After a day of searching, Yue Xiyuan and his companions finally found the dark caves in the northeast, northwest, and west directions. At this moment, they were waiting for the meal prepared by Yan An.
Besides researching poisons, Yan An's favorite thing to do is cook. She hadn't been of much help with those formations, so she decided to make some delicious food to reward them.
"Alright, come and eat." Yan An placed several bowls of noodles on the bar.
"Your Highness, what is this? It smells so good." Qi Hongchen now understood Su Jingzhan's desire to include it in his dowry. If he could enjoy it every day, no! Often... well, occasionally would be fine too. He would want to enjoy these things too.
"This is called Zha Jiang Mian (noodles with soybean paste). It comes with some cucumber and other green vegetables. It has meat, vegetables, and carbohydrates—perfect." She was a little short on time, but she managed to recreate it to about 80-90% of its original appearance.
"Come and try it, everyone." Yan An mixed the noodles with chopsticks and handed them to Yue Xiyuan. He then moved the bowl in front of Yue Xiyuan to his own side and mixed it again.
Seeing this scene, Su Jingzhan and Qi Hongchen instantly lost their appetite. "Hey~ Junior Sister treats Xiyuan so well, Xiyuan is so lucky." Su Jingzhan's cheeky expression made Qi Hongchen want to give him a good beating.
Yan An didn't care, since today's formation was broken entirely thanks to Yue Xiyuan, and besides, Yue Xiyuan often "served" her on ordinary days.
"Xiyuan, what is the background of this Ji Yuan? He has the Thousand Faces Search and Kill Formation, the Heavenly Wind Silver Rain Formation, and even the Withered Bone Illusion Formation. He is really too ruthless."
The Thousand-Faced Assassination Formation is a variation of the Eight Trigrams Gate-Seizing Formation, combined with the refraction of sunlight. Each person in the formation holds a knife in one hand and a multifaceted silver plaque in the other. By utilizing the special terrain and the refraction of sunlight, a peculiar illusion is created: one person becomes four, four people become eight. Those who enter the formation cannot distinguish between reality and illusion, and are confused by the feeling of being attacked from all directions.
The Heavenly Wind and Silver Rain Formation is known for its extremely precise coordination, possessing nine transformations: "heaven, earth, wind, rain, sun, moon, cloud, snow, and frost," which complement each other and are endlessly generated. It is further enhanced by oddly shaped weapons such as chains and meteor hammers, making it extremely powerful.
As soon as the skeleton illusion array was activated, countless skeletons rushed in from all directions, accompanied by eerie screams and the creaking sound of bones grinding against each other, which was quite terrifying. These skeletons seemed to be made of white bones, and they swayed with every step they took, but they moved with surprising speed when they moved, and even with the blood sword protecting them, it was difficult to escape.
Su Jingzhan ate a bite of noodles while cursing Ji Yuan. Mmm... these noodles are really delicious, but Ji Yuan is a real dog!
"The legend goes that Ji Yuan once traveled abroad and accidentally obtained a secret manual. That manual was a wordless book that no one could understand. Unexpectedly, Ji Yuan turned out to be a genius in this field and became a master of mechanical devices."
After all, it was just a rumor, and no one knew whether it was true or not. After all, Ji Yuan's reputation as a master mechanic only lasted for a few years before it was erased.
"Now only the dark cave in the southwest remains."
"Finally, I can go back. I haven't seen the sun outside for two days." Yan An really wants to go back to his bed in the Yan residence and get a good night's sleep.
But Su Jingzhan and Qi Hongchen didn't want to. They were so reluctant to part with the delicious food, the sweet green of Tianshan snow, and the comfortable hot springs of Tianshan...
After the four finished their meal and cleaned up the dishes, Yan An's consciousness flashed out of the space, heading southwest.
"Yue Xiyuan, what kind of formation do you think it could be this time? Whatever it is, just don't let anything I'm afraid of appear," Yan An murmured.
This is deep in the mountains and forests, so it's not surprising to find such things here. Yan An was terrified just thinking about it.
"An'an, what are you afraid of?" Yue Xiyuan asked curiously. He had been paying close attention to Yan An's preferences, but he had never known what Yan An was afraid of. He wanted to take this opportunity to learn more about Yan An.
"Huh? What could I be afraid of? Who am I!" Yan An patted his chest.
His An'an is so cute. Even if she has something she's afraid of, what does it matter? He can protect her and protect her for the rest of his life.
"Xiyuan, look! It's a hidden cave, the last one!" Su Jingzhan pointed to a cave entrance ahead, almost jumping for joy.
Yan An looked in the direction Su Jingzhan pointed, and suddenly a brightly colored snake poked its head out from the tree next to it, flicking its tongue at Yan An. Then another one appeared, followed by a third, a fourth, a fifth... Soon, snakes of all sizes, lengths, and thicknesses surrounded the entrance to the hole.
"Ah!" Yan An suddenly saw so many snakes and his consciousness flashed into the space. Because Yue Xiyuan had been holding Yan An's hand, he was also taken in.
"Huh? Where are Xiyuan and the Princess?" Qi Hongchen hadn't noticed for a moment, and Yue Xiyuan and the others had disappeared.
"Um...maybe she went in?" He heard his junior sister shout and then disappear.
"An'an, don't be afraid." Yue Xiyuan finally understood what Yan An was afraid of. He didn't expect that Yan An was right. There really was a snake at the last cave entrance.
Yue Xiyuan embraced Yan An, gently stroking her back with his left hand and stroking her hair with his right.
"I'm fine, you go ahead."
Yan An wanted to let go of Yue Xiyuan, but she didn't expect Yue Xiyuan to hold her so tightly. She was afraid of snakes, but not to this extent. After all, she had an even bigger one in her hand. She just felt that snakes, these soft-bodied animals, were too smooth, too creepy, and too disgusting.
"I'll stay here with you. Let them break the formation. An'an is more important." Yue Xiyuan still didn't let go of her.
"I'm really fine. My senior brothers must be worried soon, so I'll stay here and wait until you've taken care of things before I go out. Oh, and take the insect repellent powder that my senior brother gave me; it should be useful."
Yue Xiyuan only let go of Yan An after confirming that she was alright. "Are you sure you don't need me to stay here with you?"
Good heavens, Yue Xiyuan actually seemed a little aggrieved, as if Yan An was a heartless man. "Yes, you should go now."
Yan An handed the medicine powder to Yue Xiyuan and then saw Yue Xiyuan out.
"Xiyuan, is Junior Sister alright?"
"fine."
"That's good. By the way, Xiyuan, Hongchen and I just checked it out, and it seems to be a snake den, mostly infested with venomous snakes. I think the insect repellent powder should be effective."
Yue Xiyuan handed the medicine powder he had brought out from his spatial storage to Su Jingzhan, saying, "An'an already gave it to me."
Yue Xiyuan and the other two scattered the powder along the path on the ground. Sure enough, the snakes around were driven away and did not come near.
"That's really impressive. Let's go in quickly, Xiyuan."
After an incense stick's time, Yue Xiyuan and his team recorded the basic information about the last hidden cave. "An'an, we're done. Let's go back."
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