dognovel Chapter 18 The Mystery of the Ruins
Chapter 18 The Mystery of the Ruins
I dodged the fireball to the side, my feet moving nimbly as I approached Wang Fugui like a ghost. He was clearly taken aback by my swift counterattack, and paused for a moment, but his years of combat experience allowed him to react quickly. His hands moved in a series of hand seals, and an earthen wall rose from the ground, blocking my way.
I snorted coldly, drawing my longsword. A sharp sword aura pierced the air, instantly splitting the earthen wall in two. Wang Fugui dodged backward in a sorry state, a flicker of panic in his eyes. How could I let this opportunity slip by? My sword thrust remained undiminished, aiming straight for his face.
"stop!"
Just then, a delicate shout rang out, and a figure flashed like lightning to Wang Fugui's side, blocking my attack with a palm strike. I looked closely and saw that the person was none other than Li Yan, who was in cahoots with Wang Fugui.
"Xiao Yao, how dare you hurt him!" Li Yan's eyes widened in anger, and her long whip lashed out at me like a venomous snake. I quickly sheathed my sword and returned to defense, engaging her in a fierce battle.
"Hmph, overestimating yourself!" Wang Fugui recovered and joined the battle, forming a pincer movement with Li Yan on the left and right. Although I was fighting two against one and not at a disadvantage, winning was not an easy task.
Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a furtive figure slipping away amidst the chaos. The person was thin and dressed in all black—it was Black Wind, the one who had bid against me for the map in the market earlier!
Is it...
A thought suddenly occurred to me, and a bold idea arose spontaneously. I deliberately created an opening, pretending to be outmatched, and was struck on the shoulder by Li Yan's whip, staggering back a few steps.
"Haha, you dare to be arrogant in front of us!" Wang Fugui became smug when he saw that I was injured, and ordered Li Yan to relentlessly pursue me. I fought and retreated, appearing disheveled, but in reality, I was secretly observing Black Wind's movements.
Just as I expected, Black Wind, seeing me entangled with Wang Fugui and his companion, thought it was a golden opportunity and secretly slipped into the nearby woods. A cold smile curled at the corner of my lips. It seemed my guess was right; that map was indeed problematic!
I seized the opportunity, suddenly sprang into action, and forced Wang Fugui and Li Yan back with a single sword strike. Then, without looking back, I rushed into the woods.
"Damn it, this girl is trying to escape!" Wang Fugui was furious when he saw this and quickly chased after her with Li Yan.
I ran as fast as I could and quickly caught up with Black Wind. He clearly hadn't expected me to catch up; a flicker of panic crossed his eyes, and he immediately quickened his pace.
"Black Wind, hand over the map!" I shouted sternly.
Black Wind sneered, "What map? I don't know what you're talking about!"
"You won't shed a tear until you see the coffin!" I sneered, drawing my longsword and pointing it straight at Black Wind's face. "I'm giving you one last chance. Hand over the map, or don't blame me for being impolite!"
Black Wind's expression changed, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes. He suddenly pulled out a dagger from his pocket and stabbed at me. I was prepared, dodging to the side and kicking him to the ground at the same time.
“Tell me, where is the map?” I asked coldly, pressing my longsword against his neck.
Black Wind gritted his teeth and remained silent.
"Since you refuse to listen to reason, then don't blame me..." A murderous glint flashed in my eyes, and I was about to take action to interrogate him when suddenly, I felt a powerful spiritual energy fluctuation coming from behind me.
not good!
I was startled and quickly turned around to look. I saw that Wang Fugui and Li Yan had caught up with me at some point and were looking at me with gloomy expressions.
"Xiao Yao, do you think you can escape our grasp?" Wang Fugui sneered.
My heart sank; it seemed today was likely to be a bad day… I groaned inwardly; it was truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly. I was already struggling to cope with Wang Fugui and Li Yan working together, let alone now having to keep an eye on Hei Feng.
"Black Wind, let's put aside our grudges for now. This girl wants to keep the treasure all to herself. How about we join forces and take her down first?" Wang Fugui extended an olive branch to Black Wind with a sinister smile.
Black Wind's eyes gleamed, clearly showing some interest. I thought to myself, "This is bad. If these two join forces, I'm afraid I'm doomed today."
"Okay, I promise you!" Black Wind finally couldn't resist the temptation of the treasure and agreed to Wang Fugui's proposal.
I was suddenly caught in a pincer movement, and my heart was filled with anxiety. Just then, Li Yan, who had been silent all along, suddenly moved. She flashed and stood between me and Black Wind.
"Li Yan, what are you doing?!" Black Wind roared.
“Black Wind, we’ve known each other for years. Don’t I know what kind of person you are? You want to use us, but after you get rid of Xiao Yao, you’ll turn your back on us!” Li Yan said coldly.
