Chapter 151: The Land of Shadows (Part 2)

  As I walked and walked, I suddenly found that there were obvious water droplets on the four walls of this passage. It seems to be close to underground water now. Eight stars, one square root.

  In the mountains, underground is generally where you find groundwater, and in some places there are even underground rivers. The water level of an underground river can be high or low, and it's usually visible in caves. Now I see water droplets on all four walls of the passageway, so I know I'm very close to the groundwater level.

  This is a good thing, no matter how hard Ying'er hides, she won't hide in the underground river water, after all, that underground river water is very cold, and people will not be able to bear it for long.

  Besides, she's a girl and shouldn't be staying in the cold underground river water either.

  I quickened my pace, running towards the possible underground river at my fastest speed. Generally speaking, wherever there is an underground river, there will definitely be the sound of flowing water. So when I was moving forward, I didn't forget to use my ears to help me determine the location of the underground river.

  I ran for over ten minutes and then I realized a terrible fact - I was lost.

  I didn't expect that this place wasn't the Shadow Land as Dongfang Yonghao said. To get to Shadow Land, there's still a passage to walk through. Now, I'm lost in this passage.

  I stood still and began to think back, wanting to find out how I went wrong. This passage seems to have only one path, but once you encounter a turning point, many become two paths, and this situation is common. I may not have been able to choose the right road at some point, so now after running for ten minutes, I still can't find the Shadow Land.

  I took a deep breath and tried to dispel the anxiety in my heart, calming down to quietly recall the turns of the passages I had passed through before.

  My memory is still good, and most of the places can be remembered. I slowly drew out the passage here in my mind, and then slowly found out where I might have gone wrong from inside.

  It's just that I've been here from the future, and I don't know which turns to take so as not to make a mistake, so I tried hard to recall for half a day, but it didn't have any effect.

  Then I closed my eyes and turned off the flashlight. I decided to use my ears to find the path leading to the underground river.

  The sound of the underground river's water flow, I must be able to find it.

  I slowly used the true energy in my body to enhance my hearing so that I could hear the sound of running water.

  This method is quite effective. In my ears, I slowly heard a faint sound of water flowing, although it was very light, but enough for me to find the direction.

  Along with this thread of water flow sound, I quickly adjusted my mood and started looking for a place in the shade.

  With the guidance of the sound of water flow, I can almost directly find the Dark Land without much effort.

  However, when I arrived at the Shadow Land, I realized that this place was indeed worthy of its name. Because here, the air is filled with water vapor, and all light shines out in a blur. Forget about seeing one's own shadow, even if you want to see your own palm clearly, you have to stare carefully to get an idea.

  I anxiously searched for Ying'er, so I started searching here. It turns out that there is indeed an underground river here, but the water temperature of this underground river seems to be not low, on the contrary, I tried it and it's warm. No wonder this place is filled with water vapor.

  I shouted for Ying'er a few times, the echo was very close, this underground river is not wide. Ying'er also didn't know if she was here or not, I didn't hear her response.

  The underground river is roughly flowing from north to south, I observed it for a while and felt that this underground river was quite flat, not like the ones in those materials that said there would be very dangerous sections. So I followed the underground river slowly looking for Ying'er, calling out her name as I walked.

  I walked for nearly half an hour, and I had already covered almost ten kilometers. At my current pace, I could have gone a bit faster, but I was worried that if I went too fast, I would miss Jing Er, so I had to slow down slightly.

  I never managed to find any trace of Xing'er, it was as if she had never been here at all. They were a group of several people, and no matter what, they should have left some marks behind, but now I couldn't find anything.

  Didn't they go downstream but instead went upstream of the underground river?

  My heart was secretly anxious, and I almost turned around without hesitation, rushing to the upstream of the underground river at an extreme speed.

  If I've got the direction wrong, then I'm in trouble. Now I'm getting further and further away from Ying Er, if she encounters any danger, I'll be to blame.

  This is also because I have no experience of entering such a place and finding people in such a place. If I had stopped to look for their traces carefully from the beginning, this would not have happened.

