Chapter 152: The Land of Shadows (Three)

  Liu Mei is much younger than Qin Zhenzhen, but at least she's twenty-five or six years old. 81 Chinese Network . I heard her say: "Jin Cang, be careful around you, there's an enemy mixed in here, very powerful, our people may have been hurt by him."

  I nodded and said, "You guys hurry up, this place is too dark, but we are very bright here. The enemy can hide in the dark to see us, but we can't see the enemy. If the enemy is a good shooter, they will definitely not miss such a good opportunity to snipe at us. So now, we must leave this light source as soon as possible to avoid getting hurt."

  Liu Mei looked at me strangely and then asked: "Are you a soldier? How did you know all this?"

  I smiled and said: "I am from the Dragon Protection Squad. I was wanted for saving you, Moon Goddess, before. Now I'm here to blend in and eat, so not long ago, your Queen Mother sent me to rescue you."

  Liu Mei exclaimed, "Oh!" and turned to Qin Zhenzhen, saying: "Sister Qin, your foot injury is very serious, you need to get treatment right away. Otherwise, why don't you and Jin Cang go ahead first, and I'll follow behind with the princess to find a doctor to treat your wound?"

  Qin Zhenzhen hesitated for a moment, then seemed to understand something and said: "Alright, let's do it this way. I'll go ahead with Jin Cang, you follow behind us, Princess."

  I find it strange, is this Princess Ying'er mute and unable to speak or hear others, that's why she keeps her head down and doesn't speak or look at us? And Liu Mei and Qin Zhenzhen's words are also quite interesting, what do they mean by saying Qin Zhenzhen's foot injury is severe and needs treatment, so she has to walk ahead? Is this princess also injured but too embarrassed to tell me, an outsider?

  I found it strange in my heart, but I also knew that this was not something I should ask about, so I supported Qin Zhenzhen and took a step back to leave this place with skylights.

  Liu Mei and Ying'er followed us afterwards. I quietly turned back to take a look, but didn't see any injuries on her body.

  But I still didn't see Jing Er's face, because she was still walking with her head down.

  Liu Mei said somewhat nervously at this time: "Can you give me the flashlight? We're walking behind and I'm a bit scared."

  I handed her the flashlight with a smile and said, "Why don't you two go ahead, I'll follow behind and take care of you."

  Liu Mei shook her head: "Let's just go like this, it's better if we leave here quickly."

  Qin Zhenzhen also said: "From here on, it should be the source of the underground river. I walked through here a long time ago and know that there is a place above where we can leave."

  I was delighted and said: "Then what place do you remember? How far is it from here?"

  Qin Zhenzhen thought for a moment: "It's probably just a few kilometers away. But at that time I was still young, and I don't know if there have been any changes here now."

  I was suddenly a bit disappointed, looking at Qin Zhenzhen's tone, the few kilometers she mentioned might be tens of kilometers. So if we want to get out from this road, it really isn't something that can be done in a short while.

  At this time, I remembered what Qin Zhenzhen had said before. They hadn't eaten anything for several days. So I took out the food from my backpack and distributed it to them one by one: "Everyone eats something while walking, we still have a long way to go, everyone needs to keep their strength."

  Qin Zhenzhen had already eaten, so she didn't take the food I handed her. Liu Mei, on the other hand, snatched the food away in one swift motion and kept calling out, "Is there more? Is there more? Give us a bit more, we've been starving for days..."

  I smiled and handed her more food, also handing some to Ying'er. Ying'er only then lifted her head, saying somewhat dazedly: "What's going on?"

  I looked at this girl and she really was just like Min Hui Zhen said, a big beauty, but I felt that she was a bit silly, and didn't know if she was lost in thought or if she was always like this. I said: "Eat something, aren't you hungry?"

  Ying'er seemed stunned for a moment, then asked me: "Who are you?"

  I was also stunned: "My name is Jin Cang, I was sent by the Queen Mother to save you... are you Ying Er? You... are you okay?"

  Ying'er was stunned again, suddenly smiled and said: "When did you come? How could I not see you coming? Is my mother okay? Has she been attacked by the enemy?"

  I hesitated for a moment, and then I realized that this guy wasn't really an idiot, but was actually deep in thought. So I told him the truth: "Wang Mu is injured, quite seriously. But after the doctor's treatment, she's no longer in danger of losing her life... you don't have to worry." I couldn't help but wonder: Is this guy an idiot or a normal person? How can he be so spaced out one minute and then seem completely normal the next?

  Ying'er's face changed slightly, and she immediately became angry: "What kind of person is attacking us? We're here, we shouldn't have any enemies, could it be that there's a traitor among us? What...what's going on?"

  I didn't know how to respond, so I glanced at Ying'er: "I'm also new here, so many things aren't very clear to me. If you think someone is deliberately luring the enemy to attack you, why not think about it yourself and see if there's anyone inside who might be targeting you with malicious intent."

