Chapter 1002: Chapter 1002
The three of them were filled with excitement, and they walked forward along the cave, wanting to see what was inside.
The cave was quite deep, and combined with the darkness inside, it took the three of them a full ten minutes to walk over two hundred meters. Along the way, they saw some fragments of clothing, which were clearly from the Fire Sang girl's previous garments.
This situation left Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu unsure whether to feel excited or worried. The appearance of the Gu Mother was closely tied to the Fire Sang girl. If the Gu Mother was not the Fire Sang girl, then the Fire Sang girl might have already met a dire fate!
Finally, the three of them reached the end of the cave, but there was no one there. At the end of the cave, there was only a deep pit on the ground, and looking down, the bottom was not visible, as if it led straight to the underground. Scattered around the edge of the pit were clothes, clearly those the Fire Sang girl had worn. The clothes had bloodstains on them, making the situation seem even more worrisome.
Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu immediately turned to look at Mu Chen, who himself frowned as he looked at the deep pit, speaking in a low voice: "What's going on?"
"The Fire Sang girl should be here, where did she go?" Huangfu Ziyu looked at the pit and said quietly: "Could she… could she have accidentally fallen in?"
"If she really fell in, would she need to take off her clothes first?" Mu Chen shook his head and said, "There's something odd about this situation!"
"What exactly is down there?" Ye Qing asked, "Why don't we find a rope and go down to take a look?"
"Absolutely not!" Mu Chen quickly shook his head, saying in a low voice, "Below this pit is where the Supreme Gu Mother's Holy Body lies. The Golden Silkworm Gu are also buried here with the Gu Mother's Sacred Body. No one knows how deep it goes. But once someone goes down, there's no way they can come out alive!"
"Why?" Ye Qing asked curiously, "Didn't you say the Golden Silkworm Gu are no longer there? What danger could still be inside?"
"The Golden Silkworm Gu may not be there anymore, but over the years, their bodies likely turned to ashes. And these ashes are deadly to humans. If anyone goes down and gets contaminated by the ashes of the Golden Silkworm Gu, they will die without a doubt!" Mu Chen said solemnly, "There have been times when people experienced such situations. The Gu Mother's Sacred Body does not tolerate intrusion. Even in death, the Golden Silkworm Gu's bodies can protect the Gu Mother's Sacred Body; no one can approach!"
Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu exchanged a glance, reluctantly saying, "The Fire Sang girl might be in there; are we really going to leave her alone?"
"If she's really down there, there's absolutely no hope of her surviving now. Going after her won't change the outcome, and you would also be risking your own lives. It's not worth it. If she isn't in there, she might still be alive, and you might have a chance to see her after you leave!" Mu Chen paused before continuing solemnly, "The most critical thing now is that the Gu Mother has appeared in the Miao Borderlands again. You two, I advise you to leave the Miao Borderlands quickly!"
"Why?" Huangfu Ziyu asked curiously.
Mu Chen sighed and said, "Before the emergence of the Gu Mother, the Seventy-Two Dong in the Miao Borderlands governed themselves, not obeying each other, and no one could lead the entire Miao Borderlands. At that time, the Seventy-Two Dong were too busy fighting amongst themselves to have time for conflict with the Han people. But now that a Gu Mother has appeared, the entire Miao Borderlands will be ruled by one person. The attitude the Gu Mother will take, how she will treat the Han people, is unknown. If the Gu Mother is also hostile towards the Han people, it will be even more troublesome, and the Miao-Han conflict will start again. You two are Han after all, and staying in the Miao Borderlands, leaving might become very difficult for you!"
Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu exchanged glances, realizing that Mu Chen's words were crucial. Indeed, if all the people from the Seventy-Two Dong in the Miao Borderlands came to attack them, then even with Ye Qing's great abilities, leaving the Miao Borderlands alive would be impossible.
Ye Qing said, "But we still haven't found the Fire Sang girl, what about her?"
"I'll take care of that for you!" Mu Chen said, "If she's alive, I can find her, and I can take her to Zhenmu Dong where she can live without being bullied again. If she's not here, then…"
Mu Chen did not continue, but the implication was clear. If the Fire Sang girl was no longer alive, there was nothing more to be said.
Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu sighed heavily, both weighed down with heavy hearts. They initially thought the Fire Sang girl might be the Gu Mother, but now it seemed unlikely. The Fire Sang girl might truly have died in the depths of that pit, alongside the Gu Mother's Sacred Body.
"Enough, don't waste any more time!" Mu Chen said solemnly, "Today is the day of the Ten Thousand Gu Festival. If the Gu Mother is revealed, she will become the leader of the entire Seventy-Two Dong in the Miao Borderlands today. You must leave quickly; otherwise, once the Gu Mother targets the Han people, leaving will be impossible!"
Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu nodded, turned, and looked at the deep pit, sighing longingly. Huangfu Ziyu picked up the Fire Sang girl's clothes, turned with Ye Qing, and followed Mu Chen out of the Gu Storage Cave.
As they descended the back mountain, the Ten Thousand Gu Festival had already begun. The square in front of Zhenmu Palace was now a sea of people, lively and bustling. The Ten Thousand Gu Festival is the largest festival in the Miao Borderlands and it has always been extravagantly lively.
As Mu Chen led Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu near the Zhenmu Palace, they saw a Miao person running excitedly toward them from afar, shouting as he ran, "The Gu Mother has appeared! The Gu Mother has appeared! The Miao Borderlands finally have a Gu Mother again!"
The Miao man was full of tears, but it was all due to excitement. The excitement made him look almost frenzied, revealing the Miao man's yearning and reverence for the Gu Mother.
"The Gu Mother has appeared!?" Mu Chen was also overjoyed, quickly holding onto the Miao man and eagerly asked, "The Gu Mother... where is the Gu Mother?"
"Right over there, look!" The Miao man pointed casually.
Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu looked over simultaneously, and on a high platform in the distance, two people were standing prominently. One was Huo Ying, and the other was Zhou Yuliang.
Seeing these two, Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu's expressions both changed, and Mu Chen also frowned slightly, speaking in a deep voice, "Why is it her?"
Mu Chen had seen Huo Ying before and was familiar with her personality. If this person were the Gu Mother, it was uncertain whether that would be good or bad for the Miao Borderlands.
"The one beside her is Zhou Yuliang..." Ye Qing said in a deep voice, "Ning Qianshu's disciple!"
Upon hearing this, Mu Chen's expression changed drastically. He knew Huo Ying's character and Ning Qianshu's temper even better. Now, with Huo Ying and Ning Qianshu's disciple standing together, and Huo Ying being the new Gu Mother, things were even more complicated.
After a moment of silence, Mu Chen suddenly turned and spoke in a deep voice, "Let's go!"
Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu also sensed something amiss and quickly followed Mu Chen into the Zhenmu Palace. Fortunately, all the people outside were celebrating the Gu Mother's appearance, and no one noticed Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu. As for Huo Ying and Zhou Yuliang in the distance, they were being worshipped by a group of Miao people and had no time to deal with Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu.
Mu Chen led Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu straight to the end of the Zhenmu Palace. Due to the Gu Mother's appearance, everyone inside the palace had gone outside to worship, leaving the palace empty.
At the end of the palace were two large doors. Mu Chen walked over, knocked on the doors a few times, and triggered a mechanism, causing the doors to slowly open and reveal a spacious room.
The room was filled with neatly arranged items, some of which were quite valuable. This seemed to be the place where treasures were kept in the Zhenmu Palace.
Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu followed Mu Chen in, both surprised, wondering why Mu Chen brought them here at this time.
Mu Chen did not speak, instead walking to the end of the Treasure Room and opening a hidden compartment to retrieve a wooden bead the size of a lychee. The bead emitted a faint fragrance, quite pleasant, though its composition was unknown.
"For you!" Mu Chen directly handed the wooden bead to Huangfu Ziyu, saying in a deep voice, "This is the sacred object of Zhenmu Dong, called Mu Ling, capable of cleansing all poisons under heaven. It's very miraculous."
"Why... why give it to me?" Huangfu Ziyu asked in surprise.
Mu Chen didn't answer, but instead walked to another side and opened another hidden compartment to take out a heavy box. The box was about one and a third yards long, almost double the height of an average person, its contents unknown.
"This is for you!" Mu Chen handed the wooden box to Ye Qing and said solemnly, "This was entrusted to me by Senior Shen to keep safe. Please deliver it to Senior Shen and tell him that Ning Qianshu has extended his reach into the Miao Borderlands, and it can't safeguard this item anymore. The grace Senior Shen has shown me can probably only be repaid in the next life!"
Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu exchanged a glance, hearing Mu Chen's words, and sensed the implication of a farewell.
Ye Qing asked quietly, "Wood Stretching Gu Master, do you have a feud with Ning Qianshu?"
"Someone like Ning Qianshu, how could he have any enmity with me? It is only his senior disciple that I have a grudge with!" Mu Chen gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, "It is due to Ning Qianshu's senior disciple that I harbor extreme hatred towards the Han people. If you weren't followers of Senior Shen, I would surely have killed you with my own hands!"
Ye Qing recalled what Huo Lie had said before, that Mu Chen was the most hateful towards Han people in the entire Miao Borderlands. To think it was true was surprising, and it was unknown what Ning Qianshu's senior disciple had done to instigate such hatred in Mu Chen. However, now that Ning Qianshu's second disciple was close to Gu Mother Huo Ying, Ning Qianshu's people would surely not let past grudges go unpunished. If the Gu Mother wanted to kill Mu Chen, it would be a simple task, and indeed, Mu Chen couldn't keep these two items safe!