Will they really drive the water route in such heavy rain?
Huo Qiyuan hesitated for a moment before understanding her meaning. How could he forget that besides the exotic divine dog Fei La, Su Muqing also had excellent helpers among birds, beasts, and sea creatures across the land, sea, and air.
Actually, it wasn't Huo Qiyuan's fault for forgetting. It was mainly because China's development policy in the past two years had been primarily focused on inland areas, so he had almost forgotten about Su Muqing's other pet – Zhang Haiwang, an undisputed ruler of the ocean!
Thanks to the advantageous geographical location of Si'an Prefecture, both water and land routes could directly reach Yaōjīng. Although the journey might involve some detours, and the prefectural city was some distance from the sea.
However, even if it took a little longer, it would be much safer than the two of them and an eagle flying back in the rain. Coupled with Zhang Haiwang's assistance, rushing back overnight wouldn't be a big deal.
Leng Kui, soaked to the bone, looked like a wilted eggplant. Upon hearing Su Muqing mention rushing back overnight, his eyes immediately regained their sparkle.
That’s wonderful! This way, he could rush back to Yaōjīng to accompany Cui Ping. Although Leng Kui didn't offer a string of thank-you words, his eyes, filled with tears, conveyed everything, as they had known each other for so long.
Without further ado, since they had decided to take the water route back, they couldn't waste any more time hiding from the rain here. Huo Qiyuan and the others, wearing raincoats, rode their bikes back to the villa in the rain.
As it hadn't been raining for too long and the roads weren't yet muddy and difficult to traverse, it was the best time to head to the sea. Leng Kui's luggage had been packed long ago. Su Muqing placed the luggage in the SUV. After they were seated, they bid a brief farewell to the others and set off.
Huo Qiyuan and the others, wearing raincoats and standing at the intersection in the pouring rain, only returned to the villa to tidy up after the car was no longer visible. After a simple wash and changing into clean clothes, they began to continue discussing official business with Leng Ren and the others.
The rain grew heavier, and the car couldn't pick up speed. The SUV's wipers were set to their maximum frequency, but the visibility in the driver's cabin was still greatly obstructed.
Fortunately, the army had passed by the seaside when they came to Si'an Prefecture before, so Leng Kui had a general idea of the direction. The two chatted as they traveled.
They chatted about everything from whether Su Cuiping's baby would be a boy or a girl to when Su Muqing and Huo Qiyuan planned to get married. They talked about everything under the sun, without any distinction of class or status, feeling as if they had returned to the time when they went to Tianzhao Kingdom to find medicine for Huo Qiyuan.
Fortunately, Si'an Prefecture had been a major prefecture before, with wide and relatively smooth official roads connecting in all directions. After more than three hours of driving, the SUV finally reached the place the army had passed by at 8:30 PM.
When the two reached this point, their path was blocked by several large stones. They had to put on their raincoats and get out to check. They discovered that the direction leading to the sea was only a desolate path. The ground was covered with large stones, making it impossible for the SUV to pass, and even difficult for motorcycles.
The rain was getting heavier, and their raincoats were starting to fail. "Third Brother Leng, the road conditions here are not suitable for driving. It seems we can only walk."
Seeing that Su Muqing's clothes were soaked and the road ahead was difficult, Leng Kui felt very apologetic for making her suffer with him. "Your Majesty, this road looks difficult to walk on. Why don't I carry you?"
Su Muqing smiled and shook her head, flatly refusing. She considered herself not a delicate person, and this stone road was not a big problem for her. "I'm fine. Don't you remember the even more difficult roads we've traveled before? The rain is getting heavier here, Third Brother Leng, let's hurry!"
"Okay! Let's go…"
After they finished speaking, they began to rush towards the sea, each holding a high-powered waterproof flashlight, in the rain.
The stone road was already very rugged and difficult to traverse. At night, without light and with the sky pouring rain, the rising vapor affected their vision, and the wet stones on the ground were slippery, making it easy to slip and fall if not careful, greatly increasing the difficulty of their journey.
They stumbled forward for a while, the surroundings a dense darkness, with only the noisy sound of rain, making the environment truly eerie. Neither of them dared to open their eyes too wide, lest the rainwater constantly flow into their eyes.
Su Muqing was originally holding a large umbrella, but being slender, she could barely move with it. The fierce wind and rain hit her together, making her sway precariously and almost blowing her and the umbrella away. In the end, she had to throw the umbrella into her space.
Relatively speaking, Leng Kui was a bit more at ease. He was tall and burly, weighing almost as much as two Su Muqings. Although strong winds of this magnitude could make him feel resistance, they wouldn't blow him around or impede his progress.
The two stumbled forward on foot for another two hours. Around 10 PM, Su Muqing thought she saw something reflective ahead through the gaps in the heavy rain.
Her body structure had been completely transformed by the spiritual spring water, so her eyesight was much better than that of a normal person. After such a long journey, finally seeing the sea, Su Muqing could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Third Brother Leng, we're here! I see the sea ahead."
"Really? That's great, we've finally arrived after such a long journey…" Leng Kui was also overjoyed to hear they were close. He wiped the rain from his face and strained his eyes, looking forward.
"Let's hurry! We should be there soon." With victory in sight and no more stones blocking their path, the two of them were able to travel much faster than before.
The drought here had been too long, and the soil on the roads was completely cracked. After six or seven hours of continuous heavy rain, the water had seeped into the ground, and there wasn't even a puddle on the road.
The situation on the beach was similar. The rainwater hitting the sand disappeared without a trace after a while. The two ran on the beach for more than ten minutes before they saw the sea.
In fact, the beach they had run on for those ten minutes was the original shallow sea area. However, due to the drought, much of the seawater had evaporated, and the waterline had receded significantly.
In front of the beach, there was a large area of dark obstacles, all sharp reefs, and the stones were covered with attached shells.
Su Muqing, eager to save time and walking in front, stumbled. Her calf got caught in the gap between the reefs, and a searing pain immediately shot through it.