Chapter Eleven By The Riverbank

  Although I knew Huang Shi Bo was no ordinary person when I saw his business card at the time, I never thought he would have a connection with Mu Zong Xing. Could it be that he is a person from Jiang He?

  I continued to pretend to be unconscious, wanting to hear what they would say next. My hand moved lightly towards my side, trying to feel if there was anything around me. It seemed that I had touched someone's hand, but when I came into contact with a string of Buddhist beads, I realized that the person beside me was Kong Yi.

  It seems that Kong Yi was also ambushed.

  "The leader said that if you can't bring that thing back, he will consider dissecting Mu Lin himself." Huang Shi Bo's words made me break out in a cold sweat.

  What's dissecting me? Still in person?

  For a while, Mu Rong didn't speak. I don't know what he was planning, but Mu Rong always gave me the feeling that he had some plan in his heart.

  "I know. This time you came, isn't it for that thing? What about those two people?" Mu Rong Xian slowly said after a long while.

  "Don't worry about those two, just take care of these two people for me." Huang Shi-bo chuckled and continued as if he didn't know anything: "You're probably not far from the next sacrifice, are you? I know those two people are your last trump card. If you want to, go find them yourself. Whether or not you can find them is up to you."

  After Huang Shibo finished speaking, I heard a series of footsteps. It seemed that Huang Shibo had left.

  I was just about to get up when a force suddenly grabbed my hand. It's Kong Yee!

  He didn't faint?

  I understand what Kong Yat means, it's telling me not to make any sudden moves. I have no choice but to continue pretending to be unconscious.

  It was very quiet all around, and I had some doubts that Mu Rong Xing had also left when I heard Mu Rong Xing's sigh.

  "It seems like I have no choice but to ask for help." Mu Rong said to himself after a long while.

  Then Mu Rong's footsteps grew fainter and fainter. When I was sure I couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, I suddenly sat up.

  I found myself in a tomb, surrounded by lit candles, which gave me some visibility. Kong Yat also sat up with me and upon seeing the scene, furrowed his brow and said: Fei Yu and Qing Zi are in danger!

  "I know." I furrowed my brow, feeling that things were getting increasingly complicated.

  "The road ahead, we can only walk by ourselves. Mu Rong Xing doesn't know where he went, and the two of us still can't find our way back here..." Kong Yidian said this when suddenly stopped for a moment. I knew what he was worried about, perhaps if I walked with him like this, it's likely that we won't be able to come back."

  I took a look around me and found that I still had my backpack, opened it up and saw that aside from some dry rations and water, there was nothing else inside. I took out the stuff and ate a bit with an empty stomach.

  "Let's go after we've eaten our fill, who knows if we can find them or not. But I'm sure Huang Shi Bo must have done something to them." I said, munching on compressed biscuits and taking another sip of water.

  Kong Yī looked at me with some concern after hearing what I said and softly asked: You don't have spiritual awareness, can you really do it?

  I looked up at the empty space and asked expressionlessly: "What do you all say about me in the ghost building?"

  "Huh?" Kong Yee clearly didn't understand what I meant. He stared at me blankly, unsure of what to say.

  "Dong Qizhi didn't say on the car last time that I have many legends? You might as well tell a version you've heard." I said to Kong Yiren with some helplessness.

  "You're saying that you single-handedly fought off a group of thugs and sent them packing with your bare fists? This isn't just a legend, is it? I've known you for so long, and close combat has always been one of your strong suits." Kong said seriously, munching on a cookie.

  "That's it, then. Now I can still use my ghost eye, so you can rest assured about me. Even if I lose my spiritual awareness, it's not a big deal." Although I said that, in my heart, I still knew what was going on with myself.

  After finishing eating, I only brought a little water and meteorite, and then left the tomb.

  As soon as we exited the tomb, a piece of darkness enveloped us. My hand gripped the meteorite tightly, and after taking a deep breath, I headed towards the path to the right.

  Although I didn't know whether to go left or right, I just walked randomly. What I didn't expect was that Kuu had no objections at all. The two of us continued walking in the darkness, and there were many tomb chambers along the way. Kuu and I both went in to take a look each time, but we found nothing.

  Zhao Feiyu and Dong Qingzi went where?

  Kou and I were like brainless flies, wandering around everywhere. After walking for a long time, Kou and I actually saw a staircase leading downstairs.

  After a brief eye contact with Kong Yee, he was the first to head down. These stone steps were obviously man-made, with very narrow and steep surfaces. One side of the stairs was a wall, while the other side was suspended in mid-air. Kong Yee and I almost stuck our entire bodies to the wall as we made our way down.

  I held the flashlight and shone it on the road ahead. After walking for about ten minutes, I was surprised to find that the stairs had reached the end!

