WangXian Forever Book 8

Chapter 71 Rescue

Hui Gai returned with Zago to the rope bridge.

Zago eyed it dubiously before flicking her empty lollipop stick down into the rocky chasm. She cupped her ear, hoping to hear the precise moment it hit the ground....and there was nothing.

Hui Gai shot her a look of disbelief, but he didn’t comment. Instead, he closed his eyes and sent forth his senses to pick up where Wen Ning might be. He was definitely on the other side of this engineer's nightmare of a crossing, but there was no way in hell Hui Gai was going to use it.

He smiled at his own thoughts.

It was a useful gift to be able to entertain himself, he knew. So many days and nights he had spent alone, and if he had not kept himself amused, he knew he would have emerged on the wrong side of sanity.

"You're not going on that, are you?" Zago looked like she was going to throw herself in his way if he said yes.

"Oh, you're so funny." He drawled.

Zago stuck her tongue out at him.

"This place...do you feel ... I can’t describe it..." He started to say.

"Old magic." Zago replied, knowingly. "It's odd."

"Exactly." Hui Gai grabbed her shoulder and teleported onto the other side.

The tracking talisman he had put on the cocoon was showing up further away...but Wen Ning was closer...on the other side of this wall of rock...??

Hui Gai led the way and they rounded on the path to a ledge. There, his question was answered by the huge gaping mouth of a black cave entrance.

Fearlessly, he and Zago entered. When the hologram popped up, Hui Gai waved a hand, making it disappear just as fast. He had no interest in theatrics, not if it didn't involve himself directly. There was a lot of splashing noises nearby and as they edged closer, Hui Gai was pretty sure they were being made by a frustrated reanimated corpse.

Sure enough, a drenched Wen Ning was glaring at deep waters whose inhabitants were glaring right back at him.

"Um...what are you doing?" Hui Gai asked, coming to stand next to him.

Wen Ning did a double take and then he smiled.

"The hologram said I needed a key." He said, as if that explained everything.

"What for? And where is it?" Hui Gai asked.

"Dunno. It said I couldn't go further without the key." Wen Ning pointed at the surprisingly nimble fish with the most teeth.

Hui Gai made a face.

"That was before I got here." He said, confidently. "That one?" He asked, pointing at the glowing fish scowling back at them.

When Wen Ning said yes, Hui Gai zapped it with his finger and it floated to the surface, quite dead. The other hostile fish, recognising the superior predator, fled.

Hui Gai plucked it from the water and handed it to him.

"Now can we go?" He grinned, his white teeth shining in the dark.

Wen Ning wasn't going to lie; to see that ball of teeth dead in the palm of his hands was beyond satisfying because it had given him his fair share of trouble. But the question remained: where did the key have to be used?

He nodded at Hui Gai, expecting the Demon King to venture forward and further into the cave, but instead, he grabbed both Zago and Wen Ning and teleported out of there.

They landed on top of the mountain.

From this height, Wen Ning could see the precarious rope bridge stretching like a loose string across the wide and gaping chasm of the ravine below. Mists lurked around them this high but when they parted, he could see better. Far across in that direction lay the hills and forest area they had crossed to get here, and he supposed that the remains of Zhi Zhi were somewhere there too.

Hui Gai tapped his shoulder silently and Wen Ning turned around. He could not believe he had not seen them immediately upon opening his eyes.

Suanni spotted them first and trotted towards them, his long brown fur moving in waves across his body.

Across from him was a huge stone table, at least the size of the Jingshi, with a glowing green array upon it and on top of that, were his friends enclosed within the cocoon. Both Shen Ling and Shen Qing were on opposite sides, feeding the array with a constant stream of spiritual energy, making it glow.

Already, the newcomers were able to see that what they were doing was causing a change in the cocoon, which only days ago had looked wispy and fresh. Now, it was looking more and more gray. Flaky, even.

There was no movement inside and only when Wen Ning noticed that, did he realise he was disappointed about that.

"What are they doing?" Hui Gai asked Suanni, who curled around them.

He thought the great Celestial Dragon was amazing like that. Never had a bad attitude towards anyone and was the most accepting of all.

"They have activated the Longevity Array." Suanni explained. "The cycle must finish before they can be disturbed."

"How long will that take?" Hui Gai said, letting his curiosity get the better of him again.

"Here time moves faster. Already a week has passed hence the condition of the cocoon reflects that. But if truth be told...we do not know. All we can do is follow the directions of those that came before us." Suanni yawned and closed his eyes.

"Time moves differently, huh?" Hui Gai grinned suddenly, his red eyes gleaming with new thoughts as different possibilities occurred to him. "Well then, do you guys think we've got enough time to go sort out the mess with the Sleeping Sickness Demon and come back in time for whatever is going on here?" He asked, eagerly.

"I want to stay." Wen Ning said, suddenly.

Hui Gai gave him a deep look.

"Are you sure, friend?" He asked him one more time.

"Yes. I am sure. I have never spent too long away from him...I would like to stay...unless you need me?" Wen Ning considered.

"Nah...we can handle two idiots." Hui Gai patted his back. "We'll come back as soon as we are done."