Chapter 257: Stepping into Pit-traps

We passed through the center of a stone fissure that had split open beneath Yellow Wind Ravine. This crack had been open for a long time, and even now, there were still fissures beneath the ground we walked upon. If you lay flat on the ground, you could see a pitch-black chasm reaching deep into the mountain ridge. In the years to come, it was highly likely that these mountain cracks would continue to split further.

Beyond Yellow Wind Ravine lay a stretch of primeval forest. However, the trees were relatively sparse, lacking the lush foliage of the Couple Trees we had seen on the grassland. Still, seeing such a large expanse of woods in this region was a rare sight.

Standing in the forest and looking into the distance, I could clearly see a massive rock shaped like an eagle’s beak hanging in mid-air where the mountains rose and fell. Below it lay a valley with complex terrain. This was likely the “Eagle Valley” Qian Shizhong had mentioned. He had also warned that the terrain in Eagle Valley was treacherous, filled with many “pit-traps” where anyone who fell in would vanish without a trace. We had to remain vigilant at all times once we entered.

That night, we rested at the edge of Eagle Valley, pitching tents and setting up pots to boil water. Throughout this time, Fourth Brother remained extremely alert. I could sense the difference between when he was tense and when he was relaxed, so when he finally had a free moment, I approached him with a tin of food.

“Fourth Brother, have some of this meat. I can’t finish it all,” I said, handing him the tin. He didn’t refuse, using a spoon to scoop some from my tin into his own mess tin.

I asked him in a low voice, “Do you know where Tian Yuqing is right now? Have you two been in contact this whole time? Is the Houtu Blood you’re looking for inside the ancient battlefield of Eagle Valley?”

Fourth Brother glanced at me, then turned to look at the others eating quietly nearby. He turned back and whispered, “Stay out of it. Asking too much won’t do you any good. Hurry up and eat, then get some sleep. Once we enter Eagle Valley tomorrow, there won’t be much time for rest.”

He shoveled a few quick mouthfuls of food and stood up, leaving me sitting there alone. Just as he left, He Yu sat down beside me with a tin of greasy soup. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Why so full of worry?”

I watched Fourth Brother’s retreating back and said, “I feel like he’s carrying a heavy burden. I want to help him, but he still treats me like a child and tells me to mind my own business. I don’t understand what’s so secret about finding the Houtu Blood.”

He Yu took a sip of soup and said, “Have you ever considered that it might not be about the Houtu Blood?”

I turned to look at him.

He held his tin. “I’m talking about those guys who were hunting us before. Your Five Masters might have had some history with them. Judging by what the old man of the Tian Family said on his deathbed, arranging for that fake Tian Xiao was actually setting up a scapegoat. But have you thought about why he had to fake his own death? And during the time he was missing, what did he do, or who did he meet?”

I caught his drift and followed his thought. “You mean Liu Sanshui?”

He Yu winked at me. I leaned in closer to hear him say, “I’ve thought about this for a long time. Since we’ve both deduced that Liu Sanshui isn’t dead, yet he hasn’t shown himself, there must be a reason. The fact that Old Man Tian also arranged a fake death suggests a similar pattern. Combined with your Fourth Brother’s attitude just now, they must be plotting something in the shadows.”

I sensed something was off and asked curiously, “How did you suddenly become so enlightened? Have you been eating smart beans lately?”

He Yu swatted my hand away. “I’ve always been smart. I just don’t usually show off. Over time, you’ve started to underestimate my abilities.”

He Yu and I chatted for a bit longer. Once we had our fill, we crawled into our sleeping bags to rest. With Fourth Brother there, we weren’t on the sentry rotation, so we didn’t need to stand guard. Consequently, I slept soundly that night. Early the next morning, we packed our gear and began our trek deep into Eagle Valley.

Nothing grew in Eagle Valley. There was only exposed, yellowish-brown rock. After walking for a while, it felt strangely like traversing a desert, yet the terrain was vastly different. The air was dry, yellow dust covered the ground, and jagged rocks were everywhere, looking like waves frozen in a sea of stone. This landscape seemed unique at first, but the deeper we went into Eagle Valley, the more visual fatigue set in.

After walking the entire morning, we reached the heart of Eagle Valley. The first water replenishment point marked on the skin map was actually a small, circular puddle. Inside was sweet spring water from deep underground. There wasn’t much water, but it hadn’t dried up in a thousand years.

The team took a break. I wandered around while drinking water. The path ahead was becoming quite narrow, with the rocks above gradually pressing together until even the brightest sunlight couldn’t penetrate. I walked forward, running my hand along the wave-patterned rocks, when I suddenly noticed a break in the pattern.

Tian Xiaoqi was just as curious as I was. She followed behind me and must have felt something on the opposite rock at the same time, but the marks on my side were more obvious. We huddled together to investigate.

I looked closely at the break. It looked like it had been carved with a chisel or something similar, then colored with plant juices. The drawing looked like a giant lingzhi mushroom, very primitive in style.

I had just turned around to take a step and call Fourth Brother over when Tian Xiaoqi let out a loud scream behind me. I spun around to see that the ground, which had seemed perfectly solid a moment ago, had suddenly collapsed into a large hole. Tian Xiaoqi had fallen in, with only her upper body still visible. Reacting quickly, I lunged forward and grabbed both of her hands.

He Yu was the first to hear my shout and immediately called for the others to run over to help pull me up. Tian Xiaoqi gripped the edges of the hole with all her might, trying to climb out. I pulled her hands, trying to hoist her up. She was usually quite light, but now I found I couldn’t budge her at all. It felt as if something inside the hole was competing with me, dragging her downward.

“Grab your gear! Call for help!” I sat down on the ground, bracing my body by wedging one leg against a rock, and shouted at the top of my lungs.

The men panicked. He Yu turned to run for help, but the moment he took a step, the ground beneath him collapsed as well. One of his legs vanished instantly. Several of the men were “sucked” into pit-traps in an instant, and I watched the entire process as they fell into the holes.

Fourth Brother was leading a large group over to rescue us, so I hurriedly shouted at them, “Don’t come over! This whole area is full of pit-traps! If you’re not careful, you’ll all fall in! If everyone gets trapped, we’re finished!”

He Yu was heavier, so he was sinking faster. In the blink of an eye, only his head remained above the surface. He clawed desperately at the edges, but his body only sank deeper with every movement.

My face turned beet red as I let go of one of Tian Xiaoqi’s hands to try and grab He Yu. But just as I reached out, He Yu vanished completely into the hole. I cursed our rotten luck internally; I could only save one person at a time now.

“Let go! I can’t hold on much longer!” Tian Xiaoqi shouted at me.

At that moment, the pit-trap Tian Xiaoqi had stepped into suddenly contracted violently. I held on to her for dear life and refused to let go, and then everything went black. Tian Xiaoqi had been sucked into the ground, but I was completely different; you could say I dove in voluntarily.

The pit was full of tangled vines and withered grass. I felt like I was being churned around in a washing machine for over a minute before my backside slammed into the ground with a heavy thud. Tian Xiaoqi landed right next to me, kicking up a thick layer of dust that left us choking and unable to open our eyes.

I lay on the ground for a while, feeling as though my damn internal organs had all shifted out of place. Trembling, I braced against the wall and got to my feet. My rear was so painful it had gone completely numb. With a lady present, I couldn’t rub it too conspicuously, so I just leaned against a rock and hissed through my teeth with every breath.

Tian Xiaoqi came over, rubbing her waist, and asked, “How are you? Nothing broken?”

I forced myself to bear the pain in my backside, gritting my teeth as I waved a hand at her.