Immortality again. The Ghost Soldiers Passage again. Who the hell leaked this information?
Suddenly, a thought struck me like lightning, connecting this to what Little Fox had discovered last night.
Who in this world besides me possesses the Ghost Soldiers Passage tattoo of Gods and Ghosts?
Raul Master had given me that human skin, and while I couldn't rule out him keeping copies, he would never do something like this.
Who else was there? Only one person remained - my father! Because he could create the Ghost Soldiers Passage tattoo of Gods and Ghosts!
The ones spreading the secret of the Ghost Soldiers Passage were a group of black-clad men - weren't those the same men my father had trained? They'd appeared before during the Three-Tailed Fox incident. And the black-robed man Little Fox mentioned was most likely my father.
Everything fell into place. My father spreads the secret of the Ghost Soldiers Passage to lure everyone to Mount Zhongnan.
Mount Zhongnan is deadly. Those who come here will meet their end. Before long, the mountain will be littered with corpses and haunted by ghosts - which my father will then use to unlock Mount Zhongnan's secrets.
What I don't understand is: what exactly is Mount Zhongnan's secret? How does it need to be opened? And why must ghosts be used to open it?
This mysterious father of mine grows more suspicious by the minute. He's harming people, and isn't the Ghost Soldiers Passage supposed to be the most guarded secret of the Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts family? He claimed many were after him because of it, yet now he's spreading it openly. Why?
This was utterly unbelievable. How could he reveal the very secret he'd protected for so many years, the secret he'd died nine times to keep?
If his goal was simply to lure people to Mount Zhongnan, there must be other ways. There's no reason to use his own lifelong secret as bait.
Unless... this Ghost Soldiers Passage is fake? But it matches exactly what's on my human skin - it can't be fake.
I can't make sense of it. Everything seems shrouded in fog. To uncover the truth, I'll have to disperse that fog myself, revealing the answers step by step.
"Luna, are you actually interested in immortality?" I asked.
Luna shook her head. She was only half-interested - she'd come to accompany Hampsey.
"Hampsey?" I frowned. That sick bastard wanted to live forever?
"Well, he's never been in good health, and he's growing weaker with age." Luna's expression darkened as she spoke, clearly distressed about Hampsey's condition. She really was such a kind-hearted girl.
"He's like this, and you still want to marry him? What if one day he..." I stopped mid-sentence when I saw Luna's expression grow even more sorrowful, her melancholy eyes fixed on me.
"I know," she said firmly. "But no matter what, I'll never abandon him. Alive, I'm his; dead, I'm his ghost. Since we made our marriage vow, I won't leave him."
Hearing Luna's words, I suddenly found myself at a loss. She truly was a good woman - I shouldn't entertain any more thoughts about her.
Fine, I'll admit it. I'm just not as fortunate as that bastard Hampsey. From now on, I won't interfere with either of them.
"Don't worry too much," I advised. "Modern medicine is advanced. And who knows? You might find something on Mount Zhongnan. Just be careful."
Luna forced a smile. "Thank you, Roger. You're such a good man."
I nearly spat blood. I hadn't even confessed my feelings, and she was already giving me the "good guy" card? Was I really that pathetic?
"Actually," she continued mischievously, "I think you and my sister Stella would make a good match. Why don't you two...?" Her playful smile made her even more beautiful in my eyes.
"That tigress? No thanks - I want to live a few more years," I scoffed. "Enough talk. I'll see you tonight."
I hadn't realized Luna was also heading up Mount Zhongnan tonight. It made sense - she was trained by the same master as Philip. There might be more to this story, though Philip hadn't explained it to me. However, our mountain ascent depended on finding Daphne. If we located her, we might not need to go up at all - we might not even cross paths with Luna.
Strangely, since Luna arrived, part of me actually wanted to climb Mount Zhongnan. The mountain was dangerous, and I didn't want to see her come to harm. I wanted to protect her, even if I wasn't as capable as she was.
After parting with Luna, I returned to my room to find Little Fox fast asleep - face down, rear in the air, tail draped over her backside, snoring loudly.
This wasn't a fox - it was a pig! She ate, slept, and when awake, ate some more. But since growing her tail, her abilities had improved significantly. If she grew another one, she'd likely become formidable - definitely worthy of being my right-hand fox.
Around mid-afternoon, Jeane and Stein returned. One look at their dejected expressions and Daphne's absence told me everything - they hadn't found her.
"Little Boss," Stein sighed, "looks like we can't avoid the mountain after all. We couldn't find Daphne at the base, and learned she's already ascended." Of everyone, Stein feared the mountain most, yet he'd been more desperate than even Jeane to find Daphne. Fate had other plans - Daphne had gone up the mountain.
"In that case, we'll wait for tonight. We'll go up the mountain together - I want to see for myself how dangerous it really is," I said, lying on the bed while thoughts of my father swirled in my head.
What kind of man was he? Good or evil? Were his words truth or lies?
Time passed quickly, and before I knew it, evening had arrived. That living dead man Francesc never returned, though he'd left behind quite a legend in Beiwang Town - his name was on everyone's lips.
As darkness fell, Philip came downstairs. The little fox snorted at the sight of him before hiding behind me, both afraid of and defiant toward him.
Unlike others who returned at nightfall, we set out under cover of darkness. Luna had already left - her room stood empty when we checked.
When Boss Qin saw us preparing to leave at night, he rushed to dissuade us. "Why won't you youngsters listen? I warned you not to go out at night, yet here you are heading out in groups! Especially you—" He pointed directly at me. "You've already offended the Ghost Police, and you still dare to go out at night? Have you no regard for your life?"
"Boss Qin, I appreciate your concern," I said. "But with this Six-Coin Celestial Master here, the Ghost Police don't scare me." I gave Philip's shoulder a pat.
Philip remained silent, simply leading the way with his mahogany sword in hand. We followed after exchanging a few playful words with Boss Qin, who finally gave up when he saw he couldn't change our minds.
Once outside the hotel, Philip suddenly stopped and looked back at the building - a move that puzzled me.
"See something?" I asked curiously.
Philip turned back. "There's something off about that Boss Qin. You'd all do well to stay clear of him."
We exchanged glances, wondering why Philip found Boss Qin suspicious. Honestly, the proprietor seemed decent enough - friendly with good service.
"Hmph, you stinking Celestial Master," the little fox muttered under her breath. "Suspicious of everyone - have you lost your mind?" She quickly ducked behind me when Philip glared, sticking out her tongue in silent defiance.
"It's simple," Philip explained. "Except for this recent period, Mount Zhongnan sees no visitors unless they're suicidal. Beiwang Town is even more remote - why would anyone open a hotel here?"
"Eh, maybe he's a local just converting his house to earn some extra money," Stein suggested.
Philip fixed Stein with a look. "Does he talk or act like someone from this backwater mountain village?"
Now that Philip mentioned it, I realized Boss Qin didn't seem local at all. Neither his speech nor his mannerisms matched those of someone from such a remote mountain village.
"It's not just Boss Qin. This entire village is suspicious. There are too many hotels, yet hardly any visitors come here. Why would there be so many hotels?" Philip added.
Philip's question had crossed my mind too, but I couldn't make sense of it... Could all these hotel owners be part of the conspiracy?
At that moment, Philip turned his gaze toward the northern sky of Beiwang Town, muttering, "South is Yang, North is Yin, and the genesis lies between."
I followed his line of sight - due north of Beiwang Town stood Mount Zhongnan!