Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The Great Moon Tribe’s settlement was among the higher hills and deep valleys in the depths of Mount Jade Dragon. From afar, the entire hill and valley seemed to be surrounded by the green forest. Within the forest, there were short wooden or stone houses all around, and they resembled a huge village. There was only a very narrow mountain path that led up to the top of the hill at the valley’s entrance…The area behind the Great Moon Tribe’s settlement was a wide meadow with fertile soil that occupied a few dozen square kilometers…
The Great Moon Tribe had constructed two checkpoints at the entrance to the valley where the settlement was. At the moment, the first checkpoint had been destroyed. There was a widening valley around a thousand meters long in between the two checkpoints. At this moment, the second checkpoint was being assaulted by countless Shatu warriors in gray armor. The guards at the checkpoint were fighting at close quarters with them. The loud roars from both parties shook the heavens while arrows and stones flew about like flying locusts. Spears and swords clashed hard against each other. For nearly every second, there were warriors from the Great Moon Tribe defending the second checkpoint and Shatu warriors being knocked out from the battlefield…
From afar, it was obvious that the Shatu people were on the offensive. Around two thousand Shatu warriors had rushed into this valley. On the other hand, the Great Moon Tribe’s warriors seemed to be in disarray. Aside from those warriors guarding the second checkpoint, countless people were running around the settlement like headless chickens. Yan Liqiang could sense that there were some problems with the organization and the Great Moon Tribe’s commander with just a glance.
Thick smoke rose from a few buildings in the Great Moon Tribe’s settlement. The intensity of the fire was shocking. The people of the Great Moon Tribe were at a loss. They couldn’t decide if they should put out the fire first or defend against the attack of those Shatu people.
Others would have felt nervous seeing such a scene. However, when such a violent battle scene entered Yan Liqiang’s sight, it instantly warmed his blood and excited him instead.
“Brother Long, you must help us…” When Selena saw the situation that the Great Moon Tribe was in, she immediately grabbed Yan Liqiang’s hands and sobbed.
“Of course! I wouldn’t just stand aside and do nothing. I feel like your tribe has encountered some issues and I need to think carefully on how to help…” Yan Liqiang pointed to those people from the Great Moon Tribe who were running around like tiny ants in the distant valley and hillside. He licked his lips, “Why is no one in the tribe giving them instructions at a time like this? It feels like they are completely lost and they don’t know what to do. Where are the chief and the elders?”
“They must be at the Moon Prayer Hall…” Selena exclaimed.
“Where is the Moon Prayer Hall?”
“The Moon Prayer Hall is right over there, near the peak of the mountain…” Selena pointed to an area at the top of the hill within the Great Moon Tribe’s settlement. “That is where our tribe usually discusses major events. If no one is commanding the tribe right now, then my mother and the elders should be there!”
“Your mother?” Yan Liqiang was slightly taken aback.
“Yes, my mother is the Great Moon Tribe’s current chief…”
Yan Liqiang always thought that Selena’s father was the Great Moon Tribe’s chief. Little did he expect it to be her mother instead. This was a small unexpected finding, however, this was not the time for questioning as Yan Liqiang had to put those trivial matters aside. Since the people of the Great Moon Tribe approved a woman to be their chief, there was no reason for him to make a fuss either. The most crucial thing to do now was to find out about the current situation of the Great Moon Tribe…
“Do you recall how you almost fell into the hands of the Shatu people? I am afraid your elders have encountered the same situation. Otherwise, it would not be so chaotic down there…”
“Brother Long, I know there is a secret passage from behind that hill that leads to the Moon Prayer Hall…” Selena looked at Yan Liqiang with her pleading eyes. Her eyes were red and tears were rolling down her face. “Nobody knows about the secret passage except the immediate family of the Great Moon Tribe’s chief. My mother brought me there once. I know it is very dangerous to go down there now but…”
“That’s enough, where is the entrance to the secret passage? You can show me the way and we will go inside the passage first to check on the situation inside the Moon Prayer Hall!” Yan Liqiang exclaimed decisively.
“Thank you, Brother Long!” Selena wiped away her tears and pointed in the direction behind the Great Moon Tribe’s settlement. “The entrance to the secret passage is between the rock crevices under that mountain cliff…”
“Alright, let’s go now!” Yan Liqiang held Selena in his arms and sped in the direction Selena had pointed to.
