Chapter 416: Chapter 382: Exotic Beast "Qilin
"Mr. Lin, this little thing..."
"Don’t touch it," Lin Miao reminded, for usually when beasts are eating, they are quite protective of their food.
Even though it is just a small leopard cub, and unsure if it has been weaned, its alertness is still strong.
Just as expected, as soon as Baili Yuyao reached out her hand, the leopard cub bared its teeth and made a protective noise toward her.
"Let’s rest for a bit, then we’ll go up," Lin Miao also took out some dry food, sharing it with Mu Yun and Baili Yuyao.
The three of them ate their dry food and drank some water.
After the cub finished eating the beef, it noticed the water in their flasks, and its little eyes were fixed on it, clearly wanting to drink.
Lin Miao found a stone pit, blew away the sand inside, poured some water in, and indicated for the cub to drink by itself.
The little leopard was quite clever, understanding immediately, and trotted over with its four little short legs, crouching by the pit’s edge to drink happily.
"Little guy, once you finish drinking, go home," Lin Miao chuckled, though it was a different beast, the little thing posed no threat to him, and he harbored no inappropriate thoughts.
Even though taking this little leopard cub out might sell for a high price, he wasn’t that kind of person.
"Young Master, are you not planning to take it away?" Mu Yun said in surprise, for Lin Miao had no intention of capturing the cub.
"Why would I take it away? It’s living well with its mother, even if it’s a beast, it has the right to survive, and it hasn’t harmed anyone," Lin Miao said.
Mu Yun nodded in agreement.
Baili Yuyao was also happy in her heart; indeed, her mother’s judgment was better than hers, choosing such a kind-hearted man.
Just as the three of them were about to leave, Lin Miao thought for a moment, then turned back to place a piece of sauced beef next to the cub.
He hoped that this little thing would grow up healthy.
There was no path from the cave entrance up to the large crevice; this time, it was up to Lin Miao, an expert in the Meridian Passage Realm, to explore the way forward. His cultivation was the highest, and his lightweight skill was the best.
This kind of rock climbing task, he had done a lot when collecting herbs with his master before, and it had become almost instinctual.
Moreover, he had mastered some more advanced rock climbing techniques.
The large crevice was about thirty to forty meters above the cave entrance. The longest ropes they carried were only thirty meters, so they could only find a foothold halfway to lift the two women up one by one, then continue upwards.
This method required a lot of time and effort.
After nearly the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the three finally reached the crevice.
The crevice was very narrow, even at the widest point, accommodating only one person sideways, and they had to be careful where they stepped. If they fell and got stuck, it would be troublesome.
Not knowing what was inside, Lin Miao let the two women wait outside as he squeezed inside sideways himself, progressing about twenty to thirty meters until no light could be seen.
But he was no ordinary person, naturally able to see in the dark, albeit with some limitations, but far better than seeing nothing at all.
"Come in, but be careful, step where I stepped!"
"Alright."
Mu Yun entered first, followed by Baili Yuyao. The women’s figures were slimmer, making it relatively easier for them.
Lin Miao lit a specially designed small lamp so that the two women behind could see him and illuminate the way forward since not everyone could see in the dark.
The crevice led downward, and though the bottom couldn’t yet be seen, the wind blowing from below could be heard, indicating a passage.
Descending little by little until the entrance above was out of sight.
The wind below grew louder, sounding like ghostly howls, rustling their clothes fiercely.
The further down they went, the larger the crevice became, providing much more space to move.
They could now secure themselves on the rock wall with iron nails and descend along it, increasing their speed. After descending roughly three to four hundred meters by estimation.
They found firm footing and could hear the sound of flowing water.
They were presumably inside the mountain’s belly, and this water sound should be the subterranean river within the mountain, needing to conserve fuel.
When the three moved together, only one lamp was lit. Lin Miao extinguished his small lamp, and Mu Yun lit hers instead.
Before long, they came upon a stream, and based on its flow direction, they were sure of the path, for Mu Yun’s ancestors had been here before.
She took out the journal left by Mr. Wuhen, on which a series of symbols were recorded. It was evidently a type of cryptic writing, understandable only by his descendants.
"The ancestor mentioned in the journal that he followed the direction of the water flow to leave, and he left a mark at the place of exit, stacking three stones into a ’pin’ shape. Mr. Lin, Miss Yuyao, please have a look."
"Alright." Lin Miao and Baili Yuyao nodded, both wrapped in rope. It’s too dark here; if they got lost, they might truly never be found.
"Mr. Lin, Mu Yun, come and have a look, is it this?" Baili Yuyao suddenly called out.
