The ravine is less than a million li from the Blood-red Ridge and Qin Yu has become nearly 10 times faster than before so it takes him just one day to reach the ravine. Not even those Purple Demon aquatic dragons from the Nine Demons Hall can imagine his speed.
Late Meteor stage experts can rely on their speed and concentrated offense to fight late Dongxu stage Xiuxianists. This means that late Meteor stage experts are at least superior to late Dongxu stage Xiuxianists in speed. Therefore, it is easy to imagine how fast Qin Yu is.
He rushes to the entrance of the ravine. At first sight, there is only a continuous mountain range around this place. Outsiders basically will not be able to notice that there is a ravine hidden here.
āBig brother Liu Xing. No, big brother Qin Yu.ā
A purple-clad girl who appears to be in her early teens rushes out through the flora at the bottom of the ocean and shouts loudly in excitement as soon as she sees Qin Yu. He turns around to take a look and cannot help bursting out laughing: āLittle Yan Zi, why did you go out of the ravine?ā
āIt was boring inside so I went out for a stroll.ā Yan Zi opens her little mouth wide and says. The purple fish scale between her eyebrows is shining. Her purple hair, which is long enough to reach her hips, is flowing freely.
Yan Zi suddenly says with brightening eyes: āLetās go, brother Qin Yu. Go with me into the ravine. Sis Liāer will definitely be very happy once she knows that youāve returned. Quick, donāt be sluggish.ā As she is saying this, she holds Qin Yuās hand and pulls him while rushing at a precipice.
Before Qin Yu and Yan Zi smash into the precipice, they disappear.
After entering the ravine, when Qin Yu sees those familiar plants and scenes, his eyes cannot help brightening. In the past, he stayed in this ravine for 3 years. Now, having returned to the ravine, he feels as if he has broken away from the bloodshed outside and his mental tranquility has been restored.
āTing ~~ā
A sound of a zither string is heard and then the music he is familiar with rises. Qin Yu stands outside the bamboo house and closes his eyes to listen to it quietly. There is a faint smile on the corners of his mouth all along. When he is listening to the music, time seems to pass very quickly.
When the music stops, Qin Yu opens his eyes.
Only now does he notice that Yan Zi has already gone into the bamboo house. After a while, some Xiuyaoists gather. All of them live in the ravine. They and Qin Yu are also very familiar with each other. Every one of them greets him.
āBig brother Liu Xing! Oh, right, itās big brother Qin Yu.ā The fat Xiuyaoist with a black turtleās shell on his back shouts in excitement.
Qin Yu says with a smile when he sees him: āSo itās you, Fatty. There are also Thinny and Silver Shell here. Fei Fei hasnāt been here for a while so, without anyone beating you, your time must have passed very comfortably, right?ā He looks smilingly at the Xiuyaoists before him.
The fat Xiuyaoist with the black turtle shell shakes his head a couple of times and says complacently: āOf course itās been comfortable. Now I can sleep for 3 days and nights without being disturbed by anyone. When Iāve got nothing to do, I can play chess with Thinny and the others. The game of Go Uncle Lan taught us is really interesting.ā
āItās just that ā¦ā he frowns, 'sometimes I still rather miss boss Hou.ā
Silver Shell, who is carrying 2 daggers, is pondering. It seems he rather misses Hou Fei too.
āOh my, you really havenāt got beaten enough.ā Qin Yu jokes. āAll right, you guys keep playing. Iāve still got something to discuss with Uncle Lan.ā He says goodbyes to these few Xiuyaoists then goes straight into the bamboo house.
After entering the house, he sees at a glance that Uncle Lan is quietly enjoying tea in the courtyard.
āCome here, Qin Yu.ā He slightly raises his head and says smilingly.
Qin Yu nods and walks up to Uncle Lan just like when he was in this bamboo house before. After Qin Yu sits down, Uncle Lan turns his hand over and a teacup appears. He fills it for Qin Yu, who sniffs the scent of the tea carefully.
āUncle Lan, this is your Hundred-Leafed tea, right?ā When he was here before, he already drank this Hundred-Leafed tea a good few times.
āLooks like you still remember.ā Uncle Lan says smilingly. āAll right, Qin Yu, say, why have you come to find your Uncle Lan? Donāt tell me that youāve come to drink tea with me. I think if you say youāve come to see Liāer, thatās still somewhat believable.ā He jokes.
After Liāerās name was mentioned, Qin Yu turns his head and looks at her room. He cannot help concentrating his energy in his ears to listen to the conversation between Miss Liāer and Yan Zi in the room.
āYan Zi, what flower is this? Where did you get it? Itās very beautiful. Why didnāt I see it when I went out?ā Miss Liāerās voice rises.
