Chapter 1351 - 1346: Stone Cave
Murong Xue's tears welled up instantly as she threw herself into Lin Chuan's embrace. Lin Chuan smiled slightly and gently patted her back. The nearby Han Qing coughed, startling the two of them. Hearing this, both of them blushed.
Han Qing looked at Lin Chuan, nodded slightly, and said, "I know you are here to save people. The matter is urgent, so I won't say much more. They are currently being held at Duan Tian Cliff."
After saying this, Han Qing added to Lin Chuan, "I have some things to attend to. Once you rescue them, I will come to find you."
After Han Qing left, Lin Chuan said to Murong Xue, "We must leave here quickly, find a place to heal, and then head to Duan Tian Cliff!"
With that, Lin Chuan displayed his figure, and he and Murong Xue quickly disappeared into the trees.
After a long time, three blood-red figures flashed through the forest.
"Reporting to sir, there's nothing!" said a subordinate at the front.
"Nothing? I didn't expect this kid to be so troublesome." Night Blood's eyes gleamed coldly as he whispered, "Let's quickly head to Duan Tian Cliff; there will be a good show there."
Night Blood smiled ominously, spun his figure, and headed into the distance. The two behind him didn't say anything but followed him, and in a blink of an eye, the three figures vanished into the forest.
Lin Chuan and Murong Xue found another secluded cave. After building a fire, they sat cross-legged to cultivate.
Murong Xue stayed by his side, her little Xiao Ling mischievous and occasionally letting out squeaks.
Murong Xue petted Xiao Ling and looked at Lin Chuan in front of her, slightly worried, yet her lips displayed a sweet smile.
This time Lin Chuan's healing took quite a while, lasting three to four hours.
Lin Chuan opened his eyes, suddenly channeling his True Qi, and a powerful aura burst forth.
"Are you done?" Murong Xue noticed Lin Chuan open his eyes, smiled, and asked.
Lin Chuan nodded with a smile, then stood up, embraced Murong Xue, and without saying anything, kissed her tender lips. With the experience from last time, Murong Xue felt even more magical this time, boldly embracing Lin Chuan, and the two became entwined.
"Squeak…" A crisp sound echoed, and Lin Chuan felt something furry nudge him. It was Xiao Ling, who seemed impatient after waiting for so long.
"Hmph, I shouldn't have gotten you in the first place!" Lin Chuan glared at it and said.
Hearing this, Murong Xue blushingly replied, "Xiao Ling, behave well. Even if he doesn't want you, I do."
Lin Chuan took Murong Xue and dashed toward Duan Tian Cliff.
Though the two were unfamiliar with Duan Tian Cliff, Han Qing had already pointed out the direction. Following his directions, they headed southwest, barely pausing on their journey.
Following Han Qing's indicated direction, they finally arrived at a giant mountain, in front of which was a huge ravine—naturally, Duan Tian Cliff.
This was an endless range of mountains, lush and majestic, stretching to the horizon. A giant mountain stood like a pillar, piercing the heavens.
Below the mountain cliff lay wide open spaces, filled with forests and rivers. From a distance, Lin Chuan could see dense crowds beneath the massive cliff.
"Looks like everyone has been captured here." Lin Chuan stood on a distant mountaintop, gazing at the crowd and slightly furrowed his brows.
"Should we, just like this?" Murong Xue's face reddened slightly. Previously, they only displayed intimate gestures privately. For Lin Chuan, it might not be a big deal to appear together in front of everyone like this, but Murong Xue felt a bit embarrassed.
"Oh…" Lin Chuan slapped his forehead, realizing. "Let's lay low for now. However, you need to put on a front when the time comes, then we will…"
Lin Chuan whispered to Murong Xue.
"Mm!" Murong Xue nodded obediently, her eyes filled with tenderness and an inexplicable firm confidence. Then she smiled at Lin Chuan, her figure darting toward the crowd beneath the giant cliff.
Seeing Murong Xue leave, Lin Chuan too restored his True Qi at the original spot. More than an hour later, he rushed downwards, his figure streaking through the forest like a leopard, and soon he arrived beneath the giant cliff. From this closer vantage, the space looked much larger than it did from above, with scattered figures around.
Lin Chuan surveyed, then headed towards a direction, where the captured individuals clearly congregated.
At this moment, disciples of the Ghost Gate stood on a huge stone, and many people glanced towards a large stone cave below the mountain. As Lin Chuan approached, only a few noticed him. But seeing Lin Chuan unfamiliar and not very skilled, they simply nodded in acknowledgment.
