Gu Yuan looked at the Little Paperman, clearly unwilling to waste time, and didn’t dare to ask for more, fearing it might get upset.
"Alright, you go ahead and explore the path first."
With a swoosh, the Little Paperman vanished from sight.
Xuan Chu’s eyes were full of worry; he was quite aware of his master’s abilities.
If it could cause his master such injuries and lead people into a clearly questionable passage, they must have encountered significant trouble.
Just as he was thinking about this, the Little Paperman that had disappeared was already back in front of them.
If it weren’t for knowing the Little Paperman’s speed, within those few seconds, they’d wonder if it was just pretending.
"I saw those old fellows lying on the ground, barely hanging on. I gave them pills.
I wanted to bring them out, but they wouldn’t come and asked us to go in ourselves.
Also, beside them lies a completely black, foul-smelling creature!"
After thinking for a moment, the Little Paperman added, "It’s safe to go in, no danger, I’m off to deal with something else. Just call me if you need anything!"
With that, the Little Paperman swooshed away again so hurriedly it was almost infuriating.
But both Gu Yuan and Xuan Chu couldn’t afford to bicker with the Little Paperman at this moment.
They were clearly concerned about the elders inside who were barely clinging to life.
The passageway, while wide enough for the two to walk side by side, still left them a bit apprehensive, so they walked single file.
Not knowing how long they had been walking, they still hadn’t reached the end of the passage.
Gu Yuan couldn’t help but mutter, "The distance the Little Paperman covers in a swoosh is quite a trek for us. If only I could Instantaneously teleport too."
Hearing this, Xuan Chu pretended not to have heard; although Gu Yuan couldn’t Instantaneously teleport, Heavenly Dao Village had the Speeding Charm, but it was only for personal use, so better not to mention it.
Finally, they reached the end of the long passage, opening into a spacious cave.
The light on Xuan Kong’s body had dimmed considerably, but he still emitted a glow.
Gu Yuan’s eyes were full of shock and an indescribable excitement, as he took out his phone to capture it, planning to post it internally later.
In Xuan Chu’s eyes was an overwhelming heartache; this was one of the highest secret techniques of their Heavenly Dao Village, burning their lifespan.
The other elders were not in great shape either.
The earlier explosion didn’t kill them, but it did affect them, with each feeling the pain of burns.
And the pain was bone-deep, unrelieved even by Healing Medicine.
They thought they would suffer to death, but fortune graced them again, landing them in this pit. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on NoveIꜰire.net
Moreover, they discovered an extremely yin and cold Medicine Spring here, which eased more than half of their explosion-induced pain.
Gu Yuan glanced at the black-furred creature lying not far away, confirming it had no life signs, and then immediately checked on the elders.
Except for Xuan Kong whose skin remained intact, the other elders’ hands were severely scarred.
It was easy to imagine the pain just by looking.
Before Gu Yuan could find the words, one elder who had slightly recovered spoke first.
"Why did you come down here too?"
Gu Yuan quickly recounted what had happened earlier before asking, "Elders, how did you end up here?"
"We were lucky to find this burn-relieving Medicine Spring; otherwise, you might be seeing our corpses now."
Gu Yuan’s gaze fell on the nearby black-furred being.
"That creature eats people. When we fell, we landed near its lair. If it weren’t for someone from Heavenly Dao Village, we would have been eaten.
It chased us quite far. Thankfully, even injured, we were just a bit superior to it. As soon as we killed it, Yun Ran’s Little Paperman found us."
The elder spoke lightly, but looking at the many claw marks and bloodstains around, one could imagine what had happened before.
Now with Xuan Chu and Gu Yuan, the light on Xuan Kong’s body finally dissipated, but he seemed twenty years older.
Xuan Chu’s heart was pained: "Master..."
Who would have thought, Xuan Kong slapped Xuan Chu’s shoulder: "Look at you sulking, one might think your master is dying. What bad luck!"
Seeing his master so uninhibited was a bit shocking for Xuan Chu, confirming that what he heard before wasn’t his imagination.
His warm and gentle master had turned into this?
"You rascal, still know to come back for your master, not a waste raising you!"
He stood up, looking around; earlier for those ungrateful old fellows, he dared not stop the secret technique.
Walking to the creature’s body, Xuan Kong kicked it over.
Uh (⊙o⊙)..., quite an eyesore. In all his life, he hated ugly beings the most and turned the creature’s body over with a kick.
While Xuan Chu was still processing his master’s ’transformation,’ Gu Yuan approached.
"Elder, why does this creature look so much like a Black Bear, yet a bit different..."
After dropping his wise guise, Xuan Kong’s demeanor became more casual.
With a side glance at Gu Yuan, he adjusted his tattered clothes.
The meaning was obvious.
Gu Yuan’s mouth twitched; he evaded the disciples but not the master.
In the end, resignedly, he took off his own coat, sincerely saying, "Elder, you must have suffered, your clothes are torn. Please wear mine to keep warm."
Xuan Kong was immediately satisfied, looking at Gu Yuan with approving eyes.
Unexpectedly, after removing his coat, Gu Yuan suddenly felt a chill creep through his bones.
After donning the coat, Xuan Kong leisurely spoke: "It is indeed a bear, but not really; a bear possessed by sinister energy, already mutated.
If we hadn’t chanced upon this place, soon, this bear might have replaced the Mountain Spirit."