The Prodigal Son

The next day, Qin Yu took Nan Que'er and the others to Zhanlong Gorge.

Zhao Po didn't go with them; only Ning Huang went.

"hiss……"

On the way to Zhanlong Gorge, Qin Yu suddenly gasped in pain.

Nan Que'er glanced at her and asked with concern, "Are you in pain again?"

"Um."

Qin Yu nodded, then frowned and asked, "Are you sure I wasn't injured in my kidney meridians or anything like that by Senior Ning last night?"

Speaking of this, Qin Yu felt secretly depressed.

No delusion!

It was fortunate that he possessed the strength of the eighth realm, and that Ning Huang, who originally intended to "capture him alive," went relatively lightly; otherwise, his life would probably have ended inexplicably.

Damn it!

That's what they mean by being carried away by success!

You shouldn't be so reckless in the future.

Otherwise, if you die unjustly one day, you'll be too embarrassed to go to the King of Hell to complain about your innocence.

"I don't think so, right?"

Nan Que'er was also a little uncertain about his question, and lowered her voice to tease him, "Is it because you've been indulging in too much sex lately?"

Qin Yu's lips curled into a sneer as he glared "fiercely" at Nan Que'er.

What is excessive indulgence?

This level of intensity isn't even a warm-up for me!

Meeting Qin Yu's gaze, Nan Que'er couldn't help but giggle, making Qin Yu want to leap onto her horse and let her experience his family discipline.

Xu Wan glanced at the two of them with a smile, then asked Qin Yu, "Do you think what Chen Yi said is true?"

Qin Yu had asked Chen Yi about the origin of the jade disc early this morning.

According to Chen Yicai's confession, he obtained the jade disc from a eunuch who had escaped from the Yuyang Imperial Palace.

The eunuch said that he had fallen into the palace pool while fleeing for his life and found it by accident in the water.

However, Chen Yi judged that the jade disc must have been stolen from the palace by a eunuch while Yu Wu was escaping.

"I think so!"

Qin Yu withdrew his gaze from Nan Que'er. "I also think that there's a higher chance that something like this would appear in the palace."

They talked all the way and finally arrived near Zhanlong Gorge in the afternoon.

Even before we reached Zhanlong Gorge, a thin mist had already risen around us.

Moreover, it's still afternoon.

The fog here would be even thicker in the morning or evening.

Once we reach the depths of Zhanlong Gorge, I wonder how thick the fog will be.

While Qin Yu was still looking around, the sharp-eyed Qi Dachui pointed into the thin mist and said, "Thirteenth Young Master, there seems to be a village over there."

Qin Yu looked in the direction Qi Dachui was pointing.

Through layers of thin mist, a fishing village not far from Qujiang River can be vaguely seen.

"Let's go take a look! Perfect timing, we can find someone to show us the way!"

Without saying a word, Qin Yu immediately led his group towards the village.

However, before they even entered the village, they heard a commotion of music and drumming, accompanied by faint cries.

Filled with doubt, they hurried toward the village.

As soon as I arrived at the village entrance, I saw a group of people dressed in mourning clothes carrying three coffins out of the village.

Upon seeing Qin Yu and his group riding tall horses, the group was so frightened that they stood frozen in place, and the music and drumming stopped.

In a panic, an old man with gray hair forced himself to run forward and knelt down before Qin Yu and his men with a thud. "Gentlemen, please have mercy! Please let us bury the villagers first!"

The old man's kneeling surprised Qin Yu and the others.

After a brief moment of distraction, Xu Wan quickly dismounted and helped the old man up. "Old man, you've misunderstood. We're not here to cause you any trouble! We just want to find someone from your village to take us to Zhanlong Gorge."

Upon hearing Xu Wan's words, the old man, who had just stood up, immediately knelt down again, frantically begging for mercy: "Sir, spare my life! Sir, spare my life!"

"Sir, spare my life!"

The other mourners also knelt down, pleading tearfully.

"No... what you guys are doing..."

Xu Wan was both amused and exasperated. "We don't want your lives, we just want you to send someone to lead us into Zhanlong Gorge."

