Prologue, the origin of the story

Suddenly, a cold snort broke the eerie silence around. Not far away, two dark figures slowly approached, revealing two similarly youthful faces under the glow of the fire.

The remaining four stood for a while until the departing individual walked far away, and only then did they turn around and head towards the eerily imposing mountain.

In the pitch-black night, within a desolate forest.

Zhao Ge felt a sudden pain in his neck, and in the next moment, his vision went dark and he lost consciousness

"The situation is not looking good," said the young man known as Brother Chen, who was on the right side of the leader. "There is a cave ahead; we just went in to take a look and speculate that it should lead into the mountain."

The shadow seemed to lack the patience to listen to Brother Zhao's ramblings; before he could finish his words, the dagger in hand was aimed directly at his throat and plunged down fiercely

The young man with a flat head snorted and said in dissatisfaction: "Brother Zhao said there are good things on this island, so there must be. What is the need for you all to chatter here?"

"If possible, I would rather not see you die here." Brother Zhao nodded and said, "But there is no choice in such matters. I tell you about the danger only to help you recognize the situation clearly."

Damn it, this cursed place is truly extraordinary. I have no idea whose tomb it is inside, but it’s so mysterious!" The crew-cut young man scratched his head vigorously and shouted in dissatisfaction, "Once I get in and see that bastard's coffin, I won't care what his status is. After stripping away the good stuff, I'll just set it on fire to send him off!"

"If you want to die in such an unclear manner, I certainly do not!" The young man in the yellow shirt let out a cold laugh and shook his head at the young man with a flat top.

"You... why... why do you..." As Zhao Ge saw himself being caught up, he became even more frightened, to the point that he momentarily forgot to resist

The only thing I can do is to let one person leave here. I need someone to help me deliver this letter to Qian Haoming and inform him of everything we have encountered, so that there is one person who does not have to accompany me into death. As for who this person is, you three can decide among yourselves

However, I have also heard that Brother Zhao's father died here. If even such a formidable person met his end here, what chance do we have?" The bespectacled guy recalled this and his already pale face turned even whiter. With a lack of confidence, he said, "But with Brother Zhao around, it should... it should be fine, right?"

Zhao Ge, sitting on the ground, raised his head upon hearing the words, his deep-set eyes fixed on the young man in the yellow shirt. A hint of curiosity appeared on his face, and after a moment, he smiled and said: "Kid, I must admit I underestimated you before."

At this moment, Brother Zhao had completely lost the composure he had earlier, his face displaying a look of confusion and helplessness, as if he had suffered a tremendous blow. He was running around in a panic on this rocky island, showing no intention of retracing his steps to leave.

"I don't know if we have this opportunity," Brother Chen sighed, seemingly lacking confidence in the upcoming action. "This place is filled with strangeness; first, there are the surrounding burial mounds, then this bizarre stone island that shouldn't exist, and now there's a grand tomb occupying the entire mountain. To achieve this, the identity of the tomb's owner must be extraordinary, and it won't be easy for us to succeed!"

One person picked up a letter that was somewhat dusty on the ground and walked away without looking back, heading in the direction opposite to the mountain. As long as they followed the route they had taken earlier, avoiding a few easily navigable obstacles, they would be able to escape safely from this cursed place

After a long while, one of the young men in a yellow shirt, unable to bear the silence any longer, finally let out a sigh and quietly asked the two people beside him: "Do you think we might have come to the wrong place on this trip?"

It is uncertain whether this plea for mercy had any effect, but the dagger in the shadow's hand suddenly halted, almost pressing against his Adam's apple

Hmph

"Not really, it's just that I'm not impressive enough to catch Brother Zhao's attention yet." The young man in the yellow shirt shrugged nonchalantly, but his expression instantly turned serious, and his tone returned to a flat demeanor: "However, Da Kai once said something that is quite accurate: since our lives were saved by you, you can take them back at any time."

