Cradle of the Qing Dynasty

"That bastard really knows how to scamper." Watching the figure still bounding along ahead of him, Lian Youming tore a huge mouthful of meat from a cooked deer leg. The venison had already gone cold, but its gamey stench was even stronger than when freshly boiled. Even without a grain of seasoning, Lian Youming chewed through it mouthful by mouthful with a deadpan face, the sinews on his cheeks taut and his canine teeth bared, looking just like a starving ghost with no care for whether it tasted good or bad. He was simply too starved. For three days and four nights straight, ghost only knew how he had endured it. If not for that box of Solomon's seal to sustain him, he likely would have dropped dead from exhaustion long ago. Li Da had stayed ahead of him the entire way, perpetually separated by that same fixed distance. No matter how Lian Youming strained to give chase, he could never close the gap between them. In the end, Lian Youming had simply slowed his pursuit. Whenever he grew hungry, he hunted and roasted game; once fed, he resumed the chase; when running wore him down with hunger again, he ate once more. Repeating that cycle over and over, he had somehow managed to run the entire two thousand-odd li. Yet the payoff was immense. His previously burly frame seemed to pull inward, gradually turning leaner and more streamlined, while his legs had grown far more agile. Lian Youming even felt that two more days of running might push his Golden Bell Shield past the third barrier. The mountain wind blew fierce, throwing biting cold against his face. Li Da's gentle voice finally brought the grueling trek to an end. "We've arrived." Flooded with relief, Lian Youming halted in his tracks and raised his eyes to scan their surroundings. Before him stretched an unbroken sea of wild mountains, devoid of human presence. Strange as it was, though it was only August, waves of chill were already rolling down from the peaks. Faint frost rode the wind, drifting about like crushed kernels of corn. Autumn snow. Lian Youming asked, "Couldn't you have brought a few more people? What if the White Lotus Sect shows up too?" Li Da replied with utter certainty, "It's not 'what if'—they will definitely come. And perhaps they won't be the only ones. The martial world isn't made up of just one faction... If they didn't show, where would the fun be?" The expression on Lian Youming's face froze, though his chewing only hastened. "Are you out of your mind? Just the two of us?" Li Da remained unhurried, continuing his walk up the mountain. "Nobody knows what's inside those underground fortresses. If poison gas or explosives are hidden in there, having more people around will only get in the way. Besides, there's no telling whether your map is genuine. If it's bait tossed out by the White Lotus Sect, ordinary men would only be throwing their lives away." Hearing that, Lian Youming suddenly felt a twinge of regret over coming along. Gazing at the rolling peaks before them, the smile on Li Da's face faded slightly for once, and his tone grew heavier. "The White Lotus Sect and their kind might not be the only ones here. After Japan surrendered, quite a few Japanese soldiers fled into these mountains, and their whereabouts were never discovered. If this map is genuine, it might just pull back a corner of the truth." Lian Youming's spirits lifted at once. "You mean there might be Japanese devils hiding in these mountains?" The Northeast was full of treacherous mountains, wild waters, and dense forests. After the war, a good number of Japanese soldiers had indeed refused to surrender and slipped into the deep woods. They had either turned into savages or hidden in forgotten nooks and crannies, never seeing the light of day year in and year out. Li Da said calmly, "You'd better prepare yourself mentally so you aren't frightened to death when the time comes." Lian Youming raised an eyebrow, snapped the deer bone in two, and sucked out the marrow inside. "My dad talked about that sort of thing too." Li Da cast him a meaningful look. "Did he tell you that those Japanese soldiers didn't just flee into the mountains on their own—they also dragged off countless women and children? Care to guess why? When I traveled the north with my master years ago, I saw things that defy description, and they remain vivid in my mind to this day... If there really are Japanese devils on this mountain, leave none alive." Seeing Li Da fix his gaze on the bone in his hand, Lian Youming froze, his pupils instantly shrinking. "You mean..." Without waiting for an answer, he drew a deep breath, his tiger-like eyes turning cold. "Understood." Turning around, Li Da regained his unflappable, gentle demeanor and spoke with easy confidence: "This is quite a place. Legend holds it as the cradle of the Qing dynasty, home to countless heavenly materials, earthly treasures, and rare beasts. Rumors also say an earth-shattering secret treasure is hidden here, along with an uncorrupted corpse... I'm going to take a walk. Have a look around yourself and see if you can turn up anything good." Before Lian Youming could react, Li Da flashed into motion. His spine contracted and whipped open like a soaring azure dragon, carrying him in massive strides into the sea of trees. "Meet at Fortress Entrance Number Two before dark! If you run into enemies, fight if you can win, run if you can't!" Lian Youming stood frozen where he was. Just as he opened his mouth, Li Da flicked his wrist, sending an object spinning through the air toward him. It was a Type 54 pistol. Catching