"F * ck!" Meng Fuyao cursed. "B * stard who's taking advantage of the situation!"
But now was not the time to curse. She was wrestling with the swamp, and her whip was stretched taut, ready to snap at any moment. She did not dare to lift Zhan Beiye at all. She had seen those red-headed, black-bodied ants before in a forest in Taiyuan. Wherever they appeared, only rugged skeletons of animals or humans were left.
The thought of Zhan Beiye turning into a skeleton sent a shiver down her spine.
However, she could not afford to be impatient at this moment. If she exerted too much strength in her palm, the whip would break. The nearby vines were poisonous and could not be used as a replacement. Her heart was burning with anxiety, but she could only restrain herself. She held her breath and used the steadiest speed she could muster to pull Zhan Beiye upwards.
Ji Yu and the rest had also avoided the vines and rushed over. Their faces turned pale at the sight.
The swarm of ants came so quickly that they covered the entire swamp in an instant. Some of them had already rushed to Zhan Beiye's side, opening their mouths to bite him. Fuyao's vision darkened.
Zhan Beiye was surprisingly calm. He did not even look at her, but kept staring at the swarm of ants. When he saw them approaching, he immediately opened his mouth and blew.
He blew out a mouthful of True Qi, and the ants instantly rolled away. However, Zhan Beiye's body also immediately sank down.
Meng Fuyao opened her eyes. Cold sweat flowed down her forehead and covered her eyes. She did not dare to wipe it away or blink. She alternated her hands and slowly pulled Zhan Beiye up. She quickly calculated in her mind. Every breath of vital Qi that Zhan Beiye exhaled would sink half a finger's distance. She could pull out one of his fingers every time she exerted force. At this rate, she would be able to pull him out safely even if it was slow.
However, the heavens didn't go according to her wishes. Just as she calculated this result, an extremely subtle "Cha" sound suddenly rang out in the silence.
A tiny crack appeared on the whip.
It sounded like the horn of death, and everyone's faces turned pale. Fuyao's heart thumped, and she almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
'Damned luck!'
She could no longer exert force on the whip. Once it broke, there would be no time to save Zhan Beiye. But she would rather die than watch him sink slowly.
Meng Fuyao's face was pale. She bit her lower lip and stared at the slowly widening crack, her eyes shining with a dark light.
Zhan Beiye suddenly said, "Fuyao."
Fuyao was silent.
"Bring them away. Ji Yu knows the way. Once you are out of the mountain, you can leave. Don't get involved with Tian Sha."
She ignored him.
Zhan Beiye suddenly pulled out his sword, which caused him to sink even more, and the crack on the whip became even more obvious.
"Zhan Beiye, what are you doing?!" Meng Fuyao shouted.
Zhan Beiye only looked at her, and suddenly placed the sword in his hand on the mud.
Things that were placed horizontally would not sink so easily. The sword was still as bright as before, with green shark skin and a golden mouth, a scarlet tassel hanging down. The blade was as sharp as autumn water, and the sword hilt was engraved with a totem of the Azure Dragon in the Wild. With just a few strokes, the dragon flew in the sky. The dragon's eyes were huge rubies, pure and warm, like the blood of the heart.
"Fuyao …" Zhan Beiye's voice was very low. "Look at my sword. The sword hilt is engraved with the totem of the Tiansha Dynasty's Azure Dragon in the wild. The eyes of the blood crystal are the eyes of the supreme Sword God. In the legends of the Tiansha Dynasty, the Sword God transformed into a dragon and surrendered to the Zhan Clan. Every descendant of the Tiansha Dynasty has their own Sword God's Eye that no one can touch. Press your middle finger on that position, and no one can ever replace it."
He pressed his middle finger on the ruby and turned the sword hilt. "Fuyao, your dagger is too short for safety. I'll leave this sword to you. From now on, you and I can touch the most sacred Sword God's Eye of the Tiansha Dynasty, as well as … my everything."
Fuyao suddenly turned her head away.
She didn't want to hear it.
She didn't want to accept it.
What were these words? Last words?
Who made the rule that she had to listen to his last words at this hour? She wouldn't listen to his last words until the very end! No matter what, the whip was not broken. Even if it did, she had to think of a way!
