novelraw Chapter 139 Into the Maw of the Mountain
Chapter 139 Into the Maw of the Mountain
A damp, moss-laden wind blew down from the ridge. We regrouped behind the ring of zodiac stone statues, the forest floor littered with brittle twigs that snapped underfoot.
Hua and I recounted the day’s entire performance—the “honey-trap plus tragic backstory” routine—from start to finish, including how I pinched my own thigh to squeeze out tears. Hua listened while fanning himself, wearing that infuriating expression of “I’m handsome but modest about it.”
When we finished, Mu Cangli’s brows had drawn tight. Lian’s face had gone dark, and after a long silence he said, “So the people taken into the woods never came back.”
“Right.” I nodded. “Those women said the whole group living in the snake statue’s chamber vanished. They claim the Emperor is mining the northern ridge… but aside from rocks and mushrooms, what exactly is there to mine?”
Lian crossed his arms, expression unchanged. “If this is merely mining, why the warding array? Why the sealed mountain? Why the prohibitions?”
The air chilled a notch.
Mu Cangli suddenly said, “I will scout.”
I blinked. “Scout where?”
“The statues,” he replied calmly. “After nightfall the guards relax. I can slip in and see what lies within.”
I immediately waved my hands. “Don’t. This place is guarded by state troops. If they catch you, it’s treason—execution at minimum, extermination of your entire clan at maximum.”
Hua snapped his fan shut and gave me a sideways glance. “Little Gonggong, afraid of dying?”
“Of course,” I said plainly.
Mu Cangli paused, as if amused by my honesty, and even let a rare smile touch his lips. “Fear is good. It means I must be more cautious.”
I was moved—briefly—until Lian snorted. “Cautious? And who was it that stormed the magistrate’s office alone in Chongping and dragged Xiao Wu out?”
I coughed loudly. “That was youthful impulsiveness. Ancient history.”
Hua cleared his throat. “Enough. Cangli scouts, I go with him.”
I started to object, but Lian had already nodded. “Very well.”
“Hey—" I tried again, but Lian turned to me and said, “You stay with me. Don’t wander.”
…Why did that sound like someone assigning chores for a child?
Night fell.
Once Mu Cangli and Hua departed, Lian and I kept watch at the edge of the cliff forest. The deeper the night grew, the colder it became. Wind roared through the trees, but we dared not light a fire.
I sneezed. I was about to ask Lian whether we should sit closer when he said flatly, “Don’t move. Sight weakens at night; hearing sharpens.”
I shut up.
[System Notice: Host exhibits symptoms of subordination fear.]
I whispered back, “Shut it. I’m not scared of him. I’m scared of the wind.”
[System: Detecting self-deception.]
“Detect your own damn face,” I muttered.
Lian spoke suddenly. “Gong’er.”
I stiffened and looked up.
He turned slightly toward me, moonlight sketching the line of his cheekbone. “If something happens tonight, you leave first.”
“Don’t talk like that,” I said dryly. “I’m cheap stock. Hard to kill.”
He made a soft sound—maybe acknowledgment—and said nothing more.
I stared at him for a moment. I was only the protagonist of a discontinued novel; my job was to follow plot beats. But… if there was a way to keep everyone alive, I’d take it.
By the third watch, Hua and Mu Cangli finally returned. Both were in dark travel gear, dust streaking their clothes.
“You’re back,” I whispered. “So? What did you find?”
Hua flicked open his fan. “Good news: my charm remains intact. Bad news: the array is real.”
“…Details?”
Mu Cangli’s expression turned grave. “The golden-armored soldiers were tight-lipped. We captured one and applied… persuasion. He confessed that the commoners brought up this mountain are being used to ‘test the array.’”
“Test an array?” I blurted.
Hua tapped his fan against his palm. “Exactly. The Emperor sealed the northern ridge under the pretext of mining because someone discovered an old formation here—what some call an ancient ‘Blood-Seal Array.’ Supposedly it can channel the dragon vein and alter the realm’s fate. Around the same time, rumors started spreading in the palace that this mountain hides a royal secret.”
“That tracks,” Hua continued. “When I returned to Beichuan I heard whispers again about an old tale—the one linking the Blood Lotus Sect to a relic tied to the previous dynasty. We’ve been trekking through deep forest for days, so we missed it.”
