A’Kou sat there woodenly, completely forgetting to react.

She went in and out of the Peak Forest many times a day. There should still be a stretch of water before reaching the waterfall cliff—how did the waterfall suddenly appear?

The boat was about to rush down immediately.

But there were four people on the boat, one unconscious and one serving as a hostage—both must be protected.

As for her… naturally she was the one to be abandoned.

A’Kou closed her eyes.

Tie Ci opened her eyes.

In that instant she flew up, sweeping and flipping around. Murong Yi was on her back while A’Chong remained firmly grasped in her hand. At the same time, she kicked against the boat’s side, spun around, and her robes scattered with water vapor amid sharp whistling sounds.

In that instant, A’Kou’s ears were filled with the roaring sound of the waterfall’s crash. Within the roar, faint dense metallic friction sounds could be heard, with whooshing sounds passing overhead. She suddenly flew up while still standing on the light boat beneath her feet.

In the rushing wind, A’Kou opened her eyes to see herself still on the boat, but the boat was in mid-air. Before her was the increasingly distant waterfall, around her were rapidly flowing backwards green trees and red flowers, and behind her…

She suddenly understood what was behind her. Before she could turn her head, the next moment the boat shook and stopped suspended in air, with slight cracking sounds from both sides.

A’Kou looked down beneath her feet extremely slowly.

The thin light boat was precariously wedged between two stone peaks, neither touching sky above nor ground below.

And she stood right in the middle.

When she walked forward, the boat tilted down like a seesaw, letting her walk down steadily and reach the ground safely.

A’Kou looked back at the boat somewhat bewildered, her glasses askew on her nose. Tiger pushed the frames up for her.

A’Kou suddenly cried out, remembering—where were the others?

That strange yet clever young man had saved her, but hadn’t he saved the others?

She ran toward the waterfall’s edge.

Then she saw a hand, transparent-like underwater, with five fingers forcibly inserted into stone crevices.

A’Kou felt pain just looking at it.

Following the hand downward, she saw Tie Ci being drenched by the waterfall head-on. A rope around Tie Ci’s waist held two people—A’Chong in the middle and Murong Yi below. Everyone hung in the waterfall together, getting thoroughly washed.

A’Kou saw bloody marks where the rope had cut into Tie Ci’s waist. It looked painful.

Tie Ci’s expression remained unchanged as she slowly descended a bit, untied the rope around her waist with one hand, and gently lowered Murong Yi, who was closest to the ground, onto a large rock beneath the waterfall.

Though lowering down was easier than lifting up, this was still under a direct waterfall while holding two people. A’Kou stared at Tie Ci’s arm, watching veins slightly bulge on the fair skin while her movements remained extremely steady. It was surprising that such jade-like slender arms contained steel-like hidden strength.

After lowering Murong Yi, Tie Ci lunged downward. Amid A’Kou’s uncontrollable cry of alarm, she scooped up A’Chong, who couldn’t open his eyes from the water spray, and landed.

Standing beneath the waterfall, Tie Ci could finally see clearly that before her lay vast terraced fields.

Large expanses of farmland extended downward following the mountain layers like silver ribbons and rolling green waves. Some terraced fields grew unknown crops in blue-purple and deep red colors, making the entire terraced landscape even more gorgeous and layered, extending magnificently and beautifully across the earth in successive tiers.

From high to low, scattered among the fields were many wooden buildings, mostly with round roofs and high stilts. From afar they looked like delicate little umbrellas or scattered mushrooms.

Tie Ci was momentarily captivated by this scenery, not expecting such magnificent views hidden deep in the mountains.

Footsteps sounded behind her. A’Kou walked down along the cliff edge. Accustomed to mountain scenery, she paid no attention, still muttering to herself, “There should have been a long stretch of road left—how did we suddenly reach the cliff edge…”

Seeing her bewilderment, Tie Ci sighed and explained, “Did you feel that we exited the Peak Forest particularly quickly today?”

A’Kou was startled, then realized, “Yes, it seemed much faster than usual—we came out easily.”

“You were eager to exit the forest after we were attacked, so you didn’t notice. The entire Peak Forest is a formation that can move. The last section of the Peak Forest moved when we were under attack—it was directly withdrawn behind the Peak Forest we had already passed. Normally there would be Peak Forest requiring careful navigation with seven turns and eight bends, so when exiting you wouldn’t rush to the cliff edge. But now there’s no obstruction, and with the terrain sloping downward, one push of your pole sent us straight to the waterfall’s head.”

