"That's the logic behind it. He probably didn't want others to know, which is why he kept it so secretive..."

Gu Mo nodded leisurely and acknowledged the reason provided by Fujikichiro.

Because this explanation made sense too. Since the Viper went to great lengths to hide his secret, it naturally wasn't suitable for too many people to know... The soldiers helping to find the hidden door was already the limit. If they knew more, it would not be a good thing.

Hidechika thought for a moment and nodded as well. She felt that since that was the case, there was no need to cause trouble for her elderly father.

After all, even though the Demon Qi inside was mixed, there was no powerful individual. She could deal with it by herself with a bit of time... Besides, even if there was danger that she couldn't handle, would taking a group of ordinary soldiers inside really be of any help?

More people would only be a burden, that's the logic behind it.

"Then just the three of us will go in," Gu Mo said, raising his fist to his mouth and lightly coughing.

Fujikichiro's expression changed slightly again. He forced a polite smile with an awkward but honest grin, scratching the back of his head: "Maybe I shouldn't go either. I'll stay outside and help them clear the other demons on the mountain... Besides, I can't be of much help."

He said this just to exclude himself.

The secret inside is so significant; Lord Dao San even deliberately built a manor to hide it, so it's not suitable for outsiders to know... It's not just that the soldiers shouldn't go in; he didn't plan to risk his life either. Moreover, if the soldiers didn't go in, but he did...

As the only outsider, wouldn't that make him even more conspicuous!

Was this reasoning going to make him seem like he was retreating at the last moment, appearing afraid to die? Monkey was deeply worried, feeling extremely unlucky. He laughed awkwardly while cautiously observing Gu Mo's expression, fearful of leaving a bad impression.

However, Gu Mo nodded very readily, seemingly not dissatisfied at all—

"Alright! You handle things outside, and I'll go in with Ah Xiu."

Hidechika was the real powerhouse. Even in the game, Monkey was always the NPC who triggered tasks and plots; Gu Mo never expected much from him.

...

...

Moments later.

Following the passage behind the wall, advancing along the narrow, manmade path, Gu Mo and the black-haired girl quietly walked within the range of the torchlight. He was very cautious, paying attention to his footing. The further they went, the rougher and cruder the manmade traces became, eventually fading away entirely.

The mountain's interior was already hollow—a gigantic natural cavern existed. The manmade passage merely pierced through a path, connecting the manor to the mountain's interior space, leaving the rest to the handiwork of nature itself...

After all, it's impossible that Saito Dosan had someone excavate it; such an undertaking is unimaginable.

Gu Mo held a torch, faintly seeing winding rock stairs ahead, descending along the stone wall into the deep darkness below. On the path he walked, one side was the solid mountain, and the other side was a deep abyss, with stalactites of various sizes hanging down.

Cold, damp, dim.

The torchlight's range was ultimately limited; shadows stretched bizarrely under the light, like clawing monsters lurking in the dark. The atmosphere unintentionally grew eerie, giving a tingling sensation inside.

Maybe it was because there was no longer the team raiding vibe; the voice channel was no longer buzzing with lively chatter?

Gu Mo thought this, no longer having a crowd trailing behind him, listening to the heavy footsteps, the clinking of armor and weapons. Naturally, there was no group's encouraging buff... Ah Xiu was great, just too quiet.

She hardly made any sound, this soundlessness referred to all her actions—even walking was free of any noise—

If he couldn't see her, Gu Mo would have been tempted to doubt, suspecting he was walking alone in this ghostly place... Hmm, there was still the big fox.

The black-haired girl, light on her feet, stopped suddenly in such a treacherous terrain, as if walking on flat ground. She took out her longbow from her back, drew the bow and nocked an arrow, shooting swiftly. The entire process was very quick, as if not needing to aim, directly skipping it.

The sound of hissing emerged, followed by the heavy thud of a heavy object crashing to the ground.

From the stalactites hanging above, a five to six meter long large snake fell, its upper body was also wet-haired and wet all over, the arrow piercing its forehead, delivering a deadly strike that took its life.

Though it was a fatal injury, like an insect with a hundred legs, refusing to die easily, its strong life force caused its heavy, massive body to thrash madly in place, its tail hitting the ground or nearby stone pillars with dull thuds, showing astonishing power.

After bouncing wildly for a short while, it gradually stopped moving.

The black-haired girl casually walked past the corpse without a glance; for her, it was just a routine occurrence. Gu Mo followed closely, watching the Wet Woman's health bar empty and disappear, yet there was no energy gathering, clearly no loot dropped, so he naturally wouldn't linger.

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