Inside Mingsha Cave, Nanny Gu had already prepared everything, simply waiting for Ziqing and the others to arrive!
With a tornado that massive, capable of sweeping through at any moment, they had no path of escape except to take shelter inside Mingsha Cave.
And once they entered Mingsha Cave…
“Heh heh heh…”
Nanny Gu couldn’t help but relish the thought, and just as she was chuckling to herself with quiet glee, Ziqing appeared, struggling in with Situ Haonan on her back!
The moment they reached the cave, Situ Haonan couldn’t take it anymore and abruptly struggled down. His sudden movement not only sent him tumbling to the ground but also caused Ziqing to lose her balance under the shifting weight, collapsing right along with him!
Both of them gasped for breath, collapsed at the cave entrance, yet even there, right at the entrance, they could clearly feel the wind’s force had weakened considerably—at the very least, they wouldn’t be blown away.
Ziqing looked at Situ Haonan, and Situ Haonan looked back at Ziqing. Both of them were as exhausted as if they’d just fought a battle lasting three days and three nights, utterly drained, yet they exchanged a smile, still not noticing that someone else was already inside the cave.
It wasn’t entirely their fault—they were simply too exhausted, and at a time like this, it hadn’t occurred to either of them that someone else might already be hiding inside.
“Ziqing, this wind is strange. Today is the Sand Sacrifice day, after all.”
Situ Haonan had never quite understood it. Having grown up in the northern desert near Xijing’s border, he was fairly familiar with the desert’s climate patterns.
“Has this never happened before?”
Ziqing was puzzled—tornadoes in the desert were an entirely normal phenomenon, even if this one outside happened to be a bit larger than usual.
“Never, not once.” Situ Haonan was completely serious.
At these words, Ziqing’s expression darkened. “How could that be?”
How could this be happening, when it had never happened before? By all logic, if a place had never experienced tornadoes before, that meant its geography and climate conditions simply weren’t suited to forming one.
So how had one suddenly formed now?
And not just any tornado—a super-tornado, right from the start!
Ziqing’s brow furrowed tight as she wiped the blood from her face, puzzled and suspicious. “Strange…”
Just as they were speaking, suddenly—”Whoooo…”
For no apparent reason, the wind suddenly grew even louder. “Whoooo… whoooo… whoooo…”
Absolutely terrifying!
“Something’s wrong!”
Only now did Ziqing realize the gravity of the situation. She looked out toward the cave entrance, only to see that outside, sand and stones were already flying wildly, the sky a hazy expanse of dust, nothing visible at all.
“Ziqing, this is truly bizarre—the sand of Mingsha Mountain is never supposed to be blown away! But look outside…”
Situ Haonan wasn’t just anxious now—he felt genuine fear stirring within him. Everything about this was simply too abnormal!
His words struck a chord with Ziqing—or perhaps she was simply too exhausted, having just spent all her remaining strength finding shelter, that she hadn’t given it proper thought, dismissing it as just an ordinary tornado that would pass if they waited it out.
But she had overlooked the fact that this was Mingsha Mountain.
The very reason Akbachu had become Xijing’s capital was that no matter how fierce or ferocious the northwest wind grew, Mingsha Mountain would never be blown away, and Akbachu would never be buried in sand.
Yet now, the entire mountain itself was moving—streams of shifting sand sliding down from its slopes, growing more numerous, more terrifying by the moment. At this rate, all the sand of Mingsha Mountain would eventually flow straight toward Akbachu!
Jun Beiyue!
Where was Jun Beiyue right now—was he still inside Akbachu City? Did he know he needed to take shelter from this tornado?
Did he know where to hide?
Or was he out there right now, searching everywhere for her?
The tornado, positioned to the northwest of Mingsha Mountain, was drawing closer and closer to the mountain—if it reached Mingsha Mountain itself, that would be an absolutely catastrophic development!
At any moment, they could be swept up into the sky by the wind!
In wind that powerful, forget lightness skill—one couldn’t even maintain control of one’s own body!
“Haonan, what exactly did you tell Beiyue? Is he in Akbachu?”
Ziqing suddenly grabbed hold of Situ Haonan and asked, but Situ Haonan, pointing behind her, spoke with a hint of fear in his voice, “Ziqing… you… look over there…”
Ziqing turned to look, and her heart lurched with sudden shock. She had never been one to frighten easily, but in that instant, her heart nearly stopped from fright!
There, deep in the shadowy recesses of the cave, huddled an old woman, her clothes tattered and threadbare, her hair snow white. Her face was hidden, but her entire body trembled visibly!
In such dim light, dressed in such rags, at first glance she truly resembled something otherworldly.
How could there be an old woman here of all places?
Mingsha Cave wasn’t somewhere just anyone could wander into—at the very least, one would need the skill to evade the Xijing guards patrolling the area. Who was this old woman, and how had she managed to find her way into Mingsha Cave?
Had she been here all along, or had she come in to take shelter from the wind, just like them?
“Be careful. Anyone who can make it here is no ordinary person!” Situ Haonan said in a low voice. Just as he spoke, the old woman slowly raised her head to look at them, her eyes filled with timid fear, seemingly terrified!
The moment she met Ziqing’s gaze, Nanny Gu let out a loud, startled cry, “Ah… don’t come near me, I have nothing left, don’t come near!”
What was going on?
Situ Haonan, confused, asked, “Who are you, how did you get here?”
Only then did Nanny Gu seem to calm slightly. She poked her head out and carefully sized up Ziqing and Situ Haonan, a flash of cold mockery crossing her eyes before vanishing just as quickly. “And who might you two be? You’re not bandits, are you?”
“Did you run into bandits?” Situ Haonan asked.
“I… I was originally the priestess in charge of the Sand Sacrifice, here a few days ago preparing for the ceremony, when I ran into a band of bandits. They demanded I reveal the secrets of Mingsha Mountain, the secrets of Akbachu…” Nanny Gu looked at Situ Haonan pitifully, her timid old eyes genuinely pitiable!
Yet Ziqing murmured quietly, “Haonan, she’s Xiongnu. Be careful.”
Ziqing had seen this Nanny Gu before—back when she’d gone looking for Yelu Qianqian, though Nanny Gu hadn’t realized she’d been watched at the time.
This old hag had seemed to be searching for something back then, and she was lying now—there had to be some secret reason she’d come to Mingsha Cave!
Hearing Ziqing’s words, Situ Haonan immediately understood and asked no further questions—after all, even badly wounded, the two of them together should still be able to handle this old woman.
They were both just taking shelter in Mingsha Cave—as long as they minded their own business and stayed out of each other’s way, that would be fine!
But Situ Haonan’s thinking proved far too naive. Once he fell silent, Nanny Gu said nothing either, but kept staring fixedly at Ziqing.
That gaze, timid at first, gradually grew bolder, and eventually turned into something amused and satisfied!
As if sizing up prey she was certain to catch!
As Nanny Gu’s expression shifted, the atmosphere grew increasingly eerie, increasingly tense. Situ Haonan tensed all over, shielding Ziqing, and murmured low, “Looks like she’s here for you.”
The moment these words fell, Nanny Gu suddenly laughed. “Girl, so it’s you! I knew it—why did you look so familiar to me!”
Ziqing said coldly, “We’ve never met.”
“Heh heh, girl, of course you don’t recognize me, but I recognize you!” Nanny Gu laughed brilliantly, and despite her disheveled hair and tattered clothes, she inexplicably carried an air of mystery about her.
“Girl, I saved you once, back in the northern desert—you were unconscious at the time!” Nanny Gu said, still laughing, slowly crawling toward Ziqing and the others…
…
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