Chapter 288: Falling Flower Cave and Zen (Part )
Xiao Yan and the other two, who had been waiting for the group of fallen women outside to make their move, cooperated and relaxed their guard. In addition, the hot spring bath was so comfortable that they half-pretended to fall asleep in the pool.

However, they did not have to wait long before the seemingly indestructible iron door opened. To avoid suspicion, the women of Luohua Cave only called out to them from outside the door, saying that the banquet set by the cave master was ready, and if the three men had rested well, they could join the feast now.

This was beyond You Chuan's expectation. He frowned and asked in a low voice: "Is this a trick?"

"I'm not afraid of a trick. What I'm afraid of is that after waiting for a long time, the trick still refuses to come true. That's the trouble." Xiao Yan changed his clothes with his eyes closed, as if he had not yet recovered from the comfortable state just now.

Hou Qing covered his face with a towel and did not move for a long time. It was obvious that he did not want to attend this banquet.

Attending a banquet means dealing with women.

Dealing with women is very troublesome, especially dealing with this group of Luohua Cave girls who are either mentally ill or the Luohua Cave is not a good place.

It would be better if a group of women from Luohua Cave disguised as assassins really came in wielding swords at this time. In this way, Hou Qing could take advantage of the situation and be defeated and leave.

After all, even if you lose, you can't be too embarrassed, retreat calmly, only then can you show your attitude.

Xiao Yan saw through Hou Qing's thoughts immediately, so he gathered his voice into a line and laughed in a voice that only the three of them could hear: "The Corpse Ancestor can't fool us this time. If one of us is missing, the performance of the Thousand Crow Cave Master may not be able to go on."

Hou Qing took off the towel from his face and looked at the clouds in the sky in a trance. After a while, he stood up and dressed leisurely without saying a word, just like a good and obedient student.

You Chuan was a little wary. He was the weakest among the three, so it was inevitable that he had more worries. But after all, seeing that Xiao Yan and the other two were in a calm demeanor, he secretly suppressed his thoughts and left the bathing cave together, where they thought there would be a fight.

However, when they were at the door, they each drank a bowl of Tremella soup. According to a girl from Luohua Cave, this is the custom of Luohua Cave. After bathing in the cave, foreign guests will drink this bowl of Tremella picked from the top of the mountain. It is said that after drinking this bowl of Tremella soup, one can get rid of the troubles brought from the outside world. As the saying goes, "free from worries, one feels light on the body." Whether it is true or not, it is just a formality to wish for good luck.

Xiao Yan and the other two did not suspect anything and drank a big bowl of it. After Hou Qing finished drinking it, he seriously asked about the preparation method of the Tremella soup. According to him, he had been wandering around for so many years, but he had rarely tasted such a smooth, sweet and mellow soup. When he returns to his hometown in the future, he will use this to surpass his sister's proud cooking skills.

These words really made the girls look strange, but at least they taught Hou Qing the method of brewing.

The distance from the hot spring pool to the banquet cave was not short. The three of them followed a few cave girls and wandered around for half an hour before they entered another village from one village.

As expected, the atmosphere of life in this village is much stronger. There are groups of women in red clothes walking through the road, some hanging out to dry clothes, some collecting farm products and some even rolling up their sleeves and trouser legs to clear ditches and repair water wheels and guardrails.

Xiao Yan saw this and asked a few more questions, only to find out that there were five villages in the entire Luohua Cave, all of which were coordinated by Qian Wu. They had a division of labor among each other and everyone participated in the labor, but the types of work were different.

But there is one thing that each village has no division of labor, that is, the grain planting of each village will be arranged by the population and labor of each small village. After the harvest, each village will retain the grain suitable for the population, and the excess will be handed over to the granary. If there is any natural disaster or man-made disaster, the granary will be used to supply the various villages. It is similar to relief, but in Luohua Cave it is not called relief, but "mutual aid."

After hearing these two words, Xiao Yan didn't need to ask any more questions.

The appearance of these three people in this village caused quite a stir. Many cave girls stopped to look at Xiao Yan and his companions, whispering to each other. Many of them were curious, but Xiao Yan could clearly sense the rejection of them from these cave girls.

There was an obvious feeling of rejection. Most of them would not let go of their prejudice just because of the appearance of Xiao Yan and the other two. It seemed as if they had believed in the legendary cave god for a long time.

Xiao Yan observed all this quietly and soon arrived at the cave where the banquet was held.

The cave was much larger than the hot spring pool, but there were few furnishings inside. There was gurgling water on the four stone walls, and a few peach trees were in full bloom. On a terrace built above the water, there were three tables with wine and food on them.

Several pretty girls had been waiting for a long time. When Xiao Yan and the other two came in, they immediately stepped forward to take off their outer clothes, knelt barefoot beside the table, and filled their glasses with wine attentively.

