Gu Youran's eyes widened and he screamed in horror: "Shi Heng!"
In a thousandth of a second, she felt something awaken inside her.
A dazzling golden light burst out from her chest and condensed into the shadow of a flying eagle with outstretched wings in the air.
At the same time, a black shadow pounced from behind like lightning.
Renault grabbed the crevice with one hand, swung sideways, and kicked the rock wall hard with his military boots.
The flying gravel formed a buffer layer, buying the critical 0.3 seconds for Golden Light Awakening.
The phantom flapped its wings and struck the boulder, shattering it into pieces!
Everyone froze in place.
Gu Youran raised his hand tremblingly, watching the golden light remaining on his fingertips gradually dissipate.
"It's okay."
Shi Heng still maintained the hugging posture, but his fingertips were trembling.
He held up Gu Youran's face and examined it carefully, and his thumb brushed across the blood that had seeped out of the corner of her eye.
That was clearly a sign of excessive consumption of golden light.
Two meters away, Renault silently withdrew his hand, which was rubbed bloody by the rock wall.
Lei Shuangcheng muttered to himself absentmindedly, "The power of the flying eagle recorded in ancient books... is actually true..."
Xu Bo was the first to come to his senses. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said in a trembling voice, "Keep going! Everyone be careful."
The team climbed up again.
Shi Heng insisted on tying their waists together with a safety rope and checking her pulse every five minutes.
As the altitude increases, the grooves on the rock wall are gradually covered with slippery moss.
When Gu Youran's hiking boots slipped for the third time, Renault coughed almost at the same time.
This is the sound warning method he invented when he was a child.
An hour later, the team finally climbed to the top of the cliff.
Everyone was exhausted and sweating, leaning against the rocks and gasping for breath.
Gu Youran suddenly discovered that a dark red stain was seeping out of Shi Heng's right sleeve.
"Don't move!"
She hurriedly took out a silver needle from the small bag on her waist and stopped the bleeding for him with swift movements.
Three meters behind her, Renault was quietly putting his bloody right hand behind his back.
The careful Lei Shuangcheng saw it and took out a bandage without saying a word, "Bear with it."
When bandaging his wound, they found several pieces of gravel embedded in his palm.
After a short rest, Xu Bo pointed to an inconspicuous crack on the cliff wall and said, "Go through here."
Behind the crack is a naturally formed narrow tunnel, only wide enough for one person to pass sideways.
Shi Heng protected Gu Youran behind him and entered the tunnel.
In the darkness, he could clearly hear her nervous breathing.
After walking for about twenty minutes, Mark, the leader, suddenly stopped and said, "Something's wrong."
The beam of his flashlight revealed five identical holes ahead.
Uncle Xu hurriedly unfolded the yellowed silk cloth and ran his fingers over it. "Strange... There should only be one path here..."
If I try them one by one, I'm afraid I won't be able to get out before dark.
Gu Youran suddenly pressed her chest, where the eagle pendant was getting very hot.
As she grabbed the pendant, a golden light shot towards the third cave entrance, casting a clear image of a flying eagle on the rock wall.
"It's the village's symbol!"
Xu Bo stepped forward quickly, his fingers tracing over the inscriptions. "This is... this is the symbol we use in sacrifices..."
Walking into the cave, the air was damp and cold.
Shi Heng held the flashlight in his left hand and always protected Gu Youran's waist with his right hand.
In front of us, illuminated by the beam of light, water droplets dripped down the stalactites, making a "ticking" echo in the silence.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, a ray of light finally appeared ahead.
When everyone walked out of the cave, the scene before them made everyone freeze in place.
All I saw was the charred beams lying all over the place, and the ruins were covered with traces of smoke.
Next to an old well, there is a small wooden horse with half an ear missing. Even thick dust cannot cover the mottled red paint on its body.
Gu Youran staggered towards the old well, his eyes fixed on the tilted little wooden horse beside the well.
Under the faded red paint, you can still see the crooked words "Youyou" engraved on the horse's neck.
This was on the eve of her third birthday. Eight-year-old Renault spent a whole week carving it out bit by bit with a hatchet.
She remembered that morning when Renault handed her the wooden horse with red eyes and fresh wounds on his palms.
But because she disliked the horse's ears being too square, she lost her temper and threw the wooden horse onto the stone steps.
"Don't look."
Shi Heng suddenly hugged her from behind, his broad chest pressed against her trembling back.
He said nothing, but gently covered her eyes with his palms.
"Bang--"
The sound of Xu Bo kneeling down was like a muffled thunder.
The old man dug his fingers into the charred soil and cried hoarsely, "Twenty-two years..."
Renault rushed to the well, digging his nails deep into the moss.
Under the peeled moss, two little figures painted with cinnabar were revealed.
That was the picture he had drawn while holding Youyou's little hand, using her favorite red hairband dipped in cinnabar, and drawing it stroke by stroke.
Between the two little figures, there was half a pink shell button stuck on it. It was exactly what fell off the new skirt that Youyou wore that day.
"Youyou and Nono will be together forever."
Twenty-two years later, the little girl's clear voice still seems to echo in my ears.
Renault slammed his fist on the edge of the well, and blood slowly flowed down the ancient carvings.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps was heard from the ruins around.
Lei Shuangcheng instantly drew his gun and loaded it, but was held down by Xu Bo. "Put it away, we are all family."
More than a dozen figures walked out from behind the broken wall.
The old man in the lead had scars all over his face. When he saw Gu Youran, he raised his skinny hand tremblingly and pointed to the half-collapsed stove not far away.
"Xiao Youran... remember the winter melon candy you always stole? It's hidden behind the third brick on the right..."
"Grandpa Feng!"
When Gu Youran broke free, Heng rushed over, his vision blurred by tears.
She gently touched the scar on the old man's face, which was left by the fire that year.
"You're still alive... I remember every time you caught me stealing candy, you would pretend to be angry and pull my pigtails..."
The old man stroked the top of her hair with his calloused hands, tears streaming down his wrinkled face.
"Good boy..." The old man suddenly coughed violently, dark red seeping from between his fingers, "...you have grown so big."
Renault stepped forward and bowed deeply, "Grandpa Feng."
The old man excitedly grabbed his shoulders and looked him up and down.
"Nono is back too... Good, that's great... Are you two safe..."
Xu Bo looked up at the setting sun and said in a deep voice, "It's getting dark. We need to get down to business."
He led everyone through the overgrown ruins and came to the ancestral hall.
The setting sun cast a long shadow over the ancestral hall.
This charred building miraculously remains standing, with only half of the wings remaining of the wooden carving of an eagle on the lintel.
"Before your father died..."
As soon as Xu Bo opened his mouth, Gu Youran grabbed his arm and said anxiously, "Wait... Dad clearly led us out?"
Uncle Xu shook his head and pointed to the center of the ancestral hall. "Go down and take a look, and you'll understand."
He looked at the setting sun and said, "Time is running out. The thing your father guarded with his life must be retrieved before sunset."
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