Chapter 31 Underwater City
A tremendous feeling of suffocation washed over him, and his body was instantly soaked in cold water, but from beginning to end, Cheng Yuan never let go of Chu Jianshan's hand.
The three struggled in the undercurrent for quite some time. The more they tried to rise, the more they were pulled down by an unnamed force. After an unknown amount of time, Chu Jianshan almost choked to death on a mouthful of water before the three of them finally landed on the ground.
Yes, the ground, after passing through a stretch of rapids, was not muddy water plants, but rather dry soil and lush trees, just like the land on the shore.
There were also some very strange buildings that didn't look like places where people lived. Chu Jianshan looked around and indeed there wasn't a trace of people. But these buildings weren't abandoned, which meant that something else lived here.
A massive barrier isolates the waters above, making this a veritable underwater city.
The three walked along a main road for a long time, but didn't see anything. Bai Qianfan couldn't help but complain, "What kind of hell place is this?"
Having walked for so long, I haven't seen a single living thing besides grass and trees, and I don't know why I came here.
"That's right!"
Bai Qianfan seemed to suddenly remember something and hurriedly grabbed Cheng Yuan, asking, "Why did the mark on the ancient tree react to your blood?"
He had almost forgotten about it. The symbol was the old clan emblem of Linyimen. Logically, it shouldn't have any connection with Cheng Yuan, but it was Cheng Yuan's blood that had the effect, bringing them here.
Cheng Yuan shook his head: "I just wanted to give it a try. The city lord must have had a reason for sending me here. I didn't expect that I would actually play a role."
Bai Qianfan pressed on, "Do you have any memories before entering Changjin Mountain? Did you stay at Linyi Gate?"
"Never."
"That's really strange. Why would the things from Linyi Gate recognize your blood? I have a bad feeling about this."
Chu Jianshan was afraid that if he pressed Cheng Yuan too hard, it would remind Cheng Yuan of some unpleasant memories, so he quickly interrupted him: "No matter what Cheng Yuan's identity is, his relationship with us will never change. Let's leave this matter for later."
Bai Qianfan pursed her lips, knowing exactly what he was thinking, so she had no choice but to comply and stop asking.
"Who are you people!" A small, sharp voice came from behind them.
Bai Qianfan turned his head sharply, but saw no one.
"Here!"
Bai Qianfan followed the sound and looked down, where he saw a group of small creatures arrogantly confronting them with weapons in hand.
"This is... a fish?"
Bai Qianfan stared at it for a long time but still couldn't figure out what it was. It wasn't that his eyesight was bad; it was just that the thing looked really strange. Its body was mostly fish-shaped, but its head was bird-shaped with a sharp beak.
"You'd better surrender right now!" the little ones shouted again.
The deterrent effect of sitting on such a tiny creature that could kill someone with a single stomp was practically nonexistent. Bai Qianfan found it somewhat amusing and squatted down to tease them.
"What kind of little monsters are you? Where are your parents?"
One of the little creatures raised its head, and said with a small tantrum, "You won't listen to a polite toast, so...you'll eat..."
What did it want to eat? It couldn't remember for a moment.
Another one approached it and whispered, "You'll have to suffer the consequences."
"Yes, you'll have to suffer the consequences! Get out of here right now! Or don't blame us for being impolite!"
"Hey!" Bai Qianfan laughed angrily, pointing a finger at it: "I'm not leaving, what can you do about it?"
The little creature was furious and suddenly jumped up. Although it wasn't even as high as Bai Qianfan's knees when he was squatting down, it managed to bite his finger.
"ah--"
Bai Qianfan shouted and stood up. He didn't expect that the little thing's bite would hurt so much. If he hadn't been afraid to bully the little thing, he would have really shown these little things what it means to be forced to drink a penalty cup when you don't listen to reason.
"Stop fooling around, come back here."
A pleasant female voice came from behind. Chu Jianshan turned around and saw a woman in blue sitting on the roof.
She smiled at Chu Jianshan, then landed lightly, using a large bubble to encircle the group of little creatures and take them away. She then walked to the three of them.
"I am truly sorry to have disturbed your enjoyment. Those little brats are unruly, please forgive me."
Bai Qianfan finally saw a living person, a gentle and beautiful woman. She pushed Chu Jianshan behind her to make herself stand out, and spoke in a high-pitched voice like a refined gentleman.
"Ahem, young lady, please don't worry. I'm not such a narrow-minded person. I just don't know... what exactly are those things?"
The girl covered her mouth with her sleeve and smiled faintly, almost stealing Bai Qianfan's soul: "They are just wild demons born of nature, don't worry about them. By the way, my name is Luo Qiu. It must have been very difficult for the three of you to get here. Why don't I take you to a place to rest and get a good night's sleep?"
Bai Qianfan chuckled foolishly, "Okay, let's go to sleep. You're so considerate of me."
Seeing that Bai Qianfan was no longer of any use, Chu Jianshan turned to Cheng Yuan and gave him a wink. Cheng Yuan understood and asked Luo Qiu, "How long has Miss Luo been here?"
Luo Qiu thought for a moment and replied, "I don't remember very clearly, but it should be at least a hundred years ago."
Chu Jianshan raised an eyebrow: "That means this barrier has existed for at least a hundred years. Such a powerful barrier is not something that could be created by human power."
