Joining Tiandao Company: Starting by mending a zombie world

The stern-faced man at the head of the group slowly swept his gaze across the half-blocked cave entrance and the fresh footprints on the ground, finally settling on the direction of the large rock where Chu Sheng and his two companions were hiding.

His right hand seemed to hang casually at his side, but Chu Sheng noticed that his index and middle fingers were slightly bent—that was the starting stance of the "Hunter's Finger" technique.

The man said succinctly, "I am the Mountain Moving Taoist, Partridge Whistle, along with my junior brother Old Foreigner and junior sister Flower Spirit. We are just passing through this place and hope you will forgive us."

"Junior brother, we are kindred spirits," Yu Chuda whispered a reminder.

"Partridge Whistle? Old Foreigner? Flower Spirit?"

"Aren't these the three members of the Mountain Moving Taoist gang from 'Ghost Blows Out the Light'? What are they doing here?"

Upon hearing these three names, Chu Sheng's mind went blank. If he remembered correctly, these three were all highly skilled in martial arts, both righteous and evil, and should only appear in places related to the Muchen Pearl.

Could they also be after the Japanese treasure? Or... is there some other secret hidden in these mountains?

"Brother, we are the guerrillas from Gantian Town."

"We just finished fighting the Japanese a few days ago. The wounded in the town are short of medical care and medicine, and their food supply has also run out."

"I learned by chance that some things left behind by the Japanese were hidden in these mountains, and I thought I would find them to exchange for money and medicine to tide me over."

Chu Sheng pondered for a moment, then stood up from behind the stone and clasped his hands in greeting.

"Guerrilla?" Hua Ling repeated softly, looking at Partridge Whistle.

As she spoke, the old foreigner's hand was already on the dagger at his waist.

"Don't move! I'll shoot you dead!" Little Bean reacted quickly, pointing his spear at the defensive old foreigner.

Seeing this, Partridge Whistle was not afraid. Over the years, he had become accustomed to warlord conflicts and Japanese invasions.

His gaze swept over the half-blocked opening again, and he advised:

"There are unclean things in this cave, you can't touch it."

"I advise...you all to leave."

The old foreigner stared at Xiaodouzi and said coldly, "My senior brother is right, there are zongzi here, which are not for ordinary people like you to touch."

"Leaving now might save your life."

Xiao Douzi's face turned pale. Ever since Hui Ji, he had been terrified of these demons and monsters. Yu Chuda, on the other hand, explained to Chu Sheng with a look of indignation:

"Junior brother, don't be afraid. Zongzi are just zombies, nothing to worry about. You and I can handle them."

When the old foreigner heard Yu Chuda's words, he chuckled: "You're really good at bragging. If I saw you covered in bandages, I might actually believe you."

Hua Ling, standing nearby, was also amused by Yu Chuda's comical appearance, covered in bandages.

"Indeed, I believed you even if you didn't say anything."

Upon hearing that they were from the Taoist sect, Partridge Whistle became even more wary:

"Those who follow the Taoist path should know that there are some things that must not be touched."

"The cave is filled with a lingering, gloomy aura, and the earthy smell is mixed with the stench of amber. What's buried inside is definitely not ordinary valuables."

Yu Chuda scoffed and said, "You think I can't smell it?"

"When it comes to dealing with zombies, my master is second to none in the world."

"I advise you to leave quickly, lest you get hurt or even lose your lives!"

"Nonsense!" Hua Ling scoffed. "If your master is so powerful, where is he?"

"Hua Ling!" Partridge Whistle raised his hand to stop her, then looked at Yu Chuda: "May I ask who this brother's master is?"

Yu Chuda said arrogantly, "Listen carefully, I am a disciple of the Fuxi Hall of the Maoshan Sect, my master is Mao Xiaofang!"

"Mao Xiaofang..." Partridge Whistle's eyes flashed with surprise, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "So you are disciples of Exorcist Master Mao Xiaofang?"

Yu Chuda nodded: "That's right, now you know how powerful we are, right?"

Partridge Whistle nodded: "I admit that Master Mao is indeed very skilled in exorcism, and few can compare to him."

