"Thud!"
She landed steadily.
No one knew who had dug this dry well, but it was incredibly deep. If Zhao Shuning hadn't had a night pearl in her hand, she would have been completely swallowed by the darkness once she reached the bottom.
She used her spiritual power to make the night pearl hover in front of her so that she could see the path under her feet.
When she first entered the dry well, Zhao Shuning felt the ground was dry. When she found another passage at the bottom of the well, she didn't hesitate to step in.
If there were any spiritual power fluctuations inside, with her current cultivation base, she could easily detect them. So, for now, it seemed there was no danger.
The deeper she went, the darker it became, and the ground under her feet turned wet.
After walking for quite a while.
Zhao Shuning finally saw a glimmer of light.
Following that glimmer, she gathered her spiritual energy and instantly reached the exit.
Immediately after, the smell of seawater hit her face.
Then, Zhao Shuning exerted herself and broke free from the restraint of the seawater.
It was really strange. There had been no seawater when she first entered, but somehow, she ended up in the sea when she reached the exit.
A woman suddenly leaped out of the sea. The mermaid women nearby immediately felt the vibration and looked at each other.
"What was that noise?"
"I don't know."
"Let's go and check it out together."
By the time the mermaid women arrived, Zhao Shuning was already out of the sea. She was now on the shore. Unfortunately, the spot she was at was right opposite Ye Xingchen.
Zhao Shuning stepped onto the shore.
It was quite bright here.
She put away the night pearl in her hand and then walked into the bamboo forest. There were many medicinal herbs planted inside the bamboo forest.
Strangely enough, these medicinal herbs could only treat ordinary external injuries. Moreover, there were large patches of them, which clearly indicated that someone had deliberately planted them. So, someone must have lived here.
The reason she said someone had lived here rather than someone was currently living here was that although the medicinal herbs were growing vigorously, there were many weeds among them, as if they hadn't been tended to for a long time.
Zhao Shuning walked deeper along the rows of medicinal herbs.
In front of her, a small grayish - white palace appeared.
She walked further inside.
She found that there was no one in the palace, only a coffin. Inside the coffin were two skeletons, which had been corroded by time and their original appearances were no longer recognizable.
However, on the outside of the stone coffin, there was a character "Wu" carved, and another character was "Chu".
Zhao Shuning didn't think too much about it.
No one knew how long the history of the Dongze Wilderness was. The Nine - Continent Land was so vast, and the Dongze Wilderness was just one of the countries. The things she knew and had seen were far too few. Although she was a bit surprised when she occasionally came across such ancient relics, she wasn't overly excited.
Right, the Chu family?
Zhao Shuning remembered.
It was at Nanguan that she had saved the siblings of the Chu family.
Could the skeletons in this ancient tomb be related to the Chu family?
Before she could think further, Zhao Shuning heard noises outside and quickly walked out.
Sure enough, the mermaid women were extremely sensitive to smells. As an outsider human, Zhao Shuning was soon discovered by the mermaid clan.
The mermaid women didn't leave the surface of the sea. When Zhao Shuning passed through the bamboo forest and came to the seaside, she was quite shocked by the sight in front of her.
There were at least a hundred mermaid women floating on the sea surface.
Their upper bodies were human - like, while their lower bodies were fish - like, swimming with their tails.
Most of these mermaid women were extremely beautiful.
The moment Zhao Shuning pushed aside the bamboo branches, the mermaid women stared at her, and she stared back at the mermaid women on the sea.
When encountering beautiful women, Zhao Shuning naturally liked to take a few more looks.
The mermaid clan was also quite suspicious and unfamiliar with this suddenly - appeared woman.
Zhao Shuning was wearing a veil, so the mermaid clan couldn't see her appearance. They just felt that her figure clearly didn't belong to their mermaid clan.
Moreover, this young girl was really strange. When she suddenly saw so many beings different from herself, instead of being scared, she stood in front of the bamboo forest and watched with great interest.
"Is this girl from the outside?"
"How did she get here?"
"It's really strange."
"Look at her clothes. Do the girls outside all like to dress like this now?"
"The clothes are quite nice. The embroidery is also very good."
"What should we do? If Sister Qingge knows that there's such a girl here, should we send her back or drown her and then throw her out?"
"Isn't this a bit too cruel?"
Zhao Shuning was standing right opposite them.
The two sides stared at each other from a distance.
Zhao Shuning said, "Sisters, are you kidding me? I'm standing right in front of you, and you're discussing how to kill me right in front of my face?"
Moreover, from the way they were talking, it seemed that a human life was no more important than a small fish or shrimp to them.
Zhao Shuning also felt that they weren't evil. They just didn't know what their actions meant.
"Can she hear us?"
"How can this girl have such sharp ears?"
Zhao Shuning said, "You're talking so loudly. I'm not deaf. Of course I can hear you."
The mermaid clan seemed to be frightened. They glanced at Zhao Shuning and then slowly lowered their heads and stopped talking.
Zhao Shuning said, "Come on! Are you that timid?"
"By the way, have any of you seen a man named Xie An?"
Zhao Shuning took out the wooden token she had picked up outside and continued, "This belongs to him. Take a look. Have any of you seen the owner of this wooden token?"
The mermaid clan didn't say a word. They just kept shaking their heads.
After a while, there were waves in the middle of the sea.
From the center, a figure quickly swam over.
"It's Sister Qingge. She's coming."
The previously silent mermaid clan members became excited when they saw that familiar figure.
Zhao Shuning took a closer look. The mermaid woman had already reached her.
The mermaid woman in front of her was extremely beautiful. Her long sea - weed - like hair was wet from the seawater and now hung on her smooth shoulders.
Her eyes were blue, looking so pure.
Qingge was the leader of the mermaid clan and the only mermaid who could walk on land. She was also the only member of the mermaid clan who had ever been to the outside world.
She came to Zhao Shuning's side.
The scales on her tail automatically transformed into a beautiful dress.
Seeing such a strange sight, the mermaid clan looked at Zhao Shuning. To their surprise, she remained extremely calm. Normally, other people who broke into this place would scream and call Qingge a monster when they saw her transform into a human form.
But this young girl showed no reaction at all.
Before Qingge could say anything.
Zhao Shuning spoke up.
"Are you the Sister Qingge they were talking about?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk - you're such a beauty. You're really good - looking."
"Look at those big blue eyes. They're almost as good - looking as my master's."
It was the first time Qingge had been flirted with.
And it was by a young girl.