Chapter 131: The Treasure Map 2

Guided by the map, Xiao Bao navigated to a mountain stream. Due to the bitter cold, the stream had frozen into a thick layer of ice, and the towering trees surrounding it were buried under heavy snow, making it impossible to distinguish directions. The pair circled the area several times but found nothing; beyond the icy creek, the snow-covered banks, and the frost-laden trees, there was no sign of anything unusual.

"Shall we go down and take a look?" Wang Keyue suggested.

Xiao Hongyu nodded. They parked their flying vehicle, which sank halfway into the snow under its own weight. As they stepped out, they realized the snow was already as deep as an adult's knees. They trekked laboriously along the stream for a dozen steps, then walked back and forth along their previous path.

"Yue'er, how are you feeling? Do you also think this place is strangely off?" Xiao Hongyu couldn't quite describe the sensation, so he asked Wang Keyue, who had been silent.

Wang Keyue reached out her small hand, waving it in the air, and lightly shook a nearby sapling. Snowflakes drifted down, creating a beautiful scene, but upon closer inspection, the strangeness became apparent.

"How odd... there is no wind," Wang Keyue whispered. She carefully removed the white silk ribbon from her hair, walked to an open area, and tossed it upward. The ribbon fluttered and then fell straight down, landing at her feet.

"It really is... windless!" Wang Keyue turned to Xiao Hongyu. "Brother Xiao, there is no wind here! How can there not be a single breeze in this season?"

In such an open valley, one would typically expect sharp mountain gusts, yet the silence here was excessive.

"Yue'er, don't you think this feels like the... illusion we encountered in Wang Village?" Xiao Hongyu suddenly recalled the white mist illusion he had seen there and blurted it out.

"That's right! It's an illusion!" Wang Keyue looked at the frozen stream. The ice was clear, but eerily, it cast no reflection of them. "Brother Xiao, try using the Fireball spell you just learned."

Encouraged, Xiao Hongyu pointed at the ice, and a massive fireball, half the height of a person, appeared. Its intense heat scorched the ice for over ten seconds until cracks began to spread across the surface.

Wang Keyue stepped forward. "Brother Xiao, let me try!" She wanted to practice her newly mastered "Thunderous Might" area-of-effect skill.

"Crackle! Boom!" Following her command, arcs of purple lightning appeared out of thin air, forming an electric net that crashed down onto the ice.

Finally, the ice shattered into fragments under the pressure. At the same moment, the previously tranquil valley transformed. A biting winter wind blew against their faces, chilling them to the bone. Near a small waterfall by the stream, a hidden cave was finally revealed.

"Found it!" Wang Keyue exclaimed happily.

The two stepped into the cave one after another. The entrance was narrow, barely wide enough for one person. Inside, the light was dim, so Wang Keyue took out a portable lamp. Its bright glow illuminated the path ahead as they carefully made their way along the narrow trail.

They emerged into an open space where the path split into two. They chose the left, but their progress was soon blocked by a stone door carved with a landscape painting. Looking closely, Wang Keyue noticed a figure in green robes hidden within the landscape. Though it was only a faint silhouette, she felt an inexplicable familiarity and reached out to touch it.

Unexpectedly, the moment her finger made contact, the stone door vanished, replaced by a beam of white light.

"Careful!" Xiao Hongyu’s anxious voice rang out, and then he pulled her into his arms. Amidst the blinding white light, a sensation of weightlessness took hold, followed by a feeling of falling, and then everything went black as she lost consciousness.

She didn't know how much time had passed before she was awakened by Xiao Bao in her mind. Upon waking, she was startled by a face right in front of hers. "Oh, goodness!"

"Cough, cough! You... you're awake!" Xiao Hongyu choked on his own saliva, his face flushed. He had been planning to perform CPR, only for her to wake up just in time!

"Little Yueyue, if you hadn't woken up, your first kiss would have been gone!" Xiao Bao remarked from her mind, sounding disappointed to have missed the dramatic moment.

Wang Keyue looked at Xiao Hongyu, who was coughing in embarrassment, and her lips twitched. Was she really that terrifying?

"Cough, Yue'er, is this the place you were looking for?" Xiao Hongyu changed the subject.

Wang Keyue looked around. The space was aglow with a brilliant white light, not from the sun, but from the walls themselves. Taking a closer look, she gasped—the walls were embedded with luminous pearls!

She felt like she was about to strike it rich.

"Xiao Bao, are these treasures?" she asked.

"These aren't the main ones; you need to explore further," Xiao Bao replied. "These luminous pearls are quite valuable in this era, but compared to the system store, they probably wouldn't even buy a bicycle." Xiao Bao added with a hint of disdain.

Wang Keyue silently shed tears in her heart, though she still greedily collected a few of the highest-quality pearls.

Suddenly, a hissing sound erupted. Alerted, the pair realized that a swarm of colorful giant snakes was pouring out from a corner. The snakes flicked their red tongues and slithered rapidly toward them.

"Back away!" Xiao Hongyu stood in front and cast his Fireball spell. It struck the lead snake, causing a burst of fire that sent the creature rolling in agony.

Before long, dense swarms of poisonous insects began crawling out from the tiny cracks in the walls, making their skin crawl.

Wang Keyue remembered the insecticide in her space and took it out. A few sprays wiped out a large patch of the insects, and even the giant snakes, unable to withstand the fumes, began to flee.

Following the trail of the retreating snakes, the two moved forward, and the rest of their journey proceeded without further incident.