Wu Xiaolan watched the spot where Wu Ming had disappeared, a look of anxiety crossing her face.
She looked at Gu Qianying, who was observing their surroundings with a furrowed brow and deep in thought, and couldn't help but slowly inch closer to her.
Gu Qianying and Su Cheng noticed her fear and did not stop her from approaching.
Wu Lei, whose face was also tensed with anxiety, as a male bodyguard, naturally could not seek the protection of Gu Qianying and Su Cheng like Wu Xiaolan. He gripped his weapon tightly, his gaze more vigilant as he scanned the surrounding paths and environment.
Gu Qianying realized that both of them were a little off. After all, they had just recovered from the poison, traveled for a long time, and had just fought with evil spirits. Now, their friend had also disappeared for no reason. Anyone would feel tired and uncomfortable. She considered the states of Wu Xiaolan and Wu Lei and said to them, "If you two are too scared, you can go down the mountain to rest now while the situation is not urgent."
Wu Xiaolan immediately shook her head in refusal, and Wu Lei also shook his head, indicating he would not leave.
"Although we are apprehensive about Wu Yin Mountain, it is no match for our desire to rescue the Saintess. The Saintess is usually gentle and kind, treating us like family. We would never betray our conscience and abandon her at such a critical moment."
"Yes, we are also responsible for the Saintess being captured this time. We followed you up the mountain hoping to contribute to her rescue. The Saintess has shown us immense kindness, and Doctor Gu, please take us with you to save her."
Gu Qianying was a divine doctor in the Wu clan tribe, and everyone trusted her greatly.
Hearing their words, Gu Qianying admired their affection for the Saintess Lu Zhu and, at the same time, abandoned the idea of persuading them to go down the mountain.
"Then let's go together. Be extra careful on the way, and if you notice anything unusual or encounter any situation, be sure to tell me immediately."
Wu Xiaolan and Wu Lei both nodded.
The group of five rested briefly before continuing their ascent.
The higher they climbed, the worse the terrain became. Midway up the mountain, Gu Qianying and her companions encountered many winding paths and towering trees.
At this moment, standing before a fork in the road, the five of them stopped.
Gu Qianying had never been to Wu Yin Mountain, so she didn't know which path led to the cave where the Saintess Lu Zhu was captured and taken, as mentioned by Wu Ming and Wu Lei.
She turned around and looked at Wu Lei, asking him about the next path: "Wu Lei, do you know which way to go at this fork?"
Expecting Wu Lei to give her an accurate answer, she was surprised to hear him say, "I'm sorry, I don't know which way to go."
"You don't know?" Su Cheng, a step ahead of Gu Qianying, questioned Wu Lei's answer.
"If you don't know, how did you track the people who captured Lu Zhu to the cave that day?"
Wu Lei was not flustered by Su Cheng's questioning. He stated the reason for his words in a solemn tone: "It's not that I intentionally concealed it, but that day, I never saw this fork in the road. I presume this fork was specifically set up by those who captured the Saintess after I tracked them, precisely to prevent others from reaching their territory directly upon ascending the mountain."
"And on this Wu Yin Mountain, the terrain here has changed from the previous terrain. Places that we could pass smoothly before may not be passable now, and situations we encountered before may not be encountered now."
"Doctor Gu and everyone, we also desperately want to find and rescue the Saintess, but the mountain path here is like this, and we are powerless. It is only by following Doctor Gu that we will not take so many detours."
Wu Lei's words were well-reasoned, and Su Cheng had nothing more to say. He and Xiao Yihao in his arms looked at Gu Qianying, awaiting her decision.
Gu Qianying looked at the fork ahead, pondered for a moment, and then stepped onto the right path.
Su Cheng quickly followed, holding Xiao Yihao. Wu Xiaolan and Wu Lei, seeing them head right, also hurried to follow.
However, after walking along the right path for a while, the group of five found something amiss.
Xiao Yihao was the first to notice the anomaly. He hugged Su Cheng tighter and said to Gu Qianying, "Mother, we seem to have been to this place before."
Hearing this, Gu Qianying stopped and turned to carefully observe the surrounding scenery, finding the arrangement of trees and bushes indeed very familiar.
Su Cheng looked at Gu Qianying and asked, "Do you feel familiar with this place? It really seems like we've been here before, just as Xiao Yihao said."
Gu Qianying nodded, "Indeed, it seems we have walked this way before. If nothing unexpected happens, we will return to the fork we saw earlier in a few dozen more steps."
This was the case when she first came to Wu Yin Mountain. Although there were some minor issues with the terrain now, Gu Qianying could determine that while this place was different from before, it was generally unchanged. However, to say it was unchanged was also incorrect.