"You..." Hei Feng was speechless for a moment, pointing at Li Yan in anger and embarrassment, but he couldn't say anything for a long time.
I looked at Li Yan in surprise, not expecting her to speak up for me at this moment. Could it be that she didn't genuinely intend to collude with Wang Fugui?
"Xiao Yao, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and leave!" Li Yan turned and shouted at me, her eyes filled with a complicated expression.
Although I didn't know what Li Yan was up to, I couldn't care less about that right now. Taking advantage of the fact that Hei Feng and Wang Fugui were being held back by Li Yan, I turned around and ran.
"Don't let her get away!" Wang Fugui roared, trying to give chase, but Li Yan held him back tightly.
I ran frantically and finally escaped that place of trouble. However, just as I breathed a sigh of relief, I discovered that the map in my hand had disappeared without a trace.
The map is lost!
My heart sank. The map was the key to entering the ruins. Now that the map was lost, what should I do?
"Are you looking for this?"
A familiar voice came from behind me. I turned around abruptly and saw that Li Yan had caught up with me at some point, holding the map in her hand.
I was startled and looked at her warily: "What do you want?"
Li Yan smiled faintly: "I want to work with you."
I hesitated for a moment, but ultimately agreed to her suggestion. After all, she had the map now, and I had no choice but to cooperate with her.
Li Yan and I returned to the ruins. Following the directions on the map, we braved the thorns and brambles and finally arrived at a hidden cave.
The cave was dark and damp, filled with a musty smell. Li Yan and I moved forward cautiously, afraid of triggering any traps.
"Look!" Li Yan suddenly exclaimed, pointing to the mural on the wall.
I followed her gaze and saw a sword radiating golden light depicted on the mural, with several lines of small characters engraved below it.
"Ancient artifact, the Heaven-Breaking Sword..." I murmured to myself, my heart filled with turbulent waves.
Could it be that the treasure hidden in these ruins is actually the legendary ancient artifact—the Heaven-Breaking Sword?!
Li Yan and I continued deeper into the cave, discovering many more legends and records about the Heaven-Breaking Sword along the way.
"It seems that the Heaven-Breaking Sword is not a fiction..." I took a deep breath, my heart filled with anticipation and excitement.
Just then, we came to a stone gate. The stone gate was carved with intricate patterns and looked very old.
"Behind this door should be where the Heaven-Shattering Sword is hidden," Li Yan said.
I nodded and was about to reach out and push open the stone door when I suddenly sensed a dangerous aura coming from behind it.
"Wait..." I quickly stopped Li Yan, "Behind this door, I'm afraid..."
Before I could finish speaking, the stone door suddenly opened by itself, and a chilling aura rushed out. I was startled, and before I could react, I saw…
My heart skipped a beat, and before I could react, I saw a huge black shadow leap out from behind the stone door. I quickly pulled Li Yan aside and dodged, barely avoiding the shadow's attack.
"Roar--"
A deafening roar echoed through the cave. I looked closely and saw a massive gargoyle standing before us, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. The gargoyle was made entirely of dark blue-green rock, and its eyes gleamed with an eerie red light, making it look ferocious and terrifying.
"Be careful, these are mechanical puppets guarding the treasure!" Li Yan warned, while simultaneously conjuring a ball of flame in her hand and attacking the gargoyle.
The flames struck the gargoyle with a dull thud, but did nothing to harm it. The gargoyle seemed enraged, swinging its massive stone fists at us.
I dared not be careless and quickly mobilized the little spiritual power I had left to form a protective shield in front of me. The stone fist slammed heavily onto the shield, and I immediately felt a tremendous force coming from it, causing my body to involuntarily retreat.
"This can't go on, we have to find a way to break the mechanism!" I said to Li Yan while fending off the gargoyles' attacks.
Li Yan nodded, her eyes scanning her surroundings, trying to find a way to break the mechanism.
"Look there!" I suddenly said, pointing to the wall behind the gargoyle. "There seem to be some strange symbols there!"
Following my gaze, Li Yan saw that there were indeed some strange symbols carved on the wall behind the gargoyle. These symbols looked like some kind of ancient script, full of mystery.
“These symbols… I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere before…” Li Yan frowned, racking her brains.
"I remember now!" Li Yan suddenly slapped her forehead. "These symbols are recorded on the stone tablet at the entrance of the ruins. I studied them for a while!"
"That's great!" I exclaimed, my spirits lifting. "Quickly, think about what these symbols mean?"
Li Yan closed her eyes, carefully recalling the contents of the stone tablet. After a moment, she suddenly opened her eyes and said, "I know! These symbols are the key to controlling the gargoyles' movements!"
