Chapter 65

As Lu Xiaodeng just picked up the tripod, the cave began to shake violently, and small rocks fell from the ceiling, hitting her head.

"Oh no, the cave is going to collapse!" She quickly ran out with the tripod, jumped down at the stone wall, and some of the divine soul qi from the Sleeve of Techniques wrapped around her feet, allowing her to run down the almost vertical stone wall.

After coming down, she jumped directly into the underground river and let it carry her forward. The turbulent water took her into a pitch-black channel, and after several small waterfalls, she was spun around, dazed and disoriented. During this time, she heard many sounds of fighting and cursing, and vaguely heard words like "Yun Jian Sect."

After an unknown amount of time, her body paused, and the water flow slowed down. She found herself in a lake.

Lu Xiaodeng, carrying the tripod, swam upward with all her might. She emerged from the water and saw a sky dotted with stars. Looking around, she found herself in a not-so-large lake, which was not on a hill but surrounded by vast grasslands.

Apart from the sound of her swimming, the surroundings were filled only with the chirping of insects hidden in the grass. She swam to the shore, got out, and looked around in her wet clothes.

The hill was no longer visible, and she didn't know how far the underground river had carried her. Everywhere was covered with grass slopes, with a few lonely trees scattered here and there. She saw neither cultivators nor ordinary people, and there was no path.

"Senior Sister should be fine. The disciples of the sect have all come, so they should find them soon. If Senior Sister discovers I ran away, she will definitely scold me to death," she thought, though she wasn't worried about not finding Lu Yaohxiang, feeling that Senior Sister was definitely fine.

Wearing wet clothes was very uncomfortable, so Lu Xiaodeng walked up the hill and found a dense patch of grass with small trees. She put down the tripod and checked the children inside, finding them all sound asleep. She then carried them out one by one and placed them on the grass.

She found her spare clothes in the tripod and changed into them, hanging her wet clothes on the trees. Then she took out a jade bottle and placed it under the children's noses, making them smell it. The children woke up, sat up dazedly, looked around, and, seeing unfamiliar people and places in the dark, started crying loudly.

Lu Xiaodeng just glanced at them, said nothing, and started searching in the grass. She took out a small knife, dug here and there, and soon returned with a large pile of things.

"These root tubers of the rice ball grass can be roasted and eaten. If you're hungry, come and eat together. After you're full, I'll send you back," she said, taking out a flint and gathering some dry branches and leaves from under the trees, as well as some dry grass from the roots, to start a fire. Once the fire was burning well, she threw the fist-sized, mud-covered root tubers into the fire and then sat on the side, poking the fire with a stick.

The seven children were crying loudly, and two of them decided to walk back. They wandered around in the dark and came back crying.

The root tubers of the rice ball grass roasted quickly, and the aroma wafted out. She poked one with a stick, blew on it, and removed the burnt outer layer, revealing a white, starchy root tuber.

The children were already very hungry, and the aroma lured them over. The youngest was already six years old, and the oldest was about eight, their stomachs growling and their mouths watering.

Finally, a bolder little boy came over and asked, staring at Lu Xiaodeng, "Big sister, can you give us some of this?"

"I was roasting it for you. You were just crying non-stop. I said I'd send you back after you ate," she scolded the children, then took out more rice ball grass from the fire. Hearing this, their hunger took over, and they all gathered around. Each one picked up a root tuber, tossing it from hand to hand because it was hot, wrapping it in grass leaves, and taking a big bite, sucking in air to cool it down but refusing to spit it out.

Lu Xiaodeng didn't eat any herself; she just roasted for them. She no longer ate familiar grass because it had almost no spiritual energy and no medicinal effect, unless it was something she hadn't seen before.

After a hearty meal, the children were finally full and burped, asking, "Sister, who are you, and why are we here? I want to go home. If I don't go back this late, my mother will definitely beat me to death."

The other children also said, "Yeah, it's so dark. My family will definitely beat me to death."

"You were kidnapped by an old man selling clay figurines. I saw it and followed him to the wilderness to save you. But I couldn't find the way back, so I couldn't take you back," she lied, knowing the rule that cultivators should not involve ordinary people in their disputes. These were just children and wouldn't ask too many questions.

