49 Stop here, ye who live (1/2)

For now, the convoy was traveling at a rapid pace. On one hand, this stretch of road was a little smoother to travel on. On the other hand, everyone felt that as long as they drove fast enough, they could leave the danger behind them.

As the setting sun cast rays from the sky heading into evening, the convoy finally emerged out of the woods and saw the towering cliffs and canyon ahead of them.

The cliffs were like giant stairs that had been yanked out of the ground. When they got out of their vehicles, they had to crane their heads so far back their necks felt strained before they could see the top of the cliffs. But when they gazed to the left and right, they couldn't see the end.

These were nature's stairs. It was like you could climb into heaven by taking this staircase.

The Howling Canyon looked like a thin black line as it stretched out into the distance. But when they approached it, they realized that the canyon was so wide that five or six cars could pass through it side by side.

A howl and whistle was produced when the strong mountain winds blew through the canyon. If someone were standing at the mouth of the canyon, they would hardly be able to stay upright and would almost certainly get knocked over by the wind.

The magic and magnificence of nature were given full expression with this display.

Suddenly, Liu Bu shouted, ”Everyone, come look at this.”

Liu Bu stood next to entrance of the Howling Canyon and pointed at a section on the cliff wall while shouting, ”There's something written on here!”

Everyone went over and saw that someone had carved the words ”Stop here, ye who live” as large as a person's head on the cliff wall.

Xu Xianchu looked at Ren Xiaosu. ”Who carved this into the cliff?”

Ren Xiaosu shook his head. ”I didn't see these five words when I was here last year.”

”Why did you come here?” Liu Bu shrieked. ”Do you know how far from town this is? You shouldn't have ventured out this far even if you were out hunting. Who the hell are you, really? You must have kept your identity from us!”

Ren Xiaosu nodded and said, ”Yes, there's something that I haven't told y'all yet. I'm actually… the heir of the dragon.”

Liu Bu, Xu Xianchu, and Luo Xinyu were speechless.

”There are too many doubts about you right now.” Xu Xianchu pointed his gun at Ren Xiaosu and said, ”You must explain exactly why you came out here last year. This area is off the beaten track. Stronghold 113 has not sent anyone to this place in many years, and even though this is the only route linking Stronghold 112 to Stronghold 113, no one from Stronghold 112 has been to our side this past year either. You're likely the only person who's been here this year, so did you carve these words into the cliff?”

Ren Xiaosu thought for a moment and said, ”The words are carved in a very high place. I can't reach it without moving a rock over to stand on with how short I am. Besides, I'm just as surprised as y'all are about these five words. I'm also incredibly puzzled about who did this.”

Ren Xiaosu wasn't lying about this. He truly did not carve these words.

”You haven't given us an explanation of why you came to this place!” Liu Bu roared. ”Do you know how far from town we are?”

Everyone looked at Ren Xiaosu. Although they had driven at a slower pace than jogging, they still covered a pretty long distance in three days. There was no reason for Ren Xiaosu to come to this place.

Ren Xiaosu stayed silent for a moment before saying, ”Last year, I encountered a pack of wolves when I was at the Yuns. They pursued me until I reached this place.”