General’s Gown - CH 55

Chapter 55 Tan Hua Dream Part 4

Dust was everywhere, and the two rolled aside. Helian Rongchuan coughed violently, half of his body was covered by the sand, ash on his face, he was in an extremely sorry state.

“Cough cough cough, are you okay? Are you injured?”

Helian Rongchuan hurriedly pulled Yan Changqing under him and asked anxiously.

Fortunately, the soil wall was very thin, and the loose sand couldn’t hurt people.

“You’re bleeding.” Yan Changqing crawled out of the soil and looked at a small bloody gash on Helian Rongchuan’s forehead that was caused by gravel. He panted slightly, and there was a faint flash of light in his black eyes.

Yan Changqing experienced this subconscious protective gesture of Helian Rongchuan’s twice this day, and his mood was a bit complicated.

Of course, he himself was unharmed, and he didn’t even have too much dust on his body——Helian Rongchuan had protected him very securely.

“Tch, it’s nothing.” Helian Rongchuan raised his eyebrows and wiped the dust on his face, nonchalantly.

The two turned around and looked at the collapsed earth wall, and were startled at the same time.

Behind the collapsed earth wall was a square stone cave that was more than two feet high!

Helian Rongchuan walked into the entrance of the cave, looked inside, and saw blackness in the cave. He couldn’t see anything, but there was a faint breeze blowing on his face.

There was wind… Maybe it means that there is another exit?

But under the prairie, why is there such a cave that was obviously dug out by hand?

However, apart from this cave, there was no other possibility of escape. The two looked at each other, lighted a Huozhezi they carried with them, and walked slowly into the cave.

Under the jumping candlelight, Yan Changqing glanced at the stone walls on both sides. He suddenly stopped, and said in a low voice: “Wait.”

Helian Rongchuan stepped forward and brought the Huozhezi closer to the stone wall, slightly squinting his eyes.

The two of them were a little surprised to find that there was a large mottled mural on these stone walls.

The stone wall was very high, and the two of them lifted their heads and looked from top to bottom. They saw that the lines of these murals were smooth and exquisite, and also somewhat ancient and dull. The colours were already very dim, obviously very old.

This picture was…

Yan Changqing looked at the mural in front of him and saw that at the top of the painting was a large snow-white wolf with dark green eyes, sitting solemnly on a snowy peak. Around this giant wolf, there were countless little people, each of whom was only as big as a nail of a giant wolf. The painting was very vivid, and the expression of each person was sincere as they kneeled in worship around the giant wolf. It seems that this giant wolf was their god.

Yan Changqing initially thought that this mural depicted people from Qinchuan who worshipped the “White Wolf King”, but when he noticed the style of clothes these little people were wearing, he immediately dismissed this idea.

The clothes on these little people were strange styles that he had never seen before. Both men and women were all in white robes, with a furry collar, and the hem was embroidered with big flowers. He had never seen anyone wear clothes like this.

Moreover, the facial features of these little people did not seem to be like those of Qinchuan people. Their skin was very white, and their facial features seem to be deeper.

He didn’t know why, but Yan Changqing felt that this kind of look, he had seen it somewhere before………………

Yan Changqing frowned slightly and continued to look. In the picture, the giant wolf disappeared, and the white-robed little people around the giant wolf became bigger. The crowd spread out, many camped at the foot of the snow-capped mountains. Cattle and sheep were in groups, and everyone’s expression was very happy and comfortable. Although the colours of the murals were quite dim, one can still see the once bright and cheerful imagery.

But then, these bright colours were replaced by large swaths of black clouds and red flames. In the corner of the mural, a lot of armoured troops appeared, all in black, holding swords, spears and clubs, attacking under the snow-capped mountains, looting cattle and sheep, and burning down the village.

The little people in white robes were killed one by one, and the piles of corpses were piled up as high as a hill, and the black and red blood spread under the snow-capped mountains like a river.

Yan Changqing’s expression was a little solemn, and Helian Rongchuan also thought of a painful past. They settled down their emotion and continued to look.

