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墨書 Inktalez
This place is truly magical. Just a moment ago, I felt an unbearable heat on the other side of the Gorge, but now that I've crossed it, I can only feel a chill.
Since I’m sensitive to heat, I wore a short-sleeved shirt when I came out. Now that it’s cold here, I have goosebumps all over. Fortunately, Mu Xuanche is wearing a jacket.
Seeing me like this, he immediately took off his jacket and handed it to me.
The fabric still held his warmth, and putting it on made me feel instantly cozy and comfortable.
"Why is it so cold here?" I asked aloud, waiting for Chen Jiang's response.
To my surprise, it was Mu Xuanche who answered first.
"It’s probably because there’s the sea on the other side. This mountain is quite high, so it blocks all the sea breeze coming in, which causes such a significant temperature difference despite the short distance."
"How do you know that?"
That question wasn’t from me; it was from Chen Jiang. I could sense the hint of suspicion in his tone. He must be starting to doubt Mu Xuanche, and I felt a bit worried.
"Can’t you smell the salty stench of the sea in the air?"
He pointed out something we hadn’t noticed. We all paused to take a deep breath.
Sure enough, as he said, there was indeed a fishy smell of seawater in the air.
Chen Jiang suddenly laughed and said to Mu Xuanche, "Brother Mu, your keen observation is impressive. The Xuan Sect is truly fortunate to have someone like you."
His words made me unhappy. I didn’t like seeing anyone look down on Mu Xuanche, so I immediately countered Chen Jiang.
"He is not from Xuanzong; he is my fiancé who came here for me."
As soon as I finished speaking, everyone's gaze towards Mu Xuanche changed.
Chen Jiang, visibly shocked, asked, "I wonder which sect Brother Mu belongs to?"
Mu Xuanche coldly replied, "I have no sect; I'm just here to protect my woman."
Seeing his unwillingness to share more, Chen Jiang and the others had no choice but to continue moving forward.
According to the map, the Tomb should be deep within these mountains, accessible through a cave.
The dark cave was extremely damp, and no one knew what lay hidden below.
I was particularly skeptical about how a Tomb could possibly be concealed in such a place. Even if the Ancients were powerful, they couldn't have buried their coffins here.
After all, this area was difficult for even one person to traverse.
Chen Jiang insisted that it was down below, so everyone had no choice but to follow the old man further down.
The cave was incredibly slippery; I was practically pressed against Mu Xuanche as we walked.
Now that I had revealed he was my fiancé, our actions did not draw any strange looks from others.
Between a husband and wife, isn't it normal to be a little intimate?
The cave was too damp, and the visibility from the flashlight was limited.
One flashlight in my hand illuminated the ground beneath my feet, while Mu Xuanche's lit up the path ahead.
Suddenly, the flashlight flickered and went dark. In that instant, I threw myself into Mu Xuanche's arms. As long as I was by his side, I wouldn't have to worry about anything. In the darkness, I sensed a shadow slowly approaching me.
I couldn't tell if it was just my imagination or something real; it was too dark for me to see clearly. I knew that Daoists could experience illusions in the dark—those were the illusions our minds created for us. I was afraid this might be one of my own illusions.
However, in the next moment, I realized it wasn't.
Something was pressed into my palm, round and unfamiliar. I had no idea what it was.
The flashlight was quickly fixed; without sunlight in the darkness, this solar-powered flashlight could only be used with batteries.
I deliberately slowed my pace, and Mu Xuanche matched my speed to stay with me.
Noticing we were a good distance from the main group, I turned on the flashlight to examine what I held in my hand.
It was a piece of paper wrapped around two pills. The paper had two words written on it:
"Take them."
I studied the pills, unsure of what this meant.
Who had given me this? Was it the person who had been watching me from the shadows?
I handed the pills to Mu Xuanche for him to see. After looking at them, he smiled and said something strange to me.
"Wife, you seem to have quite a good rapport with people," he said.
I asked him what he meant, but he didn't answer. Instead, he placed the pill in my mouth and lifted my chin, making me swallow it.
