Gu Ran didn’t know, he only knew that this kind of stairs looked very much like a test level.
So he flew directly upwards to search for the little conch.
"No, there's none here either." Gu Ran searched from bottom to top and almost reached the top of the mountain, but he still didn't find the little conch.
"Has the little conch reached the top of the mountain? According to common sense, shouldn't she have succeeded in the challenge? Why did she fail?" Gu Ran was puzzled.
If it weren't for the mechanical electronic voice in the ruins saying that the little conch had failed the challenge and would be eliminated, Gu Ran would definitely not be so anxious.
Suddenly, Gu Ran's face became serious because he saw bloodstains on the stairs.
Those were bloody footprints, and from the marks one could tell that the feet were small, not very big.
As one goes higher up the stairs, the bloody footprints become clearer. At the end, it is like walking on a mountain of knives. There is more and more blood on the footprints, as if the feet have just been soaked in a pool of blood.
Gu Ran's heart tightened.
From these footprints, Gu Ran could empathize with the pain of their owners, and he also saw the determination of the owner of the footprints.
Because from the moment these footprints appeared, not a single footprint was pointing backwards, not even a single messy footprint, they were all heading towards the top of the mountain!
This is a determination to never turn back!
Gu Ran's heart began to tremble.
He flew to the top of the mountain with increasing impatience.
"Little conch!"
At the top of the mountain, Gu Ran saw the girl he had been thinking about day and night.
But the little snail at this moment was very different from the little snail he knew—it no longer had a fish tail, but a pair of long legs.
The feet of this pair of long and beautiful legs were covered in blood, as if they had been cut into pieces.
Her body was in a crawling position and her delicate hands were covered in blood.
In front of her was a closed door, a very textured metal door that looked very technological, and there were bloody palm prints all over the door.
Gu Ran was deeply saddened.
He quickly landed beside the little conch and checked her condition.
"Little conch, can you hear me? I'm Gu Ran!"
What made Gu Ran feel relieved was that Little Constellation's breath was still there and the worst thing had not happened. However, she was obviously in a coma at this moment and did not respond at all to Gu Ran's calls.
"Door... Open the door..."
Suddenly, the little conch frowned and murmured something.
Gu Ran immediately held Little Conch's hands: "Little Conch, I'm here, it's okay, it's okay, I'm here!"
Gu Ran felt that the hands he had grabbed were tightly holding his hands, as if they were extremely afraid that he would let go.
Gu Ran comforted her softly, "I am Gu Ran. I am here. You don't have to accept the test of inheritance. I will protect you well, little conch."
The little conch's tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed, then her eyelids moved and she slowly opened her eyes.
Gu Ran was overjoyed: "Little conch, you're awake!?"
"Am I... dreaming? Gu Ran... It's great that I can still dream of you before I die..." The little conch looked at Gu Ran, smiled slightly, and his face was full of happiness.
"No, you are not dead. I am here to save you!" Gu Ran grabbed Xiao Hailuo's bloody hand and pressed it on his face. "Look, I am a real person. I am the real Gu Ran, your favorite person! And the person who loves you the most!"
"Really? I'm not dreaming? You're not hallucinating either?" The little conch was stunned, then she laughed happily, but her eyes turned red at the same time, and crystal tears flowed down both sides of her cheeks.
"Yes, you are not dreaming. I am the real Gu Ran, and it is not an illusion. I am here to save you!" Gu Ran also responded with a smile and said in a firm tone.
"Don't... move, my hands are all covered in blood, your face... is dirty..." Little Snail looked at Gu Ran excitedly, and his face was covered with blood from her palms. He couldn't help but blame himself and wanted to pull his hand back.
"It's you who should stop moving! You are so weak, just lie down and rest!" Gu Ran scolded with a stern face.
“Mmmm... Gu Ran, I’m so useless. I failed. I failed in the challenge. I can’t accept the inheritance of the ruins.” The little conch buried itself in Gu Ran’s arms and began to cry sadly.
"Okay, it's okay. I'm here, I'm here. If you fail, you fail. I don't care." Gu Ran patted the little conch's back and comforted it.
"But I care!" The little snail immediately broke free and said loudly, "If I can't accept the inheritance of the ruins, the crisis of the mermaids cannot be resolved!"
Gu Ran: "Is it because you mermaids can't stay away from this ruins? It's okay. I have already driven away all the sea beasts and fierce beasts outside. You mermaids can continue to come back."
Little Conch was startled, but then she whispered, "Thank you, Gu Ran, but... I also want to put on the wedding dress for you and stay by your side forever."
"I want to be with you forever and ever, and never be separated from you forever and ever."
"Take care of you like your human wife would, and give birth to a bunch of children for you..."
97. Little Conch died? Gu Ran went crazy! 4k
Gu Ran was stunned when he heard what Little Conch said.
He never knew that this was what she was thinking in her heart.
Does she really care about this matter so much? Does she really care about having a pair of legs
He originally just thought that as long as he didn't tell the little snail, then the little snail would always be with him carefree.
But he overlooked one point: the little snail had its own ideas.
Her grandmother only brought out the desire in her heart, but it was her own heart that ultimately determined her determination and actions.
Gu Ran gently comforted her, "It's okay, little conch, just keep being yourself. I don't mind. You are fine the way you are now. I like you very much."
