Ningning was awakened by a scream.
It is still dark and the sun has not yet risen. There was total silence all around, and that heartbreaking scream stood out particularly, like the shriek of a boiling kettle, burning a big hole in the silent night.
The reason why this voice attracted her attention at the first moment was simply because it was too familiar.
——Although his voice was broken, listening to the ghostly howling sound and the mournful tone as if he had seen a ghost, it was estimated that no one in the entire cultivation world could make the sound exactly the same except He Zhizhou.
Ningning's sleepiness was completely disturbed by the shout. She suddenly opened her eyes and found that Pei Ji had sat up from the quilt not far away.
As if he felt her gaze, the young man looked over with his eyelashes lowered.
There was still a hint of sleepiness in his eyes, and a misty light floated in his dark pupils.
As he looked at Ningning without any guard, a few strands of messy hair brushed across his face restlessly, and the little bit of red at the end of his eyes set off the teardrop mole, making him less cold and aggressive, and more like an ignorant boy next door.
Moreover, the collar was a little messy, with layers of wrinkles like ripples, revealing a thin and pale neck.
There was only one person's distance between the two of them, although Pei Ji had placed his sword between them at some point, barely serving as the 38th parallel...
But now that they woke up together, and when they looked at each other and saw Pei Ji's appearance, they always had the illusion that they were sleeping in the same bed and were very close to each other.
Stop, stop, stop.
She, she, she, she is thinking about something weird!
Ningning's ears turned red with embarrassment at this thought. She had to lower her head hastily and touched her ears pretending nothing had happened: "That sound just now, was it——"
Pei Ji nodded and replied: "It's Senior Brother He."
Although He Zhizhou had caused trouble for him before, the two were unfamiliar with each other at that time, so misunderstandings were inevitable. What's more, Pei Ji had been accustomed to other people's cold eyes and deliberate targeting since he was a child, so he didn't take the matter to heart.
——Everything and everyone around him is unimportant to him. He doesn’t care, so there is naturally no need to care about it.
The scream that came without any warning was so tragic that there was no sound after it. Ningning was worried, and rushed to the source of the sound with Pei Ji.
The woods were filled with towering ancient trees that blocked out the sun. The cave they were in before was actually close to the exit of the jungle. After walking through the grass and trees for a while, they suddenly saw a bright future ahead.
The surging green tide slowly receded, and the dawning sky could be vaguely seen.
It is not yet the hour of Mao, but dawn has just arrived. The morning sun is held in the mouth of the distant mountains, and only a few thin pink and white rays of light overflow, like water stains flowing on paper, and soon cover the entire sky.
The sky was as clear as a huge, boundless mirror, and as beautiful as a virtual image under the morning light. A few stars dotted it randomly, and fell into the lake outside the woods.
It was not until this moment that Ningning understood why this secret place was called "Water Mirror".
Looking around, you can see five or six circular lakes connected together. The lake was calm and windless, blue as jade, and under the dome that was just beginning to light up, it looked like a few round pearls.
The light of the water and the light of the sky blend into one, reflecting the shadows of the stars and clouds in the sky. At first glance, it really looks like a thin mirror placed steadily on the ground.
However, although the scene was beautiful, there was no sign of He Zhizhou, and the surroundings were eerily quiet, and there was no way to find the source of his screams.
——Although he is not very reliable, it is impossible for him to lose balance while walking and fall directly into the lake.
Ning Ning was somewhat confused. She took a few steps forward in a daze and called out tentatively, "He Zhizhou?"
No one answered.
The closer she got to the lake, the clearer she could see.
The dark night has gradually faded away, and the rippling lake water is illuminated by the morning light, with ripples like fish scales. There was milk-like white mist rising all around, making the vision unclear. When she looked down at the lake, she could see her own shadow.
Ningning was suddenly stunned.
There was no wind or waves around, but her shadow shook violently for no reason, and Pei Ji's low voice sounded behind her: "Senior Sister!"
Along with this voice, there was also a splash of water breaking out -
A bony, blood-stained hand suddenly stretched out from the calm lake and grabbed Ningning's ankle!
Ever since she heard He Zhizhou's scream, she guessed that there was something fishy going on in this secret realm, so she became more cautious and stayed alert at all times.
Now, when he first saw this hideous and terrifying bloody hand, he quickly calmed himself down, recited the mantra silently as he leaped behind him, and stabbed straight out with several sharp sword lights.
The hand was unable to dodge and was suddenly cut by the lightning-fast sword energy, and several streams of thick black blood gushed out of the skin.
Perhaps it was in great pain, and it moved up and down, splashing large amounts of water. What is incredible is that the water splashes are completely different from the clear green surface of the lake. Instead, they are drops of smelly blood, with an extremely strange black and red color.
What is...going on?
