Chapter 1 "Are They Still Alive?"

"Are Boss Lin and the others really still alive?" The fat man's dim eyes lit up. This was definitely rare good news, for him and for the doctor.

Number 13 didn't waste words and directly took out a deck of cards, performing a divination in front of everyone. Number 2 pressed his shoulder, intending to stop him. "Stop it. Your body can't withstand the backlash of two consecutive divinations. The thing inside you is getting hungrier and hungrier. What do you want to lose this time, your whole arm?"

The next second, a bizarre scene unfolded. White gloves appeared out of nowhere on the boy's left hand, which only had half a palm left. The poker cards scattered on the ground seemed to come to life, moving in a strange way under the guidance of the white gloves. The cards fluttered and flipped over one by one, forming a ring around the last face-down card.

The fat man subconsciously counted the number of cards that had been flipped over: 52 regular cards, and 2 jokers, a total of 54.

Clearly, the last face-down card didn't belong to this deck. It was extra. Curiosity surged like a tidal wave. The fat man stared intently at this card, wanting to know what was on it.

But he didn't notice that after the white gloves appeared, Number 13 presented a strange posture, his face as pale as a dead man, his pupils dilated, like a walking corpse whose soul had been taken away.

Just as the last card began to tremble and the mystery was about to be revealed, a hand grabbed Number 13's wrist. After a brief confrontation, the ritual was forcibly terminated.

Coming back to his senses, Number 13's body trembled violently. He looked at Wu, who had suddenly appeared before his eyes. It took a while for his scattered pupils to gradually focus. "You..."

"Enough," Wu said, releasing Number 13's wrist. "I believe you."

Jiang Cheng took the coat from the rack and put it on, then tossed another coat to the fat man. The two walked down the stairs. "Where did Lin Wan'er and the others disappear?"

Realizing what was happening, Number 13 ignored the pain in his hand and said excitedly, "Xie Ming Mountain. It's not far from Rong City, but there are many mountain roads, and the road isn't easy to travel."

"Did you drive here?"

"Yes."

"Good, let's go."

As usual, Number 2 drove. Out of caution, Wu sat in the passenger seat. Number 13 sat in the back between Jiang Cheng and the fat man. The fat man looked at Number 13's left hand, which only had half a palm left, and his heart ached, tears welling up in his eyes.

After seeing this, Number 13 put on the thick gloves he had brought, not forgetting to comfort the fat man. "Number 10, it's okay. These are just minor injuries. They're nothing compared to the pain you've suffered."

After a pause, Number 13 patted the fat man's leg and smiled. "Don't worry, everything will be alright. Mr. and Number 3 will be fine. Everyone... everyone will be fine."

"Yes, we will all be fine." The fat man rubbed Number 13's head in a comforting manner. "You know, I saw Wang Qi in that car. He's fine. Da He Niangniang (River Goddess) and Huai Yi are with him. When we take down the Old Chairman, he can reunite with everyone."

Hearing news about Number 5, Number 2, who was driving, couldn't help but be distracted. They had lost too many family members. It wasn't until Number 10 came back that this fragmented family finally had a trace of warmth.

Taking out his phone, Jiang Cheng searched for information on the search bar. He had never been to Xie Ming Mountain, but he knew a little about the rumors surrounding it.

The so-called Xie Ming Mountain doesn't refer to a single peak, but rather two mountains, divided into East Xie Ming Mountain and West Xie Ming Mountain. East Xie Ming Mountain has clear waters and beautiful scenery, making it a good place for outings. West Xie Ming Mountain, which is more secluded and remote, is the opposite. The terrain there is dangerous, with high mountains and dense forests, making passage extremely difficult. It is said that before the founding of the country, bandits were hidden inside. Because the area was full of mountain bogs and natural barriers such as poisonous insects and miasma, it took a lot of effort to wipe out this group of bandits at that time.

Unfortunately, according to Number 2, Lin Wan'er and the others disappeared in West Xie Ming Mountain.

They arrived at their destination at 3:00 AM. Everyone was tired and exhausted. Entering the mountain now was obviously not a good choice. They decided to rest for the night in the town at the foot of the mountain and make plans after dawn.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Wu concealed his presence after getting out of the car.

But upon truly entering the town, the group quickly noticed the strange atmosphere permeating it. It was clearly not a good time for tourism, nor was it a holiday, but this small town seemed to be crowded with too many people.

Moreover, as soon as they entered the town, they were targeted. Obscure gazes shot from unknown corners around them, from young male and female tourists carrying large backpacks, to the lazy landlady leaning against the door of the hotel, the unshaven bar owner, the elderly manager in the parking lot…

The disguises of these people were undoubtedly deliberate, but the sharpness in their eyes and the faint fluctuations emanating from their bodies were still accurately captured by Number 2. "These people are all disciples, but their abilities aren't strong. They can't even hide their auras."

The fat man's face tightened upon hearing this. "Sent by the Night Watchmen? They… they actually dare to ambush us here?" Although it wasn't exactly broad daylight, this wasn't a remote mountain after all. To make a move here showed the extent to which these people had become unscrupulous.

Unexpectedly, after observing, Jiang Cheng shook his head. "Not the Night Watchmen. They wouldn't be so bold, and these people are far from enough to devour us."

Number 13 also saw the problem at this moment. "That's right, these people aren't Night Watchmen. They should be people from the government, here for the matters in the mountains. They're likely the An Army from Luo Yun Mountain."

The group pretended that nothing had happened and walked towards the town, walking to the front of the hot-bodied hotel landlady. Jiang Cheng greeted her familiarly. "Landlady, do you have any vacancies?"

The landlady looked them up and down and said impatiently, "Do you have a reservation?"

"No, it's not the peak tourist season."

"Then I'm sorry, most of the rooms in our hotel have already been reserved. We only have a few rooms left with very low cost performance, double rooms, 800 yuan a night. Can you accept that?"

Faced with a price that was almost several times higher, Jiang Cheng smiled and nodded to the landlady. "Yes, we're just looking to have a good time when we come out to play. 800 it is. Please open two rooms for me."

Hearing this, the landlady's face darkened at a speed visible to the naked eye. She originally thought that this exorbitant price would drive these people away, but she didn't expect that the other party was actually someone who didn't lack money.

"We only accept cash, no mobile payments or credit cards." Seeing this, the landlady still wanted to struggle a bit.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Cheng still accepted everything and agreed with a smile. Then, he turned his head to look at Number 2 next to him. Before Number 2 could react, he heard Jiang Cheng say domineeringly, "What are you waiting for? Pay up."