Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 274: Black Tortoise?

Though they spoke of recovering, neither party exchanged any true qi.

Before this, all their intimacy could be rationalized as fighting side by side without sweating the small stuff. When she did kiss him, it was for the sake of helping him recover or as a small reward for him.

They were comrades, and she was like his big sister... Well, at the very least, they were not lovers.

But at this moment, Yue Hongling did not want to lie to herself any longer, and Zhao Changhe felt the same.

After his first proactive confession, when he lowered his head to kiss her and she was willing to accept it, both felt a solemn and serious atmosphere, and it was like they had performed a ceremony to confirm their relationship.

If you like someone, then you like them; as long as it’s reciprocated, that’s all there is to confirming a relationship. Some things need not be driven by utility.

Zhao Changhe could never quite discern whether his special fondness for Yue Hongling was because he saw the jianghu he believed in within her, or because he liked her as a person.

But at this moment, he felt that there was no need to be so particular about it.

Everyone’s vision of the jianghu was different. When others saw Yue Hongling, they did not necessarily see her to embody the beauties of the jianghu. Qiao Er, for instance, saw her as a perfect eyesore.

Only those who shared the same path and were of the same mind, whose aesthetics aligned completely with her actions, would feel that the beauty of the jianghu could be seen within her.

And that was precisely why his heart had been moved by her.

Whether it was her being an idol or her as a person, was there a difference? She had always been one and the same.

The heart-stirring moment at first sight, and now, he finally had her nestled in his arms.

Yue Hongling’s heart was stirred just the same. She had never imagined that the young man she had casually saved when she passed by the Zhao House would match her temperament and preferences so well. It was as if she had met another version of herself, like a traveler wandering in the desert who found a companion. From then on, they wandered together, and her wandering heart settled with him.

The green mountains so charming in my eyes, and I hope it sees me just the same.[1]

After a long time, their lips parted.

Yue Hongling gently pushed against his chest and whispered, “Alright, let’s focus on important matters.”

Zhao Changhe was somewhat reluctant but knew that this was not the time for indulgence. He asked, “During your stay on Rocky Mountain, did you discover anything?”

Yue Hongling replied, “I did feel a very strange aura, but it was extremely faint, almost elusive. I tried to get a better feel for it, but I still could hardly sense it. It really seemed like an illusion. I felt unconvinced, and stubborn as I am, I wanted to investigate further. But then, my supplies ran out, so I headed to Huangsha Market to see if I could find any opportunities, and that was when I caught sight of the Qiao Clan’s caravan...”

“When you saw a caravan from the Central Plains in this region, you suddenly got fired up, right?”

Yue Hongling said with a smile, “Well, anyway, after bumping into a certain fellow, I thought he’d be able to come help me. I remembered him to be quite clever, after all.”

Zhao Changhe laughed and said, “And if worse came to worst, you’d just give yourself to this fellow?”

“Look at you,” Yue Hongling retorted. “Besides the nonsense in your head, do you have any other ideas? Hurry up and tell me.”

Zhao Changhe gently touched her lips, now rosy from their kiss, and smiled. “Since there’s water, there must be moisture.”

Yue Hongling’s willow eyebrows shot up.

“I’m talking about over at Rocky Mountain. What’s going on in your head?”

Yue Hongling’s eyes narrowed.

Zhao Changhe chuckled. “Third Lady Yuan is probably affiliated with Ying Five. The organization’s primary goal is to search for various lost secret realms all over the world. Huangsha Market formed around a small lake, which is quite unusual for a desert. Combined with the faint aura they might have sensed nearby, it makes perfect sense for Ying Five to have someone from their organization stationed there for an investigation.

“However, they might be missing the key point. After all, while lakes are uncommon in a desert, they do still exist. Take, for example, the Crescent Moon Lake... Actually, nevermind. Anyway, similar natural features do exist as a result of changes over time. The presence of a lake there does not necessarily indicate the presence of a secret realm.”

Yue Hongling asked suspiciously, “How do you know who this third lady is? Are you familiar with her?”

“...” Do all women become like this at a certain point?

