Free Web NovelAbout an hour after leaving the Kulun Ridge outpost, Lu Yibei suddenly realized that Nanling Yaohua had tricked her again.
Initially, when they left the outpost, the road was flat, and both rode fast horses without any issues. However, problems arose when they reached halfway, and the terrain became complex and rugged.
Her horse, after traveling only a short distance along the undulating hills, began to show signs of exhaustion, gradually losing control, and soon collapsed on the ground, foaming at the mouth, looking as if it was about to die.
This horse had heatstroke...
“But I didn’t do anything, so why is the horse gone?” Lu Yibei wondered.
When she left the outpost, she had specifically chosen a horse that looked the most robust and majestic.
Such a fine horse, carrying a small and delicate Disaster, gave up after only thirty kilometers?
It was simply outrageous!
Seeing this, Lu Yibei briefly pondered, then prepared to cast a healing Spell to help the horse recover.
However, just as she raised her hand, before she could even chant the spell, Nanling Yaohua’s hand rested on the back of her hand.
“No!” Nanling Yaohua said, “Liuer is just an ordinary horse. She can’t withstand Spell healing. Using a Spell might help her recover temporarily, but it could leave sequelae.”
“...” Lu Yibei was speechless for a moment.
What Nanling Yaohua said was not without reason.
Even ordinary people, after Spell healing, might have certain hidden health risks. freёwebnovel.com
“Oh, this is my fault too. When we left the outpost, I saw you riding so steadily and thought your riding skills were good. I didn’t expect... Do you know that riding a horse requires skill? Riding like you do will exhaust the horse’s strength too much.”
Lu Yibei, “???”
“What did I do? I thought my riding was fine?”
“If it really doesn’t work... why don’t we ride the same horse? It’s not far anyway. We can move Liuer to a shaded spot to rest for a while, and when she’s rested, she’ll go back by herself.”
Saying that, Nanling Yaohua came to Liuer’s side, squatted down, gently stroked her mane a few times, then leaned down, as if comforting her, and whispered something in her ear.
Lu Yibei, “...” Good heavens! So this is what she was waiting for?
Before Lu Yibei could refuse, Nanling Yaohua said again, “Miss Qingyi, do you want to sit in front or behind?”
There was clearly a trick here. If she refused now, who knew what other trouble she might cause! Lu Yibei thought, imagining herself wrapping her arms around Nanling Yaohua’s slender waist, and hastily said, “Front!”
So, two minutes later, a pair of hands wrapped around Lu Yibei’s waist from behind.
Then, Nanling Yaohua’s gentle voice sounded in her ear, “Let’s go. Hold the reins tightly. I’ll teach you how to ride.”
As she spoke, wisps of warm fragrant air subtly wafted into Lu Yibei’s nostrils.
Only at this moment did she suddenly realize that Nanling Yaohua seemed to have given her a choice, but in reality, she had no choice at all.
“Just bear with it! We’re almost there...” Lu Yibei thought, pulling the reins and moving forward.
Soon after they left, Liuer, lying in the shade of a poplar tree, struggled twice, stood up straight, and galloped towards the Kulun Ridge outpost, moving as if she had not just suffered heatstroke...
————
After discussing the cooperation with Gu Qianqian, Fang Ji left the tent, leaving her alone to slowly enjoy the roasted flatbread and oil tea soup.
A moment later.
When Gu Qianqian had almost finished the roasted flatbread and oil tea soup, as if he had been observing in the dark, Fang Ji precisely lifted the tent flap.
“Are you done eating? How about coming with me to meet a few people?”
He paused, then added, “Don’t worry, I’m just going to chat with those guys. There won’t be any fighting. Your injuries should be able to hold up, right?”
Gu Qianqian didn’t want to appear too weak in front of Fang Ji. She stood up, vigorously swung her arms twice, and mumbled, “Even if there’s a fight, it’s no problem.”
“That’s even better.” Fang Ji smiled, turned and left the tent, and without waiting for Gu Qianqian, mounted an old, reddish-brown horse and slowly walked into the depths of the Gobi Desert.
Horses or camels, relatively primitive means of transportation, are sometimes much more useful than vehicles in the Gobi Desert.
Although the Gobi Desert appears flat, there are many dangerous areas, such as salt flats and quicksand. Animals that have lived in the Gobi Desert for a long time can rely on experience and instinct to avoid these places.
Watching Fang Ji’s departing back, Gu Qianqian bit her lip lightly and pulled out the Bamboo Scroll from her embrace.
