Chapter 64: Trapped in Qing Hu

  Everyone stepped onto the ice and walked towards the solitary island in the middle of the lake, which was not very big.

  "Lao Yu, this island won't become something else again, will it?" Jin Gang Pao was frightened by the three yin energy from the dead water pool earlier and didn't dare to go ashore.

  "Have you ever seen an animal with a tree growing on its head or shell?" I stepped ashore, followed closely by Murong Chui and Bai Lang. The isolated island in the lake was not large, about 4 to 5 square kilometers in area, roughly rectangular in shape. Unlike common beaches, there were few sandy stones on the island, but many giant rocks. Several towering trees of unknown species stood along the shore, their leaves already fallen due to the cold weather.

  "Perhaps... Ah, my goodness." Just as King Kong Cannon was about to say something else, he suddenly felt a vibration on the ice surface, followed by the sound of cracking ice. King Kong Cannon let out a startled cry and jumped up. And what was originally a solid ice surface began to crack and melt gradually.

  "What the...?!" Jin Gang Cannon stared at the astonishing scene in front of him, the solid ice surface that was still passable just a moment ago had rapidly melted before our eyes, even affecting the entire lake surface. A moment later, all the ice blocks on the lake surface had melted clean, revealing blue-green water that was bottomless and deep.

  "It seems like we're trapped." I looked around at the deep and mysterious lake water, unable to understand for a moment why this strange phenomenon had occurred.

  "What's with the 'like'?" Jin Gang cannon picked up a large stone on the island and threw it into the lake, and it wasn't until after a long time that bubbles rose from the bottom of the lake. "Grass, it's so deep."

  We've been walking all the way, and the ice surface has been very solid. Why did the ice melt as soon as we stepped onto this island in the middle of the lake? It's unlikely that we accidentally triggered some kind of trap or mechanism, because we didn't touch anything we shouldn't have.

  "It's done, it's done. The weasel only bites the sick duck. Old Yu, look." Jin Gang cannon had his left hand pinching the observing qi technique, and his right hand pointing at the water surface not far in front of him.

  I narrowed my eyes, looked up and muttered "this is going to be bad." In the originally calm lake water, three green spiritual auras suddenly appeared, swimming rapidly in the water. Judging from the spiritual aura's shadow on the surface of the water, it seemed like some kind of large fish species.

  "Don't worry, the sky will not abandon people to a dead end, let's take a look around first." I comforted Jin Gang Pao while also comforting myself. The phrase "the sky will not abandon people to a dead end" is relative, and judging from our current situation, it's not certain whether we'll be abandoned or not.

  Jin Gang Cannon tightened his backpack and headed west along the shore, Murong Chui Feng didn't like me very much, so I jumped up to follow him, looking relaxed, a madman's worries were indeed much less than those of normal people.

  I withdrew my gaze and led the white wolf northward, attempting to traverse this small isolated island.

  Although it snowed heavily and was very windy the past few days, there is no accumulated snow on this isolated island. The thickly grown weeds have withered but not fallen over. I trampled through the weeds and strange rocks underfoot to climb up a hill on the small island. Looking around, I found that this small island is located in the center of the lake, about 4 or 5 miles away from the shore in all directions, and it's still endless to the south and north. Not to mention the unknown dangers underwater, even if there were no other factors, with such a long distance, we wouldn't be able to swim to the opposite shore without freezing to death, let alone bringing Mochou who doesn't know how to swim. Swimming is absolutely not an option.

  I sighed again and turned around to head back, when the sound of Jin Gang Pao's voice came from behind the island "Lao Yu, come quick and take a look, it seems like there are several broken houses here."

  "I'll be right there." I responded loudly, just about to get up and join him, when suddenly I noticed a flat stone monument protruding from the grass beside me. I walked over, squatted down, and brushed away the weeds around the monument with my hand, barely making out the two ancient hieroglyphics on top of it. The character above was one I could barely recognize, probably a "qing" (green/blue) character. The one below had a more complex structure, which I couldn't quite confirm, but judging from the wave pattern on the left side of the character, I guessed it might be a "hu" (lake) character.