Lin Miao and Mu Yun quickly went over, indeed they saw three stones stacked on the creek bank, forming a ’pin’ shape.
"This should be the mark left by the ancestor. Every hundred steps, he would leave a similar mark, to avoid taking the wrong path."
"Having a mark is good. It saves us from exploring." Baili Yuyao said.
"Mu Yun, does your ancestor mention what kind of mysterious creature guards the Celestial Essence Fruit below?" Lin Miao asked curiously.
"I don’t know. The ancestor once drew the creature from memory and asked several people, but none recognized it. However, to him, this creature was auspicious, so the ancestor named it ’Auspicious Beast.’
"Is there a picture?"
"Yes." Mu Yun handed over Mr. Wuhen’s journal.
Under the small lamp, Lin Miao glanced at it. Although Mr. Wuhen’s drawing skills weren’t great, he essentially sketched the shape of the ’Auspicious Beast,’ resembling the mythical beast Qilin from childhood stories.
He hadn’t heard of the Qilin in this world; if it truly is a Qilin, might there be some connection between this world and Earth?
Regardless of whether it is or not, it’s best to wait until they see it before speculating. Discussing this now is premature.
Indeed, Mr. Wuhen had left marks all along, and the three of them followed the underground river. At first, they counted the hundred steps, but eventually, they simply followed the marks.
They could still roughly estimate the time passed.
"Why do I feel a bit hot...?"
"Me too."
"So hot..." Both girls felt the temperature rising. Lin Miao also noticed the abnormal warmth and faintly smelled a pungent odor in the air, the scent of sulfur fumes.
"This is alchemy poison. Everyone be careful, cover your mouth and nose, don’t inhale too much." Mu Yun recalled that Mr. Wuhen had mentioned this in the journal and quickly warned everyone.
Alchemy poison?
Sulfur burning produces sulfur dioxide, which in this world is considered alchemy poison—makes sense. Alchemy does indeed produce sulfur dioxide, which is toxic.
Chinese medicine practitioners educated under the nine-year compulsory education system still understand some chemistry, not forgetting everything after graduation.
Does the Celestial Essence Fruit grow in an extremely hot place?
It was getting hotter, prompting Lin Miao to advise the girls to try to close their skin pores to retain internal moisture. Of course, given their cultivation level, achieving this fully would be difficult, so hydration was necessary every now and then.
If they hadn’t filled their water bottles on their way down, they wouldn’t have been able to withstand the escalating temperatures.
"The ancestor mentioned in the journal that he saw the mysterious beast by a river of lava. At that time, the beast seemed injured, and the ancestor happened to have healing medicine, so he used it on the beast, which then took him to where the Celestial Essence Fruit tree grew, not far from the lava river..."
"Wait a moment, it was injured, but by what?" Lin Miao asked. Could there be another mysterious creature underground? Otherwise, how did Mr. Wuhen encounter an injured beast?
Mu Yun shook his head and said, "I don’t know. The ancestor’s journal didn’t record these details."
"Seems like there are dangers we know nothing about. We must be cautious. It’s alright if we don’t get the fruit, but we can’t risk our lives here. It’s not worth it!" Lin Miao said. It would be nice to have the Celestial Essence Fruit, but it’s fine if they don’t get it. He never planned to rely on external objects to level up to Celestial Essence.
Obtaining a Celestial Essence Fruit could shorten Si Miaoxue’s time to level up, which is why he agreed with Baili Yuyao to take this risk.
The sulfur smell grew stronger, and the mask was no longer effective. Thankfully, Lin Miao had prepared simple gas masks in advance. He could produce activated carbon, making a few gas masks was easy, especially when venturing into a perilous place like the Enchanted Valley; being thorough with preparations was essential.
They even prepared three sheep bladders, which could store air or be inflated as life-saving devices. If exhausted in water, they could serve as rescue tools and store essential items, being waterproof!
Multi-functional.
After putting on the simple gas masks, they only sensed a slight sulfur smell, and the hot air was more bearable after filtering and cooling through the masks.
Baili Yuyao and Mu Yun were both amazed inside. Lin Miao’s ability to create such miraculous items broadened their horizons. No wonder Miaoxue and others knew he had a fiancée and childhood sweetheart yet still yearned to stay by his side, desiring a lifelong companionship, and remembering last night’s joyous moments, uninhibited without outsiders around...
Unfathomably, the one shouting the loudest turned out to be herself.
What am I thinking? Baili Yuyao blushed with embarrassment; they were handling important matters here.
With Mr. Wuhen’s journal, the journey went smoothly. Soon, they arrived at the place where Mr. Wuhen met the mysterious beast, the ’Qilin.’
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