Chapter 157 The Yellow Soil Ridge (1/2)

Hearing this, Lao Tao bowed and said his thanks. He must have already expected my answer. With the can of Coke still unopened, he took his leave and left.

The primary purpose of this ancient Mountain Deity's visit was mainly to enlist our help to drive the weasels away; everyone knew full well that no peace would come if the marauding weasels were allowed to continue their reign of terror.

When Lao Tao had left, Chongxi asked, ”How can you accept the challenge just so haphazardly, Shiyan! After all, we know nothing about this benefactor of theirs...” I yawned and glanced at my watch. ”So who do you think that might be?” Chongxi shook his head with a blank face, indicating his lack of knowledge. Lin Feng went to the table and picked up the can of Coke that Lao Tao had left unopened. He popped it open and took a swig. ”Who else? I bet it's the one we've asked Zheng Shuang to find out!”

”Oh, my! I've almost forgotten about him!” Chongxi exclaimed. ”All right, all right! We'll just have to plan along the way! What we need now is sleep!” I barked, ”I'm awfully sleepy!” I wrapped an arm around Edelweiss and we moved out the door.

On my bed at home, Edelweiss grew worried. ”What do you think about the weasel demons? Will it be dangerous to fight against them?” ”I guess so,” I muttered. Edelweiss fell into contemplative silence, which I quickly noticed and said, ”I'll have to visit the area around the Yellow Soil Ridge tomorrow. There's nothing much that I know about that area, and I need to reconnoiter the area to plan for the battle.” Edelweiss sat up at once, and said, ”No. I'll go with you. There could be dangers...” I pulled her back down. ”All right, all right. As you say, my dear wife!”

But I could not hear what Edelweiss said after that. She was still telling me about something, when I had drifted off into my dreams.

In truth, I would have no qualms against bringing Edelweiss with me to the Yellow Soil Ridge. Many people loved going there to enjoy the beautiful sceneries there. It was part of the administrative region of Zunhua City, one of the county-level cities of Hebei. The city was quite famous for the Eastern Qing Tombs and war-time stories during the World War.

One of the reasons that many demons and spiritual entities concentrated on the Yellow Soil Ridge was because of the Eastern Qing Tombs. The Manchurians came from the North prior to the inception of the Qing Dynasty, reigning over the northern frontiers before they ruled the Central Plains of China Proper. Hence, they were revered by many among the minions of the Wudaxians as their lords and kings. With many deceased emperors interred at the Eastern Qing Tombs, many of the minions wished to be closer to their resting remains. The minions, being primarily animals and beasts, showed greater loyalty to their former lieges than humans. But there was also another reason: the fengshui and the southern arm of the range of Mount Yan had made this vicinity a hallowed ground, especially with the divine aura of the dragon leys.

With the crisis of the Crucible of Heaven in the horizon, it was no wonder that entities from abroad wished to profit from the rich divine aura of the hallowed grounds for their own study of magic. But now that we knew that the weasels from Yizhou City have a powerful benefactor hiding in the shadows, it was up to me to thwart them. More so, if their insidious designs included manipulating Father and his plans for ascension.

I called my companions the first thing when I woke up the next day and told them about my plans to survey the Ridge. With their agreement, Edelweiss and I drove our car to pick them from the Center and we went straight towards Zunhua City.

The journey there was merely a one-hour ride. We were amazed to find that Zunhua was a beautiful city. The sky was a clear blue with a few strands of clouds overhead. There was no haze at all and the air was fresh, unlike Wu Zhong. Then again, Zunhua City's environment, if compared to the tranquil steppes of Inner Mongolia, would merely be the proverbial pot and kettle to Wu Zhong. Hence, only Lin Feng, Chongxi and I were impressed, while Edelweiss merely wore an indifferent look as we looked out of the windows.