Qin Jiujiu realized this and her mind went blank. Not only were there talismans inside, but also the communicator Xie Yun had given her. This was why she dared to venture out alone, but now all her possessions were gone!
She felt she must have lost them when she was sucked into the vortex. Her Qiankun bag was still with her when she crawled through the dog hole. That was the most valuable and important item she owned. Now, apart from a small bag of fruit candies she kept in her chest, she had nothing.
Thinking of the fruit candies, Qin Jiujiu decided to take one out to calm her nerves.
As she thought, so she acted. Qin Jiujiu took out the candies wrapped in a handkerchief, picked a strawberry-flavored one – she was very fond of anything strawberry flavored. After putting the candy in her mouth, Qin Jiujiu carefully rewrapped the remaining candies. This was her only sustenance now!
If she hadn't found it troublesome last time to take out a small portion from a large jar of fruit candies, thinking she could have one on the go, she would have had absolutely nothing now.
Qin Jiujiu couldn't help but feel fortunate that she had packed this small portion of fruit candies. But soon, she was disheartened again. She would have nothing in the future, let alone nothing, she might not even have her life...
"Huh? What's that?"
Qin Jiujiu originally wanted to summon the system. But just as she was puffing her cheeks and moving the candy to another position, a childish voice suddenly came from the darkness.
And so, the candy was swallowed.
Qin Jiujiu felt her throat was completely occupied by the candy. This candy was quite large; it made a significant bulge in her mouth. Now that it was swallowed like this, it was stuck in her throat, neither going up nor down. Qin Jiujiu anxiously circled in place. Soon, her face turned red. Yet, the voice in the darkness kept coming.
"Hey, human, what's wrong? I asked you what that is! Why aren't you answering?"
Qin Jiujiu got angry, and with that, she wasn't scared anymore. She was full of fire. Hearing this arrogant voice, Qin Jiujiu felt like beating someone up.
She finally managed to swallow the candy completely. Then, hearing the culprit's exceedingly arrogant words, Qin Jiujiu's temper flared instantly.
Following the source of the sound, Qin Jiujiu only saw a blue light flashing somewhere in the darkness. The light enveloped an iron cage, which looked like it had a barrier placed on it, but she could clearly see a tiger crouching inside.
The tiger seemed to be a cub, about the size of a kitten. Its fur was crystal clear white. Seeing such a cute pet, Qin Jiujiu's anger subsided by more than half.
In modern times, she was a cat lover. Although this cub was a tiger, it looked extremely like a cat and was incredibly cute. Coupled with its seemingly ruffled appearance, Qin Jiujiu really wanted to go up and pet it.
But the moment she approached, the barrier's light would intensify. A resistance would push her further away, and Qin Jiujiu couldn't get close to the cage at all.
The cub in the cage, seeing Qin Jiujiu trying to approach it, immediately became agitated. It began to let out low whimpers, a sign of extreme unease.
"Hey, why are you locked up here?"
Hearing its growl, Qin Jiujiu took a serious look at it. This cub seemed to be imprisoned in this dungeon, but why was it here? Was this a tiger demon?
If it hadn't been locked in a cage, Qin Jiujiu wouldn't have been able to stay here so calmly chatting with it. But now, even if it were a tiger demon, it couldn't do anything to her.
Qin Jiujiu had calculated this, which was why she dared to be so presumptuous and even wanted to touch it.
"And who are you?"
The cub saw that the girl in front of it did not seem to intend to harm it, and quickly calmed down. It no longer made such sounds of vigilance. It turned around and sized up Qin Jiujiu.
The girl in front of it looked only about fifteen or sixteen years old. She was well-behaved, cute, bright, and charming – the kind of girl who was likable. Her voice was crisp and natural, as if she was born with such a cute voice.
"My name is Qin Jiujiu. I was inexplicably sucked into a painting, and when I opened my eyes, I was here. What about you? You still haven't answered my question!"
The cub naturally knew that Qin Jiujiu was nothing special, just a little girl.
It had known this from the moment she appeared. But humans were so cunning, even more terrifying than demons and monsters. Moreover, it had no magic at all at this moment, so it had not dared to relax its guard.
