Escort Zhang had a look of self-doubt on his face. Just like what the others had said, they were in the escort business and were very familiar with the roads. At the very least, they knew the landmarks along the way by heart.
Take the Three Mile Slope for example. It was a very iconic place. If they were to take this route, they would have to pass through it. In the past decade or so, Escort Zhang had passed by the Three Mile Slope more than twenty times. He was very familiar with the area. It wasn't like his backyard, but he could tell if there was a mountain or not.
Especially when there was a mountain in a place where there was originally no mountain, it was even more obvious at a glance.
"Old Xu, come and take a look!" Escort Zhang called out to an old escort. The latter had been with Escort Zhang for more than a decade and was also very familiar with the area.
"Look over there. I remember there being no mountain here, but there are a few slopes." Escort Zhang asked hesitantly. The reality was far too different from what he remembered. "That's right. What's going on?" Escort Zhang asked with uncertainty.
The mountain in front of him was not fake, nor was he hallucinating.
Old Xu came over as well. He was equally shocked.
"That's strange. There really isn't a mountain in that place. Two months ago, we passed by that place. How could a mountain suddenly appear in just two months?" Old Xu shook his head repeatedly. Clearly, that mountain didn't seem real to him.
A few of the older escorts came forward to take a look. Similarly, they all insisted that there was no mountain here. Three Mile Slope was simply too obvious a landmark. If it was any other place, they might not have remembered it, but here, there was no way they would get it wrong.
"That's strange. Let's go. We're going to pass by anyway. Let's turn around and take a look." Escort Zhang and the others found it unbelievable. Driven by curiosity, they decided to take a look.
A moment later, they arrived in front of the mountain.
Upon closer inspection, the mountain was barren, without any vegetation. It felt as if it had been formed suddenly. Upon closer inspection, there was clearly fresh soil in some places. It was as if the soil and stones had been uprooted from the ground and then gathered together, creating this mountain out of thin air.
However, the mountain wasn't particularly tall.
"Look, there's someone at the top." A sharp-eyed escort pointed at the top of the mountain.
Everyone hurriedly looked over. Indeed, there was a person sitting at the top of the mountain. However, due to the distance and the color of the sky, they couldn't see clearly.
"For a mysterious person to be sitting cross-legged on top of a mountain in this uninhabited wilderness, could he have encountered some strange demon?" Someone muttered. It was clear that he was afraid and planned to leave.
Escort Zhang may look like a burly man, but he was a good man, and a good one at that.
"What if something happened to that person? This mountain isn't that high. I'll go up and take a look." Escort Zhang was worried that something might happen to the person up there, and he was also curious.
The other escorts tried to dissuade him. However, despite his age, Escort Zhang's martial arts skills hadn't deteriorated. Moreover, he had the most powerful pet beast in his team.
A Broken Tail Mountain Lion.
This mountain lion wasn't very big. It was only slightly bigger than some dogs. Its tail had been cut off a long time ago due to fighting. Apart from that, there were many scars on its body. It was obvious that this mountain lion was very experienced in battle.
Just like Escort Zhang, he was a true veteran of the martial world, a veteran warrior.
At Escort Zhang's call, the mountain lion immediately followed him silently. There was no path on this mountain but it was possible to climb up using the protruding rocks.
"The moonlight is exceptionally bright today," Escort Zhang mumbled to himself as he looked up at the starry sky.
He didn't feel anything but his mountain lion suddenly let out a low growl.
"What's wrong?" Escort Zhang asked.
He pressed down on the weapon hanging from his waist. Having spent so much time with his pet beast, their minds were connected. The mountain lion's actions could only mean that it had sensed danger.
In the past, this had been very accurate. But this time, the mountain lion couldn't make sense of it either. Its instincts told it that something was wrong with this mountain.
It was as if there was something terrifying at the bottom of this mountain.
Seeing that the mountain lion didn't follow up, Escort Zhang continued climbing. From this distance, he could now see the person at the top of the mountain. It was a young man with an imposing aura and was dressed in extraordinary attire.
He was currently sitting cross-legged, his body bathed in a layer of moonlight.
He didn't look like he was in danger, nor did he look like he was suffering from a serious illness or someone who wanted to commit suicide by climbing to a high place.
Escort Zhang breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn't continue climbing. Since he knew that the person up there was fine, there was no point in him continuing.
In the past decade or so, Escort Zhang had encountered many incidents along the way. There were also people who tried to commit suicide. When he was young, he once encountered someone who tried to jump into a river. However, he didn't have much experience back then and felt that he shouldn't meddle in other people's business, so he didn't do anything about it.
Later on, they were resting along the river when they saw a corpse floating down from upstream. Upon closer inspection, it was the suicidal person.
Obviously, the person had jumped into the river and was washed down.
Escort Zhang could still vividly remember the corpse. He had several nightmares after that and even fell seriously ill because of it. Later on, Escort Zhang learned that one must not be weak but one must be kind.
One could be ruthless towards criminals but that didn't mean they were evil. If one could do good, one should try their best to do so. Only then would one have a clear conscience.
As the saying goes, one's heart cannot be at peace when one knocks on the door in the middle of the night.
Escort Zhang was just like that. As long as someone needed help, he would lend a helping hand. Sometimes, others would even call him a fool or a nice guy.
Seeing that the person on top of the mountain was fine, he stopped to rest for a while before preparing to go down.
But at that moment, the situation suddenly changed.
Escort Zhang could only hear the wind howling in his ears. He couldn't open his eyes for a moment as he heard the mountain lion roar in terror. This terrified Escort Zhang. He didn't know what was going on but based on his instincts, he pulled out the long saber at his waist.
In the next few breaths, Escort Zhang couldn't open his eyes but he heard the most terrifying sound he had ever heard in his life. There was the howling of the wind and the terrifying roar of a beast.
That roar was like a hand grabbing his heart. Escort Zhang almost fainted as his heart raced.
Fortunately, this terrifying situation didn't last long. It came and went as suddenly as it did.
It was only then that Escort Zhang opened his eyes. What surprised him was that even though there was such a loud gust of wind just now, there was no dust. It was quiet, as if nothing had happened.
He turned to the person on top of the mountain and realized that the man had stood up without him noticing. He had opened his eyes and was looking at him.
When their eyes met, Escort Zhang felt that the person on the mountaintop had clear eyes that were as deep as the ocean. Based on Escort Zhang's years of experience and observation of people, he could tell that the person before him was no ordinary person.
Lin Jin spoke first.
"I was just sitting on this mountain peak in the middle of the night to calm myself down. I'm sorry for troubling you, Master." Lin Jin's tone was gentle. However, those who knew him well knew that Lin Jin's calmness was all an act.
Of course it was an act.
Although this trip was extremely dangerous, he had finally gotten what he wanted. Of course he was excited. Moreover, the benefits he gained this time weren't limited to just a drop of blood and a feather.
However, Lin Jin had paid a huge price as well. He was now heavily injured. It wasn't his physical body that was injured, but his psyche.
Lin Jin's nose twitched as if he smelled something. He immediately flew down and landed among the escorts at the foot of the mountain in the blink of an eye.
However, Lin Jin wasn't looking at the escorts. He was looking at the item on the carriage they were escorting.
"What a strong medicinal scent."
Lin Jin's nose twitched as he took a deep breath. His psyche was severely damaged and the medicinal scent on the carriage seemed to have the effect of nourishing his psyche.
Lin Jin didn't have time to discuss with the others. He saluted the group and said, "Everyone, please lend me your herbs."
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