A few days later, Zhou Hong and Yao Yao arrived at another large mountain.
They had been out for about a month and a half.
During this month and a half, although Zhou Hong had been wandering through the mountains, he had been constantly thinking about how to return to the Purple Heaven Continent.
Unfortunately, there was no solution at all.
Moreover, Zhou Hong vaguely had a feeling that he had appeared on Earth because a mission awaited him, but he couldn't sense what that mission was. And in recent days, this feeling of a mission had become even stronger.
Zhou Hong didn't know if this feeling was real or false.
If he truly had a mission on Earth, then it must be arranged by fate.
"Heh heh!" Zhou Hong gave a bitter laugh.
"Forget it, forget it, I'll deal with it later. I should head back to the capital," Zhou Hong said to himself.
Just then, Yao Yao suddenly spoke to Zhou Hong, "Senior, we can't go any further in this direction. Ahead lies the legendary ruins of You Long City."
"You Long City ruins?" Zhou Hong frowned slightly.
"Yes, the map says that ahead are the ruins of You Long City, which is a forbidden zone. Legend has it that in the distant ancient past, there was a city called You Long City. You Long City had a guardian deity, a monster of an unknown name. In any case, it's a forbidden zone."
"Is that so? Then I'll go take a look."
"Senior, we can't go!" Yao Yao quickly stopped him.
"Why can't we go?"
"It is said that anyone who comes to this place is cursed, and it seems that this place is filled with resentment. Otherwise, this place would have long been developed into a tourist attraction. But now, the place is desolate, and no one dares to approach it. It's a forbidden zone, marked on the map."
"Heh heh, I don't believe in such superstitious nonsense. I'll go and see for myself," Zhou Hong said, then rushed towards the mountain range ahead.
However, for some reason, the closer Zhou Hong got to the mountain range, the more an unspeakable sadness welled up within him.
Soon, Zhou Hong arrived at the foot of the mountain range, about ten kilometers away.
Standing at the foot of the mountain, Zhou Hong indeed saw terraced steps on the mountain, with some broken walls and ruins remaining.
Looking at these broken walls and ruins, Zhou Hong felt an inexplicable heaviness in his heart. It seemed familiar, as if he had seen it before, or had been here before.
But upon closer thought, how could Zhou Hong have been here?
"Why do I have a sense of déjà vu? Why?" Zhou Hong found it hard to believe. Looking at the broken walls and ruins, a wave of sadness involuntarily surged within him.
"Ah!" Zhou Hong suddenly clutched his chest, as if his heart ached intensely.
"What's happening?" Zhou Hong wiped his face and found that inexplicably, tears were streaming down his cheeks.
Enduring the heartache, Zhou Hong walked onto the ruins. They could hardly be called ruins, as they had long been overgrown with weeds and trees, only the traces of broken stones on the ground vaguely outlined the former structures.
Just then, Zhou Hong saw a stone tablet on the ground. Three runes were inscribed on it, which looked like ancient characters. At least, such characters had never been seen on Earth.
"Yun Shi Ju?"
Upon seeing the three runes, Zhou Hong unconsciously spoke them aloud.
However, the next second, Zhou Hong sobered up and looked confused. When he saw the three runes, he had subconsciously said the words "Yun Shi Ju."
"How could I have?" Zhou Hong found it incredible. After regaining his senses, he realized that he didn't know what these three scribbles meant at all.
In fact, it was as Zhou Hong thought. Archaeologists on Earth had also come here, but they knew nothing about these three ancient characters, and no one had been able to decipher them to this day.
Zhou Hong couldn't figure it out.
Why would this place give him such a familiar feeling?
After an unknown period of time, Zhou Hong finally turned to leave.
After walking several hundred meters, Zhou Hong looked back at the ruins again. He always felt as if something was watching him from the darkness.
But Zhou Hong was sure there was nothing there.
"Let's go. I won't know the answer anytime soon. It seems my inexplicable arrival on Earth was not accidental," Zhou Hong said with conviction. The feeling of a mission he had before must be real, and he definitely had a reason for coming to Earth. The reason he couldn't sense it now was simply that the time was not yet right.
Well, then he could only continue to wait.
Soon, Zhou Hong returned to a few kilometers away.
"Senior, you're back." Yao Yao seemed a little worried when she saw Zhou Hong return.
"There's nothing to worry about."
"Senior, aren't you afraid of being cursed?"
"Heh heh, not afraid. Let's go, it's time to leave."
"What does Senior mean?"
"Of course, it means ending the trip. I'll take you to the nearest city, and then you can take a bus home yourself," Zhou Hong said.
"Mmm-hmm!" Yao Yao looked reluctant. She and Zhou Hong had spent every day and night together for over a month, and it seemed there was an indescribable affection between them. Of course, she didn't dare to harbor any unrealistic hopes.
"Senior, I checked the map. The nearest city from here is still a day's journey away, and it's getting late," Yao Yao said, opening the map.
"Then let's stay for a night and set off tomorrow. Although I don't have a problem walking at night, it's not suitable for a young lady like you."
"Thank you for your care, Senior."
Zhou Hong nodded.
"I'll go hunt some game, and you gather some firewood to start a fire."
"Okay, Senior."
Zhou Hong immediately went into the forest to look for game.
However, for some reason, Zhou Hong couldn't find any pheasants or wild rabbits in this forest after searching for a long time. He wondered if it was because of the You Long City ruins.
Finally, after more than half an hour, Zhou Hong found a wild goat in a more distant area.
Zhou Hong carried the goat back.
When he returned to the original spot, the fire had already been lit, but Yao Yao was nowhere to be seen.
Just then, Zhou Hong heard a sound from under a large tree ahead. He hurried over and saw that there was a pool of water under the tree. A snow-white body was washing itself in the pool. It was none other than Yao Yao.
Zhou Hong was immediately aroused. After all, he hadn't been intimate with a woman for a long time. As a man in his prime, seeing a graceful figure washing herself in a pool was bound to stir his senses. Although people thought of him as an aloof master, only he himself knew that he wasn't some reclusive master, but just a man in his twenties.