As for why only her eyebrows and eyes are pretty, it is because, except Qianwu, all the women we met along the way wore a faint veil, and apart from their eyebrows and eyes, it was difficult to see their full appearance.

Amid the sound of music coming from nowhere, nine barefoot girls from Luohua Cave walked in slowly and struck dance moves to the music. Without giving Xiao Yan and the other two a chance to refuse, they began to dance gracefully, with their long sleeves fluttering and their fragrance floating in the air, exactly the beauty that Rao Jiang should have.

Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, You Chuan secretly glanced at Xiao Yan, and saw that the latter was just quietly watching the group dance with a normal expression. He then looked at Hou Qing. Well, this guy kept talking about women's troubles, and at this time he was clearly watching the dance, looking her up and down from time to time. Who knows what he was thinking about.

Seeing this, You Chuan temporarily put aside his doubts about why Qian Wu, Chi Meng and Ji Ruxue did not appear, and watched the dance peacefully.

……

In a corner of the cave, Qian Wu slid open the stone slab and guided Ji Ruxue and Chi Meng to observe the performance of Xiao Yan and the other two.

This voyage point was located at the top of the cave, allowing for a clear view of the entire scene. And because it was facing away from everyone in the cave, there was almost no risk of being discovered, but it was able to observe the expressions and reactions of everyone inside from all angles.

Qian Wu paced slowly and said, "Just now, I asked the sisters below to give these three men a bowl of Tremella soup. You two Ayas, don't doubt it, this Tremella is not poisonous and will not cause any harm to them."

After hearing these words, Ji Ruxue and Chi Meng's expressions relaxed slightly.

"But." Qian Wu raised his lips and said, "This Tremella has a miraculous effect. It is fine for women to drink it. It can not only beautify and preserve the complexion, but also strengthen the body. But if a man drinks it, he will be brought into an illusion. This illusion has no other effect. It just maximizes the man's nature, enough to expose it from the bottom of his heart, allowing us to see it all at a glance..."

"Ah?"

Chi Meng put his finger to the corner of his mouth, puzzled. What does magnifying his true nature have to do with what Qian Wu said about the ugly behavior?

Ji Ruxue's face was calm, and she didn't say a word. She just observed the movements in the cave. However, her hands hidden behind her back were quietly clenched.

Qian Wu was graceful and calm. He took a chair, crossed his legs and waited.

The process of magnifying nature varies from person to person. Some people can suppress it, some will explode immediately, and some will seem more polite than normal. But they all have one thing in mind: they will eventually expose the ugly face hidden under their human nature, and all the ugly appearances will slowly be revealed.

It was enough to shock the two women in front of them and make them feel disgusted, frightened, disgusted and repulsed.

This is the nature of men.

……

Time passed slowly, the sky grew dark, lights were turned on in the cave, and the dancing girls changed wave after wave. The woman accompanying Xiao Yan and the other two was extremely respectful, doing whatever they ordered like a puppet. She was very humble and looked like she was easy to bully.

The performance of Luohua Cave Girl is not just dancing, it also includes sword dancing, singing, playing games, etc. The interactivity is becoming more and more intense, and from time to time she will invite Xiao Yan and the other two to come on stage to cooperate.

It is truly a country of women and a holy place for men.

However, as time passed, Chi Meng was already sitting on Qian Wu's wooden chair, yawning, propping up his cheek and feeling drowsy.

Ji Ruxue was also a little sleepy, so she asked Qianwu for a chair and sat there daydreaming. Qianwu stood at the opening of the stone slab, staring at the scene in the cave with his eyes wide open, his fists clenched, as if he didn't want to miss any movement.

Inside the cave.

Xiao Yan pulled a few fallen girls to gather around the table, used wine as ink, and wrote a number of poems on the table with his fingers. He explained the meaning of the poems to them, talked about the grandeur of the poems, the vastness of the world, the breadth of the rivers and lakes, and how suitable the beautiful scenery was for drinking.

It talks about Pangu creating the world, Houyi shooting down the sun, Jingwei filling the sea, Chang'e flying to the moon, Xi Shi seducing King Fu Chai, Diao Chan teasing Dong Zhuo, Wu Zhao becoming emperor, and Yang Taizhen and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang composing "Rainbow Skirt and Feathered Coat" together.

Nine out of the nine dancers were attracted by him, and three of the three wine-serving girls were led away by him. They all listened attentively and asked questions in a low voice from time to time. Xiao Yan patiently answered them one by one with a faint smile on his face, as if they were good friends.

……

Hou Qing took out the bone flute and slightly repaired it with a carving knife for a long time. Then, with nothing to do and not wanting to eat or drink, he ignored others and played a tune by himself. In the end, several female musicians hiding in the dark could no longer bear it and ran out to correct him.

