"Do you have any news of the Celestial Master?" Yan Wushuang suddenly asked.
I remembered that this was the very matter that led to our falling into the cave.
So, I took out the slip of paper and handed it to her.
"This is a flying letter for contacting Zhang Tianshi after entering the Ten Thousand Ghosts Forest."
She took the slip of paper and opened it. As if struck by a thought, she refolded it into a paper crane and whispered softly.
"Go find Zhang Tianshi."
The paper crane nodded its head and swayed. It slowly flew into the thick fog.
Before everyone could react, she said, "Follow it!"
We then hurried after the paper crane, and under its guidance, we arrived at a dense forest. The scene in the forest was very strange, with dense vines, like green snakes, covering everything. In the center of the vines, there were three large bundles tied up with vines, like giant zongzi.
Xue Gucheng stepped forward, quickly drew his saber, and sliced open the three large bundles. Three people fell straight out of the bundles.
With a cry of "Ouch," we looked closely. These three people were Liu Shinian, Daolang, and Fei Xiong. Fortunately, all three were unharmed.
"How did you end up here?" Xue Gucheng asked, puzzled.
Liu Shinian sat on the ground, rubbing his slightly aching head. He looked up slightly and realized that the people before him were the ones they were looking for.
"Muye, A'li, are you alright?" Seeing Muye and A'li safe and sound, Liu Shinian was extremely excited.
I said, "We're fine. Thanks to these two for saving us. How did you get here?"
Daolang slowly got up and recounted. "After A'li and Muye fell into the cave, we were attacked by these vine demons. While fighting them, we were bound by them. Fortunately, we met you."
Liu Shinian looked at the two people before him, full of confusion. "Are you two also here to rescue people?"
Xue Gucheng replied, "Yes. It's strange, we were following the paper crane to find the Celestial Master. To think we'd run into you." There was a hint of suspicion in his words. However, with living people right in front of them, they couldn't quite pinpoint what felt strange.
Yan Wushuang also found it somewhat peculiar. Her sharp eyes slowly fixed on Liu Shinian. With a turn of her head, she flicked her wrist, and a flying knife shot out from her sleeve, stabbing towards Liu Shinian. Liu Shinian reacted extremely quickly, drawing his sword to block it, and asked her in confusion, "What are you doing?"
Yan Wushuang calmly replied, as if it were nothing, "We sparred with each other before. I just wanted to see if you could still defend yourself against me." Liu Shinian sheathed his sword, not taking offense, and laughed heartily. "With my skills, this is no difficult task."
Yan Wushuang smiled faintly and cast her gaze back into the gray fog ahead, saying slowly, "Which way should we go now?"
Daolang closed her eyes and focused, sensing the guidance from the wind. After a moment, she slowly opened her eyes and pointed ahead. "This way."
Xue Gucheng noticed her worry and quietly asked, "Did you find anything amiss?" Yan Wushuang shook her head. Although they had their suspicions, they had never heard of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Forest replicating living people. Thinking of it this way, they shouldn't be impostors.
We followed Daolang into the thick fog. After walking for an unknown amount of time, Daolang suddenly stopped, looking around vigilantly, and said slowly, "There's a sound." Everyone immediately became alert, drawing their weapons and looking around. Suddenly, Daolang cried out in alarm, "Something's coming!"
Before everyone could react, they heard a rumbling sound of "dong dong dong." Suddenly, a huge rolling stone flew out of the gray fog, soaring towards them. "Careful!" Liu Shinian shouted. Xue Gucheng turned, gripped his saber, and leaped forward, slashing at it. The rolling stone, hit by an external force, exploded into pieces with a "peng!" sound.
Just when they thought they were safe, before they could even catch their breath, they heard another series of rumbling sounds, "dong dong dong." It sounded like an avalanche, with rocks rolling down from the mountain. "More rolling stones, everyone be careful!" Liu Shinian reminded them again. With several loud "peng!" sounds, countless rolling stones flew towards them. Xue Gucheng, unfazed, held his snow saber and swiftly moved forward, like a bolt of lightning, weaving through the rolling stones. With a flash of white light, Xue Gucheng landed slowly. "Peng peng peng!" The stones in mid-air exploded in unison.
However, not long after, they heard the rumbling sound again, like a torrent, ceaseless. Fei Xiong sensed something was wrong and shouted, "This can't go on. These rolling stones are endless. They want to trap us here. Follow me!" With that, Fei Xiong walked towards the left. Following Fei Xiong's words, we all followed him. After walking for an unknown amount of time, the sound of rolling stones grew fainter, gradually fading until it disappeared completely. Only then did we confirm that we were safe.
