The final mermaid skeleton was painted by Hei Yanjing in a bizarre color scheme, red like a raging fire on the upper half and unnervingly green on the lower.
From a distance, it resembled some ancient matchmaker.
Zhang Qiling, holding the Black Gold Ancient Saber, watched quietly from the side, offering no opinion on Hei Yanjing's creation.
...Although, he did feel that the skeleton lacked soul without a large black mole on its face.
The skeleton remained motionless throughout the process, pretending to be completely dead.
Fortunately, its efforts were rewarded. After Hei Yanjing finished painting, he lost interest in the inert, lazy skeleton lying there and simply tossed it back into the water the way it came.
The moment the mermaid skeleton hit the water, it sprang back to life, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye, likely at the fastest speed it could muster.
Zhang Qiling: ...A bit pitiful, it seemed.
They were now beside an underground river channel, or more accurately, a moat.
That's right, after emerging from the underground water, they were once again faced with a city.
But unlike the previous beautiful starry sky and full moon, this city was hidden in an ink-like darkness, its faintly visible outline resembling siren tentacles luring one in.
The prophecy inscribed within the golden pagoda-shaped ancient box reappeared. Perhaps this city was the place Hei Yanjing had been searching for all along.
In other words, the true Qionglong Yin Cheng.
After a brief rest, Hei Yanjing's temporarily deafened ears finally recovered.
"Hey, Mute!" he grumbled, rubbing his still aching ear. "Can you give me a heads-up next time you make a move?"
"What if I didn't react in time and we ended up fighting?"
Hei Yanjing voiced his opinion without expecting a reply from Zhang Qiling.
However, to his surprise, Zhang Qiling actually turned around, his tone flat and unperturbed, sounding quite sincere.
"It's fine."
"You can't beat me."
Hei Yanjing: ...Perhaps you should say less.
Did you even hear yourself speak?
Honestly, if Hei Yanjing's eyes hadn't been compromised, Zhang Qiling might not have been able to defeat him in this pitch-black cave.
But now, he was fearless.
Hei Yanjing understood this. Recalling their numerous sparring matches on the road to Tibet, he couldn't help but grit his teeth.
...No, was this truly the skill of a human?
Despite that, Hei Yanjing still wanted to regain some ground verbally. "I'm telling you, Mute, you'll have no friends if you keep talking like that!"
"I do."
Zhang Qiling replied even faster, with a decisive cut.
"Two."
Hei Yanjing: ...
Zhang Qiling: ...His expressionless face clearly conveyed smugness.
Hei Yanjing was truly shocked. This was an answer he could never have imagined.
I mean, Zhang Qiling's face itself suggested a lack of kinship and a detached nature. Which two brave souls could possibly communicate with a mute person while facing such a cold demeanor?
And judging by his expression, these weren't just ordinary friends, but ones with whom he shared a life-or-death bond.
Hei Yanjing's curiosity about these two mysterious individuals reached its peak.
—
Of course, curiosity aside, the Forbidden Land still needed to be explored.
After resting, the two arrived at the edge of the moat.
This river, fed by underground water, was about sixteen to seventeen meters wide and bottomless, completely encircling the city without any gaps.
This meant that if they wanted to enter the city, they would have to wade through it.
Zhang Qiling's hand wound had not yet healed, and blood beads splattered with the slightest exertion.
He smeared a little blood onto Hei Yanjing as a precaution, then drew the Black Gold Ancient Saber with his right hand and jumped in.
Hei Yanjing followed closely. The two were submerged in the icy water, swimming rapidly. In just a few breaths, they reached the center of the river channel.
The river remained calm and undisturbed throughout this process.
"Whoa, so quiet?" Hei Yanjing remained vigilant, his mouth once again contributing to the comedic commentary of the Forbidden Land.
"This is almost unsettling for me, Lord Hei. Perhaps we should award this river a Nobel Peace Prize~"
Zhang Qiling did not reply. He had already sensed something approaching in the river as Hei Yanjing's voice echoed.
It wasn't fast, but it was large.
Zhang Qiling judged the angle and, the moment the thing got close, his left hand shot out, grasping its body!
He felt a sticky, slippery sensation under his hand, like the skin of a scaleless fish.
Without hesitation, the Black Gold Ancient Saber rang out, and in a flash of lightning, the thing was impaled!
Lifting the saber, the object finally surfaced!
The first thing that appeared was a long fish body, thick and curved, looking even more like a snake's tail.
Then, the head emerged from the water—
Zhang Qiling: ???
"Well, I'll be!" Hei Yanjing, who had also reeled in a similar creature, chuckled and gave the wet head a casual stroke.
...This fish actually had a dog's head?
—
"Dog-headed eel."
On the bank, Zhang Qiling finally dredged up the name of the creature from the depths of his memory.
By this time, the two of them had reached the opposite bank.
Along with them ashore came several dog-headed eels, their bodies wriggling and yelping.
To call them "dog-headed" was merely a resemblance in shape.
Whether it was the slippery scales on their heads or the sharp teeth, four on the upper jaw and four on the lower, they bore no resemblance to the fluffy little animals of his memory.
"Dog-headed eel... huh?"
Hei Yanjing, stroking each dog-headed eel beside him, suddenly fell into thought.
"Didn't the legends say this thing had another characteristic?"
Zhang Qiling pondered for a moment and indeed unearthed another small note.
(Dog-headed eel: extremely delicious.)
Zhang Qiling: ...
Hei Yanjing: Hehehe~