"Lin… Lin Feng… where are we now?"
In a cramped, narrow space, the soft glow of a pale golden light barrier illuminated the surroundings. Two people pressed face-to-face tightly, both still reeling from the shock and fear.
Hearing Chang Gong Xiaojing's question, Lin Feng glanced upward. Beyond the light barrier, solid, dense rocks pressed in from every direction. He gave a bitter chuckle.
"If you're asking where we are… I'd say we're buried underground. As for how deep? I have no idea."
Earlier, as the mountain collapsed, the two had tumbled down amid countless falling rocks. In the chaos and panic, there was no time to notice anything else. They could only channel all their energy into activating the spirit light barrier to avoid being crushed or battered to death. The pressure from all sides grew heavier and heavier, forcing Lin Feng to shrink the barrier again and again. Now, it was just barely large enough to protect them both.
The collapse above seemed to have finally settled. No more sounds of rocks crashing or rolling reached their ears.
"Phew… I really thought I was going to die. It scared me half to death…"
Chang Gong Xiaojing let out a long, shaky sigh, murmuring to herself in lingering fear. Then, she realized how intimate their position was. Her cheeks flushed pink, and she wriggled slightly, trying to push herself out of Lin Feng's embrace.
"Don't move!" Lin Feng panicked, his voice urgent. "The spirit light barrier is only this size right now, and my true essence is nearly depleted! If the barrier shatters, we could be crushed to death instantly!"
He didn't mention another reason: having such a soft, delicate body pressed so tightly against him. If she kept moving, he worried he might have an… inappropriate reaction, which would be mortifyingly awkward…
"Ah!"
Chang Gong Xiaojing froze instantly, not daring to squirm anymore. She remained awkwardly nestled against him, avoiding his gaze to hide her blush. Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Then what do we do? We have to find a way out somehow… How about handing me the spirit light artifact? I can sustain it for a while."
"No need. I can still hold on. Give me a moment to recover some true essence first, then we'll dig our way out."
Lin Feng shifted with effort, freeing his right hand. He pulled a Recovery Pill from his storage ring and popped it into his mouth. Then, he offered another to Chang Gong Xiaojing.
"Want one?"
"Is that a Recovery Pill?" She glanced at it, eyes widening slightly in surprise before shaking her head. "No, thanks. I haven't used much true essence… Wait, you said 'dig out'? How?"
"How? With a magic artifact, of course." Lin Feng replied. He figured his flying sword should cut through the earth easily enough. But he had no clue how long it would take to reach the surface.
And there was another critical worry—what about the Fire-Tailed Scorpion King? It probably hadn't been crushed. After all, the underground was its domain. If they accidentally dug right into it again…
As Lin Feng pondered this, he focused on restoring his true essence with the pill's energy. Absentmindedly, his right hand slipped back around Chang Gong Xiaojing's waist…
"I wonder how Tingting and the others are doing. They must be okay, right?"
Chang Gong Xiaojing murmured anxiously to herself. She was about to say more to Lin Feng when suddenly, her body trembled. Her face flushed scarlet, even the tips of her ears burning bright red. She looked up angrily, glaring at Lin Feng.
"Dead flirt! Where do you think you're touching?!"
"What?"
Lin Feng was still lost in thoughts about the scorpion king. The sudden accusation baffled him. He peered down at Chang Gong Xiaojing, confusion written all over his face.
"What's wrong with my hand?"
Seeing his innocent expression only deepened her embarrassment and fury. A tingling sensation spread across her chest again. She gritted her teeth.
"Stop it! Do it again, and I'll chop your hand off!"
"What are you talking about? What's wrong with my hand?"
Lin Feng grew even more perplexed. He demonstratively shifted the hands clasped around her waist.
"Both my hands are back here. I haven't moved them at all… 'Stop it'? What do you mean?"
"Huh? Your hands are behind me? Then…"
Chang Gong Xiaojing froze, stunned. She looked down, eyes wide, focusing on her chest.
