Yin Chongyue nodded and said, “I’ve heard almost the same news. Moreover, I’ve heard that some people of the Rong clan often sneak into the Tomb of Youshan and come out alive more than once. They likely have a lot of information that we can inquire about.”
Yin Nian blinked and said, “I also went to buy some information. It’s said that Rong Zhishui, the Rong clan main branch member who is most likely to become the next Spirit Emperor of the spirit clan, seemed to be frequently going to the Tomb of Youshan lately. If we can meet him halfway, we can ask him for information and avoid detours.”
Lin Xuanzhi thought for a moment, and then he said, “Let’s make some adjustments here for the time being. In the next few days, everyone will ask for news of the Tomb of Youshan separately. The more detailed information we get, the better. Let’s also find out which mercenary regiment in the city is the most reliable, and let them act as guides to lead us into the mountains.”
There were indeed many local mercenary regiments who were willing to take on the work of bringing these stupid foreigners who were not afraid of death into the mountains.
Moreover, their conditions were very consistent — at most they only took people to the open area ten miles away from the Tomb of Youshan. Even if the mission was not completed, all the mercenary fees must be paid in one go before leaving.
After all, these mercenaries also braved the dangers in order to bring people into the Tomb of Youshan.
Even if they didn’t go inside, the extremely dangerous environment in the surroundings meant they had to constantly risk their lives.
Lin Xuanzhi found a mercenary regiment that had cooperated with Reincarnation Palace in the past. Reincarnation Palace had businesses spread across the entire Nine Lands, and it cooperated with many mercenary groups. This mercenary regiment was named “Berserk Sword”. The regiment once helped Reincarnation Palace escort a batch of extremely expensive goods, and these goods were delivered to the destination untouched.
The head of the Berserk Sword mercenary group was a short man. He was carrying a palm-wide, long blade in his hand. When Lin Xuanzhi saw him, he was picking his teeth with the knife.
Seeing Lin Xuanzhi, the short commander narrowed his eyes, while several subordinates around him were staring straight. There were so many beauties in Southeast Land, but it was rare to see a man so beautiful as this.
Lin Xuanzhi said, “I’m going to the Tomb of Youshan, would you be willing to take this mission?”
A few people who were very eager to move immediately changed their expressions and snuffed out their improper thoughts — after all, those who wanted to go to the Tomb of Youshan were either those noble sons of the aristocratic families who held the Rong clan’s entry permit, or those desperate ones who just wanted to try their luck inside.
Among the top ten forbidden areas in the Nine Lands, the Tomb of Youshan ranked third. Normal people would not want to go, as long as they weren’t crazy.
The commander of the group put down his blade, stood up, looked at Lin Xuanzhi, and asked, “Brother, why are you so tired of living that you insist on going to that dead place?”
Lin Xuanzhi answered, “I have nothing to do. I want to take a stroll.”
The commander immediately laughed. He laughed loudly for a while, then quieted down and said, “We can take the mission, but we have our own rules. Pay the full amount of the fee upfront, and we can only send you ten miles outside of the Tomb of Youshan. Our brothers will not enter the tomb.”
“Okay.” Lin Xuanzhi asked calmly, “What’s the price?”
The commander gave a price.
This figure was slightly higher than other mercenary regiments, but in many cases, a higher price meant a higher quality of service. Lin Xuanzhi also did not engage in haggling for the price, and said, “After three days, can we go on the road?”
Seeing that Lin Xuanzhi was quick, the commander also quickly replied, “Yes. Three days later, I’ll see you outside the city.”
After returning to the inn, Lin Xuanzhi and the others gathered together to share information.
“In fact, in the past few days, I didn’t find much useful news.” Yan Tianhen frowned and said, “Everyone only said that the Tomb of Youshan is terrifying, but they can’t say why specifically.”
Lin Xuanzhi gave a hum, and said lightly, “It is terrifying because too many people entered but never came out. Similarly, they cannot tell what’s so terrifying about the place because almost all of those people who went in never came out.”
Yin Chongyue wondered, “If we can recruit someone from the Rong clan, we can get more information.”
If there was anyone in this world who could survive after entering, the Rong clan was probably the only one in this world. From this aspect, the Rong clan was indeed extremely tough.
“If I want to find the Rong clan, I’ll have to disguise myself.” Yan Tianhen touched his nose and said, “The Divine Clans have an agreement to each other not to enter the forbidden places of other Lands at will. If I’m caught, it would really be shameful.”
“It might not be shameful, but I’m afraid your dad’s heart won’t be able to stand it.” Lin Xuanzhi said lightly.
The fact that Yan Tianhen came to the Tomb of Youshan was naturally kept secret from Yan Zhonghua and You Ming from beginning to end. If the two of them knew, they would send someone to tie Yan Tianhen up and bring him back directly, and he would never be allowed to enter such deadly places without authorization.
Yan Tianhen didn’t want them to worry, so he didn’t plan to tell them from beginning to end. Another reason was that Yan Tianhen felt that his life was tough, and he would never die so easily.
Bai Yanqiu heard this and smiled. “I pity all the parents in the world.”
Yin Nian said, “In that case, we don’t have to think about it anymore. We can buy some local products here in the next few days and go straight into the mountains.”
It was useless to wander around here, so everyone didn’t waste time.
