Chapter 120 - Underwater Palace (2/2)
“Here it is!” Wen Guanjing’s normally expressionless face is now expressing happiness. It shows how much he values the destination.
Lin Luoran nods, “Let’s go.”
They jump onto the river bed and, without paying attention to sticky mud, quickly run to the pa.s.sage under the stone steps.
As soon as Lin Luoran gets there, water pours down and fills up the separated area. On the vast Sand River, waves are rolling from time to time. Everything seems to be natural and there is no evidence that someone has gone under the river.
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Lin Luoran thought that it must be damp and dark in such a deep place. Unexpectedly, after opening a broken stone door, they come across a stone aisle with soft light.
Every few steps, they can see luminous pearls as large as a fist inlaid on top of the aisle. They must have been sending out soft light for many years.
The stone aisle is clean and tidy, and there are some murals with simple lines carved on both sides of it. The style of the murals is simple but very vivid. Even Wen Guanjing, who is eager to take something, cannot help stopping and looking at the murals on both sides carefully.
In the first mural, there are several mountains surrounded by clouds and mist, and many ancient pavilions and palaces. There are also people dressed in ancient clothes sitting under pine trees, gaining enlightenment by streams, or even flying on swords wearing long robes with wide sleeves… Lin Luoran looks at these mountains and finds them more and more familiar. Seeing how Wen Guanjing touches the mural with his trembling fingers, Lin Luoran suddenly realizes something with a flash of inspiration.
These mountains look extremely beautiful even in a mural. They are the mountains flooded when the Three Gorges Dam retains water!
“Is that…” Lin Luoran is so curious that she cannot help speaking.
It seems that Wen Guanjing knows what she is puzzled about. He calms down and smiles reluctantly, “Your guess is correct. These are the gates of the former Zu Mountain.”
Mountain Gate? Lin Luoran is shocked. If this is the gate of a cultivation school, why did they allow the government to build a dam and retain water? Since when did they become so generous?
There is a little bit of loneliness in Wen Guanjing’s eyes. He explains softly: “In the past, Zu Mountain School was strong and it owned all the famous mountains in Sichuan Province. The disappearance of masters of Gathering Vitality a thousand years ago weakened the world of cultivation… Today, there are tourists even on the highest mountains and it is just deceiving ourselves if we still keep the mountains as the gate. Besides, there is an inside story about the Three Gorges Dam. Zu Mountain School will not lose the greater for the less, so we just offered everything.”
Even though Wen Guanjing sounds generous, Lin Luoran feels his disappointment. Offering the mountain gates sounds embarra.s.sing no matter how righteous they are or what kind of inside story is there. Lin Luoran asks casually, “You knew it was the palace left by the predecessors of Zu Mountain School before?” Is it possible that Wen Guanjing came into the secret land for this palace?
Lin Luoran feels chilly that she accompanies him in. What will happen if she accidentally knows their secrets?
Wen Guanjing shakes his head, “If we had known about this place, I would not have been the only Wen who comes in this time.”
Lin Luoran cannot tell whether he is telling the truth or not, and she does not want to pursue. She looks at the second mural, but for a moment, she is surprised and uncertain about the scene in the painting!