The style of painting changed again. They saw countless white wolves rushing down from the snowy mountain to fight with the army. The wolf that took the lead was huge, and one paw pressed two soldiers under its feet. The two soldiers were bleeding from their noses and mouths. It was this giant wolf who slapped him to death.

The army dropped their helmets and armours and retreated.

Yan Changqing in his heart: it seems that this mural tells the story of the origin and demise of a nation. How can the huge wolf in the picture exist in reality? It may just be the exaggeration of people from the later generation.

It’s just that although Yan Changqing was familiar with the tens of thousands of books on military affairs, he had never heard of any ethnic group using sturdy white wolves to fight. He can only tell from these murals that this was a nomadic group of people who believed in white wolves.

The mural here seemed to be over at this point. Yan Changqing couldn’t help feeling a little melancholy. It turns out that there was such a peculiar nation in the world, that was born in the snow-capped mountains and died in war. They seemed short-lived. If they hadn’t chanced upon it today, he was afraid that no one would know about this nation.

At the same time, Yan Changqing was a little curious. These murals were left by survivors of this nation. So, were the survivors of this nation still reproducing? Where do they live? Why are there such caves left in the ground? ??

Helian Rongchuan walked a few steps faster. He stared at the stone wall in front of him without blinking, and called Yan Changqing: “Look here!”

Yan Changqing walked over to take a look and was slightly startled. The murals have been added again, but the colours and lines were much brighter, apparently only completed in recent years.

Does this nation have descendants remaining?

Among the jumping flames, what appeared in front of the two was a mural with a completely different style from the previous ones. In the drawing, the snow-capped mountains were towering, and two handsome young men in white robes embroidered with Tan Hua (flower) were standing on the top of the mountain, looking from a distance at the foot of the mountain where there was another figure who also wore a white robe. Around the two, there were dozens of white wolves sitting around.

“Tsk, this painting is really detailed!” Helian Rongchuan said.

Indeed, compared with the quaint murals before, this mural in front was much more exquisite, especially the faces and expressions of the two white-robed boys that were so lifelike.

“Huh?” Helian Rongchuan suddenly moved the Huozhezi closer, with a serious expression: “Look at this person, does he look like…”

Yan Changqing followed Helian Rongchuan’s point of view and only felt one of the faces of the white-robed boys seem very familiar.

That pale face, insufferably arrogant, with a bit of slyness in his green eyes…

Wasn’t this white-robed boy the great witch-doctor in his youth?!

Why are these paintings related to the great witch doctor? Could it be that he painted it himself?

The two looked over more curiously. In the mural behind, the two white-robed teenagers seemed to have grown taller. The two seemed to have a fierce dispute. The young witch doctor held a knife in his hand and stabbed the other teenager in the chest.

“This…this painting shows him killing people?!!!” Helian Rongchuan frowned and looked at it, feeling that what he said was not accurate.

“No. It should be manslaughter.” Yan Changqing pointed to the face of the young witch doctor. In the picture, the young witch doctor looked at the person who died by his sword with a distorted expression, as if he was in extreme pain and regret.

Although Yan Changqing knew that the great witch-doctor was a wicked bad guy, seeing the sadness on his face holding the dead boy in the painting, his heart seemed to be shaken, and he couldn’t bear it faintly.

Helian Rongchuan nodded, and he also noticed the expression of the great witch doctor in the painting. It was so vivid that even though he just glanced at it, he seemed to be able to feel the despair and pain in the hearts of the people in the painting.

But the following picture made Yan Changqing feel even more strange. Because in this mural, the man killed by mistake seemed to be alive again. In the white snow, this handsome boy was riding a white wolf. The young witch doctor behind him hugged him tightly, and the two looked at each other and laughed.

Helian Rongchuan and Yan Changqing looked at each other, both of them couldn’t understand the mural in front of them. How could the boy in this painting come back from the dead? Could it be that the content in this mural, like the giant wolf in the first ancient mural, was just a fantasy?

Helian Rongchuan raised the Huozhezi and took a closer look, then suddenly pointed to the mural and said, “Look, isn’t this—— ?!”