However, the crowd seemed not to hear Xu Wan's words and continued to kowtow and beg for mercy.

"Stop howling, everyone!"

Ning Huang wasn't the only one impatient; he yelled, "If you keep arguing with me, I'll chop you all up!"

It must be said that, in many cases, violence is more effective than reasoning.

Hearing Ning Huang's murderous words, the wails of the crowd immediately stopped, and they all knelt on the ground in fear, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

Qin Yu glanced helplessly at Ning Huang, then patiently asked them what was going on.

After some questioning, Qin Yu finally understood the reason.

It turns out that the three people attending the funeral today were three able-bodied men from the village.

One of them was the old man's son.

Since autumn and winter, the fish have all gone to deeper waters, making it increasingly difficult for villagers to catch fish. In addition, due to the impact of war, the little fish they catch can't be exchanged for much food.

Their lives were getting harder every day, and people were already starving to death in the village.

Seeing that things couldn't continue like this, after some discussion, they decided to risk going to the rarely visited Dragon Slaying Gorge to try their luck.

However, having lived here for generations, they naturally knew of the infamous reputation of Zhanlong Gorge.

So the old man's son decided to take four people and choose a suitable day to scout out the situation.

Everything was fine when they went there, but as soon as they entered Zhanlong Gorge in their fishing boat, a thick fog suddenly rose on the river.

Their fishing boat lost its way in the thick fog and was swept by the current, crashing into the cliffs along the riverbank.

All five people fell into the river. Two of them disappeared on the spot, and the three who returned all fell ill due to the evil dragon's resentment and died within two days.

They're terrified of even hearing the name "Dragon Slayer Gorge" now, so how could they dare go there again!

After listening to the old man's words, Qin Yu suddenly realized what was going on.

No wonder they knelt on the ground begging for mercy!

So they thought going there would mean certain death!

How pitiful, and how tragic!

Those three people weren't possessed by the evil dragon's resentment; falling into the water at this time of year would easily make them sick.

A severe cold could be fatal to them.

After a moment's thought, Qin Yu pulled out a gold ingot from his pocket. "I need someone familiar with the route to lead us into Zhanlong Gorge. Whoever leads us in, this gold ingot is theirs!"

Hearing Qin Yu's words, many of those kneeling on the ground raised their heads.

Several people showed their interest when they saw the golden ingot in Qin Yu's hand.

Of course they're afraid of dying!

But they were even more afraid of starving to death.

If Qin Yu were to exchange this gold ingot for silver, it would be enough to feed his family for at least ten years!

Just as a middle-aged man was about to speak, he was held back tightly by the woman beside him.

The woman shook her head desperately at him, her eyes filled with pleading.

Just as the middle-aged man hesitated, a strong young man who looked about the same age as Qin Yu mustered up his courage and spoke up: "Sir, are you telling the truth?"

"Of course it's true!"

Qin Yu nodded: "Also, our horses will stay here. If we don't come back, these horses are yours!"

Hearing Qin Yu's words, everyone became even more envious.

Their lives are worth less than a horse!

Even if they didn't know how to judge horses, they could tell from Qin Yu and his companions' attire that the horses they were riding were definitely good horses!

Five fine horses, plus this huge gold ingot!

I'd die ten times over!

"Wow!"

"Let me go!"

"Damn it, I'm not afraid of dying..."

In an instant, everyone started scrambling to grab it.

Faced with even the greatest profits, death doesn't seem so terrifying.

Qin Yu raised his hand to stop the crowd, his gaze falling on the burly young man who had spoken first. "What's your name?"

"What is there in this humble person? My nickname is Stone."

He You, panting heavily, looked at Qin Yu with eager eyes, "Sir, let me take you there! I secretly went into Zhanlong Gorge with some people last May!"

"Okay, you're the one!"

Qin Yu tossed the gold ingot to He You, "You go with us to the funeral first, then bring us into Zhanlong Gorge when you get back! Don't worry, as long as we're all alive, we won't let you die!"