Yan Qing offered no explanation for her words. Sun Ning, on the other hand, turned around, patted Su Su's hair, and said affectionately,
"You—I'm negotiating with them, and you're undermining me like this because you think I'm having a great time?
Su Su was immediately shocked and ran over to apologize to Yan Qing.
"Sister Yan, I, I—" She stammered for a long time, but in the end she was too embarrassed to say it.
After all, Sister Yan was their savior; it was too much to scheme against her like this.
Yan Xiang didn't care about these things. She actually found these people quite agreeable. The trust between the three of them reminded her of Yue Qi.
The two of them have such a tacit understanding and trust.
Looking up at the dark cave, Yan Qing's thoughts drifted elsewhere—
————————
Yue Qi and Yan Che ultimately decided to return the way they came. Although the geomantic map Yan Qing gave them was genuine, such a vast underground transportation network clearly could not be traversed in just one or two days.
What they lack most right now is time.
Following the directions on the geomantic map, the two planned to exit the cave step by step.
Just then, several long vines suddenly sprouted from the corner of the mountain wall behind them, wrapping around them.
"Oh no, retreat!"
Yue Qi reacted quickly, immediately pulling the still-dazed Yan Che behind him. With his other hand, lightning flashed, and the next moment, a thick lightning ball appeared out of thin air, striking the vines directly.
After the lightning disappeared, only blackened, broken pieces of wood remained on the ground, while the main body of the vines had long been reduced to ashes by the lightning.
Yan Che looked terrified. "I never imagined the mechanisms inside this cave would be so terrifying! And what exactly are these vines?"
Yue Qi picked up the remaining twigs from the ground and examined them carefully. "This thing is indeed a bit strange. All I can tell so far is that it is highly poisonous. In addition, it seems to have some ability to devour things. It is definitely not a normal plant."
Yan Che also became interested. "Could it be a mutated vampire vine? I heard that this thing grows specifically in deep mountains and forests. When I was a child, my parents also said that in our hometown of Xiangxi, the vampire vine is the protector of the old house and will kill all the outsiders who come to invade!"
Yue Qi toyed with the last remaining piece of wood in his hand, looking quite interested, before putting it away.
Just as he was about to get up, a slight noise came from behind. Yue Qi remained calm, and a small flash of lightning struck a certain spot.
"Ouch—! Ouch, ouch, ouch!" A burly, strong man was blown out, his hair charred black and still faintly emitting white smoke.
Yue Qi's eyes narrowed, and the next moment, a long sword was pressed against the other man's neck.
"Who are you? Why are you hiding here?"
"Wait, I have something to say—" Guo Hu glanced nervously at the nameless swordsman beside him, who was pointing a sword at his neck, cold sweat pouring down his face. This was a high-level eerie situation!
His gaze towards Yue Qi became even more cautious. This man was definitely a ruthless character, possessing such a sophisticated and bizarre contract.
No, my life is more important!
"Big brother—I'm also an adventurer here to participate in the 'Zhang Family Old Residence' Sacred Fire Festival! We're companions, companions! Big brother, please go easy on me, go easy on me—"
Yue Qi showed no mercy, still looking at him coldly, "You haven't answered my question yet."
"Oh, oh, I almost forgot." Guo Hu pulled a piece of parchment directly from his pocket.
"I hid here waiting for you! This is for you—"
The appearance of the parchment meant they had finally come into contact with the real copy. Sure enough, the next moment, they heard the familiar mechanical voice:
"Dear adventurer, welcome to the Zhang Family Mansion. The annual Sacred Fire Festival is about to begin, please arrive on time. To express our gratitude for your presence, please remember the rules for clearing this place:"
Dear adventurers, the secret to clearing the game lies hidden within the "Rules of the Zhang Family Mansion." Feel free to search!
After he finished speaking, there was no further sound. Yan Che and Yue Qi exchanged a glance, then simultaneously turned their gaze to the parchment in Guo Hu's hand.
Yue Qi glanced at Wuming, who then twirled his longsword and handed the parchment to Yue Qi.
Yan Che couldn't wait any longer and snatched the parchment to read it. After finishing, his brows furrowed even more deeply.
"What the hell? Isn't this a scam?" Yan Che was furious. This guy was playing a trick on him!
Yue Qi's expression wasn't much better than the others. In his opinion, this so-called "Zhang Family Old House Rules" was a huge trap, an open conspiracy.
For adventurers, once you enter, you're a lamb to the slaughter, with no way to escape.
"Pah! I refuse to believe it!" Yan Che was about to jump up and tear it apart, but naturally Yue Qi held him down.
Yue Qi's expression was stern, and he barely even cracked a smile before directly asking Guo Hu across from him,
"How did you get this parchment?"
Guo Hu waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, no, this was given to us by someone else. I was just following Sun Ning's instructions to wait here for the adventurers who had escaped, and then hand the parchment to him. As for this parchment, it was given to us by our savior."
"Savior?" Yue Qi focused on the parchment. In the lower right corner of the parchment, someone seemed to have accidentally dripped blood on it.
The owner of this blood happened to be someone the mysterious swordsman, Wuming. So he took the initiative to send a message to Yue Qi via telepathy.
What Guo Hu saw was that the handsome, deadpan face suddenly broke down. His expression instantly turned to surprise, and the hand holding the parchment even began to tremble slightly.
His dramatic emotional shift naturally did not escape Yan Che's notice. Based on his understanding of Yue Qi, the only thing that could make him so agitated was his "missing" sister.
"What, this thing wasn't left behind by Qingqing, was it?" Yan Che said jokingly. Before Yue Qi could react, Guo Hu on the other side suddenly became excited.
"You...you know Yan Qing?" Could it be such a coincidence?
"Looks like it really is!" Yan Che was now completely convinced. "My missing girl has finally been found. Tsk tsk tsk—"
He glanced at the agitated Guo Hu, clicked his tongue, and said, "It seems we don't need to worry about her too much. Since this girl has the ability to save people, it means she's doing quite well. That's a good thing!"
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