The rapid sound of breathing, the rustle of wind through leaves, and the swishing of grass and flowers brushing against legs.
Everything around presented itself in Li Yurou's mind with utmost clarity.
At critical moments, her thoughts became exceptionally sharp, and she even felt time slowing down.
She could simultaneously calculate the celestial stems and earthly branches, compare them with the terrain, and still have the capacity to find the quickest route.
This was her talent at its peak.
"Found it!"
After passing through a small grove, a wide-open space suddenly appeared ahead.
"So, you were here."
Lin Fan stared intently at the dragon's lair, a triumphant smile on his face.
Behind him, Li Yusheng looked up and saw a figure, like an ancient knight, gracefully descending from a tree, his jaw agape in surprise.
*Crack!*
A crisp sound.
Lin Fan reached out and snapped a branch.
*Whoosh!*
A whistling sound pierced the air.
Lin Fan flicked his wrist, and the branch shot out like an arrow, embedding itself in the dragon's lair in a flash, half of it buried in the soil.
Only then did Lin Fan land.
Lin Fan felt a sense of relief and turned to Li Yusheng with a smile, "Apologies, I got here first."
"Hmph, who said I was racing you."
Before Lin Fan's astonished eyes, Li Yurou quickly walked over, pulled out the branch, and threw it away.
At the same time, Li Yusheng picked up his walkie-talkie, pressed the call button, and directly said, "Uncle-master, we've found the dragon's lair, Uncle-master…"
Lin Fan was instantly stunned.
He fumbled for his walkie-talkie and shouted, "President Zhong, I found the dragon's lair first! President Zhong, are you listening?"
"*Pfft~*"
Li Yurou burst into laughter, "Silly boy, why are you shouting without pressing the call button?"
"Ah, right!"
Lin Fan quickly pressed the call button and repeated himself.
...
At the entrance of Gushan.
"We won!"
"Our Liqi Sect won!"
"Landlord Li did great!"
As Li Yusheng's voice came through the walkie-talkie, seventy to eighty people cheered in unison, startling the surrounding tourists who hurried away, fearing they had encountered a group of people with dementia.
The nearby management staff immediately came to investigate, but were placated by a few young disciples who claimed it was for an elder's birthday.
In contrast, the people from the Xingshi Sect looked extremely displeased.
Especially Zhong Chen, whose face seemed to have aged a dozen years in an instant.
*Rustle rustle!*
Just as the Liqi Sect was celebrating, the walkie-talkie on the stone table rang again.
"President Zhong, I found the dragon's lair first! President Zhong…"
Zhong Chen and An Hai stared at the walkie-talkie in surprise.
What was going on?
They both saw bewilderment in each other's eyes.
What was happening?
"We won! Hahaha, Yusheng won!"
Guo Cheng laughed heartily, his loud voice causing the surrounding tourists to look confused.
The members of the Liqi Sect also loudly congratulated, with praise erupting continuously.
Even the other three branches of the Jiangxiang Sect wore smiles on their faces.
No matter what Guo Cheng's intentions were, at least Li Yusheng had brought honor to the Liqi Sect.
"President."
"President!"
"President, our…"
The Xingshi Sect members glared at them, their hearts burning with a fierce rage.
They seemed to have lost their composure, as if their spines had been broken, and they gathered around Zhong Chen.
"Everyone, please don't worry yet."
Zhong Chen picked up the walkie-talkie and gestured for them to be quiet.
"Listen."
As everyone gradually quieted down, Lin Fan's anxious voice was heard again: "President Zhong, I found the dragon's lair first, can you hear me?"
"Ah!"
"This…"
"President, what's going on?"
The Xingshi Sect members were baffled.
The Liqi Sect had already begun celebrating, yet Lin Fan's urgent voice did not sound like a lie.
"Everyone, don't panic. We'll go and take a look, and then we'll know."
Zhong Chen, calm and collected, holding the walkie-talkie, led them towards Guo Cheng, who was immersed in the celebratory atmosphere.
"President Zhong."
Guo Cheng's joyous laughter came to an abrupt halt.
The members of the Liqi Sect all looked over with disdainful and mocking eyes.
Peasants are peasants; when it comes to feng shui divination, you have to look at us!
"Yusheng has fortunately won this round. I concede, I concede."
Guo Cheng cupped his fists, adopting a humble posture, but his pride was written all over his face.
"This… it's too early to say who won and who lost."
Zhong Chen shook his walkie-talkie, "Lin Fan from our Xingshi Sect also just sent a message, saying he found the dragon's lair first."
"What?"
"This is utter nonsense!"
"Are you northerners sore losers?"
"Exactly, you want to cheat, and you've lost all shame!"
The members of the Liqi Sect were furious and cursed them out.
Zhong Chen frowned but did not retaliate.
"Silence!"
Guo Cheng's booming voice drowned out the noise.
He looked at Zhong Chen and said seriously, "President Zhong, losing is losing, but don't joke about such things."
"What I said is true."
Zhong Chen stood tall, "Perhaps we should go over and see what's really going on?"
"Hmph! Fine, we'll go!"
"I don't believe something that's set in stone can be overturned by you!"
"You won't shed tears until you see the coffin, right? We'll make you give up hope!"
The members of the Liqi Sect were indignant and shouted loudly.
Guo Cheng's face darkened, "Please!"
"Please!"
After inquiring about Li Yusheng's location, both parties set off majestically towards the dragon's lair.
Song Tian, who was observing from the shadows, wondered, "Strange, from the looks of the Liqi Sect, Lin Fan is definitely going to lose. What is President Zhong trying to do?"
"Hmph, perhaps Lin Fan is playing some trick. Maybe our Xingshi Sect will make a fool of ourselves this time."
Yuan Fei's lips curled into a cold smile, his emotions unreadable.
"Let's go, we'll go watch the excitement."
The master and disciple also followed.
...
At the dragon's lair.
Lin Fan and the Li siblings glared at each other like fighting cocks.
"Stop dreaming, you've lost, and you still refuse to admit it!"
Li Yurou, hands on her hips, looked smug.
"You're the ones who lost!"
Lin Fan retorted, "I found the dragon's lair first. You pulled out my marker and threw it away, I saw it with my own eyes."
"Oh, oh, oh, sticking a stick in the ground makes it yours? What kind of logic is that? We came down from higher ground, and standing high gives us a better view. You were moving upwards from a lower position. Clearly, we saw it first."
Li Yurou countered fiercely, not backing down at all.
"You~"
Lin Fan's face turned red, and he gritted his teeth in anger, "Anyway, I found it first, you guys were later!"
"Ridiculous. Then I could say the stones on the ground are my markers."
Li Yurou scoffed.
Lin Fan was both anxious and angry, realizing he couldn't win against this sharp-tongued, unreasonable little girl.
Just then, the sound of a large group approaching could be heard from not far away.