Hearing Gu Qianying's words, Su Cheng made up his mind. He said to everyone, "Everyone, let's go forward a bit further. Once we reach the fork, we will make a new decision."
Wu Xiaolan, Wu Lei, Su Cheng, and Xiao Yihao all agreed with Su Cheng's decision and followed him forward.
Even Gu Qianying agreed with Su Cheng's decision.
Indeed, in a short while, the group of five arrived at the familiar fork in the road.
This time, Gu Qianying did not hesitate and chose the left path. She wanted to see if they could get out this time.
However, to their surprise, even after choosing the left path, the group found themselves back at the fork in the road after about half an hour.
Everyone was at a loss for what to do, and a sense of restlessness began to spread through the group.
Combining his past experience, Su Cheng discussed with Gu Qianying, "Qianying, could it be that the person behind this is using an illusion to make us go in circles here?"
Illusion is a technique that leads people into fantasy, making them unable to feel reality.
Besides that, illusion is also like a "ghost hitting the wall," where a path leads nowhere.
Gu Qianying looked at Su Cheng.
She opened her mouth, wanting to ask something.
But as Su Cheng looked at her, she did not voice the question she intended to ask.
"When I was young, I met a master. This master was very powerful and possessed supernatural illusionary abilities."
Su Cheng knew what Gu Qianying wanted to ask.
Without waiting for her to ask, he explained, "That master told me that illusion is a profound art, and to break it requires special methods. As for what those special methods are, I don't know."
"But when the master left, he told me something: the blood of people with pure Yin or pure Yang destinies, both Yin and Yang blood, can break this illusion."
After hearing Su Cheng's words, Gu Qianying was also uncertain if they had encountered an illusion.
She stood at the intersection of the two paths and observed carefully, sensing the fluctuations of energy.
Speaking of people with Yin destinies, she considered herself one of them.
She slowly slowed her breathing, calmed her mind, and observed the trees around the path. Soon, Gu Qianying confirmed that it was indeed an illusion.
Gu Qianying returned from the fork to where everyone was resting and informed them of her discovery: "It seems we are truly trapped in an illusion set up by someone."
Upon hearing the word "illusion," Wu Xiaolan became distressed, "Ah? What should we do then?"
Gu Qianying immediately began to think of a solution, saying, "Breaking the illusion is not a problem, it just needs some time."
Wu Lei frowned upon hearing Su Cheng's words and voiced his concern, "But we don't have that much time now. The later we reach the cave, the greater the possibility of the Saintess being harmed."
Gu Qianying also considered Wu Lei's point. After thinking for a moment, she decided to use the fastest method herself to break the illusion that was trapping everyone.
"I'll do it. My blood can break this illusion."
In fact, she did not want to reveal her identity as someone with a Yin destiny to everyone.
But at this moment, she couldn't afford to worry about that.
The key was to break the illusion and get everyone out of here.
Having said that, she took out the small dagger she carried, rolled up her sleeve, and aimed it at her palm, about to stab herself.
In a flash, Su Cheng quickly extended the hand that was not holding Xiao Yihao and stopped Gu Qianying from her self-harming action.
"Qianying, no!"
However, in this hasty movement, the dagger that Gu Qianying had not yet used to cut her palm instead pricked Su Cheng's hand.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."
Seeing that Gu Qianying was unharmed, Su Cheng breathed a sigh of relief and waved his hands, indicating he was fine.
"It's alright, Qianying. You can't hurt yourself, I'll worry about you, do you understand?"
Su Cheng looked at Gu Qianying, somewhat annoyed by her tendency to harm herself.
"I..."
Gu Qianying wanted to explain.
"Qianying, promise me you won't hurt yourself easily in the future, okay?"
Su Cheng looked at Gu Qianying and asked very seriously.
For Su Cheng, Gu Qianying was his life.
She was the person he cared about the most, and the one he wanted to protect for a lifetime.
When Gu Qianying hurt herself, he felt heartache.
"Okay, I understand. I will listen to you from now on, and I won't hurt myself easily again."
Seeing Su Cheng's concern for her, Gu Qianying felt warmth in her heart.
But Su Cheng's hand was bleeding.
"Su Cheng, your hand!"
Gu Qianying immediately moved closer to bandage Su Cheng's wound.
Su Cheng looked at the woman busy bandaging him.
A smile appeared on his lips.
At this moment, he felt very happy.
And at the same time, from Su Cheng's hand, drops of blood fell onto the ground.
Just then, the blurry vision before everyone's eyes, the repetitive path, suddenly disappeared.
The illusion vanished.