But now, looking at this girl named Qin Jiujiu with her almond-shaped eyes, her dark pupils filled with confusion. Her eyes were very clean, with no trace of impurity, like a clear lake, spirited, pure, and beautiful.
It naturally let down its guard and walked closer to the cage that was near Qin Jiujiu.
"I am Tian Wu, the Water God. I am not yet an adult. I was supposed to govern this Luo River, but I was captured by Jiu Ying a year ago and imprisoned here."
Qin Jiujiu understood the cause and effect. The River God was likely this Jiu Ying.
According to ancient legends, Jiu Ying was a nine-headed serpent. Each head was a life. Born directly from heaven and earth, without soul or spirit, its body was exceptionally strong, already immortal. Moreover, it had nine lives. As long as one life remained, it could gather spiritual energy from heaven and earth to recover. It was a monster of water and fire, capable of spewing water and spitting fire. Its cry sounded like a baby's cry, hence the name Jiu Ying.
It was no wonder Tian Wu was captured and imprisoned in this dungeon. He was just a child! Qin Jiujiu instantly felt a little pity for the little Tian Wu. Looking at its furry little self, Qin Jiujiu felt an even stronger urge to pet it.
"Little Wu, big sister can't save you for now. I'm already in a predicament myself. But don't worry, once I get out, I'll find someone to rescue you. Big sister knows many powerful people!"
Tian Wu was stunned for a moment when he heard Qin Jiujiu call him "Little Wu" so naturally. Then, he realized she was calling him. He was about to flare up, but his fur was smoothed down in the next moment.
"Do you want to try this? This is delicious. I originally had a lot of delicious things, but now I only have this." Her tone and eyes were full of regret. What a pity about her pile of delicious food!
As she spoke, she took out the small bag of fruit candies from her chest. That's right, this time she didn't even dare to hide it in her sleeve, putting it directly in her chest.
She took out two candies from it. Qin Jiujiu seemed to have thought of something, and her hand stopped in mid-air.
"By the way, can you not reach it?"
Tian Wu thought the woman in front of him was an absolute fool. He also thought she was deliberately provoking him. His fur, which had been smoothed by the fruit candy, instantly bristled, and even more fiercely.
Qin Jiujiu felt even more sympathetic towards little Tian Wu. While sympathizing, she popped one of the candies into her own mouth. Tian Wu's inner thought was – you are definitely doing this on purpose! But little Tian Wu silently walked to the other side of the cage and sat down with his back to Qin Jiujiu. He felt this woman was deliberately eating candy in front of him, knowing he couldn't eat it.
He just wanted to eat a piece of candy, why was it so difficult? Even though he had never seen or eaten this thing called candy!
Qin Jiujiu thought little Tian Wu was sad because he couldn't get out. She was completely unaware that Tian Wu simply didn't want to talk to her. So, she continued to chat with Tian Wu, but little Tian Wu suddenly became agitated.
"Hide quickly. Get away from here! Jiu Ying is coming!"
Little Tian Wu quickly turned around. Qin Jiujiu could see that little Tian Wu seemed to be very afraid of this Jiu Ying. It seemed that this Jiu Ying was as terrifying as described in books. Qin Jiujiu had accidentally read descriptions of Jiu Ying. She imagined that seeing Jiu Ying in reality would be even more terrifying than described in books.
Qin Jiujiu also panicked and ran away. She couldn't be caught by Jiu Ying either!
Since Jiu Ying was so powerful, were Sister Bai and Brother Xie also in grave danger?
Just as Qin Jiujiu had thought, Xie Yun and Bai Qianluo's mission also ended in failure. Not only that, Bai Qianluo was forced to marry Jiu Ying.
The two of them had intended to explore the fog, but they were sucked into a vortex along with the wedding boat as soon as they entered the fog. When they woke up, they were already in this underwater palace.
And their location was the place where the brides were kept. This showed that entering from that entrance led to the place where the brides were kept. Xie Yun immediately sent a message to Xie Jing. Bai Qianluo counted the number of girls imprisoned in the room. It matched the number of brides sent from Li Family Town over the past year, exactly fifteen, no more, no less.
"Chen Zhi, these girls must be the fifteen brides from Li Family Town who were sent to the River God. Let's take them out as soon as possible."