nycdaug Chapter 234 Valley Aftermath
Chapter 234 Valley Aftermath
Ling Xuan and Yun Mengting supported each other, dragging their wounded and exhausted bodies, and finally escaped from the valley that was like a death trap.
Outside the valley entrance, a few faint rays of sunlight tried their best to penetrate the gaps between the dense branches and leaves, and scattered sparsely on the ground, but they could not dispel the heavy haze in their hearts, as if the shadow of the conspiracy was still tightly entangled around them like a ghost.
Yun Mengting supported Ling Xuan with all her strength with her weak but firm body. Her beautiful eyes searched around eagerly and finally found a relatively flat piece of grass not far away.
She hurriedly and carefully helped Ling Xuan sit down, and then quickly took out the herbs and clean cloth that had been prepared from her bag.
At this moment, her brows were tightly furrowed into the shape of a "川" character, her eyes filled with heartache and concentration. Her trembling hands gently lifted Ling Xuan's bloodstained clothes. Seeing the hideous wounds, tears welled up in her eyes, but she forced herself not to let them fall. She said in a slightly choked voice, "Ling Lang, please bear with the pain. If this wound is not cleaned carefully, it may cause infection and endanger his life."
Ling Xuan looked at her pitiful yet pretending to be strong, and forced a comforting smile from the corner of his mouth, and said softly: "Ting'er, don't worry so much, this little injury is just a superficial pain for me, it's nothing.
However, this desperate battle with the Shadow made me deeply realize that the cunning and insidiousness of this conspiracy group far exceeded our previous imagination.
Their strategies are interconnected and their tactics are endless, so we must be even more cautious."
Yun Mengting was concentrating on cleaning his wounds, nodding slightly and responding, "The Shadow's martial arts routines are indeed extremely strange and difficult to grasp, and the traps are designed with incredible skill. If you are not careful, you will be doomed.
If it weren't for the mutual understanding and tacit cooperation between you and me, and if we couldn't trust and support each other at the critical moment, I'm afraid it would be difficult for us to walk out of the valley alive today.
"Given their style of operation, I believe they won't give up. There will undoubtedly be a series of even more sinister tactics waiting for us. We must be prepared in advance and devise countermeasures."
After treating the wound, the two stood up and prepared to leave this troubled place. Suddenly, Ling Xuan's eyes became as sharp as a hawk. He keenly noticed some messy footprints and trampled grass on the muddy ground not far away.
These signs may be easily overlooked by others, but in the eyes of Ling Xuan, who has experienced countless life and death tests and has long developed a sense of vigilance, they are as eye-catching as bright flames in the dark night.
"Ting'er, come over and take a look." Ling Xuan lowered his voice and pulled Yun Mengting closer with a serious expression so that he could carefully examine these suspicious traces.
Yun Mengting squatted down as she was told. Her slender fingers gently brushed over the footprints on the muddy ground, and her eyebrows furrowed tighter and tighter, as if they could pinch a fly to death. She carefully examined the shape, size, and depth of the footprints. After a moment of deep thought, she parted her red lips and said slowly, "These footprints look very new. They must have been left not long ago.
Moreover, judging from the distribution and depth of the footprints, they did not seem to be left by ordinary passers-by who happened to pass by. It seemed more like someone was secretly and deliberately monitoring the movements in the valley.
I suspect these people are most likely spies for the conspiracy group. They're waiting here, either waiting for us to fall into their trap or preparing to follow us and find out where we are going, so they can report our every move to the mastermind behind the scenes."
After listening to her analysis, Ling Xuan's heart was filled with anger. He clenched his fists tightly, his joints turning white from the force. He gritted his teeth and said bitterly, "No matter who they are, no matter what their purpose is, we must not sit idly by and let them manipulate us.
Let's find a place to hide first and see what they are up to."
After that, the two of them quietly hid in a dense forest near the valley entrance. They hid behind a large tree and carefully watched every move outside through the layers of branches and leaves.
Soon, several figures dressed in black appeared at the valley's exit like ghosts. They were shrouded in black robes, revealing only pairs of eyes gleaming coldly. They peered around with shifty eyes, as if searching for the world's most precious treasure, leaving no corner untouched, clearly searching for Ling Xuan and Yun Mengting.
"It's them." After seeing these people, Ling Xuan gritted his teeth in anger, and the anger in his heart was like a volcano about to erupt.
Seeing this, Yun Mengting thought for a moment, then whispered in Ling Xuan's ear, "Ling Lang, we can't stay here for long. We must find a way to get rid of them as soon as possible.
I have a plan. We can pretend to escape towards the path to the east and deliberately leave some obvious traces along the way to make them mistakenly think that we are heading in that direction.
Then, we can find a secluded spot, turn back, and take a detour through the valley path to the west. This way, we might be able to temporarily shake them off.”
After hearing her plan, Ling Xuan secretly admired it and thought it was very clever. He immediately nodded in agreement and said, "This is a very good plan. Let's do as Ting'er said."
So, they acted as planned. They pretended to be panicked, deliberately making a lot of noise on the eastern path, and broke some branches to create the illusion of a hasty escape.
When the men in black heard the noise and followed the trail, they quickly turned back like a nimble cheetah.
Then, they carefully moved forward towards the valley path in the west, taking every step very slowly, for fear of making any sound and alerting the enemy who might be lurking nearby.
Along the way, the two remained vigilant, as if every blade of grass and tree around them might be hiding danger. Yun Mengting, relying on her in-depth knowledge of herbs, carefully collected some herbs along the way with special scents that could confuse the sense of smell.
As she walked, she gently scattered the herbs behind her, using the scent of the herbs to disrupt the tracking direction of possible pursuers.
Ling Xuan stopped when he reached a clear stream.
He stared at the gurgling stream, and suddenly an idea flashed in his mind. He turned to Yun Mengting and said, "Ting'er, let's walk along the stream for a while.
The stream will wash away our scent and traces, making it more difficult for pursuers to find us."
Yun Mengting readily agreed. Without hesitation, the two of them stepped into the freezing stream. The icy water instantly soaked their shoes, socks, and clothes, and the chill pierced their skin like needles, but they were completely unaware.
At this moment, they have only one firm belief in their hearts, that is to get rid of danger as soon as possible, continue to explore the truth hidden behind the conspiracy group, and work tirelessly to protect the peace of their country. Even if there are mountains of swords and seas of fire ahead, they will never retreat.