Chapter 290 Mr. Li's Disciple
Qian Wu only sent Xiao Yan and his group out of Luohua Cave and did not continue to see them off. He stood alone in the maple forest, watching the backs of Xiao Yan and the others as they walked away, before returning alone.

Before this, Qian Wu wanted to gather all the Luohua Cave girls to announce Xiao Yan's identity as the cave god, and then let Xiao Yan tell everyone the truth, and then the Luohua Cave girls who should return to the secular world should return to the secular world, and those who should get married and raise children should not delay.

However, Xiao Yan did not agree with this approach.

Firstly, Raojiang is not stable now. The Ten Thousand Poison Cave has lured various villages to stir up hatred against the Central Plains. Once the war starts, it will be difficult to stop. Not to mention that there are even bigger conspiracies in the Ten Thousand Poison Cave that have not been uncovered. On the other hand, Luohua Cave is stable and peaceful, and self-sufficiency is not a problem. It doesn't matter if the truth is revealed later.

Secondly, Luohua Cave was a utopia created by countless Luohua Cave girls with great efforts. It was no different from a paradise on earth. If they were dismissed so easily, they would inevitably feel extremely disappointed after seeing the chaos in the outside world, and would not be able to change their ideas.

Besides, Luohua Cave is not a bad place. The women of Luohua Cave have lived here for generations and have long taken root here. Where can they go if they leave?

Therefore, Xiao Yan told Qian Wu that the operating rules of Luohua Cave should not be changed, and there was no need to lift the ban and notify the outside world in a short period of time to avoid the original system being impacted. Except for not being able to kill men, everything else could remain unchanged. After Raojiang was stable again, the ban could be lifted and the women of Luohua Cave could be allowed to come and go freely.

Of course, these are just Xiao Yan's reference opinions. Everything depends on Qian Wu's own decision. But looking at her expression, I'm afraid she will definitely implement Xiao Yan's opinions.

Luohua Cave had indeed been deceived by Li Chunfeng for hundreds of years with a lie, and the so-called cave god who represented pure and extraordinary love did not really exist. However, this belief was deeply rooted in the hearts of every generation of Qianwu Cave Masters. She was the person who knew best that the cave god did not exist, and she was also the person who believed most that the cave god existed.

It is because of such complicated emotions that Luohua Cave has been passed down for hundreds of years.

Until they entered the Painting Valley, everyone couldn't help but marvel at this emotion that spanned hundreds of years.

Aren’t the actions of generation after generation of Qianwu also the fulfillment of their promises?

"At first I thought this Taoist Priest Li was a bad guy, but I didn't expect he was so well-intentioned..." Chi Meng said, "He was the original Thousand Crow Cave Master. He never saw Taoist Priest Li again in his life. What a pity."

Ji Ruxue deeply agreed with this.

Even a rational girl like her could not help but feel regret and shock because of the word love.

She looked at Xiao Yan's back and suddenly wondered if she could keep believing in him until she died. And would she be willing to pass on his story a hundred years later, passing on his personality and charm to the next generation, so that they, like herself, would wait for his appearance?

Ji Ruxue asked herself if she could do the first point, but was afraid that she could not do the second. It was true that Luohua Cave was a paradise that sheltered everyone, but it was too selfish to use this belief to restrain them.

She is willing to deny herself, but not to impose it on others.

In front, Xiao Yan said leisurely: "What is love in this world——"

"The direct teaching promises life and death."

After hearing this, the two girls' eyes lit up. Chi Meng exclaimed, "Wow!", while Ji Ruxue instantly understood the previous problem. The word "love" is inherently unreasonable.

Maybe you think that others are trapped in it, but they may also be enjoying it, so they think you are meddling too much?
Hou Qing couldn't help but nodded.

This sentence is so damn tasteful. Listen, listen, this is called style. Don't speak easily. If you speak casually, you are pretending to be cool.

Even if Hou Qing was not interested in women, he knew how hurtful this sentence could be to women. If he left with only his back, wouldn't that scene be very pretentious?

You Chuan felt a little sad. He didn't know why he drank so much wine last night. Hearing these words, he couldn't help himself. He couldn't help but want to find Chi Meng to apologize, but when he thought that this was just his wishful thinking, he felt even more frustrated.

"Xiao Guoguo, what did Sister Qianwu tell you in the end?"

Chi Meng chased after him with a small purse on his shoulder, and couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

When they parted with Qian Wu just now, although she heard what Xiao Yan told her about Li Chunfeng, Qian Wu also said something to Xiao Yan alone afterwards, which made Chi Meng very curious.

Xiao Yan was stunned, then thought carefully about how to change the subject.

Ji Ruxue glanced at him and said coldly, "Qian Wu said that she will not keep waiting any longer. She will go after the Falling Flower Cave after she has arranged it, no matter how far it is."