āHe-he, thereās an island not far from here on the ocean surface. I went up there to pluck it. Thereāre still many flowers there, but this kind of flower only lives on land and canāt grow in the ocean. I had to put it in my storage bracelet to bring it down here.ā
āWhat are you listening, brat?ā Uncle Lanās voice suddenly rises in his ears.
āAh.ā Qin Yu wakes up with a start and looks at Uncle Lan, who seems to be smiling without smiling. āThis, ah, right, Uncle Lan, just now you asked why Iād come back here, didnāt you? Iāve returned because of an important matter indeed and I need your help with it.ā
Uncle Lan says with dissatisfaction: āDonāt change the subject.ā
Qin Yu can only smile and act the fool.
āI can guess what you want me to do. You courted trouble outside and the enemies are too strong for you to be confident of handling them so you want me to help you, right?ā Uncle Lan looks at Qin Yu and says smilingly.
Qin Yu suddenly feels that the look Uncle Lan is giving him seems to be able to see through his mind.
āExpert! Heās really an expert.ā Qin Yu marvels inwardly.
There is no point in lying so he says sincerely: āI asked for trouble by killing a Purple Demon aquatic dragon. But thereās no danger for the moment because the enemies still donāt know that Iām the killer. Iāve come to ask for your help just in case they find out the truth. You also know Fei Feiās temper. If a real fight happens, he wonāt be able to restrain himself. You donāt want to see Fei Fei and me get beaten to death by our enemies, do you?ā
āKilling a Purple Demon aquatic dragon? No, this is not the source of trouble.ā Uncle Lanās sagacious eyes stare at Qin Yu: āThe source of your troubles is that jade sword. But it can also be a blessing to you.ā
Qin Yu is dumbfounded.
āUncle Lan, you ā¦ā
He is stupefied. Could it be Uncle Lan is psychic? He has only told Xiao Hei and Hou Fei that he obtained that jade sword. Moreover, neither of them has told Uncle Lan about it, so how was Uncle Lan able to know about it? This is really a bit too frightening.
āYou think you can fool me with so little cunning? That jade sword is troublesome, but youāre qualified to have it.ā Uncle Lan says after pondering for a while.
Qin Yu listens to him carefully.
The more he communicates with Uncle Lan, the more he finds Uncle Lan unfathomable. At the same time, he feels that Uncle Lan treats him really very well. He also believes that everything Uncle Lan says and does is for the benefit of him.
āMister Liu Xing, oh, Mister Qin Yu, you have returned?ā Miss Liāer walks out from her room. She is clad in blue and her long hair is tied up with just a hairband. Yan Zi is beside her. Obviously Miss Liāer is very happy upon seeing Qin Yu.
They have been apart for a long time so when Qin Yu sees her again, his eyes brighten. He says immediately: āMiss Liāer, Iāve returned this time because I got some matters to discuss with Uncle Lan.ā
As Uncle Lan sees Qin Yuās current expression, his facial expression changes several times. His eyes also slightly redden. Now Miss Liāer also notices the changes in his expression. Despite being a calm and natural person, she becomes anxious and hurriedly says: āIs something the matter, Uncle Lan?ā
Unlike outsiders, she knows what happened to him before.
Qin Yu also looks at Uncle Lan in amazement. During his 3-year stay in this bamboo house before, Uncle Lan once had this expression in a talk between them too. In those 3 years, he only saw it once.
āQin Yu, Iāll give you an advice.ā After regaining his composure, Uncle Lan says coolly to Qin Yu.
Qin Yu looks at him.
Uncle Lan says firmly while looking at Qin Yu: āYou have to be true to your feelings no matter what happens later. To survive in this world, youāll have to restrain yourself on many occasions, but if you restrain yourself too much, something that makes you feel regretful for the rest of your life can happen. Remember ⦠sometimes, you have to be true to yourself even if youāll die from this.ā
āUncle Lan.ā Miss Liāer looks at him and exclaims.
Uncle Lan says with a wave of his hand: āLiāer, you and Qin Yu can keep chatting. Thereās no need to care about me.ā After saying this, he reaches out a hand. A stone immediately flies into his hand. It then radiates many purple rays of light, blue rays of light and green rays of light.
In a moment, the stone is turned into a transmitter.
āQin Yu, I know why youāve come to find me this time. If youāre in danger, just send a message into this transmitter with your holy sense and Iāll know immediately.ā Uncle Lan tosses Qin Yu the transmitter that he has just forged instantly.
Qin Yu feels very doubtful.
If it is about messaging each other then why can he not use his own transmitter to send messages to Uncle Lanās? Why did Uncle Lan specifically create a transmitter for him and say that he, Uncle Lan, will know as soon as he sends a message into it with his holy sense?