The little conch leaned in Gu Ran's arms and said in a muffled voice: "But... But, I am a mermaid and you are a human. We are different after all. I am scared when I think about losing you and not being able to be with you. But my grandmother told me that if I successfully accept the test of the ruins, I can change my form freely and decide whether I have legs or not.
"And if we can inherit the ruins, the mermaids will no longer be bullied, and they won't have to hide from place to place. So I thought, even if I die, I must not fail, and I must successfully inherit the ruins, but..."
The little conch's voice suddenly became self-blaming and aggrieved: "It's just that I finally passed the first two levels, and was thinking about challenging the third level, but I can't open the door to the third level. Am I too useless?"
Gu Ran thought of the bloody footprints on the steps, and his heart ached: "How could it be? This problem should have nothing to do with you."
After thinking for a while, Gu Ran asked, "How did you pass the previous level? What was the challenge? And what are the conditions for passing this level?"
The little snail said a little confusedly: "In fact, I don't know exactly what the first two levels are like. I only remember that after passing the first level, I seemed to have gained a very, very powerful ability that made it easier to control the sea water and even cause a huge tsunami in the ocean.
"Then this level... It seemed to ask me to tell you my biggest wish, and then it would come true. The wish I said was to have a pair of human legs. Then it seemed to ask me to walk to the top of the mountain to open the door to the third level, which is the final level."
At this point, a trace of pain appeared on the little conch's face.
"It turns out that having a pair of legs is such a painful thing. Every step I take hurts. When I was almost at the top of the mountain, it really felt like a knife cutting me. I really wanted to cut off my legs immediately. But when I thought of you, the pain didn't hurt anymore. As long as I can be with you, I will endure any pain. So even though it hurt so much later that I couldn't stand, I gritted my teeth and persevered."
"Human girls are so great. They can actually endure such intense pain. But I won't lose to a human girl. You can't secretly date other human girls behind my back."
Gu Ran felt distressed and at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
He said, "The legs of human girls are like your fish tail. If they are not injured or sick, they will not feel any pain. They are innate and part of the body. How can they cause pain? You are such a fool.
"The intense pain you felt should be part of the test of the ruins. It may be to test your endurance or determination."
The little snail couldn't help but said in surprise: "Ah? So it's part of the test. Why didn't I think of it? I thought walking was painful after having two legs."
She patted Gu Ran's arm and said coquettishly, "Don't call me stupid. I just didn't understand human girls before and didn't think of it all of a sudden. I'm very smart. My grandmother said that I'm the smartest child in the tribe."
Then, the little conch's expression darkened: "But I still failed to pass the test of the ruins and successfully receive the inheritance. My grandmother must be very disappointed. She has high hopes for me."
Gu Ran didn't know how to tell her about Little Conch's grandmother for a moment and could only remain silent for the time being.
He changed the subject and said, "I don't think you failed. After all, you successfully reached the top of the mountain and came to this door. If this is the condition for a successful challenge, there is no reason for you to fail."
The little conch said doubtfully, "But if I succeeded, why won't this door open?"
She said a little frustratedly: "Maybe I am really a fool as you said. There must be some condition that I didn't find and complete, so the challenge failed. Otherwise, if the challenge was successful, it would open the door for me."
Gu Ran shook his head and said, "This relic has a long history, and perhaps it really played a very important role in the history of your mermaid tribe, so you are too superstitious about this relic and believe that it can never be wrong.
“But on the other hand, this relic has a long history, so the possibility of error is actually greater, because I suspect that this is some kind of technological product. If it works mechanically, then the longer it exists, the greater the possibility of failure.
"And you have already successfully reached the top of the mountain, haven't you? So according to common sense, you have already succeeded in the challenge. The door not opening is the problem of the ruins, not yours."
Gu Ran estimated that it was probably because the time was too long, and the counterattack when being besieged by those sea beasts and ferocious beasts consumed too much energy, so some kind of malfunction occurred in the ruins, and the little conch failed to successfully enter the next level.
"Then can I still successfully accept the inheritance of the ruins?" Little Conch asked, "Gu Ran, do you have any way to open that door? I want to continue the challenge."
Gu Ran shook his head: "I have no choice."
Even if there was a way, Gu Ran didn't plan to let Little Snail continue the challenge. He came here to stop Little Snail from accepting the inheritance.
Originally he was still thinking about how to explain all this to Little Snail and make her give up, but unexpectedly he didn't have to worry about it anymore. Now he just had to find a way to get out.
"Ah, is there nothing you can do? But if I fail, my legs will grow back. Is this our fate? We can't be together anymore." The little snail began to cry sadly.
"How could that be? You like me and I like you, so why can't we be together? Besides, didn't I say before that I wouldn't dislike your fish tail, and you don't dislike me for not having a fish tail. Besides, your fish tail is very cute, and I like it very much!" Gu Ran comforted her repeatedly.
"Really?" the little conch asked weakly, "You really don't dislike my fish tail, and you like it very much?"
"Of course it's real!" Gu Ran said with certainty, "Your fish tail is pink, tender, smooth and cool, and feels very comfortable to touch! I like it very much!"
He looked almost as if he was swearing.
"You haven't touched it, how do you know?"
Suddenly, the little snail's cheeks turned redder than apples, and she spat, "Pervert! Did you... secretly touch my tail?"
Gu Ran was suddenly speechless. He had never done anything secretly.
Isn't this to comfort her