Gu Qianying glanced at him but said nothing. She still minded the matter between Nangong Mo and the Empress of Xia.
It would be a lie to say she wasn't upset.
After resting for a while, the three of them began searching for an exit.
Before finding the cave's exit, Ouyang Qinglin noticed many small white insects around the pool. They were in a large swarm and seemed harmless.
"Look, what is this?"
Ouyang Qinglin gestured for Gu Qianying and Nangong Mo to look.
"It's... termites. Those are termites."
"What are termites?"
Nangong Mo asked Gu Qianying.
As he spoke, he deliberately moved closer to her.
Ouyang Qinglin, watching from the side, also moved closer to Gu Qianying, but Nangong Mo blocked his path.
The two men were at odds, with intense killing intent in their eyes.
If looks could kill, these two would have already fought three hundred rounds.
Gu Qianying rolled her eyes at their childish behavior.
Here they were, trapped in a cave with no idea how to get out, and they were still bickering.
"Termites are harmless, non-venomous insects. They reproduce rapidly, prefer to congregate in damp, dark places, and primarily feed on wood."
Nangong Mo and Ouyang Qinglin had grown up in pampered environments and were unfamiliar with some of the less common insects.
Gu Qianying, on the other hand, had followed her master, Old Man Bai, to learn medicine. In her previous life, she had often climbed mountains to gather herbs, venturing into dense forests and desolate wilderness, so she had seen them many times.
After observing the dense swarm of termites, Gu Qianying found their nest in a corner on the lower left side of the cave wall. It wasn't very large, but there were quite a few eggs around it.
Gu Qianying squatted down and tapped her finger on the edge of the cave wall.
Just as she suspected, the area she tapped was hollow.
This meant the exit was likely here!
As if sensing Gu Qianying's thoughts, Nangong Mo grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind him. He turned, raised his palm, and was about to strike when Ouyang Qinglin was a step ahead of him.
"Bang!"
Ouyang Qinglin used his internal energy to shake the cave wall.
What greeted them was a dark, secret passage.
Seeing this, the three exchanged glances.
Nangong Mo walked to the other side, picked up a discarded, extinguished torch, and lit it. He then lowered his head and stepped into the secret passage, illuminating the path ahead for Gu Qianying. He turned back and extended his hand to her.
He wanted to tell her: no matter what dangers lay ahead, he would be there.
Gu Qianying was taken aback. Although she was still angry about Nangong Mo's actions, she felt a warmth in her heart for some reason.
At the same time, a sense of guilt began to grow within her.
She was the one who had written the divorce letter; she was the one who had abandoned him first.
Although she understood that even if they hadn't divorced, given the situation in Dong Sheng Kingdom at the time, she, branded a poisoner guilty of murder, would surely have been abandoned by Prince Jiu, Nangong Mo, to protect the reputation of his estate.
Therefore, at that time, she had taken the step to divorce him. The divorce letter was her initiative, and it also preserved the dignity she deserved as a daughter of the Gu family. The unjust case could be overturned, and revenge could be exacted. Even in her lowest moments, the pride of being a daughter of the Gu family, a descendant of a military household, could not be lost.
Moreover, this was not her lowest point; it was merely a strategy of seeking survival by facing death.
However, she hadn't expected to encounter Nangong Mo again in Xia Kingdom. Although Nangong Mo had deceived her, he had also saved her multiple times.
She did feel a bit guilty.
Her thoughts returned to the present.
Gu Qianying, as if guided by an unseen force, reached out her hand.
A faint smile appeared on Nangong Mo's stern face.
Just as their hands were about to touch, Gu Qianying was suddenly pulled by some force. A red robe flashed before her, circling around to her front and shielding her.
With a flick of his red sleeve, Ouyang Qinglin looked at Nangong Mo, whose face had turned as black as a pot, with a devilish smile. "Prince Jiu, why don't you hold onto me? I can accompany you as well."