Zhao Changhe ignored her question and continued, “On the other hand, the place you were staying, Rocky Mountain, has small amounts of water seeping out of it, indicating at least some groundwater has reached the surface. However, if there really was groundwater seeping out, then there should be more vegetation, but that is clearly not the case.”

Yue Hongling lit up. “I also thought that was weird, that’s why I stayed and looked around a bit more!”

Zhao Changhe pointed to the lake before them. “If I’m not mistaken, the exit is over there. The barrier of this space must have some extremely fine cracks, causing the water here to slowly seep out. This is likely also the source of the faint aura permeating throughout the mountains. However, because it’s just a slight seepage and not an actual groundwater source, the vegetation is sparse.”

Yue Hongling looked at him with sparkling eyes, feeling that he really was quite clever.

Although confirming where they would end up after getting out did not directly help their current situation, it did provide a lot of reassurance. The feeling of being absolutely lost had completely disappeared.

Yue Hongling felt revitalized and full of energy again.

She did not say anything more, instead promptly turning and striding back to the pile of rocks. “Since everything is related to rocks, I’m going to check if the pile of rocks we stayed at last night makes up any formations. You should rest first.”

Zhao Changhe turned to look at her and suddenly found that her usual high ponytail had come undone at some point. Her long hair flowed freely, and her white clothes looked pure as snow. From behind, no one would recognize her as Yue Hongling.

It seemed to signify a subtle change that the heroine had undergone.

But she was still herself, still straightforward and unrestrained. Once their love was confirmed, she kissed him and then got to work, not clinging to him at all.

Zhao Changhe’s mood was lifted. Stretching his arms, he briefly checked the injury under his ribs before diving headfirst into the water.

Can’t wait until I’ve fully recovered. How am I supposed to know how long I need to hold my breath without even knowing how deep the lake is? I’ll just dive as deep as I can right now and see if I can find anything.

The space they were in had no sun, moon, or wind. It felt like a completely still environment. Some might even believe that this was the Realm of True Void, but Zhao Changhe knew that this place had nothing to do with that. This isolated dimension defied common sense and could not be explained by normal logic.

If there were any treasures, they were most likely at the bottom of the lake. The marine clay that the Wang Clan obtained had been found at the bottom of the sea, and it was likely related to the previous era. Due to the dimensional collapse, the treasures in this space and the marine clay may have ended up separated by vast distances. It was unclear why one was at the bottom of a lake and the other a sea, but aquatic origins seemed certain.

The marine clay itself likely had nothing to do with the so-called Sea Tribe. It just happened to exist on the seafloor, which was mostly occupied by the Sea Tribe. The bit of marine clay that the Wang Clan had acquired had probably been tampered with by the Sea Tribe, and the reason why they had their aura blend in with the marine clay was to subtly influence the members of the Wang Clan. The Wang Clan appeared to be unaware of this still, and Zhao Changhe had no intention of enlightening them. He could not be bothered with their life and death.

Since this place was isolated, it was unlikely for the treasure here to have been tampered with by the Sea Tribe. Instead, what was left here was a genuine natural treasure.

There must be treasures below.

Zhao Changhe was confident.

As he dove deeper, Zhao Changhe suddenly noticed something.

The small island they had been on was not a floating island. He had dived quite deep and he could still see the underwater part of the island, which seemed to be endless.

It appeared that it was a mountain at the bottom of the lake.

The deeper he went, the larger the mountain became. In his mind, he could picture a huge-dome-shaped, low-lying mountain.

Zhao Changhe once again thought of Rocky Mountain, which also had a low-lying shape similar to a turtle, even with a tail.

They both looked an awful lot like a turtle.

If they bear the image of a turtle, then does the long, winding mountain range bear the image of a snake?

Wait, tortoise and snake intertwined, the water of the north.[2]

The Black Tortoise!

Could this place be related to the Black Tortoise? Is Black Tortoise of the Four Idols Cult staying in the north because of this?

1. This is an excerpt from Southern Song Dynasty poet Xin Qiji’s “Congratulations to the Bridegroom” (贺新郎·甚矣吾衰矣). ☜

2. The mythical Black Tortoise, one of the Four Symbols/Idols of the Chinese constellations, is usually depicted as a tortoise intertwined with a snake, sometimes with a snake’s head and tail. ☜