"Second Brother, it's dawn..."
At this moment, in the woods on the cliff of the mountain valley, the third brother Liu Hongwei patted the tent. Then, the second brother Ma Sai poked his head out. His neck was also wrapped in bandages; he had been injured by Wan Yunting's sword last night. Fortunately, Ma Sai was skilled in martial arts and reacted quickly, otherwise, he would have been pierced through the neck by Wan Yunting's sword and died last night.
"Go check around, see if there's a way down to the valley..."
Ma Sai, who had emerged from the tent, stretched. After a simple meal with the third brother, he stood at the edge of the cliff overlooking the valley. The valley was a huge circle, estimated to be three to four hundred meters in diameter. As for the depth, Ma Sai and the others did not know. The valley was surrounded by trees, and the tops were covered with snow, a vast expanse of white.
Only the center of the valley was empty. However, from the perspective of Ma Sai and Liu Hongwei, it was difficult to see the situation below through the hollow in the middle of the valley. Because of the great depth, even if one stood in the middle of the valley from the sky, it would be pitch black below, making it difficult to see anything at the bottom of the valley...
"Second Brother, the valley is so deep. Even if that kid and that girl from Emei Sect jumped down, they would be smashed to pieces. Why do we still need to go down and check?" The third brother Liu Hongwei was somewhat reluctant, thinking Ma Sai was too cautious.
"What do you know? What if that kid is still alive?"
The second brother Ma Sai glanced at him sideways, frowning as he gazed down at the valley. He said, "He was trapped in Ling Mountain for so long and still managed to come out alive, which shows that kid has a great will to live. We must go down to the valley to find him. Dead or alive, we must see him. Let's go..." Liu Hongwei was helpless and could only pack up and follow the second brother through the woods, circling the valley in search of a path down to the bottom...
However, they did not know that Lu Feiyue from the police station in Buxida County was already heading towards the western side of the Kunlun Mountain range with a team, searching around the area where Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi, as well as Ma Sai and Liu Hongwei, had fought last night.
Don't forget that kid Tao Zifu. When Wan Yunting and the others were fighting last night, Tao Zifu managed to untie the ropes binding his hands and then escaped into the forest.
At the same time, on the other side, Wu Weizi and Li Zihang, along with Xu Lingwei and Duan Yingying, Jiang Tingxia, Chen Bin, Lin Jie, and Peng Lei, as well as Lu Bao, whose hands were still tied, were also heading west.
Last night, Li Zihang discovered that Lu Bao was a spy. After marking the way, he discussed with Wu Weizi, and the group changed their course westward, attempting to shake off their pursuers first, then return north to continue searching for the small valley and the whereabouts of the Phoenix Tail Grass...
At the same time, behind Li Zihang and Wu Weizi, there were indeed pursuers chasing them.
"Something's not right, Big Brother."
At this moment, Lei Tianhu, along with the fourth brother Wu Chang, the seventh brother Qi Dazhuang, and the eighth brother Zhang Boda, had chased them to the resting place of Li Zihang and his group the previous night. However, they found no markings around.
This was because the last mark left by Lu Bao had been destroyed by Li Zihang.
Lei Tianhu and the others looked at the burnt ashes of the campfire covered by snow and the traces of activity around them, knowing that Wu Weizi and his group had stayed there overnight. "Continue heading north!"
"Okay..."
The fourth brother Wu nodded, leading the seventh and eighth brothers to follow their elder brother Lei Tiger northward. However, after walking for more than an hour, they stopped again and searched the surrounding trees carefully. Wu Chang turned to Lei Tianhu and said, "Big Brother, we've searched all the surrounding trees, and there are indeed no markings!"
The eighth brother Zhang Boda said, "Could it be that they discovered the guy who left the marks for us?"
"Yes, I think so. Otherwise, why wouldn't they leave us any marks?" The seventh brother also nodded in agreement.
Wu Chang raised an eyebrow and looked at Lei Tianhu. Lei Tianhu's expression was also grim, not expecting the prey that was so close to disappear like this.
"Let's go back to where they camped last night and search the surrounding directions carefully to see if they changed their course," Lei Tiger said after thinking for a moment.
"Okay..."
Wu Chang, the seventh brother, and the eighth brother had no objections and followed Lei Tiger back...
It was precisely during the time they were going back and forth that Wu Weizi and Li Zihang and their group had traveled far to the west of the Kunlun Mountain range, completely widening the distance between them and Lei Tiger's group...
At this time, at the bottom of the valley, a different scene unfolded. Green vegetation surrounded them, and various bird calls could be heard. The comfortable temperature formed a stark contrast with the icy and snowy outside. It was like a secluded paradise...
By the shore of a steaming hot spring, Wan Yunting was left with only his thermal underwear and t-shirt. His chest, back, arms, and left thigh were all wrapped in gauze bandages.
