But when she saw the man approaching, his face gradually became clearer. Yan Dan couldn't help but sigh lightly. "It's a pity..."
What came toward them was a man in coarse cloth linen, muddy water staining his clogs all the way to the hem of his clothes. He had a weasel-like head with rat eyes, and his face was full of pockmarks like stars.
The tall local looked down on that man. "Wu Shun, what are you doing going into the mountains like this?"
Wu Shun immediately smiled and took off the basket on his back to show them. "Didn't I go into the mountains to collect some herbs and exchange them for money? My family is almost unable to open the pot, and if I'm lucky, I can catch snakes. Snake gallbladder can be sold, snake meat is..." He said this, almost salivating.
Yan Dan sighed again.
She'd originally thought he was a character like a banished immortal, but it turned out to be a herbalist of questionable character. Her eyes were really getting worse and worse.
As soon as the herbalist Wu Shun turned his head, he saw Yan Dan. His mouth opened slightly, and he couldn't take his eyes off her anymore. It took a long time for him to come back to his senses, smacking his lips, clearly harboring some dirty idea.
Yan Dan was angry from her heart and only wanted to cut him with a sword. She immediately reached out to pull Tang Zhou's sword. Before she could act, her wrist was held calmly by Liu Weiyang. Yan Dan was stunned. She stiffened her neck and turned to look at Young Master Liu beside her. Liu Weiyang looked at her, shook his head slightly, and then slowly let go of her hand.
When Wu Shun heard that they were going to climb Zhu Cui Mountain, he immediately walked in front diligently to lead the way, turning around from time to time to tell a few crude jokes. Yan Dan touched her wrist and always felt that something was wrong. It was impossible for Liu Weiyang to pull her wrist—Yan Dan was very sure of this. Wasn't it Liu Weiyang who was walking next to her?
Who could that be? No matter who it was, as long as it wasn't the master of Shenxiao Palace. When she thought of the Lord of Shenxiao Palace, she couldn't help but feel creepy. Although she hadn't fully seen Liu Weiyang's ability, he was not inferior to Tang Zhou. If such a short half pillar of incense wasn't enough for him to be quietly dragged away by the Lord of Shenxiao Palace and thrown into the wilderness, that would be truly terrifying.
Tang Zhou glanced at her and asked in a low voice, "Your face is pale. What's wrong?" He said half-jokingly, "You're not afraid of being looked at a few times, are you?"
Yan Dan secretly glanced at Liu Weiyang and slowly leaned closer to Tang Zhou. "Am I afraid of being seen? It's not like I haven't been seen before."
Tang Zhou thought for a while and stretched out his left hand to her. "If you're afraid, just hold onto me."
Yan Dan hesitated. Should she hold on or not? If she did, it would hurt her self-esteem too much, but if she didn't, she felt genuinely uneasy. She suddenly felt a glance sweep over from her side and immediately sent her hand into Tang Zhou's. Tang Zhou held it gently and said with a smile, "Have you forgotten what you said in the cemetery?"
What was said in the cemetery? What she'd said at that time was at least twenty or thirty sentences. Which sentence did he mean?
Yan Dan thought about it for a while and suddenly realized—could it be the sentence "He won't really kill us, just test us"? In this way, Tang Zhou had also noticed what happened again after Liu Weiyang disappeared, which meant that all this was really not her delusion. If the current Liu Weiyang was being impersonated by the master of Shenxiao Palace, it meant he wouldn't do anything to them for the time being. She'd guessed Liu Weiyang's identity at that time, but now it seemed she hadn't overestimated Liu Weiyang—she'd underestimated the Shenxiao Palace Lord too much.
Because they'd been delayed for too long at the start, when the sun set, the group was still halfway up the mountain.
The two locals were efficient. They cut down branches, scratched them a few times with flint, and lit a fire. They took out a small casserole from the package they carried, filled it with mountain spring water, and cooked it over the fire. The herbalist Wu Shun immediately picked out yellow essence from his basket and put it in the pot to cook together.
Several people divided a pack of steamed buns and roasted them over the fire until several honeycomb-like openings appeared on the buns, slowly showing a burnt color. The pot of yellow essence was also boiled, and then they slowly filled their stomachs.
Yan Dan knew that Tang Zhou was immune to all poisons, and she wasn't afraid of poisons in the mortal world, so she ate with peace of mind. Liu Weiyang was still silent as usual, quiet before the fire, as if he had endless worries.
The group finished their dry food, then discussed the night watch. The two tall locals would stay for the first half of the night, while the other and the herbalist Wu Shun would guard the second half. Yan Dan saw that they'd made this arrangement, so she also closed her eyes and fell asleep next to the fire. She never slept deeply and would wake at the slightest movement, so she wasn't afraid of what they might do behind their backs.
