Chapter 26 Entering Lenovo Country 5

  "Why didn't you say so earlier? I've been straining my eyes all the way here..." Bai Zhi complained, feeling wronged. He was saying that Nalan Xinnuo walked too fast. He had to hurry up to catch up with their footsteps while also trying his best to notice the flowers that were similar to the ones in the painting. It was exhausting.

  "But... how did Nalan brother know such details?" Chen Yu asked, who had been silent all along. This wasn't common knowledge that ordinary people would know. Yet she knew so much about it. It was really quite mysterious.

  "Right, right." Bai Zhi echoed. He had already forgotten his own complaints just now.

  "It's probably the knowledge of rare medicinal materials that I saw when I was a kid. Now I don't remember it clearly." In fact, this is indeed the case. It's just that such information has been searched in her brain, but she doesn't know how it came about either.

  "This way our team will have an advantage, and our target will be narrowed down at once." Bai Zhi said with a smile, secretly rejoicing that he was fortunately in the same group as Nalan Xianyu.

  "Wait." Nalan Xinnuo suddenly furrowed his brow, signaling everyone to be quiet.

  Bai Zhi Zheng was about to ask what's wrong when he saw Nalan Xian Nu suddenly ran out. He and Chen Yu also quickly chased after her.

  "It's the sound of running water." Chen Yu said excitedly. It turned out that he had heard the sound of running water.

  "It's a small stream." Bai Zhi excitedly ran ahead of the two people, clearly hearing the sound of water. After seeing the creek, he excitedly waved at them.

  "Following the stream should lead us to a lake or a pool of water." Nalan Xiong said with an indifferent expression.

  "Wow, magnificent." Bai Zhi's mouth was agape in astonishment. Who could have told him that these lotus flowers, which filled the entire lake with a fiery glow, were not just a dream...

  "Unexpectedly, there are so many fire lotus flowers. It seems that this task isn't particularly difficult." Chen Yu couldn't help but say happily.

  "It's not that difficult." Bai Zhi denied. "If it weren't for Xi Nuo, how would we have known that the fire lotus flower grows in water? Without this information, the chances of finding this place would be slim to none. Unless one is extremely lucky."

  When she heard Baizhi call her "Xinuo", Nalan Xinuo's eyebrows furrowed slightly, she wasn't quite used to such intimate terms of endearment.

  Chen Yu nodded. "Also. This lake is so remote. It's really hard to find."

  "Alright. I'll take care of picking the flowers from now on." Hakusei walked towards the lake with a confident look on his face.

  "Slow down." Nalan Xixi frowned and stopped him. Her sharp eyes seemed to be able to see through the lotus flower.

  "What's wrong?" Chen Yu saw Nalan Xianuo's expression was so serious and quickly pulled Bai Zhi over.

  "Haven't you noticed that every lotus flower is different?" Nalan Xianyu said, taking two steps towards the lake, recalling the information in her mind.

  "You're too cautious. How can there be identical flowers in this world? It's normal for them to be different." Hakase said nonchalantly.

  "Listen to Nalan brother," Chen Yu said calmly to Bai Zhi. Although they were all selected together for the competition, and although they were equal in status, Chen Yu couldn't help but be subdued by the aura of Nalan Xianuo. For some reason, he felt that Nalan Xianuo was a leader, and they should listen to her words.

  Nalan Xixi's bright eyes had been fixed on the fire lotus flowers on the lake surface, never leaving them. Her furrowed eyebrows also remained unsmoothed. "These full-lake flowers have fragrance and no fragrance, some are particularly delicate, while others are slightly lighter. The truly useful fire lotus flowers in this lake, there are at most only two."

  "What...!" Bai Zhi completely lost control and shouted out loud. Chen Yu's eyes also widened in shock. There were at least a hundred fire lotus flowers on the lake, but only two of them were real fire lotus flowers.

  "Then we'll take them all down." Baizhi was stunned for a moment before speaking up.

  "The three of us can't possibly carry all these flowers back." Chen Yu furrowed his brow, as if he had really encountered a problem.

  "The real test is here. If you pick the wrong one, you'll be dead." Nalan Xianyu's voice remained flat, as if she was saying what a nice day it was today.

  The two people were completely stunned, staring blankly at Nalan Xixiao.

  "How could it be... How could completing a task cost me my life? I never thought it would come to this..."

  "This is also why the reward is so generous," said Nalan Xiong. "Apart from those two flowers, all the others are poisonous."

  "Poison." Hakase was completely panicked. "I've never even touched this stuff in my life... it's a bit terrifying..."

  "Are you scared?" Nalan Xixi asked softly.

  "No... it's not that. I'm just a little surprised, that's all." Bai Zhi hastily refuted. He wouldn't let this little brother look down on him. Moreover, he had always been the hero in the eyes of his childhood sweetheart, the girl next door. How could he be afraid...

  "Right. Isn't there a way to distinguish it in the blueprint?" Chen Yu said, taking the blueprint from Bai Zhi's hand and looking at it.

  "Fragrant, yet as red as blood, all of them are poisonous." Nalan Xianyu's eyes fell on the fiery red lotus flowers on the lake surface once again, saying so.

  "Nalan brother is indeed formidable. Just like what the blueprint says." Chen Yu said while flipping through the papers in his hand. "The smell is easy to judge, but the color... there are so many. One's eyes can't help but get dizzy..."

