Apart from those three characters, the other moss patterns were indescribable. They resembled drawings, or scratches left by something, or twisted dragons and serpents. Some looked like falling snowflakes, or like burning flames.
Moss was unlikely to grow into such strange patterns on its own. Looking at those three characters, they were clearly man-made. Yet this haphazard assembly of patterns was truly bizarre.
Despite being a chaotic composition, the overall view did not feel disorderly. Instead, it carried a majestic dignity that seemed to press down from the heavens, giving one a magnificent, solemn feeling.
Big Head had been circling continuously on the wooden stake beneath the dome, looking all around. Its reaction was strange, unlike anything seen before. It seemed to have fallen into some kind of confusion.
After circling for a long time, it finally stopped. It stopped facing the proper orientation of the three characters “Little Insect Scripture.” The creature that had just been circling endlessly now seemed frozen in place. It raised its head and stared blankly upward for quite some time.
Later, it slowly spread its wings, opening them to what seemed their absolute limit, as if imitating something.
Beneath the three characters “Little Insect Scripture,” there was indeed a pattern that resembled wings spread open in this manner.
Then it became petrified again, stiff and motionless for a long while. However, something seemed to be flowing across its body.
At first, it was unclear what it was. As the flowing object became clearer, one could see that red light was moving through the cracks in its body.
The wandering red light grew increasingly distinct, then flowed continuously across its body surface, its speed varying between fast and slow. Big Head also seemed to be immersed in it, as if forgetting it had come here to hide, as if forgetting the previous danger…
Under the moonlight, the mountain range ahead came into view again. They were almost at the hiding place. The two martial brothers, who had travelled smoothly all the way, breathed a sigh of relief.
Looking at the honeycomb in his hand, Nan Zhu could not help but ask, “Old Nine, you ate this. Do you feel any reaction now?”
Mu Aotie turned to look at him. He knew he was asking whether he felt the medicinal power of the pollen. After thinking, he shook his head and said, “No. Not the slightest reaction.”
Nan Zhu immediately looked relieved. He nodded and said, “I told you so. With such a huge hive, how could cutting off a random piece happen to hit the problematic part?”
Previously, after they scattered the pollen and hid not far from the divine tree to observe, they had not expected a reaction to appear quickly. They had not expected the Bee King to happen to eat honey contaminated with the Soul-Bewitching Pollen. They had even been mentally prepared to wait several days.
This was also an important reason they had dared not directly barge into the divine tree to deal with that Bee King. It was not merely because of Huan Yushan. The bee swarm showing a reaction so quickly made them somewhat uncertain. They felt it might have been too fast.
Just as the two were about to approach the mountain range, Mu Aotie, who had been looking around alertly, suddenly reached out to block Nan Zhu. Then he pressed down on his shoulder, and both squatted down into the lush flowers and grass.
Nan Zhu realised something was amiss. Following the direction of his vigilance, he looked and indeed discovered more than a dozen shadowy searching figures in the moonlight.
This was nothing in itself. They could simply avoid them. Judging by the situation, they had not been discovered.
The crucial problem was that judging from the search direction of those dozen or so people, they were heading toward the mountain range. Their general search orientation was precisely the cave where they had hidden earlier.
Perhaps they might not happen to stumble upon the cave where people were hiding. But once they drew near, if they conducted a thorough search with intent, it would be impossible not to discover such a large cave.
It was over. The people in the cave were in danger.
The two bumped each other’s arms, gestured with hand signals, and communicated briefly. Then they immediately crouched down and rapidly circled around. They needed to return to the cave before the Kunling Mountain searchers arrived.
Fortunately, those people were conducting a search and could not move quickly. With deliberate intent, the two not only circled around them but also got ahead of the searchers. After hiding and rapidly ascending the mountain, they had just reached the cave when they encountered Baili Xin, who was popping her head out from the cave entrance from time to time, waiting anxiously.
“Why did you take so long? How could fetching water take this long?” Upon meeting, even the usually quiet Baili Xin could not help complaining. She had truly been worried to death.
“Shh!” Nan Zhu signalled her to be silent, pulling her back into the cave in one motion. “There are people outside. Searchers coming for us.”
Baili Xin was startled. “How many came?”
“Seems like about a dozen or so.”
“Then what should we do?”
“Don’t panic. They won’t get here that quickly.” Nan Zhu reassured her. He went in to check. This time, they dared not take out the fluorescent stones again, afraid light might leak out. When squatting down to check Yu Qing’s condition, he patted Yu Qing’s face and called softly, “Old Fifteen, how are you feeling?”
Baili Xin added, “The situation is not good. They have successively fallen into coma. If you two had not returned, I would not have known what to do.”
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie were both shocked. They reached out one after another to examine Yu Qing. They found that not only was he in a coma, but his heart and lung qi had also weakened considerably. The person had swollen up like a pig. Fortunately, there was no immediate danger to his life. If they had come any later, it would truly be hard to say.