  I and Kong Yat heard the sound of running water coming from below, and looked at the last stone step again. I and Kong Yat fell silent.

  I shone the flashlight downwards but couldn't see anything.

  "Are you sure you want to go down?" I looked at Kong Yi and asked seriously. "What's down there that we don't know about? If you go down, who knows if you'll be able to come back up!"

  "Fei Yu and Qian Zi might be down there." Kong Yi only replied faintly to my words.

  "What's the point? You might end up losing your life and still not find them." I sensed that Kong Yat wanted to go, but now, I think it's necessary to persuade him to stay.

  "I and they are friends, best friends." Kong Yizi raised his head and looked at me, saying seriously.

  When I heard this sentence, I just felt like I had heard a joke. Best friend?

  I sneered at Kong Yat without saying another word. If Kong Yat wanted to continue, I would absolutely not accompany him.

  "Kobayashi!" Kuu suddenly shrieked and rushed towards me. I didn't have time to react before being pushed away by Kuu.

  When my ghostly eyes saw me passing through a yin soul, I actually saw Ah Bing being dragged down the stone stairs by a group of yin souls!

  Soon, the sound of heavy objects falling into the water was heard!

  I didn't say another word, and with a flash of the meteorite iron, I beheaded a dark soul. I took a step back, now my spiritual sense was sealed, and I could only vaguely see the dark soul through my ghost eye. I touched my cloth bag, there were still a few talismans inside. However, these were all unfinished ones that I had drawn.

  Those dark spirits saw me but didn't have any intention of attacking. I stuck my body to the wall, took out a blank talisman and bit my finger, then started drawing symbols on it.

  After finishing the drawing, I threw away the talisman paper. Those dark spirits seemed to have seen some delicious food and rushed towards the talisman paper in a flurry. At this time, I only felt that the pain in my spine had appeared again.

  The talisman I drew earlier can only be considered a trick to deceive the eye. I infused my yang energy into the symbol, letting those yin spirits chase after the yang energy in the paper. Yin spirits have a love-hate relationship with yang energy. They hate it because if the yang energy is too strong, they will naturally die. As for their fondness, it's because their longing for yang energy may surpass that of humans.

  Seeing them all being attracted attention, I didn't say another word, and jumped towards the water flow below.

  My feet hadn't left the ground, but I felt like something had grabbed me and was pulling me back. I furrowed my brow, turned around, and drew out the meteorite to confront that person. As the meteorite pressed against his neck, I also felt a chill on my own neck.

  "It's rare to see a meteorite, it's really opened my eyes. It's said that meteorites can kill people and ghosts, but I don't know if it's true or not." The voice said with a light laugh.

  "There are three swords, named Longlin, Yangwen and Qinggang. The one in your hand is Longlin, isn't it? Moreover, when it comes to killing people or ghosts, I think the Longlin in Mr. Huang's hand is also one of them." Although I couldn't see the face of the person in front of me clearly, I can confirm that this person is indeed Huang Shibo.

  "Anyway, I'm your father's contemporary, so you should at least call me Uncle!" Huang Shibo heard my words and chuckled again.

  "The moment I met you, I knew you were no ordinary person. I didn't expect that you would hit my main idea." I focused all my attention on Huang Shi Bo. Of course, I could see those dark spirits preparing to attack me.

  "I'm also puzzled. Huai Shu Village has always been the birthplace of dragon veins, it's just that outsiders don't know about it. But you, a university student, have been here for so long and haven't complained at all? However, when I first saw you, I knew you were different. When I left, your killing aura didn't cover up. I investigated you and unexpectedly found out that you're the heartless person from Gui Lou, Mu Lin. By the way, your Seven Apertures Linglong Heart is still in Jianghe, do you want me to help you get it back?" Huang Shi Bo seemed to be intentionally provoking me as he said a lot of things.

  I didn't mean to retort. Now I don't have spiritual awareness, and I can only judge the yin souls by sight. When I saw those yin souls floating towards me, I subconsciously took a step back, but Huang Shibo's dagger followed up.

  "Your awakening is my seal." Huang Shibo deliberately added this sentence and said.

  "So?" I frowned, not understanding what Huang Shibo meant by his words.

  "It seems that Guilou didn't tell you anything this time. When you came in, did you see the campsite outside the tomb? There was no one there, but it was full of signs of life, wasn't it? Your people from Guilou came here without any offerings, which is a taboo. So, the big boss here took their lives. I think Mu Rong Xing should have also told you that every hour, two hearts are needed as an offering. The heart on Mu Rong Xing's body can only last for four hours." Huang Shi Bo said with a half smile.

  "So?" I asked again.