I frowned. “What tale?”
Lian’s voice was low. “They say that before the old dynasty fell, the Blood Lotus Sect possessed something intertwined with imperial secrets. Whether true or not, no one could prove it. So the story became a myth. But now the new Emperor is young on the throne, power unstable, and Prince Eight watches from the shadows. If such a relic truly exists, many would covet it.”
I took a beat. “So that’s why Prince Eight claimed the Blood Lotus Sect held some ‘forbidden relic’… and put a monthly kill order on me and my brother?”
Lian looked at me but did not answer.
A chill tightened my spine. I whispered to the system, “How come you never told me the palace intrigue was this complicated?”
[System Notice: Plot branch not yet unlocked.]
“You useless cheat code. Are you my booster or my obituary writer?!”
[System: Both.]
If the system had a neck, I would have wrung it.
Mu Cangli unrolled a rough map taken from the soldier’s belt and pointed to a red circle. “This is the array’s core.”
Hua snapped his fan shut. “Where we must go.”
I saw the location and felt my soul leave my body. “That’s almost at the end of the mountain range!”
Hua raised a brow. “Brilliant observation. The array isn’t on the main peak but deep in a side range. To reach it we must cross a… man-eating bog.”
“…A man-eating… bog?”
Lian added coldly, “In old chronicles, an army once passed through and a thousand men vanished, leaving only armor and bone. The place is shrouded in fog. The ground swallows the unwary.”
I shrank my neck. “I have a suggestion. What if we go east instead? I heard they have berries.”
Hua patted my shoulder. “Strong survival instinct. Sensible. Rejected.”
“Why?”
“Because the array lies along the only route to Fallen Star Ridge. If you want to lift your monthly kill order, you must pass it.”
I had no rebuttal.
[System Notice: Main Quest Updated — Cross the Man-Eater Bog. Reward: +10 Survival.]
We spent the rest of the night preparing.
Lian rationed supplies. Mu Cangli serviced his weapons. Hua continued preening his hair.
I dozed against a tree and heard, faintly, a voice in my dreams: “Blood-seal… decree… do not reveal…” The whisper rose like it came from beneath the mud.
When I jolted awake, dawn light was creeping in.
Hua eyed me. “Nightmare again? You’re pale. Did you dream Prince Eight forced medicine down your throat?”
I ignored him and took a drink from the water gourd. The dream didn’t feel like a dream. More like a warning.
[System Notice: Plot Triggered — ‘Key to the Blood-Seal Array.’]
My hand jerked. Water splashed everywhere.
“Move out,” Lian said, breaking through my rising panic.
We marched into the depths of the northern ridge.
The ground ceased to resemble a path at all. Brambles tangled across our ankles, and fog pooled between trees like rolling white cloth. Something growled in the distance. The air was so wet it might as well have been water.
I slipped on a vine. Hua caught my arm and said, “Steady, little Gong. Don’t fall into the swamp. I won’t carry you.”
“And if I really fall?”
“Then I’ll help with the aftermath. Saves trouble if no one recognizes the body.”
“You—”
“Quiet,” Lian said without turning.
…And so we went onward.
We walked for another half day before a stretch of gray-black swamp finally came into view ahead.
Mist churned over the swamp, and something flickered in the distance—maybe light, maybe sparks like scattered stars.
“That is the outer rim of the Man-Eater Swamp,” Mu Cangli said quietly.
“Looks pretty calm,” I said, clinging to a bit of luck.
The moment the words left my mouth, a strange gulu sound rose from beneath my feet.
I looked down—the mud was bubbling.
Hua gave a soft laugh. “Welcome to the Man-Eater Swamp. Congratulations, Little Gong, you’ve officially entered a hell-level dungeon.”
I swallowed and forced out a sentence to the system. “Can I… choose a branch storyline?”
[System Notice: Rejected. Current mission line locked.]
“Lock your—” My curse didn’t finish; the ground suddenly sank under my foot.
“Help—!”
Lian reacted fast, grabbing me by the shoulder.
Fortunately, it was only that the swamp mud was slick.
Ahead, the mire churned, as if something were squirming underneath.
Night fell over the ridges again, and from far away came the faint sound of a strange bell.
The four of us exchanged a look.