Chapter 10: Foreign Ghosts

"It's about the same..." After I put the things back into the canvas backpack, I continued, "Boss, the architecture and archaeology I studied are also emerging disciplines in Beiping. This is really not very clear, but I guess what you said is about the same. Archaeology is just the study of the ancient, right? Aren't the good things left from ancient times all in the tombs..." This is really not very clear, but I guess what you said is about the same. Archaeology is just the study of the ancient, right? Aren't the good things left from ancient times all in the tombs..."

You three, stop right there! The Toad's Mouth is right above, what do you mean by circling around? Lead the way properly, and don't try any tricks. If I find out that you are not leading us properly, I will send you straight to the afterlife. After all, the Toad's Mouth is right above, and the Mouth Mountain isn't that big; we will find it sooner or later

This statement almost explicitly indicates that there are no bandits on the mountain. It seems that the person with the surname Lang heard somewhere that there are treasures in the toad's mouth, which is why he brought his troops to take advantage. Who would have thought that foreign archaeologists would arrive first, prompting Old Lang to become anxious.

Before the adjutant could speak, Shen Liancheng had already recognized the identity of the deceased foreigner: "Isn't this the foreigner sent by the commander to survey the map? No wonder we haven't seen them come down. It turns out they died here... Oh no! Where is Er Zhu? Er..."

"Don't shout nonsense, or you'll bring more filth to me!" Captain Lang kicked Shen Liancheng. Although he verbally expressed disbelief while I was recounting my experiences with the frog's mouth, his body betrayed his true feelings. Seeing my uncle being bullied, I rushed over and shielded Shen Liancheng with my own body

After Commander Lang ordered his men to throw the corpse into a nearby ditch for burial, he commanded his subordinates to continue advancing. At that moment, it was still me, Shen Liancheng, and Zhao Laonian who led the way, as dozens of people marched forward in a grand manner towards the location of the Frog's Mouth.

I took the canvas backpack from Captain Lang, first glancing at the text on the documents. Then, under the urging of the surname Lang, I spoke: "This deceased individual is named John Evans, a lieutenant in the British Army. Let me take another look at these documents... It states that he, along with two other British officers, was assigned to protect an archaeologist named Richard Jones. This Richard is also a British noble, and as he traverses the territories of the British Empire, officials in various regions are required to provide full assistance."

When I was speaking, Zhao Laonian seemed to have other matters on his mind. He completely ignored me, occasionally looking up at the position of the toad's mouth, as if something above was tugging at his heart.

Captain Lang is also a simpleton; he does not recognize this firearm that will later become renowned. After taking a glance, he instructed his adjutant to collect the submachine gun and the revolver, along with the ammunition, that were hanging from the corpse's waist. He then turned to have the body of this foreigner examined while simultaneously inquiring about the identity of this foreign devil, Shen Liancheng.

Once we obtain what is in the toad's mouth, we will be wealthy tycoons. At that time, who knows who will be richer, compared to Zhang Zuolin? After a somewhat reckless laugh, Captain Lang continued, "With money, we can also buy arms from the foreigners and raise a troop. I will be General Lang, and I will even give you a position as chief of staff. By then, it is uncertain whether the three eastern provinces will be under the Zhang or the Lang surname..."

After hearing my words, Captain Lang nervously glanced at the toad's mouth. He then scattered the silver dollars he had taken from the corpse to his subordinate soldiers, saying: "We cannot delay any longer; some foreigners have already arrived ahead of us. It is possible that all the good things have been taken away—brothers, let's put in more effort. If we are late, everything will be over..."

The Toad's Mouth is located at the summit of the mountain, characterized by a prominent cave. The cave's ceiling protrudes a massive rock, resembling the shape of a frog's mouth, hence its name. Originally, we could have reached it in another two to three hours, but both Shen Liancheng and I had the intention to dawdle. At that moment, we began to circle around the mountain with the soldiers behind us, but Commander Lang and his men were not fools. After two laps, Lang noticed something was amiss and immediately called us three to a halt.

Everyone was already on edge, and suddenly hearing Old Nianba's shout made everyone shudder. A series of sounds of gun bolts being pulled back came from behind. At that moment, Old Nianba tugged at the corner of my clothes, pointed to the bushes a few meters ahead, and continued, "Ghost... foreign devils..."

