The wooden boat entered the slide and arrived in a cavern full of broken and dilapidated wooden boats.
The top of the cavern was embedded with luminous stones that emitted wisps of fluorescent light, illuminating the surrounding dark space in an eerie green glow.
The iron chain hooked to the wooden boat quickly retracted. Li Yuanling's gaze swept around the surroundings, taking in the sight of piles of floating decayed wood and broken damaged wooden boats everywhere. The nearby still water surface rippled with a thin layer of water vapor.
"What should we do next?"
Li Yuanling furrowed her delicate brows and looked back at Li Musheng curiously.
Li Musheng gestured with his chin, indicating for her to look at a stone monument standing at the edge of the cavern ahead.
Seeing this, Li Yuanling looked in the direction he pointed and saw several lines of fluorescent characters on the stone monument:
"This place is an underground water labyrinth. The labyrinth contains poisonous miasma and underwater anomalies. Please always be careful to protect your wooden boat. If the wooden boat is damaged, ten to two hundred patterns will be deducted depending on the degree of damage."
"After this trial begins, the first person to reach the endpoint through the labyrinth will receive an additional twenty patterns. For every six-sided copper coin engraved with the 'wooden boat' pattern found in the labyrinth, an additional twenty patterns will also be recorded."
"The time limit for this trial is two double-hours. Wooden boats that do not reach the endpoint within this time limit will have all accumulated patterns cleared."
...
After roughly reading through the rules of the third trial, Li Yuanling smiled lightly with disdain, "This last trial seems quite simple. It's just about finding copper coins, which may require some luck."
At this moment, Li Musheng, sitting across from her, spread his hands, "Since my sworn sister is so confident, I'll leave everything that comes next to you."
Hearing this, the smile on Li Yuanling's face immediately froze. She turned her head to look at Li Musheng, her eyes rolling.
Then, bringing a breeze of fragrance, she sat down on the soft stool beside him.
She extended a pair of slender jade hands to grasp Li Musheng's sleeve, with a hint of acting coquettish, smiling cheerfully, "Where would I need to make a move? With such a formidable sworn brother, passing this last trial will be easy."
Hearing this, Li Musheng squinted his eyes and tried to scare her, "Let me say this upfront, I have a terrible sense of direction. I can't guarantee I won't lead the boat into some corner of the labyrinth."
"Ah?"
Li Yuanling's hand pulling at him froze. She furrowed her brows, "Then what should we do?"
Li Musheng didn't speak. At this moment, from the slide behind them, wooden boats successively descended and entered the cavern.
After all nine wooden boats had arrived, the slide constructed of wood and stone slowly retracted and disappeared amid the rumbling sounds of iron wheels turning.
After everyone on the wooden boats surveyed the cavern and read the rules on the stone monument, a heavy voice rang out from above the cavern, "The final trial officially begins. All honored guests, please propel your wooden boats toward the labyrinth's endpoint on your own."
As the words fell, wisps of smoke suddenly arose from the originally green stone crevices, rapidly spreading throughout the entire cavern space.
"Be careful, this mist is poisonous. Remember to hold your breath and protect your body with martial Dao true qi."
Some people on the wooden boats called out warnings. Soon, the ten wooden boats were shrouded in hazy mist, their outlines becoming indistinct and unclear.
Before long, the sound of wooden boats parting the water waves rang out. Gradually, wooden boats began sliding toward the depths of the cavern, propelled by martial Dao true qi.
"Aren't we going?"
Li Yuanling asked while covering her nose and mouth. The surface of her body was protected by martial Dao true qi to avoid being corroded by the surrounding poisonous mist.
Li Musheng sat on the soft stool with no fluctuations of true qi around his body. He glanced at her, "No rush. Let them explore the path first."
In places no one noticed, strands of true qi threads shot out from Li Musheng's fingertips, falling into the bodies of the people on those wooden boats in the mist.
As the wooden boats continuously advanced through the mist, those threads also disappeared into the depths of the cavern.
"Why has the young master stopped? Could it be you're waiting for this humble woman?"
Just at this moment, a wooden boat slowly drifted over from the mist and stopped beside the wooden boat where Li Musheng and his companion were.
Han Meiyan stood gracefully in gorgeous palace attire. Her figure was enchanting, her features like a painting. A few strands of hair casually hung over the light veil covering her face, vaguely adding a few touches of unintentional charm.
Seeing the other party, Li Yuanling slightly furrowed her brows. But Han Meiyan lightly cast a glance at her and said, "This younger sister is so delicate and beautiful."
Li Yuanling immediately felt as if her heart was bathed in spring breeze. She suddenly developed favorable feelings and closeness toward this woman with a graceful figure before her. Her brows also relaxed as she said, "We'll be leaving shortly. If this elder sister doesn't mind, we can travel together."
Hearing this, Han Meiyan gently fluttered her long eyelashes, then turned to look at Li Musheng on the wooden boat, saying timidly, "Young Master, may this humble woman truly travel with you?"
In an instant, she gazed quietly at Li Musheng. Her eyes were like deep autumn waters, sparkling with soul-stealing, captivating light.
Li Musheng examined Han Meiyan for a moment, stroked his chin, "Miss, why do I feel like you're being flirtatious?"
As soon as these words came out, Han Meiyan, whose lips had just begun to curl upward slightly, suddenly froze.
She looked at Li Musheng, narrowed her eyes, then lowered her gaze and sighed faintly, "Perhaps it's because this humble woman's common beauty and frail willow appearance cannot enter the young master's eyes."
As she spoke, Han Meiyan slightly straightened her body. Full and upright with beautiful curves, her legs long and straight, her entire body outlined a soul-stirring seductive posture.
Her voice was clear and light as water, yet also like a melody that plucked at heartstrings, invisibly and continuously enticing and charming Li Musheng's desires.
For a moment, Li Musheng stared at Han Meiyan, looking her up and down for quite a while, then slowly nodded, "What should curve curves, what should dip dips. This figure is truly excellent!"
Then, he took the initiative to suggest to her, "Miss, why don't you remove your veil? I'm not too fond of hazy beauty."
Hearing this, Han Meiyan froze again. Her eyes changed as she stared at Li Musheng for a while.
Then, she immediately restrained her seductive manner, bent her knees in a shallow courtesy, "Young Master is truly a person of firm character. This humble woman was impolite just now."
Li Musheng raised his eyebrows and glanced at her and Zhang He on the wooden boat, asking, "Are you two both from the demonic path?"
Hearing this, Han Meiyan and Zhang He exchanged glances, their expressions both changing.
At this moment, Zhang He hurriedly spoke, "Young Master has misunderstood. This is my distant cousin. She recently came to the imperial capital, and I specially brought her to visit Floating Boat City."
Li Musheng nodded lightly and praised, "Your cousin is quite attractive."
Then, he waved his hand, "Lead the way up front. This last trial is in your hands. Presumably with your abilities, you shouldn't be unable to get out of this labyrinth, right?"