Fuyao only pondered for a second.
The wind in the forest swept over silently, fluttering her black hair like satin, covering the determination in her eyes at this moment.
She suddenly took a deep breath, tilted her head, and said to Ji Yu, "All of you, turn your backs to me and move ten meters away."
Ji Yu was stunned and looked at Zhan Beiye. "Turn your backs!" Fuyao shouted.
Ji Yu gritted his teeth. "Turn your backs!" He was the first to walk away.
The soldiers followed in silence. A scrawny soldier walked slowly at the back, looking back repeatedly. Fuyao had no time to care about him. She stared at the widening crack. The whip had broken in a flash.
She closed her eyes and started to take off her clothes.
She put down the bundle, untied her dagger, took off her slightly thick robe, and everything else of weight on her, including her boots. She stood barefoot in the mud, and finally took out a fire lighter from the bundle, as well as a bottle of oil that she had brought with her for roasting wild animals.
After blowing a mouthful of ants, Zhan Beiye turned around and was shocked to see her stripping off her clothes. Very soon, she was only left with a single layer of clothing. Her snow-white skin and slender waist and neck were slowly revealed in the pale morning mist. Her short top could not conceal her snow-white waistline, but it was a perfect bundle. The wind blew through the forest, pressing her thin underwear against her slender legs, outlining the faintly discernible outline of her seductive figure. Her voluptuous, supple, supple skin, and graceful curves made one's blood boil even more than when she was completely exposed.
Zhan Beiye's expression changed immediately.
He struggled to turn his head in the mud. His eyes were red, and he did not even notice the approaching ant. "Don't!" he shouted.
Fuyao laughed. Her emotions were in turmoil, and it was rare for her to maintain the whip. She took a step back and tied the whip to the tree stump.
A few ants crawled up Zhan Beiye's waist, but he did not notice them. He only stared at Fuyao, not at her snow-white skin or slender legs, but at her eyes. "I beg you, don't!"
His voice broke and sounded like he was about to cry. His voice reverberated in the silent forest. "Don't! Don't, don't, don't, don't … "
Fuyao dodged his bloodthirsty gaze and said in a low voice, "For our mother …"
She grabbed the fire starter and oil and stood up resolutely.
Her body suddenly stiffened, and a pair of hands reached over to take the things in her hands.
Fuyao turned her eyes and realized that it was the skinny soldier from before. He had also taken off his clothes and was only wearing a pair of pants. His exposed upper body and legs were lean, and he looked even lighter than her.
He avoided looking at her and smiled shyly. "Miss Meng, it's too dangerous. Let me do it."
He paused and added, "Please take good care of His Highness and the other brothers."
Fuyao looked at him, and her eyes gradually reddened.
The soldier had already walked away without turning his head back. His lean shoulder bones cut into Fuyao's eyes as if they had been cut by a knife.
Zhan Beiye stared at him, and his gaze was even more painful than Fuyao's. "Huazi, you still have your mother in the south."
The soldier was still smiling shyly. "So please take care of her, His Highness and the other brothers."
Zhan Beiye opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the young man had already stopped him with a shy but determined smile. He walked to the edge of the swamp, took a deep breath, and suddenly lay down and rolled over.
When the area of contact was large and the weight was light, rolling on the swamp would not cause the body to sink. This was a principle that anyone who had lived in the south knew.
The young man, who had taken off all his weights, rolled over to Zhan Beiye's side, to the group of man-eating ants that had opened their iron pincers to devour his flesh.
The ants had been attacking Zhan Beiye for a long time, and were already impatient. Seeing fresh meat walking into their trap, they immediately swarmed over.
The young man smiled and quickly smeared the bottle of oil on his body. The ants crawled over without a care, and in an instant, his entire body was covered with them. His entire body was covered in the half-black, half-red giant ants, as if he was wearing a black ant coat.
Even the young man's face was covered by ants. The ants kept burrowing into his seven orifices, waiting to tear apart his internal organs. At this moment, his facial features could no longer be seen clearly. One could only see that his facial muscles were contorting due to the intense pain. Even the black and red ants were wriggling, like ferocious stripes dancing in the air.
He struggled with all his might, intending to ignite his body with the match in his hand. However, he had underestimated the terror of these ants. In an instant, the pain engulfed his consciousness, causing him to lose the strength to spontaneously combust.
