She had accepted death, but never in her wildest dreams did she expect Li Zhonglou to attempt a mutual destruction.
To save her, he had single-handedly pushed Liu Zhibo into the raging current.
No!
"I don't want to owe you this debt."
Lan Ying's voice, hoarse from screaming, was followed by a determined glint in her beautiful eyes.
With a plop.
She plunged directly into the water, following the two men who had been swept away by the torrent.
Meanwhile, Li Zhonglou, who had fallen into the water, was not panicked at all. He tightly gripped Liu Zhibo's dagger-wielding hand with his left, and with his right, clung to his neck, wrestling with him in the water.
He hadn't really thought much about it; he simply didn't want Liu Zhibo to continue.
Even if it meant sacrificing his own life, he wanted to finish off this scumbag.
Bang!
Li Zhonglou, in terms of strength and experience, had a slight edge over Liu Zhibo.
Seizing an opportunity as the strong current tossed them out of the water, he landed a fierce punch on Liu Zhibo's face.
The blow made Liu Zhibo see stars and his face gush with blood.
He then used the chance to grab the dagger's blade, ignoring the cuts on his hand, and forcefully wrenched the weapon away.
Just as he was about to stab Liu Zhibo in the throat with the dagger, he felt the ground beneath him disappear.
They had reached the waterfall drop.
"Ah..." Liu Zhibo screamed, falling with Li Zhonglou.
This time, he didn't faint, because there was someone cushioning his fall.
After crashing into the water, Li Zhonglou quickly swam to the surface for air.
This was another large pool, and the current was not as strong, but the roar of the waterfall was deafening.
Liu Zhibo soon surfaced as well, his soul scattered as he saw Li Zhonglou standing before him, dagger in hand, waiting.
He pleaded, "Don't kill me... I was wrong, I know I was wrong..."
"Please, give me another chance. If I survive, I will confess and accept punishment..."
As the current carried Liu Zhibo towards Li Zhonglou, he continued to beg.
A person like him possessed no dignity or principles.
All that existed was greed fueled by profit.
His pleas were merely simple tactics to stay alive.
Despite his seemingly sincere demeanor, Liu Zhibo's underlying intentions could not escape Li Zhonglou.
Li Zhonglou's eyes flashed with killing intent.
Swoosh!
The dagger moved like a streak of light, plunging directly into Liu Zhibo's neck, silencing his pleas.
His eyes bulged wide open; he could never have imagined that Li Zhonglou's heart was even more ruthless than his own.
His last thought before death was regret.
Regret for betraying Lin Zhendong, for provoking Li Zhonglou.
Otherwise, he would not have met his end today.
"Since you like grave robbing, stay underground forever," Li Zhonglou said, his eyes devoid of pity as he pulled out the dagger.
Blood gushed from the severed artery, instantly dyeing a large area of water crimson.
Liu Zhibo's eyes gradually lost their luster. He fell backward into the water and was swallowed by it at a visible rate.
Only then did Li Zhonglou let out a heavy sigh of relief.
He let his body relax, floating on the water, unable to move.
After nearly three days without food, being battered by the current, and then fighting Liu Zhibo, he had long exceeded his limits.
After killing Liu Zhibo, even moving a finger was difficult.
He wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and rest.
"Li Zhonglou, wake up, don't fall asleep!" In his daze, he heard a panicked scream.
It was Lan Ying.
Li Zhonglou, with heavy eyelids, forced his eyes open and found himself held tightly in Lan Ying's embrace.
His face was pressed against her full, elastic chest.
It was warm and soft.
"Still alive?" Li Zhonglou mumbled.
Lan Ying's pretty face instantly turned red. She pushed him away from her chest and scolded, "I won't die even if you do!"
"Why are you so stupid? What if you had died in the rapids?"
"How could I, a single woman, find a way out?"
Although her expression was proud and fierce, her tone and eyes betrayed her.
Clearly, her impression of Li Zhonglou had completely changed the moment he fell into the water.
This unremarkable, seemingly weak man was like an unshakeable mountain, providing her with unparalleled a sense of security in this underground realm.
Her foster father was missing. If it weren't for Li Zhonglou, she might have lost the courage to survive.
"Your arm... it needs to be bandaged." Li Zhonglou struggled to sit up and noticed the bleeding gash on Lan Ying's right arm, reminding her kindly.
His body felt like it was being pricked by thousands of needles, the pain unbearable.
However, with his willpower, he could endure it.
The struggle earlier had caused him to lose strength, but a short rest had begun to restore it.
Lan Ying only noticed her wound when Li Zhonglou reminded her. It had turned pale from being soaked in water and was deep enough to see bone.
She quickly tore a strip from her thermal underwear and tied it around the wound.
Then, she prepared to swim towards the shore with Li Zhonglou.
"Don't swim yet, it's a waste of energy. This river must lead to the West Sea. Let's see if we can float out," Li Zhonglou stopped her intention.
Staying in the underground river for too long would only lead to a dead end.
Without food or warmth, it would be even colder on land. The only way was to risk pushing through.
If only he could reunite with Xu Lie and Su Yinchuan.
He wondered how the two of them were doing.
Although Li Zhonglou was worried, he knew that overthinking was useless and had to put it aside.
Lan Ying accepted Li Zhonglou's suggestion. They floated on the water, guided by the LED light from Li Zhonglou's body, drifting downstream.
Fortunately, this section of the underground river did not have any more waterfall-like drops.