  My endurance had reached its limit, and the true energy inside me was almost completely used up to rush on the road. This time I only spent a few minutes before returning to where I came from in this underground river. I took a slight breath, immediately squatted down, shone my flashlight to illuminate, and carefully observed the ground here.

  As expected, apart from the footprints I left behind, there were indeed some faint footprints on the ground. The direction of those footprints was indeed towards the upstream of the underground river.

  I felt slightly relieved and knew that this time I had definitely found the right direction.

  I stood up, adjusted my breath, and was about to head upstream of the underground river. But just as I was about to leave, I heard a very faint voice.

  It's the sound of a person breathing, it doesn't seem like much and is very faint, but I don't know what's going on.

  I immediately ran towards where the breathing sound came from. My speed was very fast, and in the blink of an eye, I arrived at the place where the sound came from.

  Then I was stunned, because there was no one here at all, and there was no more breathing sound coming out.

  Was I mistaken? Or did I have an illusion?

  I felt a sense of wonder and secretly guarded myself when I suddenly shouted: "Is anyone there?"

  With this loud shout, I secretly infused my true energy into it, and the sound was like a thunderclap, echoing far and wide.

  My voice had barely faded away when I heard another faint breathing sound in my ears. The sound was just behind me and still moving.

  I turned around sharply and pounced on the breathing sound without caring about the unclear situation in front of me.

  My hands quickly grasped a soft object, which still felt warm. This must be a human body, and I felt that my judgment would not be wrong. So I hastily said: "Is it Princess Ying'er? I was sent by Queen Mother..."

  I hadn't finished speaking when I heard someone say: "I am the princess's bodyguard, let me go first, my shoulder is almost crushed by you."

  I heard the sound of a person speaking, and knowing that it was a woman, I released my hand, shone my flashlight on her, and smiled: "So you're the princess's guard, huh? I'm here to find you on behalf of the Queen Mother. How is the princess doing?"

  The woman looked to be around thirty years old, wearing a military uniform and carrying herself with a certain martial air. However, she was somewhat petite, looking more like an ordinary housewife than anything else. She gazed at me now, her face filled with suspicion. I heard her say: "I got separated from the princess and the others, and it took me a lot of effort to find this place. Which side are you on? How did you manage to find the princess all by yourself?"

  I smiled and said: "I am under the Moon Goddess Xia Lin."

  The woman seemed to believe me a bit: "You're under the Moon God, no wonder you dare to come here alone. Are you called Dongfang Yonghao? I've heard of you long ago, and today I finally see you, indeed with extraordinary skills."

  I was taken aback and immediately shook my head, saying: "I am not Dongfang Yonghao, Dongfang Yonghao is now protecting the Moon Goddess. My name is Jinkang, I was brought from the capital by the Moon Goddess."

  The woman smiled slightly and said, "You're honest. Actually, I know Dongfang Yonghao, and I knew you weren't him. Just now was just a test for you. If you had lied, I wouldn't have believed you anymore."

  I laughed: "Now, can you tell me where the princess is?"

  The woman smiled and said, "Then you should apologize to me first. You pinched me so hard just now! Besides, I am the princess's bodyguard. How can you dare to lay hands on me? Be careful or I'll tell the princess and let her punish you."

  I smiled and said, "Sorry about earlier, I was too rash. But is the princess safe now? Let's hurry up and find the princess, then take her back. By the way, how did you end up alone here? Did you really get separated from the princess?"

  A hint of anxiety flashed in the woman's eyes as she said, "When we escorted the princess here, there were five others with us. Including the princess, that made six people in total. But as we walked, I noticed our numbers dwindling until only the princess, her personal bodyguard, and I were left. The princess was worried they might get lost, so she sent me back to find them. Just as I arrived here, I heard your footsteps approaching, and I quickly hid, but you still found me."

  I nodded: "So to speak, there is only one guard left beside the princess now? Then we must hurry up and find the princess, lest something unexpected happens again, and it will be difficult for us to explain to the queen mother later."

