Fu Ying smiled slightly, turned sideways and sat down, cupping her face in her hands and resting them on her lap, and said softly, "Thank you!"
Zhou Xuan looked up at the night sky. The stars seemed particularly distant, and the crescent moon was very close to the cliff above. Looking up from below, the moon looked as if it were leaning against the cliff top.
A short while later, the moon disappeared behind the cliff above. After a while, Zhou Xuan murmured, "I miss the moon in my hometown!"
Fu Ying chuckled and said, "Is the moon in your hometown the same as the moon here?"
Zhou Xuan said calmly, "It's just a different feeling. I think the moon in my hometown is more beautiful than the moon here, and it makes me feel more at ease!"
"I know!" Fu Ying sighed and said softly, "You're homesick. I'm sorry, you don't have to go into the water tomorrow. I'll send you back to China after this is over."
Zhou Xuan thought for a while, then sighed and said in a deep voice, "Tomorrow... I will go into the water, but I want to ask you, did you bring your grandfather's stone?"
"I brought them," Fu Ying nodded in reply. "Because I estimate there might be other similar stones appearing, so I can compare them. Anyway, I'll bring anything that might be needed."
Zhou Xuan suddenly stared at Fu Ying and said, "Could you let me take a look at that stone?"
Fu Ying smiled and said, "Of course, just wait a moment!"
The backpacks she brought were all placed outside the tent. Fu Ying went over to identify them, then took out one of the bags, unzipped it, and took out the red brocade box that Zhou Xuan had seen in her home in Chinatown.
Of the dozen or so people who came, only Fu Tianlai, Li Junjie, Fu Ying, Zhou Xuan, and Ito knew about the existence of the stone. Moreover, in their view, it was just a piece of evidence, not a priceless treasure, so there was no need to worry about it being stolen. Besides, this was the bottom of a sinkhole, and even if someone wanted to steal it, this place was not so easy to come to.
If Zhou Xuan hadn't wanted to unravel the secret of his left-hand ability, he would never have gone down into this dark river. He had no shortage of money, but his life was more important. However, the secret of his left-hand ability made him yearn for it even more!
It can be said that all of Zhou Xuan's wealth and good fortune came from that golden stone. The appearance of another golden stone in the world made Zhou Xuan's desire to unlock this secret even stronger!
Fu Ying walked over with the brocade box, sat down next to Zhou Xuan, handed him the box, and said with a smile, "Take a look."
Zhou Xuan took the brocade box and opened the lid with trembling hands. The golden stone was indistinguishable in the night, but it faintly reflected light under the dim starlight.
The moment Zhou Xuan's left hand touched the surface of the stone in the box, it felt as if an invisible needle was piercing his finger, causing excruciating pain!
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Volume One: The Lotus Buds Just Begin to Emerge, Chapter Twenty-Six: The Icy Air Devours Them
Zhou Xuan was startled and tried to pull his fingers back, but his left hand seemed to be numb and he couldn't move it!
Just as he was rendered immobile, a familiar, icy aura surged from his fingers into his left wrist, engaging in a fierce battle with the icy energy emanating from the pill.
Although the night was dark, Zhou Xuan could already see that the stone in the brocade box had turned dark black. However, in the darkness, it was not visible to the naked eye that the stone had turned black.
Of course, Fu Ying didn't notice this at all. Instead, she thought it was strange that Zhou Xuan was placing his hand on the stone as if he were feeling its temperature, so she asked, "Little Zhou, what's wrong?"
Zhou Xuan felt his left hand loosen slightly, so he quickly pulled it back and said, "It's nothing, I just wanted to take another look at this stone. If I go into the water tomorrow, I wonder what kind of things will be in the puddle. Will it be full of stones like this?"
Fu Ying smiled faintly, but there was a hint of worry in her eyes. She said, "Who knows? We'll only know after we see. I'll go down tomorrow too!"
"You're going down too?" Zhou Xuan was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "Miss Fu, I think you should..."
"Do you think I'm worse than you guys?" Fu Ying asked Zhou Xuan calmly, her pretty eyes fixed on him.
"No, that's not it..." Zhou Xuan answered while trying to circulate the icy energy from the pill to suppress the icy energy that had just rushed into his left wrist, and his face couldn't help but twitch a little.
