Chapter 31

The black swarm of insects wriggling on the riverbank made Qin Yu's scalp tingle. He suppressed the urge to vomit and threw his burning jacket toward the ladder.

Feeling the light of the fire, countless millipedes fell into the river bottom, and a pungent, unpleasant smell of burning filled the air. Qin Yu's head spun; the millipedes contained toxic gas which they released when startled. The gas from one millipede wasn't much, but the combined gas from thousands of them was terrifying. If he hadn't held his breath in advance, he would have collapsed long ago.

Covering his nose and mouth with one hand and waving the burning jacket with the other, Qin Yu stepped onto the ladder. After climbing about four ladders, the jacket was almost burned out, and he still had half the ladders to go.

"Go for it!"

Qin Yu threw away the jacket and stepped onto the next ladder. It felt like stepping on cotton, and greenish insect juice splashed under his feet. He didn't know how many millipedes he had crushed with that step.

With a few quick strides, Qin Yu leaped over the ladders and reached the other side of the river. By then, his shoes were covered with millipedes, but fortunately, he was wearing high leather boots, so the insects couldn't get inside. Without time to shake the insects off his shoes, Qin Yu ran toward the rock wall where Mo Yongxing had triggered the mechanism.

"Everyone, hurry over! Miss Mo, why are you following me? Go to the entrance!"

Finding the hidden mechanism, Qin Yu turned around and saw Mo Yongxin standing right behind him. In the face of the hopeless situation and the terrifying number of millipedes, the young lady from the Mo family seemed to have lost her usual sharpness.

"Hurry up!"

On the other side of the river, countless millipedes surged like a tide, and on this side, millipedes started climbing up from the river bottom. Out of the ten people who came down, seven had crossed, one bodyguard was already buried by the insects, and two were still on the other side.

"Be careful!" Mo Yongxing shouted in alarm.

Just as the last bodyguard stepped onto the ladder, he either slipped or was nervous and fell onto the ladder. Before he could get up, the millipedes on the ladder swarmed over him like flies drawn to the scent of blood. Everyone heard a piercing scream as he fell into the river.

"Quickly, lower one end of the ladder so he can grab it!"

The bodyguards who had crossed the river quickly retracted the ladder. One of them cleared the millipedes climbing up, while the other two lowered the ladder to the river bottom, hoping their comrade could grab it. But soon they realized it was impossible; the bodyguard who had fallen into the river was completely submerged, and there was no sign of him.

"Damn it, die already!" Qin Yu's face twisted in anger. He roared and reached into the stone slot, turning it.

"Screech!"

The stone door on the wall slowly rose, and a black, ink-like liquid flowed out. Before Qin Yu could breathe a sigh of relief, a tremor like an earthquake shook the ground. He felt his feet give way, and he fell.

In the chaos, Qin Yu's hand flailed about and grabbed something. He heard a soft cry, and a fragrant breeze hit him as a figure collided with his chest, and they both fell.

"Sister, Qin Yu!" Mo Yongxing saw what was happening from a distance, but it was too late. By the time he got there, the sudden hole had closed, and the ground had returned to normal. His sister and Qin Yu had disappeared.

"Plunk!"

Two splashes echoed as Qin Yu and Mo Yongxin fell into a river. Feeling the fragrant breeze, Qin Yu knew he had pulled Mo Yongxin down with him; otherwise, she wouldn't have fallen.

"Cough, cough!"

Mo Yongxin coughed a few times, clearly having swallowed some river water. Qin Yu quickly hugged her from behind, lifting her head above the water.

The river was only up to Qin Yu's shoulders, but Mo Yongxin, who apparently couldn't swim and had fallen from a height, couldn't stand up. Qin Yu didn't hesitate; he tightly hugged her slender waist and lifted her slightly.

"Miss Mo, are you okay? I'm sorry for pulling you down," Qin Yu apologized.

"I... cough, cough, I'm fine. It's not your fault; no one could have known a hole would suddenly appear underfoot."

Mo Yongxin calmed down and realized she was in Qin Yu's arms. Her face turned red, and the blush spread to her ears. Unfortunately, there was no light, or Qin Yu would have seen her blushing.

Since he was hugging her from behind, Qin Yu's lips were almost touching her neck. The warmth of his breath made Mo Yongxin's whole body go limp, and she leaned heavily on him.