Yan Changqing looked over attentively. By the light of the fire, he was surprised to find that in the mural, underneath the two boys was not snow, but countless silver-white Tan Hua (flower).

Resurrected? Tan Hua?

Could this be the Meng Xian Tan mentioned by the little imperial doctor that can raise the dead and was addictive?!

This cave must have something strange about it!

Yan Changqing thought for a while, then decided to simply go inside and find out. Just a few steps, Helian Rongchuan went to grab him.

Yan Changqing turned his head and looked at Helian Rongchuan firmly: “I must go in.”

“I know.” Helian Rongchuan smiled faintly: “So, I want to walk in front of you.” As he said this, he stood in front of Yan Changqing and took his hand.

Yan Changqing was stunned for a moment, then he also gripped the hand with distinct and strong joints, took a step forward and chose to walk side by side with Helian Rongchuan.

In the dim flame, Helen Rongchuan’s thin lips conjured up a smile.

The cave was uneven, and it seemed that a lot of water had accumulated. The two of them held hands but walked very steadily. They didn’t know how long they had been walking when a gleam of light gradually appeared in front of their eyes.

It seems to be candlelight.

The two of them moved faster again. The light in front of them was getting bigger and stronger, and finally—

The two of them walked out of the cave and were shocked by the sight in front of them.

Outside the stone, the cave turned out to be a gorgeous underground palace!

The high dome was inlaid with multicoloured glazed tiles, and the surrounding walls were shining gold, which seemed to be paved with gold.

Yan Changqing took a step, only to hear a clattering sound at his feet. He looked down and saw that he was stepping on countless gold and silver jewels. That sound was him accidentally knocking into a knee-high mountain of gold coins.

Looking around, he saw countless shining gold ingots, silver ingots, red sapphires, pearls, agates, emeralds, corals, and crystals, all randomly piled on the ground, like a mountain of dazzling light!

“My God–” Helian Rongchuan exclaimed, “Did they move our Dongyun’s treasury over here?”

Helian Rongchuan rushed into the golden ocean, stretching his arms and legs into the 大 letter. He swiped his arms and legs up and down a few times, then deliberately said in an exaggerated tone: “I’m rich! Let’s empty this place up, find a beautiful place to build a house, buy land, raise pigs, and grow old!”

Yan Changqing looked at Helian Rongchuan helplessly: “Still making trouble?”

Helian Rongchuan had to get up. He couldn’t help but sigh, an inflexible person really is inflexible. No matter how he teased, he wouldn’t smile. It seems that the ancients’ saying is correct, a thousand gold is hard to buy a beauty’s smile.

The two walked along the edge of the underground palace and watched, looking for traces of Meng Xiantan. Suddenly a slight wind blew from somewhere, bringing a faint, pleasant fragrance.

It was clearly the fragrance of the Tan Hua.

The two went on looking for the fragrance of flowers. As they walked further, they only felt that the fragrance of the flowers become stronger and stronger. After a short while, in front of their eyes was suddenly a dazzling white light.

Yan Changqing blocked his eyes, blinked, and slowly adjusted to the strong light.

What was shown in front of the two of them was a vast expanse of green grassland. Under the blue sky, snow-white clouds, and brilliant golden sunlight, countless wildflowers were in full bloom, and pink petals were flying in the wind. A white horse was grazing quietly with its head down.

Helian Rongchuan and Yan Changqing were both startled.

Shuang Zhui? Yan Changqing immediately recognized his white horse. That’s strange, wasn’t Shuang Zhui returning to Qinchuan City to ask for help? How could it appear here?

What’s even stranger was that they were clearly in the underground palace, so why did they suddenly come to the surface inexplicably?

Helian Rongchuan was even more surprised. To him, this picture was simply familiar and terrifying!

Helian Rongchuan raised his eyebrows and looked at the grass with surprise.

Sure enough, on the green grass like a green carpet, two people were hugging each other, rolling, kissing passionately, doing very intimate things.

Yan Changqing looked at the two men who were lingering in front of him in shock. His handsome face instantly turned red, but he couldn’t say anything.

These two people weren’t they himself and “Helian Rongchuan” !?!?!