Chapter 124: Clues to the Mountain City

Chapter 124: Clues in the Mountain City

Half an hour later, in the activity hall, the temporary interrogation room.

Chen Jian sat opposite the woman and asked:

“Your name is Ji Xing?”

“Yes.”

The woman nodded in reply.

“Are you a source-blooded?”

“Exactly.”

“Now you are the bodyguard of this Huadu person named Bai Xu?”

“Yes.”

“And you kidnapped your employer?”

“I had no choice.”

“Do you want to defect to us?”

“I have no alternative.”

“Is this Bai Xu your token of allegiance?”

. “I don’t know what a token of allegiance is, but I think it’s more appropriate to hand him over to you than to kill him outright.”

Hearing Ji Xing’s answer, Chen Jian slowly nodded.

Ji Xing’s story was quite reasonable: a guard who had broken away from the Holy Blood Hall, during a mission coincidentally discovered Huadu’s conspiracy, and after realizing she had no other way out and could only bind herself to Huadu, she ruthlessly kidnapped her employer and fled to Huangshi City to pledge allegiance.

The logic was sound, the motive reasonable; theoretically, Chen Jian should have had no reason to suspect her.

But the fact was, Chen Jian maintained an equal suspicion toward all inexplicable outsiders.

No matter how florid your words, I would treat them as if you hadn’t spoken.

Because what you say doesn’t matter; what you do does.

When we took in Zeng Yi and the others, it wasn’t because of a few simple words, but because they showed loyalty in battle.

So, Chen Jian’s gaze toward Ji Xing still carried a hint of coldness.

He pondered for a moment, gestured to Zeng Yi standing aside to move the knife from Ji Xing’s neck, then continued asking:

“How can you prove what you’re saying is true? How can you make us accept you?”

Ji Xing blinked, then countered:

“I’ve brought the person here; isn’t that enough?”

“Not enough.”

Chen Jian spread his hands and said:

“This won’t bring us any tangible benefit; on the contrary, capturing a Huadu person is more of a trouble for us.”

His words fell, and Ji Xing suddenly realized her actions seemed, indeed, a bit.

Wishful thinking.

She took a deep breath and continued speaking:

“Being a source-blooded is itself an asset; I am strong, no doubt about it.”

“At the very least, I am far stronger than the two Holy Blooded beside you.”

“They can join, so why can’t I?”

“They can join us, but not because they are Holy Blooded.”

Chen Jian shook his head and replied:

“In short, the things you pride yourself on aren’t that important to me.”

“Now you need us to help you solve your problem; you’re seeking refuge with us. If you can’t produce something more convincing, I’d say we might as well forget it.”

“Go back where you came from, and take your spoils with you.”

“We don’t need a Huadu person as a bargaining chip; he holds no value for us.”

“But you killed their people and ruined their plans!”

Ji Xing said urgently.

“So what? Come, he’s right here, Shen Yue, untie the cloth over his mouth.”

“Let him speak for himself; does he dare to hold us responsible?”

Shen Yue, hearing this, released Bai Xu’s bonds, and the latter eagerly said:

“This is a misunderstanding!”

“I’m sure you’ve seen that camp; yes, we were indeed researching the blood skulls, but we never targeted civilians!”

“It was merely an accident, and we are willing to take responsibility for it!”

“You were just eliminating monsters; all our losses have nothing to do with you—this is purely our own mistake!”

“We could even cooperate! Just like our cooperation with the Machine God Sect.”

“All right.”

Chen Jian raised his hand, cutting off Bai Xu’s speech.

Then he looked at Ji Xing and said:

“You see, for us the situation is quite clear.”

“His value far exceeds yours; what reason do we have to favor you?”

“.”

Ji Xing was speechless; after a long while, she finally spoke again.

“So you don’t intend to intervene?”

“That’s not necessarily the case.”

Chen Jian gave a slight smile and replied:

“If you can produce a sufficiently convincing reason, we can also help you resolve this trouble.”

His words fell, and Ji Xing fell silent once more.

She had thought Huangshi City and Huadu were naturally enemies; under that assumption, joining Huangshi City would have been a logical progression.

But from Chen Jian’s words, she could clearly sense that there was no conflict between the two forces.