The two then successively examined Xiang Lanxuan and Qin Fujun. They found that the conditions of these two were even more severe. Their heart and lung qi were already very weak. Especially Xiang Lanxuan, even her breathing had become faint.
After getting up, Nan Zhu gave the honeycomb in his hand to Baili Xin and instructed, “This is honey we obtained from inside the divine tree…”
Before he finished speaking, Baili Xin was already greatly shocked. “You barged into the divine tree?”
She simply could not believe it. She had not expected these two fellows to have such audacity. After the words left her mouth, she also knew she had spoken nonsense. The item was already in her hands. Was there still any need for doubt?
Nan Zhu spread his hands. “We had no choice. Fortunately… Sigh, now is not the time to nag about this. You know the effect of this honey. Feed it to them to eat. Baili, I trust you. Old Fifteen’s safety, we entrust to you.”
He was not merely saying this. He truly trusted Baili Xin. Otherwise, he would not have dared to run off earlier like that, leaving the defenceless Yu Qing for her to watch.
The corner of Mu Aotie’s mouth twitched slightly. In the pitch-black environment, he glanced at Baili Xin using the moonlight from outside. He did not trust her, but his way of not trusting was different. It did not mean he dared not let her help take care of Old Fifteen for the moment. Nothing more than the word “use.” Later, he would still kill her without hesitation!
“Entrust to me?” Baili Xin sensed something else in his words. “Entrust to me for what? What are you going to do?”
Nan Zhu said, “Old Fifteen and the others need a quiet environment to detoxify. They are not suited for travelling around. Now the situation outside is unclear. Carrying several people and running around, the target is too large. It is not easy to conceal their tracks. The enemy has already pressed right before their eyes. It is very easy for something to go wrong. The two of us will go lure the people outside away. Leave this place to you.”
Baili Xin was shocked again. “This is too dangerous. You also know the situation outside is unclear. The Kunling Mountain side has Upper Xuan experts, and even High Xuan realm ones. Forget encountering Huan Yushan. Even if you run into an Upper Xuan expert, you won’t be able to escape.”
Nan Zhu said, “If it truly comes to that, none of us can escape. Baili, just help us take good care of Old Fifteen.”
Baili Xin looked at Yu Qing lying on the ground and fell into contemplation. She did not know what she thought of, but she did not say anything more. She directly nodded and said, “Be careful, you two.”
“Old Nine, let’s go.” Nan Zhu called for Mu Aotie to leave. However, he had not taken two steps before stopping. He turned back and said, “If, I mean if, in the unlikely event you are captured, do not say anything regarding the immortal mansion. Push everything onto us. As long as they cannot figure out the situation, they will not dare to rashly kill you.”
Baili Xin gave an “Mm.” “You two be careful yourselves.”
Nan Zhu patted his chest. “Rest assured. If I am captured, I would rather die than betray you. We will not betray your hiding place. You can stay here at ease.”
He had gone so far as to pledge his loyalty.
Baili Xin held the honeycomb in her hands. “Can this be eaten? What about that pollen…”
Nan Zhu understood her meaning. “Old Nine already tasted it. This piece of honey is fine.”
Having said this, he waved his hand again to call Mu Aotie. The two observed outward from the cave entrance for a while before quietly slipping out.
Baili Xin walked to the cave entrance and gazed out to see them off. She no longer knew where the two figures had stealthily gone.
She could only tend to one matter at a time for now. Returning to the cave, she quickly pried open Yu Qing’s mouth and poured honey nectar into it. She used her arts to help him swallow it down. Then it was Xiang Lanxuan’s and Qin Fujun’s turn.
There was a lot of honey on that large piece of honeycomb. Even after feeding the three until they were full, quite a bit remained. She felt she was still somewhat swollen herself, so she ate the remainder.
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie, who had stealthily slipped far away, both hid in the flowers and grass to pause.
It was Mu Aotie who stopped them. “Old Seven, this is about enough. If we run any further, those people will reach the cave entrance.”
Nan Zhu also gave an “Mm.” The two drew their swords one after another. They nodded at each other, then swung their swords and forcefully clashed them.
Clang, clang, clang…
A series of metal clashing sounds spread across the wilderness. An experienced person would know at once that weapons were colliding, and that they were fighting quite fiercely.
A group of Kunling Mountain disciples were already ascending the mountain, spreading out to search the mountain. Hearing such movement faintly, they immediately pounced in that direction.
Baili Xin, hiding at the cave entrance, also heard the fighting sounds. Moreover, she had already seen the searchers ascending the mountain. She naturally witnessed these people being drawn away by the fighting sounds. Yet she could not relax. She remained on tenterhooks, worried about Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie.
