Become a cat [Zhan Zhao]

Under A Lan's insistence, Zhan Zhao didn't carry her on his back, but let her jump forward with a stick like a little lame.And he tried his best to slow down and walk beside Ah Lan, hoping to help the stubborn little girl in time when she accidentally fell down.

But to Zhan Zhao's surprise, Ah Lan danced extraordinarily steadily.Maybe it's because she has really worked hard to practice light kung fu in the past few months. Although there is still a certain distance from flying over the eaves and walls, she has passed the level of kung fu.After jumping dozens of steps in one breath, Ah Lan never lost his breath because of this, but his exhalation was a little heavy.But her injured leg is slightly bent, and her feet are not exerting any strength. Every time she jumps, she will leave two footprints on the ground, one deep and one shallow.

A Lan was extremely careful with every step, and didn't want to cause any trouble for Zhan Zhao because of herself.The battle just now made Alan truly realize the gap between himself and Zhan Zhao. Although this realization is frustrating, it also has a kind of uplifting effect after the depression.She thought of herself who was left in a safe place by Zhan Zhao when she was on the east coast. At that time, she only felt unwilling. She was eager to prove herself but was treated as an object of protection, so she felt very powerless.But now, Ah Lan suddenly understood what He Zhou...or that unknown guy with He Zhou's face on his face said.

She still needs to become stronger to be qualified to stand by Zhan Zhao's side.But before that, any overreaching will only cause trouble for Zhan Zhao.

Alan took a deep breath and felt that his whole body was full of fighting spirit again.

At this moment the sky is still dim, and the color of the sky is deep and gloomy.The sound of the wind changed from a loud whine to a low whimper, and the snow on the ground slightly reflected a kind of off-white fluorescence, between light and darkness.Some kind of giant bird hovering overhead might be a potential threat, but neither of them, who had just faced a fierce battle with wolves, felt intimidated by it.Seen from a distance, the shape of the valley seems to have a realistic meaning, but ordinary people in the world cannot understand the mystery.

In the process of approaching the valley, Alan always had a premonition that the bell would ring again, so he waited patiently.However, after the valley returned to silence, there was no further movement.She felt vaguely disappointed, but also wanted to go into the valley to find out more.

The closer they got to the valley, the softer the snow under their feet, and the sunken snow nest could almost cover A Lan's knees.Her injured leg also sometimes kicks inadvertently into the snow, leaving messy slush on her boots.

At this time, Zhan Zhao had no choice but to propose, "I'll carry you on my back. The snow is too deep, and I wet my pants carefully. You still have injuries on your legs."

"No." Alan was surprisingly stubborn in some places, "I can do it myself. And it's coming soon."

Zhan Zhao shook his head helplessly, slightly lagging behind Ah Lan by two steps, and then suddenly picked her up when the other party was unsuspecting.

"Oops!" Ah Lan yelled, hugging his neck in panic, so as not to let her body be completely pressed on Zhan Zhao's arm.She said frivolously, "Put me down quickly, you still have injuries on your arm!"

However, Zhan Zhao didn't even look at Ah Lan, he walked straight forward, and at the same time said nonchalantly: "This injury is nothing. You are too light, and your bones are no more than two ounces."

A Lan twisted her body, trying to break free, but she was afraid of hurting Zhan Zhao.This kind of dilemma made her feel annoyed for a while, so she pursed her lips and stopped talking, but her body was still tense, hoping to reduce the burden on Zhan Zhao's injured arm.

Only then did Zhan Zhao lower his head slightly, seeing that Alan turned his head away from him, he couldn't help laughing and said, "You are too childish, even if you hug you, you will get angry."

"..." A Lan puffed up and said nothing.

Zhan Zhao raised his head again, looked at the valley not far away, and said softly: "It's really childish." His voice was so low that he didn't know who he was talking to.

However, after walking dozens of steps, Zhan Zhao was startled suddenly, and his eyes widened slightly—at a certain moment that he didn't notice, a vague human figure appeared at the entrance of the valley.However, Zhan Zhao wasn't sure if he really didn't pay attention to the entrance of the valley for a moment, he should have been vigilant all the time.However, this figure seemed to appear out of thin air, completely failing to attract Zhan Zhao's attention in time.

This made Zhan Zhao secretly alert, but it wasn't until he got closer that he realized that it was not a real person, but a stone statue.

A tall, fine-textured, off-white stone statue.

However, this stone statue does not have facial features, but has a rough outline, with hands hanging slightly at the sides, and the body is covered by something that looks like a cloak.Its shape and material have a feeling of complementing each other here, which does not make people feel inconsistent, but is easy to ignore and let it blend with the background.Between the rocks and the white snow, it can be clearly seen that it is placed at the entrance of the valley, with its body slightly turned, as if facing Zhan Zhao and Alan.

After seeing this thing clearly, Ah Lan couldn't help but muttered in a low voice: "How evil, why is there a stone man standing here? It must not be welcoming us."

"..." Before Zhan Zhao had time to comment on this whimsical idea, he heard a deep sound, and the stone man actually moved, holding hands and bowing towards them amidst the "click" of joint movement. I gave a half ceremony.