A’Kou understood, joy blooming in her expression. “Thank you for answering me, otherwise I might not have been able to sleep for a very long time.”

Tie Ci smiled.

Consider it repayment for her earlier help with the boat.

Though anxious, she couldn’t help appreciating the scenery before her for a while. Old farmers carried hoes on the field ridges followed by waddling ducks. An old ox’s tail swished lazily. Several hens pecked for insects beneath wooden buildings. Pigs in the pen were raised fat and solid. Horses snorted through their noses. Crisscrossing paths, sounds of chickens and dogs…

Tie Ci’s thoughts suddenly paused.

She said, “…Why are there no dogs?”

She suddenly realized that since entering the forest, she had seen various creatures but never the most common dogs.

And in deep mountains, dogs were almost indispensable.

After a long while, A’Kou said woodenly, “Hey, you react so quickly to notice our stronghold has no dogs.”

“Why?”

“Great Uncle doesn’t like dogs. Not just ordinary dogs—he dislikes any animals that look even slightly like dogs. So in Li Mountain, you can barely even see wolves.”

“That’s a strange taboo.” Tie Ci’s expression was thoughtful.

A’Kou didn’t mind, pointing at the wooden buildings ahead. “Since you let me sleep peacefully, I’ll let you sleep peacefully too. Great Uncle should be in one of those wooden buildings now, but as you can see, even if you hold Young Master A’Chong hostage, if he doesn’t want to see you, he still won’t see you. You can’t really kill Young Master A’Chong, can you? If you really killed Young Master A’Chong, you couldn’t take a single step out of here either. So what you’re doing is actually useless. Release Young Master A’Chong—I’ll try to plead for you.”

“Young Master A’Chong being held hostage can’t make him come out—are you sure your pleading will work?”

A’Kou sighed and said sadly, “Great Uncle is someone who yields to neither force nor persuasion. He did swear years ago to only kill people, never save them.”

A’Chong woke up at this moment, immediately sneezing three times upon awakening. Seeing himself drenched all over, he immediately cried, “Great Uncle, someone’s bullying me!”

The yellow and black striped tiger frog began calling, “Croak! Croak!”

An old ox slowly passed along the field ridge with a “moo.”

Birds in the forest behind flew up into the sky with mixed chirping.

Wild grass on the ground rolled and opened as colorful streaks flashed by.

Tiger and leopard roars echoed from the forest, and the deep, terrifying howls of wolf packs.

In an instant, only beast sounds seemed to remain between heaven and earth.

Amid all the commotion, A’Kou slowly said, “Oh no, Great Uncle is angry.”

Suddenly someone behind them said, “Great Uncle says if outsiders want to see him, they must pass tests first. The first test was passing through the Peak Forest—she’s already passed. The second test is to find which wooden house Great Uncle lives in within a quarter hour.”

The speaker was A’Ji, who poked her head out from a nearby wooden house while her body remained inside. She tugged but seemed to have her legs held, so she could only roll her eyes. After speaking, she slammed the door with a bang, followed by Feng Huan’s ghostly wailing from inside.

Listening to this, Tie Ci thought she should reward the dandy when they returned.

A colorful snake suddenly hung down from a nearby tree branch. Below the snake’s head was a small stone bowl. The snake extended its long tongue, and after a moment, a drop of venom dripped into the stone bowl with a “drip.”

A’Kou looked at the stone bowl and said, “Great Uncle says, considering you once saved A’Chong, he won’t pursue your crime of taking him hostage. If you release A’Chong now, he allows you to leave here with your person. If you insist on choosing to pass the test to find him, then once a quarter hour passes and you still haven’t found which house he lives in, you must drink the venom in this stone bowl—either you drink it, or he drinks it.”

She pointed at Murong Yi.

She couldn’t help adding, “Leave—you can’t find him…”

But Tie Ci had already shouldered Murong Yi, grabbed A’Chong, and walked down the slope path beside the terraced fields.

Reaching the bottom, she discovered there were extremely many wooden houses, all with doors open and people going in and out, openly letting her see.

But with so many wooden houses and such vast terraced fields, just going up and down once would take more than a quarter hour, not to mention bringing a patient and hostage while searching for someone.