I was shocked and asked how he could do that without knowing what it was. What if it was poison?
He smiled reassuringly, saying it was impossible for him to harm his Child's Mother.
"Child's Mother."
I suddenly found myself liking that title. However, seeing that he hadn't swallowed the pill himself made me feel a bit uneasy.
"Why aren't you eating it?" I asked.
He told me he didn't need to take it and that it might serve another purpose later.
Following Chen Jiang, we exited the cave. The main group rested at the spot, regrouping and counting heads.
Then something strange happened. There should have been seventeen of us left, yet no matter how Chen Jiang counted, there were only sixteen.
Could it be that one person was still inside the cave? Chen Jiang sent a team of three to search for them.
After a while, they returned empty-handed; the missing person was still unaccounted for.
Everyone understood the grim reality; it was likely that the person was in serious trouble.
It was too dark to continue traveling, and the Tomb should be just ahead not far away.
Chen Jiang and the others decided to set up camp for the night, planning to rest and prepare for their journey in the morning.
Everyone agreed, and after the recent events, the people here had become quite vigilant.
I returned to the tent and quietly asked Mu Xuanche if he knew what had just happened. Although I could sense that the cave was indeed eerie, I believed it was merely due to the dampness. I didn't think that the person who had disappeared was a victim of a ghost.
"What do you think happened?" he asked me in return.
"I don't think it was anyone from our team who did it."
He reached out and ruffled my hair. "Not bad, you've made some progress lately. Let Husband explain things to you slowly."
I nestled closer into his embrace, resting my head against his chest.
"Not only the person who disappeared earlier, but even those Spirit Monkeys were lured here by someone. It seems this game is being played quite well."
His words shocked me. I already thought it was enough to deduce that someone had been harmed in the cave, but I never expected that even the Spirit Monkeys were summoned by a person.
The one hiding behind all this was terrifying; who could they be?
"Is it Chen Jiang?"
As soon as I finished asking, he flicked my forehead, indicating that I was wrong.
Suddenly, a bold thought flashed through my mind, and I exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be that person who's been watching me?"
Mu Xuanche smiled, a particularly strange smile.
At this point, I didn't need him to say anything; I already knew I had guessed correctly. It seemed to be that person after all.
But why would he kill within the team? Wasn't his goal supposed to be the ancient tomb?
"With him killing like this, will he come after us next?" I asked Mu Xuanche.
He looked at me with amusement. "Wife, how do you still not understand? If he really wanted to deal with us, he would have acted long ago. If he intended to make a move, Husband would never let you come here."
This made sense to me. If Mu Xuanche couldn't guarantee my safety, he wouldn't have brought me along. After all, I was his Child's Mother.
"So what should we do now? Should we go out and drag that person out?"
I felt uneasy about the killings; lives were disappearing right before my eyes.
"Their grievances are not our concern. Just go to sleep," Mu Xuanche said as he pressed me down gently, urging me to rest.
Grievances—he had mentioned them earlier. I caught on; his implication was that the person in the darkness had a vendetta against these individuals, which was why they were being targeted.
However, this operation was clearly organized by Chen Jiang. Mu Xuanche wasn't part of Chen Jiang. Could it be that Chen Jiang was in cahoots with this individual?
I was still pondering when Mu Xuanche slapped me lightly.
Holding my sore backside, I looked at him innocently.
"Why are you hitting me?"
"Is it not enough to let you sleep? Do I have to really torment you before you are willing to comply?"
His threat worked; it really worked.
I was so scared that I obediently lay in his arms, not daring to move. If he toyed with me in a place like this, how could I ever face anyone again?
He held me close, one hand patting my back, soothing me. "Just sleep well. There might be a show to watch tonight."
"A show?" I looked up at him.
Seeing the strange smile on his face, I knew he must know something but just wouldn't tell me.
He always calculated things about me, yet he would never allow anyone else to take advantage of me.
Being calculated by just one person for a lifetime doesn't seem too bad either.
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