"Oh, Young Master Xie Er, what a coincidence, you're here too!"
Qin Jiujiu tidied her dress and hair. Although she felt the villain had already guessed she'd entered through the dog hole, she still held onto a sliver of hope that Xie Jing wouldn't notice, trying to conceal the fact.
Xie Jing saw that Qin Jiujiu was subtly blocking his view of the dog hole behind her. Despite her efforts to tidy her attire, anyone with eyes could tell what she'd been through.
"How did Miss Qin get in?" Seeing Xie Jing ask this with a serious tone, coupled with the undisguised amusement on his face, Qin Jiujiu instantly understood.
This man might have been standing there watching her for who knows how long! Qin Jiujiu stopped trying to hide it. So what if he found it amusing? It was better to make the villain smile than to anger him and get herself killed!
"Young Master Xie Er, the matter at hand is more important. Let's quickly find the shaman! We need to meet with Brother Xie and Sister Bai as soon as possible." Upon hearing Qin Jiujiu's words, the amusement on Xie Jing's face turned to coldness.
Seeing Xie Jing's expression turn sour and his apparent lack of intention to accompany her, Qin Jiujiu didn't push. After all, she couldn't easily persuade such a formidable figure as Xie Jing.
She decided to act alone, as long as the villain didn't do anything malicious behind her back. In any case, the system would inform her of whatever the villain did, and she could intervene in time.
"Young Master Xie Er, aren't you coming? Then we can split up."
Qin Jiujiu considered herself quite understanding. She had plenty of talismans from Xie Yun in her Qiankun bag, so her safety shouldn't be a major issue.
"Isn't Miss Qin afraid of encountering danger alone? Or is there something that makes Miss Qin so confident?"
Qin Jiujiu found the villain's question utterly baffling, yet she dared not answer casually. Xie Jing's temperament was unpredictable, and she feared a few words might cost her life.
After all, he could easily find a scapegoat!
"How could I not be? I am but a weak woman, naturally I am afraid. But I am at a loss for options now. I wonder how Brother Xie and Sister Bai are faring..."
Qin Jiujiu noticed Xie Jing's expression worsen. At this moment, the best course of action was to quickly get out of his sight. Although she had no idea what had gotten into Xie Jing.
Perhaps it was because Bai Qianluo was with Xie Yun, and he had to be with her, leading to his displeasure with Xie Yun's initial arrangement?
No wonder he had been so peculiar and awkward all along.
Qin Jiujiu believed her analysis was sound and decided to resolve her annoyance for Xie Jing herself. Since Xie Jing didn't want to see her, she would simply disappear from his sight.
"Young Master Xie Er, I'll be going ahead!"
Qin Jiujiu felt as if she had never run faster, even during an 800-meter race. Indeed, potential, once unleashed, was boundless.
Xie Jing watched the woman running at an incredible speed ahead of him, and inexplicably felt even more agitated. But he couldn't pinpoint the reason. Unable to find the cause, Xie Jing vented his frustration on a nearby wolfdog.
The wolfdog thought, "What did I do to deserve this?"
Xie Jing tore off the talisman from the dog, a talisman that clearly bore Xie Yun's mark. Though he was from the Xie family, he had no right to learn their talismans.
Looking at the talisman in his hand, Xie Jing was reminded of past events, and his mood plummeted. He glared at the silent dog beside him. The wolfdog seemed to have lost its spirit, its head drooping dejectedly.
Though the binding talisman was gone, it didn't bark. It simply squatted beside him, looking wronged, occasionally peeking up at Xie Jing.
The wolfdog thought, "This guy's aura is too overwhelming. I can't take it. Big Brother, why don't you leave? It's no fun killing me. It's much easier to kill humans. That person just now looked easy to kill. Besides, she's the one who upset you, go find her, please!"
Just as it thought its life was over, the expected scenario didn't happen. The person before it merely tore off the talisman, looking disgusted with it, and then even unchained it.
