Xie Lian was startled at the address. He then realized that the young man's voice sounded familiar; he must have heard it several times before. His next glance was at the man's wrist. Although it was hidden by his sleeve, he could be sure that beneath it lay a black cursed yoke.
Pei Ming also stood up and further confirmed the identity of the young man in black: "Your Highness Yinyu? Indeed. I didn't expect to see you here. What are you doing..."
Yinyu scratched the bridge of his nose with his fingertips and returned the greeting, saying, "True Lord Lingwen, General Pei, Little General Pei."
Suddenly, a voice hummed, "Yinyu? Are you the Yinyu who defeated your fellow apprentice?"
The expressions of the several priests froze for a moment, and the voice continued, "I say, you are too useless, aren't you? Not only did you get demoted, but you went straight to hang out with ghosts. Compared to that Quan Yizhen, you're really doing terrible. And you're his senior brother..."
The sound came from Rong Guang, who was curled up in the jar. Pei Su immediately put a talisman on him to silence him.
Although serving under Jun Wu was no different than serving under City Lord Hua, the fact that he was once a priest, now a ghost messenger, sharing a room with so many former immortal friends was like a constable caught thief by his old colleagues. The air was filled with awkwardness. No one knew what to say, so Yinyu silently turned around and continued digging with his geomancer's shovel.
As they forged ahead, Pei Ming was still concerned about the whereabouts of his friend's younger brother. He said, "Since City Lord Hua was able to obtain the Earth Master's Shovel, does that mean you two are still connected? I remember when I asked His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, he defended you, saying that you weren't familiar with the Black Water Mysterious Ghost and probably didn't know his whereabouts. Could you please inform that Mysterious Ghost that if he didn't kill Qing Xuan, please release him?"
Hua Cheng said, "You're wrong. I really don't know where Black Water is."
"Then where did this shovel come from?"
Hua Cheng said, "I picked it up."
“…”
He just refused to admit it, so what could he do? No one could do anything to him, not to mention that in this situation, everyone still needed him. Pei Ming could only say, "Alright. City Lord Hua is really lucky, he can pick up magic weapons at random."
Ling Wen, who was carried on Pei Su's shoulders, said habitually: "This precious shovel belongs to the priest of the Heavenly Court. City Lord Hua, should we return it to its original owner..." Before he finished speaking, he realized that he was no longer working for the Heavenly Court and there was no need for him to help collect the debt, so he shut up.
Xie Lian rubbed his brow, still debating whether he should ask secretly, when he heard Hua Cheng whisper in a voice only he could hear, "Heishui threw it. After he stopped pretending to be a geomancer, he abandoned the shovel in the Ghost Market and ran away. Before entering Tonglu Mountain, I thought it might be useful, so I sent someone back to retrieve it."
Xie Lian said, “I see. I thought I’d found out Master Wind’s whereabouts… This precious shovel is perfect for dealing with mountain monsters. Sanlang is truly thoughtful and has planned everything.”
Hua Cheng said, "It's just that I was chased by this mountain monster so hard that year that I learned my lesson."
Xie Lian couldn't help but imagine Hua Cheng, a novice entering Tonglu Mountain, navigating each level one by one. Then, a few small silver lights shone in the darkness. The undead butterflies emitted a faint phosphorescent glow, acting as illumination. Xie Lian, holding a small silver butterfly in his hand, looked upward and asked, "What on earth is this mountain monster? Why is it attacking us?"
Hua Chengdao said, "It's hard to say what they are. They had already been there for a long time when I arrived. However, they didn't attack us. They would try to stop anyone who wanted to enter Tonglu Mountain. If they couldn't stop them, they would attack."
Xie Lian said, “An indiscriminate attack? If you think of it that way, it aligns with our goal. Right now, Master Yushi and His Highness Qiying are both in Tonglu Mountain. I hope they’re safe.”
