Chapter 437: Never Mind Whether It Is or Not

At night, Tuan Tuan had the same dream again.

Golden eyes opened at the lake bottom, silently gazing at her, then slowly closed again.

The next morning.

The sunlight wasn't that fierce yet; Xiao Tuanzi sat alone by the lake, chin resting on her hand, staring blankly at the water.

Why?

Where is the difference? Why does the lake before me differ from the one in my dream?

Whose golden eyes are those?

Eyes, do you like me or not? If you don't, why would I keep dreaming of you?

Bored, she picked up a small pebble from the sand and tossed it into the lake.

In the dream the lake water was golden, but what lay before her was deep green.

Golden…

Her hand froze; wasn't the little thing she'd picked up a couple of days ago golden?

She lowered her head, untied the small embroidered pouch, and pulled out the pale gold, strip‑like object.

She held it up to the sunlight; the object refracted a dazzling golden light, just like the pupil in the golden eye from her dream.

Tuan Tuan sprang to her feet, mustering all her strength, and hurled the object in her palm toward the lake's center!

She shouted, "Let me see that golden eye!"

With a "plop," the object fell into the water.

Xiao Er and Lu Qi heard her cry and rushed over.

"What's wrong, Miss?"

Tuan Tuan pointed at the lake: "I threw the golden treasure I found into the water."

The three stared at the lake surface.

The lake surface was still, its color remained dark and unchanged.

Xiao Er let out a soft sigh: "Are you hungry, Miss? Let's go eat first…"

Before his words finished, the lake water suddenly boiled.

Beneath the surface, something seemed about to leap out, and countless fine ripples spread across the lake.

The ripples grew more numerous and larger…

Xiao Er's face changed; he hastily pulled Tuan Tuan behind him, while Lu Qi drew his sidearm.

The next moment.

The lake's color changed!

Brilliant golden light flared, forcing the three to shield their eyes.

Tuan Tuan pointed at the tallest dune: "Second Uncle! Let's go look again!"

"All right!" Xiao Er scooped her up and charged forward, with Lu Qi close behind.

The three climbed the dune and looked out over the lake.

The lake had returned to calm.

Yet in the oval lake's center, a golden pupil appeared with crystal clarity!

A complete, huge, opened eye lay silently in the midst of the oasis.

Lu Qi's voice trembled: "This is…"

Xiao Er murmured: "Gui Tong."

Tuan Tuan locked gazes with the eye for a moment, then tumbled and scrambled down the dune.

Xiao Er and Lu Qi shouted from behind: "Slow down! Don't rush!"

Tuan Tuan sprinted to the lakeside, crouched, scooped up a handful of lake water in both hands, and drank it without hesitation.

"Miss! No!" Xiao Er was terrified, lunging to stop her, but it was already too late.

Lu Qi stood frozen: "Miss!"

Tuan Tuan lifted her gaze to them, her big eyes shining: "The water is sweet! Tastier than honey water!"

The two simultaneously recalled the words on the sheepskin paper: "The water is poisonous" and "One's bones feel as if gnawed by worms."

Lu Qi plopped down onto the sand.

Xiao Er grabbed Tuan Tuan with one hand, pressing her tightly against his chest, both arms trembling nonstop.

Tuan Tuan wrapped her arms around his neck: "Second Uncle, what's wrong? I have to try it! I can't bring poisonous water back for Third Brother to drink!"

Xiao Er's tears fell.

Tuan Tuan quickly used her sleeve to wipe his tears: "Don't cry, don't cry—it's really sweet, not bitter at all!" After saying that, she gently patted his back.

She then lowered her gaze to Lu Qi: "Seventh Uncle! Why aren't you getting up?"

Lu Qi felt as if he couldn't catch his breath.

A quarter of an hour passed.

Half an hour passed.

Not only was Tuan Tuan unharmed, her cheeks flushed and her spirits seemed improved.

She slipped from Xiao Er's embrace to the ground, running along the lakeshore shouting, "How wonderful!"