However, as far as the eye could see, within ten paces, they could only vaguely make out some tree shadows. If it was beyond five paces, they couldn't even see people clearly. Therefore, everyone walked very closely, as if pressed together. Yet, even after escaping the rolling stone trap, they were plunged into this bewildering gray fog, unable to find a way out.
"What do we do now?" I asked, looking at the gray fog surrounding us, feeling lost.
Daolang signaled for everyone to quiet down. She closed her eyes slightly, listening carefully to the faint sounds carried by the wind. Then, she slowly opened her eyes and pointed ahead. "This way." We followed her forward. After walking for an unknown amount of time, we suddenly heard the sound of mountain wind whistling.
"Is that... the sound of the wind?" A'li raised her head, trying to see through the mist to the source of the wind.
Daolang said, "We must be close to Wan Gui Mountain. Otherwise, we wouldn't hear such clear wind."
"Then how do we find the Celestial Master and the others?" I remembered this most difficult problem.
Fei Xiong guessed, "I suspect that if the Celestial Master and the others stop to rest, they would do so in an open area, or a place sheltered from the wind."
"Then how do we find them?" I still didn't understand how to find them.
Fei Xiong said, "Let's follow the wind. The wind will guide us to them."
"The wind?" I was completely bewildered. However, since water could be used for positioning, listening to the wind could also help determine direction. Moreover, Fei Xiong's strength was immense, and he was an expert in this regard, so I still trusted him.
Fei Xiong said, "Let's go to the right. The wind on the right seems to be coming from the mountain. If the Celestial Master and the others were lost, they would likely be lost near Wan Gui Mountain." His reasoning was sound, and we all agreed, following him to the right.
Not long after, we heard the sound of rushing water. Following the sound, we vaguely saw a gently flowing river ahead. The river water was clear to the bottom, with lush aquatic plants.
"Is this the Luoshui River?" I remembered A'li mentioning that there was a Luoshui River in Wan Gui Mountain.
"Yes," Daolang confirmed. The Luoshui River outside was quite different from the one we saw in the cave. The one inside was as black as ink, while the one outside was as clear as an undiscovered river.
Yan Wushuang looked carefully into the river, a hint of doubt surfacing in her heart. Looking at the river surface, she asked, "Are the Celestial Master and the others on the other side of the river?"
Daolang said, "Crossing the river should lead us to them."
"But how do we get across?" I asked, looking at the water, puzzled.
As we spoke, we suddenly saw a small boat swaying and approaching from the distance. There was no one on the boat, and we didn't know how it had arrived.
"This is our boat," Xue Gucheng recognized it at once.
"How did our boat get here?" Yan Wushuang was full of questions. If her guess was correct, the place where they had landed earlier was still quite a distance from here. How had it gotten here?
Everyone was filled with doubt. I guessed, could it be the Luoshui ghosts who had brought it? Before I could ponder it further, the boat slowly sailed closer. Daolang and Fei Xiong were the first to reach the boat, calling out to us, "Come quickly, we can take this boat across." We hesitated for a moment before slowly walking over. We looked at the boat for a long time without finding any problems. Daolang and Fei Xiong boarded the boat first, followed by Liu Shinian. The four of us remained standing there, looking left and right, unable to guess how it had arrived.
A'li murmured, "How strange, how did this boat know where we were?" Before we could think it through, we heard Liu Shinian urging us, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and get on, we're leaving." Under his urging, we could only board the boat with our doubts.
After boarding, Liu Shinian tapped the side of the boat with his palm. Instantly, the boat seemed to come alive and slowly sailed towards the opposite bank. However, as the boat reached the middle of the river, it suddenly stopped.
"What's going on?" A'li stared blankly at the boat. Liu Shinian crouched down and looked into the water, finding nothing. He then exerted force again, tapping the boat. The boat slowly began to move again. Suddenly, there was an explosion from the water's surface, and countless water spikes flew out. "Careful!" Liu Shinian shouted, then drew his sword first, blocking in front of everyone. Xue Gucheng looked closely and saw that the water surface was exploding one after another. Countless water spikes were attacking them. He concentrated his energy, drew the snow saber from his back, and with a forceful stomp, leaped into the air. Raising his snow saber, he swiftly slashed several sword waves towards the water. The sword waves hit the water, causing crackling explosions. Then he landed gently, the water surface returned to calm, and the boat slowly sailed towards the other side of the river.
After landing, Yan Wushuang, increasingly uneasy, asked them, "Daolang, Fei Xiong, can you two really find the Celestial Master and the others?"
Daolang affirmed, "Don't worry, we will definitely lead you to them." With that, she walked forward again.
Yan Wushuang suddenly grabbed Daolang's collar and flung her aside. Then, with a spinning kick, she sent him flying to the ground. Fei Xiong rushed forward to help Daolang up and asked her angrily, "What are you doing! You can't just hit people because you're anxious." Yan Wushuang smiled faintly and clapped her hands. "I was just testing his martial arts. It seems he's still not good enough and needs more practice."
