Volume One: The Soul-Guiding Gourd, the Soul-Igniting Lantern Chapter 73: The Ancient Bridge and the Abandoned Village

Moonlight dappled the ground in scattered patches.

Within seconds, the armed men had taken control of the entire scene. The atmosphere in the surroundings grew tense at once. Those responsible for investigating clues in the incense shop were swiftly driven aside, replaced by three researchers in heavy protective suits.

Click, click—

The enigmatic Li Hetang approached Gu Mo and his group, a smile playing on his lips. Upon closer look, Li Hetang was dressed in a black jacket, holding in his hand an official document stamped with a red seal.

Once he reached them, Li Hetang squatted down, gazing at Gu Mo and Xiao Yulou as he spoke.

“Gentlemen, it’s been a long time!”

Xiao Yulou let out a cold snort, replying with little courtesy, “It hasn’t been that long, has it?”

Li Hetang merely offered another harmless smile, respectfully handing the document to Chief Niu.

While Chief Niu perused the document, Li Hetang produced two black identification cards from his pocket and handed them to Gu Mo and Xiao Yulou.

Gu Mo, still slightly tipsy, could barely see the black card in his hand. There were no grand titles on it—just a badge and, beneath it, the words “Subsidiary Food Company 749.”

Squinting at the card, Gu Mo let out a derisive snort. “Subsidiary Food Company? Heh…”

Li Hetang, hearing the disdain, only grinned mischievously and nodded. “It should arrive soon.”

His casual tone left the Taoist Xiao Yulou momentarily bewildered. “What should arrive soon?”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than both Gu Mo and Xiao Yulou’s phones chimed with incoming messages.

Xiao Yulou glanced at the numbers in the message, then turned to Gu Mo. “Brother Gu, you’d better take a look at your phone.”

Gu Mo curled his lips in disdain, snorting again as he pulled out his phone for a glance. His voice was light and dismissive: “A thousand yuan has arrived. Is that really so surprising?”

At this, Xiao Yulou’s eyes grew wide with indignation as he glared at Gu Mo. “Brother Gu, did you not graduate from elementary school?”

Now Gu Mo narrowed his eyes, re-examining the number in the message. “One hundred… one hundred thousand? Damn!”

The words sent a jolt through Chief Niu and Liu Haiyang, who stood nearby. What exactly was Li Hetang trying to do?

Suddenly, Xiao Yulou’s demeanor shifted to a cheeky grin as he looked at Li Hetang. “Brother Hetang, one should not accept rewards without merit. What is it you want from us?”

Li Hetang smiled faintly, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and offering them around.

Chief Niu and Liu Haiyang took the cigarettes and made an excuse to leave—the less they knew, the safer they’d be.

When they were gone, Li Hetang continued smiling at Xiao Yulou and Gu Mo. “Congratulations, gentlemen. You are now officially part of our company.”

At this, Xiao Yulou pursed his lips and feigned a pitiful look. “Brother Hetang, the two of us may have some skills, but we’re already weary of a life filled with blades and shadows. If your company needs gatekeepers or security guards, Brother Gu and I are up to the task.”

Li Hetang laughed. “Master Xiao, do you think a tea-drinking security guard could make a hundred thousand a month?”

Hearing this, Xiao Yulou quickly made some calculations before replying leisurely, “If you want our lives, isn’t a hundred thousand a month a bit stingy?”

Gu Mo, still tipsy, remained silent. Negotiations of this sort were best left to Xiao Yulou, who valued money above all else.

The sly Taoist let himself go. With a flick of his sleeve, he returned the black IDs to Li Hetang, saying, “I’m but a carefree wanderer from the remote mountains. In the Five Peaks Monastery, I did little more than sweep the courtyard…”

He paused deliberately before continuing, “If your tasks are too demanding, my brother and I surely won’t be able to manage.”

Li Hetang smiled, not rushing to refute him. Instead, the mysterious man pulled out his phone and played a video.

Boom!

The video began with a thunderous explosion. Billowing smoke followed, and two fully loaded oil tankers crashed in a gruesome collision. The sheer force of the scene seemed to overwhelm even the rumbling thunder in the distance.

Seeing this, Xiao Yulou’s crafty mind started working overtime. “Brother Hetang, why show me this? I’m no firefighter.”

Li Hetang stubbed out his cigarette, pocketing the butt before replying unhurriedly, “Master Xiao, you should watch what comes next.”

A swipe of the finger, and the next video left Xiao Yulou gasping in shock. The footage was none other than a high-altitude shot of Gu Mo and Xiao Yulou slaying a dragon. Subsidiary Food Company’s intelligence was, without doubt, formidable.

At this point, Li Hetang had no intention of further delay. He smiled faintly, cleared his throat, and said, “Did you really think everything would remain perfectly concealed?”

