Chapter One Hundred and Four: Hostage
After leaving Hole Ridge Base, about an hour later, Luxianbei suddenly realized that she had been tricked by Nanling Yaohua again.
At the beginning of their journey from the base, the road was flat, and they rode on two fast horses without any issues. However, halfway through, the terrain became complex and rugged, and problems arose.
Her horse, which had only been moving along the rolling hills for a short distance, soon showed signs of exhaustion, gradually losing control, and quickly fell to the ground, frothing at the mouth, looking as if it was about to d*e.
The horse had suffered from heatstroke…
But I didn’t do anything, so why did the horse collapse? Luxianbei thought.
When she left the base, she had specially chosen a horse that looked the strongest and most vigorous.
How could such a steed, carrying the light and delicate Calamity, perish after just thirty kilometers?
It’s simply absurd!
Seeing this, Luxianbei briefly contemplated and decided to cast a healing spell to help the horse recover.
However, just as she raised her hand and was about to recite the incantation, Nanling Yaohua’s hand rested on the back of her hand.
“Do not!” Nanling Yaohua said. “Liuer is just an ordinary horse; it cannot withstand spell treatment. Using a spell might temporarily help it recover, but it could leave behind side effects.”
“…” Luxianbei was momentarily speechless.
Nanling Yaohua’s words were not without reason.
Ordinary people might also incur certain health risks after spell treatment.
“Ah, this is my fault too. When we left, I thought you rode quite steadily and assumed you were good at riding. I didn’t expect… Do you know that riding requires finesse? If you just clench the reins like that, you’ll overexert the horse’s strength.”
Luxianbei, “???”
What did I do? I thought my handling was fine!
“If all else fails… let’s share a horse, shall we? It’s not far now. Let’s move Liuer to a cool place to rest for a while. Once it recovers, it will return by itself.”
Saying so, Nanling Yaohua went to Liuer, squatted beside it, gently stroked its mane, and then leaned down, seemingly comforting it with a few whispered words in its ear.
Luxianbei, “…” Goodness! Is she waiting for me here?
Before Luxianbei could refuse, Nanling Yaohua asked, “Qingyi Girl, do you want to sit in the front or the back?”
This was clearly a setup; if she refused now, who knows what trickery Nanling Yaohua might pull! Luxianbei thought, visualizing herself wrapping her arms around Nanling Yaohua’s slender waist, and hurriedly replied, “In the front!”
So, two minutes later, a pair of hands wrapped around Luxianbei’s waist from behind.
Then, she heard Nanling Yaohua’s gentle voice near her ear, “Let’s go. Hold the reins tightly; I’ll teach you how to ride.”
As she spoke, a warm fragrant breeze quietly wafted into Luxianbei’s nostrils.
Only at this moment did she suddenly realize that although Nanling Yaohua appeared to be giving her a choice, she actually had no choice at all.
Just endure it! It’s almost over… Luxianbei thought, tugging on the reins and moving forward.
Not long after they left, Liuer, lying in the shade of a poplar tree, struggled a couple of times, unsteadily got to its feet, and ran toward the direction of Hole Ridge Base, moving swiftly as if it hadn’t just suffered from heatstroke…
——
After finalizing the collaboration with Gu Qiqi, Fang Ji left the tent, leaving her alone to leisurely enjoy the roasted flatbread and oil tea.
After a moment.
When Gu Qiqi had almost finished her meal, as if observing from the shadows, Fang Ji timed his entrance and lifted the tent curtain.
“Have you eaten well? How about coming with me to see a few people?”
After a pause, he added, “Don’t worry; when I meet those guys, it’s just a casual chat. There won’t be any fighting. You should be able to handle your injuries, right?”
Gu Qiqi didn’t want to appear too weak in front of Fang Ji, so she stood up and vigorously waved her arms, muttering, “Even if there’s fighting, it’s no problem.”
“That’s even better.” Fang Ji smiled, turned, and left the tent without waiting for Gu Qiqi. He mounted a chestnut-colored old horse and leisurely made his way into the depths of the Gobi Desert.
Horses or camels, relatively primitive means of transportation, were often more useful than vehicles in the Gobi Desert.
Although the Gobi Desert appeared flat, it actually harbored many hazardous areas, such as salt flats and quicksand, and animals that lived there for a long time could use their experience and instincts to avoid these places.
Watching Fang Ji’s departing figure, Gu Qiqi gently bit her lip and took out the bamboo slips from her pocket.
