In the early morning, Muyun Mountain is shrouded in mist, with a sea of clouds swirling around the mountainside. The sun rises slowly from the churning clouds, and the clouds are bathed in golden light. The trees in the mountains sway gently in the morning breeze, making the whole mountain appear so serene and tranquil.
At this moment, Tang Nian and Lou Mu stood at the foot of the mountain, looking up at the mountain road that was shrouded in mist.
Tang Nian frowned as she stared at the compass in her hand, its pointer swaying erratically. She then looked up at the winding mountain path before putting the compass back into her pack.
"Is Master Tang afraid and doesn't want to go up the mountain anymore?" Lou Mu couldn't help but laugh when he saw Tang Nian's actions.
Tang Nian glanced at Lou Mu and snorted coldly: "If Lord Lou is afraid, it's not too late to go back now. Don't be so scared that you can't get down the mountain."
Lou Mu smiled upon hearing this, glanced at Tang Nian indifferently, said nothing, and took the lead on the narrow path that only one person could pass through.
In the past, most of the local people made a living from Muyun Mountain, either by chopping wood or hunting. After Muyun County was established, the government regulated the area, and fewer and fewer people went up Muyun Mountain. The originally wide mountain path became narrower and narrower. If Tang Nian hadn't asked Magistrate Wang before coming, he probably wouldn't have been able to find the way up the mountain.
Tang Nian didn't take a step. Looking at Lou Mu's back, she felt like she had seen him somewhere before. This feeling made her very uneasy, and she wanted to escape from his side, but there seemed to be a voice in her heart that made her get closer to him.
She shook her head, clearing her mind of all distractions. After looking around and finding nothing amiss, she quickly jogged to catch up with Lou Mu.
Lou Mu turned his head, but the clouds and mist behind him obscured his figure. He wasn't in a hurry; he simply stood there and waited for Tang Nian to appear.
Tang Nian saw Lou Muxu leaning against a tree by the roadside, looking at her with a smile. She touched the tip of her nose shyly.
Lou Mu saw Tang Nian catching up, straightened up, patted off the dust that wasn't even there on his clothes, and prepared to continue up the mountain.
Tang Nian quickly ran to Lou Mu's side and stepped in front of him.
Although Lou Mu was accompanied by a fox spirit, Tang Nian was unsure whether Lou Mu was capable of protecting himself. In this situation, it was better for her to go ahead and explore the way.
Although she disliked Lou Mu, she still had to prioritize the overall situation at this time.
Vines or dead trees blocked their way from time to time along the path. Even after the thick fog on the mountain had been dispelled by the sun, the two had only reached halfway up the mountain.
The two barely spoke a word the entire way; the only sound on the mountain was the rustling of leaves in the wind.
"I heard from Jingyao," Lou Mu suddenly spoke, "that once things are over here, you plan to go to the capital?"
Tang Nian was startled and almost tripped over a dead branch at her feet. She swayed before she regained her balance.
Tang Nian coughed lightly twice to cover up her embarrassment.
She did indeed need to go to the capital to retrieve something, something she had only promised the god two days ago. Originally, the two of them planned to set off directly for the capital, but the incident in Muyun County caused a delay.
That brat Minghuan actually told that fox about it.
"Well, it's some personal business." Tang Nian kicked the branch that had tripped her aside in a fit of anger, without revealing her true feelings.
Lou Mu opened his mouth, about to say something next, when he suddenly noticed a small path.
"Tang Nian, come here for a moment."
Lou Mu squatted down, parted the waist-high weeds, and revealed a narrow path that was almost completely covered by wild grass on both sides. This path was even narrower than the path the two of them had taken to climb the mountain.
Tang Nian came closer and looked at Lou Mu with surprise when she saw the path that seemed impassable to most people.
As expected of the Grand Secretary, who is known as "Xiang Liu, the number one detective in the world," he was able to find even such a small path.
That's right, Lou Mu is the Grand Secretary of the Great Chu. Tang Nian originally went to the capital for another purpose: to find him.
It's all his fault for using Xiangliu's name to wander around.
Thinking of this, Tang Nian's eyes changed from surprise to some hostility.
Although the Xiangliu clan are ferocious beasts, and those ignorant people seem to think they have been wiped out, this title is not one that just anyone can use.
She knew this wasn't the time to be petty. Biting her lip, she decided to finish dealing with things here first; there would be plenty of time to handle this later.
Lou Mu stood up, patted his clothes, and said, "I'll go over here and take a look. You continue upstairs?"
Tang Nian glanced at the mountain path leading upwards, then at the small path that seemed to lead nowhere, and after some hesitation, said, "Let's go together."
She couldn't let Lou Mu go alone; it would be troublesome if something happened.
Tang Nian took the lead in clearing away the weeds and carefully walked forward, coughing occasionally or rubbing her nose.
Lou Mu looked at Tang Nian, who was clearly a germaphobe but was still walking ahead to clear the way, and a smile appeared on his lips, which he quickly suppressed.
Seemingly unaware of the rustling sound behind her, Tang Nian turned around and immediately saw Lou Mu still standing there, expressionless, seemingly lost in thought.
Tang Nian frowned, just about to call him, when Lou Mu pushed aside the grass and walked towards her.
Tang Nian pursed her lips, turned her head, and calmly chased away a poisonous snake hiding in the grass before continuing forward.
Following this path, Tang Nian and Lou Mu wandered around the mountain, and the original path leading up the mountain was long gone.
The sun rose higher and higher, but fortunately there were trees on both sides, and only a few specks of sunlight shone through the gaps in the leaves, forming small patches of light. Otherwise, Tang Nian would have been worried about forgetting to bring an umbrella.
After going around several turns, Tang Nian stopped, and Lou Mu quickly followed her and stopped as well.
At the end of the path was a small cave. The entrance was only wide enough for one person to pass through, but someone as tall as Lou Mu would have to stoop to enter.
"How about... I go in alone, and Lord Lou rests outside for now?"
Tang Nian's worries were not unfounded. If something happened in the cave, Lou Mu would have a very difficult time escaping.
Lou Mu didn't speak, but stared at Tang Nian with a smile in his eyes. Tang Nian touched her nose.
She understood what Lou Mu meant.
This man actually questioned whether he could find the key clue.
Tang Nian was very reluctant to admit it, but she was indeed not very good at this.
"Pretend I didn't say anything," Tang Nian said softly, turning her face away from Lou Mu.
After thinking for a moment, he took out a stack of talismans from his sleeve and stuffed them into Lou Mu's hand.
"Take this carefully, it's for your life."
At this moment, Tang Nian noticed a string of beads on Lou Mu's hand. Tang Nian felt that it looked familiar and wanted to take a closer look, but before Tang Nian could see it clearly, the beads were covered by his sleeve.
Tang Nian gently shook her head, turned around, carefully observed the area around the cave, found nothing unusual, and cautiously entered the entrance.
Lou Mu stepped forward, touched the edge of the cave, squinted and withdrew his hand, then followed Tang Nian into the cave.
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