Since the accident last night, she had not returned to the Bamboo Scroll Illusion.
Logically, after such an incident, staying in the Bamboo Scroll Illusion to recuperate would be the best choice.
However, she dared not return.
Nearly half of the villagers who had acted with her last night had been lost, and their families were still in the Bamboo Scroll Illusion.
As their “deity,” she had failed to protect them. Gu Qianqian didn’t know how to face those villagers who had lost their loved ones.
At times like this, if only the system were by her side...
“It must know how to explain it to the villagers, right?” Gu Qianqian thought.
————
Gu Qianqian followed Fang Ji, leaving the camp, crossing the Gobi Desert, and walking for about two hours, finally reaching their destination just before noon, when the temperature was highest.
The Gobi Desert was empty, and the sunlight was bright.
The sunlight was a murky yellow, scattered on the fine sand, dancing with the wind.
The sand grains rubbed against each other in the wind, making a soft “shasha” sound.
In the distance, the ravines outlined by the hills snaked across the land like wrinkles, deep and shallow, resembling collapsed city walls, or the spines left after the death of some giant creature.
That was the Yardang landform common around Yumen Pass, also known as wind-eroded ridges.
Because they are layered and shaped like castles, and the terrain is as complex as a labyrinth, making it easy to get lost, locals also call it “Devil City” and believe that man-eating monsters live inside.
Gu Qianqian had been in the Gobi Desert for some time and had long heard legends about Devil City, but she never expected that “devils” actually lived in Devil City...
Following Fang Ji through a gap in a ravine into Devil City, and proceeding along the winding ravine, it wasn’t long before the terrain began to slope downwards. After walking a bit further, an opening extending underground appeared before them.
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It was pitch black, like a man-eating maw.
Upon entering the opening, the light was quickly consumed by darkness, and the originally scorching hot air rapidly turned cold.
After fumbling forward in the darkness for about five minutes, firelight appeared ahead.
Immediately after, footsteps sounded, and two burly figures, nearly three meters tall, rapidly approached under the dim yellow firelight.
Through her Spiritual Energy sense, Gu Qianqian detected C-level Spiritual Energy fluctuations from the two figures. After slightly frowning, she silently took out her metal club and held it in her hand. freёweɓnovel.com
When the two figures drew closer and lifted the cloaks covering their heads, revealing their faces, Gu Qianqian’s eyes widened slightly, and she gasped softly, “Eh? They really exist!”
At first glance, the two men had dark, rough faces, similar to those of the herdsmen in the Gobi Desert.
Upon closer inspection under the dim yellow firelight, it was easy to notice that one of them had tiny scales covering his neck, while the other had many twisted, deformed bone protrusions hidden in his messy hair.
They looked somewhat similar to the villagers in the Bamboo Scroll Illusion whose bodies were deformed by the Great Serpent God’s corrupted Spiritual Energy.
These creatures, hidden underground in Devil City, once witnessed by locals and mistaken for man-eating monsters, were a branch of the Half-Guitan who followed the Shaman King.
In fact, although these Half-Guitan all believed in the legendary Shaman King, there were several tribes living in different hidden locations, only gathering together during large-scale operations.
This was somewhat similar to their ancestors.
Those Huihe people who followed the Shaman King also had different leaders for each tribe.
It was like a swarm of scavengers in the desert, usually hiding in their respective burrows, but gathering when a corpse fell on the Gobi Desert and they smelled blood.
With Gu Qianqian’s soft gasp, the two Half-Guitan simultaneously cast their gazes upon her. Upon noticing the metal club in her hand, their expressions immediately darkened, and they drew the scimitars from their waists.
Seeing this, Fang Ji quickly stepped forward, interposing himself between the two Half-Guitan and Gu Qianqian. “Everyone, don’t be impulsive. It’s a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding.”
The Half-Guitan with bone protrusions on his head seemed to recognize Fang Ji. He glanced at him and said in a booming voice, “When meeting the leader, one must not carry weapons. That is the rule.”
“I know, I know.” Fang Ji responded with a smile, nudged Gu Qianqian with his elbow, and gave her a look. Seeing that Gu Qianqian was unmoved, he added, “Do you still want your friend to wake up?”
“...” Gu Qianqian looked at Fang Ji, then at the two Half-Guitan, hesitated slightly, then pouted and forcefully plunged the metal club into the ground.
Anyway, she still had more!
She had made at least a dozen of these metal clubs, which were engraved with the most basic solidified Spells and coated with strengthening Alchemy potions. They were all in the Bamboo Scroll Illusion, and she could take them out whenever she wanted to use them.
