goodbye
The heavy rain lasted all night and finally stopped when it was just getting light. Jiang Yi and the others packed up and went downstairs, where there was a lot of noise outside.
When they went outside, they found two strange men tied up.
Jiang Yi laughed. What's going on?
She always liked to join in the fun, so she pulled aside the waiter next to her to ask him what was going on. It turned out that these were two thieves who, instead of sleeping in the middle of the night, tried to steal something but ended up killing someone instead!
Jiang Yi's eyes were filled with disdain. A grown man with hands and feet, what couldn't he do in any of the 360 professions? Why did he have to steal and become a murderer?!
Shameless scoundrel!
"Oh, young lady, don't you know? These two people were captured by your companion, which saved them from being killed."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yi was taken aback.
Her companions? Could it be He Lin and his group?
"Um, could you please tell me whose things they stole?"
"Oh, it's the grandfather and grandson who gave up their room yesterday."
Jiang Yi hissed, "This is outrageous! Isn't this bullying?"
The elderly and the young had such a hard life, and these two scoundrels not only stole from them but also tried to kill them. They are truly despicable and hateful!
The waiter chimed in, "That's right, but they're from the Southern Frontier, so they can't be dealt with according to the laws of the Great Liang. They have to be sent back to the Southern Frontier and let their own people handle them."
Shangguan Muya said, "How can that be? What if they have their own people in the Southern Frontier protecting each other? Wouldn't that be unfair to the elderly and young girls who were kidnapped?"
"This... probably not. I've heard that the chieftain of the Southern Frontier is an upright and incorruptible person. He should be able to handle things fairly. We don't know much about their customs."
Just then, the old man and the little girl came out from behind the inn.
Suddenly, a large bird appeared in the sky, circling and swooping down, landing directly on the girl's arm. She smiled and stroked the bird's feathers, then turned to say something to the old man before walking towards Jiang Yi and the others.
"elder sister."
Jiang Yi and Shangguan Muya were so frightened that they backed away. The big bird on her arm was actually a black eagle!
Seeing this, she grinned and said, "Don't be afraid, sister. It's my good friend Amu Li. It won't hurt you."
Jiang Yi chuckled twice: "Haha, is that so! Not...not heavy? You're quite strong..."
That black eagle must have weighed at least ten kilograms, and for a seven or eight-year-old girl to be able to lift it with one arm for so long shows her amazing arm strength; even an adult man might not be able to do that.
“Amu Li is still young, he won’t sink.”
"I heard your room was broken into last night. Were you alright?"
"Thank you for your concern, sister. Neither my grandfather nor I are injured. Sister, my name is Zhuoma, what's your name?"
Jiang Yi smiled and said, "My name is Jiang Yi."
Zhuoma blinked her big, bright eyes, her gaze clear as a pool of clean, bottomless water.
Is it one of them?
"No, it's the Yi of Renyin."
"Oh, I know, it's the 'Yi' of 'Yi Ren,' right, sister?"
"right."
Zhuoma smiled sweetly.
A few people came from not far away, each holding a mani wheel (prayer wheel), wearing black robes with dark patterns. They came over and bowed to Droma's grandfather and Droma in turn, speaking in a dialect that outsiders could not understand. It was clear that these people were very respectful to Droma and the old man.
Zhuoma replied in the language of the people of southern Xinjiang. Then she saw them standing neatly in a row next to the two thieves, closing their eyes and starting to turn mani wheels, chanting incantations in a language she couldn't understand.
The two thieves were tied to a pillar and couldn't move. A piece of cloth was stuffed in their mouths, so they couldn't say a word. But strangely, they both looked at Zhuoma with fearful eyes, their legs trembling uncontrollably, and snot and tears streaming down their faces. They looked extremely pitiful.
Everyone speculated that they were trying to get Zhuoma's forgiveness, but why did they give off a feeling of fear?
The next second, something unexpected happened.
Suddenly, Amu Li on Zhuoma's arm flapped its wings and took flight. Its wingspan was more than a meter long. It hovered in the air and let out a long cry. Its sharp cry echoed through the valley, terrifying everyone.
Amu Li flapped its wings and charged straight at the two men, its sharp claws tearing through their eyes, blood splattering everywhere. Because their mouths were gagged, they couldn't make a sound, only muffled whimpers escaping their throats. Though not as shrill as screams, they sounded even more painful...
This scene shocked everyone present.
Jiang Yi, Shangguan Muya, and the other two shouted out and retreated repeatedly.
He Lin, Qi Junxu, and Yin Zhaobai heard a noise in the backyard and rushed over to check. They were shocked to find such a bloody scene and immediately frowned.
Zhuoma smiled and said, "Sisters, don't be afraid, it's alright. Amu Li only punishes bad people."
Amu Li tilted his head and looked towards Jiang Yi and the others. His eagle eyes and sharp beak were incredibly keen, as if he could peck people's eyes out at any moment.
Seeing their fear, Zhuoma whispered a few words to Amu Li, who then turned its head, pecked at its feathers twice, spread its wings, and flew towards the distant horizon.
He Lin asked, "Can you communicate with it?"
“Amu Li grew up with me, why can’t I communicate with it?”
Zhuoma put her hands behind her back, tilted her head and smiled playfully, looking very innocent and cute, but the instructions she gave to Amu Li were really hard to describe.
It must be said that this girl possesses a cruelty beyond her years.
But when innocence and cruelty coexist in one person, especially a little girl, it becomes somewhat eerie.
