The Martial God who started at Mantuo Manor

Page 66

Wang Meng helped her soft body to sit down on a slippery rock, then leaned against the rock wall himself and looked around.

Who would have thought that such a hidden paradise actually exists deep within Taihu Lake?

This is a huge, almost completely isolated natural cave.

Above, countless stalactites hang down, bizarre and varied, like frozen ghostly silhouettes in the darkness. From time to time, a drop of water drips from the tip of a stalactite, hitting the pool below and making a crisp "drip-drip" sound, the only melody in this deathly silent space.

In the center of the cave was a crystal-clear pool of water, which was the entrance they had just rushed out of.

A series of slippery, man-made stone steps, barely wide enough for one person to pass, cling to the rock wall and spiral upwards, leading into a deeper, more unsettling darkness, like the esophagus of a giant beast.

However, what is most striking is not this breathtaking natural landscape.

Beside the pool where they landed, on that narrow stone platform, lay a jumble of strange tools—bundles and bundles of thick bamboo tubes tightly tied together with hemp rope.

These bamboo tubes were piled up densely, some of them having rolled into the water, half floating and half sinking.

Huang Rong, at this moment, finally came to her senses completely.

She looked at Wang Meng, then looked down at her own soaked clothes that clung tightly to her body, revealing every curve of her body, and a beautiful blush instantly rose on her face.

She endured the discomfort of being soaked to the bone.

He stepped forward, bent down, and picked up a bundle of thick bamboo tubes.

The design of this thing is truly ingenious.

Each bundle is made of five or six old bamboo stalks, each about the thickness of an arm, bound together. The bamboo joints have long been hollowed out, forming hollow cavities.

Both ends of the bamboo tube were sealed with a thick layer of molten beeswax or rosin, making it extremely tight without leaving any gaps, thus ensuring absolute watertightness.

At the top of each bamboo tube, a small hole was burned in with a soldering iron.

Next to the hole, there was a thin, hollow reed tube that had been treated. The end of the reed tube was cut very smoothly and polished so that it would not rub against the mouth, making it easy to hold in the mouth.

Even more ingeniously, Huang Rong discovered that at the base of several reed tubes, she had made a simple one-way valve using extremely thin fish swim bladder skin. Although crude, it was enough to ensure that lake water would not flow back in when she was taking air underwater.

These were actually homemade, yet highly effective "oxygen cylinders"!

"Such meticulous preparation, such ingenious thinking."

Huang Rong looked at the item in her hand and couldn't help but murmur her praise.

Her intelligence allowed her to grasp the principle in an instant.

This group must have filled these bamboo tubes with air on the shore, then plugged the reeds with wooden stoppers before diving underwater.

When they were exhausted, they would pull out the wooden stopper and draw air from the tube through the reed to keep themselves alive.

Once one tube is used up, replace it with another.

With these seemingly clumsy tools, they gained the ability to stay underwater for extended periods of time!

Seeing this, Wang Meng was not surprised, but a cold smile appeared on his lips.

He looked at Huang Rong's pretty face, which was even more vivid with shock, and at her clothes that still clung to her exquisite curves and were dripping with water, and his gaze deepened.

But on the surface, they pretended not to know anything.

"It seems they've been inside for quite some time now."

Wang Meng spoke in a deep voice, breaking the momentary silence and pulling Huang Rong back to reality.

"They left all these burdens here, which means that the road above no longer needs them."

Huang Rong nodded and dropped the bamboo tube she was holding.

She raised her head, and together with Wang Meng, turned her gaze to the dark, spiraling stone steps that led to the unknown.

Chapter 36: Fierce Battle (Part 2)

"Huhuhu~"

The stone steps are very narrow, allowing only one person to pass sideways, and they hug the rock wall, constantly bending and spiraling upwards.

This means that the two must stay close together, one in front and one behind.

Wang Meng wanted to go first, but Huang Rong stopped him.

She lifted the soaking wet skirt that clung to her legs slightly to make it easier to move, then took a deep breath and stepped onto the first step.

But she had only taken two steps when she felt an undeniable, burning masculine presence behind her.

Wang Meng followed closely behind her, and in this cramped space, their bodies were pressed together almost without any gap.

Huang Rong could clearly feel his solid, iron-like chest pressing against her back.

Even worse, as she climbed upwards, the waves of her pert buttocks, outlined by her wet clothes, would inevitably rub against something behind her that had already driven her to the brink of despair, again and again, slowly and heavily.

The size and hardness of that thing were still so clear and so ruthless, even through two thin layers of clothing.

Every time she pushes back and lifts up, it creates a pressing, oppressive thrust along the curve of her buttocks.

