Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 346: The Middle Road

The severed vines thrashed about, and blood gushed from the broken ends—it was Gu Jingnian's blood.

It still carried Gu Jingnian, plunging him into the abyss.

Pei Nian knew that once Gu Jingnian fell into the mouths of those leeches, Xu Gonggong's alchemy might be completed.

Without hesitation, she threw away the longsword in her hand, grabbed the broken vine, and tried to pull Gu Jingnian up.

This series of actions happened in an instant, and only then did the look of surprise on Eunuch Xu's face disappear.

He truly hadn't expected Pei Nian to wake up through sheer willpower, so he immediately believed she was Li Shuangyun.

However, the conversation was not without its flaws. For example, Li Shuangyun had never seen him before, but Pei Nian had seen him not long ago in the Inner Palace and was able to recognize him.

Just now, Pei Nian wasn't sure if Li Shuangyun had seen him before, otherwise she would have said that she recognized him from Pei Nian's memory, instead of deliberately skipping the topic.

Realizing he had been tricked, Eunuch Xu's eyes instead revealed a look of admiration, finding Pei Nian quite interesting.

He seemed to be unskilled in martial arts and did not make a move. He stood there watching Pei Nian desperately trying to pull Gu Jingnian away with amusement, a playful smile playing on his lips.

Although Pei Nian was thin, she was quite strong. In addition, Gu Jingnian had lost too much blood and was a little weak, so she was able to hold him back.

But since the vines were cut off, they gradually lost their vitality and could no longer tightly bind the branches that had been there for years.

Pei Nian tried her best to pull the vines upwards, while Gu Jingnian flipped over and fell down.

Pei Nian's heart tightened, and the next moment, the weight of the vine in her hand felt even heavier.

Gu Jingnian woke up at this critical moment and grabbed the vine.

"I'll pull you up!" Pei Nian exclaimed excitedly.

With their combined efforts, the two finally managed to slowly pull Gu Jingnian up.

Pei Nian rushed to the edge of the stone platform and reached out to grab him.

The moment their hands clasped, their eyes met, and they exchanged knowing smiles.

Suddenly, Pei Nian felt a sharp pain in her waist as she was once again entangled by the vines.

She was still holding Gu Jingnian's hand, and the two of them were lifted high into the air at the same time.

With a smile on his face, as compassionate as when Buddha held up a flower, Eunuch Xu reached out and stroked the vine again.

Suddenly, the vines stretched out, pushing the two of them into the abyss.

The giant snake raised its head and bit at Gu Jingnian, just a hair's breadth away from his boot.

The vines drooped down, and Pei Nian quickly pulled Gu Jingnian up.

At this point, she could only rely on the strength in her arms to save Gu Jingnian, but eventually her strength would run out, and Gu Jingnian continued to slide down little by little.

Hold on tight!

Pei Nian felt her hands were aching so badly they felt like they were about to break, but she still refused to let go, and the two of them remained tightly clasped together.

The amused smile on Eunuch Xu's face deepened as he watched with great interest, wondering how long they could hold out.

"hold onto."

Pei Nian encouraged Gu Jingnian with her eyes. She knew that the two of them could not continue like this. At this moment, she was unwilling to let go and sought to live and die together.

Inspired by her, Gu Jingnian felt a surge of will to survive. The stronger this will became, the calmer he became, knowing that the only way to escape the current predicament was through his supernatural abilities.

It seemed impossible to use superpowers in this Black Stone Mountain, but he believed there must be a way, just like Shen Jichi and Li Shuangyun had used superpowers in Jusai City.

Then he thought of what Xun Yan had said about how close this place was to Jusai City. This sounded very strange. If it was true, how could he mobilize his forces in Jusai City?

Furthermore, why did Shen Jichi deliberately have Xun Yan bring him here?
Thinking of this, Gu Jingnian called out, "Eunuch Xu, aren't you afraid of falling into Shen Jichi's trap?"

--------

"Squeak."

A door was pushed open, and Xun Yan peeked inside. His eyes were initially filled with tension, but then he was pleasantly surprised to find that there were no guards inside.

This is a huge stone chamber; the sheen of the stone on the walls and floor alone gives it a grand feel.

Gold, silver, jewelry, pearls, and jade were piled up all over the ground, dazzling the eye.

"what."

Wei Chan peeked inside and was surprised, thinking that it resembled the inner treasury of the palace, only larger.

"Wow!"

Ah-Wan was the last to enter, and she was immediately stunned. Looking at the glittering jewelry, her eyes lit up, and she was so excited that she couldn't speak.

"Wow...why are there so many jewels here?"

