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墨書 Inktalez
Suddenly, Nangong Mo Yi approached the Dragon Python, which Mei Shuang had mistakenly thought was a rock. He crouched down to take a look, then stood up and magically pulled out a slender black flute from his sleeve. He placed it to his lips, and a series of strange notes flowed out smoothly. The sounds varied in pitch and length; they were not particularly pleasant, but rather odd.
The flute music seemed to have a magical effect, as the massive python that she had just sat on began to react. Its enormous, bulky body started to move slowly. When its head emerged, Mei Shuang could no longer hold herself up and fell back in shock.
What on earth is this?
Its head was as large as a basin, with blue eyes the size of eggs. The thick, powerful body unfurled like a rope, and when its head lifted, it was nearly at eye level with Mei Shuang! This creature must be at least ten meters long; it was undoubtedly a giant among pythons—no wonder it was called Dragon Python!
This is truly bizarre!
In her astonishment, Mei Shuang forgot to dodge as the Dragon Python slithered several feet toward Nangong Mo Yi, lowering its head beside him as if waiting for his command.
Nangong Mo Yi stopped playing and reached out to pat the enormous head of the Dragon Python. Then he pointed in the direction where the cloaked figure had disappeared. To her amazement, the Dragon Python seemed to understand and obeyed.
Its massive body moved with surprising agility, stirring up dust and vegetation as it vanished into the darkness ahead.
Mei Shuang watched this scene in disbelief, her heart racing. This person could command such a gigantic creature as if he were directing a mere pet; he was not to be underestimated. At that moment, she could only hug her knees tightly and wait dejectedly while silently wondering why the person who had spoken to her earlier had not yet appeared...
The moonlight tonight seemed exceptionally bright, casting a cold glow on a group of people moving swiftly at the foot of the mountain.
As this group silently surrounded the inconspicuous cave, one of them whispered,
"Lady Aida, are you sure it's here?"
The person being questioned stepped forward for a closer look and whispered back, "Yes, this is definitely the place. I escaped from here a few days ago."
With that confirmation, the man no longer hesitated; after searching for days, he finally had a lead.
He drew his dagger and was about to enter when Lady Aida stopped him. She turned around and found her son at the back of the group. "Zheng Yi, come over and see if this is the place."
Zheng Yi rubbed his sleepy eyes and walked over, carefully inspecting around the cave entrance before shaking his head. "Mother, it's not here."
The others were inevitably startled. Lady Aida was even more surprised. "Impossible! I marked a sign on the stone in front of the cave when I left. Look, there's a mark on this stone. Children shouldn't say things randomly; it could delay rescuing your sister..."
But Zheng Yi still shook his head, insisting it wasn't the case, though he couldn't explain why.
The leader then waved his knife, instructing the people outside to go in and check.
Moments later, someone came out holding the Firestarter, looking dejected. "Boss, it really is an abandoned cave inside..."
Lady Aida panicked. "This is absolutely impossible! I need to take a look!"
She raised the Firestarter and personally went inside to inspect. In the large space, she saw that the ground was surrounded by rocks—large and fragmented—indeed very different from when she had come before. She stared in shock at her surroundings, noticing the protruding rock walls, but there was no way leading upward.
This was truly bizarre!
Lady Aida hurried out, her face pale. She looked around; the big trees and thorns were unchanged, but inside it had completely transformed. In just a few days' time, she encountered something that completely overturned her worldview for the first time.
"Zheng Yi, then tell Mother where exactly it is!"
Zheng Yi looked around again and went back to the cave entrance, shaking his little head. "Mother, did we not walk far enough?"
The others exchanged glances. "What do you mean?"
Zheng Yi said, "Let me think..."
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly squatted down and covered his head, then began to hit his own head hard, startling Lady Aida into exclamations. "Zheng Yi! Zheng Yi! What's wrong with you?"
"Mother, my head hurts... I don't want to think anymore, I don't want to think..." Zheng Yi was in so much pain he almost rolled over.
"Alright, don't think about it..." Lady Aida hurriedly embraced him, repeatedly comforting him to calm down.
After a while, Zheng Yi finally quieted down, drenched in sweat and nearly exhausted, falling asleep in Lady Aida's arms.
"Madam, what is happening?" The companions looked at this scene in shock.
Lady Aida gently laid the sleeping Zheng Yi down and gritted her teeth, "These despicable people must have drugged Zheng Yi to prevent him from finding this place. Lord Lu, we have been deceived!"
"But Madam, you..." Lord Lu's meaning was clear; since they had come together, why hadn't she been drugged?
Lady Aida smiled bitterly, "You see, I found this place by memory, but it was in vain. This shows that they were certain I wouldn't be able to find it!"
Lord Lu nodded, "Your young master is unconscious; what should we do now?"