  Ying'er suddenly sighed: "I'm just guessing, there's no evidence at all. If someone really is targeting us on purpose, I won't be able to do anything about it."

  Qin Zhenzhen said angrily: "I think it must be the princess's wet nurse, she has long been thinking of becoming the queen mother herself..."

  Ying'er interrupted Qin Zhenzhen's words: "Shut up, don't talk nonsense. Although Nainai is a bit arrogant, she absolutely won't lay a hand on me. This time the attacker was clearly targeting me and my mother, it should have nothing to do with Nainai."

  Qin Zhenzhen slightly lowered her head and didn't dare to speak again. Liu Mei, however, said: "Princess, it's essential to be cautious of others' intentions. Although she is your wet nurse, when faced with benefits, it's hard to guarantee that she won't change her mind... In my opinion, from now on, we should indeed be more careful; otherwise, perhaps such things will happen again."

  Ying'er shook her head and still believed her nanny: "Don't say that anymore, I believe my nanny won't hurt me."

  Qin Zhenzhen was suddenly speechless, just looking at me with a helpless expression. I smiled and said: "Actually, we don't have any evidence now, so it's just speculation. After we get out, let's investigate and everything will be clear. Now, I think our main task is to leave this dark shadow land. As Qin sister mentioned earlier, there is an exit from here to the upstream of the underground river. Why don't we follow the underground river upstream?"

  Ying'er thought for a moment before saying, "I've never heard of that exit before. I've been to this Dark Shadow Land many times, and every time I leave, it's always through the same entrance channel. Moreover, those channels change differently each time, with many traps and extreme danger... How about we try the exit Qin sister mentioned?"

  Qin Zhenzhen let out a faint sigh and said somewhat uncertainly, "I also passed by that exit many years ago, I don't know what it's like now..."

  I frowned and said: "There are strong enemies behind us, and Qin sister is also injured. It's impossible to go back. If there's an exit in front of us, we have to try no matter what."

  Qin Zhenzhen nodded: "Then let's head upstream. I still remember that there is a skylight next to the exit, and near the skylight on the top of the cave, there are many giant stone icicles. Let's all pay attention and don't miss that place."

  Liu Mei and Ying'er both responded with a "yes", as if because Qin Zhenzhen was older, they both listened to her words.

  Qin Zhenzhen looked at me and said seriously, "Why don't we turn off the flashlight? The skylight is very small, and the light coming through it is very weak. I'm worried that if we keep the flashlight on, we'll miss the skylight..."

  Liu Mei said hesitantly, "Then how can we see the road clearly? There are pebbles everywhere here, and if you're not careful, you might step on empty air and fall into the river... The water in this river is icy cold, and falling in will give you a chill."

  Qin Zhenzhen said: "Jin Cang is a martial artist, his eyesight must be much better than ours. So let's have Jin Cang lead the way in front, and we'll follow behind him holding hands. This way, I think we won't have to worry about falling into the river."

  Liu Mei exclaimed "oh" and immediately reached out to grab my hand, then turned around to pull up Jing'er, saying: "You can turn off the flashlight now."

  I muttered to myself: "It seems that this Liu Mei is also a decisive person..." Then I said aloud: "Follow me closely, my vision is also affected here, and I can't see very far."

  Qin Zhenzhen sighed softly: "The Dark Shadow Land has been shrouded in thick fog for years, even with a flashlight, you can only see a few meters ahead. It's not just you, Jin Cang, even if someone more powerful than you were here, their vision would still be affected."

  "I said: 'Everything has its pros and cons, we can't see far away, the enemy is the same. This is also why he hasn't found us for so long. Now let's all be quiet, lest we reveal our position.'"

  Qin Zhenzhen and Liu Mei both responded with a "yes", while Ying'er remained silent, quietly following us as we headed upstream towards the underground river.

  The ground was covered with gravel everywhere, making it very difficult to walk. With no light, we had to grope our way forward, which made things even more challenging. So after almost an hour of walking, we hadn't gone very far.

  According to my estimate, we have walked less than two kilometers in total. In normal times, it's almost the same as not moving at all. Moreover, even at this slow pace, Qin Zhenzhen was struggling to support herself due to her foot injury. I felt that she was trembling while holding my hand, as if she was about to collapse.

  "I'd better say: 'Take a rest, Qin's injury seems to be serious again...'"

  Liu Mei immediately stepped forward and said: "Then let's take a break, how is Qin sister's injury?"

  Qin Zhenzhen said: "I'm fine, just need a rest."

  This time, I didn't care about the strong enemy behind me. I turned on my flashlight and shone it on Qin Zhenzhen's feet. Qin Zhenzhen's shoes were covered in fresh blood, and it looked like her wound had split open again, which was why there was so much blood.

