Chapter 67: The Secret at the Bottom of the Devil Spring

"He'll be fine, I'll keep an eye on him."

In truth, Nan Qinghuan had no certainty either, but she believed Ying would bring Xuan back, and she noticed this springwater was strange, it seemed... she reached up and touched her face, it was somewhat sticky.

The days of waiting felt long. When Nan Qinghuan saw Ying finally surface on Xuan's side, she was so nervous that sweat broke out on her grip of the flashlight, her palm hot and damp.

This Devil Spring was a taboo of the tribespeople, so there had to be danger here. In her heart she worried for Xuan, and worried for Ying too, so nervous she didn't dare blink even once.

A breeze blew past, carrying a fresh scent. She seemed to catch a trace of seawater.

Strange—this place was surrounded by towering mountains, so how could there be the smell of seawater? Soon, the first light of dawn appeared, and a streak of golden dawn crossed the horizon.

When Ying hauled Xuan onto the shore, Ying's expression was full of pain, but Nan Qinghuan, anxious about Xuan's condition, didn't notice. Her first thought was to see how Xuan was. After setting Xuan down, Ying stepped to one side. This man could only give his utmost tolerance and doting devotion before his beloved Nan Qinghuan; with anyone else, they wouldn't dare treat him like this.

Seeing that Nan Qinghuan paid no attention to Ying, Axi hurried forward to console him. "Ying, Sister Qinghuan is only trying to save someone, please don't be angry."

Axi was very afraid of Ying. Though they had grown up together, Ying's temperament was strange and no one could get along with him. But Nan Qinghuan was different—when she arrived, Ying seemed to give her all of his good temper. Even now, after he had fished Xuan out and Nan Qinghuan hadn't acknowledged him first, he could still choose to wait there.

Axi suddenly felt that Ying's love was far too humble.

Xuan lay soaked through on the stone, unconscious. Axi and Dashan watched from the side, and seeing this state, wasn't the man dead? "Sister Qinghuan, Xuan is dead."

Nan Qinghuan ignored their words. She crouched beside Xuan and gently checked his breath. Xuan's complexion was terrible. Thinking that this boy had come here to risk his life over a single word from her, if she couldn't save him, Nan Qinghuan would never have peace of mind for the rest of her life.

After checking his breath, her face suddenly lit up with joy. "This kid's luck is incredible, he can still be saved."

Saying this, she immediately stripped the Beast Skin off Xuan's body, then half-knelt and pressed down on his chest. Such an action made Ying even more displeased. "Huaner, what are you doing?"

"Don't get jealous for no reason, I'm saving him."

"Sister Qinghuan, he's already dead, how can he still be saved?"

"Shut up. Who said he's dead? Anyone I, Nan Qinghuan, want to save can live."

She kept pressing on Xuan's heart. Dashan saw that Xuan still had no reaction and just shook his head. "Even the Goddess can't save him, he's already dead."

"Shut up."

Nan Qinghuan refused to believe it. She kept rhythmically pressing Xuan's chest, trying to restart his heartbeat. Ying watched from the side, very angry, but at this moment he didn't dare step forward—he was afraid Nan Qinghuan would make a scene and get angry.

"Huaner, he can't be saved."

"No, he won't die."

Nan Qinghuan, unwilling to give up, continued pressing Xuan's chest. In Ying's eyes, this revealed her nervousness and caring, and a fury gradually gathered in his heart, burning him miserably.

Suddenly, he reached out to stop Nan Qinghuan from continuing to touch Youchao Xuan's body. "Stop, he's dead."

"Ying, let me go, I can save him, I definitely can."

Nan Qinghuan's stubbornness made Ying's gaze gradually turn cold. He was about to pull Nan Qinghuan away when suddenly, Youchao Xuan violently spat out several mouthfuls of water, then coughed incessantly, his whole face scrunching into a knot.

Seeing this, Ying instantly stopped moving.

"Ah, he's alive!"

Axi was overjoyed and kept saying, "He's alive, he's alive! Sister Qinghuan's medical skills are amazing, even A Yue doesn't have this ability."

Seeing that Xuan had truly come back to life, Ying's gaze toward Nan Qinghuan gradually softened as well. "Huaner, you really succeeded?"

He never imagined Nan Qinghuan could truly bring someone back from the dead. Nan Qinghuan didn't notice Ying's expressions. She just wiped the water from her face and forcefully slapped Youchao Xuan's face. "You brat, you got water all over me, wake up already."

She slapped Xuan's face a few times, but Xuan still didn't wake. Seeing this, Ying couldn't stand it anymore. He slightly bent forward, stepped up, and delivered a forceful slap—smack—Xuan instantly woke up.

"Who hit me?"

"Hey, you can't hit him that hard."

But Ying looked proud and arrogant, glancing at Xuan. "He's awake."

Nan Qinghuan was speechless. Communicating with a wild man was truly exhausting. When would he ever stop hitting people? "Goddess?"

Xuan opened his eyes and saw them all there. He looked in confusion at his Beast Skin, which had been removed, and felt a bit embarrassed. "Goddess, was it you who saved me?"

"It was Huaner who saved you. Who told you to come to the Devil Spring? Neither people nor beasts come here. This place has another name: Death Valley."

"Death Valley?"

Nan Qinghuan murmured to herself and stood up. Now that it was daylight, she could see everything here clearly. Before her was a very large lake, the water crystal clear and transparent, reflecting the sunlight and giving off a brilliant, diamond-like luster.

Xuan hurriedly stood up and took out his divine spoon. "The Heavenly God indicated that the Earth Spirit is somewhere near here. It's a pity it was too dark last night and I couldn't see the road clearly, so I fell in."

"You're saying the Earth Spirit is here?"

"That's right, Goddess, my divine spoon can't be wrong."

Nan Qinghuan felt like laughing when she saw his divine spoon. That thing wasn't any divine spoon—it should be the most ancient Sinan. This object could determine direction, quite miraculous, like a modern compass, but a Sinan finding a Salt Mine seemed a bit far-fetched to her. "Qinghuan, let's leave first, there's nothing we're looking for here."

Nan Qinghuan wasn't willing to leave. She examined the terrain here—this was a natural lake formed by karst landscape, picturesque as a painting, but there were many animal carcasses by the shore, both large animals and reptiles. She walked to the shore and picked up an animal's skeleton to examine closely. Why had all these animals died here? What was so wondrous about this place? Ying saw her staring blankly at a bear's paw by herself. "Huaner, that's a bear's foot. It came here to drink water and died right here, so I don't allow the Tribe's people to set foot here even one step."

Axi also stepped forward, looking around in fear. "Yeah, A Hua's brother once chased a Sheep and ran here, but he never went back."

The sound of wind blowing through was like ghosts howling, making one's hair stand on end. Axi and Dashan both wanted Nan Qinghuan to leave, but Nan Qinghuan just stared blankly at the lake. Suddenly, she saw a crystal-clear light glowing from the bottom of the lake.

Instantly, her face lit up with joy. "I know what's going on."

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