The water monster then swam in the river to chase after it, but not very fast, and was gradually left behind.
Chapter Forty-Seven: Escape
Having escaped the danger of the water monster, Song Hao and Wang Li began to keep their distance from the underground river to prevent any further attacks from monsters.
"There are living things in this water too. What do they eat to survive?" Wang Li asked, still shaken and bewildered.
“Since it exists, it must have its own way of existing,” Song Hao said.
"Don't let it burrow into the ground. That terrifying creature will scare people," Wang Li said.
Song Hao said, "This kind of underground monster should only be able to live underground and cannot be exposed to sunlight, so it will not climb to the surface and startle people."
Wang Li said, "Where did these things come from? They can be found underground, in the water, and on the shore."
Song Hao said, "It might be a monster left over from ancient times, which has miraculously survived deep underground. Or perhaps it lived in the same era as those primitive humans! They have been preserved in a unique way. It should be a rare and precious living specimen in archaeology! It's just that it is not easy to capture, and no one can go down here to capture it. Let these prehistoric monsters live here quietly."
They came to a narrow section of the river, which could only be crossed by wading into the water. After observing the area from a distance and confirming that there was no water monster, Song Hao and Wang Li quickly jumped into the water and swam forward.
The underground river water was icy cold, but the two gritted their teeth and persevered, swimming forward with all their might.
The seemingly slow-flowing underground river actually had turbulent undercurrents. As soon as Song Hao and Wang Li entered the river, they were involuntarily swept away by the whirlpool. In their panic, they could no longer return to the shore and had no choice but to drift away with the current.
A powerful suction force pulled the two of them to the bottom of the water. Song Hao sighed inwardly, "It's over!" But he held tightly to the unconscious Wang Li, and they both sank down. Immediately afterward, Song Hao felt his mind go blank and lost consciousness as well.
After an unknown amount of time, a violent cough jolted Song Hao awake, causing him to vomit several mouthfuls of river water. He groggily opened his eyes, and a long-absent, dazzling ray of sunlight stung them.
"They're out! They were washed to the surface by the underground river!" Song Hao was overjoyed. He subconsciously moved his arm, his right hand still gripping Wang Li's clothes tightly. Although he didn't know how Wang Li was, he felt a little relieved.
After adjusting for a while, Song Hao slowly opened his eyes again and found himself lying on the bank of a river, half of his body still submerged in the water. In the distance were the mountains of Na Yue and the copper mine, blue sky and white clouds, green grass and trees, everything was real.
Song Hao felt a surge of excitement; they had actually made it to the surface alive.
Wang Li, who was standing next to him, coughed a few times and woke up. "Where are we? We're in some kind of underground palace, and the lights are on!" Wang Li muttered, still not fully conscious.
"Brother Wang, we're out! We're on the ground!" Song Hao replied with a smile. He was filled with gratitude for this friend who had gone through danger with him.
"Really...really!" The excited Wang Li immediately came to his senses, stood up, looked around, and sure enough, it was the beautiful environment under the sunlight that he was familiar with.
"We...we made it out alive! God! We made it out alive!" Wang Li shouted excitedly to the sky.
A strong sense of relief washed over them, and they stood there cheering, forgetting their exhaustion.
The cheers from Song Hao and Wang Li attracted a crowd.
Song Hao and Wang Li immediately stopped cheering, standing there in astonishment, speechless. Those people were actually from the Ghost Doctor Sect, led by none other than Ghost Wind, who had now surrounded the two of them.
"You...you guys are out!" Gui Feng said with a strange smile.
Song Hao nodded, knowing that another danger was about to befall him. If he couldn't hand over the medicinal seedlings and stone bamboo shoots, the Ghost Doctor Sect wouldn't let him go.
"Are you all alright? How did you get out of this river? We've been waiting outside the mine for exactly seven days." Ghost Wind's strange face still carried a hint of joy.
"You're finally out!" Gui Feng suddenly felt a sense of relief and slumped to the ground, exhausted. The members of the Ghost Doctor Sect beside him also breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that these members of the Ghost Doctor Sect were extremely concerned about Song Hao's safety.
Song Hao believed that the Ghost Doctor's Sect must think he had brought out the medicinal seedling and stalactite, and that they could finally relax. However, he had already dissolved the medicinal seedling and stalactite in his mouth and couldn't hand it over. He needed to think of a way to deal with them.