After drifting for what felt like a full hour and a half, the scene before them suddenly opened up.
A massive space appeared.
Ahead, there was clearly another significant drop. Li Zhonglou then called for Lan Ying to work together and paddle to the shore.
After climbing onto the bank, they walked forward for over ten meters before being stunned by what they saw.
The exit of the underground river was indeed a waterfall.
And beyond the waterfall was an incredibly vast space.
In the distance, the outline of a palace loomed, its form vague. Because the lights were scattered and not concentrated, they didn't reach that far.
But it was still evident that it was grand and magnificent.
"What... what is this place?" Lan Ying exclaimed in shock.
How could she have imagined that at the end of this dark river, deep underground, there would be an underground kingdom and a colossal palace.
Li Zhonglou couldn't answer her question either, his mind racing.
He tried to recall similar records in historical texts.
But he quickly gave up. In the historical records he was familiar with, there was no mention of an underground kingdom of such scale.
Could it be...
An ancient tomb?
Impossible. This place was connected to the tomb of King Qiang.
Where would such a large ancient tomb come from? One that was even larger than that of King Qiang, the local chieftain?
Or perhaps...
"Is this the true tomb of King Qiang?"
This thought flashed through Li Zhonglou's mind, sending goosebumps all over him.
The tomb they had visited earlier was insignificant compared to this place.
King Qiang, as the leader of the Qiang people, was equivalent to a feudal lord. It was indeed plausible that he had the ability to construct such a grand underground mausoleum.
In the previous tomb, there were records concerning Shi Boli.
Could this treasure be within this tomb?
"Let's go down and see!" Li Zhonglou's heart surged with excitement, and he felt a significant recovery of his strength.
Of course, this was merely the result of a massive adrenaline rush.
Once he calmed down, he would still feel extremely fatigued.
Lan Ying was not like him; she didn't feel the same excitement but was filled with curiosity.
To prevent themselves from falling off the cliff, the two had to hold hands and slowly search for a way down.
Finally, after walking for several dozen meters, they saw a man-made stone staircase. The staircase was very steep, somewhat resembling Huashan's Plank Walk in the Sky. A single misstep could send them plummeting.
But there, they had no other choice but to grit their teeth and climb down little by little.
Finally, before they were completely exhausted, they reached the ground level.
To the left was the spectacular waterfall formed by the underground river, its roar deafening.
Ahead lay the vast and magnificent palace.
Between them and the palace was a wide open space.
Whoosh!
As they crossed the open space, the fire pillars erected around them instantly ignited.
Lan Ying trembled, startled, "Ghosts!"
"Not ghosts, it's white phosphorus fire. Its ignition point is very low; it burns when someone gets close," Li Zhonglou explained.
However, he immediately noticed that her entire body was shaking, as if she had the shivers.
It was likely due to the cold.
They had emerged from the water, their bodies still wet. While they hadn't felt it in their excitement, the chill was now biting.
In this condition, venturing into this underground palace was clearly not a wise decision.
Reluctantly, he asked Lan Ying to wait while he scooped a basin of fire from one of the pillars and placed it on the ground. They sat around the fire basin, quietly warming themselves.
"Do you regret it?" Lan Ying broke the silence.
"Regret what?" Li Zhonglou asked, feigning ignorance.
His master had told him before coming here that he was facing a great tribulation. He wondered if this tribulation was the near-death experience with Liu Zhibo.
If so, then it had passed, and there was nothing to worry about.
If not, then greater dangers might lie ahead.
But no matter what, he wouldn't regret it.
He could only take things one step at a time.
"If you hadn't agreed to my foster father's request, you wouldn't be in this situation." Lan Ying gave a wry smile. "You're not from West Sea, are you? Where are you from?"
"Qinzhou, a small city," Li Zhonglou replied truthfully.
In such a vast and eerie place, talking was not a bad thing.
"Never heard of it. Is it fun?" Lan Ying chatted as if confiding in a friend, her conversation wide-ranging.
"Not fun. The memories I have of that place are not very pleasant," Li Zhonglou chuckled.
Although Qinzhou held his family and friends, Li Zhonglou honestly did not like the place.
Because he grew up without a father, was bullied, and then entered the Jiang family as a son-in-law, enduring endless disdain, how could he possibly like it?
Even living two lifetimes, the pain in his heart could not be erased.
That was why, in his previous life, he chose to leave Qinzhou to develop.
After his rebirth, he had been constantly on the move and busy, even neglecting this issue.
Until Lan Ying asked.
"Then why don't you come live in West Sea?" Lan Ying made a joke, and for some reason, her face blushed.
Fortunately, the dim light prevented Li Zhonglou from noticing.
"What's so good about West Sea? It's desolate, cold, and I almost died here. You can visit Yong'an. Yong'an is our provincial capital, it's quite comfortable," Li Zhonglou refused with a smile.
They chatted back and forth casually.
Gradually, Lan Ying's excitement waned, and her strength began to fail.
Prolonged hunger, coupled with emotional turmoil and the struggle in the underground river, had completely drained her.
In a daze, she collapsed onto Li Zhonglou's lap and fell asleep with her eyes closed.
Li Zhonglou, however, was wide awake, his eyes fixed on the palace with its tightly shut doors, merely fifty to sixty meters away.
They had no other path.
Once their clothes were dry and Lan Ying woke up, they would have no choice but to enter and explore!