The slightly drunk Gu Mo shivered, a deep chill settling in his heart. This Li Hetang was certainly no ordinary man. Since they’d come knocking, evading the issue would solve nothing.

With a sudden change in demeanor, Gu Mo’s face darkened and he challenged, “Li Hetang, am I to take this as a velvet-gloved threat?”

The idle banter froze instantly. Li Hetang, unwavering, shook his head with a sly smile. “Please don’t misinterpret our intentions, Mr. Gu. If we wish to invite you as consultants, we must be thorough in our preparations. Those two tankers were meant as cover for you!”

At this, Xiao Yulou flicked his sleeve, forming a Taoist seal and murmuring a benediction.

With both Gu Mo and Li Hetang’s attention on him, the sly Taoist said, “Brother Hetang, since we’ve come this far, there’s no need for pretense.”

Li Hetang shared a knowing smile. “We just received new orders from above. Our visit to your incense shop was pure coincidence.”

No sooner had he spoken than he snapped his fingers, summoning an armed man carrying a folder, who hurried over.

The folder was opened to reveal a series of high-definition, annotated photographs. Skipping over some aerial maps, Gu Mo craned his neck for a quick glance, catching sight of a desolate well in an abandoned village. Xiao Yulou’s expression darkened at once.

A dried well is a common sight in rural areas, hardly worth notice. But the next photograph stirred unspeakable dread.

Marked with stark red and white, the image showed a dense white mist hovering over a blood-red pool. More than a dozen well-trained armed men lay dismembered and lifeless in the crimson lake, their corpses cold and stiff. Scattered among the blood were countless spent shell casings.

It was clear these men had perished in a brutal battle. Though Gu Mo and Xiao Yulou had encountered many supernatural events, the ghastly photos sent a chill through them on this dark night.

After a few moments, Li Hetang spoke. “This dried well is in Guqiao Village, no more than an hour’s drive from here.”

When he finished, Xiao Yulou flipped to the next set of photos.

An old photograph, simple in its composition: in front of a dense forest stood three people in camouflage uniforms. The man in the center was powerfully built, in his forties. Standing to his left was Li Hetang, hands clasped behind his back; to his right, a striking woman. A deep red circle was drawn around the woman’s face, with the words “Codename Zero” marked beside it.

With so many questions, endless possibilities arose.

Before Gu Mo could speak, Li Hetang offered a wry smile and began to explain. “The man in the center is the head of Subsidiary Food Company—Codename Seven. Next to him is his secretary, Codename Zero.”

He paused, glancing at Gu Mo and Xiao Yulou before continuing, “This mission is simple: head to Guqiao Village and rescue the staff member with Codename Zero.”

Gu Mo was left completely bewildered, his innocent expression plain to see. “Li Hetang, if she’s just office staff… how did she end up in such danger?”

Li Hetang gave a helpless smile, lighting a cigarette for each of them before explaining, “The secret base at Beihuang Town is still under construction and severely understaffed. So, Codename Zero led a team of armed men into the deserted Guqiao Village.”

Hearing this, memories surfaced in Gu Mo’s mind. “Guqiao Village was abandoned years ago. What danger could there possibly be?”

Immediately, both Xiao Yulou and Li Hetang turned their eyes to Gu Mo. “Mr. Gu, you know about Guqiao Village?”

Seeing Li Hetang’s keen interest, Gu Mo took a slow drag on his cigarette, savoring the moment. “Though my grandfather sent me away as a child, I still lived in Beihuang Town for ten years. Surely it’s not strange that I know the nearby villages?”

Li Hetang’s eyes shimmered with curiosity. “Mr. Gu, this is a matter of life and death. Please, tell us what you know!”

Hearing Li Hetang’s urgent tone, Gu Mo’s heart lightened. (Heh… Didn’t you act all high and mighty before? Now you’re coming to beg me! I’ll make you wait a little.)

With deliberate slowness, Gu Mo scratched his head, feigning thought. Xiao Yulou, watching, couldn’t help but smirk.

At length, Gu Mo finished his cigarette and began, “There’s nothing much to Guqiao Village. It isn’t very big. At the entrance stands an ancient stone bridge, and beneath the bridge once hung a treasured sword—hence the name Guqiao Village.”

He paused again, noting that most of what he said was already known to Li Hetang, but he circled around the point anyway.

After a few more seconds, Gu Mo continued, “My grandfather said the villagers all made their fortunes catching snakes. They were all quite wealthy. But one day, the sword beneath the bridge disappeared. That very night, every villager died mysteriously in their homes…”

He recalled further, “I think that night, the dried well overflowed with blood. Afterward, the village gained a sinister reputation, and even developers dared not set foot there.”

Finishing, Gu Mo looked Li Hetang straight in the eyes. “So what business do you have there?”

At this, Li Hetang’s face took on an awkward smile. “Because of the White Lotus Sect.”

…