Go all out

Chapter 30: The Land of Longquan

Just as I was marveling inwardly, I saw Tian Zhan place the yellow talisman diagonally beneath the boulder. He then bit his finger, letting blood ooze from his fingertip, and swiftly dabbed it onto the talisman. He then began to chant incantations. “The Northern Emperor commands me to write this paper; the yellow talisman draws upon the power of Heaven. As urgent as the imperial decree! Arise!” Strange as it may seem, the moment Tian Zhan finished reciting the incantation, the yellow talisman below seemed to glow with a faint light, and the “Guling Shen” depicted on it actually came to life like a shadow puppet. He raised the axe in his hand and swung it down—and the entire boulder really did shake violently. I was astonished. What kind of Taoist magic was this? “Come on, help me quickly.” Tian Zhan barked out a command. His two massive hands were already bracing against the boulder with all his might. Yin Fang and I naturally joined in, straining every muscle in our bodies. To my astonishment, though the three of us had been pushing for ages without budging the stone even an inch, once Tian Zhan had summoned this “helper,” our combined strength actually caused the boulder to shift slowly. The three of us were drenched in sweat as the boulder was finally moved aside bit by bit. My gaze had long been fixed on the gap that had opened up, and slowly, everything buried beneath the boulder was revealed before our eyes. There, before us, was a large, pitch-black cavern, resembling a well. The three of us released our grip simultaneously, and the yellow talismans on the ground burst into flames with a loud boom, burning to ashes. The three of us gasped for breath, staring at the cave below with mixed emotions. Tianzhan and I were truly astonished—we’d been up this mountain countless times, yet a cave was still hidden here? Who on earth dug this? It looked bottomless at a glance—how much time must it have taken to carve such a cave into the mountain? Yin Fang glanced down at the cave a few times, then carefully analyzed the feng shui of the area once more. “One Qian, three waters, nine yin-yang—this is a ‘Dragon Spring Site’!” Yin Fang was astonished. “A Dragon Spring site?” Tian Zhan and I exchanged glances, both looking utterly astonished. Yin Fang took a deep breath and said, “In the eyes of us feng shui masters, every place has a Dragon Spring. This Dragon Spring can be a river, a well, or groundwater—essentially, it’s a water source that nourishes the surrounding area. Generally speaking, the Dragon Spring controls the water supply for each region. If the Dragon Spring dries up, it means a drought is coming… Hmm, have you guys experienced a drought around here recently?” Mid-sentence, Yin Fang suddenly fixed her gaze on me and asked, “No, it rains all the time,” I replied immediately. “That’s not right. This Dragon Spring site has been dry for a long time. Logically speaking, your area should have been experiencing a drought for at least a year. Could it be that this Dragon Spring site has been abandoned?” Yin Fang’s eyes flickered. She carefully analyzed the surrounding terrain once more, then shook her head in astonishment. “That’s not right. This area is well-connected in all directions, and according to the hexagram ‘Qian-Kun Determines the Dragon’s Water,’ this Dragon Spring Site definitely hasn’t been abandoned. Since this is the Dragon Spring Site but the water source below has dried up, there should be a drought nearby… No, that’s not right… that’s not right…” Yin Fang’s face was etched with deep astonishment. I had understood her explanation of the Dragon Spring Site just now. To put it simply, this Dragon Spring Site is likely nothing more than a water level indicator for the area. If the Dragon Spring remained as it was, the entire region would surely enjoy favorable weather and abundant harvests. But if the water level dropped, that would be a sign of impending drought. However, after hearing Yin Fang’s explanation, I recalled what the rat demon had said about a prolonged drought here nineteen years ago. But that was so long ago—it couldn’t possibly be related, could it? Tian Zhan thought for a moment and said, “A rat spirit on this mountain once mentioned that there was a drought here nineteen years ago. Could that be related to this ‘Dragon Spring’?” When Tian Zhan repeated my words, I, too, looked at Yin Fang with curiosity. “Nineteen years ago?” Yin Fang muttered to herself, “That must be right. But this Dragon Spring area has been dry for nineteen years now—it’s really strange. So where does the water here come from?” “That rat spirit once said that during the drought nineteen years ago, Zhang Daoling came here, and then a heavy snowfall fell,” Tian Zhan added. “Tianshi Zhang Daoling?” Yin Fang looked utterly astonished. Tian Zhan shook his head. “I’m not sure about that. How long has the real Celestial Master Zhang Daoling been in heaven? Who’s ever seen him? But if what you’re saying is true—that the Dragon Spring site has dried up, then this place must be suffering