Before Ningning could recover from the counterintuitive scene before her, the hand stained with blood by the sword leaped up from the lake shore. Amid the sound of splashing water, a shrill, murderous cry was heard.
The owner of the bloody hand looks like a human but is not a human. Although he has the same facial features and limbs as ordinary people, his body structure and proportions are too weird.
His eyes were hollow and lifeless, three times the size of an ordinary person's, with bloodshot veins like scarlet vines filling the entire pupils. Where the nose should have been, there were only two small round holes.
If I have to say, it's probably the dwarf version of Voldemort. He had no nose or hair, and was only as tall as Ningning's chest. His arms and legs were as thin as dry firewood, but his nails were quite long, like knives covered in dirt and blood.
Even though she had made sufficient mental preparation, Ningning would never have imagined that such a big bald head would emerge from the seemingly calm lake, like a boiled egg just out of water.
She had never seen such a monster before, and she frowned at the stench it emitted. Pei Ji beside him had a cold expression on his face. Just as he was about to draw his sword, he suddenly heard a whistling gust of wind passing by his ears.
An arrow came out of the forest at lightning speed, carrying a few bright yellow electric lights visible to the naked eye, and pierced the monster's chest.
The arrow was extremely powerful, and the lightning spread out like a spider web the moment it touched its body, quickly covering its entire chest, causing the monster to tremble and scream at the top of its lungs.
“This is the mirror ghost in the lake.”
A female voice that had never been heard before came with the wind, and the tone was calm and peaceful: "Are you the immortals who broke into this place? If you want to survive, you must not go near the water."
Ningning turned her head following the sound and saw a girl who looked quite young at the entrance of the woods beside her.
She didn't seem to be a disciple participating in the trial. She was wearing a moon-white short-sleeved outfit and her long hair was tied into a simple and cool ponytail. The large bow in his hand was a flaming crimson color, and the bowstring emitted a faint golden light that was as bright as lightning.
The most eye-catching thing are the two furry snow-white fox ears on her head.
At this time, the breeze was blowing, causing the thin and long fur to sway slowly, looking delicate and cute, which was quite inconsistent with the girl's deep and mature appearance.
"Water?"
The monster was hit by the arrow and stumbled into the lake. After ripples appeared, all sound disappeared again. Ningning glanced at the calm water surface and said, "Thank you for your help, young lady. I wonder what the secret is in this mysterious lake?"
After a pause, he said anxiously, "One of our friends may have been dragged into the water. Do you have any way to rescue him, girl?"
He Zhizhou's scream was extremely shrill, he must have encountered danger on the road.
Judging from what Ningning had just experienced, he should have also been attacked by this unknown monster. The reason why no one was found was that he was in such a panic that he had no time to escape and was dragged into the lake.
The girl in tight clothes frowned and shook her head: "You two don't know, this lake is extremely dangerous, and there are countless demons and monsters trapped. They are controlled by the formation and cannot escape easily, but if someone stands on the water, they will break out of the formation through the reflection in the water."
Ning Ning had never heard of such a weird formation. She exchanged glances with Pei Ji and listened to her continue, "If you fall into the water, you will be pulled into another barrier in the water mirror... Unless you have a high level of cultivation, it is very dangerous."
He Zhizhou has the Whetstone System, so he should be protected by the system. Moreover, even in the original book, there is no mention that he would die so early.
But the original work is more unreliable than one might imagine, and it often hits the nail on the head. Ning Ning was still worried and was about to go into the water to look for him when she heard Pei Ji's voice beside her: "You stay on the shore, I'll go in and look for him."
——He actually saw what she was thinking at a glance, and before Ningning could say anything, he took over the responsibility.
"Are you crazy? Almost all of my people survived the underwater danger—"
The girl in tight clothes didn't expect him to be so decisive and bold. Before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by another unexpected scream.
All that could be heard was the mournful and panicky cry, which never stopped, and the cry for help turned into the sound of a dolphin.
If you listen carefully, you will find that in addition to this voice, there is another very familiar, slightly low voice, also calling out in a faint and resentful voice, with a hint of crying.
Ning Ning was silent for a moment, a bright color appeared in her eyes, and she blinked at Pei Ji: "Is it him?"
The young man in black holding the sword nodded expressionlessly: "Yes."
=====
He Zhizhou felt that today must be his unlucky day.
First, he showed off his acting skills with his archenemy in public, but the whole process was captured by surveillance cameras and he had to go to the Criminal Court. After being picked up by Tian Xianzi with great difficulty, his head was stuck on the flying boat, and when he got off the boat and entered the secret realm, his neck was almost broken.
And now.
It was bad enough that he couldn't even find a teammate. Who would have thought that when he got up and planned to wash his face, as soon as he lowered his head, a strange creature that looked like neither human nor ghost jumped out of the lake and pulled him into the water.