Luo Qiu guessed the meaning behind Chu Jianshan's words and said directly, "Young master, there's no need to test me. I really don't know who created this barrier. I'm just a little demon who was born here."
Seeing the beauty's aggrieved look, Bai Qianfan clicked his tongue and nudged Chu Jianshan's arm: "How can you talk to Miss Luo like that? She kindly took us in, and you're making assumptions about her!"
Chu Jianshan rolled his eyes at him, shut up and stopped talking. Bai Qianfan usually seemed quite clever, but he was completely doomed when he met a pretty girl.
Luo Qiu led them to a fairly tall house, then turned to them and said, "I'm sorry to trouble you three to stay here for the night. Please let me know if you encounter any inconvenience."
Chu Jianshan nodded, and called Luo Qiu back as she was about to leave.
Luo Qiu turned around: "Is there anything else, Young Master Chu?"
"Oh, I just wanted to ask, what should we do if we want to get ashore?"
"Young master, there's no need to worry. This barrier won't stop you. You can leave whenever you want."
Chu Jianshan smiled and thanked her, but his eyes darkened again as she turned away.
Cheng Yuan noticed Chu Jianshan's unusual behavior and pointed out, "Is there something wrong with her?"
Chu Jianshan nodded slightly: "From beginning to end, she never asked our names."
Cheng Yuan looked down at him and instantly understood. Luo Qiu didn't know their names, but she called them "Young Master Chu". How did she know that one of the three of them had the surname Chu?
Moreover, this girl was really strange. Normal people would ask a few questions when they see strangers, or like those little things, they would not welcome them. But Luo Qiu did not show any of these behaviors. Instead, it was as if she knew they were coming. She remained extremely calm from beginning to end.
Chu Jianshan gave a firm order: "We can't stay here any longer. Once we find what we've found, we'll leave immediately."
The two nodded and followed Chu Jianshan into the room.
Meanwhile, inside Qingyao City.
"Lin Mumu! What are you doing!"
Ji Shi shouted, took several steps back while holding his sword, his eyes full of vigilance.
Lin Mumu smiled teasingly: "Well, you've only been here a short time, and you already dare to call me by my full name?"
Ji Shi mustered his courage and pointed his sword at her: "You, you, you... don't think I don't hit women. You dare to come over here today and see what happens!"
Lin Mumu took a step forward.
"Try taking one more step!"
Lin Mumu took another step forward.
Ji Shi: "..."
"If you do that again..."
Lin Mumu completely lost her patience and turned to the guards, saying, "Men, tie him up!"
"Aaaaaah!! Don't come any closer!!"
Ji Shi's wailing was useless; after struggling for a while, he was still tied to the tree trunk.
Lin Mumu walked towards him, and Ji Shi struggled even more fiercely: "What...what do you want to do?"
Lin Mumu narrowed her eyes, smiling maliciously, her slender fingers stroking Shang Jishi's cheek as she lowered her voice and said, "Guess what?"
Ji Shi's heart pounded like thunder. He swallowed hard and stammered, "You...you mustn't do anything rash!"
Lin Mumu remained silent, only smiling at him, which made Ji Shi feel uneasy.
"Are you ready?" Lin Mumu suddenly asked, then turned around and went back into the house to get something.
"Hey, wait, what are you preparing?! What are you going to do?!"
The more Ji Shi struggled, the tighter the rope bound him. When he saw Lin Mumu take out a series of weapons, including a long sword, a whip, and darts, from the house, his heart sank to the bottom of the sea.
"Hehe..." Ji Shi chuckled bitterly, his expression one of wanting to cry: "Lord Lin, I only said a few bad things about you and you overheard it. You don't have to dismember me on the spot, do you?"
Seeing that Ji Shizhen was about to cry, Lin Mumu kindly comforted him, saying, "Don't worry, you won't die."
Turning to Ji Shi, she generously let him choose first: "Pick whichever you like."
Ji Shi: "..."
Is this any different from choosing a way to die?
Ji Shi finally stood up for himself: "I'm not picky!"
"Not picky?"
Lin Mumu frowned as she thought, "You like them all! Okay, I'll let you try them all."
Ji Shi: "Huh?"
"No, no, I didn't mean I'm not picky! You, you, you, don't be impulsive!!"
call out--
The sound of the dart cutting through the air stopped abruptly. Ji Shi, panting heavily, slowly opened his eyes.
A plum blossom dart was firmly embedded in the tree trunk behind his ear, with two strands of his own hair still attached to it.
Lin Mumu clapped her hands, put her hands on her hips, and said, "Your aim is so-so."
Ji Shi was truly enraged this time, and shouted at her, "Are you crazy?! You actually came?!"
Lin Mumu raised an eyebrow: "Don't tell me I'm joking?"
Ji Shi's eyes were red-rimmed, and he chuckled awkwardly, "You really don't care about human life at all?"
Indeed, she could kill dozens of people at the enthronement ceremony without hesitation, so what was he compared to her?
Seeing that he was really serious, Lin Mumu put away her teasing mood, pursed her lips, and prepared to take those things back, lest she really scare him when she turned around.
But the moment she turned around, Ji Shi said something to her again.
"You deserve to have ended up like this, you deserve to be abandoned by everyone."
Lin Mumu stopped moving abruptly, her back to Ji Shi, her eyes revealing no emotion, but the fingers gripping the plum blossom dart tightened continuously, drawing a trace of blood.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