  "So, your importance has become apparent. Mu Rong and I have been competing for you all along. My target is you. I dare to make a deal with you: if you can bring out what I want, I will spare everyone's life. If you are short of time, your friends, even Mu Rong's heart, will become sacrifices. How about it?" Huang Shi Bo's tone was as cold as the dagger on my neck.

  "Hmm." I let out a cold hum, which was enough to understand Mu Huang Shi Bo's meaning. However, his calculations were off the mark.

  "What are you snorting about?" Huang Shibo was clearly extremely dissatisfied with my attitude.

  "A heartless person, is naturally without a heart. I've lost even my heart, do you think I'd still care about others? My father dug out my heart and revived me as a killing machine. Do you think I'd do these things for someone else?"

  Huang Shi Bo hadn't spoken for a long time, it seemed he also understood the meaning behind my words. Those dark spirits had appeared around Huang Shi Bo and me, and the temperature beside me was rapidly dropping. I looked at Huang Shi Bo with an expressionless face, but I could feel the anger emanating from his body.

  "Get out of my sight!" Huang Shibo bellowed at the dark spirits beside him, and they seemed to have received a huge shock, instantly disappearing without a trace. I felt a bit helpless - my spiritual sense hadn't been sealed off, so I could also achieve this effect.

  "So you want to know how you were revived? If you do, our deal can continue." Huang Shibo seemed to have thought of this on the spur of the moment, and perhaps he had no other choice.

  The initiative is already in my hands.

  I smiled subconsciously and continued to pretend that I didn't care, saying: "So what if I knew? These things don't make any sense to me. You might as well tell me something interesting. Right, Uncle Huang?"

  My uncle's tone was sufficiently sarcastic, and Huang Shibo naturally understood my meaning. He furrowed his brow and first put away his dagger. Since that's the case, I had no choice but to sheathe the meteorite iron as well.

  "Speaking like this, it's probably much better than earlier, right?" Huang Shi-bo smiled cleverly.

  I snorted coldly and didn't say much.

  Huang Shi-bo walked up to me, gesturing for me to take off my clothes. I didn't think much of it and simply lifted my shirt. Huang Shi-bo signaled for me to turn around, with my back facing him. I figured out what he meant, apparently, he wanted to give me a massage.

  I cooperated with him to turn around, when his fingers pressed on my third cervical vertebra, he said hesitantly: It may hurt a bit, you bear it yourself.

  I hadn't even had time to respond when I felt a sharp pain in my back! But after this pain, very quickly, I was able to feel everything around me again.

  When I saw Baiji again, the expression on her face had also relaxed a lot. I pointed to the river below the steps, indicating that Baiji should go down and take a look. Baiji didn't say anything, she just went down.

  "I've opened your spiritual awareness, which is a kind of help to you, isn't it? If I tell you that I can help you regain your seven apertures and delicate heart, will you help me?" Huang Shi Bo looked at me with half-closed eyes, but his tone was very calm.

  I rubbed my nose tip, weighing the pros and cons in my heart. To be honest, I really didn't want to care about Zhao Feiyu's life or death. It was truly unimportant to me.

  "You've been going out on missions with your dad since you were a kid, and there are some things you might not even remember. But I can give you a hint." Huang Shibo's words now seemed to be full of confidence.

  I was confused and said with a half smile: "I don't know what hint you'll give me, Uncle Huang."

  Huang Shi Bo mysteriously walked up to me, ignoring the cliff beside him, and whispered three words in my ear.

  Heizigou

  When I heard these three words, I broke out in a cold sweat. I looked at Huang Shibo with vigilance, and I could even imagine the smile on his face!

  "How much do you know?" My fists clenched and my voice grew colder.

  "Wait until you're done, I'll tell you everything I know." Huang Shi-bo's tone was even calmer.

  At this time, Bai Ji also returned from the river. She whispered in my ear: The river water is not too urgent, and Kong Yiyi is fine.

  I nodded, indicating I understood.

  "Your meteorite is also razor-sharp. I think, from now on, I don't need to say much more. Your three friends are down there, and now I can give you two sacrifices, but the rest is up to you to handle. As for whether you can get what I want, that's another matter. At least, not many people know about Black Bamboo Gorge anymore."

  My confrontation with Huang Shibo can be said to have ended in my defeat. I didn't say much, but just walked up to the last step of the stairs. I took a deep breath and then jumped down!

  The icy river water was a bit stimulating to me, the river wasn't urgent, but it was cold to the bone. Bai Ji pointed the way for me in front, and I also swam hard towards the shore. With the help of the current, I finally reached the shore.

  Kong lay motionless on the shore, I went ashore and checked his breathing. Fortunately, nothing was wrong. I sat down to find something to start a fire. Behind my back, there was a narrow black passageway. I didn't know what was inside. I also didn't know what to do if I really thought of the medicine that Huang Shibo mentioned.