"Go. Find your master. Bark loudly. If I can't hear your voice, you won't live either!" The wolfdog, receiving the order, dared not linger. It barked and followed the shaman's scent.
A sinister smile flickered across Xie Jing's face, but Qin Jiujiu had already run far away. She was unaware of what had transpired here, or what Xie Jing had done behind her back.
She also didn't know that her Qiankun bag, which she had tied to her waist, was now resting obediently in Xie Jing's palm.
Qin Jiujiu had no idea where she had arrived. The house before her looked as if no one had lived there for a long time.
She decided to check the rooms one by one, looking at the unlocked houses before her.
"Let's start with this one!"
The furnishings inside the room seemed untouched since its construction. The tables and chairs were covered in a thick layer of dust, and there were no teacups or similar items on the table, indicating it hadn't been inhabited. However, strangely, the floor didn't look like it hadn't been stepped on for a long time. While not particularly clean, it wasn't as dusty as the furniture.
Logically, if the room had been unoccupied for a long time, she should have smelled the scent of dust upon entering, but this room didn't. This suggested the room was opened frequently.
Qin Jiujiu felt, based on her intuition from reading books, that there must be something fishy about this room. But she searched all around, even meticulously inspecting the corners of the table, and found nothing.
Was she overthinking things?
Just as Qin Jiujiu was about to leave and explore the next room, a painting on the wall caught her attention.
It was a painting of the seabed, depicting an underwater palace.
Qin Jiujiu stepped closer to examine it. The painting was completely free of dust. She realized something was wrong and wanted to leave, but before she could turn, the painting suddenly emitted a blinding light. With a flash, the room returned to its former silence, as if nothing had ever happened.
Qin Jiujiu's eyes were hurt by the light. Instinctively, she covered them with her hand, but a powerful suction pulled her into the painting. Qin Jiujiu then saw that beneath the light, a massive black vortex had appeared in the center of the painting.
She was forcibly sucked into this enormous vortex. When she opened her eyes, she was already inside the palace depicted in the painting.
But strangely, she, with her mortal body, felt no discomfort underwater. In fact, it seemed there was no water within this palace.
This underwater palace was no different from the mainland. Apart from sunlight, everything she needed to survive was here.
Qin Jiujiu looked around. The place she was standing was not a grand hall, but seemed to be a basement.
The light here was dim, and there were few furnishings around. It was the kind of place depicted in movies as a dungeon. Qin Jiujiu couldn't help but suspect that these scenes were copied from some novels. Since this dungeon wasn't in the original novel, everything here must be from other novels.
Qin Jiujiu decided to move forward. She had two choices: go back from her current location, or move forward. Qin Jiujiu finally decided to go forward to see if she could discover anything.
Suddenly remembering the system, Qin Jiujiu stopped.
"System, are you there?"
"Yes, Host."
"Where is this place? Help me scout the way." Although she couldn't rely on the system for much else, Qin Jiujiu found that it was capable of helping her scout the way.
As long as the villain wasn't present, the system was alive!
"Host, this is a palace located beneath the Mingluo River in Lijia Town. It originally belonged to Tianwu, the Water God who governed the Mingluo River. The place you are currently in is the dungeon set up beneath this palace. Moving forward will lead to deeper parts of the dungeon, while going back will allow you to exit the dungeon."
Qin Jiujiu pondered for a moment and decided to move forward. Since it was related to the water source of Lijia Town, it might be connected to the matter of the River God's marriage.
"You said Mingluo River, is that the same river where the wedding ceremony is being held in Lijia Town today?"
"Yes, it's that very river. This river is extremely strange now, Host, you must be careful!"
After saying this, the system disappeared again.
Qin Jiujiu continued forward, but found nothing unusual. However, the dungeon seemed vast, and she couldn't reach the end. The further she walked, the colder it became, and the darker and more humid it grew.
Although she felt the urge to turn back, she continued to move forward. Just in case, she decided to take out the talismans from her Qiankun bag and hold them in her hand. To her surprise, her hand grasped only air.
The Qiankun bag was gone!