He struggled, panting as he turned to look at the shore. There, Ji Yu and the rest of the soldiers were kneeling by the shore.
Seeing his pleading gaze, Ji Yu's face turned as white as a dead man's. A stream of tears flowed down his handsome face, but he still said coldly, "Release!"
The soldiers gritted their teeth and raised their hands in unison. The lighted match accurately landed on the young man's body.
Bright red sparks instantly blossomed on the black and red body, lighting up the dark swamp. The silent flames instantly turned the young man into a man of fire. The ants at the edge of the fire were instantly burned to death. Most of them hurriedly crawled down to escape. Like a black cloud, the young man suddenly laughed out loud.
His laughter was hoarse and blood-stained, like a mace filled with spikes and murderous intent. The intense pain and determination broke through the strange morning fog and the layers of poisonous creatures lurking in the gloomy forest.
He lay in the swamp on fire, suddenly using all his strength to start rolling again. He charged at the ants that were trying to crawl onto Zhan Beiye's body, using his flesh and blood to ignite an unquenchable flame. Wherever he passed, the giant ants perished one by one.
He rolled around Zhan Beiye in circles, the blazing flames forming a ring of fire around Zhan Beiye's body. Some of the sparks landed on Zhan Beiye's hair and brows, burning off his hair or creating a ring of fire blisters. He didn't even blink.
He and Meng Fuyao, one unable to move in the swamp and the other with her acupoints sealed on the shore, did not turn their heads to watch the scene unfold. They did not allow themselves to escape. They watched as the young man rolled into the swarm of ants, using the most brutal method to protect the people he wanted to protect.
It was a responsibility they could not escape from, a burden they could not shake off. Only when they paid for this sacrifice with the blood of their enemies would they truly be able to put down everything and face those who had died.
Large swathes of ants were crushed and burned to death. No matter how many ants there were, or how fierce they were, they could not withstand such a fierce attack. They finally began to retreat. The black cloud that had spread out finally began to slowly retract, converge, becoming thinner and thinner, until it fled back to the nest of broken branches, like a demon retrieving the poisonous sand that had been poured out of a bottle.
When the ants dispersed, the young man's body was revealed — it was no longer a human body, only a skeleton with bits and pieces of flesh hanging on it. The charcoal-colored, cotton-like flesh fell off bit by bit as he moved.
Yet, he was still alive, still rolling.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the non-human skeleton rolled to the side of the half-broken whip and reached out with a hand that only had a few knuckles left. No one knew where he got the strength from, but he grabbed the whip and pulled it hard.
The whip broke. The young man pulled the broken parts together, tied a knot, and tightened it again.
His movements were almost as smooth as a normal person's. His injuries were unimaginably severe, and he should have died a long time ago.
He could have died the moment the ants attacked him, the moment the fire ignited on his body, and the moment a fireball rolled beside Zhan Beiye to drive away the ants.
But he did not. This young soldier had used an almost miraculous act to prove the highest definition of patience, determination, and loyalty.
No one could understand what kind of perseverance and conviction had allowed him to break through the greatest pain a human body could endure, break through the laws of death, and complete the last crucial task.
Now that it was done, he relaxed. The young man could not close his eyelids anymore. He only opened his eyes slightly and revealed an expression of relief. Then, the expression slowly faded away, like the ripples on the surface of water gradually dissipating.
He died on the whip.
When he died, all that was left of him was a skeleton, with bits and pieces of charred flesh hanging from it.
His hand was forever left on the whip, in that knotted position, frozen for eternity.
Meng Fuyao sat quietly, tears streaming down her face in the mist between the mountains.
Zhan Beiye suddenly lowered his head and let out a low, beast-like howl.
"Ah —"
= = =
A fire ignited in the forest, and some scattered flesh and bones were burned to ashes.
Zhan Beiye knelt by the fire and personally collected the ashes. The young man's body was still hanging on the whip. No one could remove it, and no one had the heart to do so. Meng Fuyao's whip had been buried with him.
A general's success was built on the bones of tens of thousands. On the road to the rise of a hero, the blood of the nameless was also shed, and the white bones carved through the layers of barriers in front of him.
