Obscuris Labyrinth

Zhao Yuxuan chopped firewood for a full three hours. The mountain - like pile of firewood seemed to tell of his exhaustion. Each swing of the axe was like venting some emotion in his heart, and also like gathering strength to pursue the truth about his parents' murder case. Finally, he dragged his heavy steps back to the room and collapsed onto the straw. At this moment, everything around seemed to quiet down, and his constantly tensed heart could finally relax a little and begin to calm down and think.

The truth of his parents' murder case was like a treasure hidden in thick fog, and the strange characters in the ancient jade were undoubtedly a crucial key to opening the door to this treasure. According to Li Ruize, those strange characters were an ancient form of Miao writing. The appearance of that strange character constantly emerged in Zhao Yuxuan's mind. It was like a mysterious symbol from ancient times, quietly telling an unknown story. If it was really as Li Ruize said, then among the vast Miao people, perhaps there would be someone who recognized this character. Also, the huge stone with the inscription left by Mie Zu under "Lingjiu Peak" must also be hiding important clues. He must go and see it with his own eyes. Maybe he could find some clues related to his parents' murder case there.

Just as he was immersed in his thoughts, some strange things crept into his mind like little bugs. He looked up at the courtyard. The courtyard was quite spacious. The sun shone on the ground, but only Lin Yaxuan's grandparents were busy with some trivial matters. However, her parents were nowhere to be seen, as if they had never existed in this family. Moreover, there didn't seem to be any servants here, which was really a bit unreasonable. Looking at Lin Yaxuan again, her skin was as delicate as a newly - bloomed flower, so tender that it seemed as if it could be broken with a touch. She didn't look like someone who had done rough work at all. And the frail Li Ruize, whose body looked extremely weak, and the somewhat fierce - looking young grandmother Li Yuexuan, none of them seemed likely to be able to do rough work such as carrying water and chopping firewood. All of this was like a fog, shrouding Zhao Yuxuan's mind. Lin Yaxuan had previously said that she would scare him out of his wits. Although he thought it was mostly just a bluff, he still felt a bit uneasy in his heart.

However, Zhao Yuxuan didn't think about these things for too long. After all, the high - intensity firewood - chopping just now was like a cruel war, which had consumed too much of his physical strength and energy. He felt as if his body had been emptied, and every cell was crying out for rest. Before long, he fell into a deep sleep, as if falling into an endless dark abyss.

He didn't know how long he had slept. Zhao Yuxuan was awakened by the creaking sound of the door being pushed open. The sound was extremely abrupt in the silent night, like a sharp sword, instantly cutting through the tranquility of the night. He subconsciously opened his eyes, still with a bit of sleepy haziness in them. He propped himself up slightly, like a vigilant hunter in the dark, and looked towards the door. With this look, his pupils instantly dilated, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

A black figure. The black figure was like a devil born in the night, silently appearing at the door.

A huge black figure. It was like a black wall, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression.

A huge black figure slowly walking into the room. Every step it took was like stepping on the tip of Zhao Yuxuan's heart, making his heart tremble involuntarily.

Zhao Yuxuan tried hard to open his eyes wide to see what this thing was, but the darkness was like a huge curtain, blocking his inquiring gaze. In an instant, he only felt his scalp tingle, and that itchy feeling was like countless ants crawling on his scalp. His limbs seemed to lose their strength and lay limp on the bed, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, unable to resist. He was not a coward. He had also experienced a lot of hardships before. But precisely because he couldn't tell what the visitor was, this unknown fear was like an invisible big hand, tightly gripping his heart.

The huge black figure completely entered the room but ignored Zhao Yuxuan huddled on the straw. Instead, it walked towards the corner of the room where the firewood was piled. It stretched out its thick arms and easily picked up the firewood that Zhao Yuxuan had just chopped. The movement was so skillful that it seemed like an old hand who had been doing this job all year round. Then it turned around and left the room. Immediately after, there was a "crackling" sound outside. The sound echoed in the silent night, like some mysterious incantation. After a while, the huge black figure came back with the pile of firewood and put it back in its original place, and then turned around and went out again.

After a long while, Zhao Yuxuan was both frightened and curious in his heart, like two little elves fighting in his heart. Fear told him to stay away from this mysterious black figure, but curiosity was like a little hand, constantly pulling him, wanting him to go and find out. Eventually, curiosity got the upper hand. He slowly moved to the door, like a cautious thief, and peeked outside.

With this look, he was greatly shocked again. By the hazy moonlight outside, the moonlight was like a thin veil, gently spreading over the earth. He saw clearly what the huge black figure was.

It was an ape - man, an ape - man covered with thick fur all over its body. The fur looked like a layer of black armor, shining with a mysterious luster in the moonlight. It was huge, at least nearly two meters tall, standing there like a small hill. It bared its fangs, showing sharp teeth, looking very fierce, somewhat like the giant ape in the American movie "King Kong". But shockingly, this ape - man was currently outside the courtyard, moving a water tank filled with mountain spring water from a bamboo tube into the kitchen.

