He Lan Tianxia

The woman suddenly pointed to the gap where Murong Junlan had fallen and said, "How about we go out from there?"

Murong Junlan immediately objected, "No way. There's a Mercury River up there."

"A Mercury River?" the woman exclaimed excitedly. "There's such a river in the world? I have to see it!" Before she could finish speaking, the woman jumped towards the hole.

Murong Junlan lunged forward, disregarding the proper etiquette between men and women, grabbing the woman's hand and pulling her back. "My goodness," he cried, "that Gong River is enough to turn people to dust!" He tried to stop her, saying, "Absolutely not! Going up there will mean certain death!"

The woman looked at Murong Junlan like an idiot, her face full of disdain: "Mercury, I've studied chemistry."

Murong Junlan: "...What is chemistry?"

The woman grew impatient and abruptly shook off Murong Junlan's hand: "Ignorance is truly terrifying. Get out of my way!"

Murong Junlan immediately blocked his way: "I cannot let you go and die."

The woman grew even more impatient: "I know more about the toxicity of mercury than you do, move aside." Her curiosity to see the mercury river only intensified, and she suddenly plopped back down on the stool. "Fine, I won't go, but you have to find me some water to drink."

As soon as Murong Junlan turned around, the woman leaped onto the cave entrance. Since consuming the Crimson Spirit Pearl, her power had increased considerably, and her movements had become much more agile. Murong Junlan realized he'd been tricked and turned to follow her.

A silver river flowed before them, with hidden surges and eerie whirlpools, a sense of mystery and oppression lurking beneath. The woman exclaimed excitedly, "How magnificent! Is this the treasure hidden in the Earth's core?" She reached out to touch the mercury at her feet. Murong Junlan blocked her hand, but what followed terrified him. He scooped up the resisting woman and jumped down.

The mercury in the mercury stream was being sucked into the woman's body at a visible speed, a truly horrifying scene.

Drug use? Murong Junlan, disregarding propriety, slapped the woman's body repeatedly, but it was no use; she inhaled it all. Murong Junlan quickly checked the woman's face but found no signs of poisoning.

The woman slapped him across the face; she utterly despised this troublesome fellow. Did he even know that underground mercury was something only found in the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum? The discovery of an underground mercury river here would be a major discovery for archaeology, geography, physics, chemistry, and technology—such a river could rewrite human history in a matter of minutes.

The woman flung her hand away and tried to go up again. This time, Murong Junlan held on tightly, not daring to let go. He felt he had to leave this extremely dangerous place immediately. The woman was also indignant at Murong Junlan's obstruction. It seemed this guy deserved a beating for ruining her plans. The woman glared at him, and her hands moved to strike; she was going to have a good fight.

And so a fight broke out. From hand-to-hand combat to grappling with thin ropes, the two fought fiercely. Poor Murong Dubai, who had fainted on the ground, was in constant danger of being struck by the falling ropes.

Finally, exhausted from beating her, Murong Junlan took advantage of the woman's momentary lapse in attention and swiftly pressed several pressure points, putting her to sleep. Why did he wait until now to press her pressure points? He felt she needed to vent, and once she had vented enough, she would naturally release her pent-up emotions. He settled the woman on the stool, then nudged Murong Dubai. Seeing no reaction, he went to troubleshoot the opening in the mercury hole above. He needed to find a way to plug it up, otherwise, there would be endless trouble. Since there was a mechanism to open it, there must also be a mechanism to close it. Murong Junlan began frantically fiddling with the opening.

Half a day had passed, and there was still no progress on opening the door or sealing the hole. At this rate, the three of them would likely perish here sooner or later. Murong Junlan's gaze fell on Murong Dubai again. The one who tied the knot must untie it; these two tasks could only be entrusted to this guy.

Murong Junlan walked over and patted Murong Dubai twice. Seeing no sign of waking up, he reached out and took his pulse. Only then did Murong Junlan realize that the guy in front of him looked somewhat like himself. As for the incoherent words he was spouting, Murong Junlan didn't want to delve into them.

Blood? Murong Junlan noticed blood at the corner of Murong Dubai's mouth. He wiped it with his hand, then smelled it. Poisoning? So that's why he'd been so inactive for so long—he was poisoned. His breathing was weak. Murong Junlan quickly sealed Murong Dubai's Ren and Du meridians, then flicked out two pills and placed them in Murong Dubai's mouth.

