Chapter 1847: Chapter 1835: The Eerie Valley

Wang Yongzhu felt more at ease after sorting things out in her mind and let out a slight sigh of relief. She then heard some commotion from the two guards left in the cave.

Upon walking over to take a look, she found out that the two guards had discovered traces of activity.

If not unexpectedly, it should be leftovers from Qin Laowu, with signs of a fire pit and bones from the prey he had eaten, along with other remnants of living. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

However, given the moisture in the cave, those ashes had gotten completely soaked, making it impossible to determine when exactly they were left.

Nonetheless, there were no traces of blood nearby, nor any signs of struggle or fighting, suggesting that at least in this cave, Qin Laowu did not run into any trouble.

At this moment, looking outside, the sky was beginning to darken. Wang Yongzhu made a decisive call, telling the person who was relaying messages outside to return quickly. Otherwise, when night falls, the wild beasts outside, which seemed okay during the day, would be unpredictable. Previously, they had spotted traces of hunting by the riverside.

One guard took the order and left the cave, a whistle echoed through the valley, and shortly after, the guards who had been searching nearby returned.

Everyone shared what they had seen, only spotting human footprints nearby, which extended to the riverbank but no further.

If any mishap had occurred, there should have been remnants of Qin Laowu’s clothing or accessories, such as shoelaces.

But there were none, at least proving that Qin Laowu hadn’t been harmed by the wild beasts.

Just as they were speaking, they heard a soft splash from the other side of the dark river, as if something had emerged from the water.

The group couldn’t spare a word before rushing to the dark riverbank, where they saw a wet figure climbing out of the river, plopping down breathlessly while squeezing the water from his clothes. After a while, he muttered, "This is unusually bizarre! Just separated by a mountain, this side is cold as an ice cellar, while the other side is so warm..."

The familiar voice left no doubt; it was Qin Laowu.

He also sensed something unusual, and alertly looked up, seeing familiar faces cracking a wide grin, "You all came? Ah, finally someone to accompany the old me! Stuck here alone these days, it’s been driving me crazy, I damn—ah, Madam—"

Qin Laowu focused his eyes on the group beyond his brothers, wasn’t that Madam?

All the remaining words jammed in his throat instantly, hurriedly slapped his cheek gently, and advanced reluctantly, "Qin Laowu greets Madam!"

Wang Yongzhu nodded, "Are you alright?"

Qin Laowu quickly gestured dismissively, "No problem! I’m full of vigor! Everything tastes delicious—"

He was hushed by a kick from the person beside him.

"You just came over from the other side? What’s the situation there?" Wang Yongzhu pretended not to notice, asking.

Qin Laowu promptly detailed his findings.

Originally, he stayed behind to keep watch, didn’t feel much at first, but in the last few days, discovered the snow outside melted a bit too fast. This cave, initially cold and dry, had become humid and filled with water droplets everywhere in the past few days; even lighting a campfire barely dispelled the cold moisture.

He went to the dark river daily, couldn’t resist any longer, thus dove and swam over to observe the valley conditions, finding the temperature there rose higher day by day.

This side remained in mid-winter, while the other side had become like early spring in March, with flowers blooming, trees flourishing, and the grasses on the ground growing wildly.

But, weirdly enough, in such an environment, not a single animal was found, not even insects or ants.

Though the valley appeared beautiful, it felt unreal, lacking vitality.

Especially that river water, very clear, yet not a single fish was visible.

If Qin Laowu were eloquent, he’d likely say, "Beautiful indeed, but soulless."

Moreover, Qin Laowu also noticed, despite the wild beasts coming to drink by the river, no animal approached this cave.

At first, he remained cautious, not daring to sleep at night, but after a few days discovered that even if he stood at the cave entrance, the wild beasts acted as though they didn’t see him.

However, if he ventured ten meters outside, the wild beasts became restless.

So for safety’s sake, unless necessary, he rarely left the cave, worrying about the dark river water as it flowed from the valley. As such, he got snow water from outside to boil for use within the cave.

Occasionally he hunted some small animals for a bite, keeping himself safe for the time being.

But this side was too cold, each day he’d dive over to the valley both to observe and because it was more comfortable there, he didn’t feel cold sleeping by the riverbank at night.

However, every day he still returned here, not daring to eat or drink anything from the valley.

After hearing Qin Laowu’s account, everyone looked at Wang Yongzhu.

Wang Yongzhu pondered for a moment, instructing everyone to prepare dinner, eat before diving over to explore the valley.

The guards tested a bit, indeed, even if they lingered at the cave entrance or by the riverbank, could see packs of wolves, but these wolves ignored them.

As long as they ventured beyond ten meters, the wolves seemed about ready to attack.

A few people only briefly tested before getting dinner ready, eating a bit haphazardly, shedding their heavy coats, leaving behind two with average swimming skills to guard.

The others jumped into the dark river, took a deep breath, and submerged themselves into the water.

Wang Yongzhu naturally was skilled in diving, and though this plane lacked diving equipment or oxygen tanks, had local methods.

They carried two large goatskin bags, half-filled with air to allow those less adept at holding breath to stick their heads in midway to refresh their breath.

They originally intended to prepare one exclusively for Wang Yongzhu, but she waved it off, not needing it.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Wang Yongzhu flitted into the water as lightly as a fish, creating barely a splash.

The other guards hurriedly followed suit like dumplings being tossed into the river.

Once submerged, Wang Yongzhu led the way, lightly kicking her feet, swimming out far ahead.

The few guards behind were flustered, quickly paddling to catch up.

Thankfully the underwater river channel wasn’t too long, approximately several dozen meters, for those adept at water, to hold their breath this far was quite challenging.

Even Qin Laowu could make it across, but upon reaching land needed a good while to catch his breath.

With the goatskin bags, everyone refreshed breath midway, making it much easier.

Only Wang Yongzhu didn’t need to refresh at all, directly swimming across, seeing ahead the light getting brighter, she exerted, swimming towards the brightness, then vigorously emerging from the water, gasping for air.

Once she managed to steady her breath, she finally had the time to observe the valley, indeed, just as Qin Laowu said, the valley was eerily beautiful.

Based on the hour, after dinner the sky should have already been dark, diving over took some time, supposedly it should have been entirely dark by now.

Yet the valley’s light, though not bright, was sufficient to discern the surroundings.

The guards following behind Wang Yongzhu surfaced one after another, stupefied by the sight.

Fortunately, Wang Yongzhu calmed quickly, calling for everyone to get ashore first.

Once ashore, soaked as they were, they remarkably didn’t feel too cold.

Ultimately, Qin Laowu adeptly led everyone to his previous settling spot by the riverbank, where there were dry firewoods, lighting a campfire, allowing everyone to dry their clothes.