Carrying the ashes on his back, Zhan Beiye said hoarsely, "Let's go."
Four out of the eleven were gone. Ji Yu was still leading the remaining six to open up a path. Zhan Beiye and Meng Fuyao followed silently. Intentionally or unintentionally, they stepped out of the formation and took care of the seven people in front.
They were no longer willing to see such a tragic sacrifice.
Meng Fuyao's gaze swept past Zhan Beiye's hand, which was densely covered in blood spots and bitten in many places. Just as she was about to roll across the swamp naked and risk her life to save him, Zhan Beiye forgot to deal with the ants.
She approached him and pulled his hand, taking out some ointment to apply. Zhan Beiye instinctively retracted his hand and said, "Zong Yue's ointment is very precious. It will be of great use, don't waste it on such a small wound. "
Meng Fuyao ignored him and carefully applied the ointment. "You're the most skilled in martial arts in our team. Using it on you isn't a waste, but it will give everyone a chance to live."
"I feel that I'm the one who harmed them." Zhan Beiye laughed bitterly, his voice very low. "What's worse is that I'm actually selfishly glad."
"Hmm?" Meng Fuyao raised her long, thick eyelashes.
"I'm glad that Hua Zi replaced you at the last moment." Zhan Beiye looked at her solemnly, his eyes like a golden rice field under the moonlight, full of joy that Meng Fuyao was still alive and a lingering fear of the future. "Otherwise, the corpse that died on the whip would have been you. If that had happened, I would have rather sunk myself."
Meng Fuyao was silent for a while. "You have something important to do. You have to save your mother. Zhan Beiye, I might have hesitated if you'd only been fighting for your brother's position. But since you're willing to take the risk for your mother, I have to help."
"Even if I help, I can't help to this extent." Zhan Beiye's eyes were filled with pain. "Promise me that you'll protect yourself no matter what."
"I'll protect myself." Meng Fuyao gazed at the gradually dispersing fog. "In that unknown tomb, I still have to protect all of you."
Her eyes were calm and her tone firm. She subconsciously touched the bundle in front of her chest. Her gaze froze, and she let out a scream that she would never have let out.
"Where's the rat?"
= = =
The rat was hanging on a vine not far from the swamp.
Meng Fuyao stumbled back, recalling the time when she had unwrapped the bundle beside the swamp. Lord Ingot had probably rolled out at that time, but she did not dare to think about the consequences. She ran as fast as she could back to the swamp and searched with all her might. She hoped to find Lord Ingot, but at the same time, she was afraid that she would find a small skeleton or a small corpse.
In the end, she found Lord Ingot hanging on the vines that had forced them to retreat into the swamp.
She held her breath and carefully observed the rat. It was very quiet, its eyes closed, its fur a little withered, and its body a little dirty … It was no different from before. There was no sign of life or death.
She turned her head 180 degrees and laid on the ground, trying her best to observe Lord Ingot's pink belly. It was fluctuating slightly.
"Phew …" She let out a sigh of relief and almost collapsed.
After heaving a sigh of relief, she began to curse, "Damn rat! Can't you sleep anywhere? Why are you sleeping in this damned place? You didn't even tell me! You scared me to death! "
Lord Ingot was awakened by her scolding. He lazily lifted his eyelids and glanced at her. He lazily got up and removed the vine leaves that had been acting as a blanket. He lazily kicked away the vine threads that had tripped him up and strode towards her with his graceful cat-like steps.
Her eyeballs were about to fall out of their sockets.
Was this the same poisonous vine that had been baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, flashing its thorns, and spewing a greyish-green poisonous juice that had forced them into the swamp and killed two people?
This was obviously the loofah vine on the flower rack in Lord Ingot's backyard!
The 'loofah vine' was obediently lying at Lord Ingot's feet. The tiny red thorns were still there, but they did not seem to have any effect on Lord Ingot. She looked at him as if she was looking at Superman.
What she did not know was that Lord Ingot had immediately fallen into a weakened state after making the infrasound. However, due to the animal's instinct to protect itself, it naturally emitted an odor that humans could not smell. It was just that the odor was light enough to protect itself.
Moreover, Lord Ingot was indeed not afraid of ordinary poisons.