"Oh oh oh..." Chi Meng had no doubt about Ji Ruxue's hearing and nodded repeatedly, but was stunned after nodding.

Hey, why does it feel like something is wrong?
Xiao Yan had no choice but to hold down his hat, pointed forward, and said, "According to Qian Wu, the valley ahead should be the entrance to the Painting Valley, but you need to be mentally prepared. According to her, although the name of the Painting Valley sounds like a place with birds singing and flowers blooming, there are few people and it is no different from a dead place. The wind and sand inside are very strong. If you don't take good protection, your exposed skin will be blown rough in just half a day."

"Hehe, I'm prepared."

Chi Meng was quickly diverted to the topic and took out a few silk scarves from her small bag. She first gave them to Ji Ruxue, and then distributed them to Xiao Yan and the other two in turn.

"I begged for this by saying a lot of nice things to a few poor girls. It's just a piece of wind and sand. Come on, come on!"

Ji Ruxue covered her face with a scarf, but she couldn't help but glare at Xiao Yan.

Since entering Raojiang, Qian Wu has become the second woman after Chi Meng who has some involvement with Xiao Yan. Is she planning to have a confidante wherever she goes?
Thinking about Shuliduo in Mobei who had an unclear relationship with Xiao Yan, and the surrendered ministers who simply disappeared, in addition to that, the sisters Miao Chengtian and Xuan Jingtian did not hide their closeness to Xiao Yan, not to mention those women whom Xiao Yan inadvertently teased.

The thought of this.

Ji Ruxue was worried.

Xiao Yan didn't care. In order not to spoil Chi Meng's good intentions, he just put on the women's scarf with a smile.

You Chuan is no exception.

Hou Qing held the scarf with some disgust. After thinking for a long time, he still hadn't made up his mind to put it on, which made Chi Meng slap him hard. Chi Meng simply snatched the scarf back, intending to let the wind and sand blow Hou Qing's face into pieces.

The Corpse Ancestor did not take it seriously, but instead breathed a sigh of relief. In a good mood, he took the initiative to play the bone flute and lead the way.

……

It was exactly as Qianwu said. After entering the Painting Valley, all one could see was a vast expanse of yellow.

The entire valley is extremely large, with an unknown depth of several miles. The mountains on both sides are all sandy. It is hard to imagine that there is such a large area similar to the Loess Plateau in this southwestern border.

There was almost no green in the valley, only dead trees, each of which looked like a twisted python, with all branches pointing crookedly in the direction of the valley entrance, as if they were all trying to escape from this place. The environment here was even worse than that of the Dead Creek Forest, as if all living things had died, with dead branches and dry grass flying all over the sky.

The dust-covered sandstorms were like storms, sweeping from the bottom of the valley to the mouth of the valley. From time to time, large pieces of sand fell from the mountains and were swept away by the sandstorms. As it was still morning, the winter sun rose from behind the mountains, reflecting the clouds in the sky red. The yellow sand in the painting valley seemed to be covered with a layer of rosy clouds. The dry trees and wavy yellow sand were all reflected in golden red. The rich color made this land seem naturally not to belong to Raojiang.

Everyone was very surprised. Although they knew that there would be strong wind and sand here, they didn't expect it to be this strong. Chi Meng tucked her scarf tightly into her tucked-in scarf. Even if she had a thousand questions, she didn't speak easily, for fear that she would open her mouth and get a mouthful of sand.

The gauze scarf used by the girl in the Fallen Flower Cave was indeed a bit thin.

Hou Qing walked in front without changing his expression. The hem of his clothes embroidered with tiny words fluttered in the wind. His back looked particularly elegant, but he put away his bone flute at some point and did not make a sound.

Ji Ruxue took out the book that Xiao Yan gave her, flipped through it with her back to the wind, compared Huagu with the paintings left on the book, and then shook her head at Xiao Yan.

You Chuan said in a deep voice, "There is a reason why the Twelve Caves can be secluded and peaceful. If you accidentally stumbled here, you probably wouldn't think that this desolate place is the Painting Valley. And no wonder even the Lord of Qianwu Cave doesn't know whether the Painting Valley can lead to the Twelve Caves. There is no life here, and there is no clue at all. It is difficult for us to find any clues in this valley that is dozens of miles deep."

Xiao Yan thought for a moment and didn't say much. He just instructed the few people to disperse and look around for any clues. If there were really none, they would temporarily retreat to the valley entrance to rest for a while before discussing a solution.

No one had any objection. Hou Qing was very good at light work and he jumped up the mountain to explore a little.

Unexpectedly, when we climbed up the mountain and looked around, we found that there were gullies everywhere outside the mountain, and broken earth fields and earth ridges stood all around.