Xiao Er watched her, thinking to himself: "Miss is fine, but she's never been ordinary; we still need to test whether this water is toxic or not."

He walked to the lakeside, cupped a handful of water, and drank it.

The lake water went down his throat clear and pure, carrying an indescribable sweetness that slid smoothly down.

Lu Qi roared: "Xiao brother!"

Xiao Er looked up: "If I have business, you take the miss back."

After one hour, Tuan Tuan squatted on the ground, excitedly watching the ants play.

Xiao Er's expression turned ecstatic: "It's fine! I'm fine! Really fine!"

Tuan Tuan lifted her little face: "Right? This water is drinkable!"

Lu Qi also took a sip: "Indeed, this water is extraordinary!"

He turned his head toward the mound, sighing: "He actually already found Gui Tong, but couldn't wait until the eye in the lake opened."

Tuan Tuan tugged Xiao Er's sleeve: "Second Uncle, hurry and fill water! Third Brother is waiting!"

"Alright! Brother Lu, we'll try to fill as much as possible; we don't know how much water each person needs to cure this illness."

"Okay, leave a Water Bag of water so we have enough to drink on the road!"

Tuan Tuan looked at the shrubs: "Second Uncle, if we dig up more balls and bring them, won't we have water to drink?"

Xiao Er and Lu Qi nodded repeatedly, "Makes sense!"

The two emptied all their skin bags, filled them with lake water, and hung them on the camel's back.

They also dug up a large pile of spherical root blocks to bring, and even punctured some to give the camel water to drink.

While they were busy, Tuan Tuan ran back to the lakeside.

She crouched down, gently patting the shore sand: "Thank you, I can go back to rescue Third Brother and the uncles."

Lu Qi stood beside the camel and shouted: "Miss! Everything's ready! Let's go!"

"Alright!" Tuan Tuan stood up, turned and ran back.

But after only a few steps, her foot suddenly stepped on something hard, hurting the sole of her foot.

Curious, she squatted and brushed away the sand beneath her foot.

Xiao Er and Lu Qi hurried over: "What's wrong?"

"There's something here! It hurts my foot!"

The three dug together for a moment, and beneath the sand emerged an ancient sword about three feet long.

The blade was heavy, entirely dark teal, and the guard bore seven very shallow depressions arranged like the Big Dipper.

Xiao Er brushed off the sand, lifted the sword, and examined it carefully.

"There are seven little dots here too!" Tuan Tuan extended her small hand, slowly gliding over the Big Dipper markings on the blade.

No one noticed that where her little hand passed, the seven depressions each flashed a faint light.

Lu Qi said: "This sword must have been here a long time, yet it's not rusted?"

Tuan Tuan urged: "Let's go! We should hurry back!"

Xiao Er sheathed the sword, placed Tuan Tuan on the camel: "Let's go! We're heading home!"

Tuan Tuan shouted happily: "Homeward! Third Brother, wait for me!"

The three returned fully loaded, leaving the oasis.

After walking out about half a li, Tuan Tuan looked back and shouted in surprise: "Second Uncle, Seventh Uncle! Look! The oasis has vanished!"

Xiao Er and Lu Qi turned simultaneously.

Behind them lay endless golden dunes; the oasis seemed as if it had never existed, disappearing without a trace.

If not for those heavy Water Bags and the ancient sword in Xiao Er's arms, the two would have almost thought these days were just a nightmare under Da Mo's scorching sun.

Lu Qi gazed at the boundless sand sea, murmuring: "Mirage… mirage."

"Could it be that we've been inside a mirage all these days?"

Tuan Tuan's eyes widened: "Wow! Really? That's awesome!"

Xiao Er smiled: "As long as we have the water, who cares! Let's go!"

The camel bells rang, and the three sprinted toward Xibei Daying.

At the same moment, many soldiers under Li Shen were coughing violently.

The entire Main Camp was filled with the scent of illness and the bitterness of medicinal herbs.