The rushing water has washed over hundreds of meters, and the roar of its fall onto the lake is deafening.
Yang Gui Jin's leap caused all around to become exceptionally quiet!
Myself and Hua Ying immediately realized the situation.
Before we could even make a move, Old Chu had already grabbed Yang Gui Jin's shoulder and dragged him back with force!
Just a hair's breadth, and Yang Gui Jin would have jumped off the cliff...
Old Chu's movements were even faster. He pulled out a piece of rope from somewhere, tying it around his waist, and the other end around Yang Gui Jin's waist.
His face was dark and ominous, but he didn't appear as anxious as one might expect. It seemed that Yang Gui Jin often engaged in such perilous actions, and Old Chu had become accustomed to it.
Old Gong clicked his tongue twice. He moved his head a bit forward and stared straight down.
"Why not jump? It's a shortcut, a one-step finish. People are going to die anyway, might as well not run."
"Not dead? Then you have to crawl down."
"Right down there is the way."
Suddenly, Old Gong's head rolled forward, and he plunged downwards like a falling body.
Lao Chu, Hua Ying, and I all looked downwards.
The view showed that the platform below was steeper and more vertical, but there was still a way.
The rock wall was overgrown with thick grass and tangled vines.
It was indeed possible to descend by climbing the vines... But below that, a faint mist enveloped the area, condensing into fog, making it hard to see clearly.
Without a sound, Old Gong's head quietly returned to the night pot at Hua Ying's waist.
He kept licking his lips, his face and head covered in moisture. It even gave him a more solid appearance, as if staying here for a long time benefits the ghosts.
"By dawn, the path will be blocked."
"He died from a fall."
"Jumping off cliffs, the first to take the lead."
Old Gong glanced at Old Chu and Yang Gui Jin. His demeanor was serious, but he seemed to have a sneaky feeling.
Old Chu stared at Old Gong with a sullen expression, and he forced out a word between his lips, "How long will it take to climb down? What's down there? Is there a path? Are we supposed to climb down the entire mountain from here?"
It's not surprising that Lao Chu is cautious. The position we're in is actually quite close to the position of the waterfall on the mountain. On one side, it's a steep cliff, and on the other side, it's also a steep cliff. The platform here is only at the edge.
"The most afraid of death and wanting to seek help the most are those who refuse to climb. We, Old Gong and Miss Hua Ying, will climb. Let's go our own way."
Old Gong is a ghost. Besides me and Hua Ying, he behaves just as eccentrically and doesn't indulge Old Chu at all.
Hua Ying lightly inhaled and first chanted a spell, causing many field mice to appear from the shadows beneath her, which scampered down the cliff face by climbing onto the vines. She nodded at me and followed suit, climbing downwards herself.
I looked at Old Chu again and said, "Old Gong has always been reliable."
Old Chu remained silent, whispering a few words to Yang Gui Jin. They then began to climb down.
I was about to move, but I seemed to faintly hear the sound of footsteps behind me, as if someone was chasing us urgently.
My breath slightly paused.
But I did not find it strange.
Xie Ta would surely notice.
Even so, I thought perhaps he didn't want us to descend the mountain path to meet our demise, but rather wanted to leave Old Chu and Yang Gui Jin behind!
After all, the two of them, together with me and Hua Ying, and even Old Gong, would bring harm to the Daoyuan Temple!
Xie Ta was indeed a Daoist. When he realized that something was wrong with Yang Gui Jin, he didn't have the chance to think much and could only wait for the daybreak, or so he said. Maybe that's just a ploy to buy time?
I gathered my thoughts and no longer dwelled on it.
Whatever the case may be, it's certain that Xie Ta can't have much more to do with us.
Perhaps someone on the Qin side intentionally kept my information hidden.
Furthermore, even if my assumption is correct, the Daoyuan Temple had once harmed Yang Gui Jin, they might not know about the Luo family. Otherwise, even if Jin Yang deliberately hides the current situation from them, when I called out Luo Xianshen's name, Xie Ta should have had some reaction.
I took a deep breath and began to climb down the vines.
At first, it was fine. After climbing a short distance, the vines and weeds began to slip.
The dampness was always lingering, and the exposed mountain walls were covered in moss.
Old Chu, Yang Gui Jin, and Hua Ying didn't climb any faster than me. They descended carefully and meticulously.
The mist formed from condensed water gradually engulfed us.
I looked up and saw, faintly and indistinctly, as if I saw several figures.
With the mist shrouding them, their appearances were obscured.
They seemed to have scanned below, and a slightly familiar voice whispered, "There's no path. Supervisor, did you make a mistake? Could it be that Daoist Luo and others went down the main entrance?"
The voice was Zhu Si's.
"Mhm." Xie Tai's voice sounded a bit complicated.
"Perhaps. I still don't want them to leave. After all, it's difficult to deal with people from Guikkwan. Coming here was meant to see if Daoist Luo was curious about the dam."
"I didn't expect it to be that simple."
Xie Tai's words were clearly veiling something.
The mist was getting thicker and thicker, and the figures had disappeared. All that was left was the deafening sound of water.
As the vines grew slipperier, even I felt as if I would lose my grip at any moment. Below, Hua Ying, Old Chu and Yang Gui Jin disappeared from sight.
I descended a little further, and a hand suddenly grabbed my waist, pulling me inward!
Before me was a dense, moist grass, and the hand around my waist was slender and familiar—it was Hua Ying's.
Without a fight, I turned my body and entered the grass.
The light was dim, coming from the flashlight in Old Chu's hand.
Yang Gui Jin's eyes widened with a smile on his face, the numerous wrinkles giving him a ghostly appearance.
Hua Ying let go, her breathing slightly labored.
I looked around.
Where we were, looked more like a cave. Although it wasn't deep. The right side was a sealed stone wall, and the left side had a narrow passage.
The spot where I entered earlier was about two meters wide, blocked by weeds and vines.
Anybody descending normally from above would not be so lucky to find this place!
A faint, unpleasant smell of decay and the pungent smell of wood-rotting came from the other end of the passage.
I even thought of a strange idea.
Would people still be able to reach here if it was daytime?
Would it even be discovered at all?
By the time people realize they want to climb back up, they will face exhaustion, slippery vines, or other dangers.
Old Gong's head turned to the right, his eyes wide open.
At this moment, Old Chu took a deep breath, as if he was about to lead Yang Gui Jin forward.
"Halt!"
"Don't go!" said Old Gong, panting heavily.
"Hmm?" Old Chu frowned and looked puzzled at Old Gong.
"Already this far, and you're not going? I heard noises from above. The Daoists have arrived."
"What kind of medicine are you selling in your night pot?"
Old Gong's breathing became much heavier, glaring at Old Chu: "What kind of medicine does your night pot sell?"
"My night pot doesn't sell medicine, it's filled with urine." Old Chu said angrily.
Old Gong immediately understood. He stared at Old Chu with a sullen expression before disappearing instantly.