Zhou Ruoxi, who had finished bandaging his external wounds, sat on the grass, finally breathing a sigh of relief. She saw that the hem of her white ancient-style long skirt had been torn off a large section. The bandages on Wan Yunting's body were strips torn from her skirt.
Although Wan Yunting was still unconscious, Zhou Ruoxi was surprised to find that his fever, which had been high, was now slowly subsiding.
His weak and irregular pulse had also returned to a steady state. However, his face was still very pale, and the frown on his brow had eased, as if his body was slowly recovering.
This made Zhou Ruoxi unable to understand. Wan Yunting had been severely injured since jumping down, and his life was hanging by a thread. She never expected him to recover on his own...
Although she couldn't understand his physical condition, it was ultimately a good thing. Zhou Ruoxi felt relieved and then began to treat her own external injuries. However, the stab wound on her right shoulder blade was something she couldn't treat herself.
Fortunately, the stab wound on her back was not serious, only a superficial injury. Zhou Ruoxi also took off her cloak and unbuttoned her thick cotton robe. She was wearing a soft, sheer long skirt underneath. Since her abdomen was also injured, she had to take off her ancient-style long skirt...
Glancing at Wan Yunting lying beside her, Zhou Ruoxi's pretty face flushed slightly, feeling a bit shy. Fortunately, he was unconscious, so Zhou Ruoxi didn't feel too uncomfortable. After quickly treating her external injuries, she put on the snow-white sheer ancient-style long skirt, but several parts of the white skirt were stained with her red blood...
Zhou Ruoxi had many external injuries, but they were all minor and not serious.
She sat cross-legged on the grass and practiced her internal energy for an hour. She recovered a lot of strength. When she was thirsty, she drank some spring water, but she had no food.
Although there were many small animals like wild rabbits around, they seemed to be seeing humans for the first time, so they stared foolishly at Zhou Ruoxi and were not scared away...
Zhou Ruoxi checked Wan Yunting. He was still unconscious. Helpless, she got up and walked around the valley. Soon, she discovered with joy a wild hawthorn tree on the cliff face, still bearing ripe red fruit.
This made Zhou Ruoxi extremely happy. She quickly stood on her tiptoes, pulled down a branch with her jade-like hand, picked a hawthorn fruit, and bit into it impatiently...
"Tsk tsk, so sour..."
Immediately, Zhou Ruoxi's face wrinkled from the sourness. She smacked her lips and quickly spat it out. The intense sourness made her body shiver, and she painfully and helplessly gave up on the hawthorn tree...
"Huh? Why is there a hole!"
The next second, Zhou Ruoxi's eyes widened slightly as she discovered a cave behind the hawthorn tree, a dark hole faintly revealed in the cliff face among the grass!
This surprised Zhou Ruoxi. She couldn't help but go over and lift the grass and branches covering the cave entrance. She looked at the cave entrance, which was about two meters high and about one meter two wide. The inside was pitch black, and she didn't know how deep it was.
Zhou Ruoxi examined the cave. It didn't seem to be a natural cave. There were traces of artificial carving on the rock face, but it seemed to have been modified later.
This made her wonder, murmuring, "Could someone have lived here before?"
This valley bottom was another world, with a comfortable temperature, forming a sharp contrast with the icy and snowy outside. If someone had lived here before, Zhou Ruoxi wouldn't find it strange.
However, the cave entrance looked like it hadn't been visited for a long time. There was grass all around, and there were many animal droppings on the ground at the entrance. Zhou Ruoxi knew that there must be something else inside the cave, such as snakes, which she was afraid of...
So Zhou Ruoxi did not rashly enter. She continued to search around and found no edible wild fruits. This made her, who was hungry, return to the hot spring pool helplessly. She looked at Wan Yunting lying on the grass, still unconscious. He looked like he was sleeping peacefully, breathing smoothly...
Zhou Ruoxi returned and sat beside him, sighing helplessly. Then she looked up at the sky. The valley was surrounded by trees that covered the sky. Only the center was empty. Outside, the sky was bright. Since it was not yet noon, only a few rays of sunlight slanted in from the east, passing through the leaves and reflecting onto Zhou Ruoxi's beautiful face. The mottled sunlight was warm and comfortable on her face...
Zhou Ruoxi couldn't help but lie down, placing her hands on her abdomen. She turned her face and looked at Wan Yunting beside her. From her angle, this man's right cheek had sharp contours, with a stubble, full of masculine charm...
Suddenly, Zhou Ruoxi's pretty face turned slightly red, and her mind was filled with wandering thoughts. Her heart fluttered like a deer. Her autumn eyes were fixed on Wan Yunting's handsome face, unwilling to look away for a long time. A faint smile appeared on her red lips, very sweet...
"Cough..."
Suddenly, Wan Yunting's face contorted in pain, and he coughed lightly...