Her hands trembled as she tightly grasped Li Xi's hand, her eyes filled with shock and grief.
"How could this happen... how could this happen..." Hong Gu murmured to herself, as if she couldn't accept this cruel reality.
She closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face, her heart filled with an overwhelming grief.
Li Xi gently patted her grandmother's back, wanting to comfort her, but she didn't know where to begin.
She understood that the pain of losing a loved one could not be comforted with words.
Although she wasn't the original owner, her body seemed to know the pain, and her whole body trembled.
At this moment, Qin Xiaolin quietly stepped forward and gently wiped the tombstone with his sleeve.
Surprisingly, after more than thirty years of vicissitudes, this cemetery, which should have been buried by weeds and trees, is still clearly visible.
It's as if some mysterious force is protecting this place, shielding it from the erosion of time.
Li Xi and Hong Gu also stepped forward, brushing away the dust from the tombstone to reveal its original appearance.
“But our clan leader,” Hong Gu said, her eyes brimming with tears, “is the most talented person among us.”
She wiped the tombstone next to her again and continued, "This is the clan chief's wife. She was a great beauty, upright and kind, and very friendly to everyone."
"And these are my parents..."
Hong Gu can recite the names and stories of these people one by one; they are all her relatives.
These once vibrant lives are now nothing but cold tombstones...
After a long while, after cleaning the dust off the tombstone, Hong Gu suddenly knelt down.
Her body trembled slightly, and tears streamed down her cheeks.
Upon seeing this, Li Xi knelt down without hesitation.
Hong Gu lowered her head and gazed silently at the tombstone before her, letting the sorrow in her heart be fully released.
At this moment, the whole world seemed to freeze, with only a gentle breeze bringing a touch of coolness.
The three of them returned to the village before dark.
Hong Gu led the two to a cave, a place where the tribe used to store food for the winter, but these caves are no longer there.
The night was chilly and the wind was howling; it was better to spend the night here than to freeze outside. The houses in the village were already dilapidated, so it was impossible to spend the night there.
Qin Xiaolin spread the dry grass on the ground and then picked up some dry branches from outside.
Hong Gu said from the side, "Let's rest here tonight, and I'll take you somewhere tomorrow morning."
Li Xi took out three sleeping bags from her backpack, untied them, and shook them; the sleeping bags instantly inflated.
This is a simple sleeping bag that Li Xi made from duck down collected by others. She also made some padded jackets, which are light and warm to wear.
"Xiaoxi, what's this?" Hong Gu looked curiously at the thing in her hand.
Li Xi explained with a smile, "This is a sleeping bag. It's much warmer than a blanket, and it's also much lighter and easier to carry."
Hong Gu took the sleeping bag, examined it carefully, and exclaimed in amazement, "It's amazing! I've never seen anything like it before."
Qin Xiaolin also curiously came over to take a look, his eyes sparkling with admiration: "Xiaoxi, you always manage to come up with some novel things, it's truly admirable."
Li Xi smiled, laid out her sleeping bag, and crawled inside. Qin Xiaolin and Hong Gu also found a spot, laid out their sleeping bags, and prepared to rest.
The cold wind howled through the night, but the warmth inside the sleeping bag brought a sense of security.
The next morning, after eating some dry rations, the three of them headed into the deep mountains.
Since regaining her inner strength, Hong Gu has become much lighter when walking.
She used a little of her inner strength to leap onto the tree trunk and looked down at the people below, saying, "Let's see if you can keep up."
After saying this, she moved like a nimble bird, darting and leaping through the dense forest, sometimes disappearing into the thick green leaves, sometimes soaring lightly among the treetops. She showed no signs of being nearly sixty years old.
Li Xi and Qin Xiaolin exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.
Although the two of them were also experts, they appeared somewhat clumsy in the face of Hong Gu's agile and unrestrained lightness skills.
Li Xi smiled slightly, moved swiftly, and leaped onto the tree trunk, following closely behind Hong Gu's figure.
Qin Xiaolin followed closely behind.
The three of them weaved through the woods, as if enacting a silent chase. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, creating dappled patterns that added a touch of mystery and fantasy to the chase.
Hong Gu moved with incredible speed and grace, seemingly blending seamlessly into the forest.
Sometimes she climbed to the top of a tall tree, and sometimes she leaped from one tree to another, like a bird soaring freely in the forest.
Li Xi and Qin Xiaolin followed closely behind. Although their lightness skills were not as superb as Hong Gu's, they were still among the best in the martial arts world. They pursued relentlessly, trying to close the distance with Hong Gu.
As their pursuit deepened, they gradually discovered that the forest seemed to hold some kind of secret.
Ancient ruins are faintly visible among the trees, and blurry patterns and words are carved on the stone walls, as if telling a forgotten history.
Hong Gu seemed to know these ruins inside and out. She would sometimes stop to observe them carefully, and sometimes mutter to herself, as if she were trying to decipher these ancient secrets.
Li Xi and Qin Xiaolin also stopped and curiously observed the surrounding ruins.
Finally, Hong Gu stopped in front of a huge stone tablet.
She stared intently at the stone tablet, where lines of ancient characters were carved. Although weathered by wind and rain, they were still faintly discernible.
Hong Gu gently stroked the stone tablet, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.
“This… seems to be an ancient altar,” Li Xi said softly, her voice echoing clearly in the quiet forest.
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaolin couldn't help but move closer to examine the inscription on the stone tablet.
Although they did not understand these ancient characters, they could still sense a mysterious and solemn atmosphere.
“Yes, this is a secret that our ancient people guarded back then!” Hong Gu took a deep breath, as if she wanted to inhale the thousands of years recorded on the stone tablet into her lungs.
This huge stone tablet stands silently, as if telling the story of the vicissitudes and changes of time.
The patterns and symbols engraved on it are ancient and mysterious tribal totems and a unique writing system.
Despite enduring countless storms and the passage of time, some parts can still be vaguely discerned.
Standing in front of the stone tablet, Qin Xiaolin and Li Xi exchanged a glance, reading the same doubt in each other's eyes.
Hong Gu stroked the totem on the stone tablet and patiently explained: "In the eyes of the world, our ancient people are the most powerful race, and everyone wants to obtain our power."
This was also what our ancestors foresaw, which is why the ancient tribes chose to remain hidden from the world, only appearing when chaos reigned...
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