Chapter 1630 - 1630: The Eerie Medicine King Mountain
Chapter 1630 - 1630: The Eerie Medicine King Mountain
Medicine King Mountain is located in Baiwen County at the southwestern end of Cloud Sea Province. Originally, it was just an inconspicuous little mountain, with an altitude of two to three thousand meters. However, the mountain is barren, and the area is remote, so it never had much fame.Yet, it happens that this place is where Divine Doctor An Shiping was born. In that era, Divine Doctor An Shiping was undoubtedly a supreme figure. Not to mention his martial arts skills, his medical skills alone were unmatched in the world, with no ailment too difficult for him. Moreover, the key point was that Divine Doctor An Shiping was compassionate and saved countless lives. Therefore, in that era, no one was unconvinced by Divine Doctor An Shiping. Even his enemies or foes, although they resented him, could not help but admire his personality when it came to Divine Doctor An Shiping. This was the charisma of Divine Doctor An Shiping!
Even now, when people mention Divine Doctor An Shiping, they speak mostly with admiration. Throughout his life, he rarely competed with others and never had any earth-shattering battles. Yet, he remains the most celebrated supreme figure among all.
After his fame, Divine Doctor An Shiping returned to his hometown to live. The mountain where he lived was transformed by him over thirty years, planting all kinds of medicinal herbs and plants. Many herbs hard to find in the outside world could be found on this mountain. Consequently, people later renamed the mountain Medicine King Mountain, and that's how Medicine King Mountain got its name.
Looking back decades, when Divine Doctor An Shiping was still alive, Medicine King Mountain was renowned, known by all. Divine Doctor An Shiping's fame had already become legendary, and local villagers even rumored that immortals resided on the mountain. This legend, passed down from generation to generation, naturally grew more mystical. Therefore, Medicine King Mountain was almost mythical in the hearts of nearby villagers, with rumors claiming that immortals dwelt there.
Of course, over the decades, with the development of society, Divine Doctor An Shiping's fame has faded. The advancement of technology has led people to naturally dismiss such myths, so the legends have faded. However, the villagers near Medicine King Mountain still hold it in reverence and keep their distance. Not for any other reason, but simply because Medicine King Mountain is so peculiar that no one can enter it.
Ye Qing and the others took Helian Tiehua's private jet and arrived near Medicine King Mountain that night. By coincidence, this area is the territory of the Bai Family, one of the Seven Great Families, so Bai Family's people were already waiting. As soon as Ye Qing and the others disembarked, Bai Family's people picked them up and headed straight for this village outside Medicine King Mountain.
The leader from the Bai Family is named Bai Yuanhang, belonging to a branch of the Bai Family and holding a low position within. He himself is not a major figure, but he is very polite and knows the distinctions. Knowing that Huangfu Ziyu is now the Right Envoy for the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance and the joint Family Head of the Seven Families, he naturally treats these people with great respect. On the way, he explained the specifics of Medicine King Mountain to everyone, giving them some preliminary understanding.
As they saw a village in the distance, Bai Yuanhang turned to Ye Qing and the group, saying, "Patriarch Huangfu, Mr. Ye, I have arranged accommodations for everyone in An Family Village. I received news that Medicine King Mountain will open tomorrow, so everyone can rest there for one night. Early tomorrow, I will make arrangements for you to enter Medicine King Mountain, how does that sound?"
"An Family Village?" Ye Qing looked at the seemingly rundown village and asked curiously, "Is this the hometown of Divine Doctor An Shiping?"
"That's correct, this is the place!" Bai Yuanhang nodded and said, "Speaking of the An Family, back in Baiwen County, they were considered a prominent family. However, such a prominent family had quite a bit of internal intrigue. Even back then, Divine Doctor An Shiping was framed during the family disputes and almost lost his life. Eventually, he found his way into Heaven Earth Man Three Gates, gaining supreme opportunities to become a Divine Doctor. When he returned to An Family Village, the An Family had already faded due to years of internal strife, becoming a broken family. Although the members of the An Family repeatedly asked An Shiping to stay, his parents had died in that strife. An Shiping didn't kill them, but that was already kind-hearted, so how could he stay with the An Family? After ten years, the remaining An Family members also moved out of An Family Village, and no longer was there talk of the An Family here."
"Given that there used to be such a large family here, and it was the place where Divine Doctor An Shiping once lived, along with Medicine King Mountain, this place should at least be a tourist attraction. Why is it still so rundown?" Ye Qing asked.