Going back would mean at most a beating or kneeling for a while, nothing serious.

"Clay figurines?" The children thought for a long time, finally remembering that they had lost their memory after buying clay figurines. They blushed and cursed, "How can there be such a bad old man? I'll tell my father to beat him up."

Lu Xiaodeng didn't think she could chat happily with children and looked up at the stars, asking, "Which direction is your home, east or south?"

"East and south? Are they the sides of a gourd and a pumpkin?" the youngest child asked curiously.

"Never mind, keep eating. I'll find someone to ask for directions," Lu Xiaodeng stopped asking, realizing these children knew nothing. But there was no one around to ask.

Just as she was thinking about leaving to find someone, a loud splash came from the lake, and a person emerged, falling heavily to the ground. He quickly got up, clutched his stomach, and ran forward.

The children were startled and, having been through a lot today, stared at the person with wide eyes, holding their root tubers.

Lu Xiaodeng was looking for someone to ask for directions and was surprised to see one. The person was in a panic, not even looking at her, with a very grim expression, wanting to escape as soon as possible.

She cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted, "Ge Pi, wait!"

Ge Pi stopped, turned back in panic, and saw several people sitting on the grass slope. Seeing who they were, he became furious and cursed, "Lu Xiaodeng, you liar, you've caused me so much trouble, and you're sitting here eating with these children. I'll remember this and find you at Yun Jian Sect to settle the score. You won't escape then."

Cursing, he backed away, clutching his abdomen, and tried to run away like a rabbit.

"Hey, why are you leaving? I need to ask for directions," Lu Xiaodeng thought he would attack but was surprised to see him run away, shouting, "Ge Pi, don't run. Tell me where we are and how to get these children back to the city."

Ge Pi shouted as he ran, "I won't tell you. Forget it."

Lu Xiaodeng stood up, stomped her foot, and sprinted out, catching up to him in a blink. She kicked him in the buttocks, sending him sprawling in the grass.

"Talking to you nicely doesn't work. You look like you've used up all your spiritual energy. A cultivator being so狼狈 is really disgraceful," she said, grabbing Ge Pi by the collar and dragging him to the fire.

Ge Pi leaned against a small tree, his buttocks aching, and several bones broken. Fortunately, Lu Xiaodeng kicked his buttocks, not his waist, or he would have been crippled. Even if he could be healed, his chances of surviving the night in Yun Jian Sect's hands were slim.

"You're badly injured. I have many medicines, but you're a bad person, so I can't give them to you," Lu Xiaodeng said, seeing his internal and external injuries. He wouldn't die immediately, but his movements would be severely affected.

"Do what you want. Don't think you can get any information from me. I won't say a word even if I die," Ge Pi, as a disciple of the Ghost Spirit Sect's leader, had some pride.

Lu Xiaodeng shrugged, "I just need to ask for directions. Which direction should I go to get back to the city?"

Ge Pi asked disdainfully, "Will you let me go if I tell you?"

"Um... yes," Lu Xiaodeng patted his shoulder and smiled generously.

"Really?" This was too unexpected. Ge Pi looked at her in disbelief, thinking he would be in grave danger and could only die fighting.

Lu Xiaodeng, with her arms crossed, said, "We're not close, so why don't you trust my character?"

"Because we're not close, I have to doubt. If we were close, I wouldn't question you," Ge Pi shouted, pulling at his wounds, and had to take deep breaths. "Go northeast, and you'll reach Taoxian City."

"Which direction is northeast?" Lu Xiaodeng looked around, unable to tell the direction.

Ge Pi, speechless, pointed to three stars forming a small triangle in the sky, "Those are the Eastward Three Stars. The direction they point to is east. Then use the north-up, south-down, west-left, east-right method to find northeast."

"I'm not stupid. I know north-up, south-down, and so on. I just need one direction to know the others," Lu Xiaodeng felt insulted by his detailed explanation and retorted.

"Whatever. Can you let me go now?" Ge Pi, who didn't even know basic star directions, wanted to leave immediately. Yun Jian Sect's people were everywhere, and someone might be coming through the underground river.

Just as Lu Xiaodeng was about to let him go, a splash came from the lake, and this time, a group of people emerged.