For her, any piece of gold at her feet could buy her indenture.

Of the group, she was the poorest, and naturally, she cared the most about money.

Xun Yan was somewhat disappointed. He discovered that although the gold, silver, pearls, and jade were dazzling, the rare treasures and medicinal herbs were nowhere to be found.

"where it goes?"

He muttered to himself and began to ponder.

He had surveyed the route he had taken; the roads were desolate, the former prosperity completely gone, yet there was no trace of the treasure being transported out. Since that was the case, then the only possibility was that it was being transported inwards.

Thinking of this, Xun Yan felt no regret; instead, his eyes revealed a hint of anticipation.

As he continued walking, he became increasingly excited and quickened his pace.

The cane tapped the ground more and more frequently, making a "tap-tap" sound.

Passing through rows of shelves displaying exquisite utensils, you come to a wall with a huge painting hanging on it.

The painting wasn't bad, but among all the treasures in the room, it seemed particularly worthless and naturally went unnoticed.

But Xun Yan didn't look to the side and walked straight toward the painting.

He didn't try to take the painting down; instead, he crashed into it without hesitation.

"Doctor Xun!"

Ah-Wan happened to witness this scene and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

She feared that Xun Yan, being old, would crash into the wall and die, but miraculously, Xun Yan simply passed right through it.

The painting was not cracked; the green mountains on it remained the same, and the ink was as fresh as ever, but Xun Yan's figure was nowhere to be seen.

"Doctor Xun?"

A-Wan rushed forward and called out a few times, but Xun Yan did not respond.

Wei Chan, who had been looking around for rare treasures, ran over when she heard the commotion and asked, "Where is everyone?"

"They walked through the painting."

Wei Chan reached out and touched the painting, patting it; the back was solid.

She was very curious, so she lifted the painting and looked inside. There was clearly a wall behind it, very thick.

"Hey, where are you?"

no respond.

Wei Chan couldn't help but curse, "That old guy, he's probably abandoned us and run away."

Awan said, "Princess, I think he just crashed into it. Should we try crashing into it too?"

"What if someone gets injured in the accident?" Wei Chan frowned. "That doesn't make sense."

"Perhaps this painting is just like the portrait of Master Gu."

"That makes sense. Why don't you try crashing into it first?"

When Wei Chan spoke, A-Wan didn't think anything was wrong. This was what a servant should do, so she said "Oh" and took a few steps back.

This time she wasn't too scared. She gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and charged straight at him.

She was prepared to stumble from the impact, but when her body touched the painting, it was as if she had only bumped into a shadow.

The next moment, the light in front of her changed, and she found herself in a place that looked like a prison.

Ahead lay rows of empty cages, their dim light casting a chilling glow on the walls.

A-Wan was lost in thought when she was suddenly pushed, which startled her and made her cry out. It was Wei Chan who had come over.

"Where is the old man?"

The two walked a short distance and saw Xun Yan squatting in front of a cage, picking up something from the ground with his finger and sniffing it.

"What are you looking at?" Wei Chan asked.

Xun Yan did not answer, but Wei Chan saw clearly as soon as she got closer that his fingers were stained with black blood.

The blood had been there for an unknown amount of time and had not yet dried.

Looking down, I saw worms wriggling in the pool of blood on the ground.

Wei Chan felt nauseous, but then Xun Yan picked up an insect and put it in his mouth.

"What...what are you doing?!"

Upon hearing Wei Chan's exclamation, Xun Yan's first reaction was to eat all the remaining insects before turning around and saying, "This old man is frail and old, and has been too tired lately. I'm just replenishing myself. I hope the princess won't laugh at me."

Wei Chan didn't care whether he repaired it or not. She covered her mouth and nose and said with disgust, "What are you up to now? If I catch you, you'll be sorry."

"No, no," Xun Yan said. "These cages contain high-quality materials for refining, and even the blood left behind is valuable. Further ahead lies the most important place here—the furnace."

Wei Chan disliked his nonsense and said, "Take me there quickly."

Xun Yan was also invigorated and got up with his cane.

Ahead was another downward stone staircase. Following the staircase, the view suddenly opened up, and a huge furnace could be seen in the distance.

The furnace was indeed magnificent, but Wei Chan was disappointed when she saw it, saying, "It's just a big furnace, what good stuff could it possibly contain?"

"This furnace shouldn't be underestimated," Xun Yan chuckled, "I've mentioned that this place leads to Jusai City, but does the princess know where Jusai City is?"

"where?"

Xun Yan pointed solemnly and said, "It's right under the stove, like a reflection in the water."

(End of this chapter)