Cinnabar

  "I'm with them." The thin monkey pointed at Hei Shu and the others with an unfathomable expression, saying lightly.

  It's clear that they don't want to say it, asking again would be pointless.

  Actually, I don't know what Hei Shu and the others are after at all. I just heard them say that they came here to look for something and confirm some things. I think it's probably the same goal as Shou Bo and the others, otherwise why would they be in such a hurry?

  The terrain in front of me was a bit strange, I let out a sigh and said with a puzzled face: "This mountain doesn't look like the Dawu Mountain range at all, it looks like an extra mountain that suddenly appeared, looking somewhat redundant."

  Everyone also has the same feeling, with a reputation for being majestic and beautiful, but this mountain is like a twisted body, somewhat mysterious and eerie. The thin monkey pulled me and said, "What do you see?"

  I shook my head and replied, "I'm not sure, I just feel that this mountain is like someone painted it, it's really strange."

  The small mountain peak in front of me winds its way up, I looked around at the surrounding peaks and felt that they didn't seem to be growing here at all.

  The hundred-handed giant stopped in his tracks and shouted: "Chicken on the rack."

  I've heard of "driving ducks onto a shelf", but I've never heard of "chickens also going on the shelf". I don't know what "chicken on the shelf" means, so I asked: "What is 'chicken on the shelf'?"

  "Ordinary tourists would give up when they see this type of mountain peak, because to climb it, you have to use your hands and feet, spiraling upwards like a chicken on a roost, which is how it got its name. From our vantage point, we can clearly see the treacherous path ahead, but if we really want to get past it, it'll be a huge hassle, with many twists and turns. Don't trust what your eyes can see here, they might just be deceiving you." Bai Shou explained: "Let's hurry up, hopefully we can find that small stream before nightfall, otherwise everything else will be for nothing."

  Everyone has been walking north for almost six hours, without stopping for a minute, and our mood is like the waves in the ocean, surging up.

  "Take a break." Hei Shu made a gesture and stopped saying.

  "Hey, Uncle Hei, why is it still the same? Six hours have passed and that mountain is still in front of us." I looked at my watch and spoke out the doubts in my mind.

  Judging from the time, we haven't reached that mountain yet, at least we've walked half of it. Now looking at this mountain in front of us, it feels just like what we saw six hours ago, without any closer distance, neither far nor near.

  "Don't be misled by what's in front of you, you don't understand these things yet. Now, you're having thoughts of giving up." Hei Shu found a stone to sit on and lit a cigarette.

  I looked up at the mountain and, to be honest, there are a lot of mountains in my hometown too. I've never encountered one like this before. If I hadn't grown up in the mountains since childhood, I'd probably have been exhausted by now. Indeed, looking at the mountain peak that didn't seem any closer, I didn't even feel like climbing anymore and just wanted to turn around and leave.

  But I couldn't bear to give up just like that, and besides, all the mysteries were on that mountain, even if it meant ruining my face, I had to rush over.

  "Huh, where's Qi Xie?"

  In the crowd, gathered in a group, I exclaimed in surprise.

  "Never mind him, he's always like that." Hyakushou said with a sentence, squinting his eyes, probably to catch his breath.

  It's exhausting to walk all the way here, and it would be arrogant to say otherwise, especially with this annoying backpack on my back. I don't know if they will feel as tired as me, but they have been walking in such places for years and their physical strength is better than mine.

  After eating some biscuits and drinking water, they rested for half an hour before seeing Qi Xie return. Nobody asked him anything. Then, they continued to move forward.

  The road was still on one level, but the terrain became higher and higher, and it also became more and more laborious to walk.

  After walking for a long time, Xiao Shou's surprised voice finally rang out: "Hei Shu, have you been here before?"

  I followed the gaze of the little monkey and looked over, only to see a tree with a small arrow on it. It was a bit strange, as if someone had intentionally left it there for us to notice easily. For some reason, I felt that it was deliberately placed in such an eye-catching spot just so we could see it at a glance.

  Hei Shu looked at the arrow and his face changed greatly. He didn't say a word, just smoked silently. I was certain that the mark must have been left by Hei Shu.

  "Time is running out, hurry up." Old Wang looked at the arrow and his face turned somewhat unsightly, then he shouldered his stuff and headed forward.

  It's time to set off, everyone has started their journey.

  Arriving at the small stream that Qi Xie had mentioned, they saw that it was indeed a complete shape. Qi Xie stood there, narrowing his eyes to take a look, and finally walked to a large stone in front of him, saying slowly: "Let him go down first."

  "What?" I rubbed my ears, thinking I had misheard. That stony Seventh Evil, with a dim gaze, looked at me and specifically asked me to lead the charge. I didn't know anything, and if something happened, I wouldn't be able to handle it.

  "Qi Xie, don't joke about that soft-shelled shrimp's appearance. It's good if he doesn't drag his feet. Let him go first, it's like sending us into a trap." Xiao Shou Hou frowned and spoke reluctantly, clearly seeing me as a soft persimmon.