  I didn't expect that there was an underground river here, and I had no idea what else was inside. The most unexpected thing is that someone knows about the Black Bamboo Gorge.

  I thought I had taken care of all those people from back then, but it seems there's a leftover.

  I was thinking, when Kong Yizi suddenly coughed twice. I looked at him and he was already awake.

  "Let's go as soon as we wake up." I sat on one side watching him, just about to get up and leave when Kong Yee suddenly called out to me.

  "Why did you come down?"

  In the darkness, I couldn't see Akane's eyes clearly, but I could sense the question in her words. I didn't want to tell Akane the truth, and even more so, I didn't want to think of a reason just to placate her.

  "Seek the truth." I fell silent for a moment, only saying these four words to the air. "Don't waste any more time, time waits for no one. Who knows, by then your heart might be gone."

  After saying these words, I went forward.

  I've lost my flashlight, I was walking forward with my hands on the wall, but in a daze, I saw light ahead. Could it be that there's really someone down here?

  I walked forward in silence, and Kong Yi followed closely behind me. I don't know why, but the deeper we went, the colder it got. Kong Yi had already started to breathe out warm air onto his hands, while I became even more spirited.

  "Your physique has changed!" Kong Yī said with a puzzled expression as he watched my footsteps getting faster and faster.

  I also feel that something is wrong with my body. Although it's so cold, and I just swam a lap in the pool, I'm still full of energy. On the other hand, Kong Yat seems to be getting tired.

  "Why don't we take a break?" I stopped in my tracks and asked Kong Yiji.

  "I'm fine, you can go ahead." Kong said while shivering, but I didn't react at all.

  Since Kong Yat said it was nothing, I also continued walking forward without any hesitation.

  After a burst of chaotic footsteps, I felt something was off. Ku and I tacitly stopped in our tracks, wondering what had happened, when suddenly, it was as if something had slammed into my chest, accompanied by a blood-curdling scream.

  "Who's there!"

  When this female voice sounded, Kong Yiyi excitedly called out from behind me: "Qingzi?"

  "Where is Kong Yat?" Then, Zhao Feiyu's voice also sounded.

  I didn't expect these two people to be so energetic here. I just took a look at them and said, "As long as you're not dead, it's fine." What's going on here that you two are running so fast?

  Zhao Feiyu heard what I said and excitedly exclaimed: Ah! Xiao Lin, you're here too! Are you worried about me? Ah, I'm fine...

  "I didn't come because I was worried about you." I replied uncooperatively with a single sentence.

  Zhao Feiyu was suddenly speechless.

  "Cut the crap, why are you guys running so fast?" I'm too lazy to chat with them more, and continue to ask the question directly.

  "You were tied up by someone and managed to escape, why aren't you running faster?" Zhao Fei said with a bad tone.

  "What's going on?" Kong Yī immediately asked upon hearing Zhao Fēiyǔ's words.

  "Let's talk about it somewhere else."

  Fortunately, Zhao Feiyu and Dong Qinger's backpacks were still there. Zhao Feiyu drew a fire talisman and took out some spare clothes from Dong Qinger's bag. When Zhao Feiyu was about to burn those clothes, Dong Qinger became anxious and almost cried. However, seeing Kong Yi drenched from head to toe, Dong Qinger chose to let Zhao Feiyu light the fire.

  "Okay, don't cry, go back and ask Kong Yat to buy a new one for you." Zhao Feiyu said as he ignited Dong Qinger's clothes.

  When the fire was lit up, Zhao Feiyu also started talking about what happened after the landmine explosion.

  In Zhao Feiyu's words, when they were buried, they were dug up by someone. At that time, Dong Qingzi also returned to his soul with An Shuyi, but was very weak. The person named Zhao Feiyu followed him and said that I and Kong Yiyi were waiting for them in front. Zhao Feiyu naturally believed it too. In the end, Zhao Feiyu and Dong Qingzi were knocked unconscious and locked up in a tomb chamber.

  Hearing this, I furrowed my brow, this experience is quite similar to mine.

  "You silly egg, you believe whatever others say." Hearing this, Kong Yiren couldn't help but mock Zhao Feiyu.

  "Hey, you're still blaming me! Can't you wake up earlier?" Zhao Feiyu was also getting annoyed.

  "It's all your fault!"

  "It's all your fault!"

  The two of them started arguing like this, I stood on the side speechless, while Dong Qizi smiled and said: It's been a long time since they've had such a lively argument.

  "Is it time to have fun?" I looked at Dong Qizai and frowned.

  Dong Qizhi stuck out her tongue and stopped talking. Then, as if she had suddenly remembered something, she added: "In the future, my parents will also like to quarrel like this."

  After hearing this, I frowned even more.