It gracefully stepped onto Meng Fuyao's palm, laid down, and went back to sleep.
Meng Fuyao stared at it for a long time. She had the urge to bite it, but in the end, she could only bitterly shove it back into her bosom. Just as she was about to get up, she suddenly noticed an unusual color flickering between the vines.
She stood still and frowned. Just as she was about to pull out her dagger, Zhan Beiye, who was beside her, had already extended his sword.
His sword struck empty air, and when he retracted it, he could vaguely hear the crisp sound of something hard hitting. Zhan Beiye raised his eyebrows and softly exclaimed in surprise. He picked up a piece of gravel from the ground and flicked it with his finger, but the expected sound of impact was not heard. Meng Fuyao was already asking, "Is there nothing behind it?"
She took a step back and raised her head to look at the vines. This was the path they had taken previously. The vines were originally hanging down from a towering ancient tree. The tree was extremely huge, and its center was actually hollow, covering half of the cliff. Due to everyone's fear of the double-headed cliff snake, they subconsciously avoided all the cliffs and thus did not notice the mystery behind it.
Zhan Beiye took a step back and exchanged glances with Ji Yu. "Could it be here?"
Ji Yu said, "According to the book, there were two ancient trees in front of the cave … This is one." He took a closer look and exclaimed, "It turns out that the roots of the two ancient trees have grown together after so many years. They look like one tree. It's funny that I've been looking for the cave entrance hidden by the two ancient trees."
Meng Fuyao patted Lord Ingot, who was in her bosom, and praised him. "Now I feel that it's good that you lost it, and the place you slept in is also good. If you hadn't lost it, we would have had to go through a lot of unnecessary trouble."
Lord Ingot slept in a daze, completely unaware that sleeping could also produce great results.
Standing at the entrance of the cave, a gust of cold air pressed in from afar. The humidity in the mountain was high, and the fog was heavy, but the cold air in the cave was especially chilling. After standing for a while, everyone's sweat had dried up.
The karst cave's landscape had always been bizarre and dazzling. The stalagmites, which took hundreds of millions of years to form, were connected to the stalactites, stone curtains, and stone flowers hanging down from the ceiling, forming two stone pillars that were thick at the end and thin in the middle. When the light from the match shone in, it shone with a silvery white luster, like a jade or an ice sculpture. It was a dazzling beauty.
The width of the cave varied. The widest part was like a small field, while the narrowest part was just enough for two people to walk side by side. The group of people walked in a long line, walking carefully. Meng Fuyao still remembered the shadow she had seen behind the vines … What was that?
The light from the match swayed, stretching everyone's silhouette on the ground and blending with the shadows of the stone pillars. Hearing the hollow footsteps, Meng Fuyao felt a little nervous, and her palms started to sweat.
Suddenly, a warm hand reached over and held her gently. The palm was dry, and the gesture was firm. Meng Fuyao tilted her head and saw Zhan Beiye's handsome side profile in the flickering light. His facial features were deep and solid, but his eyes were bright and soft. Looking at her, it was as if he had seen a ray of light. It was as if they were not walking towards the cursed Da Hou Clan's burial ground, but rather, the scenery ahead of them, with flowers blooming in the warmth of spring.
Meng Fuyao smiled and slowly withdrew her hand, mouthing, "I'm fine."
Zhan Beiye retracted his gaze. At that moment, his eyes dimmed slightly, but he still gave her a bright smile.
Meng Fuyao returned his smile, but it suddenly froze.
In front of her, above Ji Yu's head, a black shadow that was half the height of a human had appeared. Without a sound, it hung upside down from the top of the cave and pecked at Ji Yu's head.
Meng Fuyao raised her leg and rushed over.
Without turning his head, Ji Yu suddenly drew his sword.
The speed at which he drew his sword was so fast that it was as if the sword had always been in his hand. The moment he drew it, the long sword shot up like a burst of smoke, piercing straight into the black shadow above his head.
"Swish!"
Fresh blood splattered on the pure white stalactites. The black shadow let out a shrill cry and flew past Ji Yu's head, fanning a gust of wind that carried the smell of death and blood.
However, Ji Yu's sword light did not stop chasing after it. He slashed horizontally in mid-air, and the thing was instantly split into two. It continued to fly at high speed until it crashed into a stalagmite, shattering and falling to the ground together with the stalagmite.