  Although he didn't want to be the first, he even more didn't want to be called a soft-shelled shrimp by that little monkey. He glared at him fiercely and kicked him, cursing: "You're the soft-shelled shrimp, your whole family is soft-shelled shrimps! You're so capable, why don't you go fight in the front line?"

  "Seven evils..." The thin monkey wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Bai Shou Sheng on the side: "Don't make trouble here, Little Ninth Master, listen to Qi Xie's words."

  I thought to myself, it's not like I'm asking you to take the lead, definitely no problem. I hesitated for a moment, looking at Hei Shu, hoping he would help me out with a word, after all, I was a rookie.

  This is a natural small stream, according to normal logical thinking, for someone like me who grew up in the mountains, I shouldn't be afraid of it. But when I saw this little stream, a strong feeling surged in my mind, an urge that made me want to turn around and run away. However, I didn't do that, at least I couldn't let Xiao Shouzi look down on me, he wouldn't let me go down, but I insisted on going down anyway.

  In an instant, my mind changed.

  Hei Shu also nodded in agreement with Qi Xie's approach, while Zhang Lao and Lao Wang had no objections.

  I thought to myself that apart from Xiaoshouhou having an opinion, why didn't the others have any opinions at all? It always felt like they were trying to make me go down.

  They look like they're not worried at all, as if they have it in the bag.

  "What if this kid kicks the bucket......" Little Skinny Monkey couldn't help but say, with a worried look on his face.

  My heart warmed up, this kid's mouth was a bit vicious, but he still cared about himself. So I scolded him: "Can't you say something nice? What's with the dying and not dying? You're dead, I'm not dead yet, it's just a small stream, can't stump me."

  I spoke with a confident tone, patting my chest, and said that in the past when I was at home, I would occasionally run to other people's fish ponds to catch fish. The stream and the fish pond are not much different.

  "Everyone else will die, except for him." Qi Xie's face was expressionless, and his voice was still as ethereal as a soul, light and airy.

  I didn't understand what he said, so I put down my backpack, squatted down, and was about to roll up my pant legs when I heard Qi Xie's cold voice: "Who told you to do this."

  I raised my head in doubt and looked at Qiye's expressionless face, suddenly getting angry, saying: "Didn't you tell me to get out of the water?"

  "Xiao Jiu, if you had a figure like Xiū, you'd still need to be mindful of the occasion. A group of big men wouldn't be interested in you just because of your appearance. Look around, are there any girls here? Who are you showing off for?" Xiao Shòu Hóu burst out laughing loudly.

  "Shut up!" I glared at him with a fierce stare, so angry that I felt like jumping up and strangling the little monkey.

  "Xiao Jiu Ye, it's not asking you to get in the water, but rather to take a look at the mechanism on that thief hole." Old Wang explained with a serious face.

  Damn it, this weirdo Qī Xié, even his expression is problematic, and he's gotten me into such a big embarrassment.

  I glanced at Qi Xie, and his eyes seemed to be blaming me a bit, but then I saw the corners of his mouth slightly raised, as if it was very natural, and I almost got scared stiff.

  Originally, Qi Xiao smiled, but that didn't count as a smile, at most it was just treating me like a fool. Realizing my own behavior was indeed foolish, I stood up and pretended to be nonchalant, asking: "Didn't you say that if we find the large stone on the small stream's surface, we'll find the thief's den? I've been looking for so long, how can we dig a hole here?"

  The surrounding area doesn't look like a place where you can dig holes at all, and most of the streams are mainly composed of small stones. If you dig holes, it's not like digging a basement, it's exhausting.

  "What do you think?" Hei Shu's gaze fell on Qi Xie, asking seriously. It can be seen that Hei Shu's attitude towards Qi Xie is not very good, but not bad either. In short, along the way, it seems that they are all afraid of Qi Xie, and in some aspects, they still rely on Qi Xie.

  Qī Xié's complexion remained as pale as a dead person, without any expression. He only took out his beloved dagger and approached me with it. I was so scared that I retreated several steps and weakly said: "Don't get agitated, whatever you say goes, the knife doesn't have eyes, put it away first."

  Nonsense, I couldn't be calm at all. Who can remain calm after seeing that shining dagger? Looking at Qi Xie's appearance, my mind went completely blank.

  I just kept backing away, afraid that Qī Xié would slash my neck with his dagger and end my life. As I continued to back away, I saw Qī Xié grab my hand with one of his and pull me.

  I hadn't even had time to react when I felt a chill on my hand, a sharp pain, and blood started gushing out.

  The evil spirit grasped my wrist tightly and moved my hand beside the large stone, blood dripping onto the muddy soil beneath.

  "Get out of the way." Qi Xie's voice was low and mournful, like that of a dead person.

  I hastily jumped to the side, took over the small thin monkey handed me a band-aid, and pressed the wound on my wrist hard. When I cut it, I didn't feel anything, and I didn't react until I had another wound. That guy must have been holding a scalpel before, and his speed was too fast.

  Right after that, I saw Qi Xie standing there, muttering to himself, and with a wave of his large hand, the blood-stained soil suddenly turned into red soil.

  "That's cinnabar." The thin monkey reminded me on the side.