Chapter 57: Mutual Support

  Yang Zhao only felt a wave of heat on his face, and the degree was seemingly even hotter than when the Fire Qilin's inner dan erupted. Fortunately, it was dark here, so no one else could see anything unusual. He thickened his skin to retort: "How is this shameless? It's heaven's principle, anyway we two are mutually delighted, sooner or later we will reach that step. Now it's just a few days earlier than the nuptial chamber, what's the big deal."

  Fang Qinghui bit her lower lip, resentfully saying: "What mutual affection. If it weren't for Mingyue sister thinking at the time... Hmph, how could you possibly take advantage of me, you lecher!"

  Yang Zhao smiled and said: "She hasn't married me, I haven't taken a wife, what's the point of talking about what's cheap or not. This time when we go back, I'll immediately report to the king and queen. With a proper matchmaker and a grand wedding, eight people will carry her sedan chair over the threshold. From now on, Mingyue won't have to wander between wealthy families to entertain men with her beauty, many people will envy but it's too late."

  Feng Qing's expression eased slightly, and she said coldly, "If you can say it, then you must do it. If you dare to be unfaithful and heartless, humph, Feng Qing will definitely help Ming Yue get justice!" She paused for a moment, then asked sternly again, "So what about Tang Zhong's feelings? Yang Xiu said that you have a private relationship with him, is it true?"

  Yang Zhao didn't blush this time. With a straight face and an air of confidence, he said: "Wrong! It's not that I have a private relationship with her, it's just that...that woman abandoned the darkness for the light and voluntarily came to me, Your Majesty, to expose Yang Xiu's treacherous plot."

  "Pfft, how dare you say that." Fang Qinghui spat and angrily said: "Tang Zhongqing is still your aunt, you actually... also... simply disregard etiquette, lack of integrity and shame, not even as good as a beast."

  Yang Zhao himself was also aware of the situation. Tang Qingshuo, no matter what, was still Yang Shu's concubine, and although it could be argued that she had brought it upon herself, from a Confucian moral standpoint, it was still hard to justify having an affair with her. However, being scolded as worse than a beast in front of everyone was really too humiliating. For a moment, he became flustered and argued strongly: "Hey, don't forget that I am a true disciple of the Hedonistic Sect. The tenets of our sect are to start from desire and ultimately attain liberation from troubles and achieve enlightenment. Sharing joy with those who have a predestined affinity is what we call extreme pleasure. What's all this nonsense about human relationships and etiquette? Ha, it's really laughable."

  Fang Qinghui turned her face away, disdainfully saying: "A mouthful of twisted reasoning and evil speech. I didn't expect that you hadn't learned even half of Moheye's martial arts, but you've mastered the skill of speaking nonsense to a perfect ten. Indeed, it's true that you're a pack of wolves and snakes in the same nest. If I had known earlier that your nature was so shameless and unscrupulous, then Fang Qinghui wouldn't have needed to risk entering the Extreme Joy Temple that day."

  Yang Zhao smiled and said, "This is called being true to oneself, genuine in nature. Compared to those who are dignified on the surface but despicable behind people's backs; who appear righteous and virtuous on the outside but are actually thieves and prostitutes at heart; who call out 'brother' with their mouths while stabbing you in the back with their hands - those hypocrites? Don't bother guessing, I'm talking about Ning Daoqi. This thieving Taoist priest is really something else, this time you've seen him clearly, right? Do you like it when I act like him?"

  Fang Qing heard the words and was taken aback at first, then opened her mouth to say: "I... Ning... actually..." The words reached her lips, but she found herself having nothing to say. The facts were right in front of her, and Ning Daoqi's actions were clearly for the purpose of overthrowing the Yang family, regardless of the cost. He didn't care about the lives of thousands of ordinary people, intentionally stirring up internal conflicts within the Yang family. Even if she couldn't accept it rationally, the evidence was overwhelming, leaving no room for denial.

  What grand righteousness, what Yang's destiny to rise and Li's fate to fall, what ideal of saving the world... All these things that I had believed in for over twenty years, have lost their golden surface, revealing the mud and wood beneath. In an instant, the beautiful swordswoman from Ci Hang Jing Zhai looked disheartened, feeling only despair and coldness, all her thoughts turned to ash. Not only did she not want to argue back anymore, but it seemed like she couldn't even muster up the energy to speak.