For her, who was surprisingly strong, these low-grade Spiritual Energy items, which were nothing special except for being durable, were merely consumables.
And such consumables should be prepared in abundance, to be on the safe side. It was always better to have extras lying around than to not have them when needed—this was what the system had taught her.
Seeing Gu Qianqian disarm herself, the two Half-Guitan exchanged glances, put away their scimitars, and moved aside, clearing the path.
“Let’s go in and meet their leader. We can’t find that treasure without their help,” Fang Ji said to Gu Qianqian, turning his head, then took a step and walked deeper into the cave.
Gu Qianqian pursed her lips and followed Fang Ji’s footsteps.
————
In the cave deep within Devil City, water murmured, and a branch of the underground river fell from above, striking the stones and plunging into an artificially dug pool, creating a low echo.
Under the dim yellow light of an oil lamp, an Old man with four arms and a large hooked tail stood by the pool, scattering finely cut pieces of meat, causing the colorful salamanders in the pool to scramble for food, occasionally emitting flashes of electricity, flames, and frost flowers... a delightful sight.
Normally, upon seeing such an interesting sight, Gu Qianqian would be unable to tear her eyes away. However, this time, her attention was drawn to several cages made of steel and wood in a dark corner.
Although those cages were hidden in the darkness and covered with tarpaulins, making it impossible to see what was inside, through her Spiritual Energy sense, she could detect that many people were confined within them.
Most were women, and there were several recently born infants emitting faint Spiritual Energy fluctuations.
Although they looked very different, those cages inexplicably reminded her of the water tanks in the Bamboo Scroll Illusion that Hui婆s used to cultivate the Great Serpent God’s servants.
The Old man quietly listened to the beautiful young man behind him prattling on, then after a long while, turned around and grinned, revealing two sickle-shaped fangs beneath his lips.
“Well said, but why should we help you?”
“No, not helping me.” Fang Ji shook his head and said, “We are simply taking what we need.”
“You want to rescue the sealed Shaman King, and I want to find Hong Bian’s tomb. Both are within Yumen Pass, and I know how to open the gate of Yumen Pass, while you know the exact location of the gate. If we cooperate, we will surely achieve twice the result with half the effort.”
He was telling the truth.
Although the Miracle Order members had already completed all preparations, and even [N O V E L I G H T] if they followed the guidance of the miracle and tried repeatedly, they could successfully enter Yumen Pass, with the assistance of these Half-Guitan, they could save a lot of unnecessary human and material resources.
These Half-Guitan had been active around Yumen Pass for hundreds of years and had long figured out when sandstorms would occur, and what kind of sandstorms would make the gate of Yumen Pass appear. They even knew the approximate location where the gate of Yumen Pass would appear.
In a sense, these Half-Guitan were the most knowledgeable about Yumen Pass, besides the Yumen Sand Sea lineage that had guarded Yumen Pass for generations.
“Enough!” the Old man interrupted in a deep voice. “Although what you say has some truth, words alone are not enough. We won’t believe you based on a verbal agreement, unless...”
Mid-sentence, his gaze suddenly shifted from Fang Ji to Gu Qianqian. He narrowed his eyes, and an unsettling glimmer flickered in his crimson pupils.
Fang Ji glanced at Gu Qianqian out of the corner of his eye, then looked at the Old man and smiled, “Understood. You need a hostage, right?”
“In that case, to show my sincerity, I can leave her here, but on one condition: you must not harm her. She is my most important partner, like my own flesh and blood.”
“If she weren’t like my own flesh and blood, I couldn’t leave her here!” Fang Ji thought.
Gu Qianqian, “???”
“Oh dear! Why is this person lying? We only met this morning, how did we become like family?”
Although Fang Ji had told her that their relationship was one of mutual exploitation and that he might betray her at any time, she never expected Fang Ji’s betrayal to come so quickly.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but Fang Ji, at that moment, leaned close to her and whispered in a voice only they could hear, “Don’t worry, we’re just putting on a show for this Old man. Someone will come to rescue you soon.”
“How soon is soon?” Gu Qianqian asked with a frown.
“Hmm...” Fang Ji pondered for a moment. “In short, it’s very soon.”
“How long it will take depends on when Disaster can follow the clues and find this place...” Fang Ji added in his mind.
“...” Gu Qianqian hesitated, then nodded and said, “Alright!”
For her, staying here didn’t really matter. If no one came to rescue her, she could always fight her way out herself.
She had already observed that none of the Half-Guitan here could fight!