Or at least, there was no irreconcilable conflict.

In that case, her decision was indeed mistaken.

But now it’s too late to change her mind.

His malice had already been laid bare; should I allow Bai Xu to return alive, I would undoubtedly be trapped in an inescapable stalemate.

At that point, would it truly be as Bai Xu said—changing my name, hiding in the mountains for a lifetime?

I still have great things to accomplish.

I cannot stop here.

Had I known, I would have slain him then and there—at least that would have given me a breathing spell before Huadu caught on and held this guard accountable.

And now?

Inside the crate behind Bai Xu lay a communications device; should he gain freedom, he would surely report our situation to Huadu on the spot.

They might even demand, as the price of cooperation, that Huangshi City "handle" this matter for them.

Ji Xing drew a deep breath, silently making her resolve.

Then she spoke solemnly:

"My worth is not limited to my identity."

"I possess a piece of information, and I can guarantee it is something everyone desires."

"I will trade this information for my life."

"Speak."

Chen Jian's expression remained unchanged.

"I can say it, but not in front of Bai Xu."

"First, get him out of here."

Hearing his words, Chen Jian gave a glance to Huang Yu waiting beside him; the latter immediately ushered Bai Xu out with his men.

After confirming that only the true "decision-makers" remained in the room, Ji Xing spoke:

"I’ve heard you’re cooperating with the Ring Consortium, but you surely don’t know what they actually intend to do."

"And coincidentally, I do."

".We do too."

Chen Jian spread his hands helplessly:

"They want to restart the Ring—though I don’t know exactly what that goal entails, it’s hardly a secret, is it?"

"No."

Ji Xing shook her head and replied:

"This is a secret."

"The Ring is not some ethereal abstraction, not a mere religious 'intent'; it is a tangible device that exists in reality."

"Of course, I don’t know the exact purpose of that device, but I know it resides in their headquarters, in Guang-Shen."

"And that is not the point I wish to make."

Before Chen Jian could interject, Ji Xing continued:

"Restarting the Ring is the lifelong pursuit of the Ring merchants, yet before achieving that goal they must accomplish many things."

"And chief among them is to unlock the treasure of Mountain City." "I suspect they have already told you this goal—indeed, any organization that once worked closely with them has heard them speak of it, and many have chased it for the sake of their reward."

"The Holy Blood Hall is one such organization, and I am one of its members."

"But unlike the others, I have gone further."

"I have a clue."

"A clue as to how the treasure of Mountain City can be opened."

As Ji Xing’s words fell, Chen Jian’s gaze shifted instantly.

"Mountain City—again, Mountain City!"

"What, then, lies within it?"

"Legends speak of a city untouched by time, where centuries have passed yet its pre‑Cataclysm visage remains steadfast."

"What, then, happened there?"

"Over three hundred years, countless factions have sought the truth, yet to this day it remains shrouded in mist."

"And now Ji Xing claims she has a clue to enter Mountain City and open its treasure?"

Chen Jian looked at her with skepticism.

Ji Xing seemed to have anticipated his reaction; she showed no panic, instead appearing to set down a burden, speaking with ease:

"I have no other choice—I can only cooperate with you."

"Everyone here has heard the legend of Mountain City, yet each interprets it differently."

"The Ring Consortium believes it holds the secret to restarting the Ring; the Machine God Sect sees it as the abode of the Holy Trinity; the Holy Blood Hall thinks it may be the source of holy blood—and of monsters."

"To someone like me, an ordinary person, it feels more like a new world."

"A new world we cannot enter."

"Perhaps people still live there, leading lives utterly unlike those of the Wasteland."

"Compared to the Wasteland, it might well be… heaven."

"I want to go there and see—even if I ultimately find it differs from the legend, I must see it for myself."

"But to get there, my own strength is insufficient."

"I became a guard precisely to amass resources quickly, build my own team, and, when the time is ripe, follow the clues and open a passage."

"Alas, this endeavor is far harder than I imagined."

"I can only seek help."

"Why not turn to the Holy Blood Hall?"

Chen Jian questioned:

"You are originally of the Holy Blood Hall; you know them better than anyone—working with us would be…"

"Do you think I discovered this clue alone?"

Ji Xing cut him off, then said:

"I merely survived the struggle for the clue—that’s all."

