Chapter 176: How Did It Become a Lake?
Early this morning, the system had mentioned that there would be a surprise after the rain stopped. Yu Luo was now genuinely curious—what exactly was the system hiding?
Could a single rainstorm really change soil that had been barren for thousands of years? Was that even possible? It sounded too incredible to believe.
“Yeah, it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon. But that’s fine. If it rains for a couple more days, the wilderness soil will be even better nourished. It’s not like we have to worry about floods—there aren’t any large rivers around here.”
Yu Haojie stood at the entrance of the cave, watching the relentless downpour with no concern whatsoever. In fact, there was even a hint of excitement on his face.
But as soon as he finished speaking, Yu Luo suddenly remembered something important— Oh no!
She had opened the floodgate to the valley several days ago, and she hadn’t checked it since!
The realization hit her like a bolt of lightning. Slapping her forehead, she immediately rushed to leave.
Seeing her grab a straw raincoat and bamboo hat, Ye Jiamei quickly grabbed her arm.
“Where do you think you’re going?! Can’t you see the rain is pouring down like this?”
“The valley! I released a lot of water into it, and I haven’t checked it in days! With this much rain, if the water level overflows, it could flood the entire flatlands!”
“If it floods, it floods! There’s no one living there anyway. If anyone does live there, they’ll see the water rising and move!”
Ye Jiamei held on tightly, refusing to let her daughter run out into the storm.
“What valley? If it’s really that serious, I’ll go check it out. I know lightfoot kung fu.”
Tao Ming had been watching Yu Luo anxiously. Seeing her wrapped in a brand-new cotton robe, with her delicate face still flushed from warmth, he couldn’t bear the thought of her going outside.
After a moment of hesitation, he quickly averted his gaze, trying to calm his nerves, before standing up and stammering, “I—I’ll go check…!”
“You know lightfoot kung fu?!”
Yu Haojie’s eyes lit up like he had found a rare treasure. His excitement immediately drew everyone’s attention to Tao Ming.
Tao Ming nodded shyly, scratching the back of his head. “Y-yes. Zhang Xiaoliang and Zhang Hu also know martial arts. The rest of the brothers are skilled in hand-to-hand combat.”
Hearing this, not just Yu Haojie, but also Yu Luo and Ye Jiamei were instantly intrigued!
“You’re that skilled? Then why have you been living like this?”
Ye Jiamei’s blunt remark made both Yu Luo and Yu Haojie feel awkward, as if a crow had just flown over their heads.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. My mom just speaks without thinking. What she meant was, since you’re so skilled, why didn’t you use your abilities to go to Feng City and buy food or seeds? Why rely only on hunting?”
Realizing her words had startled them, Yu Luo quickly explained.
Ye Jiamei nodded, “That’s right! Even if you had to become bandits, it wouldn’t be this bad, would it? The officials of the Lan Yue Dynasty have long withdrawn. With so many strong men, why are you still trapped here?”
“To be honest, when the officials withdrew, they didn’t leave the wilderness completely unguarded. They set up checkpoints past Jiuzhong Mountain near Pingyang City. Without travel permits, we’d be arrested immediately.”
Oh! So that’s why!
The Yu family suddenly understood everything.
Of course, the Lan Yue Dynasty wouldn’t be that careless—they had simply moved their borders to Pingyang City!
“Alright, that makes sense… but why stay here in such bad conditions? Couldn’t you have gone to Jiuzhong Mountain instead?”
Ye Jiamei still wasn’t convinced, pressing for more answers.
“To be honest… some of the men we were exiled with did become bandits. But we were once soldiers who fought on the battlefield—we couldn’t bring ourselves to live as criminals. About fifty of us stayed behind in the wilderness.
We’ve been to Feng City before, but by the time we got there, we had no money left. And we weren’t willing to steal or rob people. Once our last few copper coins ran out, we had no choice but to live off hunting.”
Hearing this, the Yu family nodded in understanding.
“You’re all still young, and you seem like honest people. It’s fate that we all ended up here. If you need anything in the future, just let us know.”
Yu Luo then sighed, glancing outside.
“But that valley is deep in the wilderness—at least fifty miles away. Even if I explain the route to you, you probably wouldn’t recognize the landmarks. I should go myself—it’ll be faster.”
With that, she tightened her raincoat, grabbed her bamboo hat, and prepared to leave.
“No! I’ll go with Miss! It’s dangerous to go alone in this storm!”
Tao Ming immediately stepped in front of Yu Luo, blocking her way. His sudden movement and urgency left Yu Haojie and Ye Jiamei stunned—this guy was fast!
After watching Tao Ming demonstrate his skills, Yu Haojie and Ye Jiamei suddenly felt like they had struck gold!
They weren’t really ancient people, so they didn’t have old-fashioned concerns about their daughter being alone with a man.
In fact, if their daughter had a bodyguard like Tao Ming, they’d be thrilled!
“I think Tao Ming should go with you,” Ye Jiamei said, handing him another straw raincoat.
“Yeah,” Yu Haojie agreed, placing a bamboo hat into Tao Ming’s hands.
“Fine. Besides, there will probably be other situations in the future where he’ll need to get familiar with the terrain. Mom, Dad—stay safe while we’re gone. This rain doesn’t look like it’ll stop soon, so prepare some food and take care of the others. We’ll be back later.”
Wearing their rain gear, Yu Luo and Tao Ming stepped out into the storm.
Now that he had calmed down, Tao Ming realized something—he was feeling a little excited.
Such a kind and beautiful lady, and she actually trusted him enough to travel alone with him?
Not only that, but Master Yu and Madam Ye trusted him too!
He swore to himself—he would protect Miss Yu with his life!
But then…
Yu Luo suddenly kicked off the ground, launching straight into the distance.
Tao Ming stared in shock, his mouth falling open.
“Miss… You know martial arts too?!”
“Just a little. My lightfoot skills aren’t that great. See? You caught up easily!”
Tao Ming gave an awkward smile, quickly keeping pace with her as they moved swiftly through the rain.
With their keen senses, they navigated the darkness effortlessly, while an ordinary person would have been completely lost.
When they finally reached the valley, Yu Luo stopped in her tracks, eyes widening in shock.
What was once a valley was now a massive lake!
The water level was only about five meters away from overflowing. But since the valley was so wide, even with the continued downpour, it was unlikely to flood the plains.
Yu Luo breathed a sigh of relief, but Tao Ming was completely stunned!
“Miss, I’ve been here before while hunting… I swear this used to be a valley! But now… how did it turn into a lake?!”
The valley was dozens of meters deep, and the rain had only been falling for a day and a night.
Tao Ming had been too nervous earlier to really process what Yu Luo had said about the valley.
But now that he was seeing it firsthand, he was completely speechless.
