Chapter 25: Escape

The man, content with his fate, led his dog all the way to the deep pool.

Bang—

Accompanied by a barely audible explosion, red smoke immediately spread out.

The people, who had already suffered great losses from the endless stream of traps—both real and fake—closed their eyes vigilantly, held their breath, and quickly flew away. However, in their haste to protect themselves, they forgot about the dogs in their care.

“Ahhh——”

“Woof woof——”

Several dogs, caught off guard and inhaling the red smoke, began to scream.

At the same time, tears streamed from their eyes.

Someone recognized the identity of the poisonous smoke and gritted his teeth. “It’s chili powder—”

He immediately turned his hand over and dispersed the red smoke into the dense forest with a few swift motions.

When the others heard that it was chili powder, they were stunned. As the red smoke enveloped them, a few who couldn’t hold their breath inhaled deeply and, as expected, were choked, nearly coughing out tears.

“Cunning! Cunning! These two must not be allowed to escape. They will become a serious threat to my success!”

Although he spoke harshly, in reality, he felt powerless to stop them.

While inhaling chili powder was troublesome for people, it was a significant problem for the dogs they had carefully bred.

One by one, the dogs fell to the ground in despair. Not only was it impossible to continue tracking, but it was also uncertain whether they could be used in the future. At that moment, someone looked around and suggested, “Protector, do you think it’s possible they jumped into this pool of water?”

The man called the Protector’s eyes lit up. “It’s possible. We just have to stay here and endure it. If the two are really hiding in the water, they will definitely float up to breathe. I want to see how long they can hide.”

Cold.

This was the first sensation Shen Fu felt as she sank and floated in the water.

Although the weather was not particularly hot, it was gradually warming up. The water in the deep pool felt like melted snow—icy and freezing. If she hadn’t used her inner strength to resist, she would have been frozen unconscious in an instant.

As a martial arts expert, she was not afraid of the cold. But Chu Baige was different. He had jumped in as decisively as she did, but after hitting the water, he was frozen in shock. With no other options, Shen Fu had to let him use the Turtle Breathing Technique to retain his internal heat, preventing it from dissipating too quickly.

This was the best life-saving method Chu Baige had learned besides Qinggong.

If attributes could be assigned to a person, Chu Baige would probably be described as either “surviving” or “steady.”

As for Shen Fu, she would have several labels such as great martial arts skills and resourcefulness.

There was no denying it; the young talents in the martial arts world were simply outstanding.

Chu Baige, using the Turtle Breathing Technique, closed his eyes and fell into a state of suspended animation, his face turning pale.

To an uninformed observer, he would appear to be a corpse floating in the water.

In fact, there was not much difference between him and a corpse. His heart rate slowed, blood circulated only among his internal organs, and his limbs barely maintained a non-necrotic state. Oxygen consumption was reduced to a minimum, allowing him to sustain a breath while submerged for two hours.

Shen Fu secured him against the stone wall of the deep pool to prevent him from sinking or floating. God knew how deep this pool was; if he sank hundreds of meters below, it wouldn’t be called the Turtle Breathing Technique anymore—he would simply become a turtle. Perhaps thousands of years later, he could transform into a human, change his name to Mr. Turtle, and emerge to write scandalous tales.

There was no need to discuss floating… The Turtle Breathing Technique that Shen Fu taught Chu Baige, while rare, was probably not a big secret to Shun Xin Ruyi. Even if the other party didn’t recognize it as the Turtle Breathing Technique, if they saw Chu Baige’s “corpse” and stabbed him out of anger, his life would be in danger.

Shen Fu heard everything the people on the shore said.

She frowned, sensing something was amiss. The Turtle Breathing Technique had a time limit. The deeper the skill, the longer it could be maintained. With Chu Baige’s level, two hours was the limit. If it took longer, he might never wake up, or upon waking, he might be missing an arm or a leg. For a young man in his prime, that would be more painful than death.

There were fish in the deep pool; stagnant water could not support fish. Where there were fish, there must be a secret passage beneath the water—it was just a matter of how deep or shallow, narrow or wide. Shen Fu bravely dove down about ten meters. At this point, the skylight above her head was already very faint, and the water pressure weighed heavily on her body. An ordinary person would likely not be able to withstand it. Even Shen Fu felt a dull pain in her chest.

