31. The Labyrinthine Entrance
However, it was no wonder the two showed no reaction.
The story Gong Musheng was telling was something Gong Yiling had already read in the book, and something Yan Chuyue had written herself.
They weren’t senile. How could they not know something they had just seen (or written)?
Of course, after Gong Musheng paused, the two, perhaps to be polite, or perhaps to not arouse suspicion, both let out an awkward chuckle.
Mmm.
That was even more robotic than a robot. Truly remarkable.
“What’s with your reaction? Is my story that funny?” Gong Musheng looked at them, puzzled. Seeing them both shake their heads with a smile, she could only continue.
The Hundred Ghosts Ridge, also known as the Hundred Ghosts Valley, despite its intimidating name, was actually just an ordinary, secluded paradise.
In fact, these secluded paradises all liked to give themselves strange names, like Ghost King Mountain, Nether God Cave, Skull Creek, and so on. Basically, the more frightening, the better.
These areas were all difficult to find, and among them, the Hundred Ghosts Ridge was both the easiest and the hardest to find.
Why was it easy to find? Because the original entrance had been forcefully opened. Since the rock inside was too hard, a hole was made at the entrance, and no one could go any further. So, a large indentation was left, indicating that the Hundred Ghosts Ridge was behind it.
Why was it hard to find? Because the one who opened the hole was the Ghost Physician himself. After doing his deed, he felt a bit guilty and set up a labyrinthine formation behind the entrance.
This formation was incredible, comparable to the masterpiece of a top-tier formation master. Over ninety-nine percent of those who tried to enter were lost in it. If you tried to force your way through, the only result would be a heroic death, with the hope of being a hero again in eighteen years.
“So, this is the entrance to the Hundred Ghosts Ridge.”
As she spoke, Gong Musheng led them to the entrance.
Looking at it now, the place the Ghost Physician had chiseled open was quite large.
This hole was about half the size of the main hall of the imperial palace.
You had to know, the original entrance was probably just a narrow mountain crevice. This mountain range was full of dead-end crevices. If you tried to test them one by one, you’d go blind.
So, the Ghost Physician’s work had actually marked the entrance to this mountain path.
“We’re all women. Our figures aren’t that robust.” Gong Musheng gave Yan Chuyue and Gong Yiling a ribbon of unknown purpose. “Except for certain parts, young girls these days are quite well-endowed.”
Uh… needless to say, she was referring to their chests.
Compared to these two, Gong Musheng’s own chest was quite… unimpressive. Not even a third of her sister’s. So, she didn’t need a chest binder.
For Miss Gong, a long-time cross-dresser, this was normal. But Yan Chuyue had never done it before, so Gong Yiling had to help her.
And while helping her, Gong Yiling asked, “But Little Auntie, you said the Ghost Physician set up a labyrinthine formation at the end of the entrance. If we just go in, won’t we get trapped?”
“Anyone else would be trapped, one hundred percent.” Gong Musheng smiled. “But I’m different.”
“You’re different?”
Gong Musheng deliberately kept her in suspense, not explaining further.
After the three were ready, they entered the mountain crevice one by one.
They could only walk sideways, the hard rock walls on either side. Above them was a tiny sliver of a gap, barely letting in any light.
Walking through here was a truly oppressive experience, not knowing what lay ahead, always fearing a falling rock from above.
After a full hour, two hours, the path finally widened, allowing two or three people to walk side by side.
“Stop.”
Gong Musheng stopped them. This meant they had reached the labyrinthine formation.
Gong Yiling examined the surroundings but couldn’t find the formation’s location.
It was incredibly well-hidden, seamlessly integrated with the surroundings. Even if someone told her there was a formation here, she wouldn’t be able to find it.
Now it was time to break the formation.
Gong Musheng calmly took a step forward, knocked on the left rock wall, and said, “Sea of consciousness, a hundred mountains. Heaven and earth, open the path for me!”
As she finished speaking, the path ahead became a mesmerizing illusion, and then, a long wooden pavilion path appeared, stretching into the depths.
“Let’s go.” Gong Musheng turned and looked at the expressionless Yan Chuyue and the bewildered Gong Yiling, and smiled. “This is the real entrance.”
“What is this…?” Miss Gong couldn’t help but ask. “This formation was broken so easily?”
“Heh—” Gong Muzhi chuckled and explained as they walked, “There are only two ways to quickly break a labyrinthine formation.”
“One, the formation is just too weak. Any normal formation master can easily break it.”
“As for the second way—”
Before she could finish, Yan Chuyue suddenly said, “The second way is that Auntie Gong is the one who set up this formation, right?”
Hearing this, Gong Musheng turned and looked at her with some surprise. “You’re quite smart, girl.”
“Yes, as you can see, I am the one who cast this formation.”
“That Ghost Physician is only good at medicine. He has no talent for formations, so he asked me to help him.”
So that was it. No wonder this Little Auntie was so nonchalant about this whole thing.
However, in that case, the relationship between this Little Auntie and the Ghost Physician was quite questionable.
Could it be that the two of them… had something going on?
“Oh.” Just as Miss Gong’s gossipy heart was about to flare up, Gong Musheng suddenly added, “By the way, he’s my mortal enemy.”
