Chapter Thirty-Six: If You Can't Carry Her, I Will.

Yinhe's words cheered Chen Qing up.

She has lost a lot of weight in the past few days. Since she couldn't find a reasonable excuse to take out the supplies she had redeemed from the system store, she and Yinhe had been living frugally, eating braised beef and drinking water seeping from rocks. They were hungry for most of the time of the day.

Even with such harsh conditions, Chen Qing still insisted on exercising.

Of course, she also kissed Yinhe quite a few times.

So in these eight days, she lost at least 20 pounds, and her weight went from 318 pounds to 220 pounds.

I'm still quite chubby though...

But thinking about it carefully, how long has Chen Qing been on a diet?

She looked at the still narrow gap, but which seemed less unattainable because of her thinness, and nodded vigorously: "Okay! Let's try again!"

The hope of life acted like a shot of adrenaline, injecting new life into their exhausted bodies.

Chen Qing walked to the gap, took a deep breath, and recalled the flexibility training he had deliberately carried out these past few days, as well as the obvious changes in his body—the excess fat in his waist and abdomen had decreased, the lines of his arms and legs were becoming more and more visible, and his overall flexibility had improved significantly.

She turned to the side, first inserting her slender right shoulder and arm into the crevice, then her head. The cold, rough rock wall stung her clothes and skin, but this time, the resistance was noticeably less!

"It seems...it really does!"

Chen Qing's voice trembled slightly from excitement and effort. She adjusted her breathing, contracted her abdomen, and moved inward little by little with great difficulty.

Yinhe stood behind her, completely focused, his hands lightly supporting her waist and legs, offering both comfort and a readiness to pull her back if she got stuck or encountered danger. His gaze was fixed on her every subtle movement, his heart pounding involuntarily.

The inside of the crevice was narrower and more winding than the entrance, and Chen Qing had to squeeze his body in as much as possible, sometimes even holding his breath, to get through the narrowest part of the passage.

Darkness, oppression, and fear of the unknown kept creeping in, but she gritted her teeth, with only one thought in her mind: to survive.

She could clearly hear the increasingly loud digging sounds and the faint shouts of Li Yi and Pei Xuan coming from outside, which undoubtedly gave her a lot of motivation.

After what seemed like an eternity, Chen Qing felt the space ahead open up, and he could clearly hear the gentle murmur of water.

A surge of joy welled up within me, and I strained forward with all my might!

"Thump!"

The expected open space did not appear; instead, there was a cold, submerged feeling!

Caught off guard, Chen Qing choked on several mouthfuls of water before realizing that the end of the crevice was actually an underground river!

The river water was icy cold and the current was quite rapid.

"Qing'er!"

Yinhe followed closely behind Chen Qing as she squeezed through the gap. He was more agile and passed through the gap effortlessly, moving faster than Chen Qing. Hearing the splash, he felt a pang of anxiety, quickly emerged, and jumped into the river without hesitation. He scooped up the struggling Chen Qing and held her tightly in his arms.

"Cough cough... It's okay, I'm fine..."

Chen Qing lay in his arms, coughing violently, soaked in sweat and shivering from the cold.

Despite the unexpected incident, they did manage to escape the enclosed cave that had trapped them for many days!

This is a larger underground cavern, through which a wide underground river flows, its destination unknown. The cave ceiling is higher, and in some places, faint sunlight seeps through the cracks in the rocks. Although it is not enough to illuminate the entire cave, it is much better than the previous cave that relied entirely on glowing moss.

"Let's get ashore first." Yinhe carried Chen Qing and waded through the water to a relatively flat rock nearby. He put Chen Qing down and immediately checked her for injuries.

"I'm fine, just a little cold." Chen Qing hugged herself, her teeth chattering. The underground river was much colder than the hot spring, and the sudden chill was hard for her to adjust to.

Yinhe immediately took off his half-dry coat and wrapped it around Chen Qing without saying a word. Then, he channeled his inner energy, placed his palm on her back, and a warm and mellow inner energy slowly flowed into her body, dispelling the chill.

Chen Qing felt a warm current flowing behind him and the clothes on his body that still carried his body heat, and his heart warmed slightly.

She looked up at the Milky Way. His hair was wet and clung to his forehead, water droplets sliding down his sharply defined jawline. His eyes were focused and concerned.

"Thank you," she said softly.

Yinhe shook his head, his gaze shifting to the upstream and downstream of the underground river. "We must find an exit. Underground rivers usually have an exit leading to the surface."

However, before they could begin exploring, the sounds of digging and shouting came clearly from above again, and it seemed to be right next to them!

"Young Miss! Can you hear us? We're above you!"

