, Han Huohuo didn't realize he was almost becoming a non-human entity. These wild beasts were so sensitive; they sensed countless auras of primordial giant beasts from Han Huohuo.

Word spread like wildfire, and the wild beasts at the foot of Qiong Ridge all knew that a pervert had entered the mountains. They all spread rumors, saying, 'Let's hide first, and quickly let this pervert leave, don't provoke him.'

The next day, as soon as the sun rose, the convoy set off, slowly making its way along the winding and rugged path through the towering mountains.

Contrary to expectations, after another hour of travel, there were no dense forests around. Instead, the surroundings were filled with strange, craggy boulders, with only sparse vegetation growing in the crevices.

It was truly a barren and desolate place, with nothing at all.

The autumn air was crisp and refreshing, and the sun was high in the sky. The 'autumn tiger' was still quite hot, and the shuttle vehicles hummed with a faint motor sound as they flew.

Occasionally, they encountered some corpses along the way, all of which had decomposed into mummies.

Occasionally, some carrion birds flew overhead.

The convoy proceeded silently, everyone quiet. They traveled for a full day and rested in a mountain hollow for the night.

The next afternoon, they arrived at a bare mountain pass. The convoy stopped, and Qin Yunlong came over to remind the three of them that they would be passing through a mountain called Stone Mountain, which was a dangerous area. The path in the mountain was very narrow, and there were Stone Monsters lurking, so they should be careful.

Han Huohuo nodded, "Understood. With you all here, we're not afraid. Let's go."

Qin Yunlong saw Han Huohuo's gentle attitude and his trust in him, and he felt pleased. He patted his chest and said, "Fortunately, you're with our Tulip convoy. These aren't too big of a problem."

Han Huohuo chuckled, "Of course, I have faith in you."

"Go!"

Qin Yunlong gave the order!

There was only one path, even narrower than before. The convoy proceeded in single file, a total of more than ten shuttle vehicles. Qin Yunlong personally led the front, with two escort vehicles in the middle and two at the rear.

Han Huohuo and the others sat in the cargo vehicle. This fellow, fearing no chaos, looked around everywhere, wanting to see where the legendary Stone Men were.

Of course, 'Stone Men' was just a local term; the monster's scientific name was Stone Elementals.

Mu Jiu, being well-read, tutored Han Huohuo: "The books say that Qiong Ridge is centered around Stone Mountain, and within a thousand li radius, there's nothing but stone mines. It's even more barren than a desert. That's why Qiong Ridge was originally called 'Qiong Ling' (poor ridge), with the character for 'poor'. Later, someone thought the character for 'poor' sounded bad, so they changed it to 'Qiong Ridge' (jade ridge)."

"But it's still 'Qiong'? The pronunciation hasn't changed."

"But this 'Qiong' means beautiful jade."

"In my opinion, since there are large stones everywhere here, there might be jade ore, which is why it was renamed Qiong Ridge," Han Huohuo said casually.

"I haven't heard of that," Hua Mulan interjected, refuting Han Huohuo's wild guess.

Everyone in the Tulip Merchant Group was tense and silent, gripping their weapons tightly. They knew more; half of all refugees who crossed Qiong Ridge died in this valley, and human skeletons could be seen everywhere on the ground.

Only these three fellows were carefree, chatting and laughing, not taking it seriously at all.

Qin Yunlong frowned. Leading the way at the front, he could hear the clamor from behind, especially Han Huohuo, whose voice was particularly loud. He thought to himself, 'Who are these young masters and ladies? They have no sense of crisis at all. It's really a headache.'

To Han Huohuo's disappointment, the convoy was almost out of Stone Mountain, and he still hadn't seen any Stone Monsters appear, which he found very boring.

Suddenly, a bell sound rang out from ahead.

A convoy approached, heading towards the Tulip Merchant Group.

Han Huohuo looked over curiously. The opposing convoy used a very special animal to pull their carts, resembling rock goats, but with only one horn, black as ink. They moved across the rocky mountains as if on flat ground.

There were many people in the opposing convoy, all armed and with fierce expressions, not looking like benevolent types.

Qin Yunlong became nervous and didn't want a conflict with the other party. He waved for his convoy to move to the side, clearing a space for the other party to pass first.

A burly man from the opposing convoy, wielding two axes, shouted, "The road is too narrow. How can we get through? You need to move over more."

Qin Yunlong suppressed his anger and waved his hand, telling his team to move even further to the side.

The shuttle vehicles could hover, but only slightly above the ground, not fly. The sides were steep rock walls, and they moved until they literally couldn't move any further.

The burly man on the other side was still not satisfied: "No, there's not enough space. You need to move over more."

Qin Yunlong couldn't hold back anymore and stepped forward to explain, "We've moved as far as we can. I see your vehicles aren't that wide; if you're a little careful, you can pass."

The man exploded in rage: "Damn it, am I giving you face? Do you know there's a distinguished guest in my vehicle? If the distinguished guest is disturbed, I'm afraid you won't be able to bear the consequences. How about you withdraw from the valley, and after we pass, you can proceed?"

Qin Yunlong was so angry he laughed instead: "If anyone should yield, it should be you. We're almost at the exit, and you've only just entered the valley. Blocking us here, why should we be the ones to yield?"

Both sides were at loggerheads.