  Yang Zhao waited for a while and didn't hear the other party respond. He said strangely: "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

  "Nothing. I just suddenly... feel very tired." Fang Qinghui's tone indeed carried a certain indescribable fatigue. She said softly: "You can go now. I just want to be alone for a while."

  "What nonsense are you talking about." Yang Zhao put away his previous playful expression and said seriously: "Don't you see where you are? If you want to be quiet, it's not here that you should be quiet. Get up, we should go."

  "Run... where are you going?"

  "Hey, aren't you stupid? You can ask such questions?" Yang Zhao turned back and squatted down, waving his fingers in front of her a few times, saying: "There's no food or water here, if we stay any longer, we'll starve to death. Of course, we have to find a way up to the surface."

  "All along, Qinghui and the young master have been enemies, not friends. Whether this body lives or dies, why bother with concern?" Qinghui paused for a moment, then sighed softly: "The red dust of humanity, everyone suffers. Even if one can find a way out, it's just to face again the endless troubles. Qinghui is powerless to help, so why must she still go out and deceive the world, burdening others and herself? It's better...it's better to just stay here..."

  Yang Zhao roughly combed her hair, shook her head and interrupted her words, saying: "The hardships in the world are all caused by one's own doing, it has been so for thousands of years and will still be so after thousands of years, what does it have to do with you? Do you really think you're a savior? The problems that even the Buddha couldn't solve, do you think you can just solve them by chanting sutras? I think you've gone crazy from reciting Buddhist scriptures. Stop talking nonsense and follow me." Without giving her a choice, he reached out and pulled her up, determined the direction and headed towards the upper reaches of the underground river.

  Yang Zhao reached out to pull her, but actually didn't use much strength. But for some reason, Fang Qinghui just couldn't muster the spirit to resist, and instead felt that following Yang Zhao's arrangement was the most natural thing to do. At this point, she dazedly allowed herself to be arranged by him, and followed behind him as he walked.

  Actually, if it were in the past, this generation's most outstanding successor of Ci Hang Jing would have definitely discovered that whether it was the previous blame on Yang Zhao or the current obedience, all of which were extremely abnormal and completely opposite to her usual character. However, the continuous experiences of that day had already made her mentally and physically exhausted. Moreover, seeing Ning Daoqi's true face clearly also made her question the beliefs she had held onto for a long time. The Buddhist Zen skills she had practiced for many years were broken, and even if she obtained the Ice Qilin's inner elixir to make up for it, spiritually, there was still an irreparable flaw, making her weaker than ever before. A few things coincided, and as a result, she completely failed to notice her own abnormality.

  Yang Zhao didn't have time to worry about guessing what his daughter was thinking. The feeling of being buried alive deep underground was unbearable. At this moment, he just wanted to hurry back to a place where the sunlight could shine through. The vast and dark underground space had many intersections, but it was unknown how many forks there were, and where these forks led to. Yang Zhao naturally didn't dare to walk randomly. The most reliable way, he thought, should be to follow the direction of the mud-rock flow, and walk back to the bottom of the cliff where the dragon vein was located, then try to climb up and escape from the old path of Lingyun Cave. Unfortunately, this plan couldn't be carried out. Just after walking for less than half a minute, the two discovered that the mountain cave had completely collapsed due to the earthquake, and the underground river's channel had also been completely blocked.

  Under the dim light emitted by the Yin Yang Order, Fang Qinghui only smiled faintly and didn't think much of it. Yang Zhao stomped her foot in frustration, her face gloomy as she said, "This road is impassable, let's change to another one. Following the underground river downstream, there will definitely be a way out."

  Fang Qing said with a sigh, "The river course is hidden deep beneath the ground. Maybe there's a path leading to the surface, or maybe not. Even if there is a path, it may not be passable for humans. Heaven has destined us to perish here, and we can't defy fate."

  Yang Zhao said in a bad mood: "'There were no roads in the world, and as people walked, they naturally became roads.' Haven't you heard this sentence? Oh, right, you really can't hear it...... Never mind, in short, even if there is no road, I will use these Yin Yang tokens to dig out a road. No matter what, I won't wait for death. You'd better not talk nonsense. Follow me." He turned around and pulled her back in the direction they came from.

