"Um?"
Zi You looked at Ling with bewildered eyes; she was very different from before.
The soothing hot spring water made her face flushed, and her usually cool eyes were now full of smiles.
Zero's heart was pounding a little.
After a moment of stunned silence, Zero came to his senses and said:
"This is a hot spring, and considering what that voice said earlier, there must be an exit down here. Why don't we go down and investigate?"
Zi You nodded in agreement:
"Alright, I'm a good swimmer and I've spent a lot of time at the bottom of the hot spring, so I'll go."
Zero shook his head, stopping Zi You from going into the water.
"I'll go. I have water element and a natural affinity for water. I can breathe freely underwater without any problem. I'll go."
"Besides, I don't feel comfortable letting you go down alone..."
Zero spoke the last sentence rather softly, so Zi You didn't hear it clearly. Just as she was about to ask, she saw Zero nimbly turn around and leap into the spring.
The hot spring water was at a comfortable temperature, but it contained impurities and wasn't very clear. Zero slowly sank to the bottom of the hot spring.
The water had a strong buoyancy, and he carefully felt along the edge, bit by bit, without missing any spot.
I don't know if their idea is correct, but if there really is a road, then there must be a mechanism behind it.
Ling's eyes lit up. The tactile sensation under her hand was luminous and protruded slightly, exactly the same as the stone wall at the edge of the hot spring.
Ling tried to kick his legs a few times and swam closer. Only then could he see clearly that it was a metal mechanism, a round, bead-like object, which was abruptly embedded in the stone wall.
Not knowing how the mechanism was set up, he dared not activate it lightly. After memorizing the location of the mechanism, Ling crossed his legs and floated up.
Ripples began to spread across the surface of the hot spring water. Ling poked her head out and gave Ziyou a bright smile on the shore:
"There's an exit down below!"
Zi You and Ling exchanged a glance, nodded, took a deep breath, and leaped into the spring.
Zero located the mechanism she remembered and twisted the tiny bead...
Rumble...
A deep, long rumble resounded, the ground seemed to tremble, and one side of the stone wall began to slowly rise...
As the stone wall moved, large clumps of water rushed in, and white waves rolled over like giant dragons, instantly turning the already not-so-clear water in the hot spring into a murky mess.
The stone wall rose a little over a foot and then stopped.
Water kept pouring in, splashing and churning below the stone wall.
Ling withstood the enormous impact, held Ziyou's hand tightly, and swam upstream towards the mouth of the stone wall.
He grabbed Ziyou and pushed her under the stone wall. She was slender and easily made her way across.
Ling followed closely behind, crouching low and swimming close to the ground, her hand still clasped tightly with Zi You's throughout the entire process.
Zi You did not break free, seemingly acquiescing to Ling's actions.
As soon as Ling swam across the stone wall, the wall made a rumbling sound as it moved, gradually sinking down until it closed with a clang.
The water flow had gradually calmed down from its turbulent state.
It was pitch black here, and no one knew how deep it was. The water was no longer warm; it had become icy cold.
In complete darkness, the two could easily be separated.
Ling tore a strip of cloth from her waist, tied it to both her and Ziyou's wrists, and pulled her upwards, kicking the water...
The water was still, and the two people's movements created ripples in the cold water.
The air was thick with the smell of earth, a dark, oppressive mass.
The two could see nothing, and because they couldn't tell which way to go, they could only keep swimming upstream by feeling.
The cold water slowed their swimming speed, and after being underwater for a long time, Zi You gradually began to have trouble breathing.
Her cheeks swelled, and she began to feel short of breath in her chest. Suddenly, a warm touch covered her lips. Ling pried open her teeth with his tongue and took a breath.
Zi You finally felt a little better. In the face of life and death, she didn't bother to investigate Ling's behavior.
Besides, she wasn't human, and she didn't value these things too much, especially since... the other party was Zero...
He then tugged at Ling's arm, indicating that they could continue forward.
...
Gradually, dim yellow light began to appear above their heads, casting distorted halos on the water's surface.
Suddenly seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, the two quickened their pace and were about to reach the surface!
Not knowing where the exit was, Zi You and Ling dared not make any big moves.
As they approached the water's surface, they stopped paddling and slowly floated to the surface.
Breaking through the water!
Ling and Ziyou both breathed a sigh of relief, struggling to breathe, and a relieved smile appeared in their eyes as they looked at each other.
Only then did the two begin to look around their surroundings, and they were both taken aback.
Are you kidding me...? What kind of place is this?
The surface of the water was not the "exit" they expected, but rather another strange place.
What's strange is that this place is still closed off!
The light you see underwater comes from the lamps hanging on the walls around this place!
I don't know what material it's made of, but it's been able to keep the flame burning.
It is neither a candle nor a flame, yet it brings light.
The two looked at each other and saw helplessness in each other's eyes.
"What do you mean? Should we continue?"
Zi You tidied her wet hair, tilted her head, and asked Ling.
"Take a rest first, dry your clothes, and don't catch a cold."
"good."
The two sat down on the ground, and a wisp of purple flame appeared in Zi You's right hand, which was warming itself by the fire.
Zero looked at Zi You, who had a serious expression, and was somewhat bewildered.
Why are you looking at me?
Noticing Zero's gaze, Zi You looked up and asked him.
The purple flames reflected on her jade-like face, adding a touch of bewitching beauty.
"Um... I'll go look for something that can be burned..."
Ling turned his head away, got up and walked inside.
This place is huge. If it weren't for the stone ceiling still above their heads, Zero would almost have thought they had successfully made it out.
They emerged from the hot spring and swam for a long time, but the place they arrived at was still underground.
Is there no exit at all, or did they just look in the wrong place?
As Zero searched for wood to start a fire, his mind raced with thoughts.
"Bang!"
It seemed as if he had bumped into something. He looked down instinctively and saw a round stone at his feet.
"What's this?"
He kicked the stone, but it remained motionless as if it hadn't been touched at all.
"Huh?"
Unconvinced, Zero kicked it again, his toe throbbing slightly, but the stone remained motionless, as if it had grown into the ground.
"interesting."
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