Hou Qing automatically ignored it, and several female musicians were so anxious that they rushed out of the cave, found a few flutes and played a song each.

The Corpse Ancestor suddenly realized what was going on and he consulted a few women carefully. After making some slight improvements, the sound of the music did improve, although it was still horrible.

……

You Chuan was drunk and had fallen asleep under the table.

……

How could this be possible?
How could this be!?
Qian Wu was puzzled and thought for a long time with a frown, especially when he saw the happy scene of Luohua Cave Girl and Xiao Yan and the other two, his frown became even worse. He called over a Luohua Cave Girl and confirmed several times that Xiao Yan and the others had indeed drunk the Tremella soup, and then he finally came to a conclusion.

These three people are not considered men.

"Isn't it ridiculous to think about what the Master of Qianwu Cave said?"

Ji Ruxue crossed her arms and sneered, "According to the thinking of Qianwu Cave Master, all men in the world are evil by nature. Apart from them, there is no good man, or even no man. Then I want to ask Qianwu Cave Master, does your father who gave birth to you and raised you deserve to die? Is he also an evil man?"

"That's right!" Chi Meng snorted and said, "Not all men are as hateful as you say. You can't deny everyone because of one person. You are..."

She thought about it, but couldn't think of a word to describe it.

Ji Ruxue added: "One leaf blinds the eye."

Qian Wu had a cold expression on his face, said nothing, and turned away.

At this time, Ji Ruxue suddenly looked at her back and spoke.

"Just now, the Lord of Qianwu Cave asked us why we liked that person."

Qianwu paused.

Ji Ruxue raised the corner of her mouth and continued, "I think the Lord of Qianwu Cave has seen the reason with his own eyes."

The former seemed to laugh, but also seemed not to laugh, and walked down the high steps built on the stone wall.

"Wow, what you said is so good!" Chi Meng held her face in her hands and couldn't help but say, "That weird woman has been left speechless. Humph, let's see if she will say something weird again!"

Ji Ruxue smiled, but looked at Qian Wu's departing back with some confusion.

She always felt that she could dig out a bottomless story from this so-called cave owner.

……

When Qian Wu's footsteps sounded, the giggling sounds in the cave stopped instantly. The girls who were surrounding Xiao Yan and trying not to help covering their mouths and laughing suddenly became silent. After seeing Qian Wu's figure appear at the entrance of the cave, they all stood up from the table and left, standing on both sides awkwardly.

Xiao Yan was very keen to discover that although there was no respect for hierarchy in Luohua Cave, Qian Wu's authority was very strong and her words here were no different from an imperial edict.

"The Master of Qianwu Cave is late."

Xiao Yan wanted to pour wine, but found that the wine had been drunk unconsciously just now, or it was written on the table. The group of Luohua Cave Girls obviously forgot this, and no one added wine, so he had to pick up the wine on Hou Qing's table and pour a glass, laughing and said: "A lot of lively things have been said, but I forgot that the master of Qianwu Cave has not arrived. I will punish myself with a glass, punish myself with a glass."

Qian Wu walked in without looking at Hou Qing who also ignored her, nor did she care about You Chuan who insisted on getting herself drunk for some reason. She just walked to the center of the terrace and stared at Xiao Yan.

The girls on both sides looked at each other in dismay, and one of them mustered up the courage to speak.

Qian Wu raised his hand to stop the man from saying anything.

Xiao Yan was calm and fearless. He looked at Qian Wu with a faint smile, put down his wine glass, and said, "Master Qian Wu, it seems that you have something to say to us?"

Qian Wu walked slowly, pondered for a moment, and said, "What is the meaning of those stories that Alang just told in this cave?"

"Stories are just stories. What's the meaning of them?" Xiao Yan said with a smile, "Just like the Falling Flower Cave of the Thousand Crows Cave Master, women help each other and farm together for food. Does it have to have some other symbolic meaning?"

Qian Wu turned around, looked Xiao Yan up and down, and suddenly nodded: "Ah Lang is really different from other men."

Xiao Yan smiled, then stopped smiling and said, "Master Qianwu, please tell us directly. What exactly is the cave spirit of Luohua Cave? And what is the obstacle that makes you reject men?"

Qianwu was about to speak, but Xiao Yan said, "If I guess correctly, the two words 'Qianwu' are not the name of the cave master, but a title, right?"

Qian Wu's eyes were startled for a moment, then he half-closed them, with the corners of his mouth raised with interest. He waved to the Luohua Cave Girls on both sides, and after the latter had all left, he picked up a wooden chair and sat down with his legs crossed.

"Ah Lang, you might as well make your words clearer."

(End of this chapter)