,.
This is not a final conclusion. It is a personal conclusion he reached by combining his two lives of practice and absorbing the experience of the two worlds before and after, and then explained it in a way that Yuan Gang can understand.
Yuan Gang, who was holding a torch in his hand, fell into thinking.
Shang Shuqing, who was sleeping on her side, was obviously not asleep yet. The eyeballs under her eyelids were rolling. She was confused when she heard Niu Youdao's words. What is dark matter? Eastern legend? Western legend? What is a werewolf? I was thinking about it in a daze, I was so tired that I fell asleep without realizing it.
Not to mention her, Yuan Fang, who was sitting cross-legged and meditating, actually eavesdropped for a while with his ears straight up, still confused, half-understanding...
After Yuan Gang dried the pile with the torch, Niu Youdao whispered: "Eat something and take the time to rest. I will let Old Xiong continue to bake later."
Among the three of him, Yuan Fang and Yuan Gang, Yuan Gang actually consumed the most physical energy during this journey. Yuan Gang consumed pure physical energy, unlike him and Yuan Fang who could control Qi and save energy. Of course, Yuan Gang is also the one with the strongest physical strength among the few people. There is no way, Yuan Gang is trained. But then again, the recovery of pure physical strength is the slowest, not as fast as him and Yuan Fang.
Yuan Gang didn't say much, and immediately stopped. He took out the dry food and stuffed it into his mouth hungrily. After eating and drinking, he moved the package as a pillow, lay down and slept peacefully. With Master Tao personally guarding him, he still slept peacefully despite this environment. He was indeed tired from the journey and fell into a deep sleep soon.
In the dark underground world, the rushing water of the Black River reflects a pile of bonfires on the shore. The swaying light of the fire occasionally makes the jagged and strange rocks far and near appear hideous.
Everyone rested quietly. Only Niu Youdao stood by the fire, leaning on his sword. He was vigilant in all directions in this deep underground world. His pair of eyes kept patrolling the surroundings. The sword in his hand occasionally stirred a few wet torches into the fire. , keeping the fire going.
Two hours later, Yuanfang opened his eyes, flexed his limbs and stood up. He gestured to indicate that he had rested and signaled Niu Youdao to take a rest and that he would take care of him.
Niu Youdao signaled him to continue warming the torch, and Yuanfang had no choice but to do so, while Niu Youdao continued to be vigilant about the surroundings.
Almost two hours later, Shang Shuqing seemed to wake up. There was a slight movement under the clothes she was covering, but she had no intention of getting up. She seemed to be struggling in her heart, but she finally got up and walked to the side quietly. Walking in a lonely place.
After resting for a while, the blood blisters on my feet seemed to make walking more painful, and I was obviously limping.
"Don't run around." Niu Youdao reminded.
Shang Shuqing stopped and turned around, feeling a little shy and hesitant to speak.
Niu Youdao suddenly realized what he understood, and said to Yuan Fang: "Old Xiong, keep a close eye." He turned around and walked past Shang Shuqing, found a corner of the horn, pointed at it, and he stood on the corner of the horn. Outside behind a stone facing away from the guard.
Shang Shuqing slowly got into the nook and cranny and stood there without moving, looking very confused.
Niu Youdao, with his upper body exposed outside the stone, turned his back and said, "Don't worry, I won't peek."
Shang Shuqing's body slowly lowered into the corner of the corner, and soon, a slight indecent movement was heard.
When she came out again, Shang Shuqing was obviously embarrassed. She found that she was really ugly in front of Niu Youdao. Only she knew how she felt in her heart. She whispered, "Okay!" A deep kick and a shallow kick. He returned to the fire, his face and ears flushed with shame.
When Niu Youdao came back, he found that Yuan Gang had also woken up.
Yuan Gang said: "Old Xiong, be careful. Master Dao, please rest."
Niu Youdao sat down cross-legged, took some dry food, used it, closed his eyes and adjusted his breath.
About two hours later, Niu Youdao, who had regained his full energy, stood up and the group began to pack up and set off.
Yuanfang tied a hundred roasted torches on his back, and Yuan Gang carried fifty. Shang Shuqing also knew the condition of her feet and whether she could still walk on foot, at least slowly. Without any further excuses, she lay on Niu Youdao's back holding the torch.
The group set out again, this time everyone was energetic and kept moving fast almost non-stop along the way.
Along the way, I found more than a dozen places where torches were stored, all empty. Apparently, they had been destroyed by the people hiding in the dark. However, only these places were destroyed. At the storage point at the back, the torches were well placed and there were no signs of further damage. I don't know if the other party knew that this would have no effect, or if they were unfamiliar with the later sections of the road and couldn't reach the torch storage spot for a while.
The underground is not completely dark, and occasionally there are holes above that let in the skylight.
They walked for almost a full day without stopping. When they found a rock that looked like a crouching tiger beside the river, Shang Shuqing, who was lying on Niu Youdao's shoulder, said excitedly: "We are almost there. There is a cave about one mile ahead. Just go up there.”
As she said, after walking for about a mile, she saw a cave entrance with traces of artificial excavation, with steps going up all the way, half artificial and half natural.
After walking up the winding steps for several hundred meters, I saw the light.
Even if there were torches lighting the way, it would be a bit dazzling to be suddenly surrounded by light.
