Chapter 290: Chapter 291 Hurriedly Leaving


    Zhu Minng had Little White explore the ck Lake beneath the fissure.


    The ck Lake was vast, storing enough water to irrigate all the vegetation in Pear Blossom Gully, while at the same time, many gemstones settled at the bottom of theke.


    After making a round, Little White indeed did not see any Mourning Dragons, not even their saliva, fur, or footprints.


    The ce was as clean as a secret realm, with no signs of any creatures ever setting foot there.


    Casually sweeping up all the gemstones from theke bottom and storing them within the Ice Morning White Dragon’s Universe Magic, Little White returned to the surface and ryed the details of the ck Lake in the Cave to Zhu Minng.


    “Since we’ve purified the water source, that’s a significant aplishment. Let’s head back to the First Mountain Vige,” Zhu Minng said.


    “What about those Mourning Dragons from Stone Vige that have vanished without a trace?” Hu Bailing asked.


    “If they intend to hide, destroying every cavern and grotto in Pear Blossom Gully might still not be enough to find their hiding ces. That’s all we can do,” Zhu Minng replied.


    “Yes, that’s true,” Hu Bailing nodded.


    Mourning Dragons are an exceptionally resilient species, never truly extinct from the beginning to the end, much like weeds that, after spring rains the following year, immediately spread everywhere again!


    For now, helping Pear Blossom Gully resolve the water crisis was already quite an achievement, as for where exactly those Mourning Dragon ns from Stone Vige had fled to, there was likely no finding out.


    Leaving the ridge and taking advantage of the remaining daylight, the group headed back to the First Vige of Pear Blossom Gully.


    Having solved the water issue, Pear Blossom Gully should be able to regain its original vigor whereas those suddenly missing Mourning Dragons had probably found new caves to recuperate and breed in.


    The frightening thing about Mourning Dragons was their high intelligence. Once they knew they had lost the chance to hunt and their ns were under threat, they would immediately go into hiding, lying low for a while, waiting for the opportunity to make aeback.


    However, without the Demon Awakening Fruit, those Mourning Dragons would be much less of a threat to Pear Blossom Gully.


    On the way back, Zhu Minng remained mostly silent.


    Li Xinghua, too, was deep in thought.


    The Yin Spirit Girl also remained silent.


    It was nearing nightfall when they finally returned to the First Vige of Pear Blossom Gully.


    The elder n Leader, whose face was full of folds, greeted them with a beaming smile, weing the return of the brave knights with an array of fine food and drinks.


    Zhu Minng didn’t have much of an appetite, especially considering the secrets hidden within Pear Blossom Gully, he felt that there was something eerie about the vige everywhere he looked.


    Right now, he just wanted to leave this ce as soon as possible.


    Hu Bailing, on the other hand, was oblivious to all of this, epting the passionate hospitality of the vigers and bringing up to the n Leader a friend from her childhood, wanting to know her current whereabouts.


    “Ah, she fell critically ill the year beforest and was sent away to be treated. She never returned thereafter, and we do not know whether she recovered and chose not toe back to Pear Blossom Gully or if she died from the illness outside,” the Folds n Leader sighed deeply.


    Hu Bailing’s face was a picture of shock; she had no idea such a thing had happened. Although it had been many years since she herself had set foot in Pear Blossom Gully, and she had barely kept in touch with that childhood friend, the unfortunate news still saddened her deeply.


    “Natural disasters, aging, illness, death, it’s all normal,” said the Folds n Leader, Song Xunshan.


    “It is indeed normal, but your Pear Blossom Gully has a secret to longevity that spares your people from these things, doesn’t it?” Zhu Minng said with a smile to the old n leader, whose face was wrinkled.


    The old leader was holding a bowl of wine, his hand suspended in the air, as his profound eyes fixed on Zhu Minng.


    “You decree that your people cannot leave Pear Blossom Gully, which in fact means a life away from strife, a quiet life in a ce without conflict, war, and scheming. Isn’t that your method to avoid man-made disasters?” Zhu Minng continued, voicing the thoughts he had not yet finished.


    After hearing this, n Leader Song Xunshan finally downed the wine in front of him and burst into heartyughter.


    “We have other matters to attend to, so we won’t stay in the vige tonight. We’ll be leaving Pear Blossom Gully shortly. The ongoing fight with the Mourning Dragons will have to be handled by yourselves,” Zhu Minng said.


    “While we do hope you could eliminate more Mourning Dragons for us, we understand that Mourning Dragons are cunning, and once they hide, it would be a waste of time to keep you here. We thank you again for everything you from Runyu City have done for our Pear Blossom Gully. We’ve also prepared some gems for you, please take them with you,” Song Xunshan said.


    Zhu Minng didn’t refuse; although he had already obtained a great deal of gems, who would ever think they had too many gems?


    The night was deep, and Zhu Minng and hispanions left Pear Blossom Gully.


    The mountain roads wereplex, and it would take some time to exit this unique valley.


    The forest was still devoid of insect chirps or bird calls, let alone wandering predators. The valley, shrouded in night, was too silent.


    About ten or twenty li out, Nan Yuso, feeling the odd atmosphere, finally spoke up, questioning Zhu Minng, “Why did you leave withoutpletely resolving the issue? Aren’t you worried the Mourning Dragons will regroup and strike again?”


    Simrly, Nan Yuso didn’t understand why her sister would also allow those Mourning Dragons to continue lurking in Pear Blossom Gully, knowing full well that they had massacred an entire vige. Could Li Xinghua, as a Prophet, not be troubled by nightmares?


    “This ursed ce, I don’t want to stay for another moment,” Zhu Minng snorted coldly, recalling some details upon entering Pear Blossom Gully, which sent chills down his spine.


    “What exactly happened?” Hu Bailing asked, puzzled.


    “Actually, I’ve been wanting to say it the whole time, but it didn’t feel right to bring it up. Haven’t you noticed that the people in the vige are strange? We’ve only ever spoken to a few of them from start to finish. They never showed us around other parts of the vige, and when we said we wanted to leave, they couldn’t wait for us to be gone…” Fang Niannian whispered.


    “Niannian, what do you think?” Zhu Minng inquired.


    “I can’t put my finger on it, but the whole vige is peculiar… although every house had its light on, it justcked a certain liveliness. How should I put it? I saw no children ying near their homes, no one calling out for trade, no women chatting as they did their chores, let alone the sounds of chickens clucking or dogs barking.” Fang Niannian’s instincts were quite sharp.


    She herself had lived among themon folk.


    She was familiar with the pulse of the marketce.


    Even in an isted vige, as long as there were people living, there could be no absence of cooking smoke, cries, or noise.


    Thest time they arrived at First Vige, they barely stayed and left in a hurry.


    This time, upon returning to First Vige, they hastily had a meal, yet the old n leader led them only to a few specific houses throughout.