Since the incident last night, she hadn’t returned to the Bamboo Slips Illusion.
Rationally, after such an event, staying in the Bamboo Slips Illusion to recuperate should be the best choice.
But she didn’t dare to go back.
The villagers who had acted with her last night suffered a significant loss, and their loved ones were still in the Bamboo Slips Illusion.
As their “deity,” not being able to protect them left Gu Qiqi unsure how to face those villagers who had lost their loved ones.
It would be great if the system were here…
It must know how to explain things to the villagers, Gu Qiqi thought.
——
Gu Qiqi followed Fang Ji out of the camp, crossed the Gobi, and after about two hours, finally arrived at their destination just before the peak midday temperature.
The Gobi was desolate, and the sunlight was bright.
The sunlight was an opaque yellow, scattering on the fine sand and dancing with the wind.
The sand and gravel rubbed against each other in the breeze, producing a gentle “sasa” sound.
In the distance, the undulating hills etched out deep and shallow ravines that coiled like folds on the earth, resembling crumbling city walls or the spine of some enormous creature left to rot.
This was the common Danxia landform around Yumen Pass, also known as wind-eroded ridges.
Due to their layered, castle-like appearance and their maze-like complex geography, entering could easily lead one astray, and locals referred to it as the “Devil City,” believing it to be inhabited by man-eating monsters.
Gu Qiqi had been in the Gobi for a while and had long heard of the legends about the Devil City, but she didn’t expect that it truly held “devils”…
Following Fang Ji, they entered the Devil City through an opening in a ravine, and as they moved along the winding path, the terrain began to slope downwards. After proceeding a bit further, an opening leading underground appeared before them.
It was dark, resembling a voracious mouth.
Once entering the opening, the light was rapidly devoured by the darkness, and the originally scorching hot air quickly turned cold.
After groping around in the dark for about five minutes, flickers of firelight appeared ahead.
Immediately afterward, footsteps echoed, and two towering figures, nearly three meters tall, quickly approached under the dim golden light.
Through her psychic perception, Gu Qiqi detected C-level fluctuations of spirit energy from these two figures and frowned slightly before silently drawing out her metal bat and holding it tightly.
As the two figures drew closer and lifted the hoods from their heads, revealing their faces, Gu Qiqi’s eyes widened slightly, and she let out a soft exclamation, “Oh? There really are some!”
At first glance, the two appeared to have rough, dark faces similar to those of the Gobi’s herders.
Under the dim firelight, it was easy to notice that one of them had a neck covered in small scales, while the other’s unkempt hair concealed many twisted and deformed bone protrusions.
They looked somewhat similar to the villagers in the Bamboo Slips Illusion who had been corrupted by the Great Serpent God’s spirit energy, resulting in their deformities.
These beings, hidden underground in the Devil City and seen by locals as man-eating monsters, were part of a half-urban legend faction that followed the Shaman Queen.
In fact, although these half-urban legends all worshipped the legendary Shaman Queen, several different tribes hid in various locations, only gathering during large-scale actions.
This was reminiscent of their ancestors.
The Huihu following the Shaman Queen each had different leaders among their tribes.
It was akin to a group of scavengers in the desert, usually hiding in their respective caves, but when a corpse falls on the Gobi and they scent bl**d, they would gather together.
At Gu Qiqi’s soft call, the two half-urban legends simultaneously turned their gazes toward her. Upon noticing the metal bat in her hand, their expressions darkened, and they drew curved blades from their waists.
Seeing this, Fang Ji quickly stepped forward and positioned himself between the two half-urban legends and Gu Qiqi. “Everyone, please don’t be impulsive. It’s just a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding.”
The half-urban legend with bone protrusions on his head seemed to recognize Fang Ji. After giving him a glance, he spoke in a deep, gravelly voice, “When meeting the leader, weapons are not allowed; that’s the rule.”
“I know, I know,” Fang Ji replied with a smile, elbowing Gu Qiqi and giving her a knowing look. Noticing Gu Qiqi remained unfazed, he added, “Do you still want your friends to wake up?”
“…” Gu Qiqi looked at Fang Ji, then back at the two half-urban legends. After a moment of hesitation, she pouted and forcefully drove the metal bat into the ground.
After all, she still had more!
This basic solidification spell inscribed on a metal bat coated with a sturdy reinforced alchemical potion; she had at least made a dozen, all in the Bamboo Slips Illusion, ready to be taken out whenever needed.
