Yu Daohan followed the location provided by Nanjing Shuo and arrived at a village.
Upon entering the village, Yu Daohan encountered a burly man preparing to leave. He offered the man a cigarette and struck up a conversation, "Brother, could you tell me how to get to Xiaotun Mountain?"
The man sized up Yu Daohan and asked curiously, "Why are you going to Xiaotun Mountain? There are no villages nearby."
Yu Daohan scratched the back of his head and smiled, "I'm a hiking enthusiast. I like to venture deep into the mountains to take photos."
The man looked at Yu Daohan's frail appearance and inquired, "Are you alone?"
Yu Daohan nodded, "Just me."
The man clicked his tongue and advised, "I suggest you don't go into the mountains alone. Xiaotun Mountain is two mountain ranges away. It takes three days just to get there."
"Moreover, the vegetation is dense, and you might encounter large animals like wild boars and wolves. Even people from our village rarely go that deep."
"With your physique, going in alone is no different from being a meal for them."
This wasn't the man bragging.
The young man in front of him looked pale and sickly, as if he was suffering from kidney deficiency. The man felt he could easily take on five of him.
Yu Daohan understood what the man was thinking from his expression.
If only there weren't wolves or wild boars around, he would have shown him a demonstration of tearing a beast apart with his bare hands.
"Brother, tell me the location first, and I'll call my friends before we go in together," Yu Daohan asked with a smile.
The man nodded and pointed to the mountains behind the village, "First, cross this mountain. You'll see a small stream flowing down from the mountain. Then, follow the stream and cross that one, and you'll reach Xiaotun Mountain."
Yu Daohan nodded and smiled, "Thank you, brother."
The man waved his hand and reminded him, "When you go in, bring some insect repellent and snake venom antidote. There are many mosquitoes and poisonous snakes inside."
Yu Daohan nodded, "Thank you for the reminder, brother."
After they parted ways, Yu Daohan immediately set off towards the mountains.
After leaving the train station, he had bought compressed biscuits and water, enough for seven days.
Yu Daohan walked in the direction the man had pointed.
After walking for a while, Yu Daohan sat on a rock to rest, took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a long drag before exhaling slowly. Looking at the green mountains and clear waters, he felt somewhat unaccustomed to it.
It felt rather lonely, and he regretted not calling Su Lai.
Yu Daohan thought about it, took out his phone, and was about to send a message to ask if the guy was busy.
But after scrolling to Su Lai's number, he hesitated for a moment and then dismissed the idea.
He didn't know if he would encounter any danger this time, so he didn't want to put the guy at risk.
Yu Daohan extinguished his cigarette butt and prepared to continue on his way. However, he frowned upon seeing a plastic bottle on the ground and instinctively looked around.
He hadn't found any followers from the Divine Religion along the way.
Regardless of who threw the plastic bottle, he realized he needed to be cautious.
As the sun began to set, Yu Daohan looked at his surroundings and decided to find a place to spend the night.
The forest was very dangerous at night. Sleeping directly on the ground would make him vulnerable to poisonous snakes.
Being bitten by a poisonous snake in these deep mountains and old forests would be unbearable for him.
Yu Daohan continued to walk forward, looking for a cave or something similar.
"It's good that it's not raining in this desolate wilderness."
Rumble!
As soon as he finished speaking, the sky suddenly let out a loud roar.
Yu Daohan was instantly speechless, "Damn it, I can't be this unlucky."
Being drenched in the rain all night in this place would surely give him a cold the next day.
Large raindrops began to fall, and Yu Daohan hurried forward to find shelter from the rain.
Just as his clothes were about to get soaked, a dilapidated mountain temple appeared ahead.
Seeing a place to shelter from the rain, Yu Daohan ran towards it. When he was about five meters from the entrance, he suddenly stopped, his expression changing drastically.
There was someone inside!
Yu Daohan instinctively reached for the Kanglong Rod at his waist.
How could it be such a coincidence? Just as it started raining, there was someone inside seeking shelter.
This place was likely occupied by people from the Divine Religion!
It wasn't ideal to keep getting rained on like this. Yu Daohan gripped the Kanglong Rod at his waist, ready to draw it at any moment, and walked into the mountain temple.
Inside the mountain temple, three people were gathered around a fire, drying their clothes.
A young woman in her early twenties with a delicate appearance looked at the elderly man beside her, whose hair had turned white, "Grandpa, when will this rain stop?"
The old man chuckled, "This rain probably won't stop tonight."
Just then, a figure walked in, and all three turned to look.
The old man immediately reached for the hunting rifle beside him, warily watching the approaching figure.
As Yu Daohan entered, he saw the three people gathered around the campfire, and his tense nerves immediately relaxed.
An old man in his fifties, a woman in her early twenties, and a seventeen-year-old kid?
He had expected a fierce battle, but he hadn't expected these to be three ordinary people.
Yu Daohan looked at the hunting rifle in the old man's hand and smiled, "I'm just here to take shelter from the rain. I have no ill intentions."
The woman sized up Yu Daohan and smiled, "Since we're all seeking shelter, why don't you come over..."
Before the woman could finish, she was interrupted by the old man beside her, "Xiao Lei!"
The woman turned to the old man beside her, puzzled, "Grandpa?"
The old man ignored the woman and looked at Yu Daohan, "Young man, there's firewood behind the statue. You can take some to warm yourself."
Yu Daohan smiled and thanked him, "Thank you, sir."
Seeing the old man being so wary of him, Yu Daohan didn't mind.
After all, in this desolate wilderness, going up the mountain alone, with something wrapped in cloth resembling a gun at his waist.
Anyone would be instinctively cautious.
The woman looked at the old man beside her, "Grandpa, what's wrong?"
The old man carefully watched Yu Daohan's every move and whispered, "This person is not from our village. And in this desolate wilderness, going up the mountain alone, with something like a gun at his waist, what do you think he is?"
"Moreover, it's hard to say if he's even human!"
The seventeen-year-old youth beside them became frightened. He picked up a sickle from the ground and swallowed, "Grandpa, don't scare me."
Yu Daohan listened to their conversation and shook his head helplessly.
It seemed they thought he was some kind of bad guy.
However, this also proved that they were likely villagers from the area.
Yu Daohan picked up some firewood, lit a fire, and sat by it, warming his clothes.
Seeing that Yu Daohan was not afraid of the fire, the old man breathed a sigh of relief and began to probe, "Young man, you're probably not from our village."
Upon hearing this, Yu Daohan smiled, "That's right. I'm from outside, here to do something at Xiaotun Mountain."