Chapter 37 Night Escape "You'll never find a female demon like this!"
"Okay, tonight." Shu Qing nodded vigorously at Jiu Su, feeling the presence of "Ah Shu." "Can you do it?"
Jiu Su gave a cold laugh, lowered her eyes, and didn't say a word, but her meaning was very clear: it has to be done, no matter what.
That's true.
Ashu's thoughts, like a narrator, unfolded before her: If she delayed another day, he would be dragged to have his blood drained and scales removed every day and used as a punching bag, only becoming weaker and weaker. It was better to run away sooner rather than later.
"What the hell!" Shu Qing thought in shock after reading the "narration," "bleeding and scaling, and then using them as punching bags? Even my unlucky ex-boss wouldn't dare to do such lousy things!"
The prison was located in an unknown place, without a ray of light, so it was impossible to tell how much time was left until "night." The only sound was the slow dripping of water, like an ancient clock counting drops of water.
Shu Qing listened as "A Shu" pounded medicine and chattered on and on, from mutton stew to steamed buns, from snowball fights to coconut shell battles, her rambling voice filling the entire cell.
Jiu Su remained silent on the ground the entire time. When Ashu applied medicine to him, he did not react at all. Only occasionally, when she mentioned certain words, he would gently tug at... or tug at the hem of her clothes.
For example, Ashu said, "I once had a red clay pot, um, it was probably in the north..."
Jiu Su silently tugged at her sleeve twice, and then immediately changed her tune: "No, it's in the Northeast."
Jiu Su tugged at her sleeve again, and she continued, "It's so delicious!" She rattled off a string of nonsensical descriptions like "fresh and delicious" and "unforgettable to this day," before launching into the recipe, "When making the soup base, you need to turn the heat up high and add plenty of charcoal to bring the water to a boil quickly..."
When she mentioned "water," her clothes were tugged again, and the talkative person and the silent person quickly exchanged a glance—they fled to the northeast, where the guards were skilled in water manipulation.
Shu Qing, who was watching from the sidelines, was completely stunned: these two kids were actually using such a subtle method to confirm information!
In places where there are no laws protecting minors, do children all have to develop such a honeycomb-like mind?
They chatted idly for a while, exchanging some information in a veiled and hesitant manner. Shu Qing "heard" Ashu gradually forming a plan in his mind. It wasn't quite complete yet, and the success rate wasn't high, but considering their situation, it was already quite good. At least she knew that if she had thrown her young self into this predicament, she probably wouldn't have been able to save herself.
The steward outside, who looked like a dumpling, finally couldn't take it anymore and kicked the prison bars in a fit of rage: "Shut up!"
Ashu seemed startled, immediately shut her mouth, and gave a forced smile.
"All you do is chatter on and on all day!" The manager, having finally gotten some peace and quiet, grumbled as he walked away. "In the middle of the night, you still haven't stopped talking to that monster. Aren't you afraid it'll rip out your tongue?"
Ashu clenched his fist fiercely at the manager's retreating figure.
They held each other's hands tightly, both of them straining to listen. Jiu Su, being a naturally born spiritual being, possessed far more acute senses than others. After a moment, his ear twitched slightly, and he whispered, "He's asleep."
Sure enough, the sound of snoring came from afar, so we could move around.
Ashu immediately ran to the corner and dug out a pit hidden under the pile of straw.
The pit was dug at an angle, with the entrance next to the wall, but the bottom was below the wall. There was a lot of dark stuff at the bottom, and it was impossible to tell what it was.
Jiu Su and Shu Qing, who remained uninvolved, both asked the same question: "Is everything alright?"
"It's alright as long as you're okay." The girl took out the hard piece that Jiu Su had given her—it was a thin, round jade stone with faint dark patterns outlined on it, and a faint spiritual light occasionally flashed through it. It was obviously a valuable item with hidden secrets.
From Ashu's thoughts, Shuqing learned that this was an object they used to store spiritual energy, somewhat like a modern battery.
"No wonder Jiu Su is so receptive to modern technology," Shu Qing thought in surprise. "They already have cutting-edge technology so early?"
She saw Ashu carefully place the spirit jade into the bottom of the pit, then tear off a piece of her clothing and twist it into a simple rope. One end was attached to the messy things at the bottom of the pit, and the other end was dragged to Jiu Su's side. Then, she began to quickly fill the pit with soil.
Jiu Su sat in the corner with her arms crossed, watching her busy herself. She coldly reminded her, "Let me make this clear first. Although I promised to protect you for a bit, if it really comes down to life and death, I'll only look after myself first. You'd better keep your men in check."
"You'll never find a female monster if you keep doing this!" Ashu whispered fiercely. "Be a good person, be a gentleman. Can you bear to watch such a cute little girl like me get blown up?"
...Bomb, blow to death?
