Meng Qingshan had been trapped here for a long time. Now, at last, he could see the light of day again, and his spirits soared.
Beaming, he immediately strode forward.
After nearly two hundred steps and five turns, the rumble of rushing water gradually reached Meng Qingshan's ears.
Another two hundred steps brought the sound crashing around him, as if nature's symphony were playing here.
Meng Qingshan quickened his pace. At last, he reached the end of the stone steps and found himself halfway up a mountainside.
The scene before him was breathtaking. The river churned and the waves surged with awe-inspiring force. This was none other than the halfway point of Dragon Gate Waterfall.
The rocks on either side rose steep and sheer, their rugged faces towering like cliffs. Anyone without exceptional Qinggong would find it difficult to venture here.
Meng Qingshan had yet to learn Qinggong. Faced with this terrain, he could only take a deep breath and struggle to climb the cliff.
Just as he was scrambling up with both hands and feet, nearly at the top, he faintly heard curses and sounds of fighting above.
Meng Qingshan was startled. He immediately crouched down and held still, listening closely. He could just make out An Ning'er's voice, along with those of the Guo brothers.
His heart began to beat faster as a scene flashed through his mind.
This had to be a coincidence. Perhaps he had stumbled upon Wang Ruozhi's carefully staged "hero saves the beauty" scene.
Meng Qingshan speculated silently. At this moment, Wang Ruozhi, the leading man in this little drama, had yet to make his entrance. Should he go out and steal the prize?
To be honest, if he wanted to run an escort agency in the future, deep down Meng Qingshan hoped King Yun Chu would come to no harm.
He had just obtained the Ling Shu Atlas, and still needed time and experience to reach mastery. He was nowhere near strong enough to dominate Yunzhou.
If war ravaged Yunzhou, not only would it become difficult to keep the escort agency running, but leading a group of people through the chaos and keeping them alive would be a daunting task.
Besides, his Cousin couldn't fight and had no means of protecting herself. The apprentices at the escort agency were just a bunch of children who hadn't yet grown up.
So, for Meng Qingshan, a stable Yunzhou was the best outcome.
And if he could also win An Ning'er's favor, then with the backing of the Seven Mysteries Sect and King Yun Chu, he would be able to run escort missions in Yunzhou with ease and twice the results for half the effort.
Of course, these were all the benefits he might gain by successfully getting involved in this scene.
There were risks, too. For one, his condition wasn't good, and he might not be a match for those people.
Over the past few days, as Meng Qingshan practiced the Innate Breathing Technique and his attributes rose sharply, his body had become more refined.
But during this time in the stone chamber, he had lived on just four Red Scale Tails a day. Life had been hard, and he had never really eaten his fill.
And since the day before yesterday, he had caught and eaten all but the fry in the cold pool.
By today, he had gone two whole days without food. On top of that, he had just climbed up from the steep cliff below, and he was already badly short on strength.
If he weren't sustained by the True Qi in his body, Meng Qingshan wouldn't even consider stepping in.
The second risk was that if he intervened, he would surely offend the petty Wang Ruozhi.
Wang Ruozhi was no ordinary kid. He belonged to the Murong Family, remnants of the former dynasty's foreign imperial clan. Their strength was not to be underestimated, and if he handled things poorly, they would be a major problem.
Meng Qingshan fell into deep thought, caught in a dilemma.
Meng Qingshan had heard correctly. The people fighting on the cliff were the Red Clad Girl and the Guo brothers from that day.
A group of masked men in black had been attacking for a long time without success. The Guo brothers were wounded, but their injuries weren't fatal.
Of their party, only the Red Clad Girl and a skilled spearman could still stand.
The middle-aged man with the spear stood in front of the Red Clad Girl and the Guo brothers. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and he had suffered several serious wounds.
Yet the masked men in black seemed to spring back like weeds in the wind, impossible to kill, with more appearing the more they fought.
At last, the middle-aged man could hold on no longer. He leaned on his spear and knelt on one knee, despair in his voice. "Miss, I'm sorry. I'm afraid I can't protect you today!"
At his words, determination flashed in the Red Clad Girl's eyes. She gently shook her head. Her voice was soft, yet filled with unshakable resolve. "Uncle Chen, if not for you, these bandits would have captured me long ago. You're badly wounded now. Let me protect you instead."
With that, the Red Clad Girl moved and stood in front of Uncle Chen.
"And us!" Seeing this, the Guo brothers struggled to their feet as well.
Faced with dozens of black-clad men surging toward them, the Guo brothers swallowed nervously, their hearts filled with despair.
The black-clad men rushed forward like a tide. The Guo brothers swung their swords to fight back, but both were wounded, and their arms had gone weak.
After Guo Xi'wu struggled to draw his sword and block one of the black-clad men's attacks, a heartrending scream suddenly rang out beside him.
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