At first, they drove an unregistered jeep that Shang Nianhua had procured. After traveling for a stretch, just as dawn was beginning to break, they hid the vehicle in the roadside woods and continued on foot over the mountains.
According to Pang Jinghe, they would have to walk for about a full day; if they kept up a good pace, they would likely arrive before dusk.
"If we run into anyone on the way, don't greet them. Leave it to me. We have secret cant phrases between us. It's not that I'm unwilling to teach you, but there isn't enough time to cover everything, and I'm afraid things might go wrong. Of course, I definitely won't sell you out. Rest assured, heh."
As Pang Jinghe spoke, he looked up, inspected their surroundings closely, and then reached out to part a cluster of hanging vines blocking the trail.
Further in lay the depths of the Hengduan Mountains. Concerning this region, folklore told many tales—some bizarre, others terrifying.
Standing off to the side, Pang Jinghe waited until everyone had passed before releasing the vines and catching up.
"Actually, all those stories about ghosts and gods are nonsense, so you don't need to worry. There might be miasma, but you can see it with your own eyes, so as long as we don't wander deep into it, we'll be fine." In truth, miasma probably wouldn't affect these people anyway. Pang Jinghe pondered for a moment, then added, "Then again, snakes, bugs, and the like might jump out at us. Whether they actually bite or not, they're pretty creepy, so everyone should still watch their step."
"You don't need to worry about snakes. It'll just be an extra dish for lunch."
Wen Jifei glanced at Han Qingyu and chuckled.
Hearing that Han Qingyu possessed an ancestral knack like this, Pang Jinghe felt completely at ease. As they walked, he tried hard to look on the bright side: *Looking at it from another angle, I'm actually about to settle down into something stable. I've climbed up to a higher branch!*
The more Comrade Old Pang thought about it, the happier he felt. He trotted forward a few steps and asked, "Hey, once we finish the job this time, are we heading back?"
Wen Jifei turned his head. "Back where?"
"To Azure!" Pang Jinghe said, his eyes burning with eagerness. "You guys said these two times counted as earning merit, right? And with you vouching for me, Azure should take me in, won't they?"
Wu Xu turned his gaze forward.
Han Qingyu replied, "Yeah."
"That's great! Then I'm finally walking the straight and narrow, getting a fresh start."
Pang Jinghe sounded somewhat emotional. He tilted his head up and looked at the sky—it was blue.
"I've always loved blue." Comrade Old Pang had firmly made up his mind now.
As a collateral young master of the Pang clan, he had never been favored in his family and had lived a frustrated life. Now that the Pang clan was gone anyway and Azure was so formidable, defecting to their side and tagging along with the experts beside him would surely offer bright prospects.
A brief silence followed.
Rusty Sister turned her head and said earnestly, "Congratulations."
"Haha, you flatter me, you flatter me! I'll be relying on you to look out for me from now on." Pang Jinghe made a modest reply, then spent the walk daydreaming about what he would look like in Azure's standard combat uniform...
Until he abruptly snapped back to reality, realizing he had to survive first.
"By the way, Major Qing, you guys can hack down super combat powers, right?!"
Pang Jinghe knew Wu Xu and Han Qingyu were strong, and the girl in iron armor was very likely formidable as well, yet he still felt somewhat uneasy.
Because where they were going... their host, Clan Head Qu Zongxing of the Qu clan, was overwhelmingly likely to possess super combat power. That was why the Qu clan ranked first among the hidden clans.
This was the intelligence gathered so far; Pang Jinghe, Zhu Jiaming, and Shang Nianhua had all said the exact same thing.
Therefore, the key to their mission's success or failure did not lie in the potentially vast crowd of war slaves. After all, once Han Qingyu and the others took off running, it would be difficult for those war slaves to even catch up.
The key to everything was: if necessary, could a super combat power be cut down?
"Yes," Han Qingyu replied simply and with conviction.
This time, he wasn't pulling Pang Jinghe's leg. They could cut one down, and perhaps cut him down very quickly.
After all, based on the current information, it was impossible for the Qu clan head to be the kind of super combat power who stood atop the peak.
As such, with the strength of Han Qingyu, Wu Xu, and Rusty Sister, two or three working together would at least be capable of a fight.
On top of that, they were prepared to expend one of Wen Jifei's bullets. If necessary, they could even attempt a swift decapitation strike.
The most terrifying aspect of Wen Jifei's bullet right now was that within this hidden world of source energy behind the curtain, no one believed bullets were frightening.
This might well be the very first gunshot through which this world would truly welcome a lethal bullet.
...
A little past five in the afternoon. High on the mountain ridge ahead, nestled between two peaks, a structure resembling a karst cave came into view. Naturally, it had most likely been carved out by human hands.
"I went through that cavern once before. It's a few hundred meters long, pretty lengthy, and pitch-black inside. But once you pass through, everything opens up before your eyes, and that's the Qu clan. How about it? Doesn't it sound just like 'The Peach Blossom Spring'?"
Having grown more familiar with them along the journey, Pang Jinghe made a joke, mentioning that they weren't far from the Qu clan now.
With a faint whoosh,
the iron armor peeled away from the rear of the group, vanishing into the mountain forest.
Pang Jinghe froze, asking with concern, "She—she's not coming?! There's no need to worry! She can just cover herself with a cloak. Our clans are full of bizarre and eccentric people..."
"Don't ever call Rusty Sister weird again." Wu Xu spoke for the first time all day.
Pang Jinghe turned to look at him, nodding timidly.
