The underground river had both wide and narrow sections, revealing different sceneries as they proceeded.
On this wondrous subterranean terrain, stalactite formations and young bamboo forests could be seen. Strange beasts darted through the bamboo groves, and in certain spots, phantoms would flicker into view when the darkness was illuminated by a torch.
“This underground river was formed by surging waters. The terrain was constantly eroded by underground currents, making the soil here rather loose. Nothing could possibly have appeared here in such a short time...” Shu Qing said.
“Are you suggesting these are heavenly lands? Nothing of the sort. These stalactites simply contain limestone, into which carbon dioxide and water have seeped, dissolving the calcium carbonate within. Even if I tell you, you won’t understand. Inside the limestone is a substance that undergoes hydrolytic breakdown. When a drop of water falls on it, the water immediately dries, dissolving it and then solidifying again. Thus, drop by drop, they accumulated over millions of years. You can observe it closely yourself...” Niu You Dao sighed, somewhat exasperated by Shu Qing’s understanding of subterranean waters. How could such an intelligent girl be ignorant of this? He immediately began to explain everything to her.
He walked ahead, constantly waving his hand, pointing at various things, and explaining to Shu Qing. Shu Qing followed behind him, her eyes wide with curiosity, watching him:
“Lord Dao, you truly understand so much. You even know how this terrain was formed. If the opportunity arises, I hope you won’t refuse to enlighten Shu Qing!”
“Understands a lot?” Yuan Gang, walking behind them, curled his lip. He muttered to himself, “You have no idea how much he truly knows, do you?”
“Understand a lot?” Niu You Dao laughed and shook his head. These were just elementary facts, how could one not know them? However, he didn't bother to explain all that. Still, he reminded himself that he should keep his mouth shut more often, lest doubts arise.
The further they went, the slower Shu Qing walked.
The main issue was that the three men's pace was quite fast, and a blister had formed on her foot.
“Careful, ditch!” Niu You Dao reminded her, and turning, noticed that Shu Qing was walking somewhat awkwardly.
“Did you twist your ankle?” he asked.
Shu Qing didn't mention the blister and replied firmly:
“It's nothing. I'm just not used to such paths.”
They continued for a while longer. Eventually, it became even harder for the girl to walk. So, Niu You Dao found a suitable spot and told everyone to stop and rest. To preserve their fire, they left one torch lit.
For men, this journey didn't seem difficult, especially not for these three.
In fact, Niu You Dao had offered to carry her on his back, but Shu Qing flatly refused. She preferred to go slower, but by herself. The fact that he had already embraced her was already too much for her; how could she possibly climb onto his back?
Spreading her legs? Leaning her chest against him? Shu Qing couldn't even imagine such a thing. If it hadn't been necessary to descend into the well, she wouldn't have allowed Niu You Dao to embrace her.
One might say, Niu You Dao understood Shu Qing’s feelings to an extent. Yet, he also muttered to himself, “Lord Dao has absolutely no interest in you!”
It would have been fine if the path were flat and straight, but here they had to constantly ascend and descend. This journey truly exhausted Shu Qing.
Shu Qing immediately sat down, and as soon as she leaned her head back, she fell asleep.
Seeing Shu Qing fall asleep, Niu You Dao took a piece of clothing from his bag and covered her with it. Shu Qing didn't even notice she was being covered and fell into a deep sleep.
Looking at her exhausted appearance and how sweetly she slept, Niu You Dao figured it would be a long time before she woke up. Therefore, he immediately decided to set up a watch.
Although there was little danger that could occur on an underground path, a minimum of caution was still necessary.
Niu You Dao decided to take turns keeping watch: he himself, and Yuan Gang with Yuan Fang. If Yuan Fang couldn't manage alone, Yuan Gang could assist him.
Yuan Gang took the first watch, while Niu You Dao sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. He meditated.
An unknown amount of time passed when Niu You Dao suddenly felt a chill. It wasn't an ordinary cold, but a chill that extinguished hope, one that made goosebumps prickle his skin. Ancient records spoke of such cold being characteristic of malevolent creatures.
He immediately opened his eyes. Yuan Fang was bustling about. He noticed Niu You Dao had opened his eyes and whispered, “Lord Dao, it seems ghosts have appeared here. Just now, I thought I saw something flash by.”
Niu You Dao immediately felt a familiar sensation, like when he had visited tomb excavation sites in his previous life. However, the atmosphere here was even colder. These were definitely not mere souls of the deceased. This was already a fully-formed evil entity.