Tie Ci didn’t stop. A’Kou’s voice still drifted in the wind when she flashed and disappeared.

The next moment she appeared beside the wooden houses at the very bottom of the terraced fields.

A’Chong’s screams and laughter came from below: “Wow, so fast! Like riding the wind! Again, again!”

A’Kou and Tiger on her shoulder both stared in shock with wide eyes.

“So fast…”

The girl adjusted her glasses but worry appeared on her face.

“But it’s still impossible to find him—Great Uncle will cheat…”

She sat beside the stone bowl, watching the venom from the colorful snake gradually fill half the bowl.

Watching this, she sadly poked at the tiger frog. “Tiger, are you thirsty?”

The tiger frog glanced at her, hopped to the stone bowl’s edge, buried its head and gulped down most of it with a “croak.”

The colorful snake seemed enraged, flipped over on the branch, and lashed down at the frog. A’Kou quickly carried Tiger away.

The colorful snake spat several times, seeming to find this too slow. After hissing several times, several more venomous creatures came from the forest, all crowding around the stone bowl to spit and spray. The bowl filled much faster than before.

A’Kou watched helplessly, sighed, and sat still holding Tiger.

At the bottom of the terraced fields, Tie Ci had already flashed past several wooden houses, seeing all kinds of people.

There were weaving women, farming old men, herb-drying old ladies, and young women braiding hair.

Just as ordinary as all the villages in Yannan, doing the same things.

The people in the wooden houses opened their eyes wide, watching this person carrying and holding others while poking around, yet moving fast as light, leaving only afterimages in the blink of an eye.

In a flash, Tie Ci reached the middle section of the terraced fields, having seen nearly a hundred wooden buildings.

She paused on the field ridge. A’Chong, whom she had grabbed, no longer struggled or tried to escape, blinking and asking, “Why did you stop? Continue!”

Tie Ci swallowed and smiled, “Is it fun? If it’s fun, think of a way to get your great uncle to help me detoxify, okay? Or just tell me where he is.”

“No way, I don’t know either.” A’Chong glared at her. “Since you’re making me your hostage, have the ability to be tough to the end! Have the ability to kill me!”

Tie Ci smiled and said gently, “If he really dies, don’t worry—I will kill you.”

A’Chong had been aggressive, but looking up and meeting her gaze, he suddenly shrank back and stopped talking.

Children have keen instincts about danger.

Tie Ci took a breath and was about to continue when suddenly a slightly cool hand gently touched her neck.

Tie Ci was startled—had Murong Yi awakened?

She turned to look at him, but saw him leaning against her shoulder with long eyelashes lowered, not opening his eyes, though his fingertips rested gently on her neck.

He gently stroked her neck, then moved his hand down to tenderly caress her chest.

Due to continuous teleportation, Tie Ci’s blood and qi were churning, causing a mouthful of hot, salty blood to block her chest. Under this gentle, powerless caress, it seemed to be soothed, her throat moistened, silently dissolving and returning to the boiling, surging meridians.

She turned her head, closed her eyes briefly, and gently kissed Murong Yi’s slightly cool hand.

This was a lover who could sense her everything even while unconscious.

He deserved all her strength to cherish him.

The next instant she disappeared from the spot.

When most of the quarter hour had passed, Tie Ci finally finished visiting all the wooden buildings.

She had seen all kinds of people—old and young, male and female, even babies. None of them bore the slightest resemblance to the blue-clothed person she had seen on Floating Light River that night.

When Tie Ci finished viewing the last wooden building and stood at the top of the terraced fields, she spat out a mouthful of stagnant blood.

An old farmer leading an ox slowly passed by her, laughing as he asked, “Time’s almost up. Do you want sugar or salt in your soup?”

The old farmer’s chin pointed toward the stone bowl, which was almost full, the color of the venom inside indescribable.

A’Kou wrung her hands and said to her, “Leave, leave—there’s still time if you go now…”

Tie Ci said, “No.”

A’Chong said, “See that incense stick over there? Half remains—roughly when I count to one hundred it’ll be about right. I’ll help you count now: one hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-eight…”

Tie Ci crouched down. A’Chong asked strangely, “Scared to tears?”

But he saw Tie Ci take out a bottle from her bosom and pour out some golden liquid. She spread this liquid all over the bottle and placed it on the ground.

