Wu Tan waved his hand at the two of them, his back turned. "No, I'm not interested in their fight."
Seeing that Wu Tan wasn't going, Hu Guizhi looked at Fan Wei next to him. "Are you going, Fan Wei?"
Fan Wei nodded, a smile appearing on his face. "Of course I'm going. Witnessing the death match between two three-thousand-year-old great demons is quite interesting."
After speaking, Fan Wei followed, and Hu Guizhi followed suit, perhaps hoping for unexpected gains.
In the Gloomy Valley.
Yu Daohan and Qiangzi had been searching in one direction.
"Master Yu, are you sure it's in a cave? It's almost three o'clock, and we haven't found a single cave." Qiangzi, who was on the way, complained.
Yu Daohan stopped, preparing to rest before continuing. "We've circled almost half the area, and haven't even seen a hint of a cave."
Qiangzi sat down on the ground. "I think that gray snake was deliberately tricking you."
Yu Daohan also began to doubt. Had he really been deceived?
As Yu Daohan was pondering, Qiangzi suddenly said, "I'm going to pee!"
Yu Daohan looked at him strangely. Why was this guy acting so serious about peeing?
Qiangzi got up and walked towards the woods. Yu Daohan stared at Qiangzi's retreating back, his hand already gripping the Kang Long Cudgel behind him.
Qiangzi entered the woods and quickly ran in one direction. He was very fast. About five minutes later, Qiangzi suddenly stopped, looking at the figure ahead.
Seeing Qiangzi arrive, the figure ahead cursed, "Damn it, I thought I'd shaken you off."
The figure ahead was none other than Qiangzi himself.
The Qiangzi ahead turned and ran. This guy was unkillable. In this situation, it was best not to fight him if possible. He wondered if Master Yu had arrived yet.
Qiangzi ran for a distance and then turned to see that the thing behind him hadn't followed, which struck him as strange.
If it were like before, this thing would have chased him relentlessly. Why wasn't it following now?
Watching Qiangzi run away, the fake Qiangzi revealed a sinister smile and turned back the way he came.
"Qiangzi, are you peeing or pooping? It's been fifteen minutes." Yu Daohan asked as Qiangzi returned.
Qiangzi showed an embarrassed smile. "I was peeing and then decided to poop."
Yu Daohan rolled his eyes. "Alright, let's get going."
Qiangzi nodded and changed direction, starting to search for a cave from another direction.
The two of them thought they wouldn't find it today, but as soon as they rounded a small stream, they saw a not-so-large cave.
Qiangzi's mouth curved into a smile. "Master Yu, we found it."
Yu Daohan looked in Qiangzi's direction and saw a cave entrance of moderate size, overgrown with weeds in front.
"Finally found it." Joy appeared on Yu Daohan's face.
"Since it's still early, let's go in and check." Qiangzi said.
Yu Daohan nodded, thinking the same thing. If they got the spiritual spring quickly, they might be able to leave the Gloomy Valley tonight.
Yu Daohan led the way, with Qiangzi following closely behind. While Yu Daohan wasn't paying attention, Qiangzi gripped his bronze coin sword and quickly scratched a large tree.
What Yu Daohan didn't know was that Qiangzi had been making marks on the trees all the way.
The cave wasn't too dim, and the environment inside could be vaguely seen.
Although the cave entrance looked small, it was surprisingly vast inside.
"It doesn't look big from the outside, but it's a whole different world inside," Qiangzi said, looking at the surroundings.
Yu Daohan looked up at the stalactites above, thinking that this place must have formed many years ago.
There were many岔路口 (forks) in the cave, and Qiangzi led Yu Daohan down one of them.
"Master Yu, the spiritual spring should be up ahead." Qiangzi, who was leading the way, said.
Yu Daohan, watching Qiangzi's back, quietly gripped the Kang Long Cudgel behind him. "Then let's go. Once we get the spiritual spring, we'll leave the Gloomy Valley tonight."
The forks in the road became more numerous. Anyone unfamiliar with the path would surely get lost, but Qiangzi seemed to know the way, constantly leading the way.
The light from the cave entrance grew brighter and brighter. Just as they were nearing the spiritual spring, Qiangzi ahead suddenly stopped.
Seeing Qiangzi stop, Yu Daohan's lips curled up. It seemed he had been discovered.
Qiangzi turned around, a chilling smile on his face. "When did you realize I wasn't Qiangzi?"
Yu Daohan drew the Kang Long Cudgel from his waist. "The first night I met you."
Qiangzi frowned. He had thought it was only when they entered the cave that he was discovered.
"I'm very curious why you didn't expose me then?" Qiangzi asked, puzzled.
"I thought you would ask me how I discovered you weren't Qiangzi."
With that, Yu Daohan explained, "I did learn from that snake demon that the spiritual spring was in the cave. However, I also learned from it that the cave's terrain was complex. I gambled that you knew where the spiritual spring was."
Qiangzi laughed heartily and tore off the mask on his face, revealing a bloody face. "I thought I was the hunter, but I didn't expect that I was the prey from beginning to end."
"I'm sorry, but I must obtain this spiritual spring today," Yu Daohan said, tightening his grip on the Kang Long Cudgel.
Author's Note:
Wishing all students good luck in the college entrance examination and success in their future endeavors!