Ren Yuanhao surveyed his surroundings. The pool flowed downstream at an incredibly leisurely pace. Both his current position and the opposite bank were open spaces. Only the upper sides had rock formations resembling barriers. If they could ascend, find a foothold in the concealment, and lower a rope, that would be the best plan.
When he voiced his idea, Shen Lannih agreed.
"But the rock face is so smooth; climbing up will be quite difficult," Yang Lingxue said with some annoyance.
"It's not actually that hard. Don't forget, I'm an expert climber. You two wait here. Once I'm up, I'll pull you up."
Without further ado, Shen Lannih put Ren Yuanhao down and then briefly examined the rock face. Within moments, she found a crack and an outward protruding fold. With this as a breakthrough point, coupled with her agile movements, she managed to reach the top without much effort, while Yang Lingxue bit her lip, her heart filled with apprehension.
After a time-consuming and strenuous operation, the three finally, under Shen Lannih's guidance and without getting their feet wet, passed through the hidden barrier.
What appeared before them was a cave with vines as thick as an arm hanging down. Due to its sun-facing location, there wouldn't be too many snakes or bats. However, for safety's sake, Shen Lannih still tossed some smoke bombs inside.
The smoke slowly drifted in with the wind, and before long, hundreds of red-eyed bats flew out.
"It feels so eerie and terrifying," Yang Lingxue said, though she feigned composure, her face had turned as pale as paper.
"Scared already? Fine, you can stand guard outside for us. Who knows, maybe that monkey that escaped that year will come and chat with you." Shen Lannih sat down briefly to catch her breath and then tossed some compressed biscuits and water to the other two.
"Sister Lannih, don't say such scary things. I'm as beautiful as a flower; I don't think that little monkey will do anything to me, right?" Yang Lingxue unknowingly fell into Shen Lannih's trap. She immediately spat three times and said sternly, "I won't wait out here. Whoever wants to see a monkey can go, hmph."
The two couldn't help but laugh heartily, Ren Yuanhao even more so, almost choking with laughter, his face turning red.
Just as Yang Lingxue was about to get angry, Ren Yuanhao, knowing the young lady's usual temperament, immediately cupped his fists and said seriously, "For my sake, you two young ladies are willing to brave such dangers. I, Ren Yuanhao, am deeply grateful. However, I won't say many words of thanks. If there's an opportunity, I will surely repay you."
"That day, you risked your life to save and protect me. We saw it, and that's why we're doing this for you."
Ren Yuanhao hadn't expected Shen Lannih to say such an emotional thing. He felt an urge to cry out of感动, but then he heard Shen Lannih invigorate herself and say, "Alright, let's go inside and see what's in this cave."
She hoisted Ren Yuanhao onto her back, with Ren Yuanhao responsible for holding the flashlight and Yang Lingxue bringing up the rear. Shen Lannih reached out and parted the somewhat forceful vines, and the three cautiously stepped into the cave.
As soon as they entered the cave, they felt a chill wash over them. The temperature difference was almost ten degrees lower than outside.
"It's good we didn't choose to wade through the water earlier. If we had come in with damp, cold clothes, we would have definitely fallen seriously ill," Yang Lingxue said, pulling her clothes tighter, her face a mixture of excitement and fear. "Great Wind Novel Network."
"Lingxue, talk less. Pay attention to your feet and what's above. Some shade-loving animals like to hang on these vines to scare people."
Yang Lingxue immediately thought of those writhing snakes flicking their red tongues, and she instantly became as silent as a cicada in winter.
The three slowly moved forward with the aid of the flashlight. At first, they could still hear the faint sound of flowing water, but later, all they could hear was each other's breathing, heartbeats, and a rather strange sound, like something scraping against stone.
The deeper they went into the cave, the more spacious it became, like the mouth of a葫芦. Unsure of where they had descended to in the cave, the three felt the space suddenly open up considerably.
And at this moment, Yang Lingxue, who was walking at the very back, couldn't help but raise her flashlight and sweep it backward. Her heart leaped into her throat, and she couldn't hold back a trembling shout, "Who's there?"
These two words startled the two people walking in front. They immediately stopped and gathered together. Shen Lannih made a 'hush' gesture, and they clearly heard sounds from the direction of the cave entrance, like metal or stones scraping against the rock wall!
"Before we came in, we really didn't see anything, did we?"
Shen Lannih emphasized the word 'thing,' which made Yang Lingxue even more terrified.
Ren Yuanhao shook his head, and Yang Lingxue followed suit. The invisible air seemed to shake its head too. An eerie wind suddenly gusted, filling the air with a spectral aura!
"Stop playing games, whoever you are, please show yourself!"
Shen Lannih put Ren Yuanhao down and stepped forward, radiating an imposing aura.
However, the only response she received was a seemingly endless, clear echo.
"Sister Lannih, perhaps we should keep moving forward. If we keep scaring ourselves like this, we might be scared to death before we even find what he's looking for." Yang Lingxue sighed and said.
"That's right. What's coming will come eventually. Lingxue, if you're scared, you go first, and I'll cover the rear."
"I'm not scared, let's go."
The three continued to advance in formation.
However, after only a few steps, the strange sound followed them as if it were a shadow!
The three stopped in unison. At this point, the passage became wider, almost wide enough for three people to walk abreast. The light was like scattered swords, cutting through the darkness ahead!
"Look, what is that?"
Yang Lingxue's eyes were sharp. She immediately spotted a tree in the center of the open space ahead!
A tree in a cave!
Ren Yuanhao shone the light over. The tree was nearly two people tall, its branches extremely twisted, almost like a snake's body. Even more astonishing was that this tree, about three meters in diameter, was covered in cracked and dry marks, as if its growth had forcibly siphoned the moisture from this place!
"What a strange tree!" Shen Lannih put Ren Yuanhao down, her body tense, alert to any potential danger around them.
"It is indeed strange," Ren Yuanhao thought. Could it be that the thing the system asked me to find is this? Although it looks somewhat unusual, which part of the tree should I take as the item to cure my injuries?
There were no fruits on the tree, and even the leaves were strange, resembling a baby's palm. Counting from the bottom up, there were nine tiers of branches, each tier gradually narrowing as it went up. And as the three stood quietly observing, they completely ignored the sounds behind them!