As Lin Chuan had expected, there was a person dressed in a blood-red robe standing on a large stone to the east. It was clear without even thinking that it must be someone from the Ghost Gate. It seemed that Han Qing's earlier words were true.
Just as Lin Chuan was deep in thought, a commotion suddenly erupted ahead, and the people from the Ghost Gate in the distance were in an uproar. Lin Chuan also took a few steps forward, and soon he saw a group of figures clad in a mix of red and white robes charging from below the stone cave towards the top.
Han Qing had once told Murong Xue that the people of the Ghost Gate were planning a major operation, which was related to the safety of all beings. Seeing these disciples of the Ghost Gate gathering at the entrance of the stone cave, his intuition told him that this operation was definitely related to this cave.
Lin Chuan decided to refrain from rescuing Zhang Wenhui and the others for now. Besides, he had been watching from afar for quite a while and had only seen Zheng Xiuzhi and others, but not Zhang Wenhui.
Since these disciples of the Ghost Gate had not yet recognized him, why not take advantage of this opportunity to sneak into the cave and take a look?
Having made up his mind, Lin Chuan followed the disciples of the Ghost Gate to the entrance of the cave. Looking around, it was a huge cavern, about three stories tall, not dark inside, but indistinct. On the surface, it was unclear whether the cave had formed naturally or was man-made.
The cave was somewhat dim but emitted a faint red glow. It was large and wide, and everyone continued along into it. Along the way, they even saw traces of blood.
Thus, led by the young man, everyone slowly moved forward inside the cave. The further they went, the brighter the light became. Soon, they could feel a slight scorching sensation.
A thunderous roar came from deep within the cave. Everyone felt the heat in the air intensify, and their hearts leapt. The True Qi within them began to circulate.
Continuing forward, they soon came across a land of fiery red light. Here was a Flame Pond with roiling lava, marking the end of the cave.
There turned out to be a monster inside this stone cave. Why were the disciples of the Ghost Gate interested in this monster? What exactly were they planning to do? This filled Lin Chuan's heart with curiosity.
...
Jiangbei City.
Tang Yumeng had just come from the finance department and returned to her office when her phone rang.
Looking at the caller ID, it was Gao Xiaoxiao calling.
"Yumeng, I've arrived in Jiangbei City. Where should we go to have a meal? My treat." As soon as the call connected, she heard Gao Xiaoxiao's clear voice.
Tang Yumeng smiled into the phone and said, "You're the guest. How can I let you treat me on my turf? Let's meet at Jiangbei Hotel in half an hour."
After hanging up the phone, Tang Yumeng instructed her assistant and then left the Sichuan University Group, driving to Jiangbei Hotel.
Entering through the main door of the hotel, she saw Gao Xiaoxiao sitting on a sofa to the side with a good-looking man in his thirties.
"Xiaoxiao." Tang Yumeng called to Gao Xiaoxiao with a smile and walked over.
Gao Xiaoxiao looked about the same age as Tang Yumeng, but her appearance was not nearly as comparable to Tang Yumeng's.
"Mr. Tang, you're becoming more and more beautiful, I'm so envious," Gao Xiaoxiao greeted Tang Yumeng with a smile as she stood up.
Tang Yumeng smiled with her lips closed and said, "Your mouth is as sweet as ever."
Gao Xiaoxiao laughed heartily and said, "That's right, back in the day I was also a debate champion at school."
Tang Yumeng giggled and said, "Oh, stop showing off already." As she said so, her gaze moved to the handsome man standing beside Gao Xiaoxiao and added, "Xiaoxiao, aren't you going to introduce your boyfriend?"
Gao Xiaoxiao blushed, glanced at the man, and before she could speak, he extended his hand to Tang Yumeng with a smile and said, "Secretary Tang, Xiaoxiao has mentioned your name many times. It's impressive to finally meet you. I am Liu Tiansi, nice to meet you."
Liu Tiansi, the name sounded familiar, but Tang Yumeng couldn't quite place it at the moment. She quickly extended her hand and lightly shook his, saying, "Hello."
After exchanging some pleasantries, Tang Yumeng led the two to the second floor of Jiangbei Hotel and got a private room where she ordered several dishes.
"Yumeng, I've looked into the matter you asked about. Here is the information we received from there." Gao Xiaoxiao said as she winked at Liu Tiansi.
Liu Tiansi promptly got up, took a folder from his bag, and handed it to Tang Yumeng.
After thanking him, Tang Yumeng accepted the folder from Liu Tiansi and opened it to find out that the funds transferred from Citibank in the United States to the Jiangbei City State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission were from a company.