Among the rubble, a pair of black wings could be seen. It was a giant bat.
Meng Fuyao stared at the bat and mumbled, "Could it be a bat ancestor? It's so big that it has become a spirit …" Suddenly, she felt darkness in front of her and a gust of wind that carried a fishy smell.
She looked up and started coughing. "I take back what I said just now. This isn't a bat ancestor, it's a bat grandson …"
Suddenly, a large black cloud appeared at the narrow entrance of a cave in front of them. Upon closer inspection, it was actually a large group of bats. They were unimaginably large, and even the smallest one was the size of the one she had just seen.
Zhan Beiye had already drawn his sword and was even faster than Ji Yu. As he moved forward, he shouted, "Formation, Seven Stars!"
The well-trained Black Wind Knights immediately took their positions and brandished their weapons in unison, ready to protect Meng Fuyao in the center. However, Meng Fuyao had already taken the Heaven's Pivot position. With a flash of black light, she took the initiative to slash at the bat in front of her.
The bat's belly was slightly golden, its eyes were dark green, and its mouth was full of sharp teeth. Seeing that Meng Fuyao had actually taken the initiative to provoke it, it was instantly enraged. With a flap of its wings, a gust of fishy wind swept up like a steel plate.
The beast thought that Meng Fuyao would have no choice but to give way. Unexpectedly, Meng Fuyao smiled and turned around. Suddenly, she disappeared. A Black Wind soldier suddenly appeared behind the bat and chopped off its wings. At the same time, Meng Fuyao's dagger instantly changed directions and stabbed into the belly of another giant bat.
Fresh blood splattered and beast corpses flew everywhere. Even though these bats were cunning and huge, it was still a one-sided massacre for the elite soldiers, two great experts, and the ever-changing Big Dipper Formation. This was especially true for the Black Wind Cavalry. They vented all their frustrations over the tragic deaths of their companions on these bats. They killed mercilessly, and a layer of sticky blood quickly accumulated on the ground. The air was permeated by the fishy and cold stench, and it was heavy on everyone's breath.
The bats sensed that the situation was getting out of hand. The first bat let out a strange cry, and the rest of the bats flew up in unison and rushed out of the cave. Tired of killing, they stopped, covered in dirty blood. Before they could heave a sigh of relief, the swarm of bats made a sudden turn and swooped down. They rushed to the cave wall where Fuyao and the rest had stuck their fire sticks in, grabbed them with their claws, and ran away.
"F * cking treacherous!" Meng Fuyao cursed. She raised her hand and threw the Heaven Piercing Sword, which turned into a black light and pierced through a few bats. Apart from Zhan Beiye, the rest of them also used their weapons to shoot at the bats that had stolen the fire sticks. There were not many fire sticks left, and it was impossible for them to survive the rest of the journey without fire sticks. These bats actually had the intelligence of humans, and since they failed to attack with brute force, they tried to cut off their escape route.
Seeing the bats that had been stabbed fall, the fire sticks tumbled down. However, with a flash of black light, the bats rushed over and blocked the fire sticks with their wings. They then flew away with the sticks in their mouths.
Meng Fuyao stared dumbfounded at these "highly intelligent" bats and mumbled, "Are these bats or assassins? Turning around and leaving after missing an attack, attacking the enemy and creating a diversion. Why are all the creatures of this damned Chang Han Mountain so powerful? "
"The Great Ape Clan is a legendary clan with special techniques. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been exterminated by the Imperial Court a hundred years ago." Zhan Beiye gripped his sword tightly and said, "Count, how many fireballs are left?"
The result of the inventory was very depressing. There were only two matches left. Previously in the swamp, in order to help the soldier scare the ants, he had already used up too many of them. It was really hard to say if there were enough left.
"Use them sparingly," Zhan Beiye said, blowing out the fire sticks. "None of us are weak, so use your ears instead of your eyes."
He pulled her hand over and said, "Don't reject it. It's safest for us to walk together."
