Chapter 85

Lin Xiao began to search for a way out of the mountain. The situation inside the cave was clear; there was no way out. 'It seems the way out is outside,' Lin Xiao thought.

Stepping out of the cave, the sun was shining brightly, and the mountain breeze gently caressed Lin Xiao, who closed his eyes to enjoy the moment.

After arriving here, Lin Xiao's attention had been completely drawn to the cave, and he hadn't even carefully observed the surroundings.

Next to the cave was a patch of land overgrown with weeds. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that this land had been tilled by the former confidant to grow grains and vegetables.

The surroundings were completely barren, with hardly any trees in sight. Lin Xiao circled around several times but found nothing.

Lin Xiao could only return to the cave and sit down, thinking about the way out. He recalled his journey from the moment he entered the valley, remembering every detail from the forest, the small lake, the stone path, to the current cave.

After recalling several times, Lin Xiao was certain that there was no path leading out of the valley from the places he had seen. It seemed to be a closed valley, with no way out, whether it was the forest he entered through or the current cave.

'How did the confidant enter this place back then?' Lin Xiao wondered.

He had only reached this closed valley with the help of the golden eagle. Since the confidant could enter and leave, there must be a way out.

The only thing left was to continue searching. Lin Xiao walked back to the stone wall and examined the words inscribed on it.

After reading it several times, Lin Xiao found no clues about how to get out, no matter how he read it, forwards or sideways.

Feeling discouraged, Lin Xiao gave up on the words and sat down on the stone table, continuing to ponder the unreasonable situation.

Based on the path he had taken, there were only two likely places to find a way out: the starting point of the forest and the current cave.

The middle section was immediately ruled out by Lin Xiao, as the high mountains on both sides left no way out.

'Let's start with the cave, and if there's nothing, I'll go back to the forest,' Lin Xiao thought.

Jumping off the table, although the cave was spotlessly clean with only a stone table and a stone bed, Lin Xiao decided to check every possible exit.

First, he examined the stone table, feeling it all over but finding nothing unusual. He then lifted the entire table and moved it aside, but found nothing underneath. Was he looking for Mei Chaofeng under the table?

He moved the table back to its original position and went to the stone bed, feeling it all over, hoping to find a hidden passage like in the scene from "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" where Xiao Zhao and Zhang Wuji rolled under the bed.

Finding nothing, even after lifting the entire stone bed, he saw that the ground underneath was solid.

Lin Xiao looked at the walls around him. Since there was nothing on the stone table or bed, he had to search the cave's stone walls. If this didn't work, he would have to go back to the forest.

He examined the walls more carefully, not missing any small protrusions, pressing and turning them, but found nothing.

After checking everything, Lin Xiao was out of breath, looking at the stone walls, feeling discouraged. He leaned back against the wall to rest.

"Hey, hey, hey."

Lin Xiao, unprepared, fell backward with a thud. 'This is supposed to be a wall, how could I fall on the ground?' Looking around, he realized the wall he had leaned against had opened like a door.

Actually, the door could have been seen as soon as he entered the cave, but over time, dust and dirt had filled the gaps, making it indistinguishable from the wall.

Lin Xiao sat up, rubbing his head, feeling overwhelmed. Just as he was about to give up, this unexpected turn of events occurred, causing his mood to swing dramatically.

Standing up, Lin Xiao examined the stone room. The empty room had only a small path leading deeper, with no items placed there.

After circling the room and confirming there were no hidden mechanisms, he began to walk down the path.

The deeper he went, the darker it became. Lin Xiao turned on the headlamp on his helmet and slowly walked forward. The quiet path echoed with only the sound of his footsteps.

The pitch-black path, where even a word would echo, was so quiet that he could hear his own heartbeat. The only fortunate thing was the light; otherwise, it would have been like being in a dark room in the military.

Along the path, there were some handles for placing torches. The path was longer than Lin Xiao had imagined, with uneven ground and an irregular ceiling, making it difficult to walk.

In the pitch-black path, a white opening suddenly appeared ahead. 'The exit must be near,' Lin Xiao thought.

He quickened his pace and finally stepped into the white opening. Accustomed to the darkness, the sudden bright light made him squint.

"This can't be real, my God," Lin Xiao exclaimed.

What made Lin Xiao so agitated? When he stepped out of the path, he saw a massive cave. The cave itself wasn't surprising, but what was surprising was that it was a huge karst cave.

Oddly shaped rocks hung from the ceiling, some like cones, others like noodles, hanging vertically from the top.

There were some small cracks at the top, through which sunlight shone, making the entire cave breathtakingly beautiful, with colorful reflections everywhere.

What truly made Lin Xiao agitated was not this, but the two spring openings in the center of the cave. One spouted hot water, with steam rising from the spring.

The plant growing at the intersection of the two springs was the key to Lin Xiao's exclamation. Ignoring the stunning karst cave, he ran directly to the plant.

Staring at the plant, he silently thought that this might be the greatest收获 of his journey, Lin Xiao thought.

It was a Zhu Guo, yes, the plant's name was Zhu Guo. As many martial arts novels described, Zhu Guo was a real fruit.

On this plant, there were nine Zhu Guo, all fully mature, each about the size of a thumb, with a seductive red color.