Chapter 237

Ling Yue heard after: "……"

Defamation, this is pure defamation!

She hadn't even had a chance to say anything when the gurgling sound rang out again; she glanced over, and the little hedgehog, with its four pink little legs, scrambled up onto the turtle's back.

While climbing, it swallowed water.

Ling Yue had never seen such a stupid little hedgehog; she pinched the sharp spines on its back and lifted it up in one motion.

In an instant, it soared into flight, startling the hedgehog into curling up; this kind of tame little animal has especially small courage, being active at night and resting by day is its habit; at first it was unaccustomed, but later it came to its senses and lay on the turtle's shell.

It spread its limbs in surprise: "I, I can fly?!"

"You silly child." Grandpa Turtle suddenly turned its head; the little hedgehog flipped over with a scrape and lay on the turtle's shell, its two bean‑sized eyes peeking out, finally realizing that the "stone" it had thought was actually someone else's turtle shell.

Perhaps they're all animals, so it feels fond of Grandpa Turtle; plus there's another reason—it's really, really, really big!

The Feng Shui Turtle looked kindly at the little mountain creature, stretched out its neck and gestured at Ling Yue: "She just saved you—why aren't you grateful?"

Ling Yue had already picked up a stone by then, dangling her feet in the clear stream; a few thumb‑sized fish darted through the gaps between the pebbles, and the pool water was so clear it seemed almost transparent.

Ling Yue: "It's fine, I'm just curious—how did you fall into the water? You almost drowned."

The little hedgehog rubbed its paws, feeling grateful to its savior yet afraid of humans, and after a moment said: "I, I have a reason."

Before it could explain, a dense shadow suddenly fell, and a pleasant voice rang out: "Ling Yue, look at the stone I picked up—uh, what is this?"

Song Youli cradled the stone she had picked up; she had been observing Ling Yue for a while, initially dismissing her identity as merely that of an internet celebrity.

After experiencing Guo Guo's incident, she realized that Ling Yue had completely overturned her expectations—unexpectedly carefree and possessing her own abilities.

Song Youli felt a fondness and had been looking for a chance to get closer; now the opportunity had arrived.

She never expected to see such a strange creature, its whole body covered in sharp spines like a giant pincushion.

Thinking about it, her fingers began to ache, as if they had been pricked by needles.

Ling Yue chuckled: "It's a hedgehog—I just picked it up from the water."

At the same time, the camera in the live‑stream room zoomed in; many were surprised, and some recognized it at a glance.

【This hedgehog is so fat!】

If the little hedgehog heard that, it would probably be so angry it would bristle its spines—luckily it doesn't know.

Upon hearing about the hedgehog, Song Youli instantly became interested: "It looks so cute, tiny, and even though it has spines, it really looks adorable."

Hearing humans praise it, the little hedgehog couldn't help feeling a bit smug, drooping its two paws as it looked at her: "Human, you do have some taste—I'm the handsomest hedgehog for ten miles around, and how many little females are fighting to bear my offspring?"

Ling Yue: "……"

After saying that, it didn't forget to pat its paws and thank her: "Human, thank you for saving my life!"

By then, everyone had more or less finished resting and was preparing to set off again; what Ling Yue didn't expect was that, upon learning they were headed for Golden Dove Cave, the little hedgehog voluntarily offered to keep following them.

Ling Yue asked it: "Why? Is that where your home is?"

The hedgehog shook its head; its bean‑sized eyes flashed with fear, its pointed mouth shut tight, and it simply refused to say why.

Ling Yue didn't press the matter; in the end, another little hedgehog joined the group—however, when the Persian cat Guo Guo saw it, its fluffy tail fur instantly exploded.

"What are you? This is my spot!"

Guo Guo the Persian cat was used to sitting on Grandpa Turtle's shell; upon seeing another small creature, it looked odd and immediately voiced its displeasure.

It eagerly extended its paw pad; a cat's speed is seven times that of a snake, let alone this sudden situation—so when Ling Yue saw it about to push the hedgehog away, there was no time to stop it!