When he receives this transmitter, he feels that it is special and different from anything he has seen, that is, it does not give off any energy.
āUncle Lan.ā Qin Yu raises his head, but he discovers that Uncle Lan has already left the courtyard and gone back to his room.
Miss Liāer looks solemnly at Qin Yu, saying: āQin Yu, since Uncle Lan already gave you even this, you must remember his advice just now. Donāt forget it.ā Afterwards, she lets out a sigh. No one knows what she is thinking about.
Qin Yu is very doubtful in his heart.
But he still commits that advice to memory.
āYou just called me Qin Yu, Miss Liāer. Itās really rare for you to do this. You seem to have always called me Mister Liu Xing or Mister Qin Yu before.ā Qin Yu says smilingly.
Liāer shakes her head and says with a smile: āQin Yu, actually Iāve always felt that thereās a lack of mutual understanding between the other Xiuzhenists and myself. It seems we donāt belong to the same world. So, Iāve mostly stayed at a respectful distance from them. All right, from now on donāt call me Miss Liāer anymore. Itās okay to just call me Liāer.ā
Qin Yuās heart trembles.
What Liāer said means that she no longer notices any barriers between them, does it not?
āLiāer, Iāve called you so, are you happy?ā Qin Yu does not reveal what he is thinking one bit.
Miss Liāer gives a smile then looks at Uncle Lanās room: āQin Yu, do you know that in my clan, Uncle Lan is absolutely one who overflows with genius? His power has reached ⦠Oh, why am I talking with you about this? Right, are you going to leave immediately after discussing your matters with him?ā
āThereās no hurry. Iām going to stay here for several months.ā Qin Yu has calculated carefully that even if the Nine Demons Hallās members set off as soon as Di Tong died, perhaps they would need a year to arrive at the Blood-red Cave.
Miss Liāer is slightly happy to hear this.
āQin Yu, Iām leaving first. See you later.ā
Qin Yu nods and smilingly watches her go back to her room. He feels that the changes in Uncle Lan just now have caused Miss Liāer to change her attitude towards him.
āLiāer and Uncle Lan have usually mentioned their clan, what clan is it actually?ā He ponders for a long time but cannot figure out anything. However, his current mood is not bad because he feels that he seems to have become a bit closer to Miss Liāer.
ā¦ā¦
Among the 8 caves under the Nine Demons Hall, the Great Shell Cave is adjacent to the Blood-red Cave.
The name of the Great Shell Caveās master is Fu Hao.
At the moment he is leaning back in a chair carved from a large chunk of jade. His potbelly is bulging. 2 ladies-in-waiting are massaging his shoulders and 2 others are kneading his legs. 2 other ladies-in-waiting on his 2 sides are taking turn putting some rare fruits in his mouth.
In the 8 caves, Fu Hao is the fattest and greediest. He is not very strong and is weaker than Cha Hong. He has only reached the late Yuanying stage, but his cave master throne is as stable as a mountain.
āAlright, all of you can leave.ā
Fu Haoās eunuch-like high-pitched voice rises. The 6 ladies-in-waiting immediately bow and leave his place. Fu Hao himself begins to ponder while stroking his soft white chin and frowning deeply.
He is fat, but his skin is white and smooth and his eyes are lively like childrenās.
āJudging from the information from both sides, 8th majesty is really dead. Now that 2nd majesty, 6th majesty and 7th majesty are rushing to the Blood-red Cave, 8th majestyās death should have something to do with the Blood-red Cave. Given 8th majestyās status, why did he approach the Blood-red Cave, which is near the Qian Long continent?ā
Fu Hao considers carefully for a while.
āCould it be because of some treasure?ā Even if he were smarter, he would not figure out the true reason, because he knows nothing about the existence of the 9 Swords.
Suddenly ā
āFu Hao.ā A red light beam flashes and a silhouette appears in front of Fu Hao.
The arriver is very thin and straight like a pole and is dressed in a blood-red robe. His facial expression is ice-cold and grim. With his face, even if he smiles, he will still give a grim feeling.
As soon as Fu Hao sees this man, his eyes brighten. He bows and says with a big smile on his face: āGreetings, Lord Teng (*). May I ask why you have come to my place? Iāll definitely tell you everything I know.ā His pleasant smile coupled with his white and smooth fat face makes him look really loveable.
ā3 majesties of the Nine Demons Hall shouldāve messaged you, am I wrong?ā This Lord Teng says smilingly.
Despite his smile, his eyes are ice-cold like 2 stars in a winter night.
NOTE:
(*): Lord Teng and Teng Bi have the same surname in Chinese.