All he could do now was wait—wait for the one who had slept enough to wake up, wait for the one who had fainted to wake up. Time dragged on, and only now did Murong Junlan have a chance to calmly think things through. Wait, were they the only two people in this cave before he fell? What were they doing here? And why were they keeping the doors and windows closed? The more Murong Junlan thought about it, the more agitated he became. He even foolishly walked up to the woman and stared at her face for a long time, looking for any signs of being kissed. However, he guessed there probably weren't any. Why? Murong Dubai had blood at the corner of his mouth, but the woman's face was bloodless. To confirm his suspicions, he even sniffed the woman's face twice, but he couldn't smell the traces of blood on Murong Dubai's lips. His heart suddenly calmed down.

Suddenly, he wondered what business it was of his. He didn't even know this woman. The only strange thing was that the thin rope she wore was the same as his own. He couldn't understand the reasoning behind it, and he didn't want to think about it anymore. Thinking about it gave him a headache. Oh well, he'd just take a nap while the two of them were asleep. Not knowing where to sit, he sat down next to the woman on the stool.

Jiang He waited and waited but Murong Junlan didn't return. Jiang He felt that something had happened to the prince. He wanted to leave, but there was no one to take care of Luo Xie and Ling Yi. There was also a pageboy there. What could he do? The old pine tree spirit had been to the wine cellar and asked him to go check. The old pine tree spirit happily ran off after receiving the task.

They hadn't seen Prince Murong along the way, nor in the wine cellar. Where had the prince gone? The old pine spirit searched every hole imaginable but couldn't find him. Not daring to delay, he huffed and puffed as he ran back to report to Jiang He. Jiang He was anxious. He had to find Prince Murong now. What about Luo Xie and Ling Yi? Jiang He suddenly thought of the dwarves. Although he didn't know much about them, he had no choice but to trust them when all else failed.

After settling Luo Xie and Ling Yi in, Jiang He and the old pine tree spirit returned to the inn to search for the wine cellar. Having found it, Jiang He instructed the old pine tree spirit to take several jars of wine back to the dwarf at the strange tree so Luo Xie and Ling Yi could drink first, while he stayed in the cave to search for Prince Murong. He had already visited one cave leading to the wine cellar, and another leading to a dark, sunless place, which he planned to visit later. There was another cave that seemed a bit mysterious; after a short distance, a large stone slab blocked the way, preventing entry. Jiang He also noticed that this cave felt different from the others, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he felt something was amiss with that large stone slab.

Jiang He moved a large rock from outside, picked it up, and smashed it onto the stone slab. "Boom!" The rock bounced back. He repeated this several times, and the rock bounced back again. This went on for ages, to no avail. Jiang He shouted inside, but there was no response. Completely at a loss, Jiang He leaned against the cave wall in frustration, lost in thought. Just then, the old pine tree spirit, having finished delivering the wine, returned. Seeing the helpless Jiang He, it approached him.

"Brother Guard Jiang, may I go in and take a look?"

"You can go in?" Jiang He was excited.

Before Jiang He could ask how to get in, the old pine tree spirit transformed into a tree, or more precisely, into several tree roots. The roots stretched and contracted, forcing their way through the stone gate.

No one was there. The old pine tree spirit was about to raise its head to speak when it saw the words "Dreamlike Twin Shadows" carved by Murong Junlan on the cave wall. So it squeezed out again and told Jiang He everything it had seen inside.

"That's right, Prince Murong is trapped inside," Jiang He asserted. But there's nothing inside. Where did the prince go?

"Go and search this place thoroughly, even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, you must find the prince."

The old pine tree spirit accepted this sacred task and proudly and arrogantly went into the cave.

Without a doubt, the old pine tree spirit fell into the Mercury River, but unlike Murong Junlan, it couldn't leap its roots to the shore. However, a strange gust of wind swirled it back into the whirlpool. With a gurgling "thump," the old pine tree spirit also fell into the cave where Murong Junlan and the others were.

"Your Highness." The old pine tree spirit excitedly walked over—no, it should be said that it rolled over—and woke up Murong Junlan, who was taking a nap.

"Old man, what brings you here?" Murong Junlan's eyes flashed with surprise.

"Your Highness, I've come to rescue you!" the old pine tree spirit said excitedly.

Murong Junlan reached out and patted the old pine tree spirit's head, forcing a smile: "I know, you should leave quickly, otherwise when Young Master Bai wakes up, I won't be able to protect you in a fight."

The old pine tree spirit grew anxious and patted its chest, assuring everyone, "Your Highness, I have a way to get you and the Princess out of here."

Murong Junlan was displeased. He had no patience to waste words on this overconfident fellow, so he simply closed his eyes and said, "I'm going to sleep for a while."

Seeing that Murong Junlan didn't believe it, the old pine tree spirit didn't persist and went to crawl through the door on its own.

The stone gate was very solid, and it couldn't squeeze through no matter how many times it tried. The old pine tree spirit was puzzled, thinking that there was no hole it couldn't squeeze through, only holes it didn't want to squeeze into. It carefully searched around the stone gate for weaknesses, but after searching for most of the day, it was all in vain.

