From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

Chen Yulou: "..."

The last time he was this speechless was the last time.

However, his three confidants—Hua Maguai, Kunlun Mole, and Hong Guniang—were not using their real names, so he didn't mind keeping it from them. He then got down to business, saying, "Old friend, recruiting soldiers is fine, but buying foreign guns and cannons will cost a lot!"

Putting everything else aside, just the troops you have left, to fully equip them, you'd need at least three or four thousand guns, millions of bullets, and then there's the artillery—

Do the math, how much does this cost?

Foreign goods are much more exquisite and expensive than those from Hanyang!

To excavate a tomb, you'd need at least a powerful feudal lord, and you'd have to recruit soldiers and horses. You might as well go dig up the First Emperor's tomb in the Qinling Mountains.

Upon hearing about the First Emperor's Mausoleum, Luo Laowai said with a wry smile, "Look at what you're saying, brother. How dare I, Luo Laowai, go north to the Shaanxi area? Wouldn't that be courting death?"

Besides, the First Emperor's Mausoleum has been excavated by people in every dynasty, but no one has ever succeeded. How could I dare to go?

Let's keep looking in this area.

You really have to help me out this time! I've suffered a defeat lately, and my income is insufficient to cover my expenses. If this drags on any longer, I won't be able to pay my opium debts, and my men will mutini! Then I'll have to go back to the mountains and become a bandit again!

"Ok."

Chen Yulou readily agreed.

As the head of Changsheng Mountain, Chen Yulou also paid attention to the situation in China and had a premonition that things would become even more chaotic in the next ten years or so. Although Changsheng Mountain seemed glorious, it was only because of tobacco and silver dollars that it gained its reputation. If it really encountered difficulties, the hundreds of thousands of well-known bandits and warlords might not necessarily come to its aid.

Therefore, relying on oneself is worse than relying on others. In order to ensure that his Changsheng Mountain and Chenjia Village can survive this chaotic world and "clean up" before the arrival of a prosperous future, he must also fight for more family property in order to secure his position as the "local emperor".

Moreover, in recent years, Changsheng Mountain's business has indeed been affected a lot. Many warlords are thinking of breaking away from him, and many wealthy merchants and landlords in the small towns in the area are also competing with him for the opium business.

As Luo Laowai mentioned, the opium trade ended there...

The tomb that Chen Yulou chose was located in the Laoxiongling area of ​​western Hunan.

Compared to Luo Laowai, Chen Yulou knew more, knowing that since the Qin and Han dynasties, emperors of all dynasties had been practicing alchemy in that area in pursuit of immortality.

Has the elixir of immortality been successfully refined?

No one knows.

But Chen Yulou was certain that there must be many ancient tombs in that area. If he could find one and dig it up, even if he split it 50/50 with Luo Laowai, he could still make a fortune.

He ultimately chose Ping Mountain in the Lao Xiongling area.

Because the mountain is shaped like a bottle, it is called Bottle Mountain. Emperors of all dynasties ordered people to carve it out. It is said that the inside has been hollowed out and there are many pavilions, towers and palaces. In addition, most people in the Xiangxi area are skilled in using witchcraft and poison, so the ancient tombs in that area are less likely to be visited.

"Alright! Ping Mountain it is!"

Luo Laowai and Chen Yulou were sworn brothers. Influenced by him, although he did not understand the tricks of tomb raiding, he made his fortune by digging up the tombs of kings, nobles and generals of past dynasties. He had a tomb raiding addiction and immediately wanted to gather the pistol company and the engineering battalion, and make the people in the latter bring shovels, spades, hoes and picks, and also prepare a large amount of explosives.

He's going to Old Bear Ridge today!

# Chapter 115 The Contest! Three Throwing Knives!

Luo Laowai is an impatient person.

However, Chen Yulou remained very composed, holding back Luo Laowai and not intending to rush into the mountains.

"Commander Luo, don't rush. We need to be careful when entering Old Bear Ridge. The roads there are narrow and sparsely populated, and there are many poisonous insects. It's best to scout ahead first."

"Furthermore, if we can't find the location of the tunnel or the tomb, it's useless to bring more people. It's a waste of effort and explosives."

No matter how much you try to persuade them, they won't listen.

Chen Yulou persuaded Luo Laowai to stay, and then ordered his men to pack their belongings. They planned to disguise themselves as merchants and peddlers heading into the mountains, find a village, and communicate with the locals in order to find the exact location of the deepest part of Ping Mountain.

During the preparations, Hong Guniang approached Jiang Liu, Lu Jin, and Li Muxuan, leading them to the training ground outside the courtyard. She asked, "I don't like beating around the bush. Judging from your appearances, you don't seem to be the same kind of people as that Luo Laowai at all. How did you end up working for him?"

“We made a deal with him. We helped him this time, and he won’t harm our friends,” Jiang Liu said succinctly.

"Oh, I knew it. With Luo Laowai's temper, how could he possibly get help from an extraordinary person?"

The girl in red spoke with an air of seriousness, seemingly angry, but her eyes remained calm. She simply beckoned to Jiang Liu and asked, "Want to spar with me?"

"can."

Jiang Liu agreed.

This girl in red was also a straightforward person. She walked to the center of the arena with Jiang Liu, and two of the five throwing knives at her waist had somehow ended up in her hands.