She sensed the undercurrent.

Going against the undercurrent, Shen Fu groped her way toward a water cave. The entrance of the cave was wide enough for one person to enter and exit, but it was uncertain whether the inside was equally spacious.

If she hesitated, she would lose. She could not wait until the last moment to make a decision. If the people on the shore truly believed they could survive the night, Shen Fu and Chu Baige would undoubtedly be the first to admit defeat. They had to find another way out.

Fortunately, Shen Fu had always had good luck.

Just as she was hesitating whether to take the risk, the undercurrent suddenly changed—

Something large was emerging.

With the help of the faint light, Shen Fu reached out and grabbed the large creature that burst from the water cave.

That’s right, she hugged it.

It was a fish so large that it was impossible to hold it with both hands.

It was so slippery that as soon as Shen Fu approached, it slipped away like the most expensive courtesan, floating away without mercy.

Shen Fu was taken aback.

This undercurrent could support large fish, so it could certainly support humans. Shallow water could not sustain such big fish; this waterway must lead to another freshwater source. As long as they swam across, they would be saved.

The only uncertainty was how deep the waterway was and how long it would take to swim through.

But who cared?

She didn’t survive by being cautious. In life, when it was time to take a chance, one had to do so bravely.

If you hesitate and shrink back, you will hardly achieve anything great.

Shen Fu followed Zhao Qin. While she was average in learning other things, she excelled at this.

As long as there was a 30% chance of survival, she would take the gamble.

It was always better than remaining stagnant.

She swam back to Chu Baige, removed his belt, and tied his hands to her ankles.

There was no other choice. The secret passage was only so wide that two people would most likely not be able to pass through side by side.

Chu Baige was dragged behind her like a salted fish.

Shen Fu swam back into the undercurrent, carefully feeling the current for a moment before rushing in.

…

“Cough, cough——” Chu Baige climbed out of the water in a panic, coughing violently.

While coughing, he didn’t forget to pull Shen Fu out of the water. She fell to the ground, pale-faced. It wasn’t until Chu Baige slapped her hard on the back that her complexion gradually returned to normal, and she woke up faintly.

As soon as she regained consciousness, she couldn’t help but lie on the ground, coughing violently.

It was still early when the two jumped into the water, but now the sun was setting, about to disappear behind the mountains.

The two, having finished coughing, lay on the grass by the water, not wanting to move a finger.

“How do we get back?” Chu Baige asked.

“I don’t know,” Shen Fu admitted, not even knowing where they were.

“I don’t want to move.”

“I don’t want to move either.”

The two of them basked in the sun like lazy fish. Finally, Chu Baige couldn’t stand it anymore and jumped up, ready to start a fire.

When he got up, he saw that Shen Fu had already used her inner strength to dry her clothes and hair, comfortably falling asleep. He was the only one lying there, drenched with wet hair and clothes.

As if sensing his gaze, Shen Fu turned over and let out a hypocritical snore.

It made him angry just to look at her!

But he had made friends with her, so while Chu Baige was angry, he didn’t know what else to do.

He couldn’t just beat her up.

…After all, he couldn’t beat her.

Fortunately, after all these years of wandering, Chu Baige’s survival skills had greatly improved. After a while, he returned with a pile of dry firewood and started to gather it. He was dumbfounded when he took out the tinder. After soaking in the water for so long, all the tinder was nearly wet. He looked at the sky, which was about to darken, and was on the verge of tears when he suddenly heard a sneer and two stones were thrown at him.

“Where did you get the flint?”

Shen Fu asked.

“It was given by the person who made the Embroidered Spring Blade.”

“They are really well prepared… By the way, what did you put in those traps today? I heard them cursing and swearing, as if they were furious with you.”

Chu Baige used the flint to strike a spark and lit the firewood. He placed his hand on it and squinted his eyes, letting out a sigh, “Comfortable…”

“Nothing much, just various powders—tendon softening powder, bone dissolving powder, intoxicating drugs, lime powder…” The names Shen Fu listed included poisons, sleeping pills, and some powders of unknown origin. Chu Baige’s mouth twitched at this, and he couldn’t help but observe a moment of silence for those who had everything they wanted.