She slept in a daze for a while. When she woke, it was already the middle of the night, and the sky of the mountain stream after the rain had stopped was as clear as blue, starry and particularly bright. She looked around and saw that Liu Weiyang and Tang Zhou were still asleep, but the three people on watch were gone. She stood up gently and walked lightly into the mountain forest ahead. After walking more than ten feet, she saw firelight on the sloping hillside. She slowly approached and saw Wu Shun with a hemp rope tied around his waist, carefully climbing up the mountain path. The other end of the hemp rope was gripped in the hands of the tall local. His face was full of impatience, and he said in a rough voice, "You kid, why don't you hurry up?!"
Wu Shun was obedient but clumsy. He climbed three steps and fell back, his hands and feet weak, his movements awkward. Yan Dan watched and sighed, but before she finished sighing, a very mournful scream suddenly exploded in her ears. Wu Shun flailed about, as if trapped in something, leaving only half of his body still on the mountain path.
Yan Dan quietly shifted her position, wanting to get closer, but saw that the tall local suddenly cut the hemp rope with an axe, and Wu Shun's figure immediately disappeared.
Yan Dan touched her chin, thinking that there were many caves in the southwest underground. The seemingly flat and solid ground was actually hollow—the herbalist had probably fallen into a cave. If the two locals wanted to pull him up, it shouldn't be difficult, yet to cut off the hemp rope with such an axe was too vicious.
She heard the short local say, "Why didn't you pull Wu Shun up? We're from the same village anyway."
"I think this kid is no good at all—he just wants a piece of the pie. Now that he's fallen, let him go simply. One less trouble." The tall local snorted heavily. "If they ask later, we'll say Wu Shun had an urgent matter at home and left early. He fell like this and just fed the mountain god. It's good for us."
Yan Dan was confused when she heard this, but seeing them turning back, she had to quickly slip away toward the fire. When there were still more than a dozen steps away, she saw Tang Zhou coming down from the sloping mountain path, his face not very good. Yan Dan said, "I just went to follow those three locals. They..." Tang Zhou made a silent gesture and said lightly, "I just saw everything you saw. This mountain path connects to that side, and I followed Brother Liu after you left."
When it was just dawn, the group continued hurrying along.
Yan Dan looked around and suddenly asked, "Hey, where is the herbalist named Wu Shun from yesterday? Why did he disappear so early in the morning?"
The short local laughed dryly. "Yesterday evening, this kid remembered he had something at home, so he went back to the village without waiting for dawn. When he left, you weren't awake yet, so he didn't say hello."
Yan Dan looked at him contemptuously. He couldn't even tell lies properly—stumbling over his words. Anyone could tell it wasn't true. So he went back early in the morning... Strange, it's not even summer yet. Why is he sweating just from saying a few words? She smiled slightly. The short local had to laugh a few more times, then close his mouth and stop speaking.
Tang Zhou glanced at her warningly and said in a low voice, "Yan Dan!"
Yan Dan sighed. "Even if you call my name a thousand times, I still won't understand what you want to say, right?" Persimmons are picked soft—if the current Liu Weiyang was really being impersonated by the master of Shenxiao Palace, it would be better for her to bully Tang Zhou instead.
Tang Zhou wasn't angry and slowly wrote the character "Liu" in the palm of her hand. Yan Dan found it interesting and took his hand to write the next character "Xiao." Tang Zhou shook his head and nodded again. Yan Dan immediately understood—the general idea he wanted to convey was that Liu Weiyang at the moment was probably not the original one, and it was difficult to say whether it was the master of Shenxiao Palace.
They wrote—one character, then another—and soon fell to the back of the group. The tall local turned around and smiled, saying, "I think you're like a couple who eloped from home, sticking together all the time."
Yan Dan looked at Tang Zhou stiffly, squeezing out a smile uglier than crying. Tang Zhou was very indifferent. "We did run out of the house to play, but it wasn't an elopement."
Yan Dan was stunned. Liu Weiyang was also obviously stunned for a moment. Tang Zhou asked with a smile again, "Isn't that right, Yan Dan?"
Yan Dan was very depressed and wanted to look up to the sky and howl "No!" As soon as she finished speaking, the mountain path under her feet loosened, and she tumbled over. Tang Zhou hurriedly reached out and grabbed her arm, but his body shook from the huge momentum of her fall, and the ground under his feet made a crisp and pleasant "crack."
Two people fell at the same time.
Yan Dan only heard the wind whistling in her ears. She casually grabbed something like a stalagmite, only to hear a click—the slender stalagmite actually broke. She suddenly had only one thought left in her mind: could it be that she'd been living too comfortably recently and had gained a lot of weight? Suddenly her wrist tightened, and before her body could stop its falling momentum, her other wrist was also grabbed. It was just that those two forces came from two completely different directions, and Yan Dan almost fainted from pain.
She would rather fall directly to the ground and eat dirt than hang in mid-air and be torn in half from the middle.
She heard Tang Zhou's voice slowly coming from above her head. "Yan Dan, you're really heavy."
Yan Dan snorted. "Nonsense! Where did I get heavy? Sister-in-law Hu from the Shen family also said I'm as light as boneless!"
"Compared with Sister-in-law Hu, of course you're as light as boneless."