  I helped her sit down and handed the flashlight to Liu Mei: "Follow us, I'll bandage Qin's wound. If we continue like this, Qin's injury will make it impossible for her to move."

  Liu Mei Qi said: "So you know how to treat injuries, why didn't you help earlier? I don't even know how to bandage, and it made Qin Jie's injury worse."

  I forced a smile and said, "Didn't Qin sister ask you to help her? I thought you would bandage it, so I didn't say much. Who knew that now Qin sister's injury is even more severe, and I have no choice but to re-bandage it for her."

  Liu Mei said: "Isn't that because Qin Jie is shy? You don't know, Qin Jie is older than us, but she has never had a boyfriend..."

  Qin Zhenzhen immediately said: "Don't talk nonsense, I...I'm not shy, I just think these things are better done by women."

  Liu Mei smiled and said, "But I really don't know how to bandage, you see, now it's not that I'm not helping you... Ah, Jin Cang, how do you know all this? Did you receive special training in the army?"

  I was bandaging Qin Zhen's wounded foot while saying, "These things, as long as you've had experience on the battlefield, you'll know how to do them. No special training is needed."

  Liu Mei looked at me and turned to Ying'er, saying: "Princess, do you know that Jin Cang has participated in many battles? I heard that he fought against the Wan Long Hui and the Japanese pirates at the Three Gorges Dam. He also fought in Wuhan and in the capital city..."

  Ying'er interrupted Liu Mei's words: "I know all this, but he used to be a government man, and we're supposed to be enemies, what are you so happy about?"

  Liu Mei immediately lowered her head: "Isn't that something from before? Now Jin Cang is also considered one of our goddess's people..."

  Ying'er said coldly, "If he really joins our Goddess, I might believe him. But for now, he's still our enemy. At most, I only believe he won't harm me, as for the rest, I still have my doubts. If we didn't need help right now, I wouldn't be following him."

  Ying Er's words made me feel a bit displeased, so I also got somewhat angry: "I am indeed your enemy, and now that I've come here to rescue you, it's not without reason. But at this time, can't you say something else? Don't think I don't have a temper, if you provoke me, even if you're the princess, I'll scold you just the same."

  Liu Mei immediately stepped forward, blocking the way between me and Ying'er: "Jin Cang, don't worry, the princess...she's got a problem here..." She pointed to her own brain, continuing in a low voice: "Sometimes she's okay, sometimes she's not. Sometimes what she says is very unpleasant, but she doesn't mean any harm."

  I frowned and said: "You mean to say that Ying'er is ill?"

  "You're the one who's sick, I'm not!" Ying'er suddenly shouted: "I'm not sick, don't talk nonsense about me!"

  I looked at her and she seemed just as dazed as when I first saw her. So I quickly said, "Right, you're not sick! It was me talking nonsense."

  Ying'er suddenly smiled again and pointed at me, saying: "You're a bad guy!"

  I secretly sighed, knowing that this beautiful girl was indeed ill. It looks like intermittent mental illness, and I don't know if it's just mental illness or if there's something wrong with her brain, so she's okay one moment and not the next.

  Liu Mei hugged Ying'er and then said: "Quickly help, the princess is about to fall ill..."

  I was stunned, and before I could even put down the gauze and medicine in my hand, I saw Ying'er let out a strange laugh, and then she fell straight to the ground.

  I didn't have time to think much, and hastily reached out to support her, and together with Liu Mei, we helped Ying'er sit down on a nearby rock.

  Qin Zhenzhen said at this time: "We have brought medicine with us. Quickly give it to the princess for her to take."

  Liu Mei immediately stood up and somehow produced a medicine bottle from somewhere, poured out a pill and fed it to Ying'er.

  I reached out and grasped Ying'er's wrist, feeling her pulse for a moment before furrowing my brow. Although I'm not skilled in medicine, having cultivated the Wudang Heart Method, I have some knowledge of the human body's meridians and can roughly understand what a person's pulse reflects. So now I realize that Ying'er doesn't just have brain problems, her body also has issues.

  This is not a minor issue. Because I can see that she seems to have been seriously injured in the past, with severe internal injuries that still haven't fully recovered until now. These internal injuries are now gradually showing signs of relapse, which may pose a serious threat to her life.

  "I didn't think and directly said: 'Ying'er has an old injury inside, now it should be a relapse of the old injury, which triggered her brain hidden disease, so she fainted. Do you know where she was injured before?'"

  Liu Mei exclaimed in surprise: "You're really amazing, how do you know everything? Oh, right, the princess was ambushed before and suffered a brain injury and heart damage. But that was five years ago, she should have recovered by now."

  I shook my head: "That's right. The old injury in Ying'er's body has not fully recovered, and now it has recurred. If I'm guessing correctly, she is now unconscious because of the recurrence of the old injury."