Three days later, Lin Xuanzhi and the rest of the company met with the Berserk Sword mercenary regiment outside the city. Lin Xuanzhi paid the full amount, and the Berserk Sword mercenary group had already pulled the carriage.
The one pulling the carriage was a demonic beast with the body of a horse and the face of a human. This demonic beast had a strong body and was more than twice as tall as a normal horse. Its body was covered with hard scales and it had two curved and erected horns on its head. It looked extremely different.
The commander asked them to get on the carriage and said, “If you want to save time, you have to go by carriage. This is a member of our mercenary regiment, a descendant of the human and the demon horse clan. If he starts running, he can reach his destination in three days.”
It was the first time that Yan Tianhen had seen such a demonic beast. He couldn’t help but glance twice, but he didn’t think much about it, so he turned and got on the spacious carriage.
The carriage could accommodate over ten people, and there were not too many people in the mercenary group. They mainly preferred quality over quantity, so the mercenaries and the employer were in the same vehicle. The regiment commander explained in advance, “Don’t open the curtains on the way and look out. You just close your eyes and stuff your head in. You will be sent to the place in three days.”
Yan Tianhen asked, “What’s out there?
The commander bared his teeth and said, “There is something that can scare you to pee.”
Yan Tianhen, “…..” No good…now I’m even more curious.
On the way, the commander of the regiment didn’t ask much, but he also didn’t make the atmosphere heavy and awkward without saying a word.
He picked his teeth while saying, “You all seem to be gentle and polite. Why do you insist on going to that kind of deadly place?”
Yan Tianhen asked, “Why can’t we go to the Tomb of Youshan even if we are gentle and polite?”
The head of the group bared his teeth a bit sullenly and asked, “Little brother, do you know what kinds of people come to the Tomb of Youshan?”
Yan Tianhen guessed, “Those who want to make a fortune?”
The commander replied, “One type is the Rong clan, and the other type is desperate people.”
The Rong clan explored the tomb because of their mission and responsibilities. On the other hand, those desperate ones entered because they were desperate, and they could only bet everything on this place. After all, everyone knew that the more forbidden a place was, the more likely it was to produce peerless treasures.
The commander then said, “Many of those on the official wanted list have come to the Tomb of Youshan. A small part of them died on the road, and most of them never came out again after they entered.”
Yan Tianhen gave a tut-tut and said, “Then Commander, can you tell us, have you ever seen someone come out?”
“I haven’t seen anyone with my own eyes.” The head of the regiment really knew a little bit. “But other members of the mercenary regiment said that they had seen a well-dressed young man come out of the Tomb of Youshan. He looked intact and uninjured, and his appearance was extremely beautiful, but after he came out, he disappeared, and later we don’t know whether this was real.”
Yan Tianhen raised a brow slightly. “If he can walk out intact, his cultivation base must be extremely high.”
The head of the regiment’s not-so-good-looking face gave a slightly weird smile. “This is not necessarily true. I have heard the old people say that in the years when the Tomb of Youshan had not completely sunk like today, there were still some people who could go in. As long as they ate dead human flesh from childhood, they could avoid the monsters in the Tomb of Youshan.”
Yan Tianhen shivered inexplicably.
The carriage bumped into something and almost flew up. Lin Xuanzhi quickly grabbed Yan Tianhen’s arm and said, “Sit down firmly.”
Yin Nian fell on Bai Yanqiu’s body, and Bai Yanqiu reached out his hand to straighten him up.
The curtain next to him was opened by a corner. Yin Nian was caught off guard upon seeing the scene outside. His eyes widened, his scalp went numb, his mouth opened up to scream, and he almost jumped up. Bai Yanqiu immediately pulled the curtain close and said, “Don’t look.”
Yan Tianhen’s hand was itchy. When others didn’t let him see, his curiosity became even stronger, and his backhand was faster as he pulled up the curtain around him. Looking out, he immediately shivered.
The moonlight outside was faint and the light was dim, but the people standing around were rotted from their heads to the soles of their feet. Their hair was loose and their hands were raised toward the front, standing stupefied like zombies: the direction was towards… the carriage.
Their pairs of eyes, which were either scarlet red or hollow black, looked extremely terrifying, as if they were about to rush over in the next second and tear them to pieces. Yan Tianhen’s voice stuck on his throat.
The commander couldn’t help laughing when he saw Yan Tianhen stiffly pull the curtain back down. “I told you not to look out, but you just had to ignore my advice. These are all a mirage. Those people are not real. It was said that they are things that are reflected from the Tomb of Youshan. Even if you rush over them, nothing will happen, but if it is the night of the full moon, these zombies will be resurrected. At that time, no one will be able to escape.”
Yan Tianhen swallowed with difficulty and did not dare to look outside anymore. The unknown was the most terrifying. Yan Tianhen felt this deeply.
“Don’t worry.” Lin Xuanzhi knew that the scene just now had brought a great impact on Yan Tianhen, so he held his hand and said, “Even if they come back to life, they’re nothing more than people who had already died once. We will just let them die again.”
The head of the regiment twitched his mouth, looked at Lin Xuanzhi’s eyes and said nothing.
This Berserk Sword mercenary group had probably walked this road many times already and led countless people here.
They didn’t stop along the way. They went around seven to eight times to find the safest way to send Lin Xuanzhi and the others to reach their destination.
Naturally, they wouldn’t send them to the edge of the Tomb of Youshan. When they reached an open space, they put down their employers. The task was done: they would never go further into the inner parts.