  "Do you know qinggong?" asked Nalan Xiong.

  "Qinggong." Bai Zhi furrowed his brow, suddenly enlightened. He stared at Nalan Xianyu in surprise. "So Xianyu is a martial artist after all, and can even use qinggong."

  Watching Bai Zhi's reaction, Nalan Xixi helplessly rolled her eyes and looked at Chen Yu.

  "Will." Chen Yu knew that Nalan Xixi wanted an answer of just this one word. There was no need to say anything more.

  "Chen Yu, you're also skilled. You're all martial artists after all. I only know some basic fighting moves." Bai Zhi said with a face full of admiration. Who would have thought that there were two masters by his side? Being able to team up with them was simply too lucky.

  "Who told you that the one with the light skill is a person from the martial arts world?" Chen Yu looked at Bai Zhi with some speechlessness.

  "Isn't it?" Bai Zhi looked at Chen Yu with a puzzled face. Aren't all the people in the martial arts world flying around?

  "Alright." Nalan Xianyu smiled faintly. She knew that just by looking at the man's not-so-strong physique, she could guess that he wasn't relying solely on brute force. "Bai Zhi, you check along the lake and sniff out anything with a fragrance or is exceptionally beautiful. If you find any, cut it down with your sword. Let's first eliminate as many poisonous ones as possible. Chen Yu, you check the left side of the lake, and I'll check the right side. Remember, keep your nose at least an inch away from the flowers."

  Three people started their own tasks respectively. They were busy for half an afternoon. The sky had already begun to darken and it was no longer easy to distinguish things.

  "Let's stop for now. It's getting dark and it's easy to make mistakes if we continue." Nalan Xianuo said tiredly, looking at the fallen fire lotus flowers. She was hungry.

  "Let's have some dry rations first. We didn't eat lunch." Chen Yu took out the dry rations from his bag and divided them between the two of them.

  "Huh? Why have all the mantou turned red?" Bai Zhi walked over, took the white mantou from Chen Yu's hand, shook his head and blinked his eyes.

  "It seems like I've been dazzled." Chen Yu said calmly, but a hint of amusement could be detected in his tone.

  "There's only mantou." Nalan Xinnuo looked at the cold mantou in her hand and frowned, asking.

  "There's also a pancake." Chen Yu said, taking out the pancake and handing it over to Nalan Xinnuo.

  "Never mind." Nalan Xixiao pushed away the pancake he handed over. "What's the difference between pancakes and buns? I'll go catch a wild rabbit instead." Physical exertion requires meat.

  "I'll help you." Bai Zhi imagined a fragrant roasted rabbit and followed with an excited face.

  "No need. You go make a fire." Nalan Xixi was actually afraid that Bai Zhi, this idiot, would scare away the rabbits from afar. When would they be able to have dinner then?

  "Are you alone..."

  "Bai Zhi, come quickly to ignite the fire." Chen Yu interrupted Bai Zhi's words. He also understood Nalan Xinnuo's meaning and shared the same view as her.

  But in less than a moment, Nalan Xixi brought back a plump wild rabbit.

  "The task of skinning is left to you guys." Nalan Xianyu threw the rabbit at their feet and sat down against the tree trunk.

  After eating and drinking enough, the three of them leaned against a tree each to sleep.

  "Everyone woke up at night," Chen Yu reminded. "Wild animals are more frequent at night."

  "That's for sure. Besides, how can you sleep well in a place like this?" Bai Zhi curled up her lips. Also. Almost fell asleep sitting up. Shouldn't be able to sleep at all.

  The surroundings have quieted down. All that can be heard is the soft sound of the wind gently rustling through the leaves, and the crackling of the dying flames. Yet in this night, it seems especially harmonious.

  "I'm glad to be with the two of you as a team. It's really fortunate." Hakuji suddenly broke the silence, saying somewhat emotionally. Probably because of this environment, he couldn't help but start talking.

  The two people still had their eyes closed and tacitly didn't speak to each other.

  "After we safely return, it's all good between brothers, right?" Bai Zhi continued to say to himself. "Although you two are being cold, I always think that you're great people. Since you're not saying anything, I'll take it as a yes." He said, looking at the two with their eyes closed, still not giving up.

  "Aren't you tired? Hurry up and sleep." Chen Yu's eyes were still closed, but his tone wasn't cold.

  "Everything is up to fate." Nalan Xixi murmured a sentence and then fell back asleep calmly. It's all just up to fate. She never thought that friendships could last long. The people around her would always leave eventually. As long as they had a connection, this friendship would continue. If something unexpected happened in the future and she couldn't continue this friendship, there was nothing she could do about it. It wasn't that she was cold-blooded, but rather she was used to not investing too much emotion so that she wouldn't get hurt or feel regretful for her entire life. She had already given everything to Nan Gongyin, and that was enough.

  "I'm not hallucinating, am I?" Looking at Nalan Xianuo who was still sleeping soundly, Bai Zhi couldn't help but doubt his own ears.

  "No, so you can sleep well now." Chen Yu said somewhat helplessly, then fell asleep. He no longer cared about Bai Zhi. Bai Zhi was happy for half a day, but his drowsiness gradually deepened and he also fell asleep...