He had run with his son to the highest mountain peak simply to stand high and see far, to check whether the immortal palace was nearby. He had no intention of travelling by night.
The reason, no one had asked, and he had no need to tell others.
The others’ emotions had not yet recovered from the fight in the canyon just now.
“Did you notice the scales on that snake just now? Each piece was as large as a palm-leaf fan. The movement as they opened and closed, and the crawling of such a huge body, as light and delicate as anything, practically identical to a real snake.”
Nie Pinlan stood up and exclaimed in wonder.
Nan Zhu nodded. “Look at that bear’s fur. Every single hair seemed real as well. I wonder what the inside of its body is like. Who will go down with me to cut it open and see?”
No one responded.
Nan Zhu was speechless for a moment, then said again, “Aren’t you curious?”
Ning Chaoyi said, “Didn’t you see all those holes down there? They should be snake burrows. That bear appeared near the snake burrows to fight, probably because it strayed into the snake’s territory, which is why they started fighting. You saw the attack power of those snakes just now. Their attack strength is no less than that of a cultivator at the initial Xuan level, and there is a whole group of them. Who knows what other abilities they have? If we go down and disturb them, it might be a bit troublesome. We came here to get rich. There is no need to invite unnecessary trouble.”
Nan Zhu thought about it and had no choice but to give up.
The group did not meddle in others’ affairs and went back to work.
For overnight stays, it was naturally better to stay in groups. Wu Hei pulled his son along and followed the group back to that golden valley.
Along the way, everyone was still discussing the monster fight from earlier.
Very high in the sky, a giant white-headed eagle circled. In the afterglow of the sunset, one would not notice its existence unless staring carefully at the high sky. Yet as it circled high above, it could see clearly the huge movements happening on the ground across thousands of mountains and valleys…
After night fell, Wu Hei on the cliff removed his outer coat, wrapped it around his son, and urged him to rest early.
However, the little fellow was restless, constantly climbing up with bright, sparkling eyes to watch the group of cultivators working for money.
These labourers were naturally Yu Qing and Ning Chaoyi’s group, carrying lumps of gold weighing tens of thousands of jin up the mountain to the gobi desert. They would not bother with smaller pieces, unwilling to make a trip for a small chunk. If they had no other choice, they would carry two pieces.
“Father, they are tired.”
Little Black, full of sympathy, turned to look at his father and spoke.
Wu Hei shook his head. “They are not tired. They like it very much.”
Little Black did not understand and insisted, “Tired.”
Wu Hei stroked his head and pressed him down to lie flat. “You do not understand yet. You will understand when you grow up. We have to wake up very early tomorrow. Sleep early.”
Little Black closed his eyes with doubts. Suddenly, another loud crash came from below the cliff. Little Black instantly opened his bright, sparkling eyes wide again, climbed up again, and crawled to the edge of the cliff to stretch his head out and look down.
Wu Hei immediately felt a headache, estimating that his son would probably find it very difficult to fall asleep tonight…
The people carrying huge lumps of gold crossed mountains and ridges without stopping. When they reached the gobi desert, they simply threw them onto the ground. The large gold lumps would roll down the slope by themselves, automatically gathering into piles at the foot of the slope, and then the people would fly back.
The group had calculated that they would transport everything out overnight tonight, then spend the entire day tomorrow moving it out of the gobi, and tomorrow night transport it through the jungle via the passage to send it out. They estimated that by the morning after tomorrow, it would all be finished. Even if they divided the gold transported out among themselves, it would already be an enormous fortune.
With a rumble, Ning Chaoyi threw a large lump of gold down the mountain and turned to fly back. On the way, he encountered Nie Pinlan carrying something. The latter called out, “Mr. Ning.”
Ning Chaoyi stopped, then flashed back, landing beside her, and asked, “What is it?”
Nie Pinlan said, “What are we doing? What are we following that fellow to mess about with? Did we really come here to get rich?”
Ning Chaoyi was silent for a moment, then said slowly, “I think you and your husband, like me, also have some weakness that has been seized. What I want to say is, this is the legendary Golden Ruins! Now that we have entered here, do you think those people outside will still honour their promises?”
Nie Pinlan, carrying a heavy load, looked dejected. Ning Chaoyi flashed away, and the former also continued carrying the heavy load forward…
Having figured out the route these people were taking for transport, Gao Yuan, concealed in a black cloak, finally slowly approached. He hid behind a small hill. When Qiao Qie’er arrived carrying a heavy load, he immediately took out a fluorescent stone, cupped it in both hands, only letting the light shine in a fixed direction for Qiao Qie’er to see, continuously using the light to send a signal for a meeting.
Qiao Qie’er saw it but ignored it. When she reached the last slope, she threw down the gold and immediately flew away.
Gao Yuan, who had been continuously sending signals to her, was stunned. After covering the light of the fluorescent stone with both hands, he quietly withdrew.
After moving far away from this area, he urgently flew across the gobi, drilling into a pit in the ground several li away.
Seeing the iron-masked man, he immediately reported, “Sir, I do not know what is wrong with that woman. I gave the signal, but she gave no response at all.”
The iron-masked man said, “Could she not have seen it?”
Gao Yuan said, “It should be impossible. I was already very close to her. Unless she is blind, she should not have failed to see it.”
Bailan beside them said in a deep voice, “I will go.”
The iron-masked man raised his hand to stop her. “Your resentment is too deep, and you are prone to impulsiveness. If you startle the gatekeeper’s son into running away, we cannot dare to stray too far from the passage in and out. Gao Yuan, make another trip and try once more. If you really cannot make contact, then contact Ning Chaoyi and let him think of a way.”
“Alright.” Gao Yuan responded and left.
