novelraw Chapter 180 - 123: Forbidden Cave
Chapter 180 - 123: Forbidden Cave
The room was pitch-black, devoid of firelight, and not a sound was heard.
Chu Qing felt a sinking in his heart and suddenly pushed open the door. The room was empty.
The bedding on the bed was lifted, and when he reached out to touch it, the warmth was long gone.
His gaze shifted, and there was a note on the table.
Chu Qing reached out to take it, and it read four words: Wen Family Forbidden Area!
"Someone!"
Immediately, a disciple pushed the door open and entered, hands clasped in salute:
"Greetings, Third Young Master."
"Did anyone come in or out of here?"
"No..."
The two disciples exchanged glances, looking somewhat panicked.
Though they didn’t know what exactly had happened, Chu Qing’s expression made it clear something serious was afoot.
Yet they had been guarding around the room all along and indeed hadn’t seen anyone come or go.
The last person to leave the room was none other than Chu Qing himself.
Chu Qing exhaled gently...
The intruder could enter the room undetected and easily abduct two people.
The guards from Luochun Manor hadn’t noticed a thing.
Who was this person?
Thinking about this, Chu Qing dared not think of anything else. His figure blurred as he exited the door, heading directly for the forbidden area of the back mountain without hesitation.
Luochun Manor’s forbidden area, though called forbidden, actually didn’t hold any unspeakable secrets.
Initially, it was where the ancestral Wen Tianheng of the Wen Family realized his martial arts, reportedly residing here for seven years.
He comprehended Luochun Manor’s secret techniques, the Nine Heavens Star Finger, and the Celestial Inference Star Control Skill.
Thus, he founded Luochun Manor.
Since then, it has become the retreat for the Manor Masters of successive generations for secluded cultivation.
Even the thatched hut Wen Tianheng once lived in has been renovated multiple times, as they try to preserve its original appearance as much as possible.
Chu Qing, using the Chasing Star and Moon Step, seemed to shrink the ground beneath his feet, arriving at the forbidden area’s entrance within moments.
Two figures greeted him from afar:
"May I ask if the one approaching is the Third Young Master?"
"Has anyone stepped into the forbidden area?"
Chu Qing didn’t have the patience for politeness.
The two disciples exchanged glances:
"No!"
Their firm answer left Chu Qing unsure whether the note was true or false:
"I must go in."
No matter what, he had to take a look inside first.
The two disciples immediately stepped aside:
"Within the forbidden area, we cannot step foot. Third Young Master, feel free."
Chu Qing’s figure flickered, passing between the two, and not far ahead he arrived at the forbidden area.
This was a spectacular site on Celestial Star Mountain.
It seemed as though a curve had been carved through the mountain’s body, with a recess in the mountain wall forming a large space, while overhead was still the mountain, and below, an expanse of flat land.
Within the entire area, there was a mirror-like pond. By its edge, built against the mountain wall, stood a thatched hut.
Clearly, this was the very hut Wen Tianheng once lived in.
Upon reaching the edge, looking down reveals a precipitous cliff, while looking outward offers a panoramic view of the vast starry sky.
The place was small enough for Chu Qing to take it all in at a glance.
And then he saw Gentle.
She was standing at the edge of the cliff, where the wind was strong, causing her figure to sway as if she might fall off the cliff at any moment.
Chu Qing glanced around but saw no one else. He walked over to Gentle, pulling her back from the edge.
Gentle’s face remained calm, her gaze shifting slightly towards Chu Qing, but she said nothing.
Her body didn’t move either...
"Acupoints sealed?"
Chu Qing asked, Gentle’s eyes twitched, and then she blinked forcefully.
In terms of her ability to express emotions, she’d already exceeded her usual level.
Seeing this, Chu Qing let out a sigh of relief and reached to tap her shoulder.
But it was to no avail.
Chu Qing took Gentle’s wrist, checking, discovering the person who sealed her acupoints had an exceedingly intricate technique.
Moreover, their power was pure as could be, unlike anything Chu Qing had encountered in the martial world.
Exhaling gently, Chu Qing turned Gentle around so her back faced him.
Lifting a palm imbued with Inner Strength from the Mingyu Scripture, he gently pressed it to Gentle’s back.
As the Inner Breath entered her body, it wasn’t cold and piercing but flowed with a light coolness throughout, continuously wearing away at the force on the acupoints.
Moments later, Gentle’s body trembled, setting her free.
"Third brother... Miss Iron is down the cliff."
The first thing Gentle said left Chu Qing stunned:
"What?"
Seeing Gentle was indeed fine, Chu Qing approached the precipice, bending down to look.
By now, the night was deep, and amidst the shadows, he seemed to see a figure, though wasn’t certain.
Gentle’s voice reached his ear:
"At the time, I was chatting with Miss Iron, she was telling me about Iron Blood Hall, and I was sharing experiences from the Taiyi Sect..."
Chu Qing was speechless; you two really got into chatting together, huh?
And was that even the point?
"The person came out of nowhere. It was Miss Iron who sensed something wrong first, but when I turned around, it was already too late.
"My acupoints were sealed completely by him, then he picked me up and brought me before Miss Iron, capturing her too.
"After that, he took us out of the room, hurried to this place.
"He left me on the cliff’s edge, then took Miss Iron down the cliff.
"When he came back up, he told me ’She’s down the cliff, the mountain winds are fierce, if delayed, her life might be at risk.’