Guo Guo the Persian cat also saw this, and, puffed up with pride, it thought the humans were worried about the little creature—only to realize Ling Yue was talking about itself.

The cat's soft paw pad shoved forward; the hedgehog, utterly familiar with this scenario, instantly curled up, its limbs drawn in, and a large chestnut‑sized ball of spikes appeared, its sharp quills gleaming in the sunlight like a tiny suit of armor.

The instant the paw pad made contact, Guo Guo shrieked sharply: "Wah wah wah, what are you? My paws hurt so much! So much, so much!"

It recoiled, arching its back and leaping far away with a scrape; the paw it had extended lay beside its mouth, as if burned, and it kept blowing on it nonstop.

Everyone who saw this: "……"

Even the owner Ru Tan could barely hold back her laughter, and the audience in front of the screen burst into wild laughter.

【That silly little cat—it's actually a hedgehog, completely covered in spines!】

【How pitiful—its paws must be ruined, poor kitty; my advice is to send it to my place right away, my family runs a hereditary pharmacy!】

【The abacus upstairs—I can hear it even in the Arctic!】

After realizing what had happened, Guo Guo knew she had made a huge fool of herself, huffing and puffing in anger; the hedgehog, meanwhile, was no longer afraid and whispered an apology: "Sorry, I didn't know you were in such a hurry—I poked your paw; if you'd told me, I—wouldn't have agreed anyway!"

If one says it's tiny and timid before humans, before animals it fears neither heaven nor earth—with just that coat of spines, even fierce beasts can't bite it, let alone a little cat.

The out‑of‑sorts husky Hui Hui came running over, twisting its head: "What's up? What's up? What's happening?"

It ran a few steps and stopped, its damp fur half‑dry; I don't know how it got sunned, but it actually puffed up into a ball, more than twice as fat as before.

Er Ha also finally revealed its original fur color.

Returning to nature, it immediately displayed its lively nature, and upon seeing the flustered Persian cat, it burst out laughing: 'You got pricked by the hedgehog? How did that happen?'

'Isn't that how it is?' it said, extending its paws, reaching out in a lowly manner, and through Ling Yue's translation, everyone already knew what Er Ha was about to do.

Before the screen, some people faintly felt a premonition.

【No way! No way! Surely it's not that stupid?】

The next moment, the hedgehog saw the dog's paw landing on its head, swiftly turned its body, arched its back, and its sharp spines actively attacked; by the time Husky Huīhuī reacted, the sharp spines had already pierced directly into its paw.

The dog let out a howl, made a huge jump, far more intense than the Persian cat Guoguo just now.

Hedgehog: 'Ah, it didn't come looking for spines, did it?'

【Husky: How did it get pricked? Let me demonstrate again.】

【One cannot step into the same river twice in a lifetime. Er Ha: No problem, I'll take action!】

【Holy shit, I finally believe it—this Husky is the intellectual basin of dogs!】

The show was wonderful; the only one injured was the wronged Er Ha.

As one climbs higher, the sunshine grows more brilliant and the temperature unexpectedly rises—know that normally, the higher you go, the lower the temperature. There is a poem: 'In the human world, April's blossoms are spent; at the mountain temple, peach blossoms just begin to bloom,' which explains this principle.

In the mortal realm's gate, April's peach blossoms have all fallen, yet in the mountain temple, the peach blossoms have just begun to bloom.

As for this, even the temporary guide Qiu Jun had no answer; since he could remember, the temperature on the mountain has always been this warm.

Suddenly, he stopped walking, his face lighting up with a vivid smile: "We've arrived!"

As his words fell, a sudden flapping sound rang out; not far away in the thicket, snowy-white pigeons spread their wings and soared high.

Gold Pigeon Cave truly lives up to its name—its shape resembles a soaring giant pigeon, with towering dragon-riding sculptures forming a pair of outstretched wings; standing before the lofty cave mouth, a person feels as tiny as a speck of dust.

