"Princess Consort..."
"Don't call me Princess Consort."
"Your Highness..."
"Whose Highness? Don't call me that either!"
"Oh, then... Linyue?"
"Who are you to me? Is Linyue a name you can call me?"
"..."
Zhou Fugui finally lost his temper. With a "whoosh," he stood up and said, "This won't do, that won't do, what do you want? Oh, right, your maiden name is...?"
"I am... Humph, why should I tell you?" Linyue snorted.
"Alas, Linyue... Miss Linyue? It is I who am at fault. But whether to kill or dismember, we must first get out of this damned cave, mustn't we?" Zhou Fugui said after a bow.
Linyue nodded silently, then after a moment, asked, "Are... are your injuries...?"
"Thank you for your concern..." Zhou Fugui said gratefully, "Much better. I am very strong and not seriously injured. Miss Linyue, I thank you again for saving me."
In the cave, besides Zhou Fugui, there was only Linyue. Where else could a third person be? Therefore, the herbs on Zhou Fugui's shoulder were applied by Linyue, and who else could it be?
Zhou Fugui was naturally immensely grateful for this.
Linyue's face suddenly flushed upon hearing this. She turned her head away and asked in a low voice, "Can we get out of this cave?"
Zhou Fugui was very strong... After being injured, he seemed to be on the verge of death, but in the blink of an eye, he was as energetic as a dragon and as lively as a tiger, endlessly tormenting Linyue...
In fact, Zhou Fugui's injuries were not severe. The half-bladed weapon had only cut the skin and flesh, not the bones. He was mainly just overly fatigued, and the best remedy for fatigue was a good night's sleep.
After sleeping, he would naturally recover most of his strength.
"Heaven has not closed off all paths!" Zhou Fugui said with a light laugh, "Are you and I to be a pair of savages here?"
"General Zhou, yesterday was... was a necessary measure. You... do not look down on me again..." Linyue said, her face flushing again, and then she said angrily.
"Oh, I apologize..." Zhou Fugui's face also turned red upon hearing this. After apologizing, he remained silent and said nothing more.
After a long while, Linyue spoke up and asked, "General Zhou, are you angry? Actually, I..."
For some reason, the Great Xiongnu Princess Consort, who was usually dignified and majestic, now acted like a young wife...
"I was originally humble. To have spent a night with Your Highness the Princess Consort... is indeed a blessing I cultivated in my past life. How could I be angry?" Zhou Fugui said with self-deprecating laughter.
"Pfft!" Linyue couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this, "What is 'that'? You're talking nonsense, not a single true word."
"Heh heh..." Zhou Fugui also chuckled upon hearing this and said, "Miss Linyue, can we set off now?"
It was better to leave this cave sooner rather than later, otherwise, if they were starved to the point of collapse, how could they escape? Of course, this was all assuming there was a way.
Linyue nodded upon hearing this. She wrapped herself tighter in her tattered clothes and looked up to see Zhou Fugui standing up naked. She couldn't help but blush again and chided him, "Put on some clothes! Are you trying to look good? You're hideous."
Zhou Fugui awkwardly shook his head and picked up a few strips of cloth, covering his crucial parts.
Wearing clothes? That required clothes. Zhou Fugui had not had many clothes on him since he escaped from Lujiao City. His leather robe had long since been torn into strips.
After covering himself, Zhou Fugui's face showed concern as he asked Linyue, "Can you still walk?"
Linyue nodded upon hearing this. She tried to stand up slightly, but her legs suddenly went weak, and she almost fell. Her delicate brows furrowed, and she looked extremely uncomfortable.
"I give a peach, you return a plum," Zhou Fugui said upon seeing this. "Today, Zhou Fugui will be a bull or a horse and carry you out."
After saying this, Zhou Fugui crouched down, signaling Linyue to climb onto his back.
Linyue almost burst out laughing upon hearing this. That day, Zhou Fugui had vehemently refused to be ridden, saying he would rather die than suffer such humiliation, but now he was proactively offering to be a bull or a horse...
Linyue suppressed her laughter and gently leaned her body onto Zhou Fugui's strong back.
The two had spent the entire night in a chaotic blur. At this moment, not only did Linyue feel it was natural, but Zhou Fugui also felt the same.
"Hold on tight!" Zhou Fugui said, looking up at the stone platform above.
The only way out of the cave was the stone platform. Sunlight shone down from the stone platform, indicating that it was not blocked. Therefore, they could climb onto the stone platform and find a way to escape.
Linyue heard this and wrapped her arms around Zhou Fugui's neck. Zhou Fugui, on the other hand, grabbed the vines on the rock face and pulled hard, checking if the vines could bear their weight.
After testing the vines, Zhou Fugui intertwined his hands and used his legs to climb up towards the stone platform.
"Miss Linyue, you must hold on tight. If you slip, no one can save you," Zhou Fugui warned Linyue as he climbed higher and higher.
Linyue nodded. She suddenly felt that it was extremely safe to entrust herself to him, and at the same time, she felt extremely at ease.