Jiang He was frantic outside, like a cat on a hot tin roof. He pounded on the stone cave door, but there was no response. Suddenly, Jiang He remembered someone—his pageboy should know the situation here. So he turned around and went out to find his pageboy.

Where is he? Jiang He searched everywhere but couldn't find the pageboy.

Clang. The sound of a wine jug being thrown came from the winery's front desk. Jiang He darted into the shadows, stood there for a moment, and seeing no movement, he tiptoed forward again. Through a crack around the corner, he saw the pageboy kneeling on the ground, strangely, there was no one in front of him.

What's going on? Jiang He immediately held his breath. Having been in the world for so long, Jiang He was a man who had seen it all, but even he got goosebumps at this moment.

Jiang He quickly approached the pageboy and gently patted his shoulder. The pageboy suddenly collapsed to the ground with a "thud." Before Jiang He could even get a good look, a wine jar shattered outside the door with a "crash." Then, the gorilla wobbled over and leaned against a large wooden stake outside the door, staring blankly at Jiang He.

So that's it. Jiang He chuckled. He quickly moved in front of the gorilla, about to speak, when the creature suddenly hooked its arms around him and unleashed a drunken monkey punch. Jiang He dodged and shouted:

"The prince has fallen into a hole, do you have a solution?"

The gorilla's punch stopped just inches away. It stared at Jiang He for a long time, seemingly understanding his meaning. Then, it uncontrollably shook its head twice, stumbled and tumbled twice on the spot, and finally uttered two words from its long mouth.

"idiot."

Upon hearing this, Jiang He became furious and kicked out.

The gorilla ignored him, so Jiang He had no choice but to put aside his displeasure for the time being and lead the gorilla to the cave.

The guy looked around the cave, pushed it up and down, then suddenly turned around, grabbed the unsuspecting Jiang He, and threw him towards the stone door.

"You idiot, what kind of lunatic are you spouting? Why are you throwing this at me?" Jiang He stumbled, about to fall flat on his face, when the monkey suddenly stretched out a leg. Jiang He grabbed it, spun 180 degrees, and swung a backhand strike straight at the monkey's face. The gorilla blocked the attack, then grabbed Jiang He's collar with its other hand and twisted him 360 degrees. Jiang He reacted quickly; he pulled the gorilla and spun it 360 degrees as well, then used the force to twist and push, throwing the gorilla against the stone door.

Jiang He roared at the monkey, "You wretched monkey, why are you yelling at me? If you're so tough, go find the prince!"

The gorilla, having hurt its rear end, was about to lash out when it suddenly heard a loud noise outside. The gorilla abandoned Jiang He and fled, disappearing in a flash into another hole.

At this moment, Jiang He also sensed a dangerous aura. He guessed who had come and decided to take a gamble.

"Senior, Prince Murong has fallen into the cave. Could you please open this cave door?"

The white-haired woman lowered her head and remained silent. After standing there for a while, she gave Jiang He a cold look, then turned and walked away expressionlessly.

Order her around? Hmph, you're not qualified. She came to settle scores with that rascal, and the white-haired woman retreated several meters in a flash.

"I thought you were something special, but it turns out you're nothing special..." Jiang He spoke up at the risk of his life. Sure enough, before he could finish speaking, the white-haired woman grabbed his neck.

The white-haired woman said menacingly, "I'll make you die a horrible death." As she spoke, she tightened her grip, pinching Jiang He until he breathed his last.

"My life is as fragile as a zither string. What honor would it be for you, senior, to kill Jiang He?" Jiang He stared at the white-haired woman without any fear in his eyes.

"Then I'll let you die in peace today." The white-haired woman pushed Jiang He away with one hand, and with a powerful circular motion of her hands, she unleashed a vicious, annihilating cold palm strike straight at the stone cave door. With a "thud," the stone door only made a muffled sound and remained completely still.

The white-haired woman was enraged. She unleashed ten consecutive palm strikes of the Annihilation Cold Yin Palm, but they all vanished without a trace. The white-haired woman was thoroughly provoked, especially in front of Jiang He, where she seemed even more mocking. She twirled her hands back and forth in a Bagua-like motion, then suddenly thrust them out.

"Boom." It seems there's some progress. Another fierce attack, but apart from the louder "boom boom boom boom" sounds, nothing is moved. At this moment, the white-haired woman's eyes are filled with a fire, a fire that could freeze the stone gate in an instant.

"Crack." The stone door was frozen solid.

Jiang He panicked. What was going on? Not only could she not open it, but it was also frozen solid? Was this woman crazy? What angered Jiang He even more was that the white-haired woman turned and ran away.