Two olive-green canvas-covered trucks and one black sedan slowly pulled into a rare patch of shade by the main road.
After the engines were turned off, shimmering heat rose gracefully from the hoods.
Seven or eight resting coachmen and porters carrying loads on shoulder poles were originally scattered in the shade.
Upon seeing this procession, they hurriedly packed up their few belongings and vacated the flattest, shadiest spot.
Someone muttered curiously in a low voice, "Who are these important people?"
An older coachman next to him didn’t reply, just shaking his head and signaling for him to keep quiet.
The rear door of the sedan opened, and Lu Yun got out unhurriedly, leaning on his Wisteria Spirit Staff.
He raised his eyes and gazed at the distant, rolling, and deeply verdant mountain silhouettes.
The canvas covers of the two trucks behind him were thrown open, and fifty able-bodied men leaped down one after another.
They were all uniformly dressed in black short coats and trousers, with bulges at their waists and carrying weapons of various lengths on their shoulders.
Ten of them were also carrying the latest model submachine guns from the Western World.
"Ah Fu, you take thirty men and stay here on guard."
Lu Fu bowed. "Yes, Master."
Lu Yun said no more and led the way toward the mountain silhouettes.
Seeing this, ten gunmen armed with pistols quickly moved to the front to clear a path.
At the same time, ten men with submachine guns brought up the rear.
The group of twenty-one disappeared into the winding footpath next to the main road that led to Jade Mushroom Mountain.
「One hour later, on the mountainside of Jade Mushroom Mountain.」
The forest grew denser. Tall trees blotted out the sky, and light filtered through the gaps in the leaves, dappling the ground like flecks of gold.
Occasionally, an unknown bird would cry out once or twice from the depths of the woods before suddenly falling silent again.
Along the way, Lu Yun’s group had also encountered a few herb gatherers.
They carried bamboo baskets on their backs and held short-handled picks, their faces deeply tanned from constant exposure to the sun.
Upon seeing the heavily armed party from a distance, these people turned without a word and vanished into the depths of the forest.
"Lord Lu."
The leader of the vanguard, a man in his early thirties with a scar on his left cheek, jogged back. He was clutching a crumpled map on coarse paper—the very one Lu Fu had stuffed into his hand before they left.
"Uncle Fu’s map shows that if we take this fork in the path, we can reach the mountain ravine at the summit."
The scar-faced man pointed to a small path ahead and to the side, almost completely buried in weeds and only wide enough for one person to pass.
After Lu Yun nodded in agreement, the group entered in single file.
The deeper they went, the cooler and damper the air in the forest became. A thick layer of dead leaves had accumulated underfoot, soft to step on and making a faint SHH-SHH sound.
Then, someone spotted a ghastly white object among the dead leaves nearby.
"Bones."
And not just one piece. They were scattered here and there among the grass and rocks.
Some still had tattered bits of cloth attached, making it impossible to tell if they were originally from a shirt or pants.
Others had been gnawed to pieces by wild animals, leaving only a few sharp fragments.
In these deep, old mountains, where one can find potent medicinal herbs, there are bound to be great beasts.
Wolves, tigers, wild boars—when these creatures live long enough, they can grow several times larger than their ordinary counterparts.
Each one has thick skin and tough flesh, with a ferocious temperament. Forget ordinary people; even a Mingjin Martial Artist would have a slim chance of survival if they encountered one.
"Found it!"
Someone ahead called out in a low voice, and everyone looked in the direction of the sound.
At the end of the path, the forest suddenly opened up. A massive ravine lay before them, its mouth about twenty feet wide, flanked by sheer cliffs that were slick with moisture and covered in moss.
Inside, the ravine was pitch-black and bottomless, like a silent, gaping mouth.
SNAP.
From the depths of the dense woods to the left came the extremely faint, crisp sound of a dry twig snapping.
It was followed by a second, and a third...
"Something’s coming!"
As the scar-faced leader roared, everyone scattered, aiming their guns in unison at the swaying shadows of the trees!
The next second, a dozen or so wild boars, like a dozen small, moving hills, charged furiously out of the woods!
The largest one stood a full two meters tall at the shoulder. Its bristles stood on end like steel needles, and its tusks were as sharp as knives.
Its eyes were blood-red, and it snorted thick, white puffs of air as it charged madly toward the group!
"Beast, you’re looking to die!"
Instead of retreating, the scar-faced man advanced and fired a three-round burst!
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The gunmen behind him opened fire at almost the same instant!
The dull BANG-BANG of the pistols and the crisp, rapid RAT-A-TAT of the submachine guns instantly exploded throughout the forest!
In an instant, a spray of blood erupted!
The huge bodies of the foremost boars suddenly faltered, then collapsed to the ground, unable to rise.
The ones behind couldn’t stop in time, trampling over their companions’ corpses as they continued to charge, only to be torn to shreds in the next hail of bullets.
A dozen or so seconds later, the gunfire subsided. Not a single boar was left alive; they all lay higgledy-piggledy in pools of blood.
Meanwhile, Lu Yun had walked alone to the edge of the pitch-black ravine.
The ravine’s mouth was deep and remote, exuding a faint chill. By the weak light at the entrance, one could vaguely make out the damp moss on the walls and, deeper within, an impenetrable, viscous darkness.
The scar-faced man hurried to catch up and said in a low voice, "Lord Lu, it’s too dark in there, we can’t see a thing. What if there are venomous snakes, insects, poisonous ants, or something else hiding in the dark to ambush us..."
"Mm, you’re right. Bring the explosive charges."
The scar-faced man moved at once, deftly retrieving a bundle of tightly bound, yellowish-brown explosive charges from a canvas bag on the back of a gunman behind him.
The fuse was already attached and was a good three feet long.
He jogged to the ravine entrance, firmly wedged the explosive charge into a crevice beneath a massive boulder, and checked it from both sides to ensure it wouldn’t slip out.
Lu Yun had already led everyone back several dozen meters, taking cover behind an ancient tree so large it would take several people to encircle it.

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