Chapter 696: Divine Lake

Ever since last night, Cheng Yu and Song Qiao had suspected that Luo Lan had the backing of someone in the camp. However, Cheng Yu could never have expected the person would turn out to be Ren Xiaosu.

If it had been someone else, such as Wang Yun or any other person, Cheng Yu would surely feel a sense of superiority like “I saw through everything” as he lurked in the shadows and watched everyone. It would be as though he had gained an advantage over Luo Lan after finding out about his trump card.

But when he realized the person was Ren Xiaosu, the other party’s odd behavior left him in some doubt. Following that, questions started popping up in his mind: ‘Did I see wrong? Could I be blind? Is Luo Lan blind as well…‘

‘Could Luo Lan be trying to mislead everyone?‘ Cheng Yu knew that Luo Lan was always a very meticulous person. Although he appeared to be very carefree, he had never done anything that would expose his trump cards. Therefore, when Ren Xiaosu pretended to be crazy, Luo Lan followed suit to give people the impression they were in cahoots. This way, wouldn’t there be someone to share his burden when things got critical?

He could even take it a step further and conceal the identity of his real teammate!

Cheng Yu suddenly felt like he was enlightened!

But no matter what, Ren Xiaosu’s importance in Cheng Yu’s eyes skyrocketed. Regardless of which of his guesses were right, Cheng Yu felt he could no longer look at Ren Xiaosu in the same way as before.

Actually, when Luo Lan saw Ren Xiaosu, who had always been hiding at the back of the group, come forward to say that they should continue, he understood that Ren Xiaosu must have something very important to do in the Sacred Mountains. Moreover, Ren Xiaosu must have already made an assessment of the people in the group and felt these people would not pose a threat for the time being.

Although there was a disconnect in their unspoken communication earlier, Luo Lan was quick-witted and managed to react in time. In just an instant, he figured out the details and came forward to support Ren Xiaosu’s decision.

“Pack up and continue moving!” Luo Lan gave a wave of his hand and said to Wang Yun, “Only cowards would be too scared to continue heading into the Sacred Mountains. If you’re afraid of death, stay behind by yourself and don’t affect us.”

Wang Yun stood in his spot and suddenly felt there was something wrong with Luo Lan’s words. Wait a minute, weren’t you the one that wanted to retreat at the start!?

However, Luo Lan had no intention of staying behind to continue arguing with him. Instead, he turned around and walked back to the camp to pack his belongings before leading the group forward!

“Tour guide! Where’s the tour guide?” Luo Lan shouted at the front of the group.

The Great Hoodwinker ran over happily. “Over here, over here!”

“Which direction should we head in next?” Luo Lan asked.

“Are we following the original plan?” the Great Hoodwinker asked.

“Yes, we’ll continue based on the original plan,” Luo Lan said.

“That means we’re heading in the direction of Mt. Shenchi.”

Over the years, the farthest place the Great Hoodwinker had traveled to in the outer periphery of the Sacred Mountains was Mt. Shenchi. This was not a name someone had come up with after The Cataclysm, but came from the words “Shenchi” that were originally carved into a cliff wall of the mountain.

Based on the mountain’s name, it would suggest there was a divine lake within the mountain. However, the Great Hoodwinker had never come across any divine lakes on his two previous trips to Mt. Shenchi.[1]

Instead, it was always foggy on Mt. Shenchi, and the air was extremely humid. When the Great Hoodwinker came here two years ago, he had stayed on Mt. Shenchi for four days. However, there was heavy fog during three of those four days.

The Great Hoodwinker said, “If y’all want to pass through Mt. Shenchi together without getting lost, you’d better stick close to me. Otherwise, you won’t be able to find your way out of the heavy fog. If you get lost on that mountain, you’re gonna end up falling behind.”

A person next to him asked, “And we’ll get lost in there forever?”

“Of course you won’t.” The Great Hoodwinker said, “The heavy fog on Mt. Shenchi will eventually disperse. When I came here last, I was lost for three days as well. Then, the moment the heavy fog cleared on the fourth day, I ran off the mountain. So if you really end up falling behind, don’t go wandering around. When the fog disperses, you can just head home by yourself.”

The Great Hoodwinker was just being frank. As he did not have any grudges with these people, there was no need to go to the extent of abandoning them in the mountains to die. As such, he thought it would be better to warn them.

At this moment, Cheng Yu said, “All of us can just tie a hemp rope around our wrists. That way, we won’t have to worry about being left behind.”

What Cheng Yu meant was that they should link everyone together in a line with a rope.

“That’s a good idea.” Luo Lan said, “I’ll take second!”

Zhou Qi said, “I’ll take third!”

Before Ren Xiaosu could say anything, Cheng Yu quickly said, “Fourth!”

Cheng Yu had responded so hastily because he was worried Luo Lan, Ren Xiaosu, and the others would end up at the front of the formation. If Luo Lan and the others harbored any evil intentions after they entered the heavy fog and cut the rope, those at the back of the line would be left scratching their heads.

Therefore, Cheng Yu wanted to stand between Luo Lan and Ren Xiaosu with his assistants to prevent Luo Lan from playing dirty.

Luo Lan smiled ambiguously at Cheng Yu. As they were both smart people, he could tell what Cheng Yu was thinking at a glance.

In the end, the final order was decided as such: The Great Hoodwinker would lead from the front, while Zhou Qi stood second in line, followed by Luo Lan, Cheng Yu and his five assistants, Ren Xiaosu, and the others.

Curious, Wang Yun asked the Great Hoodwinker, “Must we pass through here? Are there any other routes we can take?”

The Great Hoodwinker looked at him and said, “We can only successfully break through the defenses around the Sacred Mountains if we take a route that normal people, or even the Pyro Company themselves, dare not tread. After all, the Pyro Company isn’t easy to deal with.”

Wang Yun said with a smile, “I was just asking.”

Wang Yun’s main concern was that if he followed the Great Hoodwinker into the mountain, how would the reinforcements behind him pass through Mt. Shenchi?

Before this, Wang Yun was unaware of the situation at Mt. Shenchi since he was not omniscient. If everyone knew how to pass through Mt. Shenchi, there would be no need for them to pay the Great Hoodwinker for his services.

After thinking for a long time, Wang Yun finally decided to stand at the back of the group. He planned to use the hardtack he had brought with him and grind them into crumbs to scatter on the ground as a guide for his reinforcements.

Although this might cause him to starve after he got into the Sacred Mountains, what was there to be afraid of when the reinforcements were right behind him? He was going to go all out this time!

Thinking of this, Wang Yun took the opportunity to make a straight marker when he returned to the campsite to pack up. This marking was meant to tell his subordinates they should follow his trail and that he would lead the way for them.

Wang Yun thought for a moment and looked up at the sky. He wanted to see if there were a lot of birds around. After all, birds were really fond of eating bread crumbs, so it would be bad if they ate the crumbs.

But as he thought about it, Wang Yun suddenly realized he had never seen a single bird since entering the vicinity of Mt. Wuzhai.

Wang Yun calmed himself and tried to listen to the sounds of the wilderness. However, he could not hear anything at all.

Could it be that there were no birds here? Even though it was winter now, not all birds would migrate south for the winter. Shouldn’t a large and secluded place like this be perfect for birds to live?

[1] Shénchí is the Chinese word for Shén/Divine, Chí/Lake