As He Lin spoke, Zhuoma's grandfather stared at him with an extremely complicated expression, even though his white pupils couldn't see anything.
“Brother, I didn’t have a chance to thank you last night, but Zhuoma thanks you for saving me and my grandfather.”
He Lin replied, "No need to be polite. Even without us, those two still couldn't hurt you, could they?"
Zhuoma chuckled, "I don't understand what you're saying, but brother, you're going to Southern Xinjiang, right? I believe we'll see each other again soon."
After saying this, Zhuoma helped her grandfather pass by Jiang Yi. She nodded politely to the group, and the several people from southern Xinjiang who were holding mani wheels left with the two people whose eyes had been scratched by Amu Li.
He Lin stood there, watching their retreating figures, lost in thought.
"She is no ordinary person."
Jiang Yi agreed, "That's right. This little Zhuoma looks young, but I didn't expect her to have the skill of training eagles."
"What did you say her name was?"
"Zhuoma."
He Lin and Yin Zhaobai exchanged a glance.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
Qi Junxu said, "In southern Xinjiang, Zhuoma means 'goddess'."
Jiang Yi's mouth dropped open: "What? A goddess?!"
...
Upon entering southern Xinjiang, the atmosphere immediately became noticeably different.
The valley was shrouded in mist, surrounded by tall, lush trees. Stepping on the fallen leaves made a crisp sound, and one had to be wary of snakes, insects, and rodents lurking beneath. It was a nerve-wracking experience.
Because it was difficult for horse-drawn carriages to enter the valley, everyone walked in.
When they first came in, Xia Zhi accidentally stepped on a long, thin black snake. She jumped three feet high and screamed, almost fainting from fright. Shangguan Muya had been bitten by a venomous snake before and had a phobia of this kind of "long spicy strip". She closed her eyes and screamed along with Xia Zhi.
Seeing the two of them shouting and yelling, Jiang Yi thought they had encountered something strange. She looked down to look for it and ended up staring right into the eyes of the black snake. She was only one step away from stepping on its head, which scared her so much that she jumped onto He Lin.
He Lin was speechless for a moment. He held her with one hand and used the hilt of his sword to quickly flick the snake away, sending it landing on a large tree more than ten meters away.
"Get down."
"I won't... I won't go down, there are snakes!"
"They've been driven away."
Jiang Yi wrapped her arms tightly around He Lin's neck and cautiously looked back. Sure enough, the black snake was no longer on the ground. She closed her eyes, breathed a sigh of relief, and jumped off He Lin.
Qi Junxu couldn't help but tease, "I told you to wait at the inn, but what happened? Now I have to take time out of my busy schedule to protect you..."
"What do you mean, Qi Junxu? Who asked you to protect them? Protect yourself first! He Lin is looking for an antidote, so of course I had to come! Otherwise, how could I feel at ease?"
"Alright, since we're already here, let's keep going."
Jiang Yi chimed in, "Exactly! We've come all this way, there's no reason to turn back halfway."
He Lin pulled Jiang Yi to the inside and said, "The three of you walk in the middle, so you can deal with any situation that may arise."
At this moment, Gu Ziyu and Shan Yanzhi returned from scouting ahead.
"Young master, the mountain pass leading into southern Xinjiang is not far ahead."
"Okay, let's go."
I thought the fog would get thicker as I went deeper, but it gradually became clearer and brighter. I guess the fog in the valley was just a trick to confuse people.
When we reached a narrow mountain pass, we found ourselves in a dead end with no way forward. The area was covered with lush green vines, and slivers of sunlight could be faintly seen peeking through the vines.
Jiang Yi blinked her eyes wide and pointed at the wall, asking, "Gu Ziyu, are you sure you're not mistaken? Where's the entrance? It's such a tiny gap, are you sure you can squeeze through? Even if you martial artists knew the legendary bone-shrinking technique, you still wouldn't be able to squeeze through, right?"
Yin Zhaobo smiled and denied it: "I don't know how to shrink my bones, and I can't squeeze in. He Lin, can you do it?"
He Lin glanced at him and gave him a look that told him to figure it out himself.
Yin Zhaobai turned his head and asked again, "Where is the Second Prince?"
Qi Junxu scoffed and retorted, "What do you think?"
Yin Zhaobo spread his hands and shrugged.
Shangguan Muya stepped forward and examined the area carefully. She said, "Look at the marks on the ground. I think there must be a mechanism here."
Just as she said, there were many withered branches and fallen leaves on both sides of the crevice, but very few in the middle. There were also traces on the ground where heavy objects had been moved to the sides. Without a mechanism, it would be impossible to move it by manpower alone. Even if the people of the Southern Frontier were isolated from the world and did not like to go out, they could not possibly move this huge rock, which was several meters high, with their brute force every time they went on a long trip. So the mechanism was not necessarily hidden in any corner!
"Hey, Gu Ziyu, Shan Yanzhi, you must have noticed this when you found this mountain pass, right? Otherwise, how would we get in?"
Gu Ziyu smiled and said, "Young Madam is right. There is indeed a mechanism at this mountain pass. Opening the mechanism will allow us to enter the Southern Frontier."
"Then hurry up."
Gu Ziyu looked at He Lin and smiled, "Young Madam, don't worry, this mechanism isn't opened from the outside."
"If it's not outside, then it must have been opened from the inside?"
He nodded.
Before Gu Ziyu could speak, the mountain gate began to move heavily to both sides in an instant. The light gradually increased, becoming so bright that it was hard to open one's eyes. If you listened carefully, you could hear footsteps, indicating that there was more than one person coming.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