"However, there is a large tomb down there, full of traps and mechanisms, and it's not just filled with demons and monsters. It's best if you don't go down."

Looking at Partridge Whistle's serious expression, Chu Sheng realized that the cave was far more complicated than he had imagined.

Little Baka hid the treasure here, most likely to take advantage of the natural terrain for concealment and to utilize the mechanisms within the tomb for defense.

If, as Partridge Whistle said, there are indeed "zongzi" (rice dumplings) inside, then it will probably be more troublesome than imagined.

"Are you after the treasure in the tomb?" he asked tentatively.

Partridge Whistle did not answer directly, but said calmly, "The Mountain Moving Clan is not after wealth, but only to find elixirs. This tomb belongs to a prince of the Qing Dynasty, and its feng shui is unique. Perhaps it contains what we need."

"What a coincidence," Yu Chuda interjected, "We only want what the Japanese left behind, the objects in the tomb, we won't touch them."

The old foreigner scoffed, "Easy for you to say. The tomb is full of hidden traps and evil spirits. You haven't even figured out the 'trap' at the entrance; going in will only lead to your deaths."

"A mechanism?" Little Bean looked around nervously. "Where?"

Hua Ling raised her slender finger and pointed to the seemingly randomly piled stones at the cave entrance: "Those stones, though seemingly messy, actually correspond to the numbers of the Nine Palaces, blocking the gate of life but leaving a deadly entrance."

"If an ordinary person tries to force their way in, they'll trigger the mechanism, which will set off the explosives below. Boom! They'll blow you all to smithereens."

Chu Sheng stared intently at the location of those stones; there was indeed an inexplicable awkwardness to their placement, as if deliberately designed to make people overlook the cave entrance. He then stated frankly:

"It should be the work of the Jiuju faction."

Upon hearing the words "Nine Chrysanthemums Faction," Partridge Whistle and the other two's expressions changed.

Partridge Whistle walked to the cave entrance, squatted down, picked up a bit of soil with his fingers, and smelled it:

"The soil was recently turned over, no more than six months ago."

"The moss on the stone shows signs of being rubbed off, but the base remains the same."

"Someone altered the original plan, completely sealing off the exit and leaving only a dangerous path."

He stood up, dusted off his hands, and looked at Chu Sheng: "The person who set up the trap was crude in his methods, but insidious enough, which is in line with the style of the Nine Chrysanthemums faction."

Chu Sheng was secretly pleased. The Mountain Moving Clan was indeed professional at dealing with traps. If they could cooperate, it would prevent further casualties. He calmly said:

"We're not leaving. We still need to sell the treasure inside to save people."

He then changed the subject.

"Since we both have the same goal—to go down—why don't we cooperate?"

"You deal with the mechanisms and evil spirits, I'll handle that, how about that?"

Partridge Whistle sized up Chu Sheng and pondered for a moment.

Having roamed the martial world for so many years, he naturally understood that good advice was useless against a damned ghost, and sighed:

"Since he is a highly skilled disciple of Master Mao, he must have some tricks up his sleeve."

"However..." He glanced at Yu Chuda's bandages and Xiao Douzi's innocent face, "I'm afraid these two won't be able to handle it."

Chu Sheng understood the implication and nodded, saying, "I'll go down alone."

Yu Chuda and Xiaodouzi were both startled and quickly stopped him, saying, "Junior Brother (Sheng Ge) mustn't act rashly. Let's go together."

Although Chu Sheng knew a lot about the Mountain Moving Trio and knew they weren't bad people, that was, after all, just a movie.

As for what the world will be like, he couldn't say for sure.

So, without making a sound, she gave Yu Chuda a look:

"I believe these three aren't bad people. Besides, if there really is treasure down there, even the three of us couldn't move it."

"Senior brother, you stay outside the door. Little Bean, go back and call more people... to move things."

He deliberately drew out the phrase "call more people" and gestured to the two of them with his eyes.

Yu Chuda blinked and instantly understood Chu Sheng's meaning, saying, "Alright, I'll listen to my junior brother. I'll stay outside to provide backup. Xiao Douzi, go back and call for help."