In my past life, I was buried alive! Reborn, I'll overturn the capital.

Chapter 142 Soul-Shattering Swamp

Jiang Qingyue instructed Luo Yuan to administer acupuncture to her grandfather regularly and to keep a close eye on his condition. She then decided to go herself to find the mute girl.

Qin Xuanyu accompanied her, and the two went to find the mute girl based on the information Qin Xuanyu had someone investigate.

It is said that the mute girl lived in the Soul-Severing Swamp, and no one had ever entered it because it was mainly swampy, and if one was not careful, one would fall into the swamp and lose their life.

Therefore, many people in the martial arts world have heard that the Three-Colored Moon Flower is with the Mute Girl, but they dare not set foot there easily.

The two had only heard of the general direction of the Soul-Severing Swamp, but did not know its exact location.

So they arrived at a village and went up to ask.

"Uncle, hello, we'd like to ask you, where is the Soul-Severing Swamp?" Jiang Qingyue saw a middle-aged man and went up to ask.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing the name "Soul-Severing Swamp," the man's expression changed, and he waved his hands repeatedly, "I don't know, I don't know!"

After saying that, he ran away, and Jiang Qingyue couldn't stop him in time.

She glanced at Qin Xuanyu with a puzzled look, and could only continue asking the others.

However, after asking three or four people in succession, they all avoided the Soul-Severing Swamp like the plague. The two of them couldn't get any information at all.

Jiang Qingyue realized that things couldn't continue like this.

So she stopped asking questions and instead stood at the village entrance watching the villagers come and go.

Finally, she spotted a shifty-looking guy who was looking around furtively in the crowd.

Jiang Qingyue stepped forward and blocked his way.

"Hey, you..." The man was about to lash out, but upon seeing such a beautiful woman, his expression instantly turned lewd. "Little beauty, you called me here because you need something?"

Jiang Qingyue suppressed her disgust and took out a silver ingot. At that moment, his eyes lit up, filled with nothing but silver.

"Answer me one question, and this silver is yours."

Jiang Qingyue moved away when the man tried to touch her.

"Okay, go ahead and ask."

Where is the Soul-Severing Swamp?

The man, who had been rubbing his hands together in anticipation, froze instantly, his expression becoming uneasy.

He glanced at Jiang Qingyue, then at the silver in her hand, his face showing a conflicted expression.

Seeing this, Jiang Qingyue took out another silver ingot, "Can we talk now?"

The man stopped hesitating when he saw the two gleaming silver coins and quickly took them, saying, "I'll talk, I'll talk."

Then, the man told everyone he knew.

It turns out that everyone was reluctant to talk about that place because people had actually ventured there before. After all, there were some precious herbs there, and people were willing to take risks to make a living. Back then, people weren't so afraid of swamps.

But one year, a group of martial arts practitioners came and went in in a grand procession. Curious, they waited outside to watch. After half a day, terrifying screams were heard everywhere, and from then on, no one was ever seen to come out again.

So, later on, one or two fearless people went in and came out, but they went insane. From then on, everyone said there were evil spirits inside, and no one ever went in again, not even daring to mention it.

As he spoke, the man deliberately lowered his voice and whispered to Jiang Qingyue.

After listening, Jiang Qingyue seemed to understand something, and handed him another silver ingot, "Where is it? Give us directions."

"No problem, no problem." The man led the two to a sandy area and used a stick to draw the approximate direction from the village entrance on the ground.

"Here it is. But now that you've taken the money, I advise you two: it's too dangerous. Don't even think about going in without some skill. Once you're trapped, you won't be able to get out! What are you going there for?"

For the sake of the money, he kindly reminded them, lest they dare to go without knowing anything.

At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder if there was some kind of treasure among those martial arts figures before and this time.

However, he only thought about it; even if he had it, he wouldn't live to take it.

"What we do is our business. We hope you can shut up and pretend we didn't ask."

"Don't worry, don't worry!" He didn't dare say that, otherwise, the villagers would curse him to death.

The two compared the map drawn by the man on the sand and headed straight for their destination.

Soon, Qin Xuanyu and Jiang Qingyue arrived at the outer edge of the Soul-Severing Swamp.

Looking at the dense forest and the land covered with fallen leaves, it's hard to imagine that beneath those leaves might lie a man-eating swamp.

"What should we do?" Jiang Qingyue looked at the terrain ahead, unsure of where to step. No one could guarantee the safety of the area under the leaves. The only option was to take a stick and probe the way forward as she went.

But this would be such a waste of time. We don't even know how far we have to go inside, and my grandfather's condition can't be delayed.

Of course, since many trees also grow in the swamp, those who know light-footed skills can use the trees to leap across the swamp. In theory, many people should be able to cross it to find the mute girl.

However, rumors circulated in the martial arts world that no one had ever seen the mute girl, and that all those who had searched for her were now missing, as was the group of people the man had mentioned who had vanished without a trace. All of this made Jiang Qingyue suspect that there must be something fishy going on, which is why she was so cautious and dared not take any risks.

Qin Xuanyu had naturally thought of this as well.

There are only a few possibilities inside: either it's like the Misty Forest, teeming with miasma and poison, or it contains other poisonous insects, or even unknown creatures like wild beasts, or it has a formation, or it has too many traps and hidden weapons.

Regardless of the possibility, it suggests that this path will not be easy.

But to find the mute girl, we have no choice but to take a risk.

"Let's give it our all, hold me tight."

The two were strangers at first, but became familiar with each other the second time. This time, Jiang Qingyue naturally hugged Qin Xuanyu's waist, and Qin Xuanyu also put his arm around Jiang Qingyue. With a few leaps, Qin Xuanyu quickly darted through the forest.

Not far away, Qin Xuanyu stopped when he saw the small house. He put Jiang Qingyue on the tree and said, "Sit still, I'll go take a look."

"You be careful."

Both of them knew that this seemingly short stretch of road was probably the most dangerous part. Qin Xuanyu leaped a few times and stopped at the edge of the woods, not taking another step closer.

Looking down at the surroundings from his vantage point, he noticed that the arrangement of the area, echoing the surrounding woods, formed a deadly formation.

Killing array!

Thinking of this, Qin Xuanyu immediately returned.

However, this delay was too late.

As soon as he turned around, he saw many trees beneath his feet begin to move, and at the same time, a white, odorless gas emanated from the ground, blinding Qin Xuanyu and making it impossible for him to discern any direction.

"Qingyue! Answer me if you hear me! Qingyue!"

At that moment, Jiang Qingyue, who was sitting in the tree, felt a swaying motion, and then felt the surrounding trees spinning. She saw the same scene as Qin Xuanyu.

Formation!

Before Jiang Qingyue could think any further, she heard Qin Xuanyu calling out, "I'm here!"