"The matter is actually closely connected with Medicine King Mountain!" Bai Yuanhang sighed and said, "Mr. Ye, I've mentioned before that even people from An Family Village keep a respectful distance from Medicine King Mountain. Because no one who enters Medicine King Mountain manages to come out. Actually, it's mainly because of the great formation Divine Doctor An Shiping left inside Medicine King Mountain. But ordinary people have no knowledge of this formation, and after several such incidents, they even thought Medicine King Mountain was haunted. In earlier years, some travel groups tried to explore, but after some tourists went missing, no one dared come to Medicine King Mountain. So over time, tourism couldn't develop around Medicine King Mountain, and people didn't want to approach, so the situation here is understandable."
"I see." Ye Qing nodded slowly, somewhat surprised in mind. Logically, Divine Doctor An Shiping was compassionate, and he certainly wouldn't kill the innocent indiscriminately. He left Medicine King Mountain partly as his legacy and partly for the precious medicinal herbs inside that could save countless lives, these things were meant for future generations. But why did such things happen, with people unable to come out? This doesn't seem like the style of Divine Doctor An Shiping!
"Over these years, have there been any statistics on how many people have disappeared in Medicine King Mountain?" Ye Qing asked.
Bai Yuanhang said, "There hasn't been an exact count, but I read a report that was from nine years ago. At that time, someone had counted that from after Divine Doctor An Shiping's passing, at least one hundred seventy people had gone missing in Medicine King Mountain. Now, with nine years passed, it's estimated that at least fifty people have gone missing in Medicine King Mountain. So, when you add it up, at least two hundred people have gone missing here!"
"Two hundred people?" Ye Qing was even more surprised. With two hundred people missing, and some having been missing for decades, these people must have perished inside. Calculating this way, there have been at least two hundred deaths inside Medicine King Mountain. With Divine Doctor An Shiping's compassionate nature, how could the great formation he left trap and kill so many people?
"This is just statistics with data, there might be more unaccounted for." Bai Yuanhang said, "Anyway, I estimate at least three hundred people have gone missing in Medicine King Mountain. Therefore, local people hold Medicine King Mountain in such reverence, they don't even want to approach its foot. Medicine King Mountain, while famous, is seen locally like Devil Mountain; nobody wants to come here!"
"Why would Divine Doctor An Shiping leave such a seal?" Huangfu Ziyu couldn't help but ask.
"I think he probably couldn't control it himself." Bai Yuanhang said, "After all, the mountain is sealed with a great formation, and sometimes things go wrong where people inadvertently go in. However, generally speaking, entering such a formation is easy, but getting out is difficult. Divine Doctor An Shiping wanted to leave his legacy, so he had to seal the mountain tightly, making it difficult for people to leave once inside."
"Is that so?" Huangfu Ziyu was slightly suspicious. She and Ye Qing felt the same way, believing Divine Doctor An Shiping surely left some room for survival. Yet, so many people entered, and none came out alive, which forces one to ponder what exactly the problem is.
While speaking, the group had already entered An Family Village. Although the village looked shabby, it wasn't small, and many people were living here.
Ye Qing and their convoy's entrance into the village naturally caused quite a stir. Although it was night, many villagers gathered at the front and back of the village while dining. Seeing so many vehicles coming in, many gathered at the entrance of the village, curiously observing Ye Qing and their vehicles.
"Bai Brother, Bai Brother!" With a flattering voice, a slightly overweight middle-aged man stepped out from among the villagers. The middle-aged man appeared to be in his forties, older than Bai Yuanhang. However, seeing Bai Yuanhang, he seemed like a mouse seeing a cat, with a smiling face full of flattery, evidently reverential towards Bai Yuanhang.
"Bai Brother, I've arranged everything you've instructed. The accommodations are in An Family Village, the largest place in the village. I've arranged for villagers to tidy up a few rooms there and move over mattresses and quilts. Although the conditions aren't like a hotel, they're definitely better than here in the villagers' homes!" The middle-aged man said flatteringly to Bai Yuanhang.
"Hmm!" Bai Yuanhang nodded slowly; he wasn't as polite to this middle-aged man. Turning to Huangfu Ziyu, he said, "Patriarch Huangfu, this is someone from An Family Village named An Yongfeng, nicknamed Old Five An. He is most familiar with the geography here, and I've had him arrange your living conditions while you're here. We'll go and take a look; if you're not satisfied, we can change it, how about that?"
"The accommodations are fine," Huangfu Ziyu glanced at Old Five An and, with slight surprise, said, "He's also named An?"
novelden