No, it shouldn't be called "water".
The lake in this secret realm was simply deceptive on the outside. It looked clean and peaceful, but when he lost his balance and fell into it, he found that the bottom was full of smelly mud and black blood.
There were also several aliens swimming towards him.
At that moment, He Zhizhou's heart was dead.
He was dirty, very dirty.
But he is, after all, a positive and optimistic young man who values life as much as money. Even in such a dangerous situation, he will fight for survival with all his might.
At the critical moment when he was about to be dragged into the black whirlpool in the water, He Zhizhou finally drew his sword and cut off the sharp claws of the aliens that were imprisoned on his legs, and swam towards the shore like a dog paddling.
He fled in a panic, his body covered with mud and blood, emitting a horrible stench, and his legs were covered with scratches from nails. Due to extreme fear and pain, he could not even walk properly.
This state is really too disgraceful to be seen in public.
Destroy it, quickly.
There was no telling when the monster in the lake would jump out again. He Zhizhou was so exhausted that he was about to run away when he suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from the bushes in front of him.
When I looked up, I saw a familiar face.
——Junior brother Xu Ye from the Wanjian Sect stood in front of him in a daze, his pure and inexperienced eyes full of fear. When he saw He Zhizhou take a step forward and approach him, he even revealed a look of disgust and panic.
He Zhizhou took another step forward. Since he had swallowed a lot of water before, he was planning to talk to him. However, as soon as he opened his mouth, a pool of blood covered with mud came out.
Xu Ye was almost frightened to death by this scene. He raised his sword tremblingly: "You, don't come over here!"
Xu Ye was about to cry.
He had just escaped from a fierce fight between two sects, and after wandering around in circles, he got lost. After finally getting out of the jungle with great difficulty—
He actually saw a pile of mud covered in blood, grinning at him.
Oh, it’s not mud, it looks like a person.
——That’s strange! There was clearly no mud or blood nearby, so how could someone be so covered in dirt? This must not be a human being, not a human being! ! !
He wanted to negotiate or resist.
But the monster actually took a step closer to him, and its cherry-like mouth spit out a puddle of blood-red muddy water.
This is too horrible.
What it spit out was not only mud, but also Xu Ye's broken heart.
Xu Ye is timid to begin with, and he has been growing up with his senior sister. While others are mama’s boys, he is relatively fresh and unworldly, and can be called the cultivation version of a “sister’s boy”.
The young master had never seen such a horrifying sight before, and he howled out immediately: "Help!"
Xu Ye turned around and ran, and the red and black monsters behind him chased after him.
It was even more terrifying when it ran, its long legs trembling and coiled into an extremely strange bow shape, and streams of blood gushed out, like a moving fountain chasing him.
The monster's voice was hoarse, and mud and blood gushed out when he spoke. He seemed to be tripped by something while chasing, but he didn't stop. Instead, he endured the severe pain in his legs and crawled and shouted: "Don't... go... save... me... gurgle..."
Don't leave, there will be ghosts! Are you water ghosts all so persistent in finding a scapegoat?
Xu Ye ran, cried, and retched: "Senior Sister! Where are you? Save me, Senior Sister!!!"
The monster behind was crawling on its hands and feet, spitting out mud: "Gulululu...Ye...Don't go..."
He is the wind and he is the sand, you chase me to the end of the world.
Then the sun rose and a hint of paleness appeared on the horizon.
Ningning would never have imagined that when she followed the sound and found Xu Ye and He Zhizhou, she would see this scene.
Xu Ye was crying so hard that her eyes were almost tearful. He Zhizhou pulled her right leg back and she lay on the ground motionless, like a broken doll.
He Zhizhou laughed wildly and sadly, crawling on the ground with trembling legs, carrying Xu Ye's right foot on his shoulder.
He looked truly terrifying. At first glance, he looked like someone who had just emerged from a pile of mud to kill someone. His entire body was covered in golden armor, and in the dawn light that had not yet dispersed, he looked like a lump of mud that had been carved into a human shape.
Then he saw Ningning and opened his mouth with a silly smile.
He fell directly to the ground, spitting out a pool of thick black blood.
Ningning: ...
There is no hope. Destroy it quickly.
=====
Lakeside, ancient banyan tree.
A girl in a red dress stood on the treetop, hiding her presence. She looked at the scene by the lake with interest, with a leisurely smile on her lips.
She exuded a refreshing fragrance, which attracted several butterflies and birds to fly around her. However, the girl did not care and took out a communication talisman from her bosom.
[She has been found. ］
She wrote leisurely, with a smile on her face. After thinking for a while, she set her eyes on the strange woman next to Ningning, picked up the pen and added: "However... the Xuanxu sect seems to have met someone unexpected. There must be something fishy about the water in the secret realm. I don't mind playing with them." ］
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