On the outside of the cave, the typical features of a limestone cave are already visible.

Ling Yue narrowed her eyes; in her sight, the entire cave was glittering gold, emitting an indescribable golden radiance.

Ley lines!

Thinking of that, she suddenly heard a noisy discussion thick with rural accent; Ling Yue frowned and looked up: "Who's speaking?"

Her gaze swept the surroundings; coincidentally, Song Youli was beside her. Hearing her words, she shuddered and instinctively moved closer: "Ling Yue, did you mishear? Just now none of us spoke."

"Good heavens, humans can understand my speech?"

"It's not me, it's not me—I'm definitely not the one speaking!"

"Ahhh, she's looking over here! How could anyone understand our speech?"

Ling Yue's gaze paused; as the panicked voices rang out, she happened to see pigeon nests of all sizes beneath the cliffs on both sides of the limestone cave.

One after another, white or gray wild pigeons huddled in grass nests; unlike ordinary pigeons that build nests in trees, they chose to dwell on the cliff walls.

Seeing her look over, a pigeon with gray wings and a pure-white body spread its wings, shielding the two chicks in its embrace: "What are you staring at? Haven't you ever seen someone nursing their young?"

Ling Yue was instantly struck speechless.

The mother pigeon snorted angrily: "It's really strange—this year several waves of people have come up the mountain; before, I couldn't even see a human shadow."

The neighboring pigeon chimed in: "Yeah, yeah, I wonder if they're… eyeing our…"

It trailed off mid-sentence; Ling Yue didn't know what the second half meant, but she understood the first half, and she couldn't help but frown—this year several waves of people have come up the mountain; besides them, who else could be coming?

She wasn't being overly suspicious; she had just discovered that the ley lines of Lotus Mountain lay within Gold Pigeon Cave—no wonder others suddenly felt refreshed and filled with spiritual energy, a place that could nourish the body.

Otherwise, how could it bear the title of "cave heaven blessed land"?

Song Youli suddenly spoke up: "What's going on? What are these pigeons saying?"

Ling Yue looked at their expressions again; they all seemed eager. She translated the pigeons' words once over, and Qiu Jun blinked: "Really? How would I not know?"

After saying that, he explained: "Our village isn't big; because a few years ago we discovered a large group of ancient trees, now anyone going up the mountain must give notice first, to avoid damaging state property."

While he was still puzzled, Ling Yue had already brought up a new topic; her words instantly stirred everyone's curiosity to the fullest.

Only the little hedgehog stiffly rubbed its paws, lowered its head, and suddenly fell silent.

No one noticed its odd behavior; everyone, including the viewers watching the screen, was anticipating the scenery inside the great limestone cave.

You know, there are several layers inside!

Inside, massive stalactites hang from above, while a dark river flows slowly below; colorful stalagmites in myriad hues need no lighting—the dim environment overwhelms the eyes.

Ling Yue glanced over, her gaze locking onto the dark river; in an instant, light fell on the water, and she seemed to see a huge shadow beneath—deep in the ley lines, the rich spiritual energy in this barren world almost condensed into a thin white mist.

Even the well-traveled cameraman couldn't help but be immersed in the vast, wondrous, magnificent scenery.

"Quick, look—what is that?" Song Youli exclaimed in surprise; the camera zoomed in, and in the distance a massive white lotus stone carving appeared before everyone's eyes, resembling a huge blazing flame that drew people in.

Even Ling Yue momentarily lost herself, but she quickly reacted: "Everyone, squat down quickly!"

No one reacted at first, not understanding what she meant, but Ling Yue's words carried a technique that compelled everyone to squat down involuntarily.

The cameraman brother didn't forget to hold up his camera; the lens instantly shifted to the huge limestone cave above.

"Ling Yue, is there some misunderstanding?" Qin Mingwei spoke cautiously.

"Huh, what's wrong? Why suddenly squat down?" This was the bewildered Song Youli.