Qin Yu noticed Mo Yongxin's unusual state but thought she was just cold from the river. "Miss Mo, staying in the river isn't a good idea. Let's leave the river and think about how to get out."

"Okay," Mo Yongxin agreed softly.

"Can you stand?"

Qin Yu let go of Mo Yongxin, and she tried to take a step forward. Unfortunately, the water was up to her shoulders, making it impossible to walk. Qin Yu had no choice but to hold her hand, and they slowly walked through the water.

Qin Yu led the way, and Mo Yongxin followed. After about fifteen minutes, Qin Yu suddenly stopped. Mo Yongxin looked at him in confusion as he listened intently, then his face lit up, and he turned to her.

"There should be a shore ahead. Can you hear the sound of waves hitting the rocks?"

"I can't hear anything," Mo Yongxin replied, listening carefully but hearing nothing.

"You can't hear it? That's impossible. The sound isn't that faint, and it's only about thirty meters away."

Qin Yu received a glare from Mo Yongxin. From thirty meters away and in the water, how could she hear it? However, she was surprised by Qin Yu's excellent hearing; he could hear the sound of the river from thirty meters away.

"I'm not a dog with super hearing. How can I hear that far?" Mo Yongxin muttered.

"Uh, are you insulting me?"

Qin Yu pretended to be angry but then became puzzled. When had his hearing become so good? He couldn't even hear his mother calling him for dinner from downstairs a few days ago. Could it be...

A light bulb went off in Qin Yu's head. He remembered the dragon vein energy that had washed over him earlier. This was the only explanation for his improved hearing. Clearly, the dragon vein energy had brought him more benefits than he initially thought.

However, now wasn't the time to think about that. They had been in the water for a long time, and the water in the cave was extremely cold, seeping into their bones. Qin Yu could feel Mo Yongxin shivering in the water.

"Indeed, we've reached the shore."

As they continued, Mo Yongxin also heard the sound of waves. The river became shallower as they moved forward, and soon they stepped out of the water onto dry rock.

"It's so cold!"

In the water, they hadn't felt the cold as much, but as soon as they stepped out, a cold wind blew, and Qin Yu shivered uncontrollably. His jacket had been burned off, leaving him in just a wet T-shirt. It was no wonder he was cold.

Mo Yongxin wasn't much better. Her face was pale from the cold, and her fingers were white. Her clothes were drenched and dripping water.

"If we keep this up, we'll freeze to death before we find a way out," Qin Yu muttered. He then pulled out a stack of talismans from his pocket, but they were all soaked.

Qin Yu's actions were invisible to Mo Yongxin, but she heard his muttering. Suddenly, there was a "click," and a bright light appeared in Mo Yongxin's hand. It was a Zippo lighter.

"Miss Mo, you carry a lighter with you?" Qin Yu asked, surprised. Not many girls carried lighters unless they smoked. His own lighter was a cheap one from the market and had long since stopped working.

Mo Yongxin explained, "It's my brother's. I took it from him yesterday and forgot to return it."

"That's great. With this lighter, we can move forward."

With the faint light, Qin Yu could see a passage ahead, though he didn't know where it led. But it was better than staying there and freezing.

As they entered the passage, Qin Yu's eyes lit up. At the end was a circular stone room with a pile of logs.

"Miss Mo, there are logs here. Let's start a fire to dry our clothes and then think about how to leave."

"Okay, that sounds good."

Mo Yongxin nodded. The wet clothes clinging to her skin were indeed uncomfortable, so she readily agreed with Qin Yu's plan.

The logs were about the thickness of an arm, and Qin Yu recognized them as a common type of mountain wood that burned easily. He selected a few thicker logs and arranged them in a cone shape. Then he picked out a couple of thinner logs, lit them with the lighter, and placed them in the arrangement. Soon, the flames grew, and a warm feeling spread.

"Miss Mo, sit by the fire to warm up, or you might catch a cold!"

After starting the fire, Qin Yu turned to Mo Yongxin, who was standing nearby. She followed his example, finding a log to sit on by the fire.

The flames grew higher, and steam began to rise from their wet clothes as the water evaporated. Qin Yu looked at Mo Yongxin, who had let down her long hair. The black hair cascaded over her cheeks, and her delicate features, illuminated by the fire, made her look like a porcelain doll, making him want to hold her and protect her.

PS: I have some good news to share. The book has been accepted for publication. Could you please give some support, recommendations, and collections to celebrate? It's not easy.