Chapter 732: then translation of chapter title

Gu Jiu Ling also came over to look at the assembled map, thinking how hard it had been to obtain this map originally.

First, after attending a poetry gathering, she pried out a portion from an ancient book in Old Master Du's collection.

She also obtained a portion from Zuo Feichen's hands, and finally found the last portion in the makeup box left by her mother.

Only when combined did they have the map before them; they took this map and finally entered Mang Shan, but unexpectedly found no way ahead—a stone cliff blocked their path.

Even before, the carriage could not pass; Gu Jiu Ling and Xiao Yin had to dismount and, accompanied by their retinue, finally stood before this cliff.

Gu Jiu Ling and Xiao Yin lifted their heads to look at the cliff, as if a sharp sword from the horizon pierced straight into the land.

Everyone stared in astonishment at the sheer, towering stone cliff that rose straight into the sky before them.

Compared to nature's miraculous craftsmanship, these tiny humans—no matter how high their martial arts, how strong their strength, or how noble their status—seemed utterly ridiculous.

Gu Jiu Ling had never seen such a high cliff; looking up, she could see no top.

The cliff exposed pure white granite, with unidentifiable vines coiling around this rock face, left and right seeming to stretch endlessly.

Gu Jiu Ling had never seen such a strange sight; Xiao Yin immediately ordered people to set up camp there and rest.

Seeing that it was already late, looking for another route was obviously too late.

They could only spend the night beside the cliff; if this road truly led nowhere, they would think of another way.

"Ling Feng, arrange the men into two teams to scout east and west, to see if there are any other mountain paths nearby."

"Yes!" Ling Feng also hadn't expected that following the map would lead to a dead end.

Such a high cliff—even if one tried to climb, one could not reach the top; it felt like a giant gate blocking the mountain road, cutting off all possibility of passage.

Xiao Yin and Gu Jiu Ling sat in the makeshift tent, having found no child, and the leads in Mang Shan were also cut off.

Both were in low spirits; Xiao Yin ladled out a bowl of the porridge he had cooked and handed it to Gu Jiu Ling, saying, "Eat something first—when the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a road; perhaps we're looking in the wrong place."

"The map left by my maternal grandfather cannot be fake," Gu Jiu Ling said, head bowed, eyes fixed tightly on the map in her hand.

Her eyes were full of red blood vessels; these days of staying up had left her utterly exhausted.

Yet she always felt something was eluding her grasp, but she could not find the crux of the matter.

"Eat something first; if you keep going like this, your body won't hold up," Xiao Yin said, snatching the map from Gu Jiu Ling's hand, putting it away, and placing the steaming bowl of porridge in her hands.

Gu Jiu Ling then reluctantly lifted the bowl, drank half the porridge, and her brows and eyes grew warm.

She slowly leaned into Xiao Yin's embrace, her voice low: "Do you think we did too many wicked deeds in our past life? This life is to repay debts?"

"One thing after another, I always feel Heaven doesn't want us two to live?"

Xiao Yin bowed his head, lightly kissed her forehead, and held her tightly: "If Heaven is blind, then let this sky be gone."

"They are the ones who have done wicked deeds to the extreme; there's no need to doubt yourself. Some obstacles will pass."

"Back then, after Qi Sha Gu, I too almost committed suicide, but I could never resign myself; I just wanted to give my fallen brothers an answer."

"To live is to be unwilling to accept those three words; we haven't yet had good days, so why should we end up like this? There must be a solution, there must be."

"Your Majesty!" came Ling Feng's voice from outside.

"Come in," Xiao Yin said, lightly putting an arm around Gu Jiu Ling's shoulders, letting her lean against his chest to rest a moment.

Ling Feng entered with two men in dark robes; the two knelt before Xiao Yin and reported: "Your Majesty, we led men east and west for about several dozen li, yet this cliff wall continues to extend."

"After walking another roughly five li, we discovered it was actually a downward moat; the ditch is too deep for us to cross, so we may truly have to retreat and retrace our steps."

Xiao Yin frowned deeply—what was going on?

He felt as if the path up the mountain had been fine, then suddenly cut off by a blade.

Could the original direction have been wrong?

If we retreat and walk again, it would take over a month more.

Gu Jiu Ling furrowed her brows tighter, whispering: "No, we can't retrace our steps; if we go back and walk again, there won't be just this one mountain path."

"We've gotten this far only because we have the map; without it, we'd lose direction as soon as we entered the mountains. Retreating wouldn't be that easy—could Mang Shan truly be a forbidden zone, forever impassable? Did my maternal grandfather die here with the Du family back then?"

Gu Jiu Ling stood up, picked up the hanging lantern on the pillar, and walked toward the outside of the tent.

Xiao Yin also rose, grabbed a cloak from the side, and draped it over Gu Jiu Ling.

The two held the lantern, stepping unevenly forward a few steps until they reached the stone wall.

Gu Jiu Ling lifted her hand to touch the cold stone wall, grinding her molars.

Thinking of how she and Xiao Yin had passed five checkpoints and slain six commanders along the way, only to be blocked by a stone wall that cut off all vitality.

At this moment, Gu Jiu Ling felt a sense of despondency rise; she and Xiao Yin had encountered so many dangers along the way, and for the first time she felt a profound helplessness.

Xiao Yin took her cold hand: "Let's go back, rest first, and discuss tomorrow morning how to proceed. If it truly can't be done, we can only withdraw; my maternal grandfather's secret may never be solved."

Gu Jiu Ling nodded: "Well, one cannot live this life without leaving some regrets. Why try to figure everything out so thoroughly?"

"Forget it, we'll head back tomorrow morning and look for clues in Mo Bei."

Gu Jiu Ling and Xiao Yin didn't notice that, at the instant they turned with the lantern in hand, its light cast a fleeting shadow on the smooth stone wall.

In the light and shadow, some characters seemed to flash, then vanished into the night.

The next day, Xiao Yin ordered people to pack up and descend the mountain.

As the saying goes, going up the mountain is easy, coming down hard; moreover, the expedition ended fruitlessly, so everyone's steps down the mountain were especially heavy, slower than usual.

They walked all the way to the grove where they kept their carriages and ox carts.

Gu Jiu Ling lifted her hand to the carriage curtain, about to lift it and climb in, when suddenly an arrow feather sliced through the air, shooting toward the carriage.

Xiao Yin reacted with extreme sensitivity; his Longquan sword was already drawn, instantly severing the incoming poisoned arrow feather, which fell at Gu Jiu Ling's feet.

"Get in the carriage!" Xiao Yin shoved Gu Jiu Ling inside with one push.

All around, more poisoned arrows flew, dense enough to block out the sky, shooting toward them.

They wove the grove into a black net, trapping those inside, who could hardly escape even with wings.

"Assassins! Guard the chariot!" Ling Feng lowly shouted.