Not to mention them, even the live‑stream viewers were stunned; after reacting, they sneered and commented.

【Truly, ugly people cause trouble—could there be some wild beast lurking?】

【Why squat down? We haven't even finished viewing Gold Pigeon Cave yet.】

【I also squatted down for no reason; hearing those words, I slid right under the table!】

【What the heck is she doing?!】

The agitated netizen was about to lash out when suddenly the screen emitted "flap-flap" and "rush-rush" disturbances; as time passed, they grew louder, flooding into the ears like a deluge.

It was like a Sword of Damocles hanging over the head, ready to fall at any moment.

【What sound?】

"Quick, quick—look up!"

The cameraman, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke, his voice extremely dry and hoarse; he stared up in disbelief, his eye sockets reddened, yet he dared not blink.

At the same time, the camera lens began to shake; despite that, everyone could see that at the top of the great limestone cave, a blinding cluster of gold shot forward swiftly, blazing gold surging skyward, accompanied by a tremendous, earth‑shaking roar.

"Flap-flap——"

Ling Yue finally understood what this sound was.

It was the sound of layer upon layer of tightly packed pigeons spreading their wings and charging into the limestone cave like a barrage of artillery!

【Holy shit, the golden, golden legend!】

In the sparsely populated live‑chat bar, this sentence suddenly popped up.

Everyone's scalp instantly went numb.

Because in the scene they saw, these gigantic pigeons were pure gold all over, their bodies emitting a blinding golden light; in an instant they illuminated the entire cave, like a prairie fire, a blazing golden sun, their mighty momentum almost breaking through the vault.

At this moment, who would still notice that white lotus? Everyone's gaze was locked onto the pigeon flock until they flew to the cave's end and plunged headfirst into the unfathomable dark river, as if diving into the abyss of fate.

The pigeons' cries shook heaven and earth.

Strangely, the river water showed not a ripple, not even the faintest wavelet.

Endless golden pigeons plunged into the water, as if throwing themselves into a lifeless mirror.

Until everything ended, everyone woke up as if from a dream.

【Was what I just saw real? Or is my vision playing tricks on me?】

【Vision trouble? With so many of us netizens, are our eyes all playing tricks?】

【Damn, I actually teared up at the screen, it's so glaring! The golden light is so glaring!】

【What on earth is going on? How could there be so many pigeons jumping into the river? Is it real or fake?】

Ling Yue said calmly, "It's both real and fake."

Hearing this, Qin Yingdi furrowed his brows; before he could ask, someone spoke up first: "What do you mean?"

It was the cameraman; he lowered his camera for the first time, the honest big man's face flushed with excitement—such a marvel, he would never see it again in his life!

That's why, after seeing Ling Yue's calm expression, he couldn't help but speak up.

Her answer left everyone baffled.

Ling Yue only replied with one sentence: "Earth qi transforms things; heavenly Dao gives birth to people."

【Wa Qu, what does this mean? I can't understand it at all.】

【Am I illiterate? I can read each character, but when they're combined I don't recognize a single one—painful face. JPG】

Actually, Ling Yue's words are already clear; anyone who has studied Feng Shui knows that "Earth qi transforms things; heavenly Dao gives birth to people" is a saying in Feng Shui, the first half exactly matches the current situation—such a classic scenario is practically a textbook case.

Simply put, earth qi is also the earth's meridians; when the meridians' spiritual energy is rich, it can condense into living beings.

That's why Ling Yue said the golden pigeons just now weren't true living beings, but shapes of pigeons formed from something underground.

Moreover——

Ling Yue took a deep breath; what she didn't say was that those golden pigeons might all refer to……

Suddenly something like this happened, and with it already late at night, Lotus Mountain hasn't been developed yet; the mountain path is rugged, so it will take at least two hours to go down.

So Qiu Jun called for everyone to head down the mountain early.

