Xiaoyue opened her eyes, disoriented. She tried to stretch, but her arm slipped under Liang Qi. Turning her head, she saw the flickering firelight on the ground and finally came to her senses.

Immediately, images of soldiers massacring villagers flashed through his mind, and a fear that shot from his heels to the top of his head spread outwards, making his teeth chatter.

Xiaoyue hid under the covers for a quarter of an hour. The chill of the trap washed over her. Using her only movable hand, Xiaoyue propped herself up and slowly pulled her hand out from under Liang Qi.

Having adjusted to the darkness, Xiaoyue looked at Liang Qi's fire, which had all gone out. Seeing that her own fire was only burning with small embers, Xiaoyue pulled out two relatively dry pieces of firewood, broke off a few tiny twigs, and gently placed them on the embers.

Xiaoyue remembered that she had fallen asleep while watching Liang Qi last night without realizing it. She sat on the bed again, placed her hand on Liang Qi's forehead, and saw that he still had a fever.

Xiaoyue tore off a piece of clothing that was hanging on a tree branch by the wall, soaked it in water, wrung it out, and placed it on Liang Qi's forehead.

The thin kindling placed on the sparks actually extinguished the last embers. Xiaoyue took out a tinderbox, lit the thin kindling, and then added a lot more firewood.

The fire slowly started to burn, and the firelight illuminated the entire cramped space, providing a slight warmth to the pit. Looking at the clothes that had been hung out to dry for Liang Qi the night before, he touched them and found they were completely dry. He took the clothes down and held them up to the fire to warm them before putting them on Liang Qi.

Liang Qi suddenly started coughing for no apparent reason.

Xiaoyue quickly grabbed a piece of clothing and pressed it over Liang Qi's head to reduce the coughing so that people outside wouldn't hear it.

The footsteps outside suddenly stopped, and then someone said, "Did you hear a cough?"

"No," a small voice said.

A high-pitched voice said, "I think I heard that."

"Look around and see where the coughing is coming from," Tian Wu said, walking over at that moment.

The voice was right above her head, and Xiaoyue was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat, and her fingers trembled uncontrollably.

Liang Qi carefully lifted his clothes, and Xiao Yue took the opportunity to kiss him.

It wasn't anything particularly ambiguous or deep; it was entirely due to the circumstances. They were afraid that if Liang Qi coughed, the person standing above the trap would hear them if he spoke.

There was no time to whisper anything to Liang Qi.

Before Liang Qi could react, and had just caught his breath, Xiao Yue pressed her lips to his. After his eyes widened, he heard footsteps, voices, and the soft rustling of snowflakes being turned over.

Liang Qi felt a sweet warmth in his heart, and his face flushed. He naturally wrapped his arms around Xiaoyue's back, pulled her close, and she ended up lying in his arms.

Feeling Xiaoyue's cool lips, softly resting on his own, Liang Qi's heart stirred. He slightly opened his mouth, gently licked Xiaoyue's lips with his tongue, and then immediately withdrew it.

With her eyes crinkling, Xiaoyue's face flushed instantly. She released her lips from Liang Qi's and tried to get up, but Liang Qi was holding Xiaoyue tightly. Xiaoyue couldn't move and buried her face in Liang Qi's chest.

Liang Qi silently watched Xiaoyue's every move, his heart filled with the emotions between the two of them.

He leaned close to Xiaoyue's ear and whispered, "You've kissed me, so it's my turn to kiss you back. That way, you won't owe me anything, and I won't owe you anything."

Xiaoyue buried her head even deeper, and then suddenly bumped into something she shouldn't have. She wished she could disappear into the ground. Liang Qi forcefully turned Xiaoyue's head so that it faced his face.

Xiaoyue didn't dare struggle, afraid that the people above would hear the noise. Liang Qi, disregarding the fact that he was only wearing an undergarment and his body was burning hot, stared intently at Xiaoyue's lips with hazy eyes.

Without a second thought, the two kissed again. Liang Qi gently licked Xiaoyue's pink lips. Her face was flushed red in the firelight, and her eyes seemed to be brimming with tears.

Xiaoyue squirmed in Liang Qi's arms, and Liang Qi suddenly leaned close to Xiaoyue's ear and said in a hoarse voice, "Don't move, or something bad will happen."

Xiaoyue huddled in Liang Qi's arms, not daring to move or lift her face. Liang Qi stroked Xiaoyue's soft black hair, revealing a section of her fair, porcelain-like neck, and then stroked her neck with his thick fingers.

Xiaoyue trembled, and Liang Qi chuckled softly. Xiaoyue felt the vibration of his chest against hers, and it took him a while to calm down. He breathed a sigh of relief and whispered in Xiaoyue's ear, "It's okay, get up."

Liang Qi slowly released his grip on Xiaoyue's hand. Xiaoyue didn't dare to lift her head, propping herself up on her elbows and sitting up without looking back at Liang Qi. She then took two steps back and straightened her crumpled clothes.

Then he bent down and put the pot of millet rice that was placed at the entrance of the cave onto the fire. He added some water and sat by the fire, head down, not daring to look at Liang Qi. He awkwardly just stared at the rice being stirred.

After Liang Qi put on his clothes, he sat down in front of Xiao Yue. Xiao Yue ladled some of the heated rice for Liang Qi and handed it to him. Liang Qi didn't take the bowl; instead, he held Xiao Yue's hand.

Xiaoyue dared not make a sound and tried to pull her hand away, but Liang Qi's bright eyes were full of tenderness as he stared at Xiaoyue. His mouth opened and closed, but no one could hear what he was saying.

After a pause, seeing that Xiaoyue didn't react, Liang Qi pulled her hand to his lips, kissed it, and flashed a radiant smile, like the brightest starlight in the night.

Xiaoyue's heart was instantly captured by that smile.

The two ate their tasteless rice and water in the trap, but it tasted strangely sweet. After finishing their meal, Liang Qi's energy noticeably improved, so he picked up a pickaxe and began digging towards the window.

Both of them remembered that the pit under the window was less than a meter from the pit by the door. Below this pit, the soil layer stretched two meters down from the top, and with the fire that had been burning all night,

So the soil was very loose, and the hole was quickly dug a distance long enough for half a person to climb.

Xiaoyue followed behind, scattering the soil onto the ground, and the two of them remained silent.

After digging for about an hour, Liang Qi finally broke through the two traps, and cold air immediately rushed in. Liang Qi found some wooden sticks to use as supports for the traps.

Back in the trap, he whispered in Xiaoyue's ear, "Do you want to take care of your physiological needs?" Pointing to the cave entrance behind him, he added, "Come back when you're done."

Xiaoyue shook her head. Liang Qi climbed back up and grabbed a bundle of firewood as long as he was. He then leaned the firewood against the wall to reinforce the existing support, so that he could reach the cover of the trap above.

Open the lid a crack, and the firewood is within easy reach.

After Liang Qi pulled a bundle of firewood down into the pit, he heard the sound of horses' hooves. Liang Qi crouched down in the pit and dared not move.

Upon hearing that someone had dismounted, he hurriedly ran towards the main house, shouting as he ran, "We've found the villagers! We've found the villagers!"