Chapter 412
“Have you known it all along?” asked Gongjia Heng . How would Shao Xuan be able to tell so quickly? He didn’t believe that Shao Xuan was ‘guessing’ .
“Yeah, I knew,” said Shao Xuan .
Gongjia Heng relaxed . Did someone tell him? As Heng was thinking, Shao Xuan said, “This was a conclusion I made this morning, I just had to confirm just now . ”
“ . . . You meant you figured it out this morning?”
“Yeah . ”
“How?”
“Just by looking at them, I can tell which is the illusion . ” Shao Xuan did not tell him about his extraordinary vision . In his other sense of vision, there was no sun present . That was how he could tell . He was just very surprised there was such a phenomenon here .
Gongjia Heng couldn’t believe Shao Xuan had this ability other than divination!
Heng knew the right answer from secret tools and experience . Yet this was Shao Xuan’s first time here . However, it was a good thing to Heng too . As for how Shao Xuan did it, he did not probe further . Everyone had their own secrets, just like how he had a lot of secrets he would never tell Shao Xuan too . There were a lot of things he would never tell a non-Xia person .
After eating the prey Shao Xuan brought back, Heng rested for half a day before telling Shao Xuan they could leave .
It was already noon by then . One of the suns had disappeared . The illusion was gone .
“Here, the two suns only appear in the morning . At noon, it will return to normal . That is why, if sometimes you encounter a problem you cannot solve, you can just wait . Sometimes, the problem solves itself,” said Gongjia Heng, sounding like an elder giving life advice to him .
Shao Xuan listened . Although Heng was naggy sometimes, he was still a good person . Shao Xuan listened to whatever he had to say . This was an experienced Xia craftsman, it was normal for him to have his quirks .
As they ventured deeper, he understood why Heng was not impressed by two suns . There were many more illusions waiting for them, not just the suns-- sometimes they were mountains, or a simple forest . Taking the wrong path so deep in the forest would result in getting yourself deeper into the problem . While there were not many fierce predators, there were rarely any regular animals too . If you hadn’t prepared dried meat, you’d starve .
However, they were just illusions . They weren’t a serious problem because all Shao Xuan had to do was to use his extraordinary vision . The real problems lay in physical things . There were so many factors that could affect a person’s decision-making skills here .
Just like how Shao Xuan and Gongjia Heng walked for two days in the forest only to realise they had arrived where they started . Neither of them were idiots and were good in pinpointing directions . Yet they still managed to arrive in the same spot two days later . This spelt trouble .
Gongjia Heng’s experience was only useful in the beginning . He could not give definite answers as they ventured deeper . If he could solve these problems easily, he would not have needed twenty years . He knew that the mountain should be somewhere here, yet he still couldn’t see it .
“This is where I got stuck . I haven’t been able to get out of this place,” said Gongjia Heng with frustration, wiping the sweat off his forehead .
The forest looked so normal with no dangerous beasts-- almost tranquil . Yet Gongjia Heng was facing problems here .
“It took me fifteen years to reach here . But that’s it . I have been stuck in this part of the forest for five years . ” Gongjia Heng heaved a long sigh, calming his mind . He wasn’t as frustrated and afraid as the first time he was trapped here so his tone was calm .
Shao Xuan stood at the same place he was at two days ago . His eyes swept across the forest as he fished out a piece of straw rope . “I’ll try again . ”
Two days ago, when Heng brought Shao Xuan here, he got Shao Xuan to do a reading for them to determine which direction to head next . However, Shao Xuan did three readings and none of them worked . Before the knots were complete, the rope broke .
“It doesn’t matter if it fails . ” Gongjia Heng looked at Shao Xuan’s face of determination, knowing that Shao Xuan must be filled with defiance now . But if it were so easy, how would he be stuck here for five years? He had a strong feeling that he’d arrive soon after he left this patch of forest . However, just like a heavy door, this place stood between him and his goal .
However, although that was what he said, he was unwilling too . The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he got . Whatever calmness he had was gone now .
He turned, wondering when Shao Xuan would stop . However, after a few moments, the first knot on the rope was complete . After a while, another knot formed . Then the third…
Gongjia Heng stood as still as a statue, paralysed . His eyes looked like they were about to fall out, glued to the rope in Shao Xuan’s hands . The muscles on his face shook .