“Check around!” Niu You Dao instructed. Yuan Fang nodded. He immediately lit several torches and threw them in different directions and towards the river. Then he took his own torch and began to inspect everything around them.
Niu You Dao also looked around. In the darkness, one first needed light. Even though he could see better than an ordinary person, what good was excellent eyesight in complete darkness?
He tilted his head towards the torches and gave a signal. Yuan Gang immediately stood up and took out some clothes from his bag. Breaking off pieces of the torches, he laid them on the clothes. Then he wrapped them into a bundle and hung it on his back.
Niu You Dao, leaning on his sword, stood up and approached Shu Qing. However, he noticed that the girl seemed to be having a nightmare. Tears streamed down her face, and she wore a mournful expression. This child had endured hardships the entire journey, and now she was even having a nightmare. Her dream was evidently quite sorrowful.
“Princess, Princess...” Niu You Dao called her, but she didn't wake up. So he reached out and gently pushed her.
Shu Qing woke up and immediately sat upright. She stared at Niu You Dao standing before her, then realized she was crying. Shu Qing quickly wiped away her tears, feeling a bit awkward.
And when she removed the clothing from herself, she recognized it as Niu You Dao's. This made her heart feel a little warm, but at the same time, she felt embarrassed.
“Lord Dao, have I been asleep for long?”
Niu You Dao noticed that Shu Qing was limping when she stood up.
“You won’t be able to walk further. I’ll carry you,” he said.
How could Shu Qing accept such a thing? She immediately shook her head: “My leg is fine. I can walk.”
Niu You Dao: “You’re thinking too much. We’re being watched. We can’t move slowly.” As he spoke, he looked around.
“...” Shu Qing froze and noticed that Yuan Fang wasn't there, and torches were lit everywhere.
Soon, she saw Yuan Fang rush back:
“Lord Dao, I don't know where they disappeared to!”
“Let’s go, we need to move!” Niu You Dao signaled and handed his sword to Shu Qing.
Shu Qing froze and took the sword. However, Niu You Dao immediately pulled her towards him. He turned around and, grasping her legs, hoisted her onto his back. He had promised Shang Chao Zong that he would look after Shu Qing for as long as he lived. And among all of them, he was the strongest.
Such a posture greatly embarrassed Shu Qing. She immediately blushed and didn't dare lean her upper body against Niu You Dao. She placed the sword on Niu You Dao’s shoulders and used her other hand to steady herself. But who knew that Yuan Gang would come over and thrust a torch into her hands? Now she was forced to lean against Niu You Dao.
The group departed. They walked in the same order, with the exception of Shu Qing. Yuan Fang was in front, and Yuan Gang was at the back.
Without Shu Qing walking, they even picked up their pace slightly.
Shu Qing was afraid that oil from the torch would drip onto Niu You Dao's clothes. After all, they were moving very quickly, constantly ascending and descending. Therefore, she had to lean fully against his shoulders, her chest brushing against Niu You Dao’s shoulders. And as she held onto his shoulders, her breath feathered against his ears. Shu Qing was greatly embarrassed.
For her, however, such speed was good. Thus, they reached another spot where torches should have been.
Yuan Gang reached a cave, felt its oily walls, then sniffed them:
“Someone was here. The torches are gone.”
Shu Qing, leaning against Niu You Dao’s shoulders, said:
“That can’t be. People don’t come here. And if they did, they would have already told everyone about this cave.”
“Let’s keep going!” Niu You Dao signaled for the three of them to continue moving.
When they reached the second spot where torches should have been, they again found none.
Niu You Dao looked around and suddenly said, “Bear, check the river.”
Yuan Fang instantly flickered into motion and ran to the river. As expected, he noticed torches in the river.
It was very simple. As Shu Qing had said, there should have been spots with torches along the path, more than a thousand of them. Even if someone was taking the torches, they couldn't possibly take all thousand, could they? It turned out someone was plotting against them. And if they wanted to harm them, the most convenient way was to throw the torches into the river.
Yuan Fang retrieved the torches, brought them back, and tried to light them. But they were thoroughly soaked. It was difficult to light them again.
“Someone’s messing with us, damn it...” Yuan Fang cursed, tossing the torch aside.
Who would need to throw the torches into the river? Someone was clearly setting them up.
***
End of Chapter.
Guys.
We've been translating 2-4 chapters a day for the past 2 weeks. However, there are too few subscribers for the novel, not even enough to pay for an editor. Also, due to the low number of comments and lack of reviews, we will be forced to reduce our translation speed. We will observe the situation for 2-3 days, and if nothing changes, we will reduce the translation speed.