Whoever goes to retrieve the letter also signifies that they are able to return by the same route and leave alive

No matter what, having come this far, Brother Zhao will definitely not give up!" The young man in the yellow shirt, who had remained silent, suddenly smiled and said confidently, "I just don't understand, Brother Zhao, why at this moment you choose not to inspire morale, but instead say these words; what exactly does it mean?"

The young man in the yellow shirt shook his head upon hearing this, not showing any anger. He looked calmly at the young man with a crew cut and said softly, "I am not afraid; I am just a bit confused. After so many of us have died to reach this point, what is it all for?"

You probably also know that my old ghost died in this incident, and what I want to tell you is that, to my knowledge, the place where that old ghost died should be the innermost part of this great mountain

A gust of cold wind blew in from an unknown source, toppling the unextinguished bonfire, which scattered across the hard ground, with sparks gradually extinguishing.

A shadow suddenly emerged from the cave, scrambling and rolling as it rushed forward, seemingly indifferent to the direction.

"What nonsense!" The robust young man with a buzz cut spat and said, "Our lives were saved by Brother Zhao. This time, we might as well return our lives to Brother Zhao! If you’re so cowardly, you shouldn’t have come here in the first place!"

This chase did not last long; Brother Zhao, exhausted, stumbled and tripped over the gravel beneath his feet, falling to the ground.

"Brother Zhao, Brother Chen." Upon seeing these two individuals approach the campfire, both the buzz-cut young man who had just been cursing and the young man in the yellow shirt who had voiced his doubts stood up and greeted them with a degree of respect.

Before long, the entire world fell into darkness once again, devoid of any sound

Isn't this great? We have been circling around for so long, and we are finally going to meet the main person. The bespectacled guy did not understand what was wrong, and just said to himself: Once we find the items you need from Brother Zhao, we can also pick up some good stuff along the way, and this trip will allow us to retire early!

... ...

Three ragged young men sat around the campfire, quietly staring into the flames in a daze

The stalemate did not last long; the three individuals neither fought nor argued, but made this decision in their own way

Zhao said to come here, and we came, so why ask so many questions?" the flat-headed youth retorted without hesitation

"Don't... don't kill me!" Zhao's pupils dilated sharply, and for a moment he was at a loss for words, only able to shout loudly.

At this moment, Chen and the other two who had previously entered the mountain with him had also vanished without a trace. However, faintly, behind him, it seemed that another indistinct figure still existed

It is unclear how much time has passed, but once again, movement has emerged in the originally silent space. The sound of hurried footsteps is coming from the direction of the mountain at m.hetushu.com, and faintly, one can still hear the sound of someone's breathing

Zhao Ge took out the letter he had prepared long ago from the compartment in his chest and gently placed it on the ground

With great effort, he turned over, not waiting for Zhao to get up from the ground. Another shadow, which was not far away, suddenly caught up and appeared right in front of Zhao.

"It's not that simple." The young man, referred to as Brother Zhao, sat down on the ground with a sigh of resignation. A complex light flickered in his eyes as he weakly said, "Have you all considered that every step we took to get here was anything but easy? Now that we are about to meet the main person, I estimate this will be the most challenging part."

"Brothers, how is the situation ahead?" The timid, lazy four-eyed boy quickly asked upon seeing the newcomers

No, there is a problem, a significant problem

"Enough, enough, what is the point of arguing now?" The bespectacled observer, who had been watching the scene unfold, could no longer tolerate it. With a helpless gesture, he said, "Since we are already here, let us wait for Brother Zhao to return before discussing it further"

The shadow let out a cold snort, hesitated for a moment, and then lifted the unconscious Zhao Ge, heading back the way they came

Before Zhao could react to the sudden change, the shadow instantly turned the dagger in its hand, slightly adjusted its arm, and struck the hilt against the back of his neck

No... don't... The shadow ran wildly, intermittently muttering something. From the sound, it was clearly the young man previously referred to as Brother Zhao.