The Plateau's Forbidden Zone

Si Ming didn't offer any words of comfort. Saying things like "It's not what you think" or "You've done enough" would just be lying. The truth is, as Murong Qing said, she lacks the mindset to transition from school to society.

Such empty words of comfort, spoken only to soothe emotions, are suitable for comforting those who are fragile and easily discouraged. But for someone as determined and resilient as Murong Qing, saying such things would be an insult.

Sure enough, after only a moment of frustration, Murong Qing patted her face and rallied, saying, "A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit. Losing the Time Wheel Meter is just paying the price for my mistake. I must never make the same mistake twice. I need to ask you for advice... By the way, Si Ming, you should be as inexperienced in society as I am, so how come you handled things so skillfully?"

Si Ming didn't want to answer the question, so he abruptly changed the subject, saying, "Actually, it's not impossible to get the Time Wheel Meter back. I also happened to get something from it."

He raised the hand that had been leaning out of the window; there was a soft cloth in his palm, still slightly warm.

Chapter 113 The Forbidden Zone of the Plateau

While the masked woman was stealing Murong Qing's Time Wheel Meter with her Deft Hands Leave Nothing, Si Ming had already turned around and witnessed the entire process.

Then he learned this trick.

The piece of cloth in his hand was the same one that Si Ming had taken from the masked woman using the same trick.

Leading an Ox Across a Mountain that even without actually touching something, you can still draw it in. This is purely a technique of channeling energy, Guan Zhen.

Murong Qing glanced at Si Ming's palm, her face slightly flushed, and said, "Why did you steal someone else's undergarment?"

"Look closely, this is a treasure map!" Si Ming frantically grabbed his hair, then glanced at the cloth again. "Okay, this is a treasure map that looks like a bellyband, or rather, a treasure map disguised as a bellyband."

Murong Qing took the fabric with some skepticism and examined it carefully. There was indeed a map-like pattern drawn on it, as well as a mark that looked like a treasure. Considering the woman's identity, she was about 80-90% certain.

"What place is depicted on this?"

"I don't know, but at least give us a map to refer to."

Si Ming was quite interested in finding treasure locations. Back when he played Heroes of Might and Magic III, he dared to dig up relics as soon as he got a map fragment.

Murong Qing wasn't interested. "If the treasure hasn't been found, either the other party doesn't know its exact location, or even if they do, they can't get it."

Si Ming added, "There's another possibility: she boarded this train to go to the treasure's location."

Murong Qing said, "If this is the truth, then she should come to us soon to discuss the deal."

Si Ming thought about it and realized that it made sense, so he suppressed his curiosity and returned to the private room to wait patiently.

As a result, the masked woman did not come looking for the two until the train reached its final stop, and even the thieves on the train gave up and did not cause any trouble.

Aside from the initial commotion, the most dangerous part of the journey turned out to be uneventful, with nothing happening, much to the dismay of Si Ming and Murong Qing for several hours.

"That doesn't make sense! Does it mean she's already obtained the treasure on this map, so the map is worthless to her now? But putting the treasure aside, she has no shame at all about getting her personal clothing back from someone else? What if I'm a pervert and use this thing for this or that?"

Si Ming couldn't figure it out. He scratched his head frantically, but even pulling out clumps of hair, he still couldn't understand the reason.

Murong Qing had lost the Time Wheel Meter, was more open-minded. "Forget it, maybe she's run into some trouble and can't get away."

Si Ming was getting a little nervous. "No, maybe my previous guess was correct! She took this train to the treasure location, so she was worried that we would discover the secret of the treasure map, so she simply gave up on negotiations and wanted to dig up the treasure before us."

"But even if that's the truth, so what? We've traveled across five states, covering over three thousand kilometers. Even using only maps along the way as references, the workload is immense. Even if we successfully find the treasure location, can we catch up with an opponent who's already there and well-prepared?"

"I hate the truth."

Si Ming suddenly lost all motivation and got off the train listlessly.

Murong Qing found it quite amusing. He had acted so maturely on the train, making him seem exceptionally reliable, but now he appeared childish, making it hard to tell which one was the real him.

The Qingzhou Railway Station, Deep Blue Plateau located, is noticeably quieter than the railway station in Tange City. It's not just the temperature that's different; the passenger flow is only about one-fifth of that. At a glance, it's sparsely populated and doesn't feel crowded at all.

"Hiss—it's so cold!"

Si Ming rubbed his arms vigorously, then quickly ordered the goat-shaped self-propelled suitcase to open, and picked out a thick coat to put on.

His Internal Cultivation is far from being immune to heat and cold. Although, judging from his physical constitution, he wouldn't catch a cold even if he were stripped naked and exposed to the cold wind for a whole day, cold is cold, and that won't become warm just because his physical constitution is stronger.

On the contrary, Murong Qing, having cultivated Internal Cultivation with a cold attribute, has a much higher tolerance for cold and has no plans to change her clothes for the time being.

After leaving the station, the two first found a ramen shop and had a hearty meal. The prices weren't expensive, especially the beef and mutton, which were much cheaper than in Tange City, so they could eat their fill.

After another round of travel, the two first checked the map to confirm their location, then asked the locals for directions, and spent half a day arriving at the town closest to their destination.

There was a little incident in the middle. When checking into the hotel, the owner secretly approached Si Ming and said that if he was willing to pay four times the price, he could pretend that all the other rooms were full and only one double room was left.

However, Si Ming prefers mature, sophisticated women. Although Murong Qing is developing into a curvaceous, sophisticated woman, she is still an unbloomed bud, and he has no interest in taking advantage of her.

Besides, he has a very old-fashioned and very tough father.

So, Si Ming rejected this tempting suggestion, obediently paid for two single rooms, and jotted down the idea—who knows, it might come in handy someday?

After a night without incident, Si Ming contacted the local branch of the Mohist Knight Guard early the next morning.

"You're going to the restricted area? Are you really sure you want to go to this area? Or is someone deliberately playing a trick on you?"

The town had a small population, so the Mohist Knight Guard stationed there were only a handful of people. A middle-aged man in charge looked at Si Ming's map with a surprised expression.

"We're absolutely certain this is the address, there's no mistake, and it's an order from above, there's no room for discussion," Si Ming said. He didn't believe that someone as meticulous as his mentor would make such a basic mistake as writing down an address incorrectly. "What did you mean by 'restricted area' earlier?"

The middle-aged man took a drag of his cigarette and said, "This area is very strange. Sometimes you can hear the roars of monsters, which can be heard from twenty miles away. It's also very eerie. A long time ago, a group of people went in to explore. Although they returned safely, everyone kept silent about what they experienced. A few years later, all the explorers died."

Unable to contain her curiosity, Murong Qing asked, "Was he murdered?"

The middle-aged man shook his head. "On the contrary, their causes of death were all natural. Some died of heart attacks, some of terminal cancer, some of leukemia, and some of alcohol poisoning. In short, no one died in an accident. But so many seemingly normal deaths put together make it seem a bit strange."

Later, some people tried to explore this area, but none of them returned alive. In recent years, traces of Demon Beast have been discovered in the vicinity, making people even more reluctant to go in.