The princess was ordained by Heaven.

Chapter 339 Clan Land

As it turns out, people are capable of anything when pushed to the limit.

The taciturn Lü Mengying was so frightened by Zheng Xun's words that she wrote several thousand words recounting her grievances with Wei Yanxing.

Wei Yanxing retorted, "Hey, why are you so petty?"

"You're just being difficult!"

"I'm troublesome? Then who rescued you from afar during your mission? Who found you a doctor when you were sick? Who taught you to stand up to those who bullied you when you were a child?"

"Then haven't I done enough for you?"

Zheng Xun patted his head.

Wait a minute, the more I listen to this, the more something seems off.

She told herself to respect the person's thoughts and not to overthink things, but it was really hard not to have wild thoughts in this situation!

For the rest of the journey, Wei Yanxing led the way aggressively while launching into a long accusation, Lü Mengying responded succinctly, and Zheng Xun was filled with confusion and entanglement.

After walking for half an hour, Wei Yanxing suddenly stopped talking.

Lu Mengying scoffed, "Go on!"

"Thirsty."

Wei Yanxing took out his water bag and drank a few mouthfuls.

He rallied his spirits, about to say something more, but Lü Mengying raised her hand to interrupt him: "Silence! Someone's here!"

Wei Yanxing frowned and looked over.

How could there be anyone in this desolate wilderness?

Why did they have to go through so much trouble to clear the road? Wasn't it because this area was rarely visited?

"What's that noise? It must be a wild animal, right?"

Lu Mengying glanced at him and looked at Zheng Xun: "Your Highness, it's footsteps."

Although she didn't show it, Wei Yanxing always felt that the way she looked at him was contemptuous.

Lu Mengying used to be simple-minded, so even though his martial arts skills were slightly inferior, he could easily defeat her.

But ever since she started following the Crown Princess, she has become increasingly difficult to fool.

Now, whenever the two spar, he's the one who gets dominated.

He couldn't win a fight, and his words were ignored; he felt so wronged.

But he won't give up easily.

Wait!

With more practice, he'll be able to beat her someday.

“Just because no one is coming in doesn’t mean there was no one inside,” Zheng Xun’s mental energy had already spread out. “Let’s go take a look.”

Wei Yanxing quickly gathered his scattered thoughts and continued clearing the way.

After walking a while longer, Wei Yanxing asked in confusion, "Huh? Wasn't the noise coming from here? Why is there nothing here?"

Zheng Xun looked up.

Not far from them, a little girl sat motionless on a thin vine in a tree.

Noticing Zheng Xun's gaze, the girl smiled, looking somewhat embarrassed, as if she hadn't expected to be discovered.

Zheng Xun waved to her: "Come down."

I thought the little girl would be wary, but to my surprise, she smiled brightly and jumped down from the tree without hesitation.

Wei Yanxing was so frightened that his face changed drastically. He dropped the weapon in his hand and rushed over to catch her.

But the little girl was more agile than she had imagined. Afraid of hitting him, she changed her position and landed lightly next to him.

However, the weapon that Wei Yanxing threw hit a tree and bounced behind a bush.

A barely audible groan came from there.

Zheng Xun: ...

Poor Zheng Shi, he was just enjoying the cool air when he suffered this undeserved misfortune.

Wei Yanxing, don't sleep so soundly at night, or you might get revenge.

Wei Yanxing silently withdrew his outstretched arm, pretending that nothing had happened.

Zheng Xun couldn't help but chuckle, and a hint of a smile appeared on Lü Mengying's lips as well.

The little girl ran up to Zheng Xun, put her hands together above her head, and bowed respectfully, saying, "Gibberish!"

Wei Yanxing: "Hahahaha! She's talking gibberish!"

The little girl realized he was mocking her, so she pouted, but considering he had just come to pick her up, she only glared at him.

Zheng Xun patted the little girl's head: "Don't argue with him, he's an idiot."

She spoke in the same language as the little girl, which Wei Yanxing and Lü Mengying couldn't understand.

The little girl looked at Zheng Xun with surprise: "Are you the clansman I accidentally got lost from?"

Although Zheng Xun's tone of voice was awkward, she could understand him.

She's different from the people outside.

The little girl unilaterally decided in her heart that since Zheng Xun could speak their language, she was one of their own.

Zheng Xun didn't lie to her: "No, I just know how to speak your language."

She just had a cheat code, which is why she could learn and apply it immediately.

"That's still amazing!"

Zheng Xun smiled and asked, "What's your name? What brings you here?"

"My name is Xin Qiu."

"Xin Qiu, could you take me to meet your people?"

Xin Qiu jumped up with joy: "Great! Great!"

Zheng Xun turned around: "Let's go with Xin Qiu."