  The girl nodded and said: "I'll take you there, it's easy to get lost here, our people are all scattered. By the way, my name is Qin Zhenzhen, what's your name?"

  I smiled and said: "My name is Jin Cang. Qin sister, let's hurry out, I'm worried that the princess will be in danger."

  "Come with me and don't stray too far away from me, or you'll easily get lost."

  I knew this place had poor visibility and was easy to get lost in, so I responded with a sound and closely followed Qin Zhenzhen.

  Qin Zhenzhen was quite talkative and chatted with me nonstop along the way, telling me a lot of things that had happened before.

  Originally, Ying Er and the five guards encountered enemies and fled to those passages to avoid them. They had planned to wait for the enemy to leave before coming out, but unexpectedly, the enemy threw a hand grenade into the passage where they were hiding, completely blocking it. The six of them lost their way out and ended up in this dark place, hoping to find another passage to escape.

  Unfortunately, they came in a hurry and didn't bring flashlights or other lighting equipment. After walking for a while, there were many fewer people around. When Qin Zhenzhen and the others appeared, their group of six had already dwindled to just three people. So Princess Ying'er ordered Qin Zhenzhen to return along the original route and search for the three missing guards.

  Qin Zhenzhen was a guard, but after all, she was still a woman. After walking to this place, she became afraid. Moreover, I had suddenly run back here earlier and scared her, so she thought of avoiding me as much as possible.

  After everything was clear, Qin Zhenzhen smiled and said: "Your speed just now was so fast! Even I, who have practiced for a few days, can't compare with you. To be honest, except for the princess herself, in this dark shadow land, I really couldn't think of anyone whose speed could compare with yours."

  "I wondered: 'Has the princess also practiced martial arts? Or does the princess have some special tool that can increase her degree?'"

  Qin Zhenzhen said: "The princess is a disciple of Emei, although she has been following her master for a short time, but counting it up, she is also a big disciple of Emei."

  "I see: 'So that's why you said your princess has a fast tempo. Compared to your princess, she has already mastered the profound skills of Emei, so she would have a very fast tempo.'"

  Qin Zhenzhen smiled and said, "That's right, that's why I said only the princess can compare with you. By the way, Jin Cang, did you bring something to eat? We haven't eaten anything for a long time, let me think... it was still the day before yesterday when the princess caught a few small fish in this underground river and we had a meal."

  I took out some food from my backpack and handed it over to Qin Zhenzhen, saying: "I knew you guys would need food now, so I prepared some."

  Qin Zhenzhen took the food, but didn't eat it right away. Instead, she said to me: "Let's wait until we see the princess, and then we can eat together."

  I smiled: "You eat first, eat your fill and then hurry on the road. There is still food in my bag."

  Qin Zhenzhen then picked up the biscuits and other dry food I brought, and started eating them in big mouthfuls. As we walked, she ate, and slowly but surely, we ended up walking for about fifteen minutes.

  But I still didn't see the princess, nor did I see anyone else. So I got a bit anxious: "Qin sister, where is the princess after all? We've walked so far and still haven't seen them?"

  Qin Zhenzhen also found it strange: "Yes, originally not so far away, I remember I just walked for less than ten minutes, but now we have... Could something have happened to the princess?"

  I secretly urged: "It's possible, we need to hurry up a bit. If the princess and others encounter enemies and can't win, they will definitely escape along this underground river upstream. Let's speed up."

  Qin Zhenzhen said with some difficulty: "But I really can't run anymore, why don't you go rescue the princess by yourself and I'll stay here to wait for you?"

  I thought for a moment, then shook my head: "No way, it's too dangerous here. I'm not at ease with you staying alone. How about this, Qin sister? If you don't mind, I can carry you on my back. My strength is great, carrying one person and walking by myself are the same."

  "Alright then, I really can't walk anymore, so trouble you."

  I crouched down and said seriously: "Hold me tight, I'm going very fast, be careful not to throw you off."

