Turn back? Lu Jing was stunned.
Indeed, the only place in this huge cave that can be called a cave is the entrance where the two came in. However, if you turn back the same way, wouldn't it be the same as returning to the starting point?
But after Lu Jing thought about it, they seemed to have no better choice at the moment.
Even if he could reach the other side of the stone wall through the underground river in front of him, Lu Jing didn't think the baby bird could hold its breath for such a long time.
So after only a slight hesitation, he decided to turn back and take a look as Xia Huai said.
This time, since there was no need to pay attention to the surroundings to find the whereabouts of the young bird, the two of them directly used Qinggong and returned to the original entrance of the cave before the second and third torches burned out.
Probably because we had only been away for less than an hour, the entrance of the cave didn't look much different from before.
It's just that there's a little drizzle in the sky, making the cliffs in the distance look even greener.
However, what surprised Lu Jing and Xia Huai was that Yang Tao was no longer around outside the cave entrance.
Did you go to take shelter from the rain?
Xia Huai and Lu Jing tried calling Yang Tao's name several times, but no one answered outside the cave.
With Yang Tao's character, he will do his best to complete the things he promises.
Since he had promised to guard the entrance of the cave for the two of them, even if the river suddenly surged and flooded to his chest, he would not leave.
Therefore, it was difficult for Lu Jing to imagine what happened outside the cave during the time the two entered the cave to make Yang Tao disappear.
In addition, he also noticed that the bird's nest and the gray nightingale that were originally located between the rock walls disappeared together with Yang Tao.
Lu Jing thought about it and thought of a possibility.
He reached out and stopped Xia Huai who was about to leave the cave to look for Yang Tao.
The next moment, a strange man's voice came from outside the cave, "Hey, are you from over there?"
Along with his voice, there was a rustle from the trees not far away.
Then, I saw a man dressed as an herb collector wearing a bamboo hat and a raincoat, carrying a bamboo basket on his back, and a sickle hanging around his waist, walking out from behind the tree.
Seeing that Lu Jing and Xia Huai didn't answer, he smiled again and said, "You two should be academy disciples. Don't worry. Although Biyou Cave is mysterious, it is not a scary place. It is not because of this that the academy prohibits newcomers from entering in the first year. The place is dangerous..."
He suddenly paused when he said this, then showed a thoughtful look, counted with his fingers, and said with some surprise, "No, you must have just entered the academy not long ago. You are quite brave to come here regardless of the ban."
Lu Jing and Xia Huai looked at each other and then said, "We are not disregarding the academy's rules and acting recklessly. We were just entrusted by someone... oh no, it was a bird. We went into the cave to find the lost bird for it." 's youngest son."
"Oh, you are here to find that little featherless bird." The herb collector suddenly realized.
"Have you ever seen him?" Lu Jing was shocked when he heard this.
"I see, I see," the herb collector nodded, "That little featherless bird came from the other side just like you, but unlike you, it probably didn't come voluntarily, it just stumbled into a different cave. .”
After the herb collector finished speaking, he asked Lu Jing and Xia Huai, "Is its nest about ten feet away in the cave?"
Lu nodded, "That's right."
"Ha, that makes sense. Its irresponsible parents built the nest right on the edge of the effective range of the cave." The herb collector said while glancing into the cave.
And the place where his eyes were looking happened to be the place where the gray nightingale had built its nest before. Then he moved his eyes to the grass below, deducing what happened at that time.
"A strong wind blew the poor little guy out of his nest, but fortunately, he was not thrown to death directly, but fell into a soft grass.
"Then it struggled to get back to its nest on the rock wall, but it didn't expect that the other cave had already acted on it. It kept crawling and could not find its home again.
"But fortunately, I happened to be collecting herbs outside the cave and found it, so I asked my daughter to take it back to the village. You guys are a little late, but if you want to take it back to its parents, you can Come back to the village with me, just..."
The herb picker suddenly stopped when he said this, and then smiled again, "I don't know what to call you two?"
"Oh, my name is Xia Jing, and her name is Lu Huai."
Although the other party had been very friendly so far and knew Si Tianjian and the academy quite well, Lu Jing still thought twice and did not tell the sudden appearance of the herb collector in front of him his real name.
When Xia Huai heard these two names, he didn't know what he thought of, and his face couldn't help but blush.
The herb collector looked at the two of them with interest, and then asked, "Are you two planning to stand in that cave for the rest of your life?"
"Oh, I haven't asked you your name yet?" Lu Jing said.
"My surname is Jing, and I have the same character in my name. You can call me Brother Jing." The herb collector reported his name readily.
"I wonder if Brother Jing can help us understand what is going on here?"
"You should have guessed something, right? The so-called "there is a cave" refers to where I am. The way to enter here is very special. You need to go into the cave first, at least ten feet away, and then turn back and exit the cave. , you can reach another cave."
As if he could tell what the two of them were thinking, Ixiang shook his head again.
"It's useless. When you see the entrance of the cave, it's not on the same side even if you don't come out of the cave. As for going back, it's easy. You just need to walk again according to the law and you can return to the academy. But before the next sunrise, this method won't work. If you don’t believe me, you can give it a try.”
When Lu Jing heard this, he actually tried it once and found that it was indeed as I said, and he could not return to the academy.
Then Ixiang glanced at the sky and said, "Okay, I've told you how to go back. Now the sun is setting, and I have to go back to the village. Are you going to go back with me, or stay here for the night?"
"If you don't disturb us, can we stay in the village for one night?" Lu Jing quickly made up his mind.
He has not forgotten the purpose of coming here. If it is just to stay overnight, it would be fine. If he wants to find the baby bird, it is imperative to follow the herb gatherer named Ibo to his village. It's over.
So Lu Jing stopped looking forward and backward, and left the cave with Xia Huai.
"It's nothing to disturb. The people in the village have always been hospitable, and a lot of people from your academy have come. Everyone has long been used to it." Ixiang also smiled after hearing this.