A strange, tingling sensation, which made her feel both ashamed and weak-kneed, kept coming from the point of contact, traveling up her spine and straight to the top of her head, making her whole body tremble slightly.

Even as you're blushing from the climb, the surrounding environment is subtly changing.

After climbing for a while, gusts of cold wind gradually began to seep out from the cracks in the rock face. (The remaining text appears to be unrelated and possibly machine-generated gibberish.)

The wind dispersed the dampness in the cave, making the air dry and chilling Huang Rong's soaked clothes.

However, the cold wind brought more than just that.

A thick, nauseating stench of blood, carried by the wind, forcefully filled their nostrils.

The smell was unusually fresh, as if the slaughterhouse had just opened and the blood was still flowing.

"careful!"

Wang Meng's deep voice rang in her ear. He reached over her shoulder and pressed his hand against the stone wall in front of her, half-encircling her in his arms, and stopped in his tracks.

Their hearts sank simultaneously.

They exchanged a glance and both saw the seriousness in each other's eyes.

The smell of blood means a battle has taken place up there!

They slowed their pace, and Wang Meng remained close to Huang Rong, continuing to climb upwards in a "protective" manner.

After rounding another steep bend, the sight before them made their pupils shrink abruptly.

Three corpses lay sprawled on the stone steps!

Their throats were slit open by sharp blades, and their blood stained the steps beneath them, still dripping down the cracks in the stone steps, forming pools of thick blood.

They died with their eyes wide open, their faces still bearing expressions of extreme shock and disbelief.

Wang Meng recognized them at a glance.

These three were the same people who had been following Murong Fu that day.

Even after being captured and subjected to torture, he remained loyal to Murong Fu. He was one of the four great retainers.

The three warm corpses, like three bloody barriers, completely blocked the road ahead and instantly extinguished the ambiguous and romantic atmosphere between the two.

Fear and murderous intent, like a tangible cold fog, spread out.

Huang Rong bypassed Wang Meng, enduring the pungent smell of blood, and squatted down beside the three corpses.

Wang Meng stood behind her, one hand pressed against the stone wall, shielding her in front of him, while warily scanning the deeper darkness above.

"It's the method of the Japanese pirates."

Huang Rong's voice was low, but unusually firm.

Her fingertips gently traced the smooth, mirror-like wound on Deng Baichuan's throat: "The cut was clean and swift, a single, fatal blow. It must have been one of their extremely sharp short knives."

However, as her gaze continued downwards, landing on the three men's hands and feet, her delicate brows furrowed even more deeply.

All three had deep purplish-red marks on their wrists and ankles, left from being tightly bound with thick hemp ropes, and the skin and flesh were turned inside out.

That wasn't all. Huang Rong's gaze finally settled on Feng Bo'e's collar, which was soaked in blood.

She hesitated for a moment, then reached out her slender white fingers and gently pulled open his collar.

The next moment, her beautiful eyes suddenly narrowed!

On the "clavicle" position below Feng Bo'e's shoulder blade, there was a hideous, dark iron hook!

The iron hook pierced through the bone and was deeply embedded in the flesh, while the exposed part of the hook had a brand-new cut, severed by a sharp weapon!

She immediately examined the other two corpses, and without exception, they all had iron hooks in the same location, which had been pierced and then severed.

"They...were tied up, forced to kneel on the ground...and were executed!"

The iron hooks that pierced their collarbones did not come out.

This means that these three were top-notch fighters in the martial arts world, and when they were killed, they had no ability to resist at all, just like three lambs waiting to be slaughtered!

This is no longer a battle, it's a massacre!

"It seems they are not in cahoots with the Japanese pirates."

Wang Meng's gaze swept indifferently over the three corpses, as if he were looking at three insignificant stones. "It's even possible that they were coerced into coming here."

That's good news; at least we don't have to face three troublesome opponents anymore.

Huang Rong nodded, stepped over the three still-warm corpses, and continued climbing upwards.

Wang Meng followed closely behind, still shielding her with his body. The tenderness between them had long been washed away by the bloody reality, leaving only the purest vigilance.

After climbing dozens more steps, the stone steps became increasingly dry, and there was almost no moisture in the surrounding air, only the thick, pungent smell of blood and a faint, peculiar aroma of spices.

Just as the two rounded a bend in a rocky protrusion, something unexpected happened!

"call out!"

A sharp whistling sound erupted from a deep shadow above and to the side!

With a flash of cold light, a figure completely shrouded in black night clothes swooped down silently like a hunting eagle!

The short knife in his hand traced a path like a venomous snake's tongue, aiming straight for Huang Rong's throat!

So fast!

So cruel!