Chapter 634: Chen Family Fort

With extreme caution toward the Chen Family Fort, Lin Yu followed the group slowly into Twin Saw Mountain.

Twin Saw Mountain got its name from its appearance. After entering, Lin Yu quickly saw two saw-blade-like ridges standing bare and sharp.

“This reminds me of the stegosaurus, though sadly there are no stegosauruses in this world, otherwise this place would be called Stegosaurus Mountain,” Li Nian said with a sigh.

Lin Yu shook his head. “Mountain names were usually given long ago. Dinosaur fossils weren’t discovered and formally named until 1822, and the stegosaurus fossil was reconstructed in 1877. By then, the mountains near human settlements had long-established names that were widely accepted.”

Li Nian looked at Lin Yu. “Zhu Ming-jie, you’re amazing—no wonder you’re a Veterinarian, you really know animal facts.”

“I don’t think knowledge about dinosaurs has much to do with my profession as a Veterinarian,” Lin Yu said helplessly, “Although dinosaurs are animals, paleontology’s practical applications are actually closer to archaeology than to veterinary medicine.”

Li Nian nodded. “I see…”

The two of them, least affected by the heat within the group, could still chat fairly easily.

But the rest of the escort team was not so relaxed — after entering the mountain, several escort guards fainted one after another because of their wounds and the hot climate.

The one who had seemed nearly dead from the start, Flying Knife, remained half-alive and hanging on, showing no change at all.

Bad news: the employer’s health bar is very low, already in a heat-induced near-death state.

Good news: the employer’s near-death state seems able to hold for a long time.

Fortunately, Yue Zhenqiao had chosen this path because it was not very long.

After only a short while, they saw a cluster of buildings hidden on the shady side of Twin Saw Mountain.

A tall stone wall stretched from the foot of the mountain up to midway, encircling and leaning against the cliffs of Twin Saw Mountain, enclosing a broad area of relatively gentle terrain in the midsection of the mountain.

Behind the stone wall, Lin Yu could vaguely see thick earthen-and-stone structures, most of the windows small, with surface buildings not very tall—apparently the main portions lay underground or within the mountain itself.

This architectural form was obviously designed to resist extreme heat.

“No wonder it’s called Chen Family Fort,” Lin Yu remarked.

Indeed, the building clusters really did look like earthen-and-stone fortresses.

Yue Zhenqiao led everyone closer, following a dirt path paved with mountain gravel toward the main gate of Chen Family Fort.

As they approached, more details of the structures revealed themselves to Lin Yu.

Whether it was the walls or the individual fortresses, on closer inspection the surfaces showed signs of… age and decay.

Broken corners, cracked surfaces, even some collapsed sections—this place seemed to have gone a long time without repairs.

No, it wasn’t merely a matter of repair…

The closer Lin Yu got, the more he sensed that Chen Family Fort seemed completely abandoned.

It looked like nobody had lived here for a very long time.

Dark red stones and deep yellow adobe mixed together, making the place almost look like ruins.

Only the earthen-and-stone construction and the heavy fortress shapes prevented total collapse, making Chen Family Fort appear comparatively “intact.”

“If this cluster of buildings is abandoned, Yue Zhenqiao’s earlier hesitation makes sense…” Lin Yu thought.

After all, a long-uninhabited complex easily invites demons, ghosts, or other unsavory things.

A place better than sleeping out in the open is only a roof and a few pieces of furniture.

Thinking this, Lin Yu once again silently released his spiritual energy outward.

A rough scan found no signs of life.

“It really is completely abandoned… no spiritual activity at all, which is actually good—no people, but no monsters either,” Lin Yu reported his scan results to Old Zheng.

Old Zheng rallied and sensed briefly, then started commenting on Lin Yu’s use of spiritual energy this time: “Your general analysis is correct, but there are actually about three or four faint spiritual traces… they’re hidden deep underground and very weak.”

Hearing that, Lin Yu was surprised. “Really? I didn’t detect them.”

“Not your fault. They’re very concealed and weak. I can’t even tell what species they belong to, only that there are several spiritual energy sources…” Old Zheng said.

The escort team had reached the main gate, a pair of heavy wooden doors forged like iron.

Yue Zhenqiao cautiously knocked, then spoke loudly.

“Golden Fortune Escort Team passing by, requesting to lodge in the Chen Family Fort for one night to get through midday!”

“I have prepared payment, and we brought our own water supply and heat-relief stones. I hope your fort will allow us to stay.”

At Yue Zhenqiao’s words, Old Zheng and Lin Yu became alert at the same time.

“This… doesn’t add up,” Lin Yu muttered.

Yue Zhenqiao’s behavior treated Chen Family Fort as if it were still a functioning stronghold full of people.

Had he never been here in so long that he didn’t know it was abandoned?

Although Chen Family Fort appeared to have been deserted for years, human strongholds in Prison Mountain Realm are too isolated from each other. Even an escort team that travels often between outposts might not know the current status of every site.

But Lin Yu quickly overturned his own conclusion.

From Yue Zhenqiao’s practiced, natural tone, although he might not have visited Chen Family Fort recently, he did not seem entirely unfamiliar with it.

Moreover, if Chen Family Fort were abandoned and Yue Zhenqiao simply didn’t know, that earlier hesitation would still be inexplicable.

So only one explanation remained.

Lin Yu looked at Li Nian beside him, whose expression was similarly serious.

“Be careful. The fort’s strangeness may be about to reveal itself,” Lin Yu warned.

Li Nian nodded silently.

Not long after Yue Zhenqiao finished calling out, a rustling sound came from inside, and the heavy doors opened.

An elderly man, wrapped in a shade-blocking robe with only his dark face exposed, stood beside the door. Two burly shirtless men turned a wooden mechanism and opened the heavy gate.

The old man smiled and said, “So it’s guests from Golden Fortune Escort. Long time no see—please come in quickly!”

“Midday is nearly here; everyone come into the fort.”

His demeanor was warm and his tone friendly. Although very old, he radiated robust life force.

But…

“Zhu Ming-jie, judging by my ability… this guy is a dead thing,” Li Nian whispered.

Lin Yu remained expressionless and nodded.

“I know.”