A’Chong: “Seventy-three, seventy-two…” Finally couldn’t help asking, “What are you still fiddling with! Aren’t you afraid there won’t be enough time!”

Tie Ci ignored him. As soon as the bottle was placed on the ground, countless ants came running frantically, climbing onto the bottle layer after layer until it was completely covered with ants—from a distance, the entire bottle was densely black.

Only then did Tie Ci tie the bottle with thin rope, pick it up, and stand. A’Chong watched bewildered and absent-minded: “…sixty-two, sixty-two, seventy-one… I’ll advise you one more time—there’s still time to leave now. Think about it—someone like Great Uncle, even if you luckily found him, if he doesn’t want to come out to see you, what can you do? This is a dead end, understand!”

The next instant, Tie Ci appeared at a wooden building’s window.

This wooden building wasn’t the first or second, but located in the middle section of the terraced fields. It seemed like Tie Ci had chosen randomly.

The woman embroidering by the window seemed startled, slightly raising her head to look at Tie Ci. An orchid on her knuckle moved slightly.

Tie Ci held up the ant bottle toward her.

The woman looked at her in amazement.

The next instant, Tie Ci disappeared from the window and appeared in a wooden building two rows down on the west side.

The young man drying herbs on that building’s platform scratched his head and stared at the bottle covered with ants in Tie Ci’s hand, saying, “What poison did you use to attract so many ants?”

The next instant, Tie Ci disappeared.

A’Chong: “Thirty, twenty-nine… What are you doing?!”

The next instant, Tie Ci appeared before an old farmer plowing fields, bringing the bottle to his nose. The old farmer flicked something off his finger and reached to take the ant bottle: “Let me see—so many ants would be perfect for frying.”

The next instant, Tie Ci disappeared again.

A’Chong went crazy: “…eleven, ten… Stop running around frantically! Your face looks like a dead person’s—just go drink the poison directly!”

Tie Ci appeared before the last wooden house on her mental list.

She landed with a slight stumble.

Yet there was no one in the wooden house.

A’Chong: “…nine, eight… What are you doing! There’s no one in this house!”

Tie Ci looked up at the wooden building, rushed frantically inside, and threw the ant bottle onto the snow-white, neat bedding.

Dark ants scattered densely across the bed covers.

A’Chong: “…five, four… Give up, kneel down, release me, and I’ll plead for you—you still have a chance… three!”

Tie Ci half-knelt before the bed, gripping the bed sheet tightly.

“Two…”

“Get away!”

Suddenly a voice rang out—gentle, indifferent, seemingly emotionless yet apparently very angry.

Flames instantly ignited in Tie Ci’s eyes!

A’Chong’s final count stuck in his throat.

At the same time, the bed sheet flew up, the bottle exploded into fragments, countless black ant shadows flashed and disappeared, and countless crystal fragments sparkled like sleet and mist in the evening sunset, making the colorful fields outside the window glitter.

A human figure seemed to condense from ice crystals, suddenly appearing in this sleet-like mist.

His form was very tall and slender, wearing long robes the color of sky after rain. His entire bearing was even more elegant and refined than this fresh color. His garments moved with the wind, graceful as if about to ascend. His features were handsome and profound, with black hair loosely draped, only slight silver-white at the temples, each braided into thin plaits bound with jade beads of green color, making him appear even more jade-like, elegant and refined.

He wore no ornaments, only vaguely orchid-shaped rings on his slender, drooping fingers.

When they faced each other across the river last time, she had only felt his bearing was absolutely beautiful. Today Tie Ci could finally see this Great Uncle’s true appearance clearly, and couldn’t help being shocked that someone in the world could perfectly combine two completely different styles—gorgeous and elegant.

But Great Uncle raised his hand and pointed at her, saying, “Get out.”

As he raised his hand, the orchid ring on his finger suddenly jumped up and also raised its forearm pointing at Tie Ci.

That wasn’t a ring but an orchid mantis, shaped like an orchid, staying on Great Uncle’s finger pretending to be a ring.

Tie Ci obediently went downstairs, not forgetting to carry A’Chong.

The next moment, bedding was thrown out, and the entire bed was smashed out, turning to wood chips in mid-air and scattering into the rice fields.

Continuously, many implements were smashed out until the wooden building was empty except for a painting desk.

It seemed this move had quite thoroughly disgusted him.

A’Chong stared dumbfounded and quietly asked her, “What method did you use to force Great Uncle out?”