Clouds and Moon Shadow

Chapter 452 Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers and the Miasma

Of course, Jiang Wan and Yue Ling followed behind them.

Since arriving in Nanzhao, the two of them had been protecting Gu Qingyue's safety, so they naturally had to accompany her when she went out at night.

After the group quickly boarded the boat, the small boat immediately shot into the Lujiang River like an arrow.

Half an hour later, at the foot of a tall mountain through which the Lujiang River flows, Mu Nan stopped the boat.

The group silently flew ashore and joined Mu Dong.

"Master, we have made a major discovery."

Mu Dong lowered his voice.

Mu Yun Chu nodded. "What place is it?"

Mu Dong paused for a moment, "It seems to be... Valley of a Thousand Flowers."

Valley of a Thousand Flowers?! The legendary Valley of a Thousand Flowers, associated with the extraordinary woman of Qihe Town over a hundred years ago?

Isn't it said to be near Qihe Town?

How did it end up in the heart of Nanzhao?

So Gu Qingyue asked Mu Dong in detail about how he discovered the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers. After listening, she and Mu Yun Chu looked at each other, speechless.

Mu Dong was originally sent by Mu Yun Chu to investigate Xiao Nian's affairs at the Tiger Clan's residence.

Since the Tiger Warriors' camp was located near Songzhou City, he arrived there quickly.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived at the mountain path near the Tiger Warrior tribe's residence at noon, he encountered two women who appeared to be of high status arguing.

They even resorted to violence!

Two women, one in her thirties with narrow, fox-like eyes and fair skin, looked like a noblewoman.

The other one was about the same age, with fair skin, almond-shaped eyes, and a high nose. She was very beautiful, but spoke very harshly.

Of course, they argued in a mixture of Nanzhao language and tribal language, but luckily it was Mu Dong, so he could understand both.

After listening for a while, I figured it out.

The woman with narrow, fox-like eyes slapped the woman with almond-shaped eyes and questioned her about why she had seduced her husband back then, causing her to lose her son.

The woman with almond-shaped eyes then proceeded to criticize the woman with fox-shaped eyes for being foolish and out of touch with reality.

She said that her husband had been with her willingly back then.

Back then, it was precisely because the fox-eyed woman was out of touch with reality, foolish, and didn't care about her husband that her husband drifted away from her and she lost her child. All of this was the fox-eyed woman's own doing, and had nothing to do with her.

The fox-eyed woman was furious. She claimed that she was on the orders of the Great Wizard to deliver supplies to the Guardian of the Ridge in the Valley of a Thousand Flowers and to take care of his illness. Otherwise, how could this almond-eyed woman have taken advantage of her?!

What followed was a violent fight, with the two seemingly respectable women grabbing each other's hair and tearing their clothes as they fought.

Gu Qingyue couldn't help but smile. This Mu Dong, who looked so clean and approachable with his round face, actually liked watching women fight.

"And then what? You just kept watching them fight?" Gu Qingyue pressed.

Mu Dong stumbled and almost fell to the ground. "Report...Young Master, later that fox-eyed woman led her people back to the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers, so I followed them here..."

It turned out to be the case.

It was an hour later when the group arrived at what appeared to be the entrance to the Valley of a Thousand Flowers.

As the sky grew darker, Gu Qingyue had a premonition that it might rain. She looked up and felt that something was off about the place.

I was just near Lujiang, and the weather was still refreshing. After all, it's a place surrounded by mountains, so it's not too hot in the summer.

But this place, though deep in the mountains, always felt like there was an unusual atmosphere pressing down on people's heads, making it hard to breathe.

Is it really going to rain?

Gu Qingyue touched her forehead, feeling that something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Yue? Are you feeling unwell?" Mu Yun Chu asked worriedly when he saw Gu Qing Yue looking up at the sky repeatedly.

His tall figure leaned closer, one hand around Gu Qingyue's waist, and he lowered his head to carefully examine Gu Qingyue's face, afraid that she might be feeling unwell.

Gu Qingyue shook her head. "No, it just feels like there's something heavy pressing down on this place, like the air is stagnant."

Upon hearing this, Mu Yun Chu looked up and sensed that the air was stagnant and he was having some difficulty breathing.

He nodded. "I do have that feeling."

After saying that, he turned around to look at the four people following behind him.

Everyone looked at each other and nodded.

It seems that Gu Qingyue's imagination was not mistaken.

She closed her eyes, thought for a moment, took out the Forget-Me-Not Pill, smelled it, and instantly her mind cleared up.

"Quickly smell the Forget-Worry Pill," Gu Qingyue reminded.

Everyone immediately took it out of their bodies, smelled it, and felt much better.

"Could it be the miasma of witchcraft?" Mu Yun Chu murmured.

"I've heard that the Grand Wizard of the Wizarding Hall can spread miasma, which can bewitch people and make them unable to discern direction or where they came from," Mu Dong said in a low voice, sounding very uncertain.

He heard this when he was a child in Nanzhao. It was a legend. Could it really be true?

Mu Nan rolled her eyes at Mu Dong, "Why didn't you say so earlier!"

Mu Dong shrugged. "That's ancient history, isn't it just a legend? Nobody's ever seen it, how would we know it's true?!"

Gu Qingyue turned her head to look at Mu Yun Chu, "How did you know?"

"I saw it in a book. I saw it in the palace library when I was a child. The description was exactly the same as this situation," Mu Yun Chu said, pursing her lips.

He never expected it to be true!

Gu Qingyue remained silent. Was this thing that was now swirling around her, making her feel confused, really the miasma spread by the great wizard?

What does that mean?

This means there's something very important to the Wizard's Temple nearby!

Otherwise, what's the point?

"It seems Mu Dong has found the right place. Did you see that woman go inside?"

Gu Qingyue asked.

"Yes, I saw her lead her people in along that path. When I followed, they disappeared. I suspect there must be an entrance nearby," Mu Dong said with certainty.

The group stood in a mountain hollow. Beyond that lay a continuous valley, which appeared ordinary in the darkness of night—no lights, no sounds, and no trace of anything suspicious.

It looks like a place rarely visited by people.

Looking up, the mountains resembled the gaping maws of monsters, open wide in the darkness, ready to devour anyone who dared to come here.

Anyone with a little bit of courage would naturally not dare to take another step closer.

But who is standing here?

It's that incredibly audacious Gu Qingyue!

She was carefully examining the towering mountain before her, which loomed darkly in the distance, and her mental energy was rapidly exploring the surrounding area.

One lap, two laps, three laps, to no avail.

Mu Yun Chu looked at Gu Qing Yue, who seemed to be in a daze, and squeezed her hand.

Gu Qingyue withdrew her spiritual power and shook her head slightly at him.

He knew that Gu Qingyue was using her mental energy to search, but she hadn't found any useful clues.

"Let's go back first! We'll send someone to keep an eye on things," Mu Yun Chu suggested.

He couldn't find any useful clues, and the place was filled with miasma, which was bad for A-Yue's health. He didn't want her to continue taking risks.