Yinyu had been diligently digging and clearing a path, but when he mentioned Quan Yizhen, his movements seemed to falter slightly. Xie Lian noticed this and glanced at him, remembering that he had met Quan Yizhen once before, while wearing a mask. But Yinyu had acted as if he didn't know Quan Yizhen at all. What would happen if Quan Yizhen knew that the person standing before him was his senior brother?
Lingwen reluctantly raised his head and said, "Your Highness Yinyu, have you met His Highness Qiying? He has come to my Lingwen Palace and asked me to help find you many times."
Yin Yu paused for a moment and said, "Is that so?"
Ling Wen said, "Yes. When you first left, he came almost every day. Later, there was no news. He came once every three days, once a month, and recently, once a year. He always felt that there was a misunderstanding between you about the Jinyixian incident. He wanted to hear your explanation and help you explain it to others, but you have never returned."
Yinyu fell silent, only sighing and digging deeper. Xie Lian thought to himself, "He doesn't want to talk anymore."
Lingwen was also a smart man. He could tell what was going on, so he kept silent, leaving Yinyu to focus on clearing the way. An unknown amount of time passed before Yinyu said, "City Lord, Your Highness, we've advanced thirty miles underground. Shall we continue digging?"
The geomancer's shovel moved with the wind, like cutting tofu. Without a single drop of dirt, and with the group's eagerness to escape, they moved even faster than on land, covering a distance of thirty miles in a matter of moments. Xie Lian was slightly surprised to hear him ask about this, and he said gently, "You don't need to ask me."
Hua Cheng said, "It doesn't matter who you ask. What do you think, brother?"
Xie Lian thought for a moment and said, "We were almost out of the canyon when we were attacked by the mountain monsters. Thirty miles should be far enough. The air circulation underground is poor, and I'm afraid I'll get dizzy if I stay any longer. Let's dig upwards."
Yin Yu replied, "Yes!" He immediately changed direction, digging diagonally upwards, even creating beautiful earthen steps. Xie Lian thought to himself, "This guy is a really good assistant. Quick and efficient, no nonsense."
Everyone followed Yinyu up dozens of steps when Xie Lian suddenly felt a hard bump beneath his feet, neither stone nor mud. He lowered his head, squatting and digging shallowly with his hands. A frown crossed his face. Hua Cheng saw this and said, "Brother, don't move!" However, it was too late. When Xie Lian stood up, he was holding a skull in his left hand and another in his right. He said, "Everyone, I have a question. Have we dug into a mass grave?"
Pei Ming also pulled out a thigh bone from the dirt wall nearby and sighed, "Isn't that right? Judging from the bone structure, she must have been a stunningly beautiful woman with long legs. It's a pity to be buried here."
Hua Cheng said, "It's a shame. The legs are long, but these are the bones of a man."
When Pei Ming heard it wasn't a woman's, he threw the thigh bone away with a lack of interest. Hua Cheng continued, "To be precise, it's the bone of a man who's transformed into a ghost, so it must be infected with corpse poison."
Pei Ming spread his palms, and sure enough, the places where his hands had gripped the bones emitted a greenish aura of corpse energy. Ling Wen asked, "Can you control your hands? Can you?"
Pei Su said: "The corpse is poisonous and there is no harm. The general is a priest. After a while, it will be fine!"
To be honest, that thigh bone was not only slender but also quite strong. It was very powerful when swung. Pei Ming picked it up and wrapped a few strips of cloth around the end, apparently intending to use it as a weapon. He said, "Your Highness, how come you're okay holding those two heads?"
Xie Lian gently placed the two skeletons down and opened his hands to the crowd. It turned out that his palms were also cyan, but that cyan was rapidly fading.
Xie Lian said, “To be honest, I’ve been infected with corpse poison at least eight hundred times, if not a thousand. So my resistance is pretty strong now, so this level of corpse poison isn’t bad.”
Hearing this, everyone felt inexplicably amused and almost laughed. However, Hua Cheng didn't seem very happy. As he walked over, he crushed the two skeletons to pieces with one foot.
