After hearing the story, Shangguan Xi looked incredulous, as did Xu Yuehuai. She knew there must be some hidden story, but she didn't expect it to be this kind of hidden story. "If someone had chosen not to give up on this child and hadn't let him fall behind, perhaps there wouldn't be so many tragedies now."
Shangguan Xi muttered to herself, and everyone couldn't disagree with her. She was absolutely right. In this matter, they had only themselves to blame. Leaving a child who wasn't even as tall as their legs behind them was something no human being could do.
After hearing the story, the group sighed, unsure whether they felt sorry for the incident or thought the villagers deserved to die.
"But what does all this have to do with the spirit beasts on the mountain?" Xu Yuehuai had not forgotten their main purpose this time. They could only learn about these causes and consequences and then leave it at that. They could not do anything else useful about it.
"All of this was done by the Black Serpent from the story. The Black Serpent dwells on the mountain, subduing those spirit beasts. The mountain is where he first met the little boy. The Black Serpent felt that those hypocritical humans, those who came with profit, were not worthy to set foot in that place, so he used this method." The shopkeeper said this quite nonchalantly, probably because this matter had no impact on ordinary merchants like them. "I advise you not to go up there. The danger on this mountain is self-evident. Once the Black Serpent is determined to do something, you can't stop him. Besides, the Black Serpent has eaten so many people in Taiping Village over the years; his strength is already unpredictable. If you force your way up, you'll just be going to your deaths."
The shopkeeper had kindly tried to remind them to turn back from their misguided path, but he hadn't expected these teenagers to be so stubborn. Xu Yuehuai took out a bag of spirit stones that he had prepared for the shopkeeper and placed it in front of him. "Shopkeeper, this is your reward. Thank you for telling us this."
The boss looked at the bag of rewards, unsure whether to take it or not. He was torn between two options. He then reached into the bag and took out three high-grade spirit stones. "To be honest, I brought you here for these high-grade spirit stones. My child is sick, and we need to make ends meet. We're in a tight spot, but all of this is too much. These three are enough to support my family for a while."
Nangong Yu and the others didn't know what to say. They had never experienced anything like this before. Three high-grade spirit stones were something they could spend in the blink of an eye when buying something, but now that they were in the boss's hands, they had become their family's livelihood for a long time.
Xu Yuehuai handed the bag to the boss, saying, "This is the reward I promised you at the beginning. This is what you deserve, so just take it."
The shopkeeper tried to refuse, but Xu Yuehuai remained adamant and eventually accepted the bag of spirit stones, her eyes filled with tears. "Don't go up there. That place is not for you. Believe me, the danger there is beyond your imagination. I don't want to see you young people die like this. For so many years, the secret of Taiping Mountain has not been revealed because all those who went there died. There was simply no time or opportunity to leak these things out!"
The boss wanted to make the matter sound serious so that the young people would give up their plans to go to Victoria Peak. He had seen too many people who went there out of curiosity about the black snake or what was on the mountain, never to return. His stall was in a good location; he could see people walking in that direction and also see who came back.
Xu Yuehuai reassured him, "Boss, you don't need to worry. We're not reckless. We won't just barge in without any preparation. We've already taken up so much of your time, so you should go back now."
The boss glanced at Xu Yuehuai, wanting to say something, but when he saw Xu Yuehuai's face, he swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue. "People say that everything in this world is determined by fate, but I have never believed in fate. You are the most extraordinary young people I have ever met. If you really want to go and reveal the secret of that place to the public, allowing Taiping Mountain to see the light of day again, I believe everyone will be grateful to you."
The boss's mood had calmed down considerably, and his tone remained relatively even as he spoke. Xu Yuehuai patted him on the shoulder.
The boss left and returned to his wonton stall, but he kept getting lost in thought. He had received such a large sum of unexpected money, and he was thinking about how he and his wife would live their lives well in the future.
...
"Senior Sister, what should we do now? Are we really going to go up? It's so dangerous up there." Nangong Yu frowned, looking at the graveyard in front of him. He felt a sense of gloom and didn't like this place.
Xu Yuehuai glanced at the surrounding situation and said, "If we don't go up, the only option left is to give up this mission. I'm fine with either way. It's up to you what you think."
When everyone heard that they had to give up the mission, they all became unwilling. This was the first mission they had accepted since they left home, and they had already wasted so much time here. Now that they were suddenly asked to give up, everyone would be unwilling.
Seeing that everyone was silent, Xu Yuehuai had an answer in her heart. "You all wait for me at the foot of the mountain. I will go up the mountain alone and meet that black snake."
Shangguan Xi was the first to object, "No, how can you be the only one to do something so dangerous? I don't agree, it's too dangerous."
Shangguan Xi looked worried, her eyes filled with concern as she thought of Xu Yuehuai. Xu Yuehuai looked at her face and suddenly smiled, "I can protect myself if I go up alone, but if I take you with me, I will have to take care of you. So it is the best choice for you to stay down here. Once I have investigated the situation, I will come down and take you up with me."
Shangguan Xi pouted, unhappy, but Xu Yuehuai's words were true. Even if she wanted to refute them, she couldn't find a reason. For a moment, the atmosphere became stiff, and no one spoke, looking at each other's faces.
Fu Ziyi crossed his arms, his face showing an arrogant expression. "Let Baili Xiuwen go with you. He knows spatial magic. If anything goes wrong, the two of you can escape without being too embarrassed."
Baili Xiuwen nodded, agreeing with Fu Ziyi's statement. At this point, no one could think of a better way to solve the current problem.
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