Meng Fuyao smiled and didn't pull her hand out again. Instead, she ran her fingers over his palm and laughed. "Hmm … your hand isn't that big … Ah, you're actually a Broken Palm. 'The Broken Palm of the Left Palm Master the Commander's Seal, while the Broken Palm of the Man is in charge of the imperial court'. Congratulations, but it's a pity that this palm master has a bad temper, a stubborn character, and a strong personality. He won't give up halfway.
"What are you mumbling about?" Zhan Beiye laughed. "You sound like a charlatan."
Just as Meng Fuyao was about to reply, she felt something slip under her feet. It was so slight that it didn't even seem like a solid object. It was like a gust of wind that brushed past her. She could even feel the 'wind' brushing against her pants, and a slight chill seeped in.
Without a word, she raised her hand and slashed at the ground. She felt the dagger almost slip when it touched the thing, and it slid across its back. Cold blood sprayed onto the back of her hand. Suddenly, she thought of something, and her face turned pale.
The Double-Headed Cliff Snake.
Zhan Beiye quickly lit up the fire stick. When he saw that it was indeed the Double-Headed Cliff Snake, his expression changed. He quickly squatted down and carefully examined Meng Fuyao's ankle. "Were you bitten? Wound? Where's the wound? "
"No." Meng Fuyao retracted her leg. "It didn't bite me."
Even so, everyone couldn't help but look at each other in dismay. It was indeed a terrible thing to find a Double-Headed Cliff Snake here. It turned into smoke without a sound, and there was no way to identify it by hearing. Unfortunately, they didn't have enough fire sticks. If they used them now, they would die when they entered the tomb.
"Why didn't it bite you?" Zhan Beiye asked. He raised his eyes and looked in front of him. There was a craggy stone wall in front of him. They had reached the end, and there was no way out.
"The tomb is nearby." Zhan Beiye looked around. "It's not that bad. There must be a reason why the snake didn't bite us. The tomb of the Big Gun should be nearby. Be careful and get out of here alive."
Everyone slowly dispersed and searched for the entrance of the tomb using the dim light. "Candle, flashlight, ruler, watch, brush, compass, magnesium bar, match, shovel, pen …" Meng Fuyao murmured.
"What's all this?" someone asked beside her ear.
"Tomb robbing … oh, no, archaeology …" She blinked and looked at Zhan Beiye. "Treacherous."
"Fuyao, where are you from?" Zhan Beiye looked at her deeply. "You've never been like someone from the Five Continents."
"I'm from this tomb." Fu Yao joked, but a faint melancholy rose in his heart. If one day, he returned to the Five Continents, would he enter the mausoleum of this world during an archaeological expedition? Would he meet his old friends again in those coffins with frescoes on the top of the coffins?
Would she lift the golden masks of the ancient corpses in the inner coffins and see her unforgettable face?
What kind of feeling would it be like to travel through time and space and see her past and present life as if it were a dream?
She shook her head and tossed the strange and suffocating feeling aside. She reached out and pulled out an iron awl from a Black Wind Knight. She picked a spot on the ground and stabbed it diagonally downwards. She pulled out some soil, looked at it, and put it aside. Then, she stabbed it again and again.
Zhan Beiye stood silently at the side, watching her strange actions with a pensive look in his eyes.
She carefully looked at the soil and the copper, iron, pottery, and wood she had pulled out. She sniffed the soil and the iron awl and sighed. "Five-Flower Soil … It's a pity it's not a Luoyang shovel … but I can get a general idea."
She stood up and said, "It's under this karst cave. I don't know how the Da Hou Clan built the tomb under this cave, but there should be an underground cave below."
She drew a rough position on the ground and said, "It's a huge tomb, and it looks like it has a seven-spoke vault. The person buried inside can't be an ordinary person … Try from here."
The small area she pointed at was slightly downwards in the cave. It was a little dark and had stone pillars, but it looked normal.
A Black Wind Knight walked over and searched the ground, but shook his head.
When he stood up, he bumped into a stalagmite behind him. It suddenly split open, and the soldier's expression changed when he saw it.
"Ah!" A scream rushed out of his throat, but his voice was stuck in his throat before he could finish his sentence.
Meng Fuyao and Zhan Beiye dashed over like lightning from the left and right. Zhan Beiye rushed ahead of her, and while he was in mid-air, his sword flashed with a red light. He protected Fuyao and slashed at the stalagmite.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