  "Qing Hu?" My heart suddenly sank, this is indeed the Qing Hu where that senior from Jian Jiao was exiled!

  "Lao Yu, come quickly!" The voice of Jin Gang Pao came again, I stood up and ran to the back of the island with Bai Lang.

  The terrain is relatively flat in the shaded area of the island, and a few simple houses appeared vaguely on a withered grassland not far from the shore. Judging from the moss growing on its walls, I think it should be built with stones.

  "How can there be a house here?" Jin Gang Pao hastily asked as he saw me arrive.

  "How would I know? Go take a look." I said, rushing towards the stone house. Actually, I already had an answer in my heart, but didn't want to tell Jin Gang Pao and make him worried. If my guess was correct, this place should be where that senior of Jian Jiao Sect 'Jin Zhuo' was demoted, a place that could trap the personally taught disciple of Tong Tian Sect's leader, would naturally also be able to trap us.

  Unlike ordinary yang houses, the stone house on the island faces northwest, with two stone windows on either side. I observed carefully and found a faint aura on the right side of the stone house, but it didn't belong to any living thing. I called out to Jin Gang Cannon, and cautiously pushed open the stone door to enter the stone house.

  Inside the stone house, it is quite clean, except for a little dust accumulated over the years. The interior layout still maintains its original appearance. Inside the stone house, on a round stone table in the center, a set of tea utensils is placed, which I think should be copper-made, as the pot body has already produced verdigris. Below are four stone stools. Near the wall, there is a stone bed, but there is no quilt or bedding to keep warm. Opposite the bed, there is a stone table with hairdressing and makeup items on it, which looks like women's belongings. Except for this, there are no other redundant decorations or miscellaneous items.

  "Lao Yu, this seems like a woman's place." Jin Gang took a few steps forward and picked up a comb on the stone table to examine it.

  "It should be." I turned and rushed to the other side, whether it was a man or woman who lived here, I didn't care. What I cared about was whether this former demoted and exiled senior fellow practitioner had already escaped and ascended to heaven. If even she couldn't escape, then we few junior fellows would likely be in dire straits.

  As I walked into the room on the right side of the stone house, I was suddenly stunned. I didn't understand what 'Jin Zhuo' meant when I saw it on the sign at the entrance of the Wind Path, but now I do.

  I sat on the ground, shivering as I fumbled out a cigarette and lit it slowly. My mind went completely blank.

  "Lao Yu, what's wrong?" Jin Gang cannon put the jade stone comb in his hand back on the stone table, turned his head to see me with a different expression, and walked over.

  "Ah, is that a clam?" Jin Gang Pao walked past me from the side, took a look and then jumped out again. In our local dialect, all shellfish are referred to as 'clams'.

  I nodded expressionlessly. On the right side of the stone house, there was only a square stone desk and a stone chair. On the stone desk were placed inkstone, brush and other stationery, especially that emerald bamboo brush, although it had been years since the wolf hair had decayed, but still could see the whole body of emerald green jade, naturally not an ordinary object.

  Next to the stone chair, a giant clam as big as a millstone was left with only two smooth shells. It goes without saying that this is naturally the "Brocade Pearl Clam" mentioned in the Wind and Cloud Path's Route Guide. The direct disciples of the Tongtian Sect Master were all trapped to death here, and we three people and one dog probably won't live much longer either. In an instant, I only felt the sky darken and my mind go blank.

  "Lao Yu, look, there are still piles of bones here." Jin Gang didn't know the severity of the problem and after calming down, he rushed in again.

  I threw away the cigarette butt and stood up. I walked into the stone room, and as expected, there was indeed a human skeleton lying on the right side of the giant clamshell. Judging from its body shape and bones, it should be a male skeleton.

