The young palace master had definitely prepared for an escape. Therefore, the search would not be easy.

Mountains with steep, rocky cliffs surrounded the place. Even the slopes glittered with more cherry blossoms. The intense greenery contrasted a waterfall emerging from the depths of the mountains that went straight into a pool of water. The flower buds of crimson red danced gracefully in the gusts of wind, filling the air with delightful fragrances. Some of the buds fell onto the surface as the breeze continued to carry them away from their branches.

They looked up and realized that the sky was covered with a layer of fog in crimson red. They could not see anything beyond the fog. The red mist was the legendary Cherry Blossom Miasma. The vapor was extremely poisonous. Without a proper cure, any living being who pa.s.sed by the area would be poisoned to death, which explained the serenity of the place without any traces of living creatures.

"We should split and search the place," Gu Xijiu suggested.

She was hoping to find some clues. After all, the place was the secret garden of the young palace master.

Shen Nianmo agreed and proceeded.

Ever since he found out about her true ident.i.ty, he had been treating her rather coldly. They barely talked.

Gu Xijiu regretted that she revealed her true self so quickly, but at least he finally stopped flirting with her. However, he seemed to take prudent precautions against her. She knew it when he kept the pill away instead of swallowing it. He did not trust her. If things did not change, it would be difficult for her to train him in the future. Nonetheless, she should leave the matter now and attend to it later. She would improvise when the time came.

It was neither the spring season of March nor April, but the cherry blossom was unusually spectacular, each blooming more brilliantly in the other"s company. A walk in the garden, surrounded by these fantastic flowers, would be a very romantic walk.

It would be such a happy time if a couple came and took a walk together, hand in hand.

Gu Xijiu recalled one of the hallucinations that occurred to her before. In the picture, she and Huang Tu spent some time in a garden of cherry blossoms.

It must have been a very happy time. In the scene, they were walking very closely together. She hugged his arm and walked the path together. They must have been very deeply in love. Unfortunately, he had disappeared. She had also forgotten about their love story.

When Shen Nianmo finally returned to his position as the master of heavenly law, hopefully, he would find a way to revive Huang Tu.

Swiftly, she walked the path in the garden while carefully observing her surroundings to find more traces. Soon, she found a trail.

The garden was primitive. It was formed naturally. She noticed its primary ecosystem by looking at the thorns that covered the ground. The trail, however, was looking a little odd. It was certainly not built but formed due to frequent steps taken along the path. Did the young master come here very often?

Gu Xijiu observed the trail and found something strange. Human steps did not only cover the trail, but it also bore evidence of a wheelchair. She followed the trail and continued to explore. The route was remote and tortuous. She wriggled through and finally arrived at a cliff.

From the top, the water formed a cascade down the mountain. The rus.h.i.+ng water acted like curtains, covering almost the entire wall of the cliff. Gu Xijiu focused on the cliff, but could hardly find anything odd. However, her intuition told her that something must be wrong about the place.

She took a leap and landed on a rock at the bottom of the falls. She knocked on the wall and realized that it was not solid. It must be a cave!