Chapter 19: The Golden Opportunity Arrives, Mysterious Affairs in the Mountains!

After a long moment, Zhang Hao opened his eyes, his clear gaze shining brightly.

Just now, he had memorized all the formulas within the Mountain Observation Technique, committing them fully to memory.

To be honest, after acquiring the Mountain Observation Technique, he gained a deeper understanding of the traditional skills of the mountain wanderers and uncovered many secrets unknown to others.

Simply put, by obtaining the Mountain Wanderer's Travelogue, once he thoroughly studied its contents and strictly followed the ancient instructions, in time, he would surely become an exceptional mountain wanderer.

And with the Mountain Observation Technique in hand, from the very moment he acquired it, he was already considered a rather skilled mountain wanderer.

What he needed to do next was practice the four-character formulas highlighted in the Technique, hone the traditional crafts of the mountain wanderers, and during his mountain excursions, use the knowledge within the Technique to evade spirits and seek out hidden treasures.

For Zhang Hao, this was like starting out as a novice and instantly leveling up to the max!

Of course, though his level had risen, his skills still required diligent practice.

His mood was exceedingly joyful, a gleam of delight flashing in his eyes.

Lowering his head, he looked again at the Mountain Wanderer's Travelogue in his hands, marveling silently at its uniqueness.

Only now did he have the leisure to truly appreciate the special nature of this ancient text.

He had first obtained the medicinal herb recorded in the text, which had led the mountain wanderer who taught him the Mountain Observation Technique.

Could it be that by finding the treasures noted in the book and triggering the events recorded within, he could awaken the accumulated experiences of mountain wanderers through the ages and have them impart their wisdom to him?

From what he could tell so far, that seemed to be the case.

His heart pounded wildly, pupils dilated, and the excitement on his face was unmistakable.

This was his golden key—his ultimate advantage!

In his previous life, he had read countless online novels and knew well the power of such a secret weapon.

He also understood that every reborn individual received a golden key, but at first, he was too consumed with the joy of seeing Li Siyu again.

Once that joy faded, the significance of the golden key became less prominent in his mind.

To him, the greatest treasure was simply having another chance to see Li Siyu and the opportunity to change his fate so that his life would bear fewer regrets.

However, the greatest golden key was not those things, but this very Mountain Wanderer's Travelogue he had found by chance in the cellar at home.

That meant choosing to become a mountain wanderer was the best decision he had made since his rebirth!

For a moment, Zhang Hao brimmed with anticipation and motivation for his future mountain journeys.

As long as he continued wandering the mountains and discovered the treasures recorded in the ancient book, he could reap rewards from the text itself—what a delightful prospect!

"Haozi, what are you doing?" came a somewhat urgent voice from behind.

Zhang Hao instinctively hid the ancient text and turned around, seeing the villagers behind him anxiously waiting but hesitant to interrupt.

He stood up, a smile of apology on his lips. "Sorry, I was just dealing with something."

He then carefully secured the Mountain Wanderer's Travelogue against his chest, making sure it wouldn’t fall in the forest, slung his bag over his back, picked up the spirit-sealing basket, and took a few steps back to rejoin the funeral procession.

"Alright, shall we go? I'll lead you down the mountain," Zhang Hao said, heading directly toward the narrow path and quickly moving to the front of the group.

All the villagers turned around and followed, the rear becoming the front, trailing behind Zhang Hao.

High Sea hurried up beside him, looking at the winding, somewhat muddy forest path with a strange expression.

Then, leaning close to Zhang Hao, he whispered mysteriously, "Haozi, there’s something I didn’t tell you earlier. I think this path… is strange."

Zhang Hao paused, inwardly sighing in resignation.

You just noticed something strange?

I could tell the moment I looked at you that something was off…

Feigning ignorance, he asked curiously, "What kind of strange?"

High Sea swallowed, pointing toward the dense forest ahead. "We’ve walked this path twice. In theory, if you follow this path, you should eventually find the way down the mountain."

"But we keep going forward, forward, no sign of the descent or any other path. Even if we stray onto the grass, we always end up back on this path. Isn’t that odd? It’s downright eerie."

"I’m afraid to tell others. You know how superstitious everyone is, and today is a funeral day, too… sigh."

Zhang Hao nodded thoughtfully.

Indeed, even if everyone sensed something was wrong and had their doubts, they could never openly acknowledge it.

If panic spread quickly, those who only felt uneasy would take it as fact. If someone then fled in panic, it would spell disaster.

Yet, the situation High Sea described sounded oddly familiar, as if Zhang Hao had read about something similar in the Mountain Wanderer's Travelogue.

Still, he wasn’t certain.

In the mountains, many things resembled one another. For example, he had just suspected that High Sea might be an illusion created by a mountain spirit.

In such cases, the best approach was calmness—reviewing recent experiences and everything that had happened carefully to discern the truth and find the appropriate solution.

Rushing in blindly might not only fail to resolve the issue but also attract unwanted attention, increasing the risk of getting lost.

As a competent mountain wanderer, Zhang Hao fully understood the importance of caution.

He decided to accompany everyone on the path once more to explore the situation firsthand.

Only by experiencing it himself could he find the right solution.

Zhang Hao said nothing, leaning on his staff, occasionally observing the surrounding trees to orient himself, glancing at the path beneath his feet, and turning his head to check the undergrowth for any sign of hidden treasures.

No one in the funeral procession spoke either; they all wore dazed expressions, seemingly exhausted from the walk.

Their eyes were unfocused, their arm swings slowed, and their footsteps felt light and unsteady.

They walked on like this for an unknown length of time; even Zhang Hao lost track of time.

He merely felt tired and sleepy, struggling to concentrate, staring only at the path ahead without the energy to study the trees around him.

Then suddenly, a blinding beam of sunlight appeared before his eyes.

That light… seemed familiar, like the sunlight he had seen when passing through the thicket to the cliff edge earlier.

The moment the light appeared, the dazed, vacant look in the group vanished instantly.

Their arm swings and footsteps returned to normal.

Zhang Hao sensed this strange change too.

He furrowed his brow, paused briefly, then resumed walking forward.

Before long, he led the funeral procession back to the open clearing before the cliff edge.