"General Zhou, after you get out, what do you want to do?" Linyue asked, holding Zhou Fugui's neck tightly.
"Get... Well... Let's talk about it after we get out," Zhou Fugui replied after landing on the first stone platform with his hands and feet.
"No... Linyue wants to know now," Linyue said, shaking her head.
"What do you think I want to do?" Zhou Fugui asked back after helping Linyue to rest on the stone platform for a moment.
"I don't know what you want to do, I only hope you will stay," Linyue said, shaking her head slightly. "Linyue hopes you will stay on this grassland and be an eagle soaring freely."
"Didn't Zhou already surrender with his troops?" Zhou Fugui said with a smile.
"You are here in body, but not in spirit," Linyue said, looking at Zhou Fugui. "But if you have the chance, you will still escape."
"Do you know everything that Zhou thinks?" Zhou Fugui glared at Linyue and said, "Let's get out of the cave first."
After saying this, Zhou Fugui carried Linyue on his back and continued to climb.
"This is hard!" After climbing three stone platforms with Linyue on his back, Zhou Fugui emerged from the cave. The cave was dark, but outside, the sunlight was dazzling. However, Zhou Fugui and Linyue were standing on a cliff, with sheer precipices like knife cuts and towering peaks. Zhou Fugui could only lament his misfortune, fearing that even if he turned into a monkey, he could not cross it.
"General Zhou..." Zhou Fugui was so engrossed in looking at the cliff that he didn't notice a gentle slope to his right. So Linyue pointed to the gentle slope on the right, at the end of which was another cave.
Thus, Zhou Fugui helped Linyue down the gentle slope and entered another cave.
"Can we start a fire?" This cave was not like the previous one; it was pitch black with no light at all. So Zhou Fugui asked Linyue.
"Things to start a fire are..." Linyue replied, shaking her head.
Zhou Fugui glared fiercely at Linyue upon hearing this, but since she couldn't see, he had no choice but to grope his way forward with Linyue in the pitch-black cave.
Without grappling hooks, ropes, or other climbing tools, they could not go back, so they could only feel their way forward.
"Ah?! A ghost?"
After walking for some distance in the cave, two points of green light suddenly appeared before them. The lights flashed and disappeared, startling Linyue into a scream, and she hugged Zhou Fugui tightly.
"What are you screaming about? A ghost? Is it you or me?" Zhou Fugui was also startled, but he quickly calmed down and felt secretly pleased. He said to Linyue, "If there's light, there's an exit. What are you afraid of? Ghosts? Zhou is impervious to all evil. Let's go."
Zhou Fugui had seen ghosts before, and not just once... So, if there were ghosts here, Zhou Fugui would not be afraid.
"All empty talk," Linyue muttered to herself upon hearing this, then followed Zhou Fugui nervously deeper into the cave.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
Zhou Fugui and Linyue had unknowingly walked to the depths of the cave. Suddenly, countless green points of light appeared before them, like stars in the sky. Accompanied by growls, Zhou Fugui and Linyue even smelled a strong, foul odor.
"Not good! A wolf's den, we're doomed!"
Zhou Fugui was so terrified that his hair stood on end. He hurriedly shielded Linyue behind him, reached for his waist, but felt nothing.
His bow and arrows had fallen into the stream with his warhorse, and were long gone. His long saber had broken, and even the broken saber was nowhere to be found.
Facing a pack of hungry wolves bare-handed, even if Zhou Fugui had superior martial arts skills, he could at most kill a few wolves. The ultimate outcome would be... falling into the wolves' bellies.
Zhou Fugui had imagined many ways to die in the past, but he never expected to become food for hungry wolves.
Man is the knife, and I am the fish. This fish was bound to be eaten, whether by man or beast.
Linyue was even more so. No matter how beautiful she was, in the eyes of the hungry wolves, she was a piece of fresh meat, a piece of fresh meat that could satisfy their hunger...
"Roar!" Zhou Fugui shielded Linyue and retreated, trying to get out of the cave, but it was too late. In the dim green light, an incredibly large hungry wolf leaped up, its mouth full of fangs opening wide, and lunged towards Zhou Fugui's throat as he retreated.
In the faint green light, Zhou Fugui and Linyue could even see the foul saliva dripping from the wolf's gaping maw.
"Evil creature!" Zhou Fugui blocked Linyue and roared. He clenched his fists and met the giant wolf head-on.
Knowing he was outmatched, Zhou Fugui still had to fight to the death. Surrendering and leaving things to fate was not Zhou Fugui's style.
"General Zhou..." Linyue had many more questions for Zhou Fugui, but she had no more opportunities. At this moment, she could only let out a mournful cry and close her eyes.
With a loud "bang!", two beams of red light suddenly appeared in the dark cave, enveloping Zhou Fugui and Linyue respectively. The hungry wolf slammed into the light shield and was immediately flung back. It rolled on the ground, then leaped up, only to be frightened by what it saw. It cowered on all fours, whimpering with its tail between its legs.
The light shield covering Linyue was larger and redder, and a giant fire phoenix could be faintly seen flashing in the air.