Fu Ying asked worriedly, "Xiao Zhou, are you feeling unwell? You should get some rest."
Zhou Xuan waved his hand and said, "Okay, you go to sleep first. My stomach is a little uncomfortable. I'll sit for a while and then go to the tent to rest."
Fu Ying nodded without saying anything more, put the brocade box back into the bag, and then went into the tent.
Zhou Xuan originally wanted to see what was different about the stone, whether it was really the same stone that gave him superpowers, but when he touched it, he actually drew the icy energy from the stone into his left wrist, which was something he hadn't expected.
At this point, Zhou Xuan was certain that the golden stone was exactly the same as the stone that gave him his superpowers. It was basically certain that they came from the same source. But why did one come from this Yinhe Water Pit while the other was in the distant Asian Ocean? He couldn't figure it out. Perhaps these extraterrestrial bodies were scattered across many places on Earth like meteors.
He couldn't possibly know if there were other people elsewhere who had gained similar superpowers, but he was certain that this stone was precious and rare, something that could only be found by chance. He would explore it further in the underground river tomorrow.
Zhou Xuan was thinking, but at this moment, the two slightly different streams of icy energy in his left wrist were still entangled and fighting. However, the wisp of icy energy that had just entered his wrist was about the same strength as the icy energy when he first gained his superpower. Compared with the icy energy that had been integrated with the internal energy he had gained through meditation, it was much weaker. Zhou Xuan used his mind to circulate the icy energy from the pill and surround the external icy energy, absorbing it bit by bit. This method was still effective, although the absorption speed was relatively slow, it worked.
After absorbing the last bit of icy energy, Zhou Xuan circulated it throughout his body several times, feeling refreshed and comfortable.
Finally, the much stronger icy energy from the pill returned automatically to his left wrist and remained still. Zhou Xuan felt that the color of the icy energy from the pill had become much purer. With a thought, he carefully examined his left hand again.
He glanced at the xenon lamp hanging from the top of the tent and frowned. The color of his left hand had changed drastically. It used to be just a slightly golden yellow, but now it was a very conspicuous gold. His superpower had become much stronger, but the color of his hand had also become so conspicuous. This was not a good thing!
Zhou Xuan walked to the tent, found his bag, and took out a pair of thin white gloves from the small zippered pocket next to it. However, he felt refreshed and had no fatigue or sleepiness. He simply took a flashlight and sat on the edge of the big rock to look at the stars.
Beyond the rocks was a jungle, and there were occasional noises. Hearing a few faint footsteps, Zhou Xuan looked over and saw that it was his senior brother and sister Ito returning from the woods.
Ito had no liking for Zhou Xuan and had never spoken a word to him in all this time. This time was no exception. Without even glancing at him, he walked to the tent and went inside.
Yuriko Ono smiled gently at Zhou Xuan and nodded slightly.
Zhou Xuan heard a "coo" sound from a vine at his feet. He shone his flashlight on it and saw a tiny, colorful frog, no bigger than a little finger, staring at him with its beady eyes and bubbles rising from its semi-circular mouth.
Zhou Xuan looked at it carefully. The little frog was very pretty. There was a golden line running from its head to its tail, and then red and white patterns on both sides. The toes that were sticking out in front of its body were small white spheres, which looked very cute.
Zhou Xuan couldn't resist shining a bright flashlight on it with one hand and slowly moving closer with the other, trying to catch the beautiful little flower frog.
Halfway through reaching out, he heard Yuriko Ono cry out, "Mr. Zhou, no... don't grab it!"
Zhou Xuan paused, turned his head to look, and saw Ono Yuriko tiptoe over. She came to Zhou Xuan's side and whispered, "Mr. Zhou, don't disturb it... this frog is very poisonous!"
Zhou Xuan paused for a moment, then withdrew his hand and asked, "Is this frog poisonous?"
Yuriko Ono nodded. "This frog is called the Golden Poison Frog. Its skin contains a deadly poison. The toxins from just one small poison frog can kill 20,000 mice. It is one of the sixteen most poisonous animals on Earth. However, it is a bit strange that the Golden Poison Frog is only found in the jungles of South and Central America. It is rarely seen in North America."
Zhou Xuan chuckled. No matter where it came from, he wouldn't touch anything that was highly poisonous.