Chapter 1148: Turning a Corner and Encountering a Ghost?

"At first, there was a scratching sound, a bit like fingernails scraping metal. Then, the sound became incredibly eerie and terrifying, almost indescribable. It reminded me of the sound produced by a waterphone, an instrument played by a Western Regions merchant caravan who performed at the manor years ago."

Upon reading this, Zu An was somewhat surprised, never imagining that a waterphone existed in this world.

He recalled that chilling background music in many horror movies and ghost stories he had seen often originated from a waterphone.

"My fellow miners mentioned that whenever this strange and terrifying sound echoed through the tunnels, a companion would often disappear, with not even a body found..."

"I suspect those sounds are made by some kind of monster."

"And these black mists are likely left behind when the monsters emerge."

"I'm terrified... but as a guard of the Yu family, I must remember the family's honor and not disgrace this uniform..."

"I couldn't let Xingnu's main group get into trouble, so I tried to lure the monster in the opposite direction."

"I don't know how much longer I can last."

"It's a pity I'll never see Madam again; I hope she survives this ordeal."

...

As she read this, a clear tear traced down Yu Yanluo's cheek. She leaned her forehead against Zu An's chest, her body trembling slightly, clearly deeply moved.

Zu An patted her shoulder to comfort her, while he continued to turn the pages. There were a couple more lines of text, but they were blurred by bloodstains.

Beyond that, the entries abruptly stopped. Coupled with the broken sword found earlier, it was clear he had met an unfortunate end.

Zu An analyzed, "This notebook was embedded in the wall. He must have thrown it here with his last remaining strength when he was attacked, likely intending to leave a message for others to understand the situation."

"If it was thrown at that time, considering its position and angle..." Zu An began to inspect the surroundings. He soon approached a patch of black mist nearby and pressed his hand against the wall. "The soil here is soft. Normal mine tunnels are reinforced to prevent collapse, so they shouldn't be this soft. Something must have suddenly emerged from here and attacked Yu Bin."

Yu Yanluo also activated her elemental shield and walked over, examining the wall. "But even though the soil is soft, there are no traces of a cave. If a monster really came out of here, there should be a large hole."

Zu An shook his head. "It's likely an earth-element fierce beast that can move freely through the ground without needing to create an actual hole. The soil simply became somewhat abnormal due to the influence of earth elements in the area it passed through."

"You're right. It seems we need to be careful of something suddenly emerging from the walls." Yu Yanluo's expression was somewhat sorrowful. "This information was obtained for us with Yu Bin's life."

Zu An patted her shoulder, knowing that words of comfort would seem hollow at such a time.

Once she had calmed down slightly, Zu An said, "The immediate priority is to rescue those who are still alive, to prevent a repeat of the tragedy. Since Yu Bin deliberately lured that fierce beast in this direction, Xingnu and the others should be over in the other direction."

Yu Bin's path had been blocked by a collapse, but given their current cultivation levels, they could easily clear the debris if the collapsed section wasn't too extensive.

Having finally obtained clues about Xingnu and the others, they naturally had to investigate.

Yu Yanluo nodded. If something similar had happened to Xingnu's group, she didn't know how heartbroken she would be.

She carefully gathered Yu Bin's personal effects and solemnly declared, "When I return, I will erect cenotaphs for these brave, fallen warriors and inscribe monuments detailing their deeds. Though they are gone, their spirit must live on, forever cherished in the hearts of the Yu family."

Zu An, however, felt some concern. With her identity as a Medusa exposed, she would likely not be able to return to the Yu family in Cloudcrest City...

Of course, this was not the time to bring up such disheartening matters.

Next, the two searched in the opposite direction. Along the way, they found some traces, likely left by Yu Bin as he passed.

They eventually reached a collapsed section. Looking at the blocked passage, Zu An placed his hand on it and felt it for a while before opening his eyes and saying, "About ten meters of the passage is blocked by fallen rocks. We should be able to dig through it."