Even Lu Jin and Li Muxuan felt a moment of disorientation, realizing that this girl in red was not highly skilled, but her techniques were very agile.

"From the Jiyun Society?"

Jiang Liu saw it clearly and felt that the technique was somewhat similar to Ren Jiating's, but it was a different approach. It was as if invisible Qi was attached to the watch, and by distorting the air and refracting light, it made it difficult to see clearly, similar to an illusion.

But even judging by the exquisite skill of the technique—

She is also a cut above Ren Jiating.

"No, it comes from the Moon Gate."

When the Moon Gate was mentioned, a hint of melancholy appeared in Red Girl's eyes, but it vanished in an instant.

Jiang Liu, however, was also aware of this sect.

Wang Yaozu once told him that the Moon Gate was also a school that excelled in ancient magic tricks, but unlike the Jiyun Society, which had a wider variety of magic tricks, the Moon Gate only focused on illusion magic.

Of course!

The Moon Gate also emphasizes the training of techniques, including sticking, swaying, joining, passing, moon, separating, chasing, and opening. But ultimately, all of these are to cooperate with illusions, to perform illusions, and to perform tricks such as crossing mountains and seas and stealing the sky and changing the sun.

However, in Wang Yaozu's version, it has to be said differently:

To pass off inferior goods as superior ones, or to substitute one's appearance for another.

"Moon Gate? I've heard so much about it!"

Jiang Liu clasped his hands in a gesture of respect.

"No need for formalities. The Moon Gate has disbanded, and I am its sole successor. I came to Chenjia Village in Changsheng Mountain three years ago and haven't left since. Moreover, I hadn't performed any proper magic tricks outside for five years before that."

The girl in red tossed her throwing knives up and down, somewhat speechless that Jiang Liu, at such a young age, already knew how to be polite—[This world is truly a mess!]

"No, my master also performs magic tricks."

Jiang Liu shook his head and explained, "Now they've even set up a troupe of opera performers."

"Oh? You're from the Jiyun Society?"

After saying that, Hong Guniang shook her head again, "No, if you were from the Jiyun Society, you wouldn't have asked that question before. Were you from another magic troupe?"

"Turning the eight directions upside down, Ghost Hand King."

Upon hearing this nickname, Hong Guniang's eyes narrowed sharply. She stared at Jiang Liu for a while before tentatively asking, "Quanxing?"

If it were Quanxing, then their coming along with Luo Laowai would make sense.

"No, and my master has already withdrawn from Quanxing."

Jiang Liu shook his head, sighing inwardly that news from the world of supernatural beings truly only circulated within their own circles. This girl, Hong, probably hadn't been paying attention to the supernatural community for a while, to the point that she didn't even know that Wang Yaozu had left the Quanxing Sect.

Furthermore, the way this Red Girl behaves is closer to that of an ordinary person than to an extraordinary person who is solely focused on cultivation.

"is it?"

Hong Guniang seemed thoughtful, but then quickly shook it off and brought up the content of the competition: "Never mind, anyway, I have no grudge against your master."

Next, I will explain the rules of the competition.

"Since you are Ghost Hand King's disciple, you must have inherited the Reversal of Eight Directions technique. If I really fight you, I estimate I'll be at a disadvantage. How about I throw three flying knives? If you can catch them all, then you win. What do you say?"

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

Jiang Liu agreed.

Swish!

As soon as she finished speaking, the girl in red instantly threw a throwing knife—

To attack a teenager like me so suddenly—that's cunning!

Jiang Liu cursed inwardly, but casually raised his right hand, pinched the throwing knife that was about to pierce his brow, held it between his index and middle fingers, and smiled, "Sister Hong, at least say 'begin' first, okay?"

"You're quite the smooth talker, I wonder how many girls you'll fool in the future."

Ignoring Jiang Liu's complaints, Hong Guniang simply called him "Sister Hong," her lips curving upwards, and thus defined Jiang Liu.

“Sister Hong, your words are somewhat biased. I know I am handsome and extraordinary, but I am focused on cultivation and have no intention of depleting my vital energy.”

Jiang Liu called out "Sister Hong" again and stated his attitude in a righteous and righteous manner.

"I didn't see anything particularly handsome, but he could certainly be called dashing. However, he's definitely a smooth talker."

As she spoke, the girl in red raised her right arm and made a swinging motion, but no throwing knife was thrown out.

Swish!

The second throwing knife shot out.

It actually bounced off her left hand, which was casually placed on her thigh.

[What a brilliant feint!]

He relaxed him with words, distracted him with his right arm, and then unexpectedly launched the throwing knife with his left hand.

Even though Jiang Liu could easily defeat his opponent, he would not hesitate to praise the exquisite skills and techniques of others.

but--

With a "snap," Jiang Liu caught another throwing knife between the middle and ring fingers of his right hand.

Relax and enjoy yourself!

No matter how skillful the technique, if one's spiritual cultivation is insufficient, the power of the throwing knife will naturally be weak.

"Great!"

A bead of sweat the size of a bean dripped from the girl's cheek.

The person in front of her looked young, but their strength was beyond her imagination! An ordinary person would have a hard time dodging the first flying knife, but the other party easily caught both of her flying knives. Judging from the relaxed look on the other party's face, they probably didn't even use any special abilities. They just let their Qi circulate naturally in their body, like ordinary breathing, and that's how they did it!

Is the difference between different superhumans really that great?