Chapter 425

Pei Si: "No need to waste time waiting for Young Master Jin here. This palace and A-Xiu will go find the Princess. Master, you stay here waiting for Young Master Jin, how about that?"

"Good, then, thank you for your trouble." The monk joined his palms in a salute.

"Let's go." Pei Si called to Cao Cixiu.

Cao Cixiu walked a few steps, then turned back and glanced at the monk.

"A-Ci, you say why that monk didn't lend a hand to help Young Master Jin?" Pei Si, who had walked away, laughed as he looked at Cao Cixiu, as if he already had an answer in mind, just wanting to see if Cao Cixiu's answer would match his.

Cao Cixiu: "If I remember correctly, that monk counts as half a master to Young Master Jin; perhaps this is the master training the disciple's cultivation."

"Great minds think alike, so the monk doesn't think the Princess is in danger either?"

"That should be the case."

"But what if?"

"Xiao Yichen is right here; what could possibly go wrong?"

"You're right."

Not long after Pei Si and the others left, a disturbance finally came from underground again; this time it was right beside the stone stool where the monk was sitting, and suddenly it exploded with a boom, sending sand and stones flying!

The monk flashed to the other side in an instant, then patted the dust off his black kasaya.

After the dust settled, he finally saw clearly that the person standing opposite him was Gu Rongjin, who looked somewhat disheveled, his whole body covered in dust and dirt, and he also had several injuries.

Lying at his feet was Xiao Yichen, dead or alive unknown, looking like a ragged floor cloth, not feeling like a person lying there.

"Too slow." The monk shook his head.

"You still dare to say that? You were just watching the show from above!" Gu Rongjin said, then realized Pei Si and Cao Cixiu were gone, and asked bewildered: "Where are the other two?"

"Master Cao already has news of the Princess, brought back by a caterpillar; he and the Third Prince left first, because you were dawdling, so we didn't wait for you." The monk said.

"News of Little Mu Yuanzhi?!" Gu Rongjin exclaimed joyfully.

He also didn't have the mind to blame those few people for standing by idly.

As long as we have news of Little Mu Yuanzhi, that's good!

"Hmm, he looks confident; presumably that caterpillar has already found the Princess's whereabouts."

"Great, let's hurry!" Gu Rongjin said.

"What about this person?" The monk gestured for Gu Rongjin to look at Xiao Yichen on the ground.

"Tie him up first, we'll take him back when we return." Gu Rongjin said.

Even if he escaped, there's nothing we can do; saving lives is the priority now!

The monk nodded in agreement, and after Gu Rongjin tied up Xiao Yichen, he took out some talismans and stuck them on Xiao Yichen's body.

"Master, what are you doing… Xiao Yichen isn't dead…" although he might be close to death.

It's like guarding against a zombie rising.

The monk just laughed: "It's naturally useful."

His expression was inscrutable.

Gu Rongjin also didn't have time to ask more; we'll ask later.

"Master Cao and his party probably haven't gone far; we should be able to catch up."

Along the way, Gu Rongjin told the monk how he and Xiao Yichen had fought underground.

Xiao Yichen was hard to deal with, and underground he became even harder, as if he had returned to his own lair; Gu Rongjin could feel that Xiao Yichen's already mysterious martial arts were becoming ever more profound, as if the whole underground was about to be pierced through by him!

Later, as they fought, Gu Rongjin, who had been at a disadvantage, could barely hold on; then, at that critical moment, whether it was him or Xiao Yichen, they actually broke through a path to the swamp, and swamp water flowed in; upon contacting the swamp, Xiao Yichen's whole body seemed to be bound.

Both his movement and his martial prowess were greatly reduced!

Gu Rongjin thus seized the advantage and in one move overturned Xiao Yichen.

"Oh, so it all relied on the swamp; otherwise, Master Gu would really be in a life-or-death predicament." The monk teased.

"Luck is also a kind of strength; I just have favorable timing, location, and harmony—what can you do?" Gu Rongjin dismissed.

Monk: "Whenever he encounters the swamp, Xiao Yichen loses his advantage, yet you're unharmed—what does that signify?"

"What does it signify? That I'm invulnerable to all poisons?"

"Is that possible?"

"Impossible, so what exactly is the reason then?"

Gu Rongjin now has no mind to think further; he focuses entirely on finding Mu Yuanzhi.

The monk also knew he was distracted, so he stopped the riddles: "I suspect it's related to Ruohua; Ruohua has been imprisoned in the swamp for who knows how many years, and the swamp is her bane; if Xiao Yichen has already devoured Ruohua, causing his sudden mutation, then the swamp naturally becomes his bane as well."

"That makes sense."

Suddenly, the monk stopped, his face unusually solemn.

"What's wrong?" Gu Rongjin asked.

"The Qilin is in danger."

Gu Rongjin turned back to ask how you knew, but in the blink of an eye the monk had vanished.

"Hey! It's a bit hard for me to find them alone!"

"And he can't communicate with plants and animals!"

Gu Rongjin looked around somewhat defeatedly.

"Wasn't it agreed that Pei Si and the others left not long ago? Why haven't we met up with them yet?"

"This place wouldn't also be a labyrinth, would it?"

Indeed, "don't think of people by day, don't think of ghosts by night"—Gu Rongjin walked a circle and ended up back where he started!

"Damn it!"

Gu Rongjin rarely swore.

He was anxiously looking for his wife, and this is what he got—this deadly mess!

Why is a sect's Back Mountain as mysterious and unfathomable as the Black Sea!

That's enough!

Gu Rongjin complained for a while, then resigned himself.

He believes Cao Cixiu will surely find the person; he's just uneasy about not going himself.

Now he can't afford to be anxious in this situation—the more anxious he gets, the more chaotic it becomes.

I never expected that after the four of them entered, they would now be split into three groups.

I hope Cao Cixiu and Pei Si won't get trapped in this kind of ghost wall!

If it were only Cao Cixiu, it would be fine, but with Pei Si here, Cao Cixiu has to look after him.

If I had known, I wouldn't have let Pei Si come in!

Gu Rongjin had barely calmed down before he grew impatient again.

With his beloved's whereabouts unknown, any attempt to stay calm is pointless.

Little Yuanzhi, wait for me!

At this moment, Mu Yuanzhi began to feel hungry; she didn't know how long she had gone without food, and she herself didn't know, but judging by her level of hunger, it probably hadn't been more than a day.

The cave is dark and damp; sitting here is very uncomfortable.

Actually, she's been here for quite a while, but before it was merely an illusion.

She consoled herself like this.

"Anyone there?!!"

Mu Yuanzhi shouted.

She hadn't had water in a long time either; this shout came out hoarse, she could barely hear herself, let alone anyone nearby hearing her.

So even if Rongjin and the others arrived, they still wouldn't know she was in this cave?!

Mu Yuanzhi thought of this, and she didn't panic.

Impossible—she and he share a tacit understanding; he will surely know she's here!

The exhausted, sleepy, hungry Mu Yuanzhi thought to herself.