"Shut up, shut up!" Yan Dan gritted her teeth angrily. When she looked up, she saw Liu Weiyang looking down at her, his eyes deep. Her right hand was held in his, and cold sweat immediately came down. "Young Master Liu, I'm too heavy. Can you let me go?"
Liu Weiyang smiled slowly. "It's okay." The moment he smiled, it was truly warm and gentle—butterflies danced, orioles flew, and flowers washed away the dust.
Yan Dan immediately flattered him. "Young Master Liu, you look so good when you smile. But you should let go quickly. We can't hang here all the time, right?"
Liu Weiyang smiled slightly. "After I let go, it doesn't matter if you continue like this?"
Yan Dan said obediently, "It's okay, it's okay. You can let go."
Liu Weiyang immediately let go of his hand.
Yan Dan only felt her body sink down, and her left wrist joint clicked. She quickly said loudly, "Tang Zhou, why don't you let go? My hand is going to break!"
Tang Zhou sighed and let go. Yan Dan only felt her body swing forward slightly and directly hit the opposite stone wall. Fortunately, Liu Weiyang landed lightly on the ground and kindly pulled her back.
Yan Dan felt a jolt in her heart, and there was an indescribable strangeness within. It was obviously Liu Weiyang's face, but she had a very familiar feeling.
Suddenly, the light above their heads dimmed, and dirt kept falling from the stone cave they'd fallen through.
Tang Zhou lit up the fire starter. They could see that the cave opening above had been blocked by a piece of granite, and the cave before them was twisted and winding, leading who knew where.
The southwest area had abundant rain. The foundation of the stratum was unstable, and there were many karst caves underground. Most of those karst caves were connected, and walking into them was like walking into a maze—the more you walked, the more confused you became. The two locals really had bad intentions. They'd lured them to places with many caves and sealed the opening at the top when they fell.
Most of their plans in doing this were to rob and murder, right? It was just that... He suddenly remembered that the tall local had said Wu Shun had gone to feed the mountain god last night. Could it be... He turned his head and saw Yan Dan happily pouncing on Liu Weiyang, hugging his neck with joy and saying, "Lord!"
Seeing a faint green light surging on Liu Weiyang's body, his appearance gradually changed. His ink-like hair suddenly grew much longer, his eyebrows became more handsome, and there was a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth—vivid and handsome.
Yan Dan rubbed his cheeks and said softly, "Lord, you've lost weight and become darker... Your skin isn't smooth enough..."
"Lianqing's complexion isn't bad. Her body is a full five pounds and six ounces heavier..." Yu Mo picked her up and said with a smile, "Even my waist is half an inch thicker..."
Tang Zhou coughed heavily. "Where is Brother Liu?"
Yu Mo said lightly, "I stopped him when we entered the mountain. This person is not so simple."
Yan Dan couldn't help but say, "But he didn't do anything bad along the way."
Yu Mo stretched out his hand and gently pinched the tip of her nose. "Do you remember one time when he got up in the middle of the night to play the flute? Do you think he was just playing the flute? You entered the mountains and were trapped in the Fuxi Bagua Formation, which was laid out in advance by someone."
Yan Dan immediately understood. "So you changed people halfway and broke this formation again?"
Yu Mo smiled and nodded. "But you didn't recognize me from the beginning and were scared to death, huh?"
Yan Dan pouted slightly. "You don't know how terrifying the Shenxiao Palace Lord is—he just pretends to be exactly like someone... But in this way, who is Liu Weiyang, and is he also a subordinate of the Lord of Shenxiao Palace?"
"I don't know either." Yu Mo turned his head to look at Tang Zhou and said slowly, "Zhu Cui Mountain in the southwest is not far from Mirror Lake Water Moon. If you want to find an ancient artifact, you don't have to go to the Yi clan to look for it, because this artifact has long fallen into the hands of the Lord of Shenxiao Palace."
Tang Zhou looked at him. "You know where Mirror Lake Water Moon is, and you also know that the ancient artifact is not in the hands of the Yi clan but in the hands of the Lord of Shenxiao Palace. I believe what you said. But how did you know?"
Yu Mo said calmly, "I have been to Mirror Lake Water Moon and have seen the Shenxiao Palace Master twice."
Yan Dan looked at Yu Mo, then at Tang Zhou, and only felt that the atmosphere between them was like a tight bowstring.
"So, how can we get to Mirror Lake Water Moon now?"
Yu Mo smiled lightly. "I don't know."
Yan Dan couldn't help but whisper, "Yu Mo..." He said he'd been to Mirror Lake Water Moon before but didn't know how to get there—which was simply the lamest lie.
Yu Mo looked down at her, appearing light-hearted. "Why, you don't believe it?"
Yan Dan thought for a while. "Although it sounds a bit impossible, I still believe it."
Tang Zhou hugged his arms and said lightly, "Unless you give a reasonable explanation, I'm afraid even children won't believe this kind of thing."
Yan Dan suddenly felt her hair stand on end. Yu Mo and Tang Zhou had fought to the death when they first met, coupled with their previous grievances. She feared this journey would be troublesome.
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