The green mountains stretched far into the distance, and the flowing waters meandered away.
Since the Wanku Valley stopped blooming, it had become extremely desolate. Just looking at it made one feel a sense of loneliness and emptiness. Coupled with the vastness of the valley, the howling wind echoed clearly within.
Zhong Fengyue followed Su Lou'er for a while and stopped in front of a familiar cave.
Su Lou'er put away the paper umbrella in her hand, looked up at Zhong Fengyue beside her, and said softly, "This is the residence of the valley master. He prefers tranquility, so he has always lived in the place where the old valley master used to live."
Zhong Fengyue stared quietly at the cave, his red lips slightly pursed. He was no stranger to this place. It turned out that Xiao Liu had been taken away by him.
His slender fingers tightened around the Tianci Sword. He glanced at Su Lou'er and smiled. "Then let's go in."
Su Lou'er nodded, the fluff on her cloak fluttering gently in the wind.
The two entered the cave. After walking for about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, they stopped in front of the mountain wall illuminated by candlelight.
On the stone table, the red candles were almost burnt out. There were several paintings on it, all gently weighted down by inkstones. The stone bed not far away was empty, which even made Su Lou'er stunned for a moment.
"Why isn't he here?" Su Lou'er frowned slightly, her almond eyes full of confusion.
Zhong Fengyue walked up to the stone table with his sword in hand. He lowered his head and stared quietly at the paintings on it.
The painting depicted a courtyard full of falling flowers. Willow branches drooped over the water, and the newly bloomed peach blossoms half-covered the light-colored courtyard wall. Even the outlines of the bricks and tiles were carefully drawn. There were several birds perched on the courtyard wall. Whether it was their expressions or appearances, they were vivid and lifelike.
This place... was actually the Dai Mansion?
On his slightly pointed chin, his rosy diamond-shaped lips pursed gently.
How did Feng Yufei know about the Dai Mansion?
Su Lou'er beside him naturally also recognized that the painting was of the Dai Mansion. But after a closer look, she was slightly stunned. Her slender fingers gently lifted the painting of the falling flower courtyard, revealing a painting of a delicate young girl beneath.
Zhong Fengyue was slightly startled. The young girl in the painting was wearing a green silk dress. She had a beautiful heart-shaped face, and her almond eyes were wide open, looking a bit absent-minded. Her long black hair was pulled up into an exquisite cloud bun. There was a green eight-treasure璎珞 around her fair neck, and a few strands of hair were sticking to her neck. Under her jade-like nose, her small lips were slightly parted, and her cheeks were tinged with a delicate pink. Her eyebrows were slightly frowned, and her expression seemed a bit sad.
"Isn't this Xiao Liu? When did the valley master paint this?" Su Lou'er came back to her senses and asked in confusion.
Zhong Fengyue stared quietly at the painting of Xiao Liu. Thinking that it was painted by Feng Yufei, he couldn't help feeling a bit annoyed. He looked at Su Lou'er and said, "This was when Xiao Liu first came to the Wanku Valley."
Su Lou'er vaguely understood something when she thought that Feng Yufei would paint Xiao Liu. She let go of her hand, and the upper painting covered the delicate young girl. She pursed her lips and smiled, then changed the topic. She said softly, "Since he's not here, he should have gone out. Let's go look for him elsewhere."
Zhong Fengyue smiled faintly. His jade-like ink eyes stared quietly at Su Lou'er and said, "That's fine."
Just as the two were about to turn around and leave, the cave suddenly shook violently. Rocks kept falling down, raising clouds of dust.
Su Lou'er naturally knew what was going on. She supported the mountain wall to steady herself, glanced at Zhong Fengyue, and欲言又止.
The cave only shook twice and then stopped. Zhong Fengyue frowned slightly, looked at Su Lou'er, and asked, "What just happened?" The mountain just shook for no reason.
Su Lou'er smiled slightly and walked towards the outside of the cave. She said casually, "It's just that the old valley master has gone mad again while practicing his martial arts. Don't worry about it."
The old valley master? The old valley master was still alive?
Zhong Fengyue pursed his lips, his expression thoughtful. He followed Su Lou'er and walked. After a while, he said, "What kind of martial arts did the old valley master practice?"
Su Lou'er stopped in her tracks. In the pitch-black cave, her expression couldn't be seen clearly. She said softly, "I don't know either. I haven't been in the Wanku Valley for long, and I haven't even seen what the old valley master looks like."
Zhong Fengyue didn't ask any more questions. He had only heard of the old valley master's name but had never seen him.
Just as they walked out of the cave, a familiar voice suddenly sounded in their ears.
"Deputy Valley Master, Young Master Zhong."
Zhong Fengyue and Su Lou'er looked over together. They saw Mo Xin in a goose-yellow silk dress and Chu Weixin, who had changed back into a light blue robe with his long hair tied up, walking towards them.
Mo Xin walked up to the two of them, smiled slightly, looked up at Zhong Fengyue, and said, "Young Master Zhong, we meet again."
The sky was clear and cloudless.
On both sides of the road, the shadows of the trees were dancing. Dozens of horses in the middle of the road were constantly galloping towards the direction of the Wanku Valley.
A graceful figure closely followed the leader and the others. A pair of tiger eyes were observing everything secretly.
Why did these people come to the Wanku Valley?
Wanyan Meng was full of doubts. After following them for a long time, the group stopped in front of the gate at the foot of the Wanku Valley.
There were two guards standing at the gate of the Wanku Valley. Before they could say anything after seeing this group of people, they were stabbed to death by several flying daggers and fell to the ground with their eyes wide open.
A dozen or so brocade-clothed guards used their lightness skills and quickly hid around the Wanku Valley.
"Leader, the Wanku Valley has been surrounded by us. Should we charge in now?" Wang Chengyang in a brown robe turned his head to look at the leader sitting quietly on another horse and asked leisurely.
The leader looked up at him, then at the two dead guards at the gate, and slowly nodded.
These people actually found this place!
Wanyan Meng frowned and secretly observed in the dark.
Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves came from afar. Wanyan Meng was startled.
Who was coming back at this time? Wouldn't this person be discovered by the leader and his people...
Before she had time to wait for the rider to come, someone in the leader's group had already heard the sound of horses' hooves.
A man with a cloth tied around his head turned to look at the leader and whispered, "Leader, someone is coming back."
The whole group paused for a moment and stopped their action of entering the Wanku Valley.
The horses' hooves stepped on the small path. Su Xiaoliu grabbed the reins and drove the carriage, staring quietly ahead.
Her green silk dress fluttered gently in the wind. The hairpin in her long black hair had fallen off, and her long hair was scattered, lingering in the air.
The carriage bumped all the way. Her almond eyes were dull. She had forgotten how she got on the horse and how she came back.
Wanyan Meng in the dark couldn't help being stunned for a moment when she saw Su Xiaoliu.
Vaguely, the gate was already in sight. A dozen or so horses in front of the gate came into view. Su Xiaoliu came back to her senses slightly. She tightened the reins and stared quietly at the group of people at the gate.
As she got closer, she clearly saw their faces. When she saw the leader, her almond eyes slowly widened.
She pulled the reins hard. The front of the horse reared up, and then the horse's hooves slowly stopped.
The group of people and she were separated by a certain distance.
Su Xiaoliu pursed her lips and stared quietly at these people.