They rented two horses again. The horses, however, looked less than thrilled to see them. Their ears flicked back, their eyes rolled, and one of them gave a long, tragic snort. Probably they could sense the trouble and chaos this group carried like perfume. But today was not a swamp day. Today, they were heading toward a cave. A mysterious cave hidden on the border between Shulin and Shenlin, buried deep in the forest, near a lonely mountain that looked like it hadn't been touched by human feet in centuries.
They rode in their usual formation: Shen Zhenyu with Linyue on one horse, calm and composed; He Yuying with Song Meiyu on the other, looking mildly annoyed, as if enduring the weight of the world… or at least the weight of Song Meiyu's excitement.
Song Meiyu took the lead with confidence, gripping a hand-drawn map in one hand. In fact, it was a very suspicious piece of parchment that looked like someone sketched it while riding a donkey during an earthquake.
Every few minutes, He Yuying would mutter something extremely helpful like, "I think we passed that tree already."
This earned him progressively sharper side-eyes from Song Meiyu, who puffed up like an indignant cat. She insisted they were absolutely on the right path and not, for example, going in circles while the forest laughed quietly at them.
The horses disagreed.
Shen Zhenyu's horse slowed to a stubborn crawl, flicking its tail like it had seen too much in life and no longer cared to rush toward doom. Meanwhile, He Yuying and Song Meiyu's horse abruptly stopped in the middle of the trail, planted all four legs like stone, and refused to move another step.
He Yuying patted its neck. "Smart animal. It knows we're lost."
Song Meiyu gasped in outrage. "We are not lost!"
The horse snorted so loudly it sounded like laughter.
Linyue tilted her head thoughtfully. "It seems the horse disagrees with you."
Song Meiyu threw her hands up. "Not you too!"
The horse tossed its mane for dramatic effect, as if proud to join the argument, and Shen Zhenyu's horse added a low groan of pure suffering.
And so, the group marched deeper into the forest while arguing with livestock. They crossed rivers where the horses slipped on slick stones and nearly sent their riders tumbling. Frogs leapt out at them with suspicious confidence, landing on boots and horses' backs as if they owned the trail. One particularly bold frog landed squarely on Shen Zhenyu's boot and refused to move.
Linyue narrowed her eyes at it. She began to suspect the frogs were guarding something. The frog blinked. She blinked back. The war was silent, but real.
Finally, after much zigzagging, frog-dodging, horse snorting, and Song Meiyu ignoring all comments from the back, they arrived at the foot of a lonely mountain.
Song Meiyu looked up, then down at her map, then up again. She puffed out her chest. "The cave must be somewhere up there. The Dream Star Leaf has to be inside."
The other three followed her gaze toward the rocky slope ahead. It was steep. Very steep. No one said anything. But none of them looked thrilled. They tied the horses to nearby trees, murmured apologies in advance for the chaos to come, and began the climb.
The air grew cooler, sharp and clear, heavy with spiritual energy. A peaceful stillness wrapped around them. It was beautiful. Almost too beautiful. Except for the path itself. The path was narrow, slippery, and decorated with jagged rocks. One wrong step wouldn't mean a gentle stumble. It would mean the full dramatic roll-down-the-mountain experience, arms flailing, legs flying, probably screaming all the way to the bottom while birds and frogs judged you from above.
For reasons that made no sense to anyone but her, they were all holding hands as they climbed. Song Meiyu's idea, naturally. She called it "team spirit" and explained it with complete sincerity: "If one falls, we all fall together."
"Great," Linyue thought, clinging to Shen Zhenyu's hand. She didn't say it out loud, mostly because she was using 110% of her brain just to stay upright.
He Yuying muttered darkly, "If I die holding hands like this, I'll haunt all of you."
Song Meiyu squeezed his hand tighter and beamed. "That's the spirit!"
The forest was quiet. Only their footsteps echoed, broken by the occasional grumble from He Yuying and the soft rustling of leaves above. Even the birds seemed to pause, watching curiously as the strange procession climbed higher.