In her case, given their rare durability, these otherwise unremarkable spirit energy items merely considered consumables.
And such consumables should be prepared in abundance; it was always better to have extra lying around than to be unable to retrieve one in a pinch, as the system had taught her.
Seeing Gu Qiqi disarm, the two half-urban legends exchanged glances, sheathed their curved blades, and stepped aside to clear the path.
“Let’s go. We need to enter and meet their leader. We can’t find that treasure without their help,” Fang Ji turned to Gu Qiqi and said, then took a step into the depths of the cave.
Gu Qiqi bit her lip and followed Fang Ji’s lead.
——
Deep within the Devil City, the cave was filled with the sound of trickling water; the flow from the underground river cascaded down from above, striking the stones and splashing into a manually carved pool, producing a low echo.
Illuminated by the dim light of oil lamps, an old man with four arms and a large hook tail stood by the pool, scattering finely chopped pieces of meat, causing colorful salamanders in the pool to scramble for food, occasionally igniting flashes of electricity, flames, and frost blooms… a delightful sight.
Ordinarily, seeing such an interesting scene would captivate Gu Qiqi’s attention; however, this time, her focus was drawn to several cages crafted from steel and wood in the dark corners.
Though those cages were hidden in darkness and covered with oilcloth, obscuring what was inside, her psychic perception revealed that there were many people trapped within.
Most were women, along with several newborns emitting faint spirit energy fluctuations.
Although they appeared to differ significantly, those cages inexplicably reminded her of the tanks the Hui Mothers used in the Bamboo Slips Illusion to cultivate servants for the Great Serpent God.
The old man quietly listened as a remarkably beautiful young man spoke enthusiastically at his side. After a long while, he turned around, grinned, exposing two scimitar-like fangs beneath his lips.
“You’re quite right, but why should we help you?”
“No, it’s not about helping me.” Fang Ji shook his head. “We are merely fulfilling our own needs.”
“You want to rescue the sealed Shaman Queen, while I want to locate Hong Bian’s tomb. Both are within Yumen Pass, and I know how to open the gates of Yumen Pass. You know the exact location of the gates. If we cooperate, we can achieve our goals more efficiently.”
He was indeed speaking the truth.
Although the Miracle Cult had already made thorough preparations, even following the miracle’s guidance and trying time and again, they could succeed in entering Yumen Pass. However, with the aid of these half-urban legends, unnecessary resource and manpower consumption could be saved.
These half-urban legends had been active around Yumen Pass for hundreds of years, knowing the timings of sandstorms and under what conditions the gates of Yumen Pass would appear, even the approximate location when the gates manifested.
From a certain perspective, these half-urban legends understood Yumen Pass better than the Yumen Sands Sea Branch, which had guarded it for generations.
“Enough!” the old man interrupted sternly. “While you have a point, words alone are not enough; we won’t trust a mere verbal agreement unless…”
Mid-sentence, his gaze suddenly shifted from Fang Ji to Gu Qiqi, narrowing slightly as a disturbing gleam flickered in his crimson eyes.
Fang Ji glanced at Gu Qiqi from the corner of his eye, then looked back at the old man with a smile. “I see, you need a hostage, right?”
“Since that’s the case, to show good faith, I can leave her here, but with one condition: you must not harm her. She is my most important partner, as dear to me as my own kin.”
Not a kin by bl**d, and she still can’t be left here! Fang Ji thought.
Gu Qiqi, “???”
Oh dear! How can he lie like this? We only met this morning; how did I become family already?
Although Fang Ji told her that their relationship was one of mutual use and that he could stab her in the back at any moment, she never expected the betrayal would come so quickly.
She opened her mouth to say something, but at that moment, Fang Ji leaned close to her, speaking in a tone only they could hear, “Don’t worry; we’re just putting on a show for this old man. Someone will come to rescue you soon.”
“How soon is soon?” Gu Qiqi frowned and asked.
“Um…” Fang Ji pondered for a moment. “In short, it’ll be soon.”
How much time it would take depended on when the Calamity could follow the clues to find this place… Fang Ji added in his heart.
“…” Gu Qiqi hesitated for a moment and nodded, “Alright then!”
For her, staying here was actually not a big deal. If no one came to rescue her, she could always cut her way out.
She had already noticed that none of these half-urban legends had the capability to fight!
