Chapter 73 - Treacherous Mountain Road

"What are you trying to say?" Forsaken Phoenix squinted at the old man.

The old man on the doorstep grinned and said, "I'm just blunt, so please forgive me if I say something that offends you. However, I’m only saying this for your own good. Once you leave, you won’t find another store like mine."

"Oh? You think I’m going to die today?" Tang Jinnian knocked his pipe against the door frame, shaking off the ash.

"Well... pretty much," the old man said, looking up at Tang Jinnian. "Do you know many people die on Five Gods Summit each year? I have to carry several bodies down from this mountain every year."

Tang Jinnian chuckled. "Who would have thought you’re in charge of collecting bodies too?"

"Don’t look down on my trade." The old man grinned widely, revealing a chipped tooth. "The next body I carry down might be yours.

"However, I only handle the corpses of those who bought a casket from me. As for the others... they're none of my business. They can stay on the mountain to feed the wolves."

Tang Jinnian waved his hand with a smile. "I'm not looking down on you, but from what you say that... is your business doing well these years?"

Hearing Tang Jinnian’s question, the old man sighed. "It was fine a few years ago, but recently, fewer and fewer people come here.

"Now that Five Gods Summit has a bad reputation, naturally, fewer people dare to come... I only know how to make coffins for a living." The old man shook his head solemnly. "Business is getting harder and harder."

Flowerless Butterfly also came over and asked, "So... how did those people who went up the mountain die?"

The old man glanced at Rao Shuang and then laughed strangely, "

Ke ke

, this young lady is asking the right questions."

"Those people weren't killed by the disciples of Five Gods Summit. Although Five Gods Summit has a bad reputation, it’s not an evil place. Do you know what that place really is?"

"

Mm

?" Tang Jinnian tilted his head and looked over.

"Five Gods Summit is the largest site for accumulated corpses among these mountains. Over the ages, countless people have died here."

The old man gazed towards the direction of Five Gods Summit, where clouds and mist were swirled.

"I imagine you must have felt something as you came up the mountain..."

"Yes, as we sensed a deathly aura as we came up the mountain... We didn't see any living creatures either," Rao Shuang said with a serious expression.

"So? Are you scared?" Tang Jinnian looked at Rao Shuang with a half-smile.

Rao Shuang snorted coldly and turned away, ignoring him.

Tang Jinnian was left in awkwardness, scratching his nose, and asked the old man, "So, what happened to those people? How did they die?"

The old man pointed up the mountain. "Five Gods Summit is treacherous, and this is the only path up the mountain. Out of ten people, perhaps nine will die on their way up.

"Not to mention the rugged mountain road, there are also poisonous insects, toxic miasmas, and aggressive scavenging beasts...

"Young master, are you interested in a nice coffin now? I’ll carry you down and ensure you have a grand burial."

Tang Jinnian exhaled a puff of smoke, his expression hidden in the swirling mist. Only his voice could be heard. "How much is your most expensive coffin worth?"

"

Ke ke

... it's not expensive." The old man grinned, assuming Tang Jinnian was wavering. "I’m honest in my dealings. The best I have is a cedarwood coffin, and I’ll sell it to you for fifty silver taels!"

Rao Shuang turned her head, looking at Tang Jinnian with confusion, finding it a bit strange.

Tang Jinnian chuckled, took out a hundred-tael note from his pocket, and lightly tossed it at the old man’s feet.

"Here’s a hundred taels. Seeing as you don’t have much time left... I'll buy this cedarwood coffin for your own use." With that, he stepped toward the mountain gate not far away.

The old man's smile froze on his face as he stared at the departing figure of the man, looking somewhat conflicted.

Rao Shuang stared blankly for a moment before quickly catching up, her curiosity evident as she stared at the man's sharp profile.

Forsaken Phoenix suddenly turned his face and stared at Rao Shuang, raising an eyebrow, "Is there something on my face?"

Rao Shuang pouted and said, "No... I was just curious about what someone who casually gives out a hundred taels looks like."

Phoenix Seeker chuckled lightly.

The two fell into silence as they continued up the mountain.

The higher they went, the more difficult the path became. The path grew narrower until eventually, there was no path left, only a faint muddy trail hidden among the weeds.

Five Gods Summit was quite humid. Although it was already noon, dew still clung to the flowers and grass underfoot. The air was filled with a faint fog that limited visibility.

"Wait!" Rao Shuang suddenly called out to Tang Jinnian who was leading the way. She reached out to tug at him and said, "There's red dew grass here, which means there must be red-spotted snakes protecting it too. Be careful... okay?"

"What?" Tang Jinnian turned around with a fiery red snake less than ten inches long and looked at her strangely. "Are you talking about this?" He waved the little snake at Rao Shuang.

Rao Shuang gulped and nodded. "Be careful... a bite from that little thing could be fatal."

"

Mm

." Tang Jinnian nodded in response, then casually twisted off the snake’s head, squeezed out a greenish gallbladder, and ate it.

"Hey! Don’t!" Rao Shuang tried to stop him but couldn’t react in time. She watched in disbelief as Tang Jinnian chewed a few times and swallowed.

Tang Jinnian looked at Rao Shuang in confusion, noticing her incredulous expression. Tang Jinnian frowned, "Why are you staring at me again?"

"Are you okay?" Rao Shuang asked hesitantly.

"What could possibly happen? I’ve eaten more poisonous things than this." Tang Jinnian waved his hand. "Let’s hurry and try to get there before dark."

"What kind of person are you?" Rao Shuang grabbed Tang Jinnian, "That red-spotted snake is highly poisonous. Even a small amount of its blood could cause severe reactions in ordinary people... How did you eat that gallbladder just like that?"

"Who am I?" Tang Jinnian smiled. "I’m just someone who makes puppets."

Rao Shuang looked incredulous and was about to ask more, but Tang Jinnian grabbed her by the collar, stopping her from taking another step.

"What are you doing!" Rao Shuang shouted at Tang Jinnian while adjusting her clothes.

"Look." Tang Jinnian calmly pointed ahead. "

Heh

... looks like we haven’t gone the wrong way."

Rao Shuang focused her eyes and saw that a few meters ahead, the mist was different from the ordinary fog they had seen before. Instead, it was a faint red, and the ground beneath it was littered with white bones. Clearly, the fog was a poisonous miasma.

If Phoenix Seeker hadn’t pulled her back earlier, she would have stepped right into it... Rao Shuang now felt a twinge of fear.

"How about... we take a detour?" Rao Shuang tentatively suggested.

Tang Jinnian smiled and scoffed, "A detour? Here, eat this." He took out a red pill from his pocket and handed it to Flowerless Butterfly.

Rao Shuang took it, examined it, and sniffed it but couldn’t identify what kind of pill it was, so she asked, "What... what's this?"

"

Heh

, it’s poison, are you still going to eat it?" Tang Jinnian sneered.

Rao Shuang rolled her eyes and swallowed the pill.

She knew that if he wanted to harm her, there was no need for all this.