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墨書 Inktalez
Zhong Kui's Diary
My face turned slightly red. I naturally knew about quicksand; it is the most terrifying thing in the desert, without exception. If one gets trapped in it and there are no professional rescue measures nearby, death is the only possible outcome.
It turned out that Lu Yue was directing me to avoid the quicksand area. Fortunately, I was facing away from her, so she couldn't see my flushed face. She chuckled and changed the subject, "By the way, isn't this oasis the center of the Taklamakan Desert? Why did I end up at that location instead of the exact center?"
Behind me, Lu Yue let out a bitter laugh. "Desertification is becoming increasingly severe, and the area of the Taklamakan Desert is expanding. That oasis was indeed the center of the desert a thousand years ago, but now, as you can see, it has shifted to the position we just came from."
"No wonder..." I suddenly understood.
As we chatted aimlessly, after running for over an hour, a hint of green appeared ahead. I couldn't help but feel overjoyed. "Lu Yue, that's the oasis up ahead, right?"
Lu Yue replied with a sound of affirmation, "You run pretty fast. What would take two hours for others in the desert, you completed in just one."
I laughed heartily, "Of course! While others are walking in the desert and worrying about maintaining their body's hydration, I have no such concern, so naturally I can run faster than them."
We continued to sprint, getting closer to that patch of green.
Finally, we reached the edge of the oasis. This oasis was located in a round basin. Standing on the high ground at the edge of the basin and looking down, I couldn't help but exclaim in surprise upon seeing it.
In the center of the oasis was a lake with sapphire-like water, surrounded by grass as green as emeralds. Around the grassland were trees; although not many, they looked lush and vibrant. The patch of green I had seen earlier was actually the canopy of these trees.
Upon closer inspection, the blue lake indeed had a pentagonal shape. Along its shores were dozens of tents, among which one tent stood out as particularly large. It was painted entirely in gold and had a golden orb on top that sparkled brightly from afar like it was made of pure gold.
Next to the Golden Tent stood a flagpole with a red banner on it. When the wind blew, the banner unfurled to reveal a golden character 'Lu' written on it. About ten meters from the side of the flagpole, I spotted a square stone resembling what Jin Manyuan described; it was located by the lakeshore and looked like a large die without any carved numbers.
The entire lakeside was lush with fragrant grass, and surprisingly there were several cows and sheep grazing on it. Additionally, about ten people were wrestling and playing on the grass.
It seemed they noticed us; those ten or so wrestlers pointed at me and then five burly men walked over towards us.
"Hey, why are there so many people?" I asked in surprise.
"How could there be no one at an oasis in the desert?" Lu Yue replied with a smile. "This is our Lu Family's stronghold."
No wonder you were so familiar with the way here; it turns out that's the case.
Looking at the five people approaching from across the way, all wearing Felt Hats and carrying Machetes, the one in front had a Rhinophyma that was unusually bright red and quite eye-catching.
Before they got close, the Rhinophyma guy shouted at me, "Who are you? How dare you trespass into Lu Family's forbidden area?"
I couldn't help but laugh inwardly. What era is this? This guy is still shouting about Lu Family's forbidden area. He's just taking advantage of the fact that I'm alone. If a whole squad came over, would he dare to shout like that? I wouldn't hesitate to turn him into a beehive.
Before I could speak, Lu Yue called out loudly from behind me, "Uncle San? It's me, I'm Yue!"
The Rhinophyma guy froze for a moment, his expression extremely strange, as if he were both shocked and confused, half-smiling and half-angry. After a while, a look of surprise appeared on his face: "Yue! Is it really you?"
"Yes, Uncle San!" Turning around, I saw Lu Yue sitting up on the door panel, excitedly greeting the Rhinophyma guy and then pointing to me and Shen Sipan. "Uncle San, this is Brother Zhong, and this is Shen Brother. They are the ones who saved me."
"Hi..." I smiled and made a peace sign towards Lu Yue's uncle, while Shen Sipan also greeted him with a smile.
"Brother Zhong, this is my Uncle Lu Shaoyang," Lu Yue introduced again.
Lu Shaoyang squinted at me for a moment, his eyes flashing with a cold glint. However, this expression was fleeting; I even doubted whether I had seen it correctly. Just as I was pondering this, Lu Shaoyang rushed over in a few quick steps, supporting Lu Yue's shoulders and looking her over before turning around and shouting, "Quick! Go inform my elder brother that Yue is back!"
The four Felt Hat Men who had come with Lu Shaoyang exchanged glances upon hearing this shout and immediately turned back to run, loudly calling out, "Head of the family! Head of the family! The eldest sister is back!"
I loosened the rope around my shoulder and smiled at Lu Shaoyang. "Since you are Lu Yue's uncle, I'll leave her in your care. I have other matters to attend to; I'll head out first. Let's go sing and drink together later for Health Treatment."