"There is also a British noble..." After hearing my words, Captain Lang's expression changed unpredictably. After hesitating for a moment, he continued, "Archaeologists are the ones who dig up graves, right? I have heard a bit about it in Fengtian, and it seems that what archaeologists do is the same as tomb raiders, isn't it?"

Thinking of having Er Zhuzi guide these foreigners, and now there has already been a death, he is probably in grave danger as well. This task was assigned to Er Zhuzi by himself, originally intending to let him earn a few dollars for a prosperous year. How will he explain this to Er Zhuzi's family when he returns? At this moment, Shen Liancheng could not help but shout out for Er Zhuzi.

Hearing that this was a foreign engineer sent by Zhang Dashuai to survey the map, Commander Lang's expression became slightly unpleasant. At this moment, the adjutant had already thoroughly examined the corpse. He found a bullet drum and several silver dollars on him. Additionally, there was a canvas backpack containing documents; besides the documents in a foreign language, there was also an identification card filled with foreign characters. The photo on the identification card was surprisingly of this foreigner in military uniform. Furthermore, there was a canvas backpack containing documents; besides the documents in a foreign language, there was also an identification card filled with foreign characters. The photo on the identification card was surprisingly of this foreigner in military uniform.

Damn it, it's a dead Western officer. This is a big problem..." After seeing the identification, Commander Lang smacked his lips. Most of his subordinates were bandits, and they could barely recognize a few Chinese characters, let alone these foreign letters. Just as he was feeling a bit stuck, he suddenly saw me peering at the corpse. He slapped his thigh and said: "How could I forget about you, you foreign student? Come here, you little bastard, read out loud what is written on this!"

Just as Captain Lang was about to give us a few more kicks, the adjutant discovered a new world: "Captain! This foreign devil is not simple; he is armed, and the letters on it are in English—this is American goods. He also has a revolver at his waist..."

Following the direction of his finger, I saw a red-haired foreigner lying on the ground. This person had been dead for quite some time, and before dying, it was unclear what he had seen, as his face was filled with terror, and his pair of green eyes were staring fixedly in our direction

"What a foreign devil, how unlucky..." After glancing at the corpse, Captain Lang spat on the ground. He then furrowed his brows and said to his adjutant, "Why are there still foreigners on the mountain? They can't be coming for that place too, can they?"

No wonder Old Zhao shouted that there was a ghost; anyone who witnessed this scene would be startled. After seeing that it was just a corpse, Captain Lang, who had already hidden behind a tree, finally regained his composure and, accompanied by his adjutant and surrounded by his soldiers, approached the body.

At this moment, Captain Lang noticed a peculiar firearm lying about seven or eight meters away from the corpse. What should have been the magazine was instead fitted with a large, bulging drum. It was only later that I learned this was the Thompson submachine gun that the United States would later equip.

After a few words from Commander Lang, the soldiers began to cheer without hesitation. However, the expression on the face of the adjutant was somewhat unpleasant. He leaned close to Commander Lang's ear and whispered, "Commander, this matter involves the British. If not handled properly, it could become a diplomatic incident. You know the temper of the General..."

Seeing the arrogant demeanor of Captain Lang, Shen Liancheng leaned closer to my ear and whispered, "Nephew, those with the surname Lang do not have good intentions. When we arrive at the Frog's Mouth, we must find an opportunity to escape. Staying by his side will eventually lead to our demise..."

I gently nodded and replied in the same low voice: "Uncle, when the time comes, you listen to me. We will dawdle until dark. Whether it's a blind man or a shadow, if one of them comes out, we can take advantage of the chaos to escape. I know a secret path down the mountain, and when the time comes, we can call on Old Nianba, and we will run together... What is that Old Nianba pondering about?"

Initially, I intended to dawdle until evening, but now having heard Captain Lang's words, we dared not continue to take a detour. We could only brace ourselves and head straight towards the location of the Frog's Mouth. At this moment, I hoped that the blind man from years ago would suddenly appear before me. However, after walking for two hours, aside from the distant dark clouds drifting in, nothing unusual occurred. Once we passed through a patch of forest, we could see in the distance the protruding part of the Frog's Mouth.