"Since then, the Holy Blood Hall has ceased to be my home."

"So you’re a traitor?"

Zeng Yi interjected:

"The Holy Blood Hall still has traitors? You’re joking, right?"

Ji Xing looked at Zeng Yi with derision, then said:

"You yourself are a Holy Blood follower—how could you not know? This is inherently a fractured, crumbling organization."

“We are not traitors; we have merely been exiled in another way.”

“.I cannot refute it.”

Zeng Yi nodded at Chen Jian and then said:

“This is indeed the current state of the Holy Blood Hall.”

“Understood.”

Chen Jian answered offhandedly, fell silent for a moment, then turned to Ji Xing and said:

“Let’s get straight to the point.”

“What is your clue?”

“You must first promise to guarantee my safety, and you must also promise not to cooperate with Bai Xu.”

“We had no intention of cooperating with him anyway.”

Chen Jian replied without hesitation.

Ji Xing suddenly felt she had been played, but the words were already out, and trying to take them back now seemed too late.

So, she spoke up:

“The clue is in Jinling.”

“Somewhere in Jinling lies the secret that can unlock the treasure of Shancheng.”

“No, to be precise, it’s not only in Jinling.”

“There is more than one way to enter Shancheng; I simply happen to know that a clue is hidden in the ruins of Jinling.”

“How do you know that?”

Chen Jian was not distracted by the keyword “Jinling,” but calmly continued his questioning.

“As I said, the Holy Blood Hall once pursued the treasure of Shancheng.”

“Our team had reached the edge of Shancheng, but before we could get any closer, we suffered heavy losses.”

“While we were resting there, we encountered a first‑class monster, and our squad of thirty‑six was nearly annihilated.”

“And after we barely escaped, we found traces of human habitation in an underground ruin.”

“Those people are dead in the ruin, but from the records they left we know they too had tried to enter Shancheng.”

“They mentioned many place names.”

“Jinling, Guangshen, ChuanSha, Chang’an, Yongzhou, Yingyang, and some names we don’t understand.”

“Most of those names are not current human activity zones; only Jinling is a suitable target.”

“That’s why I chose Jinling—does that convince you?”

Chen Jian neither nodded nor shook his head.

He simply continued to ask:

“You had a squad of thirty‑six, and only you survived—how did they die?”

“They killed each other.”

Ji Xing answered without reservation:

“Only six people survived the first‑class monster’s attack, and, coincidentally, everyone believed the value of this clue exceeded the reward we could obtain from the Holy Blood Hall.”

“Logical error.”

Chen Jian interrupted Ji Xing, questioning:

“I don’t believe that among those six there wasn’t a loyalist of the Holy Blood Hall.”

“The loyalists died in the clash with the first‑class monster; you haven’t seen the kind of terror that monster inflicts on those who escape its grasp—how could anyone remain loyal after that?”

Once again, an answer that cannot be falsified.

Chen Jian slowly nodded, looking toward Shen Yue and the others nearby.

The four‑person team left the interrogation room, briefly discussed, and reached a unanimous conclusion.

Afterwards, Chen Jian returned to the interrogation room and ordered Huang Yu to untie Ji Xing’s bonds.

She moved her slightly numb hands and feet, speaking in a teasing tone:

“You are far more cautious than I imagined. Or, one could say, timid?”

“Watch your mouth.”

Chen Jian warned without changing expression:

“It could get you into a lot of trouble.”

Ji Xing shrugged, indifferent:

“We were merely an alliance of convenience; does what I say matter? If you want to find a way to open Shancheng’s treasure, you must go with me to Jinling.”

“I haven’t yet revealed where the clue is located, so you won’t lay a hand on me, right?”

“Not necessarily.”

Chen Jian gave a noncommittal answer.

Ji Xing suddenly felt a prickle on her skin, realizing she truly could not act recklessly before these killing gods.

So she coughed once and decisively changed the subject.

“What about that Huadu person? How do you intend to deal with him?”

“We don’t intend to deal with him.”

Chen Jian shook his head and replied:

“He is already dead.”

“He died in Wushan Lake, in the monster’s riot.”

“His corpse has already been torn apart by the monsters—what more is there to handle?”

(End of chapter)