it smoothly, Lian Youming muttered under his breath, "Always talking about how 'the wise seek within,' but the body is remarkably honest!" No sooner had the words left his mouth than Li Da's ghostly voice drifted in from the distance: "That was prepared for you." Lian Youming shivered. "How does he train those ears of his? They're like radar!" Yet once Li Da had completely vanished from sight, the casual smirk on Lian Youming's face melted away, replaced by gravity and contemplation. "Life-extending aged medicine, Japanese devils, the White Lotus Sect... Heh, this trip is turning out quite lively." As for why Li Da had chosen to act alone, the reason was obvious: the man was definitely keeping something back. By specifying an entrance, he was almost certainly planning to slip in from elsewhere first. Still, since Li Da had no desire for company, Lian Youming wasn't about to bother chasing after him. Quickly reviewing the map's markings in his head and testing the pistol to ensure it worked, he turned toward the opposite direction. According to the map, the underground fortress sat on the northwestern slopes of the Changbai Mountains, practically on the border with Korea. Lian Youming decided to head the other way. Since danger lay that way, staying far from it to regain his stamina came first. "If that girl found out there was life-extending aged medicine here, who knows if she'd faint from sheer delight..." Without an expert like Li Da at his side, Lian Youming moved with caution. Wandering through the woods for a long time, he spotted plenty of weasels, roe deer, golden eagles, and sika deer. Creatures flying in the sky, swimming in the water, and running on the ground—all of them were edible. He hadn't eaten his fill earlier, and his eyes practically glowed green with hunger, ready to pounce and devour something raw. After thinking it over, however, he pushed deeper into the mountain until he spotted a solitary wooden cabin and slipped inside. It looked like a resting shelter used by mountain roamers. Dust coated the interior, along with dried animal droppings, making it unclear how long it had stood abandoned. Only then did Lian Youming pull off his filthy trousers. Glancing down, he saw that the insides of his thighs were covered in bruises, the veins on his calves bulging and surging with blood. Without hesitation, he exhaled softly and channeled inner force through his hands, gently kneading his legs to guide his blood and qi down along the meridians. Outside, the light grew darker as mountain winds gathered strength, sending frost swirling through the air even in late summer. After a long while, feeling his condition had stabilized, Lian Youming pulled his trousers back on. Just as he prepared to leave, a glance out the window caught a figure striding briskly up the ridge below—and as luck would have it, heading straight for the cabin. "What kind of rotten luck is this? Good things never find me, but every bit of trouble runs straight into my face!" Lian Youming's mouth twitched. He swept a quick look around, spotted a pile of straw in the corner, and flung it up to crawl underneath. The instant he slipped inside, a rank, gamey stench hit him so hard it made his head spin. It was likely an old den used by wild beasts, soaked through with what smelled like urine, foul and pungent enough to make Lian Youming nearly heave up what he had just eaten. Yet there was no time to change spots, and nowhere else to hide. He could only hold his breath and listen as the footsteps drew nearer. The wooden door swung open, and a rough-looking, middle-aged man strode inside, letting out an odd chuckle. "Heheh, never thought I'd run across a girl looking like this out in these mountains. Heaven truly treats me well!" Lian Youming held his gaze still, peering through the crisscrossing gaps in the dry straw as the man set a figure down from his shoulder. It was a young woman with her hands and feet bound. She wore a cotton shirt and cloth trousers, her long hair disheveled, tears brimming in her eyes, her delicate face pale and bloodless. The burly man was already impatiently stripping off his clothes. Watching this from his hiding spot, Lian Youming knitted his brow tight. As fate would have it, the girl turned her head in despair, and her tear-glistening eyes met his dead-on. That pleading, hopeless gaze was enough to break anyone's heart. To save her or not? Thoughts raced through Lian Youming's mind as he weighed his options, when two more sets of footsteps echoed outside. The middle-aged man's expression changed. Hurriedly straightening his clothes, he walked out. "Damn it, what kind of time is this to still be thinking about getting between the sheets?!" an enraged woman's voice reached Lian Youming's ears. "Li Da has already entered the mountains! How did your tracking go? We've chased them all this way. If you ruin the vice sect leader's plans, I'll castrate you myself!" "Vice sect leader?" Listening to the exchange outside, Lian Youming gave the girl a wink. He drew a deep breath, shot out a hand, and scooped her up by the waist. Holding her tight, he threw his body against the cabin wall, smashed straight through the timber, and sprinted full tilt into the forest. Almost the moment Lian Youming surged his qi, the voices outside cut off. A second later— The cabin door blasted apart. By the time three figures rushed inside, all they saw was Lian Youming's back disappearing into the trees with the girl in his arms. "You White Lotus Sect scum, picking on a young girl—have you no fucking shame?!" "After him!"