The third knot was done . Then the fourth one . The fifth…
One by one, the knots formed on the rope in his hands . The knots were then combined to form a complicated knot .
Just a little more! Just a little more! Do not break, please do not break!
Gongjia Heng was screaming in his heart but he shut his mouth tight to not make a sound, deeply afraid he might startle Shao Xuan .
It had been twenty years, five of it trapped here . Right now, hope grew little by little with every knot on the rope . Gongjia Heng was waiting with bated breath .
He prayed hard . O Mighty Straw Rope, please do not break, please don’t! In the future, I’ll pay more attention when I make rope, I’ll put all my effort into making every knot!
Gongjia Heng regretted not suggesting Shao Xuan use a tougher material to make straw rope . What if the rope breaks at a critical moment?
He wasn’t moving but he was sweating everywhere . Large beads of sweat dripped down his face but he did not wipe them away . He stared at the rope .
Sss---
That was the sound the rope made when Shao Xuan tightened the last knot at the end of the reading . This meant the reading was completed .
Shao Xuan exhaled deeply . He had spent a lot of energy conducting his reading, as if he had been hunting for many consecutive days without sleep . He was exhausted and his brain wasn’t functioning now . After a few moments, when he snapped back to reality, he realised Gongjia Heng was still in the exact same position . Heng’s face was very red and he was sweating, twitching occasionally .
“Master Gongjia, what happened to you?” he asked in surprise .
His red face contorted . Then, in a peculiar tone, as if he was suppressing a lot of emotion, he asked, “Did you get anything?
“Yeah, I did . ” He had to walk through the forest to be able to conduct a successful session . Listening to Gongjia Heng describe the place was no use .
Shao Xuan just finished his sentence when Gongjia Heng leapt in excitement . He had jumped so high his head knocked on a tree branch . The tree branch broke but he did not care . Taking deep breaths, he waved his fists and sounded like he was about to cry .
Shao Xuan thought the guy seemed to have gone… a little mad .
When he finally went back to normal, he ran to Shao Xuan with such emotion in his eyes . “Where do we go?”
“Follow me . ”
Shao Xuan switched his vision and focused, ignoring everything else . It was as if he locked himself in this world . Then, he lifted his feet and walked in the direction hinted by the ropes .
Gongjia Heng did not speak when he saw Shao Xuan like this . No matter how curious he was, he had to wait so that they would arrive as soon as possible . It was not the time to disturb Shao Xuan .
Both men walked in silence with light footsteps . Within the forest, there was only the rustle of tree leaves .
After half a day, they finally left the forest . Here, there were no tall trees blocking their vision . They could see a mountain far away .
Before sunset, they arrived in a valley . They had to stay the night here .
There was no cave nearby so they found a spot to rest .
This was not Gongjia Mountain but Gongjia Heng had a strong feeling .
“We’re near . I can feel the mountain calling to me . ” Gongjia Heng looked in a direction, his face solemn .
The closer they got, the more cautious they would have to be . They couldn’t die a few steps from their goal . A simple valley might be more dangerous than the forest they just left .
Shao Xuan rested, leaning against the slope of a mountain . He had used up a lot of energy today, he didn’t rest after the divination reading . When he walked out of the forest, he felt like every neuron in his brain was highly tense, it was only now that he began to relax . In his mind, the totemic flames had threads of energy extending from them . The threads flowed with his blood, around his bones, then circulated around his body . He felt his energy increase with every cycle, quickly recovering to his original state .
Shao Xuan’s ashen complexion slowly gained colour . It was night time so it was not obvious and Gongjia Heng didn’t see it . If he saw this, Heng would have been once again astonished by Shao Xuan’s rejuvenation abilities .
Shao Xuan thought silence would never happen in the forest . However, it was silent here .
It was a quiet night . Other than the occasional sound of rolling pebbles when there was a breeze, there was no other sound . When the wind stopped, he heard nothing . As if the strong, roaring wind earlier that day was just his imagination .
The next day, when Shao Xuan woke, all signs of fatigue were gone . The sun had just risen and it was not bright .
The valley was shaped like a ‘u’ . The two faces of the mountain around it were about one to two hundred meters tall . If you were standing on one of them, you would realise that the mountains became increasingly taller further ahead . That was why Shao Xuan had no idea what it would be like behind these mountains, nor could he see where this valley would lead them .
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