After leading Li Yue out of the Star Dou Great Forest, Dai Mobai didn't take the road back to Star Luo Imperial City. Instead, he changed direction and headed straight for the border.
Li Yue had countless questions, but she had long since given herself to Dai Mobai, so she didn't ask.
She simply walked quietly at his side, her pace unhurried. Every so often, she glanced at him and saw the same calm, confident smile on his face. She set aside her curiosity and followed him west.
The two crossed the border of the Star Luo Empire and eventually reached Nuoding City, the border city adjoining Star Luo.
"It's pretty lively."
The moment she saw the city, Li Yue paused in surprise.
Unlike the cold, desolate border town she'd imagined, Nuoding City wasn't quiet at all. On the contrary, it was unexpectedly bustling.
Merchants crowded the main street, with shops packed side by side and vendors' cries rising and falling.
Caravans laden with goods rumbled through the crowds, their wheels clattering over the cobblestones.
"It'll be even livelier in the future."
Dai Mobai smiled mysteriously, took Li Yue's hand, and headed south.
His words stirred her curiosity, but before she could ask, Dai Mobai had already led her through the south gate and straight out of Nuoding City.
The two hurried south.
After covering a little over fifty kilometers, a small village nestled against the mountains appeared in Li Yue's view.
The village wasn't large, with roughly two or three hundred households.
Far off, a mottled sign stood in the open space at the entrance, bearing three characters.
Li Yue focused her gaze on it—Holy Soul Village.
"Is there something special about this place?"
Li Yue finally couldn't hold back her question.
She looked around, but couldn't see what this ordinary little village had to do with "treasure hunting."
Dai Mobai didn't explain. He merely smiled and led her around the village before plunging into the vast mountain range behind it.
Once they were in the mountains, neither of them held back.
Golden wings unfurled from Dai Mobai's back, while a pair of wings emerged behind Li Yue. They beat their wings and soared into the air, flying along the mountain ridges.
Below them stretched an endless range of mountains, peak upon peak like a giant dragon lying across the earth, winding away into the distance beyond sight.
"Li Yue, keep an eye out for a valley with a waterfall. That's our final destination."
Dai Mobai's voice reached her ears on the wind.
Li Yue nodded gently and kept his words in mind.
The two flew over the endless mountain range for who knew how many kilometers. The terrain below grew higher, and the forests ever denser.
Just as Li Yue's eyes were beginning to grow sore, a faint rumble drifted over on the mountain breeze.
"We found it."
A smile appeared on Dai Mobai's face. He beat his wings hard, and his speed suddenly surged as he shot toward the source of the sound like a golden streak of light.
Li Yue beat her wings and followed close behind.
After flying for about a quarter of an hour, the rumble grew clearer, and a valley hidden deep within the mountains suddenly came into view.
The valley wasn't large, but it was breathtakingly beautiful.
Lush greenery blanketed the valley, filled with verdant plants of every shade, layered like a single piece of jade spread across the land.
At the very center lay an oval lake. Its waters were crystal clear, like a sapphire set amid all that green.
On the far side of the lake, a waterfall plunged from a cliff dozens of meters high. Its waters hung like a white ribbon before crashing into the lake and sending spray billowing into the air.
The mist rose and spread in the sunlight, with a faint rainbow bridge suspended above the curtain of water, dreamlike and unreal.
"How beautiful."
Looking at the scenery in the valley, Li Yue couldn't help murmuring softly.
Her gaze lingered on the rainbow, and a rare, tender note of wonder appeared in her cool eyes.
"The scenery is just a bonus. The real thing that'll leave you unable to look away is behind that waterfall."
Dai Mobai looked toward the roaring cascade, his tone full of meaning.
Hearing this, Li Yue turned her gaze from the rainbow and studied the waterfall nearby.
But no matter how she looked at it, she couldn't see what made it special.
Fortunately, Dai Mobai had no intention of making her guess.
"Come with me."
With that, he gave a light beat of his golden wings and shot straight into the waterfall like a streak of gold.
Water sprayed in every direction, and his figure vanished in an instant behind the white curtain.
Li Yue's heart lurched. With no time to think, she hurriedly beat her wings and followed him in.
Cold water poured over her head, but her Soul Power forced it aside.
She instinctively shut her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, she found herself through the curtain of water, standing on a stone ledge jutting out from the cliff.
The ledge was small, with room for only three to five people.
Dai Mobai stood on the inner side of the ledge, facing a cliff wall covered in vines. With his right hand clenched into a fist, he tapped steadily against the rock.
The dull thuds sounded especially faint beneath the waterfall's roar.
Li Yue stood behind him and watched quietly.
Before long, Dai Mobai suddenly stopped tapping, the corners of his mouth slowly lifting into a smile.
Then he opened his fist and struck with his palm.
The moment his palm landed, a roar rang out.
The seemingly solid cliff wall shattered instantly. Fragments of stone flew, and dust billowed.
When the dust cleared, a pitch-black cave entrance appeared before Li Yue.
It was pitch-dark inside, impossible to see into.
"Come on. You're about to see the treasure."
Dai Mobai turned and beckoned her, his voice tinged with barely contained excitement.
Li Yue nodded and followed him into the cave, one after the other.
The entrance was narrow, and the stone passage cramped. The rock walls on either side were damp and icy to the touch.
The air was thick with the smell of wet earth, along with a faint, indescribable floral scent.
After several dozen steps, the narrow passage gradually widened.
A dozen or so steps farther on, a hollow stone chamber, clearly hewn by human hands, suddenly appeared before Li Yue.
The chamber wasn't large, and its walls were rough, but the floor had been smoothed flat.
A skylight had been opened in the ceiling. Afternoon sunlight streamed down from above in a bright shaft, falling right onto a small mound of earth in the center of the chamber.
Tiny motes of dust drifted through the beam of light, lending the place a quiet, solemn atmosphere.
The earth was dark brown, soft and fertile.
And growing at the very center of the mound was a single stalk of Blue Silver Grass.
It was unlike any Blue Silver Grass Li Yue had ever seen.
Its leaves were far longer and more slender than those of ordinary Blue Silver Grass, their deep blue color clear and luminous, as if they had been forged from the finest colored glass.
Golden patterns adorned each leaf, faint golden halos flowing across them in the sunlight.
"Is this the treasure?"
Li Yue pointed at the Blue Silver Grass on the mound, unable to hide her disappointment.
A stalk of Blue Silver Grass that merely looked a little better than usual fell far short of her expectations.
Dai Mobai glanced at her, as if he'd expected this reaction.
"It's a gift. The real treasure is over here."
As he spoke, he walked toward one side of the chamber.
Dai Mobai felt around the wall, then pressed a slightly raised stone.
With a crisp click, a hidden compartment sprang open in the wall. A blackened lead box fell out and landed neatly in Dai Mobai's open palm.