Peaceful Jianghu - Chapter 43
Seeing his worry, Xiao Dao shook his head and clicked his tongue twice, "Two..."
Xue Beifan turned around abruptly, and Xiao Dao's expression startled her. She looked behind her and, seeing no one, punched him lightly, "What are you doing!"
Xue Beifan stared at her for a long time, then suddenly smiled, "I'll show you the second one."
Xiao Dao held his breath, realizing there was no point in arguing with someone so thick-skinned. He stretched out his little finger and beckoned to him, "Let's go."
"Where are we going?" Xue Beifan quickly followed.
"Have you ever seen the Water Curtain Cave?" Xiao Dao asked a completely unrelated question.
“I’ve seen them.” Xue Beifan thought for a moment. “Many waterfalls have water curtain caves behind them, mostly in the Guizhou and Guangxi areas.”
“The Water Curtain Cave is also called the Water Curtain Bureau. It’s something that’s often used in government agencies to cover up problems.” Xiao Dao pursed his lips and curled up the corners of his mouth. “It’s like a false tomb or a fake trap. Once you have a fake one that looks just like the real one, naturally no one will look for the real one anymore! And the real one, on the other hand, looks just like the fake one. In the end, most people are blind to the truth. The real one is right in front of them, but they cling to the fake one and won’t let go.”
Xue Beifan listened to her speak, "Do you know where the real cave is?"
“I know, there’s a trick to it, but I don’t know what’s in the cave.” Xiao Dao glanced at Xue Beifan. “This place is unclean. If we find treasure, that’s fine, but if it’s some unrelated evil creature, we’re just asking for trouble.”
Xue Beifan said in a low voice, "But my elder brother did write about the Xianyun Mountain Waterfall, so it should be here."
"You really do listen to your older brother in everything," Xiao Dao muttered, noticing Xue Beifan's unusually gloomy expression, and then stopped asking.
"Xiao Dao." Xue Beifan suddenly gently grasped her arm.
Xiao Dao was startled. She looked around furtively and asked him in a low, suspicious voice, "Is there danger?"
Seeing that she was like a wary rabbit, Xue Beifan smiled and shook his head. "I'm asking you if you're tired, if you want some water?"
Xiao Dao hadn't realized this lecherous thief was so considerate. He shook his head awkwardly and continued walking.
"This mountain path is so difficult to walk, do you want me to carry you?" Xue Beifan asked again.
Xiao Dao found him strange and turned to look at him, only to see Xue Beifan blink and move his eyes to the side after their eyes met.
A thought flashed through Xiao Dao's mind—someone was following him!
She was so clever; pouting, she said, "It's all your fault, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten lost."
Xue Beifan smiled knowingly and sat down on a rock. "You sit down too, let's rest for a while." As he spoke, he slapped his thigh.
Xiao Dao raised his foot and delivered a flying kick to him.
Xue Beifan quickly grabbed his ankle to prevent her from kicking him away, winking and making faces—it's all an act!
Xiao Dao sat down on the rock beside him, took out a small bronze mirror, and looked behind him. He reflected the mirror several times, then frowned slightly—behind a tall tree not far behind, stood a person, a wooden figure!
Xiao Dao tilted the mirror slightly upwards to get a clearer view of the person's face.
Upon seeing this, Xiao Dao was so shocked that he almost dropped the bronze mirror in his hand, and grabbed Xue Beifan's sleeve to gesture wildly.
Xue Beifan noticed her furrowed brows and seemed quite agitated. "What is it?"
Just as Xiao Dao was about to speak, he heard a noise behind him, it was that dog barking again...
"Damn it!" Xiao Dao stamped his foot in dismay. "Those soldiers have sent their dogs to find me by following my scent!"
Xue Beifan's expression darkened slightly—those soldiers couldn't have acted on their own; it must have been Wei Xinjie who gave the order. After thinking for a moment, Xue Beifan said earnestly to Xiao Dao, "To avoid being caught..." Then, he pulled at his outer robe, "Come on, take off your clothes and wear mine!"
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Dao glared at him fiercely, "You're asking for it!"
"Shh!"
Xue Beifan covered her mouth and disappeared behind the trees.
From the direction they were hiding, you could see what was happening behind them... If you didn't look, it would be fine, but once you did, it was truly terrifying.
In the pitch-black forest, a wooden figure lay prone beside a tree trunk, seemingly peering out. It was unclear whether it was alive and moving or merely a decoration, but as they walked along, they were certain it hadn't been there before.
Looking down the mountain path, two soldiers came along with dogs and spotted the wooden figure at a glance.
"Oh my god!" One of the more timid children plopped down on the ground, while the big black dog barked incessantly at the wooden figure.
Just as its barking startled the birds in the forest, the wooden figure suddenly turned around and ran away...
"Ha!" The two soldiers gasped. The big dog turned and fled, and the two soldiers, no longer caring about finding anyone, chased after it, shouting, "Ghost! Ghost!"
Xiao Dao and Xue Beifan were both surprised and amused, not understanding what was going on, but the fact that the wooden figure ran away did indeed solve their problem.
"Why is it alive?" Xue Beifan asked, puzzled. "Is it also a mechanism?"
Xiao Dao shook his head. "I've never seen one before, and my mother has never mentioned it. It's terrifying." As he spoke, he moved to the side. "How about we go back and have some fun? Let's not look for that picture anymore."
Xue Beifan squinted at her, and after a long while, said, "Fine, I'll agree if you go back and we get married."
Xiao Dao frowned so deeply that he couldn't look away. He turned his face away and said, "Forget it, let's just go."
Xue Beifan was just joking, but his heart had been slightly on edge as he spoke. Hearing Xiaodao's reply, his heart settled back down. He knew it was expected, and he knew she was just being argumentative. But he felt a sense of emptiness for a moment, and he didn't know why.
The rest of the journey went smoothly. Xiao Dao led Xue Beifan to a rock and began carefully searching the cliff face. Xue Beifan wanted to help, "Looking for what?"
"A hole," Xiao Dao said. "Find a small hole where water is seeping out or where there's a cold draft."
“Okay.” Xue Beifan and he searched together, one on each side, but after a long time, they still couldn’t find it.
"No." Xue Beifan turned to look at Xiaodao.
"Hmm..." Xiao Dao touched his chin with one hand, tilted his ear to listen to the wall, and gently tapped it with two fingers.