After drinking his fill, he leaned against the rocks by the pool, barely managing to sit up straight, and looked down at the water.
The water was calm and still, and the pebbles and moss several feet below the surface were clearly visible.
But further down, it seems to merge with the darkness, exuding a chilling depth.
"Stop looking, there's an undercurrent down there, enough to drag someone in and feed the turtles." Zhao Yan's voice came from behind, filled with deep exhaustion.
After saying this, Zhao Yan seemed to have exhausted all his strength and fell into a deep daze to recover.
Time flowed slowly amidst the dampness and pervasive pain.
In the days that followed, the two relied almost entirely on the elixirs carried by Zhao Yan to survive.
The pills were of good quality; some could prolong life, some could stop bleeding and promote tissue regeneration, and some could even help restore Internal Force.
Each time Zhao Yan woke up, he would painstakingly take out a few pills, swallow some himself, and then toss a few to Lin Yu.
They didn't care whether it was for healing or not; anything beneficial went into their mouths.
Lin Yu was curious about where Zhao Yan got so many pills. When he asked, Zhao Yan replied succinctly, "I got them from the Golden Bull Martial Arts School."
Then he closed his eyes and went to regulate his breathing.
Thanks to these elixirs and their tenacious will to live, they managed not to die in this eerie mountain cave.
However, the recovery from the injury was far slower and more painful than expected.
Logically speaking, given their cultivation level and the aid of elixirs, such severe injuries should not be able to heal in a short time.
But once the injury was brought under control and began to show significant improvement, symptoms should have appeared within one or two weeks.
However, almost half a month and a month passed before the two of them barely managed to pull themselves out of the brink of death and were able to move around with minimal effort.
The excruciating pain in my internal organs and meridians persisted, as if countless tiny silver needles were wandering and pricking inside my body.
Lin Yu gradually guessed that the problem lay in the force left behind by the white-robed man's casual strike.
The eerie aura, not belonging to this world, clung to their bodies like a maggot, hindering the healing of their injuries.
The power wasn't particularly strong, but it was exceptionally cunning and difficult to deal with, carrying a cruel and torturous quality like a cat playing with a mouse.
Clearly, the other side did not want them to die immediately, but rather wanted to watch them slowly suffer in pain and despair.
"Do you think those two were behind this? Otherwise, why are we recovering so slowly?" Lin Yu said, expressing his suspicions as Zhao Yan woke up.
"Scum from the Upper Realm... you have a twisted sense of humor," Zhao Yan cursed through gritted teeth after forcing out some of the cold poison with his internal energy, his scarlet eyes filled with resentment and venom.
After his injuries improved slightly and he was able to walk with some difficulty, Lin Yu would occasionally leave the cave to explore the surrounding area.
On one hand, they were surveying the environment; on the other hand, they were searching for food.
Although elixirs are good, they cannot replace food; a severely injured body needs the nourishment of food even more.
The area around the mass grave is desolate, but small animals such as wild rabbits and mountain rats can be found there. With Lin Yu having regained some of his skills, he can barely hunt them.
He never forgot the prying eyes he felt when he first entered the mass grave.
Strangely, when his injuries improved and he ventured out to investigate, the things hidden behind the eerie mist seemed to have vanished, deliberately avoiding him.
This desolate land seems to follow some unknown rule.
That evening, Lin Yu returned to the cave carrying two wild rabbits he had caught with a makeshift trap.
Before we even got close, we saw Zhao Yan sitting cross-legged by the deep pool, motionless, his eyes fixed on the calm, dark water, his expression unusually focused.
"Why are you looking at that pond again?" Lin Yu asked casually, throwing the rabbit on the ground.
During this time, Zhao Yan would often stare blankly at the pool, a habit Lin Yu had long since grown accustomed to.
However, this time Zhao Yan did not respond impatiently with a "None of your business" or remain silent as usual.
He seemed not to hear Lin Yu's words, still staring at the water, muttering to himself in a barely audible voice, as if he were talking to something.
Lin Yu frowned, sensing that Zhao Yan was acting strangely today.
Just as Lin Yu bent down to prepare to process the wild rabbit, a sudden change occurred.
Zhao Yan suddenly stood up, the last trace of hesitation in his eyes replaced by resolute madness.
He took a deep breath and, surprisingly, leaped straight into the bottomless, turbulent, icy pool.
Water splashed up, ripples spread, and then quickly returned to calm, with only circles of ripples slowly spreading out. Zhao Yan's figure had already disappeared into the deep darkness.
"?!"
Lin Yu froze, staring at the now empty poolside and then at the calm water, momentarily speechless.
Jumping into the river? Suicide? Given Zhao Yan's obsessive and tenacious will to survive, how could that be possible?
Moreover, the look in his eyes just now clearly didn't seem like he was looking for death; it was more like... he had discovered something and was going to take a risk.
Lin Yu's mind raced, considering every possible possibility.
He rushed to the edge of the pool and looked down.
The pool water remained clear, but there was no one in sight.
"That madman..." Lin Yu muttered under his breath, his brows furrowed.
He's not going to jump down after him.
This pool of water is treacherous with hidden currents; in his current state, going in would be suicide.
Zhao Yan was Great Grandmaster, after all. If I rashly followed suit, I might drown and no one would even know.
He stood by the pool for a while, but still saw no movement. Finally, he shook his head and retreated back to the cave to continue processing his rabbit.
Whether Zhao Yan discovered some secret or truly went mad, he can live his life as he pleases.
"Just wait. If there's still no news, I'll just have to erect a monument for Zhao Yan here, "Lin Yu thought to himself.
He crouched down and began skillfully processing the two wild rabbits.
In a drier part of the cave, they lit a campfire.
The orange firelight dispelled some of the chill in the cave and brought a touch of warmth.
He placed the prepared rabbit meat on the fire to roast, the oil dripping and sizzling, the aroma of the meat gradually spreading.
For the past month, they have barely managed to survive on the occasional wild game they catch, the water from the pool, and the medicinal pills.
The process of grilling the meat calmed his chaotic mind somewhat.
As he turned the rabbit meat over the grill, he would occasionally glance at the unsettlingly calm deep pool.
What exactly did Zhao Yan discover?
Could there truly be some unknown secret hidden beneath this eerie, icy pool?
Almost half an hour had passed since Zhao Yan jumped down, and there had been no sound at all.
"Really dead?" Lin Yu frowned, but wasn't too worried.
Given Zhao Yan's incredible resilience and bizarre methods, the possibility of him drowning in the pool is extremely slim.
More likely, he discovered something, or was swept away by that undercurrent to another place.
Just then, a series of tiny bubbles suddenly rose from the center of the pool.
Lin Yu's eyes narrowed, he put down the rabbit meat and grabbed a sharpened wooden stick beside him.
The bubbles are increasing in number and speed.
Immediately afterwards, with a splash, a figure suddenly emerged from underwater, creating a spray of water.
It was Zhao Yan.
His face was pale, his lips were slightly purple from the cold, and his wet hair clung to his forehead, but his eyes held a hint of excitement.
This was an expression he hadn't shown in over a month.
He gasped for breath and scrambled up using both hands and feet, still carrying the biting chill of the pool water.
"Damn, it's freezing!" Zhao Yan shivered as he moved closer to the fire, stretching out his almost frozen hands to warm them.