Her breasts pressed firmly against Lin Feng's torso. As she glanced down, she saw the spot where they touched… wriggling. Then, a furry little head popped out…
"Qiu?"
A soft, questioning chirp came from Xiao Qiu. Its beady eyes gazed blankly at Lin Feng, seeming to say, "What's going on?"
Chang Gong Xiaojing's mouth fell open in shock.
"A… a mouse?!"
"Xiao Qiu?" Lin Feng finally remembered the little creature hidden in his robes all this time. He scowled irritably. "You little furball! You slept through all that commotion? Seriously, are you turning into a pig? When that giant scorpion attacked earlier, you didn't warn us! What were you doing?"
Ever since joining Lin Feng, Xiao Qiu had only done two things: eat spirit stones and sleep.
Lately, it had grown even sleepier, sometimes dozing for entire days and nights. Like today—it had been snoozing in Lin Feng's robes since they left that morning, not waking even during the chaos. If it had been alert, it might have sensed the scorpion king's ambush early… and maybe they wouldn't be in this mess now.
"Qiu?" Xiao Qiu still looked utterly bewildered. It wriggled its way out of Lin Feng's robes, scrambled onto his shoulder, and patted his cheek with a tiny paw. It seemed to be placating him, as if saying, "Don't be mad!" Or maybe asking, "What happened?"
"This…" Chang Gong Xiaojing stared in amazement at Xiao Qiu. "Is this mouse yours?"
Lin Feng clarified. "It's not a mouse. It's called Pikachu."
Chang Gong Xiaojing blinked, puzzled. "Pikachu? What's that?"
"It's…" Lin Feng started to explain, then realized he didn't really know what it was. He shrugged simply. "It's my pet."
"A pet?" Chang Gong Xiaojing gave him a strange look. "A grown man, keeping a mouse as a pet…"
Lin Feng fell silent, exasperated.
"Qiu?" Xiao Qiu tilted its head curiously at Chang Gong Xiaojing. Its adorable expression made her eyes light up despite herself.
Suddenly, Xiao Qiu twitched its nose. It seemed to detect something. Its little eyes sparkled with interest as it turned toward the front-left direction. One paw rested on Lin Feng's face, while the other waved excitedly in that direction. It chirped repeatedly, "Qiu qiu!", almost bouncing with energy.
The sheer cleverness of its actions left Chang Gong Xiaojing gaping in astonishment.
Lin Feng blinked, taken aback. "What's over there? Is there a way out?"
"Qiu qiu!!" Xiao Qiu chirped back enthusiastically. Of course, it couldn't speak, so Lin Feng couldn't know exactly what it meant. But judging by its excitement, it clearly wanted him to head that way.
Lin Feng had initially planned to dig straight upward. Now, seeing Xiao Qiu's urgency, he hesitated only briefly before deciding to follow its lead—maybe there was a path out?
Feeling his true essence slowly replenishing, Lin Feng turned to Chang Gong Xiaojing. "Let's dig in that direction and see. I'm starting."
"Oh… alright."
Chang Gong Xiaojing nodded. She had no better ideas, so she deferred to him.
Lin Feng released his hold on her waist. With a thought, he summoned his flying sword. The space was so cramped that the blade almost brushed against Chang Gong Xiaojing's back. He adjusted its angle carefully, then flicked his wrist. The sword sliced forward.
Sssshk…
The blade edge pierced through the spirit light barrier and sank into the surrounding earth and rocks. With a swift twist, he shredded the debris like soft tofu.
After a few cuts, Lin Feng reached forward with his left hand, grabbed a handful of rubble, and stuffed it into his storage ring.
Piece by piece, he cleared the loosened earth and stones into the ring. Gradually, the space ahead widened a fraction. Relieved that the overhead rocks showed no signs of collapsing, he expanded the spirit light barrier slightly. They finally had a bit more room to move. Chang Gong Xiaojing immediately pulled back from his embrace. They were still close, but at least not pressed together so intimately or awkwardly.
Then, Lin Feng resumed swinging the flying sword, steadily digging toward the direction Xiao Qiu had pointed out…