A Lan: "..." She just said it casually, and she didn't really expect any strange and moving stone man to greet her, which is absolutely true!

Zhan Zhao was calmer than Ah Lan, he just looked at the stone statue suspiciously to make sure that it wasn't some prankster pretending to be it.Is this the handwriting of a certain organization?But when you think about it, it's too magical, right?Zhan Zhao recalled all the trap masters in the Jianghu in his mind, but he couldn't think of anyone who could make such an exquisite trap.

What was even more shocking was that after the salute, the stone statue moved slowly, turned around stiffly, and walked step by step into the valley.

Seeing this, Zhan Zhao immediately put A Lan down gently, but couldn't help hesitating for a moment before going after her.And just after this moment, the stone man seemed to feel that they hadn't followed, so he turned around and gestured stiffly, signaling them to follow.Although there are no facial features on its face, its movements and posture seem to reveal a kind of bewilderment and silent urging, which is full of human taste.

"Master..." Ah Lan couldn't help muttering, "What the hell is that?" She originally thought that what she experienced on Kuguo Island was the weirdest thing she had ever encountered in her life, but the scene in front of her made the black water The secret rooms below seem to be overshadowed.

Zhan Zhao answered honestly: "I don't know as a teacher." He didn't like the feeling of being ignorant of the situation and out of control, so after he finished speaking, he stretched out his hand to pull Alan up, and said in a low voice: "We are with you." Go up and have a look."

"Okay." Alan was a little excited, and walked towards the stone man beside Zhan Zhao.

And as soon as they took a step forward, the stone man seemed to feel something, turned around and continued to move forward.

The valley is rocky and rocky, covered with white snow, it looks cold and dead.There are almost no trees here, not even a common pine tree in the Northland.Instead, there are boulders of various shapes scattered throughout the valley.The stone man's footsteps landed on the snow-covered ground, making strange and strange sounds.And it walked really fast, Alan followed behind, and started panting after walking for a while.

After Zhan Zhao found out, he held Alan's hand silently, summoned his internal energy and sent it over.Ah Lan felt a warm current pouring in from her icy palm, and she felt light all over.

She couldn't help but raised her head and looked at Zhan Zhao.However, just as he turned his head, Ah Lan caught a glimpse of a different scene, and couldn't help but fix his eyes in shock.

It was a majestic palace, entirely made of stone, hidden behind the messy boulders.However, as grand and majestic as it is, it is as desolate and decadent as it is.The dome that was originally composed of white and delicate stones has now collapsed in half, and the patterns on the stone pillars at the door are also incomplete, as if some of them have defected.The extended wall became a pile of rocks and ruins, and some withered and yellow weeds grew tenaciously in it.Occasionally, a section of the wall will still stand in place, looking lonely and stubborn, like a stray sentinel.

What also cannot be ignored is that the surrounding temperature is slowly rising.The biting coldness was gone, and although there was still snow on the ground, it looked more like a disguise at this moment.

Alan soon noticed that the stone man was leading them in the direction of the stone palace.It was so mysterious there that even though she was aware of it, she only had expectations in her heart.And Zhan Zhao also saw the palace, and he secretly thought: Could it be that there are actually people living in this Valley of Infatuation?There was an accident on Kuguo Island last time, and there is no guarantee that something difficult will not happen this time.

Thinking about it this way, Zhan Zhao couldn't help being curious, why did Chen Yin give him such a map and assign him to these weird places?Is it really just to break the Peach Blossom Curse?

The stone man in front of him couldn't solve this question, but the man they were about to meet might be able to answer it for him.

The cry of the goshawk came from a distance, which seemed desolate and long.

And they finally reached the gate of the palace.

In front of an open space, two rows of dilapidated stone steps stretch upwards from left to right, passing through two high platforms overgrown with weeds, leading directly to the gate of the palace.Two rows of stone soldiers stood neatly on both sides of the stone steps, like palace guards.

The stone man led them to the stone steps but stopped, while a "court guard" stepped out slowly, walking towards the stone steps with heavy steps.

Zhan Zhao and Alan had no choice but to stop, and Alan couldn't help but whispered, "Is it going to report?"

Zhan Zhao gave a low "hmm", and suddenly had the illusion of being in the palace.Although this place is far less luxurious than the Kaifeng Imperial City, it is imposing and well-ordered, but there is a faint tendency to stand shoulder to shoulder.

After a long time, the sound of "Huolang" sounded again, and the "Guard" appeared on the stone steps.The stone man leading the way for Zhan Zhao and A Lan seemed to have received some kind of message, turned slightly sideways, raised one arm in a gesture of "please", and then led the two of them up the stone steps step by step.

There are 27 stone steps in total, and Ah Lan felt her heart beat faster every time she went up a step.She was infinitely curious about the queer people--or things that weren't--who lived in such a queer place.

When standing outside the palace and hearing the stone door slowly open, Ah Lan held his breath.

Dust was flying in the air, and a ray of morning sun poured down from the east, dispelling the darkness and gloom inside the palace gate.At the end of the empty hall, on the throne above the high platform, a person sat there with his hands resting on his back.

Seemingly hearing the voice, he raised his head, his face blurred in the morning light.

It was a gray, stone face.