Wei Yanxing looked at the little girl who was grinning from ear to ear: "Why are you being so silly? What if we're bad guys?"

Xin Qiu made a gesture, signaling them to follow.

Then, she jogged a few steps and scrambled up the tree trunk.

She was incredibly agile; in the blink of an eye, she had climbed to the middle.

Seeing that the others hadn't caught up yet, she turned around and urged, "Hurry up!"

"Let's go."

Zheng Xun said something and lightly climbed the tree.

Fortunately, the people who came this time all knew martial arts, so they were able to keep up.

Once you reach a high point, you'll find there's no path below, but there are still some footprints on the trees.

Clearly, both humans and monkeys here walk in the trees.

Seeing that they were following her closely, Xin Qiu gave them an appreciative look.

No need to worry about them not being able to keep up, Xin Qiu silently sped up again.

They walked until dusk, then found a place to rest.

Wei Yanxing realized something was wrong: "Wait, how far is this from your clan's territory?"

Xin Qiu stared at him with her bright, large eyes.

Wei Yanxing looked to Zheng Xun for help: "Your Highness, could you please translate this?"

"No need for a translator, I've already asked, it will take another six days."

"Six days?! It takes us six days to walk there? How far have you gone? Aren't your family looking for you?"

Zheng Xun: "You've forgotten again, you can't communicate in the same language."

"Your Highness, please help me!"

Zheng Xun translated it for him.

Xinqiu explained that her people are children of the mountains and rivers, and the creatures of the mountains will not harm them.

For them, Liumu Mountain is their backyard.

They often go out alone, and as long as they are in the mountains, their families don't need to worry about them.

Wei Yanxing pressed further, "What if you run into bad guys from outside?"

Clearly, the language barrier didn't stop Wei Yanxing from chatting.

Zheng Xun happened to be quite curious as well, so he did his best to translate for him.

Xin Qiu was very confident about this: "As long as we are in Liumu Mountain, we will not encounter any danger."

"Aren't you afraid we'll have ill intentions if you just take us back like this? Do your people welcome outsiders?"

Xin Qiu was a little annoyed with him: "I already said that as long as we are in Liumu Mountain, we will not encounter any danger, so it doesn't matter if you have ill intentions."

Before Wei Yanxing could continue asking, Zheng Xun flipped the roasted meat in front of him: "You've lived here for generations, do you ever yearn for the outside world?"

Unexpectedly, Xin Qiu said very firmly, "No. People who yearn for the outside world are disloyal to the gods, and such people will be expelled."

"Is life in the mountains boring?"

"No way! With flowers, plants, and all living things, it's so lively, how could it be boring?"

Zheng Xun understood.

Xin Qiu was not trapped in Liumu Mountain; she stayed there and was quite content.

Wei Yanxing handed the grilled meat to Xin Qiu.

Xin Qiu took a bite, and her eyes lit up.

"Is it good?" Wei Yanxing asked with ill intent.

Zheng Xun looked away, unable to bear the sight.

Xin Qiu nodded: "It's delicious! This is the first time I've ever had such unique meat!"

Wei Yanxing was smug. He was sure there were more spices outside than in the mountains. He said slyly, "There are even better things to eat outside. Do you want to come with us?"

Lü Mengying narrowed her eyes, picked up a twig, and nudged him aside: "Crippled man."

Wei Yanxing said innocently, "What kidnapping?! I just wanted her to see the outside world."

After hearing Zheng Xun's translation, Xin Qiu put down the barbecue in her hand.

Wei Yanxing asked in confusion, "Why aren't you eating?"

Xin Qiu said seriously, "If I eat your food, I must leave the tribe's territory. I won't eat it."

Wei Yanxing was a little embarrassed: "Well, I was just teasing you, I didn't mean anything by it."

When Zheng Xun translated this sentence, he also added a sentence for him: "He was really just joking. If you're unhappy, I can kick him for you. My kicks hurt a lot."

Xin Qiu is a kind-hearted girl, and in the end she chose to generously forgive Wei Yanxing.

The moon rises and the sun sets, day after day.

Because they weren't in a hurry, it took them ten days to travel a journey that should have taken six.

As they entered a narrow passage, a wide open space suddenly opened up before them.

In the distance, rows of houses stand side by side, and a small river meanders along their sides.

Xinqiu's clan territory was larger than they had imagined.

There are more people here than they imagined.

On the open ground in front of us, sheets of blue cloth were spread out, and beautiful ornaments were drying on them.

Xin Qiu explained in a very professional manner: "These are the decorations on our formal attire. On the day of the god's birthday, everyone will wear beautiful formal attire."

"What is this made of, and why is it being sun-dried?"

"It's not about sunbathing, it's about bathing in auspicious purple energy, so that we can be protected and safe."