"Alright!" Yu Yanluo said, rolling up her sleeves and preparing to start working.

Zu An couldn't help but chuckle. "Let me handle this. You're injured; take this opportunity to rest and recover."

Yu Yanluo looked worriedly at his chest. "Your injuries are far more severe than mine. Anyone else with wounds like that would have died long ago. You should rest; let me do it."

Zu An pulled open his collar and leaned closer to her, even taking her hand and placing it on the wound, fearing she wouldn't see clearly. "I told you my body is incredibly strong, and I also took Yan Xuehen's healing medicine. The wound has already healed; look, it's scabbed over."

Yu Yanluo's fingers gently brushed his wound, and she found that it had indeed healed. "It really healed that fast? The Ice Heart Creation Pill from White Jade Capital truly is as miraculous as the legends claim."

Zu An couldn't help but smile wryly. It seemed ordinary people found it hard to grasp his physical resilience and would instinctively attribute such rapid healing to the miraculous medicine.

"Honestly, I'm so curious how Yan Xuehen could part with such a valuable medicine for you," Yu Yanluo said, her expression odd. She found the whole situation too bizarre.

"Maybe she saw how handsome I am and fell for me," Zu An replied.

"You scoundrel," Yu Yanluo playfully rolled her eyes at him. "If Master Yan heard that, she'd probably flay you alive."

Zu An sighed. "I tell you the truth, and you refuse to believe me."

As he spoke, he was already at the collapsed section, his hand pressed against it, his internal energy slowly permeating the wall.

He didn't simply punch it directly, as he was underground and worried about causing a secondary collapse.

Instead, he used a gentle force to slowly vibrate the central soil layer loose, while simultaneously using his primal energy to protect the surroundings, gradually drawing the soil out bit by bit.

After a while, a long, circular tunnel appeared before them.

"You're covered in sweat," Yu Yanluo said, taking out a handkerchief and wiping the fine beads of sweat from his forehead.

Looking at her captivatingly beautiful face up close, Zu An couldn't resist cupping her chin and kissing her.

Yu Yanluo was caught off guard, initially lightly pounding his chest, but then she passionately responded.

"You're truly beautiful," Zu An sincerely praised, as their lips finally parted after a long moment.

"You're handsome too," Yu Yanluo replied, her eyes sparkling like the most beautiful jewels in the world.

"Let's focus on the task at hand," Zu An said. He knew she must be feeling profound sadness after everything tragic they had just experienced, and he naturally didn't want to take advantage of her at such a time. "I'll go first; be careful."

With that, he crawled into the circular tunnel.

Seeing his clumsy posture, with his rear end sticking out, Yu Yanluo let out a soft chuckle. As intelligent as she was, she couldn't help but understand that he was being considerate of her feelings. A wave of warmth spread through her heart, and her gaze towards him grew softer.

The two crawled through the narrow, circular tunnel. With their elemental shields activated, they weren't concerned about getting dirty.

Reaching the other side, they hadn't walked far before several forks appeared in the path ahead.

"This way," Yu Yanluo quickly said, having found the symbol left by Xingnu, and they followed it.

Feeling the tunnel widen, they knew from previous experience that there should be an underground miners' rest station not far ahead. Such stations typically served as places to roughly sort and process mined ore, as well as distribution points for supplies, thus usually having a relatively spacious area.

Just as Yu Yanluo was about to say something, Zu An's expression changed. He pointed ahead and whispered to her, "Hush, there seems to be someone there."

With dense black mist filling the tunnel, his spiritual senses were not as keen as usual.

"Is it Xingnu and the others?" Yu Yanluo's face showed surprise and delight.

"I'm not sure. This place is too strange and eerie right now, so it's best to be cautious," Zu An replied. He shielded her behind him, and the two stealthily crept forward.

Just as they were about to peek at the situation, the sound of a rattle drum reverberated, and both immediately felt a sharp pain in their minds.

At the same time, a slender sword stabbed out like a venomous snake.