Chapter Twelve: Moving Mountains and Green Robes

  Yiu seemed like a fat rabbit, jumping back and forth among the corpses, while Qu Qing Shi strolled around as if taking a leisurely walk in a garden. Every single monkey skeleton had to be turned over and examined for a long time...

  At this time, Liang Xin also returned to normal, that terrible sadness had disappeared, and his stomach was no longer hungry. He ran over with great enthusiasm to help search the monkey's skull together.

  After a long busy period, Liu also wiped the sweat from his forehead and said: "The nine monkey corpses standing at the entrance of the cave were not poisoned or injured externally. When they died, their bodies did not fall, but instead maintained their formation... it seems that they should have died from exhaustion."

  Qing Qing Shi nodded slightly and asked again: "Was there a blue brocade found among their personal belongings?"

  Liu Yi shook his head, still with a thick layer of doubt in his expression: "I've looked carefully, there isn't!" Then he explained to the stunned Liang Xin beside him what brocade was.

  In the internal communication of the Nine Dragons and Green Robes, superiors would write tasks on a special brocade, which subordinates would carry out. According to the level of the task, they could summon corresponding numbers of Green Robe personnel. In urgent situations, the brocade could even be used to summon officials and soldiers under the jurisdiction of various provinces and prefectures. After completing the task, the executor would return the brocade to their superior for reporting.

  This imperial edict is called 'Qing Yi Jin Xiu'. All the Qing Yi who come out to perform tasks should be led by one.

  Liang Xin knew what 'Qing Yi Jin Xiu' meant, and nodded with satisfaction. These nine dead monkeys from the Mountain Moving Institute had very few personal items on them, only carrying weapons like knives and swords, wound-healing medicine powder, name tags, and an empty water bottle that had long since dried up - they didn't even have any dry rations.

  Liu also let out a sigh of relief, shaking his head and pointing at the nine monkeys: "Such apes... are definitely not ordinary beasts, I'm afraid they're all goblins!"

  There were not many clues on the body, Qu Qing Shi and Liu Yi discussed for a few sentences, their conjecture was almost the same as Liang Xin's previous judgment. The nine green-clad monkeys of the Mountain Moving Institute fought with the enemy here, after a fierce battle, the enemy dug through the mountain to escape, and the monkeys formed an array to seal off the cave entrance.

  In the end, that enemy dug the hole all the way to the Jade Plate, and he himself disappeared without a trace, not even leaving behind a corpse. It was undoubtedly swallowed by the evil Jade Plate. Instead, this tunnel remained, becoming the escape route for Liang Xin and his two companions.

  As for why the monkey stopped chasing and just blocked the entrance, and why the enemy escaped by digging a hole instead of climbing the mountain to escape, these doubts cannot be explained for the time being. Qu Qing Shi won't go around making wild guesses, but Liang Xin was enthusiastic about guessing for a while, but nothing came out of it.

  After dawn, the three people discovered another suspicious place in the central valley. On the ground, there was a small hole as big as a washbasin. The edge of the hole was smooth and seemed to be polished with a mold. The surrounding ground had some glassy quality, apparently the person who dug this hole used advanced fire forging techniques.

  This small hole is bottomless, and Liu can't measure how deep it is with the current tools in his hand, let alone where it leads to.

  It's already dusk, Liang Xin is so hungry that his front and back hearts are stuck together, but no matter what, he doesn't dare to eat the raw meat again. He barely holds on until he finishes his work, with a pitiful look in his eyes, staring at the two green-robed men.

  Qu Qingshi patted the dust off his hands, picked up another piece of raw meat, chewed carefully and swallowed before instructing: "Liu Yi, scout ahead, leave this place first, then find out where Si Su is."

  Liang Xin's expression was worried: "The appearance of Xiang Chanman is strange and powerful, I'm afraid that the temple you set up in the mine has already been destroyed..."

  Qu Qing Shi shook his head: "It's not our Si Suo, but theirs!" As he spoke, he pointed to the corpses on the ground.

  Liang Xin was taken aback for a moment, then reacted and realized that these monkeys in green clothes only brought weapons and spiritual medicine with them, not even an apple or banana. Calculating this way, there should be a Jiulong Temple stronghold nearby.

  Yao also smiled and handed over a complete cyan fish robe, of course, all from the monkey's body: "These days, the ape warriors' figures are short and small, adults and I can't wear them, but you're just right!" Liang Xin felt his whole body was covered with goosebumps, and he hurriedly waved his hand.

  Willow didn't give him a chance to explain, and stuffed his clothes into Liang Xin's arms: "Running around naked everywhere, what kind of decency is that? You can't ruin Mr. Liang's reputation!" Then he paused for a moment, and jokingly said: "Mr. Liang, you're not an ordinary person now, you've seen ghosts, touched evil spirits, and eaten birds with your butt exposed... it won't hurt to wear a few more dead people's... dead monkey clothes!"

  Qing Shi also quietly chimed in: "It's cool and shady in the mountains, and you don't have any powerful techniques to protect yourself, so put it on!"