  My brow furrowed again, how could this demoted official bring his family to guard the prison? This is probably not very realistic, but this male skeleton is definitely not fake.

  I relit my cigarette and searched the stone room, hoping to find some clues that would be useful to me. As it turned out, I finally found a lead on a long sword next to the shell, which was not made of metal, but rather seemed to be made of green jade or turquoise. The blade was not sharp, and the craftsmanship was exquisite, with a smooth polish that gave the impression that it was more like a ritual object than a weapon. On the hilt, the reverse side was engraved with "悯天" (Mercy Heaven), while the front side had "金庭山嚣黑麟" (Golden Court Mountain Xiao Black Lin) in ancient seal script.

  A short, water-dividing dagger was also found near the waist of the skeleton lying in the clamshell. It was made of mysterious iron and had three sharp blades that seemed to pierce the heart with their cold light. The handle was also engraved with ancient characters: "Pursuing Soul" on the reverse side and "Fantasy Water Ridge Sandy Pearl" on the front side.

  In ancient times, men and women were not as open-minded as people are today. They wouldn't become intimate after just knowing each other for a few days. Especially in the Taoist community, they treated relationships between men and women with great caution. Exchanging weapons was similar to exchanging tokens of affection.

  "It seems that this clam spirit and the one lying next to her are in a romantic relationship" I said, opening my mouth towards Jin Gang Pao.

  "What can this clam and this person do?" Jin Gang Pao crouched beside the human skeleton and raised his head.

  "She had already cultivated to perfection and could have transformed into a human form long ago. Her current appearance is because she revealed her true self after death." I stood up and lit a cigarette.

  "Lao Yu, this isn't human either." Jin Gang held a femur in his hand, his face revealing shock.

  "Stop talking nonsense, Jintingshan is the territory of Daoist Daohang Tianzun, and Daoism does not accept outsiders as disciples." I turned around to leave this place, because I had already guessed what was going on here, and there were more urgent matters waiting for us to resolve.

  "Don't you believe me? Take a look." Jin Gang Pao said, tossing over the leg bone he was holding in his hand.

  I raised my hand and caught the corpse thrown by Jin Gang Cannon, it felt light in my hand, as if there was nothing.

  "Can human bones be so light?" Gang Cannon patted his hands.

  "This is where you don't understand, the bones of ordinary people and those who cultivate the Tao are not the same. The bones of those who have achieved success in cultivation are all light, some even only a few taels or qian, the lighter the body represents the less worldly energy, the closer to the Tao." I respectfully put the bones back, the spiritual energy that was just discovered outside the stone house was emitted from these skeletons.

  "A good person actually likes a demon from the evil sect..." The Diamond Cannon's words were cut off as he choked back his own words. He probably also thought of his own identity, and his previous words were similar to a monk scolding a donkey."

  I took a glance at him and turned around to leave the stone house, returning outside once again. The most troublesome thing has come - I need to think of a way to leave this place.

  "Lao Yu, let's get something to eat first, after we're done we can head out." Jin Gang was hungry.

  "How can I get out?" I said irritably.

  "Don't think I'm stupid, I've already thought of a way, cut down trees and build a boat."

  I nodded in agreement, and for now, it seems that we can only cut down those few big trees outside.

  After simply having some dry rations, everyone came to the water's edge again. Jin Gang Pao took out his dusk-colored sword and said, "Whether it's a mule or a horse, we'll know once we take a look. Let me see just how formidable you are."

  "Condense your spiritual energy." I walked closer to the water's edge and reminded him casually.

  Mublood did not disappoint him, and with three swords, a giant tree as thick as one arm was cut down. King Kong Cannon was overjoyed and swung his sword to chop off the branches on the trunk.

  I flicked the cigarette butt into the lake and turned around to go help, but what I saw made me spit blood: The cigarette butt sank!

  I hastily turned around and grabbed a withered branch and threw it into the lake water, but found that the effect was the same.

  "Old cow, don't chop anymore, it's useless..."