from a drought. So, do you think Zhang Daoling came here back then and secretly altered the feng shui? Did he rediscover a new Dragon Spring site?” “Well… it’s hard to say. According to current feng shui readings, this very spot is the Dragon Spring site!” Yin Fang’s tone carried a hint of resignation. “If the Zhang Daoling you’re referring to is truly the legendary Celestial Master Zhang, then with his immortal powers, altering the Dragon Spring site of a place would indeed be no difficult task.” As I listened silently to their conversation, I couldn’t help but think of what the Rat Spirit had said later. She mentioned that after Zhang Daoling left, heavy snow fell here, and then I was inexplicably abandoned here—and even the Rat Spirit didn’t know how I’d ended up here… Could it be that when my parents left me here, they went out of their way to “cover their tracks”? This really struck me as extremely strange. “Let’s put that aside for now. Let’s go down and take a look,” Tian Zhan said, staring down at the opening. I had no objections, of course. Since someone had already been here before us, it meant there was a very good chance someone was still down there—and that person was most likely my master. Yin Fang hesitated for a moment before saying, “After all, this is the Dragon Spring site—a water-rich area. That means groundwater could suddenly gush out at any moment. Plus, the Five Elements here are in complete disarray, so we need to be careful.” Tian Zhan and I nodded in agreement. This place was essentially a well, and if the water level suddenly rose, it would be extremely dangerous. As for the Five Elements, that was a major problem. Their chaos meant we could easily lose our bearings down there. If we were trapped down there for ten days or half a month, even if we were lucky enough to survive, it would be a living hell. “Wait a moment. I’ll go scout ahead first.” Tian Zhan paused for a moment, then pulled out a yellow talisman. He quickly tore it into the shape of a paper figure, as if cutting out a paper cutout, then muttered some incantations before blowing a breath onto it. I watched as the paper figure in his hand began to move like a puppet—this Taoist spell truly astonished me. Tian Zhan placed the paper figure on the ground. After taking a few steps, it leaped into the cave, while Tian Zhan closed his eyes, as if sensing something. A minute later, Tian Zhan opened his eyes and said, somewhat surprised, “It’s very deep down there—probably several hundred meters—and there’s a natural cave at the bottom. That’s strange.” “All right, no matter how deep it is, we’re going down to take a look.” I said without much hesitation. Yin Fang said nothing, but her face betrayed a hint of curiosity; clearly, the anomalies in this Longquan area had piqued her interest. “All right, I’ll go down first. You two follow me.” As he spoke, Tian Zhan pulled a high-powered flashlight from his backpack, clamped it between his teeth, and braced himself against the cave wall with both hands and knees before sliding down. Thankfully, the cave wasn’t very large—one person could barely make it down by bracing themselves with their hands. Otherwise, since the three of us hadn’t brought a rope several hundred meters long, how would we have gotten down? Of the three of us, I’d never seen Yin Fang take action before, so it was hard to say how agile she was, but I was clearly the least agile of the three. Those few hundred meters were quite a challenge for me. Before I could even say a word, Yin Fang had already started making her way down, bracing herself with her hands. This method really put her arm strength to the test. Her movements were light and graceful—I never would have expected such immense strength from a woman who looked so demure on the outside. Her speed and power left me feeling ashamed. With a wry smile to myself, I watched as the other two made their way down. I had to hurry and catch up. Rubbing my hands together, I braced myself against the cave walls on either side and slowly inched my way down. The cave walls were quite rugged and uneven, which actually provided good footholds for my legs. It also made one thing clear: this so-called “Dragon Spring” site wasn’t man-made; nine times out of ten, it was formed naturally—a true masterpiece of Mother Nature. I couldn’t see the Tianzhuan team members below when I looked down, but I could make out lights. Gritting my teeth, I persevered. After nearly half an hour, my feet finally touched solid ground. My legs were shaking uncontrollably—it seemed I really needed to get in better shape; physical labor like this would likely become more common in the future. Taking a deep breath, I began to survey the terrain below. It was indeed a limestone cave, but I couldn’t make out the details because it was too dark. Just as I was about to speak up, I saw Tian Zhan shining his flashlight at a spot, with Yin Fang standing right beside him. Neither of them said a word—clearly, having descended first, they’d discovered something. Naturally, my curiosity got the better of me, and I walked over.