Chapter 1860: Chapter 1860: Lost Wilderness (17)
"What are you doing here?" Chuzheng suppressed the urge to kick him and asked sinisterly.
Xin Zhu heard the voice and turned to look over, "Xiao Qi it..."
Xin Zhu’s voice suddenly paused, and he asked uncertainly, "Are you angry?"
The person standing in front of him had an unusual aura; Xin Zhu could clearly feel it.
But he didn’t know what she was angry about.
"What are you running around for? If something happens, who takes the blame?"
Xin Zhu pointed to the side, "Xiao Qi... Xiao Qi suddenly ran off. I chased it out here, and it went below."
Beside them was a pit, and from the soil and grass marks, it looked like it had sunk in recently.
Chuzheng took a deep breath, "Don’t just leave without saying anything."
Xin Zhu: "..." But isn’t it my freedom to do so?
Xin Zhu glanced at Chuzheng but didn’t respond.
Yao Qing then caught up, propping up his knees and panting, "This... this was where we encountered danger just now. The pit... seemed to be new here."
There are footprints in the pit, and from above, you can see there is an obvious space below.
The footprints went inward; Brother Gao’s group must have gone in.
Xin Zhu frequently peered inside; Chuzheng asked calmly, "You don’t want to go down there, do you?" Dare to say you want to, and I’ll kill you!
-
The tunnel was very dark, only the flashlight beam made anything visible.
The entire tunnel was built with some kind of black stone, the same stone paving the floor, making it slightly uncomfortable to step on.
Judging by the environment, it doesn’t seem to have been built in modern times.
The tunnel was very clean, without any decorations.
Walking inside, there were faint echoes of footsteps, and occasionally a breeze swept from the front, but it wasn’t clear where it came from.
Chuzheng walked in front, Xin Zhu beside her, and Yao Qing lagged behind.
Yao Qing also wanted to get close to Chuzheng but didn’t dare.
Always felt that Miss Liu was very fierce, so she could only huddle her arms and tremble along behind.
Any slight movement of the wind scared her legs weak.
Chuzheng shone her light on the ground. At first, footprints could still be seen because of the mud, but deeper inside, those things became invisible.
Finally, at the fork in the road, Chuzheng shone the flashlight over, "Which way?"
Both sides looked the same, with no discernible difference.
"Left."
Xin Zhu’s tone was very confident, Chuzheng glanced sideways at him, and Xin Zhu avoided her gaze, lowering his head.
Xin Zhu thought she would ask him, but Chuzheng said nothing, withdrew her gaze, and walked to the left.
"Miss Liu, Miss Liu..."
Yao Qing’s voice came from behind and echoed deep into the tunnel.
"What?" Chuzheng’s tone was annoyed.
Yao Qing leaned against the wall and squatted down, her voice somewhat feeble, "I... I feel a bit breathless, can we take a break?"
The air inside the tunnel was different from outside. From one look, Yao Qing’s physical fitness wasn’t good, so it was normal to feel uncomfortable.
Chuzheng first asked Xin Zhu, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Xin Zhu glanced over at Yao Qing and said softly, "A little stuffy, how about we rest for a bit?"
"Not in a hurry to find your rat?"
"It’s called Xiao Qi." Xin Zhu corrected for his pet, "Xiao Qi is very smart, it’s okay to rest for a while."
"Xin Zhu, don’t be too kind to outsiders." Chuzheng raised her hand to brush away the stray hair on his forehead, revealing his pretty brow bones, "You’ll be taken advantage of."
Xin Zhu pursed his lips, knowing she noticed it was because of Yao Qing that he suggested resting.
"But she looks really uncomfortable."
"I warned her not to follow. It’s her own fault for not being responsible for herself. Given that, I don’t need to pay for her actions."
"..."
Xin Zhu remained silent for a while, "You said kindness can be exploited, would it happen to you too?"
After asking, Xin Zhu regretted it.
The time they’d known each other wasn’t long enough to ask such a question.
Yet, having asked it, he couldn’t take it back.
Chuzheng suddenly turned off the flashlight, and Xin Zhu’s gaze fell into darkness. Instantly, he felt the person standing in front of him draw closer.
Her aura was unlike anything in nature. It was something he had never felt, yet it made him feel calmly comfortable.
Xin Zhu felt his heartbeat gradually accelerating.
—When I see him, my heart beats faster, my blood boils. I can’t hear any sound at my ears or see anything with my eyes, but him, there’s only him.
This thought inexplicably flashed through Xin Zhu’s mind.
These were words written on the blank pages of a book.
Back then, he couldn’t comprehend the sentiment of the words, but now he seemed to understand.
A soft touch brushed across his cheek, and her voice sounded by his ear.
"Of course I would, I want to have you."
Click...
The light came back on, and Chuzheng was still standing at a distance as if the person who got close to him wasn’t her.
Xin Zhu’s breathing indeed became a bit labored at that moment.
What did she mean by those words?
Yao Qing only saw Chuzheng and Xin Zhu talking, but she didn’t catch what was said.
Now Yao Qing could confirm that the relationship between those two... was not simple.
Where did that young man appear from? Did he follow them?
Although Chuzheng spoke to Xin Zhu like this, she didn’t continue forward. Instead, she leaned against the clean stone wall and shone the flashlight into the depths of the tunnel.
Xin Zhu stepped back a bit, his back against the cold wall, and the chill spread through his body, dispelling the heat.
—I want to have you.
Why did she say that?
Was it because of the secret he held?
Or...
-
"I’ve rested enough, let’s continue." Yao Qing spoke, breaking the silence.
Chuzheng got up and pulled Xin Zhu’s hand, not giving him a chance to argue, and walked straight ahead.
Xin Zhu was lost in thought, suddenly being pulled forward, he stumbled several steps before catching up with Chuzheng’s pace.
Yao Qing followed behind.
Xin Zhu didn’t dare to ask many questions as he earnestly began searching for Xiao Qi.
Chuzheng initially held Xin Zhu’s wrist lower down, but seeing he didn’t resist, she confidently held his palm.
After walking for some distance, Chuzheng suddenly paused.
There was a scent of blood in the air...
Not very strong, coming from somewhere farther away.
Soon they heard someone’s labored breathing, the kind that comes when death is near.
The beam of light revealed a dark figure lying ahead, as the distance closed, Chuzheng saw who was lying there.
Xie Ningfeng.
His clothes had been torn, he was sprawled on the ground, bleeding from his arms and legs, his face also wounded, looking miserable.
Xin Zhu instinctively wanted to get a closer look, but Chuzheng pulled him back.
"Mr. Xie." Yao Qing from behind stepped forward, supporting Xie Ningfeng up, "What happened? Why are you here? Where’s Brother Gao and the others?"
Xie Ningfeng was expelling more air than he was taking in, struggling to form words, his eyes unfocused, gradually losing focus.
With his last bit of strength, he pointed ahead, then his hand weakly dropped down.
