From cute to empress

Chapter 222: Huge Rock Blocks the Road

"Master?!" I looked up suddenly, hardly believing my ears. It was Master, truly Master! The flame of hope reignited in my heart.

"Master, we are here!" Zhen Youcai shouted loudly towards the boulder.

"Hey! Just wait, Master will rescue you right away!" Taoist Qingfeng's voice was full of strength, as if it injected us with a shot of adrenaline.

I stared at the boulder nervously, as if it would be moved away at any moment. However, apart from a few dull thuds, the boulder remained motionless.

"Master, what happened?" I asked anxiously, with a bad premonition in my heart again.

"This stone..." Taoist Qingfeng's tone was solemn, "It seems to have been cast with some kind of spell. It's extremely heavy."

My heart sank. Even Master couldn't move this boulder. Were we really going to be trapped here to death?

"Youcai, what should we do?" I looked at Zhen Youcai helplessly, hoping he could come up with a solution.

Zhen Youcai said nothing, but held my hand tightly, his eyes gleaming with determination. He walked to the boulder and observed it carefully, as if searching for something.

"Master, look here!" Zhen Youcai pointed to a depression beneath the boulder and said, "This boulder seems to be stuck here. If we can find its support point, perhaps we can work together to push it away!"

Taoist Qingfeng stepped forward and carefully observed the structure of the boulder in the dim light. After pondering for a moment, he nodded and said, "Youcai is right. This boulder is not unmovable. We just need to find the right fulcrum."

He took out three small metal discs from the cloth bag he carried with him, muttered something, and stuck the discs on three different locations on the boulder.

"Mengmeng, you and Youcai, work together in this direction!" Taoist Qingfeng pointed at one of the metal discs and said firmly, "Remember, concentrate all your strength on one point!"

Zhen Youcai and I looked at each other and saw determination in each other's eyes.

"Okay!" We answered in unison, walked to the position designated by Taoist Qingfeng, took a deep breath, and pressed our hands tightly against the cold stone wall...

"One, two, three, push!" Taoist Qingfeng gave the order, and Zhen Youcai and I exerted force at the same time, pressing the weight of our whole body on the boulder.

At first, the boulder remained motionless, like an insurmountable mountain, firmly blocking our path. I could feel the immense resistance coming from it, my arms began to tremble, and beads of sweat began to form on my forehead.

"Don't give up, Mengmeng!" Zhen Youcai's voice rang in my ears, firm and powerful, "We can do it!"

His words were like a warm current that flowed into my heart, rekindling my hope. I gritted my teeth and concentrated all my strength on my arms, with only one thought in my mind: I must get out!

"Try harder!" Taoist Qingfeng's voice was also full of encouragement, "We're almost there!"

The three of us worked together, attacking the boulder's defenses again and again. Each attempt was accompanied by a huge drain on my energy. My breathing became increasingly rapid, and my vision began to black out.

Finally, after repeated impacts, I felt that the boulder seemed to loosen a little.

"It's moving! It's moving!" I shouted excitedly, my voice full of hope.

"Everyone, work harder, we just need the last bit!" Taoist Qingfeng's voice also revealed a hint of excitement.

The three of us seemed to have forgotten our fatigue, burst out with the last of our strength, let out a roar, and pushed hard!

"Boom——"

After a loud bang, the boulder was finally pushed away by our combined strength, revealing a hole large enough for one person to pass through.

I suddenly felt weak all over, and sat down on the ground, gasping for breath.

"We...we succeeded..." I looked at Zhen Youcai with a smile of surviving a disaster on my face.

"Yes, we succeeded." Zhen Youcai also said with a smile, with joy shining in his eyes.

Taoist Qingfeng stood at the entrance of the cave, looking back at us with a relieved smile on his face: "Come on, kids, let's go out."

I stood up, and together with Zhen Youcai, I followed Taoist Qingfeng's footsteps and entered the dark cave...

As soon as I came out of the cave, a breath of fresh air hit my face. I breathed in greedily and felt full of strength.

"Master, I feel..." I clenched my fists, feeling the power surging in my body, "something seems to be different..."

The sun dazzled my eyes, and I squinted, adjusting to the transition from the dark cave to the bright mountains. I took a deep breath, and the fresh air was filled with the fragrance of grass and soil. This long-lost feeling made me realize that we had really escaped.

"Mengmeng, how do you feel?" Zhen Youcai stood beside me. His voice sounded a little hoarse, probably because he had just experienced a fierce battle.

I stretched my muscles and was surprised to find that my aching muscles were now brimming with strength, as if I had endless energy. I clenched my fists, feeling the energy surge through my body, and excitedly said to Zhen Youcai, "I feel like... my strength has increased!"

Zhen Youcai also stretched his arms, a look of surprise on his face: "Me too! Could it be that the difficulties just now have stimulated our potential?"

Before he had time to think about it, Taoist Qingfeng's face suddenly darkened and he shouted in a low voice: "Oh no, someone is coming! Go!"

We looked in the direction of the sound and saw several dark shadows appearing on the hillside in the distance, moving towards us quickly.

"It's Heisha's people!" I was shocked and immediately realized that we were not out of danger yet.

"Let's split up!" Taoist Qingfeng made a quick decision. "Mengmeng, you and Youcai go east, I'll lead them away! Remember, you must survive!"

"Master!" My heart tightened and I wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Taoist Qingfeng.

"Listen! This is an order!" His tone was stern and left no room for questioning.

I knew this was not the time to hesitate. I looked at Taoist Qingfeng deeply and nodded vigorously: "Master, you have to be careful too!"

After saying that, I took Zhen Youcai's hand and ran towards the east without looking back.

We ran desperately, the trees behind us rapidly receding before our eyes. I could hear the sounds of fighting behind me, and the roar of Taoist Qingfeng. My heart felt like it was being tightly grasped by an invisible hand, and I was so nervous that I could hardly breathe.

"Mengmeng, we have to find a way to get rid of them!" Zhen Youcai said as he ran, his breathing becoming rapid.

I looked around and found that we had come to an unfamiliar forest. The dense trees blocked out the sun, and the rugged mountain roads were winding and there was no way to escape.

"This way!" I suddenly found a huge rock that could temporarily hide our figures, so I pulled Zhen Youcai to hide over there.

We hid behind the rocks, holding our breath, listening to the noises outside. The sound of footsteps, the clash of swords, and the angry roar of Taoist Qingfeng all mixed together, making my heart tremble with fear.

"What should we do? They seem to be still chasing us!" I whispered, my tone full of anxiety.

Zhen Youcai didn't say anything, but just frowned tightly and looked around continuously, as if looking for something.

Suddenly, his eyes fell on an ancient tree next to the rock. On the trunk of the tree, there was a strange symbol engraved, which looked like some kind of writing, but he had never seen it before.

"What is this?" I followed Zhen Youcai's gaze and also found the strange symbol.

Zhen Youcai did not answer, but reached out and gently stroked the symbol, as if looking for some answer from it.

At this moment, his fingers suddenly felt a cold touch, and then a low and mysterious voice sounded in his mind...