Mo Xin looked up at her, smiling faintly with a worried look on her face. "The divine doctor hasn't come back yet. I have a vague feeling that something's wrong..."
Chu Weixin had gone out to gather herbs in the morning and hadn't returned. But with his martial arts skills, he shouldn't encounter any danger. That's what Su Xiaoliu was thinking.
"Isn't the divine doctor skilled in martial arts?" Su Xiaoliu pursed her lips and said.
Mo Xin slowly shook her head. "Based on my understanding of him, he might be trapped somewhere. Martial arts won't help much..."
"Is he prone to getting lost?" Su Xiaoliu was extremely surprised, as if she had heard something astonishing.
Chu Weixin always looked so cold and self - assured. To think he was directionally challenged really surprised her.
Zhong Fengyue, who was about to walk out with his sword, saw Su Xiaoliu's shocked face and turned back. "What's going on?"
Just as Su Xiaoliu was about to speak, Mo Xin beside her replied for her. "The divine doctor hasn't come back for a long time. I'm worried he's trapped somewhere. How about asking Master Gu Rongxue to send some people to look for him?"
Zhong Fengyue frowned slightly. Although they had arrived at the Gu Family Manor, they couldn't rule out internal accidents. He nodded and said softly, "That's a good idea. I'll talk to him. Lady Xiao, don't worry. He's still in the manor and can't have gone far."
Mo Xin nodded and smiled faintly. "I hope so."
The group that was about to go back to their rooms to rest was called back. The once - empty hall became crowded again.
Gu Rongxue looked at everyone, put the teacup in his hand aside, and said, "I'll list the places in the manor where one can easily get lost. We'll search separately. The most likely places for the divine doctor to go are the back mountain and the Purple Bamboo Grove. There are quite a few wild medicinal herbs growing in those two places."
Tang Yuyan glanced at Cang Luoyao, then looked at Gu Rongxue. "Luoyao isn't feeling well. I have to accompany her." She looked up at Wei Feng beside her. "You go look for the divine doctor."
Wei Feng nodded. "Okay."
Gu Rongxue chuckled. "It's all right." Then he looked at everyone else and asked, "Shall I explain the routes, and then we can start the search?"
Seeing the worried look on Old Immortal Gu's face, Mo Xin comforted him a few words. Old Immortal Gu relaxed his furrowed brows and nodded with a smile.
The others also nodded in agreement.
The wind blew the clouds like silk, and the ground was covered in white mist. The ancient bell tolled faintly, passing through the clouds and reaching farther away. The melodious sound of a bamboo flute drifted from afar.
Chang He, Wei Feng and their group went to the back mountain, while Su Xiaoliu and Mo Xin walked towards the Purple Bamboo Grove. When they reached a fork in the road, they separated.
The Purple Bamboo Grove was shrouded in mist. Clear springs flowed through the rocks, creating a serene and elegant atmosphere. The water flowed gently, and the bamboo grew in clusters with fallen leaves covering the ground. Su Xiaoliu finally understood Chu Weixin's situation. If he had gotten lost in the Purple Bamboo Grove, it was understandable, because she had almost gotten lost herself and couldn't find the way out.
The Gu Family Manor was huge. One could easily lose their way in any remote corner.
Su Xiaoliu walked around but didn't see Chu Weixin. She walked forward and unexpectedly walked out of the Purple Bamboo Grove and arrived at the foot of a mountain.
Su Xiaoliu looked up. The mountain wasn't very high. She looked around. There were only some trees and spring eyes, but still no sign of anyone.
Su Xiaoliu searched around the foot of the mountain. Her legs were sore and her mouth was dry. She looked around. There was a small clear spring in front of her. She walked over and sat down on a rock beside the spring.
Su Xiaoliu rolled up her sleeves, scooped up a handful of water and took a couple of sips. The spring water was sweet. The water trickled down her chin and into her collar. She shook her hand, put down her sleeves and wiped the corner of her mouth. When she straightened up, something fell into the small spring.
Su Xiaoliu was stunned for a moment and looked down. It was a white cloth. The white cloth got wet, revealing a painting inside. Su Xiaoliu took a closer look and suddenly remembered that this was the phoenix picture on the lantern she bought in Daowen Town last time. She quickly reached out and picked it up from the spring, wiped it with her sleeve, opened the white cloth, took out the phoenix picture inside, spread it on the rock, and used a dry cloth to absorb the water.
"The phoenix soars on high, relying on the parasol tree. The phoenix soars on high, its feathers fluttering..." Su Xiaoliu stared at the words on the painting and unconsciously read them out.
Why did she remember there were two more sentences after this?
Su Xiaoliu sat down and thought for a while. Suddenly, she remembered that the two sentences after this were about the Rebirth Fruit!
Su Xiaoliu stared at the words on the painting for a long time. After the beautiful characters, there was only blank space...
"Why is this so..." Su Xiaoliu frowned slightly, and her almond - shaped eyes flashed.
It was the same last time. No matter how much water she used to wet the painting, those two extra sentences never appeared.
Su Xiaoliu sat there for a while. Suddenly, she remembered her purpose. Chu Weixin hadn't been found yet. She quickly wrung out the water from the white cloth, wrapped the phoenix picture again, and put it in her clothes. She stood up and patted the dust off her skirt.
Suddenly, a golden light flashed in the clear spring, leaving a golden glow.
Su Xiaoliu was stunned and looked at the clear spring. There were only stones at the bottom, and there was no golden glow. Was she seeing things?
Shaking her head, Su Xiaoliu turned around and left.
Suddenly, a golden phoenix swam through the clear spring. Its eyes were as red as the flames of the red lotus, and with a gentle flick of its feathers, it left a golden glow in the clear spring...
The sky was getting dark, and the crows were perching on the warm trees.
Su Xiaoliu followed the clear spring and walked forward, looking around but still seeing no one.
"Xiaoliu." A nice voice suddenly came from behind.
Su Xiaoliu was stunned and turned around.
Zhong Fengyue in spotless white clothes, holding the Heaven - Bestowed Sword, was standing behind her, looking at her. Under his white gauze hat, his slightly pointed chin was exposed, and his rosy lips were slightly raised. He was tall, and the hat gauze fluttered gently, giving him an otherworldly beauty.
Su Xiaoliu's eyes lit up, and she smiled. "Young Master Zhong!"
Zhong Fengyue walked towards her. He had walked along the west end of the Purple Bamboo Grove and unexpectedly arrived at the foot of this mountain. Even more coincidentally, he met Su Xiaoliu.
"Have you seen the divine doctor either?" Zhong Fengyue walked up to Su Xiaoliu and asked, looking down.
Su Xiaoliu shook her head and frowned slightly. She looked around and whispered, "He's probably not around here. I've searched for a long time and haven't seen a single soul."
Zhong Fengyue looked at Su Xiaoliu and smiled faintly. "The back mountain is right above. Do you want to go up and look?"
"The back mountain?"
Su Xiaoliu widened her almond - shaped eyes. She looked up at the mountain. So this was the way to the back mountain!
Su Xiaoliu lowered her head and looked at Zhong Fengyue. She smiled and said, "Sure, let's go and take a look!" After saying that, she felt a bit regretful. She looked up at the mountain again. There wasn't even a mountain path. How were they going to get up?