Lady Aida thought for a moment, "Just now, Zheng Yi mentioned that we might not have arrived yet..."
Suddenly, she had an epiphany. "I understand now. Using your Han people's saying 'a cunning rabbit has three burrows,' it means this entrance must be a deceptive false entrance, and we haven't reached the real entrance at all. If I'm not mistaken, the real entrance shouldn't be too far. Let's just search along the foot of the mountain."
Upon hearing this, Lord Lu and the others praised her insight and immediately instructed people to carry Zheng Yi on their backs. Then the group hurriedly moved forward.
After walking for a while, they indeed encountered the situation Lady Aida described.
Everyone stood outside, looking left and right; it was exactly like the previous cave. Including the trees outside the entrance and the dense thorns, everything gave off a feeling as if they had returned to the original entrance.
Lady Aida quietly approached to examine the stone; sure enough, this time there was no mark on it.
"Lady Aida, if this is the real entrance, then you and that young lady should have passed by this one first. Why do you think this entrance is genuine?"
Lady Aida replied, "It's simple; the terrain here is similar. That previous entrance was a smokescreen and must have existed long ago. When we arrived, it wasn't there at all; it must have been opened later to confuse those who came after us and create an illusion that would lead them to give up. You see how they were worried; they even changed the stone blocking the entrance..."
"How cunning!" Even Lord Lu couldn't help but gasp at the thought. "They really went to great lengths... Should we go in?"
Lady Aida quickly interjected, "This cave has treacherous terrain, and there are large insects inside. We must not let our guard down. Here’s what we’ll do: Lord Lu, you and I will go in, while the others stay outside as a precaution and to provide backup."
After a brief discussion, they agreed on the plan. A few of them cautiously moved forward, trying not to make any noise. Lady Aida led the way, relying on her memory to navigate. Lord Lu still felt uncertain and murmured, "Why is it so quiet inside?"
Lady Aida pondered this until she noticed flickering lights that resembled ghostly flames ahead. She quietly sighed in relief and gestured for Lord Lu to look.
As they advanced, the weak light revealed a spacious underground cavern. Dim lanterns were scattered along the walls, and if one didn’t look closely, they would think those flickering lights were merely floating will-o'-the-wisps. Such a sight would typically frighten most people into retreating without needing guards.
Lord Lu glanced around and realized that Lady Aida was indeed correct.
Under Lady Aida's guidance, they crept toward the rock wall but suddenly spotted several figures in black descending from above. They quickly stepped aside to avoid being seen. One of them said, "The master has already gone up; we can leave now. It’s not safe to linger here. We should depart as soon as possible..."
The group turned and slipped into the crevices of the rock wall, vanishing without a sound.
The people below were taken aback; it turned out this cave was interconnected and truly an excellent hiding place.
Lady Aida dared not linger any longer and said to Lord Lu, "We need to hurry. From what they said, their master has already left. Doesn’t that mean Miss Mei Shuang has been taken away?"
Relying on her memory, Lady Aida led Lord Lu and the others deeper into the cave. Since there were no other people around, they felt free to light a fire starter for illumination.
Though the path was rugged, it felt like flat ground to them thanks to Lady Aida's accurate guidance, and they quickly made their way up.
However, when they reached the flat area above, it was pitch dark. Moonlight filtered through the cracks of the cave, casting faint beams of light that illuminated everything in an eerie stillness.
As they walked over and examined the walls, there were no signs indicating anyone had been there recently. To Lady Aida's surprise, even the stone table from before had vanished without a trace.
"Could it be that they left a long time ago?" Lady Aida mused aloud while counting the days with her fingers. "That can't be possible..."
"Lord Lu" asked curiously, "What is impossible?"
Suddenly, one of his subordinates mentioned that there were rice grains on the ground. "Lady Aida" quickly went over, picked up a grain, and noticed that although it was dirty, it was quite fresh.
She felt a jolt of realization as she saw several scattered grains forming an irregular line. Following the direction of the rice grains, she spotted a corner of a cloth peeking out from the greenery against the wall.
It was an obvious hint.
"Lady Aida" hurriedly called "Lord Lu" over, and the two examined it. The cloth turned out to be a napkin, with rice grains stuck to it that looked identical to those on the ground.
They began inspecting the wall around the cloth. Suddenly, "Lady Aida" recalled what the man in black had said earlier.
"The master has already gone up... gone up... where has he gone?" "Lady Aida" murmured to herself.
"Lord Lu" used his sword to push aside the surrounding greenery for a closer look. Indeed, there were signs of being trampled near the base of the plants.
If it weren't intentional, how could someone have walked this way?
"Lady Aida" said, "I understand now; there must be a mechanism here leading to the mountain top..."
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