  Liang Xin gritted his teeth and started putting on clothes... The Tianyuli's physique was much larger than that of ordinary monkeys, but compared to adults, they were still somewhat short. Giving Liang Xin their clothes, it turned out to be just the right fit.

  If you wear it, wear the whole set, tie your belt and boots, cross your knife and shield, and after dressing up, Liu Yi helped him tie his hair back, and then used a damp cloth to wipe his face. Qu Qing Shi took a few steps back and looked at him, chuckling: "Don't say, our Green Clothes' ink fish robe, when worn, is majestic!"

  Liang Xin's appearance was ordinary, with a dark complexion and small eyes. His facial features were not particularly notable, and he didn't look much different from an average village boy. However, after years of practicing martial arts and eating meat, his body had become well-toned, and there was a hint of a warrior's aura in his expression. His gaze was clear and bright, and now that he wore a black robe and boots, with a sword on his left and a shield on his right, he exuded an air of fierce killing intent.

  Liu Yi also nodded from the side: "Not bad...... don't be foolishly happy, just enjoy it for now."

  Liáng Xīn wanted to save face, but no matter what, he couldn't hold it in...

  Taking advantage of the remaining daylight, the three people no longer delayed and began searching for a way out of the valley.

  The valley is not too large, but it is surrounded by steep cliffs, with huge rocks jutting out like dog's teeth, making it impossible even for a clever monkey to climb.

  Around the valley, numerous gigantic rocks stood in a disorderly manner, blocking their line of sight.

  Liāng Xīn's heart was anxious, he was anxious to the point of being unbearably hungry, thinking that if he went out, he could find firewood and roast meat; he wasn't afraid of having no way out, in the valley there were over a hundred corpses, these people couldn't have all jumped off the cliff, there must be a way out.

  Qu Qing Shi brought Liang Xin and dug a big pit in the wilderness, burying the corpses of nine monkeys wearing green clothes.

  Qing Yi Wei originally had the skills of debate and route-finding, while Liu was exceptionally skilled in lightness kung fu, usually specializing in espionage and tracking, making him a mid-to-high level expert.

  Willow also jumped up and down along the edge of the mountain basin, occasionally being blocked by huge boulders, busy until nightfall before returning to report back. Behind the giant rocks, he found two roads ahead and behind him.

  Although they found a way out, Liang Xin and the others were even more puzzled. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't understand why that 'enemy' would rather go to great lengths to dig holes than take the road and escape.

  Of the two paths, one is relatively flat and looks like a riverbed that was washed away by mountain floods. This valley should have been a small lake inside the mountain at some point in the past. However, the surrounding mountains seem to have collapsed, the ancient river changed course and flowed underground, and this mountain lake dried up as a result.

  Another one, it can't be called a road at all, it can only be counted as a mountain crack left after an earthquake, and it's not easy to walk.

  "But on this small path," Liu Yi reported to Qu Qing, "at the entrance, there are some small stones that are broken in a way that doesn't feel right. It looks like those monkeys in green clothes rushed over here with tense emotions and trampled them down with their full strength. I think this small path is the route these seniors took when they marched, and if we search along the way, we should be able to find their tracks."

  Liu was also proficient in the art of reconnaissance and marching tactics. Even after several hundred years, he still discovered suspicious places on the small road!

  "Then follow the small path!"

  Three people simply packed up, Qu Qing Shi put all nine monkey plaques into his arms and set off on the road.

  Liu Yi led the way, with Qu and Liang following behind him. The path was treacherous and difficult to traverse, but with two skilled escorts in green attire taking care of them, Liang Xin managed to keep up. After walking for a while, Qu Qing Shi suddenly spoke up, addressing Liu Yi: "Little Liu, these Monkey Green Clothes are not in the records, and no one in the current Nine Dragons Temple knows they ever appeared. This shows that their origins are top-secret matters. If we continue to investigate, we'll be overstepping our bounds. Who knows when we'll face a deadly catastrophe? You should think thrice before proceeding."

  Liu's body didn't pause for a moment, and he smiled as he replied, "My life has long been yours, no need to say more, I have it in my heart."

  Qing Shi smiled slightly, his expression didn't show any emotion, and said lightly: "When we find Si Suo, you and I will become sworn brothers."

  Liu Yixian was surprised at first, then suddenly burst out laughing with a strange expression: "You said that!"

  Liáng Xīn gazed enviously at the two people from the side, thinking to himself that he should also propose to follow them to form an alliance, wondering if they would be driven away.

  Qing Shi smiled slyly and glanced at him, but changed the subject: "Liang Xin, do you know why I want to investigate the origin of these mountain-moving Yuan Tianwu warriors? Why did I insist on taking this path even though I knew it was difficult?"

  Liang Xin was shocked and listened to Qu Qing's words. He sought the origins of these 'Mountain Moving Courtyard Green Robes, Heavenly Ape Strength Warriors' in order to get help for himself...