Pushing aside the vines covering the entrance of the cave, a few people found themselves halfway up the mountain, among the beautiful mountains. Not far away was a waterfall flowing down. Under the waterfall was a green pool. Children could be seen in the pool. Playing and playing around. There are scattered houses in the mountains, which seem to be a village. Located in this beautiful place, it is like a paradise. There seemed to be a dead volcano in the distance, at least Niu Youdao and Yuan Gang could tell it was a volcano at a glance.
There was a thatched pavilion not far away on the side of the mountain. There was a young man in the pavilion. After seeing a few people coming out of the cave, the young man quickly rang a bell hanging in the thatched pavilion. The melodious sound of the bell echoed in the valley. The young man picked up his saber and stared at the few people who suddenly appeared with a vigilant expression.
As soon as the bell rang, the children playing in the pool immediately climbed out of the pool and ran to hide. There seemed to be a commotion in the village, and a group of people with weapons ran towards this side.
"Master Dao, it's okay, let me down." Shang Shuqing, who was lying behind Niu Youdao, said.
Niu Youdao let her down, and soon a group of men with weapons rushed to the mountain, many of them carrying standard crossbows.
Shang Shuqing took out a token, showed it to a bearded man in the crowd, and shouted at the same time, "Uncle Luo, I am Qing'er, do you recognize me?"
She came all the way from the underground without wearing a veil. When the bearded man saw the token and Shang Shuqing's ugly yin-yang face, he suddenly said excitedly: "Princess!" He immediately waved to the left and right and shouted, " Put it down! Put it down! Don't be rude, the princess is here, put it down quickly!"
The sword in his hand was stuck on the ground, and he came quickly, knelt down on one knee, and said with cupped hands: "The humble official Luo An is here to see the princess! Your Majesty, he...he..." shook his head, already choked with sobs, and burst into tears. .
Shang Shuqing knew that he was referring to the deceased Prince Ning, so she limped forward and helped him up with both hands, "Uncle Luo, everyone has passed."
Luo An raised his sleeves and wiped away his tears, and said sadly and happily: "These young people have never met the princess. If there is any conflict, I hope the princess will forgive me!" He turned back to a group of young people and shouted: "Why don't you meet me soon?" Princess!"
A group of young people looked at each other and found that the princess was so ugly, but they still knelt down on one knee and said, "See the princess!"
Shang Shuqing hurriedly stepped forward and motioned to get back on her feet. Luo An noticed her feet and asked in surprise: "Princess, what's wrong with your feet?"
Only then did Shang Shuqing tell the truth, "It's difficult to walk on the road. You may have blisters on your feet, but it's okay."
Luo An nodded repeatedly to express his understanding. He had walked through the secret passage below. It is difficult for ordinary men to walk, let alone the princess who is a woman.
However, men and women were not close to each other, and it was inconvenient for a group of men to help him. He quickly ordered someone to go to the village and call two women to take care of him.
Shang Shuqing's feet were inconvenient, so Luo An was not in a hurry to go down the mountain. He accompanied her and said, "We haven't seen each other for seven or eight years. The princess has grown up and she almost didn't recognize her in her humble position."
Shang Shuqing joked to herself: "The birthmark on my face should be easily identifiable."
This was the fault of the princess. Luo An quickly waved his hand and did not mention it.
Niu Youdao, who was behind, looked up at the bright sun in the sky, then looked back at the entrance of the cave, and stepped forward to ask Luo An: "Has anything strange happened in the village recently?"
Luo An's attention then turned to Niu Youdao and the others, and he asked Shang Shuqing: "Princess, who are these three?"
"Niu Youdao, Yuan Gang, and Yuanfang are all presiding over. They are all our own people." After Shang Shuqing introduced the three of them, he introduced Niu Youdao specifically, "This is the mage who is accompanying the king of the county." In turn, he introduced Luo An to several people, "Uncle Luo is a general under my father. He was originally one of the leading generals of Yingyang Wu Liewei."
"Master Mage?" Luo An frowned and looked Niu Youdao up and down, feeling that he was too young.
Shang Shuqing reminded: "Master Dao is Mr. Dongguo's closed disciple!"
When he heard that he was Mr. Dong Guo's disciple, Luo An was in awe and did not dare to look down upon him anymore. He knew that Dong Guo Haoran and Prince Ning were sworn friends, so he quickly raised his hands and said, "Meet the Master."
Niu Youdao cupped his hands and asked again, "General Luo, has anything strange happened in the village recently?"
"Weird thing?" Luo An was stunned, "What weird thing? It's been fine all the time. I haven't seen anything weird. Does it matter if a few children in the village are fighting?"
Niu Youdao chuckled: "Is there a mage in the village?"
Luo An shook his head: "No, this place is very safe and difficult for outsiders to find."
Niu Youdao: "How long has it been since the villagers entered the secret passage?"
Luo An looked a little heavy: "After the death of the old prince, we received a summons from Mr. Lan. After some people retreated from the villa in Canglu County, they cut off direct communication with the outside world. Villagers are not allowed to enter the secret area without permission." You know, someone has been guarding the entrance, and no one has entered the secret passage for five years. The Master asked this, is there something wrong?"
"It's nothing. Just to be on the safe side, I just asked casually." Niu Youdao smiled and stopped interrupting. He turned around and exchanged glances with Yuan Gang. ,.