"What do we do on days without sunshine?"

Keep in mind that it's winter now, and this place doesn't seem to have many sunny days.

"There will always be sunshine; there will be sunshine every year."

Xinqiu's clansmen saw Zheng Xun and his group from afar and hurriedly went to call for them.

Not long after, an old woman in a black cloak led a few people toward them.

The old woman was extremely thin, with deep-set eyes and bright, piercing gaze.

As she and the others walked over, their eyes were fixed on Zheng Xun.

Even though it was broad daylight, being stared at like that still gave me the creeps.

Lu Mengying reacted immediately, standing in front of Zheng Xun to block their view.

They stopped about ten paces away from Zheng Xun.

"Relax, we mean no harm."

The old woman took the lead, put her hands together, placed them on her forehead, and bowed to Zheng Xun.

Wei Yanxing whispered, "Your Highness, do they know your identity?"

Zheng Xun didn't answer him, but reached out and pushed Lü Mengying aside: "It's okay."

Lu Mengying obediently retreated behind her.

"Xin Qiu, who is this...?"

“This is our high priest.”

The high priest forced a smile and said in an extremely friendly manner, "Welcome to Mount Liumu."

The high priest spoke fluent Da Yong Mandarin, which must have come from spending a long time outside Liumu Mountain.

It seems Xin Qiu was right; the people here aren't unable to leave, but rather they don't want to.

"Master Priest..."

Zheng Xun had barely begun speaking when the priest hurriedly interrupted, "No! You don't need to call me sir, just call me Xin Hong."

After the initial strangeness subsided, the priest's attitude towards Zheng Xun became extremely respectful.

This didn't seem like a matter of concern for Zheng Xun's status; rather, it seemed like genuine respect.

"You're finally here."

After saying this, the priest was already in tears.

Zheng Xun shrank his chin in fright: "Why is Priest Hong so agitated?"

"I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Zheng Xun found her very strange.

But it was also expected to be strange, after all, everything from Fuzhou to Liumu Mountain was strange.

If things were normal, that would be truly strange.

"wait for me?"

"Please come with me."

Those around the priest made way for him and stood respectfully on both sides.

Zheng Xun turned to Wei and Lü and said, "You two wait for me here."

As for Zheng Shi, she was left outside the clan's territory by Zheng Xun to provide support, so there was no need to worry about her at all.

As it turned out, Zheng Xun's decision was absolutely correct.

There's nowhere to hide here, making it difficult for Zheng Shi to conceal his tracks.

Lu Mengying was somewhat worried, but she dared not disobey Zheng Xun's orders and could only watch her and Xin Hong leave.

The high priest walked slightly ahead of Zheng Xun, carefully introducing her to the clan's territory.

Zheng Xun followed her across the open space, through countless houses, and finally arrived at a mountain wall.

The high priest fiddled with the rocks next to him.

A dull sound rang out, and the mountain wall cracked open, revealing a cave entrance.

There was an oil lamp in the cave, but it was still very dim.

The priestess stood in the cave. She was dressed in black, and at first glance, she looked like a skeleton that had been sleeping in the cave for a long time.

Zheng Xun remained calm and followed her steps.

The cave was very long, and Zheng Xun silently calculated the time in his mind.

After walking for about 15 minutes, the cave suddenly became much larger, and the oil lamp became brighter.

Zheng Xun's pace slowed down.

Many patterns are carved on the stone walls on both sides of the cave.

Starting with the first piece, it tells the story of how a world of ignorance welcomed a god.

The gods taught them to write, brought civilization, and drove away disease.

This passage reads like an epic or myth of humankind.

Afterwards, the gods departed, and people gradually forgot their blessings. The population increased, and civilization gradually became more abundant.

Struggles, wars, plagues... humanity has encountered countless difficulties, but they have overcome them and written a brilliant and glorious history.

This road is really long.

Upon reaching this point, the content of the murals gradually changes.

As floods struck, human settlements became increasingly cramped.

At that moment, the god's sister arrived.

The story that followed gradually overlapped with what Zheng Xun had heard in Fuzhou.

Something like a skirt transforming into mountains or stopping a raging flood.

However, in the legends of Fuzhou, the gods only saved Fuzhou, while in the murals, the gods saved the entire world.

This long road has finally come to an end.

At the end is a temple.

The towering statues are embedded in the mountainside, and at first glance, they look as if the gods have walked out of the mountainside.

This statue looks almost exactly like Zheng Xun.

If there is any difference, it is that Zheng Xun's temperament is sharper.

The priest knelt down, and Zheng Xun raised his hand to touch his face.

This face is becoming more and more like her post-apocalyptic appearance, completely shedding the shadow of Sweet Fruit.