Liu Shinian also said indignantly, "I think you're doing this on purpose. You woman, you're causing trouble again and again." Yan Wushuang glanced at him sideways and said with a cold smile, "Is that so? Even if what you say is true, since there's nothing wrong, let's hurry and find the Celestial Master and the others. Don't you think so, Daolang?"
Daolang slowly stood up, dusting off her clothes, and said helplessly, "It's more important to find the Celestial Master and the others. Let's go." With that, she led us forward again.
This time, Liu Shinian suddenly moved to the very back. As they stepped forward, they entered a vast expanse of fog, which enveloped the few of us. Only faint figures could be seen. Liu Shinian, walking at the very back, slowly revealed an imperceptible sinister smile. He slowly took out a dagger from his怀, and casually approached me. Catching me off guard, he raised his hand to stab me.
Just then, a shout of "Careful!" was heard. Xue Gucheng leaped forward and kicked Liu Shinian. Liu Shinian was sent flying by this sudden kick, falling into the thick fog. Yan Wushuang, who had long harbored suspicions, intended to find another opportunity to test them. She didn't expect them to reveal their true colors so quickly. She swiftly threw her snow flying knives, stabbing towards Fei Xiong and Daolang. Seeing their cover blown, they immediately transformed into a black mist and lunged towards me and A'li. Xue Gucheng moved forward, forming a Qiankun gesture with his hands. He pushed forward, instantly sending the black mist tens of miles away.
In an instant, dozens of vines erupted from the ground, encircling us. Then, several tendrils extended from them, stabbing towards everyone like sharp blades. Xue Gucheng quickly drew his saber and shouted, "Liu Hua Xue Shi!" With lightning speed, he swiftly moved around. To the naked eye, only light flickered between the vines. In an instant, it was as if the heavens and earth were collapsing, and the vines exploded. This astonishing fatal strike was extremely difficult to achieve, even for rare masters. I couldn't help but admire him in my heart.
After the vines dispersed, silence fell again. Suddenly, a long sword flew out from the thick fog. Xue Gucheng dodged to the side. A figure leaped out from the fog and kicked towards Xue Gucheng. Xue Gucheng met the kick with his own. However, the person was no match for Xue Gucheng and was kicked back into the fog. Without needing to guess, we knew that person was the fake Liu Shinian. However, he was not giving up and flung his sword out of the fog again. Xue Gucheng met it with his saber and sent it back. The fake Liu Shinian leaped out, caught the sword, and attacked Xue Gucheng. Xue Gucheng, holding his snow saber, met him head-on. In just a few moves, the fake Liu Shinian was beaten to the ground. He picked up the sword that had fallen beside him and threw it at Xue Gucheng. Before Xue Gucheng could react, the sword suddenly transformed into vines and bound him. The fake Liu Shinian smiled triumphantly, thinking he had the upper hand. However, he forgot about Yan Wushuang. Yan Wushuang's snow flying knife flew out, stabbing him in the back. He turned and extended his hands, transforming into vines and attacking her. Xue Gucheng broke free from his restraints and slashed at him with his saber, finishing him off. The fake Liu Shinian let out a wail, "Ah!" and then transformed into a black mist, retreating into the thick fog. The blackening of Liu Shinian was terrifying.
Yan Wushuang asked Xue Gucheng, puzzled, "Brother Xue, why didn't you finish him off earlier?"
Xue Gucheng smiled, "It's rare to have someone to spar with. It's a good opportunity to see if my skills have become rusty." Yan Wushuang sighed slightly and couldn't bear to blame him, saying only, "Alright, but no more of this next time."
"Okay."
What a loving couple. Even in just a few short sentences, it made me envious. My eyes involuntarily drifted towards A'li. After the trouble was resolved, the fog slightly dispersed, revealing the Luoshui River again. It was as if everything that had just happened was merely a dream.
"What's going on?" I was startled by the scene before me. So far, since arriving in this world, everything within my understanding seemed as inscrutable and unbelievable as a dream. They, however, were very calm, as if this situation was commonplace. A'li guessed, "I think we must have fallen into its illusionary formation. In reality, there was no landing, and we've been on the boat all along."
"This young gentleman seems to know quite a lot," Yan Wushuang praised, then explained, "This is the formidable power of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Forest. It conjures illusions based on one's thoughts, lures people into traps, and then devours them within the illusion."
"That's amazing. Thankfully, we have you. It's just, I wonder what happened to Liu Shinian and the Celestial Master and the others." I heard their helplessness and became worried.
"Don't worry. With their skills, they'll be fine," Xue Gucheng comforted me. I silently prayed in my heart that we could find them safely.