Xu Yuehuai reluctantly held his hand, "But we've only just managed to meet once, and I don't want to leave so soon."
Qi Guze smiled slightly, his eyes full of doting and reluctance, "Silly girl, we will meet again. When that time comes, I will greet you in my best condition."
Xu Yuehuai tiptoed and gently kissed Qi Guze's lips. At that moment, it seemed as if the whole world stood still.
"Then we'll see each other again," she whispered, and then her figure gradually disappeared in the light, returning to reality.
When Xu Yuehuai opened her eyes, she found herself lying on an animal skin. Yan Qing, the chieftain, Wang Mang, and others surrounded her, their faces full of concern and anxiety.
She took a deep breath and felt the violent power within her subside, replaced by an unprecedented calm and gentleness.
"Your Highness, you scared me to death! Are you alright?" Yan Qing quickly stepped forward and asked.
Xu Yuehuai said calmly, "I'm fine. I just experienced an illusion, but it has made me even more determined to take the path I want to take."
Seeing this, the chieftain breathed a sigh of relief. "Holy Maiden, I knew you could pull through. You are the hope of our people and the key to our rebirth."
Wang Mang joked from the side, "Little sister, I'm still waiting for you to find some wild animals to roast for me. I've brought back so much stuff, and I haven't eaten a single bite. I'm starving."
Upon hearing this, Xu Yuehuai couldn't help but chuckle.
She stood up and gazed silently into the distance. "Don't worry, I will bring everything here to a perfect close."
As she finished speaking, a powerful belief and determination took root in everyone's heart.
Xu Yuehuai, this brave and resilient saint, will forever be their guiding light and hope.
After getting up, Xu Yuehuai held a series of red rose stones in her hands, absorbing their power.
After circulating for a while, these powers finally merged into his body.
"open!"
With a thoughtful sound, the light from the red rose stone burst forth, as if tearing apart the barrier of space and breaking the seal of the boundary lock, and a dazzling gate of light slowly opened!
Upon entering the cave, a heavy and oppressive atmosphere hit her, and Xu Yuehuai's heart sank.
The cave should have been bustling with activity, but it was eerily quiet. Only the faint candlelight flickered in the empty hall, illuminating the figures lying on the ground—the men of the tribe, their faces pale and their eyes closed, clearly in a deep coma.
Afu's eyes were filled with terror and helplessness. He staggered toward the nearest figures, calling out in a trembling voice, "You'er? Mother! Where...where are you? Why are there only these people left?"
He gently stroked the unconscious man's face with his hands, but received no response; tears welled up in his eyes.
The tribal chief's face changed drastically upon seeing this. He suppressed his grief and called out loudly, "A-Cai! Come out quickly, don't scare me! What's going on?" His voice echoed in the empty cave, but no one answered, leaving only an even heavier silence.
Xu Yuehuai squatted down and carefully examined the unconscious person's condition.
She tried to wake them, but found that when they opened their eyes, their vision was already blurry and they were not truly awake.
“They weren’t injured; they were simply forcibly stripped of their consciousness by some force,” she murmured to herself, her gaze falling once more on the red rose in her hand, a sense of foreboding rising within her.
“Those women are all gone,” Xu Yuehuai stood up. “Someone, or rather some kind of force, took the women of the tribe away silently while we were away. We must find out their whereabouts as soon as possible and rescue them.”
At this moment, the atmosphere inside the cave became extremely tense, with everyone looking solemn and their eyes flashing with anger.
Afu clenched his fists, his eyes burning with the flames of revenge.
The chief slowly stood up. “Our tribe has never faced such a crisis before, but as long as we are united, there is no difficulty we cannot overcome. Afu, you lead a group of people to search for clues inside the cave.”
As soon as the leader gave the order, the cave sprang into action, with everyone doing their part, determined to uncover the truth behind the mystery and find their lost loved ones.
Xu Yuehuai and the leader exchanged a glance, as if they had made a decision in an instant.
Only the anxious, suppressed breathing of the tribesmen remained in the distance within the cave; everyone's mood was heavy.
Xu Yuehuai turned to the crowd and said, "Everyone, don't panic. Let's stay calm and we'll definitely find a solution."
She noticed that one of the unconscious men seemed to be in a different condition, so she gently placed her fingers on his pulse and examined him carefully.
After a moment, she stood up. "Their symptoms are not incurable. Perhaps if we find the person behind them, we can find a way to help them recover."
"Leader, Holy Maiden, we've found something!" Afu suddenly ran over, holding a dark stone in his hand.
Upon seeing the stone, the chief immediately took it and examined it carefully for a while. "This is a mark left by Acai. It marks a location—Heavenly Pool!"
Afu was shocked: "It's actually Tianchi! That's a forbidden area!"
"If it's Tianchi, then wouldn't everyone be doomed?"
"We can't go to Tianchi!"
"Outsiders absolutely cannot go!" The other tribesmen were thrown into chaos.
The chief raised his arms and shouted, "For the sake of my people, I will go!"
Without saying a word, Xu Yuehuai said, "Then let's go."
One of the tribesmen quickly stopped him: "No! Chief, what will we do if you leave?"
The leader raised Afu's hand, "If I don't come back, let Afu help your new leader."
“We’ll wait for you to come back,” Afu said.
"Leader, Holy Maiden, you must return safely!" the others echoed.
Yan Qing and Wang Mang stepped forward, also wanting to follow Xu Yuehuai.
Xu Yuehuai said to the two of them, "The situation in the forbidden area is unclear, so don't go. Although I now have the power of the Red Rose Stone, it's fine to bring one person along, but if there are more, they'll just cause trouble for me."
Yan Qing and the others knew that what Xu Yuehuai said was true, so they had no choice but to back down.
Afu knelt down with a thud and kowtowed heavily, "You'er, Mother... I can't lose them!"
The leader patted Afu on the shoulder to comfort him: "Afu, we will definitely bring them back safely."
He turned to face Xu Yuehuai, "Holy Maiden, we shall proceed to Tianchi immediately."
Xu Yuehua nodded, already having made up her mind: "Okay, but before that, we need to make sufficient preparations. The journey to Tianchi is long and fraught with unknown dangers, so we must bring enough supplies."
Upon hearing this, everyone sprang into action. Some went to the warehouse to organize dry rations and water, while others were responsible for inspecting weapons and equipment.
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