Xie Lian had been feeling quite relieved, but after hearing the two rough, almost ferocious "cracks," he sensed Hua Cheng's annoyance. He wanted to ask what was going on, but he felt as if he was the cause of his unhappiness, so he didn't dare ask.
After a while, Hua Cheng said calmly, "Why did you dig for so long?"
This tunnel should be no more than two feet from the surface. Even if digging diagonally upwards would take a little longer, it shouldn't take this long. Yin Yu said depressedly, "I'm also curious... Wait, we're here, we've dug through!"
As Hua Cheng finished asking, the geomancer's shovel made a hole at the tip. After digging through, Yin Yu dug a large hole with a few shovels and jumped out first, saying, "We're out...?"
Everyone climbed out, but when they stepped on the "ground," they all felt strange. Pei Ming asked, "Are we back on the ground? No way. Where is this place?"
The place they emerged from was definitely not the surface. The light was extremely dim. Ling Wen said, "It was still daytime when we were walking through the canyon just now. There's no reason why it would be dark so quickly."
Several dead butterflies flew out with a faint phosphorescent glow and circled around. Everyone finally saw where they were.
This was a vast cave. It was empty and spacious, with an extremely high and broad dome, resembling the inky night sky. Countless smaller caves arose in all directions, each leading in a different direction. Xie Lian asked curiously, "Was this place man-made, or was it formed naturally?"
Hua Cheng folded his arms and took a look, saying, "It's naturally formed."
Although he still answered every question Xie Lian asked, Xie Lian was still thinking about the small thing that was wrong with him just now. Hua Cheng said again, "The digging spot we chose just now happened to be right above this mountain. We dug into this mountain."
Xie Lian nodded and said, "I see. Then let's quickly find a way out."
Pei Su said: "But, where, should we go?"
This was truly a difficult problem. Excluding the tiny holes that were too small for a person to fit through, there were still seven or eight holes that a person could fit through. Xie Lian crossed his arms, thinking. Pei Su said, "Divide, group, move, and go? That's the fastest way."
Xie Lian lowered his arm and said, "No. Splitting up is a big no-no. If there's something lurking in the shadows, it'll be too easy to defeat them one by one. It's better to slowly find the right path than to disperse our forces."
Pei Ming held the new weapon made from the thigh bone in his hand, and seemed to be addicted to wielding it. As he swung it, he said, "Let's move together. Let's take this route first."
So, everyone chose a path and set out together. Hua Cheng and Xie Lian led the way. After walking in silence for a while, Xie Lian tentatively whispered, "San Lang?"
Hua Cheng's expression had already softened, and he asked, "Brother, do you want to ask something?"
Xie Lian couldn't bring himself to ask if he was a little angry just now, so he casually said, "Nothing. It's just... this cave is winding like intestines, and I feel a little dizzy walking around."
After hearing this, Hua Cheng immediately asked, "Do you want to take a break?"
He wasn't joking at all. Xie Lian hurriedly said, "No, no." Pei Ming said from behind, "Did I hear correctly, Your Highness? You get dizzy just walking?"
“…” Xie Lian also felt a little embarrassed by his casual remark just now. He pretended not to hear Pei Ming’s words, as if to make conversation, and said solemnly, “Everyone, those behind you must follow closely. This corner of the cave is prone to trouble…”
As he was speaking, he looked back, but was stunned. He grabbed Hua Cheng and said, "Sanlang!"
Hua Cheng asked, "What?" He turned around and frowned.
There was no one behind them!
Just a moment ago, Pei Ming had been taunting him from a distance behind him, but now, the dark cave was empty, with only the two of them left. Hua Cheng immediately put his arm around Xie Lian's shoulders and said in a deep voice, "Brother, stay with me and don't wander off."
Xie Lian also held his breath, his mind focused and alert, and asked, "Is there something hidden in the mountains?"
Hua Chengdao: "No. But, not having is scary."
Because this means that there is something that can approach them without anyone noticing and kidnap everyone!
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