Gu Qianying: "..."
"Get lost!"
Nangong Mo lowered his hand, his cold eyes filled with killing intent.
Ouyang Qinglin refused to move, deliberately provoking Nangong Mo.
Cough, cough!
Gu Qianying coughed at an opportune moment, reminding the two of them: "This cave seems ordinary, but the more termites there are, the larger the area they have gnawed. The speed at which termites gnaw is enough to crush all three of us beneath this passage."
What she said was the truth, not an exaggeration.
Although termites were harmless individually, they were formidable in their tens of thousands.
The saying goes that an ant's hole can breach a thousand-mile dike; this should not be underestimated.
Hearing this,
Nangong Mo no longer insisted. He turned and walked coldly ahead, with Ouyang Qinglin following behind, and Gu Qianying close on his heels. During this time, Nangong Mo, fearing Gu Qianying wouldn't be able to see, handed the torch to Ouyang Qinglin to illuminate the way.
Though they exchanged no words, their cooperation at this moment was surprisingly tacit.
The path ahead of Gu Qianying was very bright, so bright that she could clearly see the patterns embroidered on Ouyang Qinglin's red robe.
A moment later,
The three emerged from the cave, finding themselves in a veritable paradise.
Before them lay lush, verdant trees, a shimmering, crystal-clear lake, and majestic, imposing green mountains surrounding them. Not far away, the land was level and spacious, with well-ordered houses, fertile fields, delicious food, mulberry trees, and bamboo. Paths crisscrossed the land, and the sounds of chickens and dogs could be heard.
In a rustic courtyard, an old woman, whose appearance was unclear, was leaning on a cane and feeding chickens.
"Let's go take a look."
Nangong Mo spoke first.
Having been in the cave for too long, his girl must be hungry. There was a farmhouse ahead, and they could go there to get some food.
As they left, he glanced back at Gu Qianying, who nodded in agreement with his decision.
It would be good to rest at the farmhouse and also to find out where they were.
The mountains were covered in blooming flowers, the grass was fresh and beautiful, and the birds sang sweetly. Yet, as she scanned her surroundings, Gu Qianying felt something was amiss.
Observing the interactions between Gu Qianying and Nangong Mo, Ouyang Qinglin's sinister smile deepened. "Little thing, you dropped something. Go pick it up quickly."
Ouyang Qinglin walked past Gu Qianying.
Gu Qianying frowned, looking around, but found nothing dropped. She looked up at his retreating back and asked, "What did I drop?"
Ouyang Qinglin looked back at her, smiling devilishly. "Me!"
Gu Qianying: "..."
Why did she feel that Ouyang Qinglin was so childish!
At the farmhouse,
The old woman, dressed in coarse linen clothes, welcomed Gu Qianying and the other two warmly, showing no surprise in her words.
Three bowls of hot water were placed in the courtyard.
Gu Qianying and the other two sat around a stone table.
Nangong Mo, who was fastidious, did not touch the bowl of water placed before him.
Ouyang Qinglin and Gu Qianying, however, seemed more at ease.
While chatting with the old woman, Gu Qianying and the others learned that this family consisted of the old woman, her son, and her daughter-in-law.
The reason they weren't seen was, according to the old woman, that her son and daughter-in-law had gone to a nearby town to see a doctor.
"What illness does your daughter-in-law have?"
Gu Qianying asked the old woman.
The old woman glanced at her and sighed. "Alas, my daughter-in-law has been infertile for many years. It's been worrying this old woman to death."
As she spoke, the old woman's tone was rather slow, and her voice seemed deliberately lowered. She emphasized the word "infertile" heavily.
Gu Qianying looked at her again but said nothing until she added, "I know a little medicine. Perhaps I can help take a look when they return?"
"Oh, that would be wonderful. Thank you so much, young lady." The old woman was very grateful.
Thus, Gu Qianying and the other two, who were originally planning to depart, stayed at the farmhouse that day.