The moon shifted bit by bit in the night sky. Baili Xin, guarding the cave entrance, also anxiously waited for the two who had lured the enemy away. Unfortunately, the two did not return for a long time.
As for Yu Qing and the other two who were in a coma, she was not worried instead. The honey was very effective. The three were already rapidly reducing their swelling. Their heart and lung qi were also rapidly recovering.
Later, she did not know whether it was due to her own mood, but Baili Xin felt her body growing somewhat feverish. Until strange emotions stirred restlessly, she then sensed something was wrong. She picked up the discarded honeycomb inside the cave and sniffed it. She gritted her teeth secretly, roughly knowing what was going on…!
A dream! Yu Qing felt he had a dream, a very long dream, a voluptuous dream.
In the dream, he was drinking flower wine on a pleasure boat. After drinking, one could well imagine. The beauty in the dream was also quite clingy, entangling him endlessly.
Only, he had never had such a peculiar dream before. He felt this dream was so long. He felt he had been continuously coupling with the beauty, wildly indulging himself. It was as if there were endless desires to vent. He had never been so frenzied before. He continued in a daze until he was too exhausted to move.
The dream was quite beautiful.
It was just that there was too much gold and silver on the couch, somewhat uncomfortable to lie on. Later, he felt increasingly cold. He felt it was snowing outside. He suddenly opened his eyes. He woke up, and realised it was indeed a dream. He discovered he was still in that cave from last night. However, it was already bright outside.
Eh, he felt his body seemed better, even refreshed.
He could still recall Nan Zhu and the others going to fetch water. It should have been Big Head who boiled water to detoxify them.
But he still felt somewhat cold. Subconsciously, he touched his body. His hand stiffened on his body. He could not help but sit up abruptly. Looking down, he discovered he was actually stark naked, without a stitch of clothing.
This scene made his head buzz. Some obvious signs made him realise what last night’s dream…
Looking around again, there was only him in the cave. He quickly got up. After dressing, he was about to go out of the cave to check the situation when he suddenly kicked something underfoot. Looking down, it was a rather strange object.
He picked it up and looked. It was precisely that cut-off piece of honeycomb. It had already been trampled by someone. At first, he had not recognised it, because the honeycomb cells were very large, unlike a normal beehive. But he ultimately recognised it. He also saw the remaining honey nectar inside. He sniffed it. There was a heart-soothing fragrance.
He raised his hand to look at his palm. Then he used his arts to sense his body, from which the bee poison had already been completely cleared. He faintly realised something.
He quickly reached the cave entrance and looked outward. As a result, he found Baili Xin, Xiang Lanxuan, and Qin Fujun each occupying a position, all sitting quietly and silently.
The three also turned to look at him one after another.
He tried to discern something from the three people’s expressions, wanting to know who it was. But he did not see any abnormality on the three people’s faces. Slightly frowning, he first walked toward Baili Xin. He showed her the honeycomb in his hand and asked, “What is this?”
“To detoxify you, those two fellows risked barging into the divine tree and cut some honey…”
A flash of awkwardness crossed Baili Xin’s face. She answered truthfully and explained the course of events.
It was already bright, and still no traces had been found. Following Elder Qu’s command, the dozens of Kunling Mountain disciples who had come to participate in the search gathered in one place.
Huan Yushan, floating in mid-air, also landed with a darkened face.
After gathering the people, Elder Qu asked, “Is everyone here?”
His disciple said, “Still missing Senior Brother Yan Yao and two others. Everyone else who is still here has arrived.”
Elder Qu knew that Yan Yao and the other three were guarding the exit position. He shouted and asked, “All of you, last night, who fought with someone?”
The crowd looked at you, and you looked at me. No one responded.
Elder Qu shouted again, “Are you all mute? Did you not hear what I said?”
Then the crowd successively shook their heads, indicating they had not.
Elder Qu was stunned. While stroking his beard and frowning, his eyes suddenly opened wide. He said in a deep voice, “Where was the fighting sound discovered yesterday?”
Someone said, “Replying to Elder, roughly seventy or eighty li away in that direction at the foot of the mountain. We wandered around all night. The exact location and distance are already unclear. We would need to go back to the scene and identify it with our own eyes.” He pointed in a general direction.
Huan Yushan asked, “Martial Brother Qu, what is it? Is there a problem?”
Elder Qu said in a deep voice, “No one on our side fought. Then who was fighting? If it was those fellows, why would they fight among themselves? Moreover, they were fighting near our men. If they had not discovered our people, if they truly had a grudge and were fighting, how could it have ended so quickly? When our people rushed over immediately, how could they see no one?”
A flash of keen light appeared in Huan Yushan’s eyes. He seemed to have realised something. With one flash of his body, he grabbed the disciple who had answered earlier and directly flew into the sky.
“Go!” Elder Qu also waved his hand, calling the crowd of disciples to hurry in that direction.