  The river twisted and turned, seemingly extending forward without stopping. However, after only half a day's journey, it had already seeped into the rock layer and lost its flow. The two of them had no choice but to find another way out. The terrain was rugged, making it impossible to tell whether they were heading up or down. Hand in hand, they relied on the faint light of the yin-yang symbol to guide them as they groped their way forward. Underground, without a glimpse of daylight, they had no idea how much time had passed. Fortunately, clear water occasionally seeped out from between the rocks, and underground plants like moss grew in the crevices. Although there was very little, both of them were highly cultivated, and although they hadn't reached the level of avoiding grains, their food requirements weren't great either, barely enough to get by.

  In this way, when they were tired from walking, they would look for food, and after eating, they would lie down to rest. After resting, they would get up again and continue walking. In the endless darkness, the number of cycles had already become too numerous for anyone to bother remembering. The two people focused on finding a way out, and in order to conserve energy, they rarely spoke unless absolutely necessary. However, without realizing it, they had both already grown accustomed to each other's presence, even growing accustomed to this mode of mutual support and reliance on each other.

  It's been several days... or perhaps it's already the tenth day. As they continued to explore the seemingly endless underground labyrinth, a gentle breeze suddenly blew in from the side.

  The underground world, composed of countless large and small caves, is absolutely vast. Although there are no human footprints, all kinds of small animals still exist. In addition to the underground rivers everywhere, the air flows constantly, and the wind is usually gentle. But this light breeze now seems different from usual. Not only is it fresher, but the wind also seems to carry a hint of grassy scent.

  Yang Zhao stopped in his tracks and involuntarily took a cold breath. He turned back to look at Fang Qinghui, saying in a low voice: "You... have you noticed?"

  She didn't speak, only nodded silently. Yang Zhao closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then opened them again, infusing his right hand with true energy. The divine sword was stimulated, and suddenly a bright red light burst forth, pushing back the darkness that had been all around them by several meters. In the midst of the light, he concentrated his spirit and carefully searched, and indeed saw a dark shadow on the left side about twenty steps away, between the rocks, which seemed to be a tunnel. Yang Zhao hesitated for a moment, then put the Yin Command in Cang Jing's left hand, saying: "I'll go explore the road, you hold onto this for self-defense." Without waiting for an answer, he led the way and crawled inside. At first, there were still rustling sounds, but gradually everything returned to silence, and there was no more movement.

  Alone in the darkness, Fang Qing's expression underwent a subtle change. At first, she remained calm and unmoving, but soon began to bite her lip tightly, her fingernails digging deep into her palm without realizing it. After a while, she trembled slightly with unease, feeling an unprecedented chill pressing in on her from all sides. Yet when Yang Zhao was by her side, she had never felt this way before. The growing anxiety and fear in her heart prompted her to bend down towards the entrance of the tunnel, shouting loudly: "Young Master Wang, can you hear me? Yang Zhao, Yang Zhao!"

  The cries echoed off the stone walls of the cave, only to be absorbed by the thick rock layers a moment later, leaving no sound at all. She could no longer bear it and crawled on all fours into the cave, deeper inside. Her hands and feet scraped against the rough mountain rocks until they were bloody, but she didn't even notice. Her mind was a complete blank, as if nothing existed except for Yang Zhao's shadow. After crawling in for several dozen feet, another gust of wind blew towards her, carrying with it not the fresh scent she had smelled before, but a pungent smell of blood. Fang Qing Hui's heart skipped a beat as she shouted again: "Ah Zhao, Ah Zhao, are you over there? Answer me quickly!"

  "Get back!" This time, a very low and dull response came immediately between the mountain walls. Yang Zhao shouted: "Don't come over yet, wait..." Before he finished speaking, it suddenly broke off. Next, a strange long hiss "Waaa~~~" faintly entered his ears, with a desolate and majestic tone, full of primitive and savage atmosphere.

  Feng Qing's heart sank, and she didn't just disobey Yang Zhao's order to wait in place. Instead, she crawled further inside without any regard. Along the winding path, she turned a big bend, and suddenly, a vast expanse of intense light appeared before her eyes. Her pupils were stimulated by the sudden light, causing tears to flow, and she hastily wiped them away with her hands before focusing again. She saw that ahead of her was an open space, as if it was another world. However, the scene before her made her head spin for a moment, and her whole body felt cold, as if she had fallen into an icy cave.

  In the past November, 12 made an effort to update and uploaded around 200,000 words, never missing a single day. Excluding what was previously posted on Longguo, there were still 150,000-160,000 words. This is something everyone can see. However, due to operational error, I couldn't apply for the full attendance award... 500 yuan isn't a lot, but 12 is very poor... Alas