The water tank was one point three meters tall and had a diameter of more than seventy centimeters. When full of water, it weighed at least two to three hundred catties. Zhao Yuxuan imagined that if an ordinary person were to move this water tank, it would take three or four men. They would have to turn red - faced and use all their strength to slowly lift it. However, this ape - man stretched out its long arms, which were like two thick tree trunks, and picked up the water tank all at once, and then quickly walked into the kitchen. After a while, it came out with an empty tank and still put it back in its original place.

After seeing that the black figure was an ape - man, Zhao Yuxuan's fear slightly subsided. His breathing gradually became stable, but looking at the ape - man's actions, his sense of amazement was like a rising tide, getting stronger and stronger. It turned out that this ape - man not only did rough work such as chopping firewood and carrying water, but also carefully swept the courtyard with a broom. Although its sweeping movements were a bit clumsy, they were very meticulous, not missing any corner. It was really hard to imagine that such a huge ape - man, in his understanding, ape - men should be wild animals living in the mountains and forests, but the one in front of him seemed to be tamed like a servant.

After sweeping the courtyard, seeing that day was about to break and a glimmer of dawn appeared on the horizon. The ape - man patrolled the courtyard once more. It pounded its chest, a movement full of a sense of power, as if it was very satisfied with its work results. Then it leaped, quickly skimming over a low wall in the courtyard and disappearing without a trace. The speed was as fast as a black lightning bolt, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Yuxuan watched all of this with shock and astonishment in his heart. His mouth was wide open and couldn't close for a long time. No wonder Lin Yaxuan said that he could only stay in the firewood room for one night and would be scared out of his wits. Presumably, she was referring to this huge black ape - man. How could such a fierce beast be tamed like a servant? His mind was full of all kinds of questions.

At this time, Zhao Yuxuan became more and more curious about the Li Ruize family. He felt that this family was like a mysterious treasure, with unknown secrets hidden in every corner.

Secrets.

The Li family must have secrets that he didn't know yet, and perhaps this secret was related to his parents' murder case. Anyway, he would continue to pursue the investigation, like a persistent explorer, not giving up because of the difficulties and dangers ahead.

The next day, the sunlight shone on his face through the window, warm. The one who got up to cook was Lin Yaxuan's grandmother, Li Yuexuan. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, it would be hard to believe that the seemingly so beautiful Li Yuexuan was so good at handling household chores. She was busy in the kitchen, like an elegant dancer, every movement full of rhythm. Zhao Yuxuan didn't want to be idle either. He felt that he couldn't always enjoy the fruits of others' labor, so he took the initiative to help her around. When Li Yuexuan saw Zhao Yuxuan's actions, a flash of surprise appeared in her eyes, and then her attitude towards him gradually softened a great deal.

Another thing that surprised Zhao Yuxuan was that Lin Yaxuan got up as soon as day broke. From her room on the second floor came the sound of reading aloud. The reading sound was like the chirping of birds in the morning, clear and pleasant. But the language she used was not Chinese, nor did it seem to be Miao. Zhao Yuxuan thought it sounded a lot like Arabic, which he had heard a few times before, but he couldn't believe it because he really couldn't figure out what Lin Yaxuan would use it for. His mind was constantly guessing. Did Lin Yaxuan have some special identity or purpose?

During breakfast, only Lin Yaxuan and Li Yuexuan came to the dining room to eat. Zhao Yuxuan saw that the light in the study was still on very late last night when he was chopping firewood outside the courtyard. He knew that Li Ruize was staying up late reading in there. Looking at Lin Yaxuan and her grandmother, this should be Li Ruize's habit. He imagined Li Ruize's appearance of seriously reading under the light. It must be a very scholarly picture.

While eating, he saw Lin Yaxuan looking at him with a cold sneer from time to time. The cold sneer was like a cold knife, stabbing at Zhao Yuxuan. Zhao Yuxuan knew that she was alluding to the ape - man incident last night. Of course, he wouldn't admit that he had been greatly frightened. He deliberately put on an indifferent look on his face, as if nothing had happened.

But he heard Li Yuexuan say, "Xuan'er, I think Brother Zhao from the Zhao family is not a bad person. Let go of some past misunderstandings, okay? Well, today you take Brother Zhao around and let him get to know some of the customs and rules in our Miao village."

Lin Yaxuan immediately exclaimed, "Grandma, who says he's not a bad person? He's clearly a big bad guy. Why should I take him around? Are we really going to let him stay here for a long time?" Her voice was full of dissatisfaction and grievance.

Li Yuexuan seemed to dote on Lin Yaxuan very much. She reached out and gently stroked Lin Yaxuan's hair and said softly, "Xuan'er, this is your grandfather's intention. Be obedient, okay?"

Lin Yaxuan then didn't say anything more and just nodded very aggrievedly, like a wronged child.