"Don't worry, she'll support us from the shadows." Wen Jifei pulled out a cigarette and passed it to Pang Jinghe. Then he took out an unopened pack of premium cigarettes, tossed it over, and said, "From here on out, we'll be counting on Brother Pang to handle things."
"Leave it to me." Pang Jinghe unwrapped the pack as he led the group up.
"Hold on, stay right there." A man with a small mustache stood at the cavern entrance alongside two burly brutes. Squinting from his higher vantage point, the mustachioed man asked the brutes, "Recognize them?"
"...No." The two burly men shook their heads one after the other.
They would recognize virtually anyone with even a slight reputation among the hidden clans. The mustachioed man grinned, then called down, "The rest of you wait down there! One of you come up to talk!"
Pang Jinghe walked up, offered a cigarette, exchanged the cant phrases first, and then introduced himself: "I'm from the Pang family, Pang..."
"Isn't the Pang family finished?!" the mustachioed man remarked, eyeing him closely. "Though now that I look, you do seem somewhat familiar. You've visited our Qu clan before."
"Yes, I have, I have! Master Steward has an excellent memory," Pang Jinghe replied hastily.
In reality, the mustachioed man was no true Qu clan steward; the real stewards were inside receiving guests from all corners and would never be sent out to guard the entrance.
He was merely a lackey of the Qu clan's third young master, Qu Guang. Hearing himself addressed as "Master Steward," he felt quite pleased with himself.
"Still, you lot..."
"Ah, when disaster struck our family previously, only I and one of our guest experts were fortunate enough to escape. Later on, we ran into two survivors from the Yu clan." Pang Jinghe turned his head and gestured, putting the emphasis on Wu Xu. "So, hearing that Patriarch Qu has raised the banner, we rushed over to pledge our allegiance."
"Then you aren't on the guest list, are you?" The mustachioed man's expression changed. He lowered his head and blew a puff of air across his fingertips.
Pang Jinghe was speechless.
"This is an alliance assembly, not something you can just stroll into with a couple of stragglers. Understand?" one of the burly men chimed in, sounding well-practiced.
Stationed out here, they naturally dared not extort the prominent, invited families, nor was there any profit to be milked from them.
However, among the hidden clans, there were also plenty of fallen, petty households. These people insisted on joining the bustle of their own accord, seeking to join the alliance in search of shelter.
Such folk were their targets for extortion.
"What's wrong?" The sky was dusky, and since this was the shaded slope of the mountain, it was rather dim. Seeing that things didn't appear to be going smoothly, Han Qingyu walked a bit closer and asked from a dozen-odd meters away.
Pang Jinghe turned around, winked and twitched his eyebrows at him, rubbing his fingertips together as he whispered, "They want money."
*They're actually asking for money?! Well, if it's money, that's easy.* Just as Wen Jifei was about to step forward...
The mustachioed man up above waved his hand dismissively.
"Do you have pig brains? What the hell would I want your money for?"
The group looked at him blankly.
"So, are you genuinely clueless, playing dumb, or are you just so hopelessly broke that you really don't have any?!" Afraid of being seen, the mustachioed man beckoned Pang Jinghe closer. Two blue crystal source energy blocks slipped down from his sleeve into his hand. Holding them up, he indicated, "These. Two blocks, and you can pass... Got any?"
A brief silence descended over the scene.
*Two source energy blocks! That many?! This guy is way too greedy! Does he want our lives?!* Pang Jinghe thought in agitation.
At the same time, Wen Jifei and Wu Xu turned their heads in unison, exchanging a silent look.
"None?! Then turn around and head back." The mustachioed man looked down disdainfully, tossing the two blue crystal blocks in his hand. "Don't say you couldn't bear to part with them. If you're that stingy, you can stay out there all on your own and let Azure wipe you out..."
The two burly men folded their arms behind him, smirking.
Pang Jinghe turned his head back toward Han Qingyu once more. "Should we..." Two blocks—he didn't even have the face to suggest paying it.
Suddenly—*whoosh!*
A soft sound rang out.
Pang Jinghe only felt the world blur before his eyes. Then, regaining his senses, he felt as though he were flying.
No, not flying.
His toes were dragging across the ground as someone hauled him along in a breakneck sprint.
So fast! From the pitch darkness of the cavern to the sudden openness at the exit, bathed in the setting sun... When Pang Jinghe came to his senses, he realized he was already on the other side of the cavern.
Turning his head, he saw Han Qingyu and the other two standing right beside him.
Wen Jifei was smoothing out the wrinkles in his clothes.
Han Qingyu was gazing off into the distance while casually slipping two source energy blocks into his pocket.
*You can even do that?!*
In that single moment, Pang Jinghe felt his entire worldview and philosophy of life being rewritten. "Major Qing, you... you guys..."
At that thought, visions of raiding and looting everywhere in the future inexplicably popped into his head. Pang Jinghe had never felt so badass in all his life. A wave of utter exhilaration washed over him, sweeping away his worries as he exclaimed, "We're just too damn awesome!"
"Yeah. Let's go," Han Qingyu replied calmly.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the cavern.
The mustachioed man looked down at his empty palm and asked numbly, "Where are my source energy blocks?"
There was no response.
"Where are my two source energy blocks?!" he roared at the top of his lungs.
Beside him, the two burly men exchanged glances, gesturing with their eyes toward the now-empty cavern entrance. Hesitating for a moment, they spoke at the same time:
"It looks like—"
"—they might've been snatched."
Chapter 384