It was Li Yi's voice, filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"Sister Qing! Sister Qing! Is that you?" Pei Xuan's voice was trembling with sobs.

Chen Qing quickly stood up and shouted back, "Li Yi! Pei Xuan! I'm here! In the cave down there! We're alright!"

Her voice echoed clearly through the cave.

A huge cheer erupted from above.

"Found it! Really found it!"

"The young lady is still alive! Quick! Dig open this place!"

Immediately afterwards, a more rapid and powerful digging sound came from above, and gravel and soil fell down in a flurry.

Chen Qinghe breathed a sigh of relief, pulled Yinhe back to a safe distance, and waited for rescue. "Finally, we can get out!"

After not seeing the sun for many days, Chen Qing's skin became even whiter. She would soak in the hot springs in the cave every day, and her skin was white and pink. In places with light, she looked very cute.

Yinhe gazed at her for a long time, his eyes filled with reluctance.

Noticing his silence, Chen Qing looked up and asked, "Are you unhappy?"

Suddenly, Yinhe lowered his head and kissed her lips. Not far away, Li Yi and Pei Xuan were trying to talk to Chen Qing to make sure she was safe.

But Chen Qing had no time to respond.

The kiss from the Milky Way came more fiercely than ever before, carrying a sense of resolute farewell.

"Hmm..."

Yinhe only let go of Chen Qing when she bit his lip so hard it bled due to lack of oxygen.

"What...what are you doing?"

Chen Qing, panting heavily, pounded his chest in annoyance! But Yinhe hugged her tightly in return.

"After we leave, will you still kick me out?"

Chen Qing was somewhat taken aback by the desolation in his tone, "So, you kissed me so fiercely just for this!"

She pushed Yinhe away, making him look into her eyes: "Look at me! If you kiss me like that again, I won't want you anymore!"

Yinhe's eyes suddenly lit up. Did this mean she still wanted him?

Chen Qing rolled his eyes at him and said irritably, "You're a top assassin from the Cold Star Pavilion. How can you be chased and look like this? Don't you want to go back and find out why?"

"I don't mind you following me, but I don't want to be dragged into these messes anymore, understand?"

Chen Qing spoke from the heart. Yinhe was so powerful, and her willingness to stay by her side was a great help. Moreover, she had lost so many treasures for nothing in order to save Yinhe.

"You have to pay me back!"

"Go back and give me all your treasure! Do you hear me?" Chen Qing poked his firm chest, making a willful demand.

Yinhe smiled, not seeing anything wrong with it at all.

"Okay, you can have them all."

"That's more like it."

The thought of all the treasures taken from Liu Shoubei's mansion being sold cheaply to the system's shop made Chen Qing feel a pang of heartache.

She was determined to go back to the Chen family, take back what was rightfully hers, and then leave.

"Where's Chen Jiao?" Chen Qing suddenly remembered that he could still hear Chen Jiao's voice upstairs.

Yinhe's eyes turned slightly cold: "Up there. She doesn't seem to want you to get out alive."

Chen Qing snorted coldly: "Of course she doesn't want that."

She could clearly sense the almost tangible malice emanating from Chen Jiao. But now, none of that mattered.

The excavation work proceeded quickly, and Li Yi and Pei Xuan had clearly found a relatively thin rock layer. About half an hour later, with a loud "boom," a huge rock was pried open, and an opening large enough for one person to pass through appeared at the top of the cave. The long-awaited sunlight poured down, stinging Chen Qing's eyes, which had been accustomed to darkness for so long.

"Young Miss!"

The first to jump down was Li Yi. He was covered in dust, his face a mixture of sweat and mud, but his eyes shone with an astonishing light. He rushed to Chen Qing, knelt on one knee, and said in a choked voice, "I'm sorry, Miss, I'm late in coming to your rescue! Please punish me!"

Immediately afterward, Pei Xuan jumped down as well. When he saw Chen Qing, who had obviously lost a lot of weight and was pale, his eyes instantly reddened. He rushed over to hug her, but was afraid of overstepping his bounds, so he stood there helplessly, only able to call out again and again, "Sister Qing! Sister Qing! You're still alive!"

Xiao Wu and Wang Zhong also poked their heads out of the cave. Seeing that Chen Qing was safe and sound, they were both so excited that tears welled up in their eyes.

Looking at these people who genuinely cared about her, Chen Qing felt a surge of warmth in her heart. She reached out to help Li Yi up: "Get up, it's not your fault."

She smiled at Pei Xuan again, "I'm fine, see, I'm perfectly alright?"

Her gaze swept over everyone, finally landing on Chen Jiao, whose face was ashen and whose eyes were filled with complex emotions, at the edge of the cave entrance.