Shu Qing glanced in horror at the rope extending from the pit, confirming a terrifying, vague guess.
These two incredibly unlucky kids actually plan to escape by making explosives by hand!
Jiu Su scoffed, "That's the way you Xian Du people are. I'm just a demon, why should I act like a gentleman?"
Ashu muttered, "No matter what you are, you have to learn the good things."
She mumbled to herself, not stopping her work at all, and soon the hole disappeared without a trace, leaving only a gray rope trailing outside like a rat's tail.
Ashu hid next to Jiusu again and whispered, "Okay, I promise, I'll take care of it. It's all up to you now, are you ready?"
Jiu Su nodded and said calmly, "My fate is unknown. I have no attachments and nothing to say. If you want to leave any words, tell me now."
"No," Ashu said stubbornly. "Prying into a girl's thoughts is invading her privacy, which is very presumptuous, you know? Luckily, I'm magnanimous and won't argue with a naive monster like you. Once we get out of here safely, I'll teach you slowly."
Jiu Su smiled coolly: "You, who studied medicine, can't kill many people, yet you're quite confident."
"Let me correct you, I didn't study medicine, I studied alchemy." Ashu glared at him. "For us alchemists, blowing up a house or two is commonplace; you're a murderous monster, so a few guards are also commonplace for you. We're a powerful alliance, why should I lack confidence?"
She spoke with absolute certainty, but her inner monologue was saying, "Master, Senior Sister... even if I wanted you to pass on a message to them, Kunlun Immortal Capital is a long and arduous journey. Who knows when it would arrive?"
"They should have forgotten me by then. Hearing your last words would only cause them unnecessary pain."
"Stupid monster..."
Ashu silently formed a complex hand seal, and a small flame appeared out of thin air, landing on the gray rope and flickering weakly, spreading inch by inch toward the bottom of the pit.
Neither of them spoke, they huddled together in the corner, staring at the tiny, quietly moving light, as if they were staring at a faint hope in the darkness, or as if they were watching a natural disaster about to strike them in despair.
"..."
Shu Qing, who had witnessed all of this in her dream, closed her eyes, unable to bear the sight. This place was completely different from contemporary society; nothing could be explained by modern science and technology. She truly had no way of knowing whether she would live or die after the explosion.
Could this nightmare be meant to torment her, determined to make her experience different ways of dying before it's satisfied...?
The sound of a heartbeat and the hissing of sparks echoed throughout the heavens and earth.
Jiu Su held her hand tightly, his hand as cold as ice, perhaps even warmer than a dead person's hand. A slippery liquid clung to his palm, whether cold sweat or blood from a reopened wound, dripping onto the ground, marking a countdown to their fate.
"three."
The flame hissed and disappeared into the ground. It was unclear who had infected whom, but both children began to shiver slightly.
"two."
The world was so quiet it seemed to have ceased to exist.
There were actually snores coming from outside the cell door, but the two or three people inside the cell couldn't hear them.
"one!"
In the quiet of the night, a sudden loud noise erupted.
The power was not to be underestimated; the entire ground almost shook. Ashu had already covered his ears, but at this moment, he still felt a sharp pain in his ears, and everything in front of him became a silent scene. Even Shuqing, who had all five senses, felt as if he was in a silent film shooting a disaster movie.
The stone wall that was blasted collapsed, disintegrating into countless pieces of mud and rocks that fell down, making this small corner resemble a landslide.
Amidst the deafening explosion, a pure white chill spread, and an ice wall, frosted over, rose up, brazenly meeting the blast wave and the falling sand and gravel. At this moment, the explosive blast from the shattered wall and the solid wall transformed into rubble united, crashing together against this small ice wall.
In an instant, huge cracks appeared on the ice wall, and then the cold air meandered upwards, condensing into new solid ice, then cracking again, condensing again... This cycle continued endlessly, and this piece of ice, which was less than three feet long, was like an invincible barrier.
Jiu Su trembled slightly. He held Ashu tightly behind him. Neither Ashu nor Shuqing could see his expression now, only the blood flowing on the ground.
Through the solid ice blocking her view, she saw the bursts of light and color outside the ice.
It felt like a fleeting moment, yet also like an eternity.
The explosion had subsided, but the earth and rocks overhead were still falling in a soft rustling sound. Jiu Su withdrew the chill. He turned around, his lips and front of his shirt covered in blood, his face deathly pale, yet his pupils were bright, those blood-red eyes almost like two extremely intense flames.
"You..." Ashu opened her mouth, wanting to speak, but couldn't hear her own voice. She saw Jiu Su's lips moving, but couldn't hear what he was saying either, so she could only show a puzzled expression.
Jiu Su immediately understood. Without saying a word, he picked her up, leaped over the bombed ruins, ran through the falling rocks, and made his way as fast as he could.
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