  Qin Zhenzhen really climbed onto my back, hugging me. At this time, I had no other thoughts, took big strides, and ran upstream like flying.

  My speed compared to Qin Zhenzhen, an ordinary person, is completely two different concepts and cannot be compared. So I only used a few minutes to run the route that Qin Zhenzhen and I took about 15 minutes to run earlier. Moreover, I feel that my speed can still be increased, but considering that I am carrying someone on my back, I have to slow down slightly.

  It's common knowledge that no matter what vehicle you're in, if it's moving too fast, people will feel uncomfortable. Now Qin Zhenzhen had to endure the bumpy ride as well.

  I kept running at a certain pace, and the riverbed in front of me gradually became steeper, looking like there would be a big slope ahead.

  Qin Zhenzhen said at this time: "It seems like there's some movement ahead, I'll shout out to try...". As she spoke, she immediately shouted: "Princess? Is that you?"

  The sound echoed here, I heard the echo coming back from a distance and stopped, ready to quiet down and listen for any possible response.

  "Qin sister, we're over here!" A voice came from afar and was indeed guessed correctly by Qin Zhenzhen, the princess was right in front of them.

  I immediately quickened my pace and ran towards the sound.

  Qin Zhenzhen hastily said: "First put me down, let the princess and them see, they will misunderstand..."

  I immediately stopped and put Qin Zhenzhen down, then said: "Can you still walk? Go ahead and take a look first, you can come over from behind, no need to rush."

  Qin Zhenzhen nodded, and I ran off like a bird. When I arrived at the place where people were talking, I saw a huge skylight with one glance - it was a natural cave, with a ray of sunlight shining through the hole, illuminating an area of about ten feet in diameter around it.

  This place is quite dry, and two women are sitting here, seemingly the ones who spoke earlier. My arrival made one of the women very nervous, she suddenly stood up and shouted at me: "Who are you? Where's Qin sister? Did you kill her?"

  I smiled and said: "I came with Qin sister, I walked a bit faster, so I arrived first. Who among you is Ying'er? Wang Mu asked me to come find you, to take you out."

  The woman who was speaking let out a sigh of relief: "It turns out it's the Queen Mother who sent someone to rescue us, I thought it was an enemy catching up to us. Where's Qin? She was just talking earlier, why hasn't she come over yet?"

  I turned back and took a look, but the light was too dim and I couldn't see clearly. All I could do was shout: "Qin Jie, come over quickly!"

  Qin sister responded from afar, but didn't seem to be walking towards us. I got anxious and said to the two women in front of me: "You wait for a moment, I'll go help Qin sister."

  As soon as I finished speaking, my figure flashed and I had already left. When I returned to where I had just put down Qin Jie, I saw under the light of the flashlight that Qin Jie was sitting on the ground with a painful expression, not having taken a single step.

  I cried out "Oh no!" and rushed forward: "Qin Jie, is your foot twisted? Or are you hurt somewhere else?"

  Qin sister smiled slightly: "My foot is sprained and I can't move. You don't need to take care of me, just go take care of our princess."

  I sighed silently, reached out and picked up Qin Jie, and strode towards that skylight.

  When we arrived under the skylight, we saw Qin Zhenzhen's injury. Including me, the remaining three people exclaimed together. On Qin Zhenzhen's shoes on both feet were bloodstains. It seemed that her feet had been injured for a long time and she had endured it without saying anything.

  I took out a first-aid kit and said, "Your foot is badly injured, take off your shoes quickly, I'll bandage it for you."

  Qin Zhenzhen's face turned red as she said: "Let Liu Mei help me, you... just give me the first-aid kit."

  I realized I was a man and she was a woman, so I smiled and handed her the first-aid kit, then stepped back a few steps, quietly waiting for them to bandage their wounds.

  The woman who spoke to me was called Liu Mei, so the remaining woman must be the princess. I had a mind to greet her, but seeing that she didn't even lift her head, seemingly having no interest in talking to me, I could only give up.