The incident is over, but the sky-filling golden pigeons have left a vivid imprint in the audience's minds, and the related keyword has surged to the top of trending lists.

At this moment, the program team's atmosphere is low; Liu Hengdu holds the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand, his face grim, while the assistant director stands to the side, not daring to even breathe loudly.

After a while, the director's voice was heard: "Just keep everything as usual."

Liu Hengdu fiddled with the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand, secretly worried; Ling Yue is the focus of his attention at all times—indeed, since watching her past appearances, his attention on other variety show guests combined doesn't even match his focus on her alone.

Therefore, after seeing Ling Yue's expression change and hearing her utter those mysterious words, Director Liu's heart leapt up.

Lotus Mountain.

After a while, everyone came to their senses, merely recalling the scene they had just seen, their scalps still tingling.

Song Youli couldn't help but say, "I, I was a beat slow in my reaction, just a little off—I felt the pigeons' wings were about to slap my face!"

What if I'm disfigured—what should I do?

She touched her face and muttered softly.

Suddenly, a weak voice sounded: "I even thought my eyes were going blind."

Ling Yue looked over; the little hedgehog didn't know when it had come down, slowly following behind the Feng Shui turtle, and when it saw her looking, the hedgehog ball suddenly stiffened.

It was exactly afternoon, the afternoon sun shining brightly; they had been busy rushing earlier and even missed lunch, but now that they had a moment to rest, each realized they were about to starve.

Song Youli was the most exaggerated; she was no longer the proud big star she used to be, running back and forth to fetch water, bringing only pre‑cooked and instant food, some of which could be eaten without cooking.

In the quiet mountain forest, an occasional birdcall could be heard.

Song Youli had a self‑heating mini hot pot; she took water with a plastic cup, meanwhile unable to stop rubbing her stomach—she was so hungry.

She felt she was about to starve down to a paper‑thin figure.

She could eat an entire cow!

She was thinking when suddenly her lower back felt a bit itchy; she tugged and tugged, wondering what it was—could it be a salty pig's hand?

Song Youli's eyebrows shot up, she glared and turned her head—at that moment she froze——

Her black pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints; she let out a sharp "Ah!" and instantly dropped to her knees on the ground.

"!!"

When the crowd heard the sound and rushed over, Song Youli already had weak legs and couldn't get up; she pointed a pallid finger at the empty space ahead, as if seeing a ghost: "There's a wild chicken!"

The crowd: "……"

Song Youli explained, "When I was fetching water, I felt something behind me; I turned and saw a plump wild chicken, leading a flock of chicks, pecking at my shirt!"

This is her personal accusation.

But when the crowd looked over, there wasn't even half a trace of a wild chicken; Song Youli insisted, "It was just here a moment ago!"

As she spoke she swallowed, as if recalling: "Those chickens were also golden, the same color as the pigeons in the Big Cave; I saw with my own eyes that when it lowered its head to peck, it vanished right there!!"

From her shocked expression one can see that this incident dealt a severe blow to her worldview.

Having grown up watching horror movies, all those images flooded her mind; she tightened her throat and suddenly said: "Could… could what I just saw have been a chicken ghost?!"

Ling Yue: "……"

The live‑stream room audience: "……"

Listening, it seems not wrong, but this is really too ridiculous, isn't it?

【Hold on, has nobody noticed? The chickens and pigeons she saw are all the same color—golden!】

【There must definitely be some connection between the two!】

【……Upstairs, what nonsense literature are you spouting?】

Song Youli was so frightened she couldn't come to her senses for a long time; she recalled her agent's earnest advice, tightly gripping Ling Yue's arm: "We're friends, right? Save me—I don't want to see another chicken ghost!"

Ling Yue was startled by her sudden closeness, froze for a moment, lowered her eyelids, saw the girl's face as white as snow, then gently touched her hair and softened her voice: "There's no such thing as a chicken ghost—you're about to get rich!"

Song Youli stared, mouth agape, unable to process; after a while she let out a short cry: "Ah?".,,.