As soon as I said this, Lu Shaoyang became furious. "What? Do you look down on our Lu Family? Yue's life was saved by you; shouldn't you at least give our Lu Family a chance to express our gratitude? You can't just leave like this; where do you expect us to put our faces?"
"There's really no need to thank me! It was just a small effort," I said with a smile, declining the gratitude.
"No way, I must thank you!" Lu Shaoyang exclaimed, his nose reddening with excitement.
"In that case, just treat us to a meal," I laughed and pointed to the large rock by the lake. "I'll go for a walk over there, call me when the food is ready." In my heart, I had already made up my mind; as soon as I activated the magic circle, I would leave immediately.
Lu Shaoyang glanced in the direction I was pointing, squinted his eyes, and pondered for a while before saying, "Alright, you go over there for a walk. My brother's tent is nearby; I'll call him over later to thank you."
I nodded with a smile and called out to Shen Sipan. The two of us headed down, while behind us, we heard Lu Yue calling out. I pretended not to hear.
The golden tent was right next to the large rock. As we approached the rock, a group of people hurriedly exited the big tent. Upon seeing us, they exchanged suspicious glances and paused briefly before ignoring us and excitedly running to welcome Lu Yue into the Golden Tent.
Not wanting to bother with them, I walked up to the large rock and looked up at it, feeling a slight tingle on my scalp. Damn, this rock was about the size of a classroom. How was I supposed to push it aside and then dig out the keyhole underneath? Right, what was that magic circle again? Oh yes, it was the Lianzheng Platform.
Seeing me frowning in silence, Shen Sipan couldn't help but ask. I shared my confusion with him, and he chuckled lightly. "Boss Zhong, why do you want to push it aside? Can't we just dig down from the side?"
I stared at Shen Sipan in astonishment. "Digging from the side? Aren't you afraid that the big rock will come crashing down?"
Shen Sipan shook his head. "I'm just digging a passageway; the area of force won't change much. According to the pressure principle, p=f/s; when the area of force remains almost unchanged, the pressure won't change significantly either. This is something that's covered in middle school physics textbooks."
Are you Archimedes or something? Do you think if I give you a lever you can lift the entire Earth? Are you mocking me for forgetting even my middle school knowledge?
Do you want me to dock your pay?
I irritably pulled out an Iron Shovel and handed it to him with a smile. "I don't know what you're talking about, but it sounds impressive. So it's all up to you! Let's aim to dig through within an hour!"
"Do your best," Shen Sipan replied without declining, picking up the Iron Shovel and starting to dig.
Not long after he began digging, there was a commotion nearby. Turning around, I saw that the entrance curtain of the huge Golden Tent had been lifted, and five or six muscular men walked out. Additionally, there were dozens of people standing outside the tent; the noise was coming from this group outside.
Among the muscular men, there was a tall figure with thick eyebrows and big eyes, exuding an imposing presence even without anger. He bore a slight resemblance to Lu Yue, indicating that this man was Lu Yue's father, Lu Zhengyang.
Next to him was Lu Shaoyang, who pointed at us. The tall man nodded and approached me first, followed by four agile men who moved with grace. As a martial artist, I could tell from their gait that they were skilled in Kung Fu.
Seeing this, Lu Shaoyang said something while pointing at the tent. The tall man also murmured something quietly, and the four agile men stayed outside the tent. After taking a few more steps, Lu Shaoyang waved his hand towards a group of people outside the tent, and five men stepped forward to follow behind them.
Although I couldn't hear what they were saying, I could guess what was happening. The four men left behind were likely personal bodyguards for the tall man, but it seemed that Lu Shaoyang had someone more important inside the tent—probably referring to Lu Yue—so the tall man wanted those four to stay by the tent. Then, Lu Shaoyang called over five more people to protect the two of them.
As they approached me, Lu Shaoyang pointed at us and said to the tall man, "Brother, these are the two who rescued Yue!"
"Hello to both of you. I am Lu Zhengyang. Thank you for saving my daughter," the brawny man said with a fist salute and a grateful smile.
I laughed heartily and returned the salute, but my gaze swept over Lu Shaoyang. At that moment when Lu Zhengyang greeted me with a bow, his body slightly leaned back. This movement struck me as odd. As Lu Shaoyang's third brother and also one of his subordinates, he should have been positioned slightly behind to provide protection. There was no reason for him to lean back when Lu Zhengyang was greeting me.
Just then, a cold glint flashed in Lu Shaoyang's eyes as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a black handgun, pressing it directly against Lu Zhengyang's head.
At the same time, the muscular men behind us drew their weapons—either machetes or firearms—and instantly surrounded us.
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