Since they were far from the battleground, Yan Liqiang deliberately concealed themselves in the dense forest and avoided places with people. Hence, nobody even discovered that Yan Liqiang and Selena were silently approaching the mountain behind the Great Moon Tribe’s settlement.
The mountain was full of rubble and the walls were steep. There were lots of caves and crevices in the cliff wall. The place seemed dangerous and had a similar terrain to the valley where Yan Liqiang was cultivating in seclusion. As soon as they arrived, Selena pointed to the overhanging cliff about two hundred meters above her head, “Brother Long, it’s around there. The entrance is just behind the shrub on the mountain wall…”
Yan Liqiang sprinted up the mountain wall and headed toward the overhanging cliff. It took him only around ten seconds to reach the cave entrance under that overhanging cliff with Selena.
The cave entrance wasn’t that different from ordinary cave entrances. Shrubs and weeds grew on the outside of the cave, completely covering the entrance. The entrance to the cave was not big; it was just a crack of one meter in height. One would have to duck their head to get in, but it soon became spacious after walking ten meters into the cave.
About thirty to forty meters deep into the cave, the light from the cave entrance grew weaker and the surroundings started to dim.
“Brother Long, there’s a fire torch here…” Selena ran forward and retrieved a torch in between the rocks. She quickly lit the torch and the cave was illuminated in just the blink of an eye.
Yan Liqiang was able to see clearly inside the cave even without the torch, but it was impossible for Selena to do so.
Beside the torch was a bundle of ropes, which was probably used for emergency escapes from the cave.
“You can follow me. Just tell me the directions!” Yan Liqiang took the torch and held Selena’s hand as they ventured deeper into the cave. Although the cave was naturally formed, they started seeing traces of man-made construction as they went deeper. Halfway through the journey, Yan Liqiang discovered a hidden chamber with a lot of weapons and armor stored inside. Spotting a fine steel spear among the weapons, Yan Liqiang conveniently took one with him.
After walking for about two li inside the winding cave, Yan Liqiang’s path was finally blocked by a metal door in front of a narrow passage in the cave.
“Brother Long, behind this metal door is the secret underground chamber of the Moon Prayer Hall…” Selena walked to the metal door and gave the door a sharp pull, but her countenance contorted. “How terrible, the metal door is locked from the other side. It is usually unlocked…”
“Step back and let me try…” Yan Liqiang passed the torch to Selena and placed his metal spear against the cave wall. He went over to the door and reached out to touch the solid metal door. He found two spots where he could get a good grip on the door then gave it a powerful pull…
With a thunderous noise, the whole metal door was instantly deformed by Yan Liqiang’s pull, and a one meter opening was made. Yan Liqiang gave it another pull and the deformed metal door was completely torn down. Selena was utterly shocked by Yan Liqiang’s strength and was rendered speechless because the solid metal door seemed like a piece of paper to Yan Liqiang…
Yan Liqiang threw the metal door in the cave and took the long spear. Together with Selena, they continued to move forward. Behind the metal door was indeed a secret chamber made of bricks and stones. There was a bed and some food inside the chamber. Outside the chamber was an underground tunnel and both sides of the tunnel were lit with torches. Selena threw the torch in her hand and led Yan Liqiang forward. After just a few steps, they heard a faint mournful shriek above them…
Yan Liqiang could feel Selena’s palm was drenched in sweat. He gave her hand a light squeeze and spoke softly. “Is there any place where we can monitor the situation in the hall?”
“There is an air vent hidden up there. From there, you will be able to view the Moon Prayer Hall…”
After a while, Selena brought Yan Liqiang to the location of the concealed air vent. It was indeed hidden at a high place, for they had to climb dozens of stairs from the underground tunnel just to get there. The air vent was only an arc-shaped slit that was half a meter higher than a fist. Faint rays of light seeped through the vent. Yan Liqiang and Selena went over to it and peered through the vent. The entire Moon Prayer Hall was visible from where they stood. It was only then Yan Liqiang realized that the vent was, in fact, the slit of a giant statue’s parted lips. Unless someone looked at the statue at eye level, it was impossible for anyone to discover any shenanigans going on in this statue.
