Leichi Prohibited Zone

Sheryl's story has been told, and everything is clear now.

Assuming nothing unexpected happens, the Baiyun Mountain Mansion should be the place where Mo Du Mountain's Yin Qi gathers, and it is also my destination for this trip.

My main task in coming to Mo Du Mountain this time is to kill that Bloodsucking Soul Demon and then rescue Little Confused. Before this, I was quite confused about where to find that ghostly thing. Now it seems that the ghostly thing should be lurking in the Baiyun Mountain Mansion.

This makes things much simpler.

"After the rain stops, we will set off directly to Baiyun Mountain Mansion," I made a plan.

Sheryl nodded without objection while Jietou continued meditating.

Looking at these two silly guys, I felt powerless and stood up saying: "I'll go out and check on the situation first. You guys rest for a while."

"I'll go with you," Sheryl said as she looked at Jietou who was still meditating before standing up to follow me out of the door.

After going out, Sheryl asked me what we were going to do next.

"Let's take a look outside from the front gate," I said as we went down stairs into the lobby on the first floor of hotel.

The layout of this hotel lobby was very reasonable; after entering through glass doors there was an open space left bright enough for guests' resting area needs; service desks were located on one side while sofas and coffee tables occupied another side along with even a mahjong table near windows.

The hotel owner was very hospitable; even people who weren't staying at her hotel would receive warm hospitality such as being offered tea when they entered or invited by her smiley face into sitting areas.

Because of this reason business here had always been good making its popularity high among locals too - according to Sheryl anyway- basically making it a free teahouse where many people would come to chat every day.

At this moment, with thunder and lightning outside and wind and rain raging, the lobby was even more crowded. People gathered together to talk and chat; many strangers met here and became friends while others just passed by each other.

The hotel owner was a slightly plump woman in her forties with a dignified appearance. She dressed appropriately, behaved gracefully, smiled as she stood beside guests listening to their conversations. Occasionally she would interject one or two sentences while adding tea for those who were speaking passionately.

When Xie Yilin and I arrived in the lobby, it seemed that a lecture was being held in the hotel auditorium. I could hear a slightly old voice coming from the crowd, and everyone was listening attentively. I didn't know what the old man was talking about.

I wasn't interested in what they were saying, so I went straight out of the door, holding an umbrella and standing in the rain looking up at the mountain.

Mo Du Mountain is not very high with an altitude of only over 700 meters and doesn't occupy a large area. So even though I am "in this mountain," I can still see its true face.

The whole mountain is lush with bamboo forests, strange peaks and rocks. In pouring rain, green waves surge and sway gracefully.

The dark clouds in the sky have not dispersed yet; rolling thunder can be heard from afar occasionally accompanied by lightning flashing across the horizon which suddenly increases brightness to its limit before quickly returning to its original level.

It's almost evening time now; natural darkness has set in along with misty rain making it difficult for me to see clearly into mountainside forest anymore.

Frowning my eyebrows while squinting my eyes trying hard to look up towards mountaintop where lightning strikes down intermittently as if there is a black cloud hovering around it that won't go away.

This situation makes me curious because such weather phenomena are usually caused by evil spirits lingering on earth or monsters who have been practicing for thousands of years undergoing tribulation leading to thunderstorms striking them down during ascension process according to my experience or knowledge passed down by my master but Mo Du Mountain seems ordinary without heavy Yin Qi nor any monster spiritual energy exposed so why would such thunderstorm formation occur?

Could it be that God has nothing better to do than come here for practice exercises?

"Have you figured out anything?" Seeing me looking serious, Xie Yilin couldn't help but ask.

"The lightning on the mountaintop is not quite right," I frowned and pondered, "I have never seen such weather phenomena anywhere else. Generally speaking, this kind of thunderstorm formation has a reason for its occurrence; it won't just appear out of nowhere without any cause and last for so long."

Hearing my words, Xie Yilin blinked her eyes and looked at me saying: "Don't you know? This is a unique weather phenomenon in Mo Du Mountain. It's also one of the reasons why this place attracts many tourists."

"What do you mean? Do you know the reason?" I asked Xie Yilin somewhat surprised.

I'm not sure of the specific reason, but didn't I tell you before? Mount Modu is one of China's four major lightning-prone areas. The mountain is famous for its thunderstorms, especially at the summit known as Thunder Pool. Even from a distance like where we are now, it can be quite scary if you get too close during a thunderstorm. I've heard that every time there's lightning and rain, bolts strike down on Thunder Pool like raindrops - it's really exciting! I actually wanted to experience it myself, but the government has put up fences over two meters high around the mountain to prevent accidents and strictly prohibits visitors from approaching. So now we can only stand far away and watch," said Xie Yilin while looking at the lightning on top of the mountain with some regret.

Hearing this made me even more curious.

Mount Modu doesn't look impressive; it's not particularly tall or big. How did it become one of China's four major lightning-prone areas?

What secrets does this mountain hide?

From surface meteorology alone, nothing unusual could be seen. Feeling helpless about my lack of knowledge on this topic, I turned around and headed towards the hall to chat with some locals and learn about rumors surrounding Mount Modu.

Coincidentally, just as I entered the hall, bursts of laughter erupted from within indicating something amusing had happened.

Seeing this situation unfold before me piqued my interest further so I closed my umbrella and approached them to see what they were talking about.

As soon as I squeezed into the crowd in front of me, several people sat in its center including an elderly man who was holding a fan while sipping tea with an expression full of kindness. He then addressed everyone saying: "Everyone knows about Gan Jiang Mo Ye's story right? That's how Mount Modu got its name."

He continued by asking everyone a question: "Why did it take Gan Jiang three years to forge a sword, but after his wife jumped into the furnace, the sword was finally made?"

"Old man, you're mistaken. Gan Jiang's wife didn't jump into the furnace; she only threw in some hair, nails and flesh and blood. Later on, they even had a child together who helped Gan Jiang seek revenge. If what you said were true then there wouldn't be any continuation to this story," corrected an elderly woman sitting across from him.

"Hahaha! Alright then, let's go with your version of events. But can anyone explain why throwing hair, nails and flesh and blood into the furnace would result in forging a sword? Can someone explain the principle behind this?" asked the old man while looking at everyone present.