No wonder they cursed so loudly…

Anyone who was tortured like that would curse.

Shen Fu also placed her hands on the warm fire, rubbing her knees and shoulders after warming them, repeating the process. Then she asked confidently, “Didn’t you find something to eat when you went to collect firewood?”

Chu Baige dragged out a dead pheasant from behind with a dark face. “Roast it for me.”

Shen Fu grabbed the chicken and started to prepare it, saying neatly, “Okay!”

…

Jinling City.

“Hasn’t anyone come back yet?”

“……yes.”

Although the weather was not hot, the person who answered the question had beads of sweat on his forehead.

But in just a moment, his back was even wet with sweat, stained with anxiety.

The power of the person sitting in the seat was evident.

Zhao Qin’s fingers tapped lightly on the armrest, her expression unreadable. The people standing on both sides lowered their heads, their faces filled with submissiveness and awe. In the small room, the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

The person who felt it most deeply was the man kneeling on the ground, reporting to Zhao Qin.

If Shen Fu were here, she would definitely recognize that this person was the master of the Embroidered Spring Blade who followed her.

“You failed to do your job well. Go and accept the punishment yourself. If it happens again, you don’t need to come to see me.”

It seemed like a long time had passed. When the man heard Zhao Qin’s voice, he felt as if he had been pardoned. He immediately expressed his gratitude, “Thank you, Lord, for your mercy.”

The punishment of the Embroidered Spring Blade was not easy, but it was better than being tortured here.

Under the pressure from Zhao Qin, his nerves were about to break.

After everyone left, only Zhao Qin, the old man whom Shen Fu had met in the preserved fruit shop, and a young man remained.

The young man was the first to ask, “Master, what should we do?”

With no outsiders around, Zhao Qin didn’t need to hide her expression. Her eyes and brows were filled with a bone-chilling coldness.

“Keep a close eye on those who are willing to help you. Don’t let Ah Fu’s hard work go to waste. This time, we are going to catch them all. If a tiger doesn’t show its might, it will be regarded as a sick cat. How dare a bunch of servile people run rampant on the land of Zhao?”

“Yes!” the young man replied.

“Oh right…” Zhao Qin suddenly thought of someone. “Send two experts to keep a close eye on Miss Ruyi in Ruyi Tower, and inform me of any changes. I want to see what kind of abilities the current Ruyi Tower owner has.”

At the same time, in Ruyi Tower.

“OP, don’t you think it’s funny? Duan Kuan led more than thirty people to chase two individuals, but more than a dozen of them were killed, and they still haven’t caught the two.” Yu’er reported to another protector in front of Ruyi as if she were chatting.

Ruyi paused while holding the comb. “More than thirty people failed to catch two individuals, and more than a dozen died…”

She sneered, “It seems that Guardian Duan has been living too carefree recently.”

Seeing that Ruyi had listened to her words, Yu’er immediately added, “That’s right. I think he was praised too much. He almost forgot his last name. He really thinks that Shun Xin Ruyi was opened by him alone. He doesn’t even take you seriously.”

Ruyi looked at her with a half-smile. “Okay, don’t be afraid of my flattery. If you want to do something, just say it directly.”

Yu’er smiled flatteringly. “Master, good Master, please order me to arrest these two individuals. With my ability, I will definitely be able to find them and give that bastard Duan Kuan a slap in the face.”

Ruyi didn’t care much about these matters and was happy to see her men fighting each other. She said nonchalantly, “Go ahead. I also want to see who is so capable that they can outsmart Duan Kuan’s men.”

As she spoke, she suddenly thought of someone.

What she thought of was the man in black who had refused to drink and kept his distance from her at the Paradise Banquet.

That person gave her a strange feeling: dangerous, yet she couldn’t help wanting to get close to him.

He had come with his companions that day…

This time, there were also two people who discovered the Shun Xin Ruyi base.

Could it be him?

Thinking of this, Ruyi suddenly sat up straight, various strange lights flashing in her beautiful eyes.

She chuckled and said to Yu’er, “If you can catch them alive, try not to kill them. I’m suddenly interested in these two.”