As Li Yan spoke, she walked to the wall and, following the method recorded on the stone tablet, infused spiritual power into the symbols.
As Li Yan moved, the gargoyle's movements gradually slowed down, eventually coming to a complete stop.
"It's a success!" I was overjoyed and quickly ran to Li Yan's side.
“It’s not over yet,” Li Yan said, pointing to the stone door behind the gargoyle. “Behind this stone door should be the hidden chamber.”
I took a deep breath and, together with Li Yan, carefully pushed open the stone door.
The stone gate slowly opened, and an ancient and mysterious aura rushed out.
We stepped through the stone gate and found ourselves in a spacious secret chamber. The walls of the chamber were inlaid with numerous luminous pearls, illuminating the entire chamber as if it were daytime.
However, my attention was drawn to a stone platform in the center of the secret room.
On the stone platform, there was an antique wooden box, which emitted a faint golden light and was clearly no ordinary object.
A thought suddenly struck me: Could this be the legendary manual that records the secrets of magical treasures?
Li Yan and I exchanged a glance and slowly walked towards the stone platform.
However, just a few steps away from the stone platform, a sudden change occurred.
"Hahaha, it's true that after searching high and low for something, it finally came to me without any effort!"
Black Wind's voice suddenly rang out at the entrance of the secret chamber. Li Yan and I were both startled and turned around sharply. We saw Black Wind and several of his men standing at the entrance of the secret chamber, staring greedily at the wooden box in front of us.
"So you really are here!" Black Wind chuckled sinisterly. "If you know what's good for you, hand over the goods obediently, or don't blame me for being impolite!"
"Black Wind, stop daydreaming!" Li Yan shouted angrily. "The treasures in these ruins are for everyone; you can't possibly take them all for yourself!"
"Hahaha, everyone gets a share?" Black Wind seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. "In this dog-eat-dog world, only the strong are qualified to possess treasures!"
Having said that, Black Wind stopped talking nonsense and waved his hand. Several of his men immediately rushed towards us.
Li Yan and I stood back to back, ready for battle. Flames surged in Li Yan's hands, transforming into fiery dragons that attacked the enemy. I, on the other hand, used my agile movements to maneuver among the enemies, searching for an opportunity to counterattack.
However, Black Wind's men were all desperate criminals, and their strength should not be underestimated. Although Li Yan and I joined forces to resist, we gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.
"Hahaha, you two think you can fight me?" Black Wind laughed triumphantly as he approached us step by step.
"What should we do?" I asked anxiously while fending off the enemy's attacks.
"Don't panic, we still have a chance!" Li Yan said, her gaze falling on the wooden box on the stone platform. "If we can open the wooden box, we might be able to find a way to deal with Black Wind!"
A thought struck me: Yes, since this wooden box is hidden deep within the ruins, it must be extraordinary. Perhaps it contains some magic weapon to defeat the enemy!
With that thought in mind, I no longer hesitated. Seizing an opportunity, I slipped to the stone platform and reached out to open the wooden box.
However, the moment my hand touched the wooden box, it was bounced back by a powerful force.
"What's going on?" I was startled and tried again, but I still couldn't open the wooden box.
“This wooden box has been sealed!” Li Yan also noticed the problem and said with a solemn expression.
"A seal?" My heart sank. "What should we do then?"
Li Yan didn't answer, but instead carefully observed the stone platform. After a moment, she pointed to a ring of runes at the bottom of the platform and said, "If I'm not mistaken, this should be an ancient sealing technique. To break the seal, we must find the correct method to break it."
As she spoke, Li Yan sat cross-legged on the ground and began to carefully study the runes.
I stayed by Li Yan's side, vigilantly watching our surroundings to prevent Hei Feng and the others from getting close.
Time passed second by second, and fine beads of sweat appeared on Li Yan's forehead, clearly indicating that breaking the seal was no easy task.
Seeing that we couldn't open the wooden box anytime soon, Black Wind and the others gradually lost patience.
"You brat, don't waste your energy!" Black Wind said impatiently. "Hand over the stuff obediently, and I might consider sparing your lives!"
Li Yan ignored him and remained focused on studying the seal.
"You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences!" Black Wind roared in fury. "Attack them! Kill them!"
Black Wind's men, having received their orders, charged at us once more.
At the critical moment, Li Yan suddenly opened her eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.
"Found it!" Li Yan said, quickly forming hand seals, and streams of spiritual energy landed precisely on the runes on the stone platform.
As Li Yan moved, the runes on the stone platform began to emit bursts of light, and the entire secret chamber began to shake violently...
Just then, an aged voice suddenly rang out in the secret room:
"Who dares to trespass on this forbidden area?"
Li Yan and I were both startled. We looked in the direction of the sound and saw an old man dressed in white standing at the entrance of the secret room...