"Song Hao, it's good that you came out. If you hadn't come out, my Ghost Doctor Sect would have been in grave danger." Ghost Wind, who was sitting on the ground, suddenly burst into tears for no apparent reason. The members of the Ghost Doctor Sect beside him also lowered their heads, as if only they could feel that sense of dread.
"Sect Master Guifeng, what do you mean by this?" Song Hao asked in bewilderment and surprise.
"Brother Song Hao, please forgive me for any offenses I may have caused you in the past. Our Ghost Doctor Sect apologizes to you here." As he spoke, Ghost Wind led his sect members to respectfully bow to Song Hao.
"Hey! What are you doing! What kind of tricks are you playing?" Song Hao asked in astonishment.
"I wouldn't dare! I wouldn't dare! I didn't know Brother Song Hao was such a prominent figure before, so I was offended." Gui Feng said with a forced smile.
Song Hao was puzzled as to why the other party did not mention the medicinal seedlings or stalactites at all, but instead treated him with great respect.
"Brother Song Hao, please put in a good word for us with the people of the Gate of Life and Death. The Ghost Doctor Sect will be eternally grateful to you." Ghost Wind had lost his former arrogance and spoke humbly.
"The Gate of Life and Death!" Song Hao exclaimed in surprise, "The Gate of Life and Death again? What are you all doing...?"
Gui Feng hurriedly said, "Brother Song Hao probably doesn't know yet, but our Ghost Doctor Sect received a life-or-death order from the Gate of Life and Death seven days ago, ordering us to wait for news of Brother Song Hao. If Brother Song Hao safely emerges from underground within seven days, our Ghost Doctor Sect will live; otherwise, we will all die."
"What are you talking about!" Song Hao was extremely surprised. Could it be that there was a Gate of Life and Death that even the Ghost Doctor Sect feared, threatening them? He seemed to have heard of that Gate of Life and Death before.
"The Gate of Life and Death disappeared from the martial world for decades, but unexpectedly it has reappeared, and it was the first to send the Life and Death Token to the Ghost Doctor's Gate. Brother Song Hao, the Ghost Doctor's Gate will no longer do things that would betray the Ghost Doctor's Gate." Ghost Wind said with his head down, still feeling timid.
Knowing that someone was helping him, Song Hao was secretly pleased and said in a serious tone, "In that case, please return the Moon and the copper mine to the villagers here. In the future, you must not use the Ghost Gate secret techniques to do anything immoral or immoral. Otherwise, my friends from the Life and Death Gate will come looking for you again, and I won't be able to say anything then."
"I will do as you say! I will do as you say!" Gui Feng hurriedly replied, his expression relaxing.
Wang Li, standing to the side, stared at everything unfolding before him as if in a dream. He couldn't believe that the once domineering Ghost Doctor Sect had suddenly bowed its head to Song Hao and dared not cause any more trouble.
"Alright, that's enough. I hope that in the future, the Ghost Doctor Sect can use its medical skills to help people and save lives, so as not to live up to the reputation of a medical sect. You may go now," Song Hao said.
Gui Feng hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something, but in the end he held back, cupped his hands to Song Hao, and turned to leave.
"Sect Master Guifeng, you want to ask about that medicinal seedling stalactite, right? I can tell you that it no longer exists," Song Hao said, understanding the other party's meaning.
"Ah! It's gone..." Gui Feng was somewhat skeptical, but seeing Song Hao's honest expression, he could only shake his head and sigh before leading his group away. Gui Feng assumed that the medicinal seedlings and stalactites had been lost during Song Hao's departure and could no longer be found. More importantly, with the terrifying life-or-death order weighing on him, he had no mind to think about the medicinal seedlings anymore; his own life was more important.
Watching the Ghost Doctor Sect members disappear into the distance, Song Hao frowned, pondering, "What kind of Jianghu sect is the Life and Death Sect that makes the Ghost Doctor Sect so afraid? Could the person who helped me escape from Yuehe Manor be from the Life and Death Sect? Also, last time when I was kidnapped, that mysterious person said he was from the Life and Death Sect. Why do these people from the Life and Death Sect help me time and time again? They must have their own purposes, and they're probably not well-intentioned! Never mind them, I'll deal with them when I encounter them again."
Song Hao and Wang Li then happily walked towards the village.
Standing in a grove of trees in the distance was Gu Xiaofeng. He breathed a sigh of relief, his heart finally at ease. He muttered to himself, "Good lad, you finally made it out alive. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have been able to face my old friend. You've got some nerve, getting yourself into a lot of trouble, daring to go anywhere! There's nothing you wouldn't dare to do."