Qiao Qie’er, who had returned to the valley, was distracted for a long time. The others saw this but said nothing.
Only when Yu Qing returned and noticed did he approach and ask, “What is wrong? After entering the Golden Ruins, you seem to have been in a daze the whole time.”
Qiao Qie’er shook her head. “Nothing.”
Yu Qing felt there was deep worry hidden in her eyes and comforted her, “Do not worry. After this batch of gold is moved out, helping you repay the money will be more than enough. Have these past two days been too thrilling, leaving you physically and mentally exhausted? If you are tired, go meditate and rest on the cliff. We are not short of one person working.” He spread his arms wide to show her how strong he was.
Qiao Qie’er was amused by him, even laughing to the point of tears. She reached out with one hand, and for the first time in public, caressed his cheek, her expression full of affection. “Why are you so silly?”
Yu Qing grinned, “Is it not good to be a bit silly in front of you? Are you already disliking me so quickly?”
Qiao Qie’er shook her head, cupping his face in both hands, and said softly, “How could I? I am just afraid you will hate me in the future. If in the future you no longer like me, if you hate me, I do not know what I should do. I am really so afraid of seeing a look of disgust in your eyes. What should I do then?” Tears suddenly fell like broken strings of beads.
Yu Qing looked heartbroken and quickly reached out to wipe her tears. “How did you start crying while talking? Are all women so sentimental? Be happy. Look, so much gold. We are rich. I have done what I promised you. Once we have money, I will marry you in grand style. It is impossible not to like you. I guarantee I will cling to you for a lifetime and not let go. You should not find me annoying by then.”
Qiao Qie’er burst into laughter through her tears.
Yu Qing thought she was crying tears of joy, after all, they had really found so much money and could finally relieve all the pressure.
The public display of affection made those passing by speechless, especially Ning Chaoyi’s group. After seeing this scene, they looked at Yu Qing with somewhat strange expressions.
Nan Zhu, passing by from the side, raised his sleeve to hang across his face, passing sideways to indicate he had seen nothing.
After comforting Qiao Qie’er, Yu Qing also stopped Shen Qingcheng, using the excuse that the large enough gold chunks in the canyon were gone. Since everyone was going back and forth to transport things and still had to dig gold chunks from the cliff walls, it might not be efficient enough. He asked her and Qiao Qie’er to specifically be responsible for digging, while the transporting would be left to them.
In fact, he simply did not want Qiao Qie’er to be too tired. He secretly also urged Shen Qingcheng to help take care of her.
Shen Qingcheng also looked at him strangely, but since what he said made sense, she still agreed…
Huge gold lumps were thrown down the slope. When Ning Chaoyi turned around, he saw flashing light on one side of the small hill. He quickly used the undulating terrain to slip over, meeting Gao Yuan who was hiding in the dark.
Gao Yuan had originally wanted to try contacting Qiao Qie’er again, but after waiting for quite a while without seeing her appear, he had no choice but to contact Ning Chaoyi.
Seeing him, Ning Chaoyi immediately said in surprise, “How did you get in?”
Gao Yuan said, “The entrance had lightning and thunder for so long, creating such a huge commotion. How could I not come in and take a look? First, give me a general briefing on the situation.”
Ning Chaoyi looked around and declined, “We are working right now. It is really inconvenient to talk. If I am gone too long, it will arouse suspicion. At this time, can we keep it brief?”
Gao Yuan thought about it and agreed, asking, “Where is your leader?”
Ning Chaoyi was simple and direct, “Working in the valley inside, digging gold chunks from the cliff walls.”
Gao Yuan was silent for a moment, then said, “Then I will leave this to you to handle.”
Ning Chaoyi said, “What is it again?”
Gao Yuan said, “Simple. You find a way to lure that ‘Lin Erqing’ away, take him far away, let him end up alone. You do not need to do anything else. Others will handle the rest.”
Ning Chaoyi secretly felt alarmed. Upon hearing this, he understood immediately. What else could it be, either kidnapping or killing. He immediately probed, “You want to kill him?”
Gao Yuan said, “Do your own job well. You do not need to worry about the rest.”
Ning Chaoyi frowned and said, “I am not worrying. I simply do not understand what this means. Did you not say he could unravel the secret, that his cultivation had not yet broken through Xuan, and tell us to secretly protect him, to secretly use him to unravel the secret? Now you want us to protect him and also kill him, what is going on? We are about to go out soon. Once outside, you can kill him however you want. Why go to such unnecessary trouble?”
There was something he had originally wanted to ask for clarification on, which was the issue of Yu Qing and the others’ cultivation levels. However, he no longer wanted to bring it up.
Gao Yuan said, “The secret has already been unravelled. There is naturally a reason for dealing with him. Do not ask what you should not ask.”
Ning Chaoyi spread both hands, “I cannot do this.”
Gao Yuan’s face instantly darkened. “You dare to disobey orders?”
Ning Chaoyi waved his hand, “Do not misunderstand. I am not trying to disobey orders. I simply cannot do this alone. There is a situation you may not know about. Among us, there appeared a dishevelled fellow with a child. That fellow has the strength of the upper Xuan level and has a very good relationship with Lin Erqing, always protecting him.”
Gao Yuan was slightly startled, “Upper Xuan level strength?”
Ning Chaoyi nodded, “Exactly. To move against Lin Erqing, someone needs to keep that fellow occupied. I would inevitably need to call on others to cooperate, but the others will not follow my orders blindly. The biggest problem is that the missions have come into conflict. One of the missions they received was to protect Lin Erqing. Do you think they would believe this easily? This matter still needs to be handed to our ‘leader’. Once that woman speaks, everyone will naturally cooperate.”