If I didn't know that I was in the Shiwan Mountains, I would have thought this place was inside the Great Wall.

The wind here is very strong, as if it were the Creator's chisel, which has cut and carved the originally rolling mountains over the years, forming countless gullies and wind tunnels, with valleys buried in them. Looking around, some of the ravines seem to be frighteningly deep.

No one should survive in a place like this.

After searching for nearly an hour, Xiao Yan led everyone out of Huagu and found a place at the entrance of the valley to replenish water and dry food. He held the Twelve Caves Token he got in the Dead Creek Forest and thought carefully.

------

Somewhere in a cave.

The dim red firelight stretched the figure further and further, finally casting it into the shadow in the corner.

The purple rosary was slowly turned between rough hands. In the cave that seemed boundless due to the excessive darkness, the only sound was the fire in the center, which was making crackling sounds.

The owner of the rough hands was watching the fire quietly, his face hidden in the darkness and could not be seen clearly. He was just turning the rosary beads intermittently, as if waiting for something.

A moment later, including the thirteen cushions under him, a total of ten figures sat down silently.

The remaining three cushions were arranged in different orders. One of them was placed on the right hand side of the person who was turning the rosary. It was clean and even though no one had sat on it for hundreds of years, it was still as complete as new.

The other two seats were of different ages. The one farthest from the man was obviously still new, but no one was sitting there.

The other one was old and covered with dust, and it seemed that no one had cared about it for more than ten years.

"Xiao Eleven, what's the matter with calling us together today?" A charming female voice sounded in the darkness. Her seat was very close to the owner of the rosary.

"Is there new wine to drink?" An old man shook his head and said, "There are not even a hundred or eighty jars this time. Don't ask for credit, or I'll be ashamed for you."

It is worth mentioning that the cushion on which the old man sat was on the left hand side of the owner of the rosary.

The little Eleven was silent for a moment, then spoke in the voice of a middle-aged man: "A group of kids came outside, and among them, someone is holding my Twelve Caves dominoes. If I'm not mistaken, it should be the one that belongs to Xian Shen."

"Fresh ginseng?" The woman groaned for a moment and looked at the owner of the rosary: ​​"It seems that the things Mr. Li left behind have been taken away by the visitor."

Someone spoke up again in the darkness: "I never thought anyone could pass the Falling Flower Cave..."

"Can you see the Longquan Sword?" The rosary was still being slowly turned, and its owner's voice was hoarse and low. The faint firelight reflected under the black robe, but there was only a ball of black.

"I haven't seen it." Xiao Shiyi answered honestly, "That's why I called you all here to discuss this."

"Then what is there to discuss?" The female voice said bluntly: "According to what Mr. Li said, the Twelve Caves can only accept outsiders after the Longquan Sword appears in the world. This is the only condition, no matter who comes."

"Hey, what the fourth lady said is wrong." The old man sitting next to the owner of the rosary smiled again and said, "Mr. Li also said that anyone who takes the relics from the tomb and passes through the Falling Flower Cave can become his disciple. Since you are Mr. Li's disciple, we can't stop you from entering the cave, right?"

"..." The female voice seemed to be choked. She obviously didn't like this title, but she seemed too lazy to argue with the old man, so she remained silent.

The owner of the rosary nodded slowly: "Mr. Li has done a great favor to our Twelve Caves. His disciples are indeed qualified to join the cave."

Hearing this, the female voice became a little angry and said, "Back then, Li Maozhen joined the Twelve Caves because of that bad commander, which was already an exception. Now this person has left the cave without permission. We are going to make an exception again today. What if the Dragon Spring Sword Master shows up in the future?"

The owner of the rosary paused in his movement of turning the beads.

Xiao Shiyi glanced at the futon that was obviously new but no one was sitting on it.

"Li Maozhen is not someone who can be replaced. He is gone, and since he has promised not to reveal anything about the Twelve Caves in the future, just treat him as dead." The old man said slowly, "I suggest that we choose a new candidate for his position."

"Humph." This time the female voice responded immediately: "Second Master finally set a good example. What he said is right. I agree with this."

The owner of the rosary sighed, but did not discuss this matter. Instead, he said, "Mr. Li's disciple and the Dragon Spring Sword Master were supposed to be the same person, but now things have changed. Without the clues in the tomb, it is not certain that the Dragon Spring Sword Master will have the opportunity to find this place. For those outside the cave, you can let them in for a while and observe them. If we can remove this thread of involvement, the Twelve Caves will be worthy of Mr. Li."

The others nodded.

"Eleven, go there in person and disperse."

"As ordered."

As soon as he finished speaking, there were only thirteen empty cushions left in the room again.

The blazing fire suddenly went out.

(End of this chapter)