Shen Zhenyu walked beside Linyue, his hand firmly wrapped around hers. Her hand was cold, as always—cold enough to make a normal person yelp, but he was already used to it. In fact, if her hand wasn't freezing, he might actually be concerned.
They reached a stubborn patch of slick stone, and as they carefully made their way across, Shen Zhenyu glanced sideways at her. His tone was calm. "So," he said, "what did you put in his tea?"
It wasn't suspicion. Shen Zhenyu knew Linyue too well. If she had ever truly wanted Shu Mingye dead, the Demon King would've been reduced to a fine pile of ashes long ago. Quietly. Efficiently. Perhaps even with a polite farewell note tucked under the teacup.
She wouldn't have helped him escape the palace, or fought shoulder to shoulder with him against demons. Linyue didn't bother with tricks. If she was going to do something, she just did it directly. Boldly. Even if the logic was questionable at best and borderline otherworldly at worst. And that was part of her charm. A dangerous, slightly confusing charm, but charm nonetheless. She might act strange sometimes (okay, a lot of time) still he trusted her.
Just as Linyue opened her mouth to explain, probably with a perfectly calm and totally suspicious answer, Song Meiyu cut in from ahead, sounding way too pleased with herself. "It was the healing elixir," she declared.
The truth was this: when Linyue had extended her hand earlier, Song Meiyu froze for a heartbeat, completely confused. Because Linyue didn't give her that weird vial of mysterious liquid she had once mentioned. Nope. What she had handed back was the tiny bottle of healing elixir Song Meiyu had offered her the night before, right after that messy demon fight.
Linyue had been injured. Song Meiyu, doing her job as the overly caring, overly nosy friend, had handed her the precious little elixir with a sunny, hopeful grin. Linyue had glanced at it, tilted her head slightly, and said one word. "Unnecessary." Then tossed it back. Cold. Efficient. Extremely Linyue.
So when Linyue held out her hand earlier, Song Meiyu had blinked… and then it clicked.
Oh. That was what she meant. She wanted that elixir back. It made perfect sense… in Linyue language. Understanding it required experience. She had long accepted that Linyue's way of thinking didn't come with signposts. And over time, she'd gained a unique skill few others had: "Decipher Linyue." Not everyone had it. Some people needed years. Some gave up. But not her. And honestly? It should count as a spiritual technique.
So, she had quietly dug around in one of her at least eighty suspicious pockets, fished out the little vial of healing elixir, and handed it over.
Mission complete. Achievement unlocked: Successfully Understood Linyue.
Just as Song Meiyu was riding high on her silent victory of understanding Linyue-language, she suddenly stopped, eyes wide, and pointed at a rock. "There! That's the rock shaped like an angry turtle! We must be close!"
The group paused to stare at the rock. It looked… vaguely like a lump. Maybe if you squinted and tilted your head and had a very vivid imagination, it could be a turtle. An angry one? That part remained a mystery. It wasn't clear how a rock could look angry. But knowing Song Meiyu, she probably gave it a name, a tragic backstory, and a hobby too. So they pressed on, climbing higher up the slope.
With Song Meiyu leading the way, they followed the trail until the trees began to thin and the mountain wind whistled through the leaves. And finally, tucked between the roots of a jagged cliff, they found it.
Linyue leaned forward and peeked from between the vines. "Hm. Might be the cave. Might be a bat's house."
"Might be haunted," He Yuying added unhelpfully.
"Maybe both," Shen Zhenyu sighed.
Song Meiyu beamed. "Perfect!"
The entrance was covered in branches, roots, and thick hanging vines. They stood there in silence, all four staring at the vine-covered hole.
He Yuying tilted his head, staring at the overgrown mess. "Are we… really going in there?"
Song Meiyu hesitated for a beat, then puffed up her chest. "Of course we're going in."
Linyue, staring at the vine-beard entrance, muttered under her breath, "Or maybe crawl in…"
Shen Zhenyu sighed in his usual tired-but-accepting tone. "Let's be careful."
No one mentioned the part where "careful" and "going into mysterious cave with angry turtle rocks nearby" didn't really go together. But they were already too far in to back out now. Also, they had snacks. And nothing bad ever happens when you bring pie into a cave. Probably.