It was no wonder; they were all different people, which was why they all lived in such remote and difficult-to-reach places.
Any normal person couldn't endure such loneliness and isolation, could they? At least, life there was very inconvenient.
The old man didn't greet us but walked into the mountains alone. His feet were as light as swallows, seeming to skim the ground as he flew, while we were already out of breath trying to keep up with his pace.
The mountains here were all very high. They looked close, but in reality, it took crossing several slopes to reach them.
In a short while, the old man had left us far behind and walked on alone.
The two of us looked at the mountains ahead. We had been walking for a long time, and they still seemed so far away. No wonder they said it would take almost a full day's walk. It was already two or three in the afternoon. If we kept going, wouldn't we arrive past midnight?
I said to them, "Let's put in more effort and catch up with the old senior. We're young, we can't let him leave us behind. How embarrassing would that be?"
The two of them nodded and followed me forward with all their might.
This path was much better than the one we walked on yesterday. At least this was a path, narrow but very smooth, without any loose stones. The reason we couldn't walk fast was that it was too steep; it was uphill all the way.
We walked briskly for over an hour before we saw a glimpse of the old man. He was standing on a mountain ridge, seemingly looking at something.
I thought that if he hadn't stopped, we probably wouldn't have caught up with him even if we had reached our destination.
I walked up to the old man and cupped my fists to greet him, saying, "Senior!"
He turned to look at me and said, "Someone has entered the mountain."
I asked, "Someone has entered the mountain? Who?"
He replied, "It's hard to tell who it is yet, but today is destined to be a sleepless night. These people must be top experts."
I asked, "Did you see this standing here, old senior?"
He said, "Yes. Come here, and I'll show you."
I moved to higher ground and followed his hand to look down. The entire mountain range was densely vegetated. I looked for a long time but couldn't see anything.
He said, "Look down. First, find this small path, then see what's different."
As he instructed, I first found the small path we had come up on. Indeed, I saw faint shadowy figures constantly leaping, moving very fast, not like walking at all, but running.
You must understand that this path was all uphill, and to run on such a steep slope required immense skill.
He said, "Hurry and follow me. They said they'll be here soon."
The visitors' intentions were unknown, so it was best for us to hide first.
Just as we hid ourselves in the bushes, five or six dark figures flashed past us, moving as if their feet weren't touching the ground, zipping by so fast it made one's eyes water.
The old man said, "Not good! The doctor you're looking for is in danger!"
I asked in surprise, "How do you know?"
He replied, "These people are clearly here for revenge. There are only two people here; it's either me or him. How could I not know? They're clearly not here for me."
I asked, "How can you be sure?"
He said, "I have no grudges against anyone, so why would someone be so idle as to look for me? As for the divine doctor you mentioned, he spends half of his month traveling. Do you know which deity he has offended?"
What the old man said made a lot of sense. Putting aside other things, he treated Wu Guodong. If some people wanted Wu Guodong dead, then he was a crucial figure. Eliminating him would mean Wu Guodong's life would be forfeit.
We came to find him precisely because of Wu Guodong. Others would do the same.
I couldn't help but worry about the divine doctor. If it was true as the senior said, even with his immense skills, he couldn't withstand these masters. He would surely be eliminated before us!
I was at a loss. The senior probably saw my anxiety and asked, "Is finding this person very important?"
I replied, "Yes. There is a drug lord in the triangular region named Wu Guodong. He has been sending people to cause trouble for us recently. Two days ago, I went to find him, wanting to negotiate peace and avoid conflict. However, I was tricked by a scoundrel and we were both thrown into a python's den. We brothers were almost eaten by pythons and leopards. Later, I heard he had a strange illness, and the divine doctor on this mountain treated him every month. So, we thought, could we use this as an opportunity to get close to Wu Guodong and resolve this conflict? That's why we came here. If these people are indeed looking for him, not only would our trip be in vain, but it would be even harder to find another opportunity to approach Wu Guodong."
The senior said, "So that's how it is. I understand. Although I don't interact with this person, I can help you. Let's not delay. You follow behind and go that way. I'll go ahead and see if I can stop them."
After saying this, he darted away from us and vanished in an instant.
My mouth fell open. Was this the legendary Qing Gong, or lightness skill?
You must realize that those people had already gone quite far. For him to find the divine doctor ahead of them, he had to be incredibly fast.
Wen Siqiang simply exclaimed, "Holy hell!"
Qian Fugui was even more astonished, saying, "Boss, is this a god? How can a person have such skill?"
I said, "Whether he's a god or a man, he's our benefactor. If we hadn't met him, this trip would have been for nothing."
I continued, "Let's hurry too. We're already slow; any further delay and we won't make it in time."
The few of us quickly got out of the bushes and quickened our pace to catch up with them.
We crossed several more ridges before reaching the main peak.
By then, it was completely dark. Fortunately, there was a distinct small path, with dense vegetation on both sides, making it easy to identify.
Perhaps because it was high enough, the path on the main peak became gentler, with a slight gradient. Perhaps we were nearing our destination.
People couldn't live in steep places. No matter how high the altitude, their living quarters had to be flat.
Indeed, we saw a light ahead and seemed to see some buildings.
We had arrived.
The light was very dim. I remembered that there was no electricity here, so the most the light could be was from candles or kerosene lamps.
We didn't dare to approach rashly. We stood at a distance and listened for a while. It was very quiet here, not at all like there was a struggle or ambush. It was as if those people and the senior had vanished into thin air.
Perhaps this wasn't where the divine doctor lived, but the senior's place.
I signaled to the other two to wait for me here, and I went ahead alone to investigate.
I bent over and walked forward a few steps. I vaguely saw two low thatched huts ahead, and the light was coming from their small windows.
I could see people moving inside, but there was no sound, not even a cough.
I was puzzled. If those people weren't here to cause trouble, then were there other people living in the mountains here? Were they looking for a third person besides the two of them?