When Chen Jiao met her gaze, she subconsciously took half a step back, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Sister... I'm so glad you're alright..."

Chen Qing didn't bother with her clumsy performance; she had more important things to do.

"What's the situation outside? Are there any other dangers after the avalanche? Where's my father?" she asked in quick succession.

Wang Zhong quickly replied, "Reporting to Miss, the avalanche wasn't very large; we were on the edge. Master and the others left that day with the carriages and most of the grain, saying they were going back to Qingzhou to get reinforcements..."

He spoke with some difficulty, clearly knowing how weak his excuse was. Moreover, Chen Zhenyan did not seek reinforcements after returning to Qingzhou.

Chen Jiao brought people not to save Chen Qing, but because they believed Chen Qing should have died long ago.

To be honest, even Wang Zhong wasn't so sure that Chen Qing would survive, but Li Yi and Pei Xuan were exceptionally persistent, and thankfully they persisted, which allowed him to see the young lady return safely.

Chen Qing wasn't surprised; she had long been aware of Chen Zhenyan's coldness. What she was more concerned about was, "How have you all been these past few days?"

Li Yi replied, "After I returned, I met up with Pei Xuan, Uncle Zhong, and Xiao Wu. We've survived until now thanks to some food that Miss had hidden in the spare carriage and the food we hunted along the way. We've been searching for Miss, and thanks to God's blessing, we've finally found you!"

"And you, did Hanxing Pavilion do anything to you? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

Li Yi didn't look well, and Chen Qing was a little worried. She wanted to check Li Yi's injuries, but Yinhe pulled her into her arms.

"Don't worry, he'll only get a few lashes at most, he won't die."

Li Yi had noticed Yinhe following Chen Qing long ago, and his expression became complicated. He had certainly heard of Yinhe, the top assassin of Hanxing Pavilion.

The two of them were not on the same level. The Milky Way was unattainable. It was he who discovered that Li Yi had stayed by Chen Qing's side and demanded that he return to the pavilion to be punished.

Otherwise, how could the young lady have suffered such a torment?

Li Yi undoubtedly disliked Yinhe, especially after learning that Chen Qing had been buried under the snow while trying to save Yinhe, and that she had spent the past seven or eight days with Yinhe, suffering because of him!

If looks could kill, Li Yi would have killed Yinhe long ago.

There was an undercurrent of tension between the two men, but Chen Qing didn't notice.

"You've worked hard." Looking at the group of people before her, travel-worn, haggard but with determined eyes, she felt a surge of gratitude. These were the people who hadn't given up on her even in the face of dire circumstances.

"Young Miss, this is not a place to stay any longer. Let's go outside first and talk about it later," Li Yi said in a deep voice.

He remained vigilant, his gaze sweeping over his surroundings, especially the Milky Way.

Although the underground cave was quite deep, it wasn't a difficult task for Li Yi and Yinhe.

"Miss, let me carry you upstairs."

Li Yi rushed forward, wanting to pick Chen Qing up.

The next second, Yinhe stood in front of him, protecting Chen Qing behind her. "I'm afraid your kung fu is too bad and you'll hurt her. I'll handle it."

Li Yi said angrily, "You! If it weren't for you, Miss would never have suffered like this!"

What was originally an undercurrent of tension turned into a tense standoff, something even someone as oblivious as Chen Qing could see.

Surprisingly, both of them were quite loyal.

Chen Qing was overjoyed. What boss wouldn't like a loyal subordinate?

"Li Yi, let him do it this time. You're still injured."

Her subordinates were vying to show their loyalty, and Chen Qing also wanted to be a good boss. She considered herself a considerate person, but alas, the moon shines on the gutter.

Li Yixin reluctantly stepped down to the second line, while Yinhe, carrying Chen Qing, used his lightness skill to finally fly her away from the dark underground cave.

The moment he saw the light of day again, even though the sky was still overcast and the snow was still thick, Chen Qing couldn't help but take a deep breath of the cold air and feel the preciousness of freedom.

"I'm finally out!"

Chen Qing couldn't help but shout, venting the pent-up emotions in his heart.

Seeing several handsome men vying to surround Chen Qing and show him concern, even Pei Xuan only cared about Chen Qing and didn't give Chen Jiao a second glance.

Chen Jiao stomped her feet angrily, attracting Chen Qing's attention.

Chen Jiao immediately gritted her teeth and said, "Congratulations, sister, you really are lucky to be alive."

Chen Qing smiled slightly and immediately retorted: "If even a scoundrel is still alive, why would God let me die?"

"Who are you calling a slut!" Chen Jiao understood her implication and immediately screamed back.