As Gu Qingying let out a furious roar, the once noisy dungeon instantly fell into complete silence.
After all, the Children inside had never witnessed such a terrifying display before, and were so frightened by Gu Qingying’s roar that they didn’t dare to breathe.
Some of the more timid ones had even started to shed tears, biting their lips tightly to keep from crying out loud.
Gu Qingying seemed to realize her loss of composure.
She took a deep breath and forcibly activated Jingxin Jue, suppressing the restlessness within her heart, and her gaze regained its clarity.
But her tone when she spoke still carried a lingering cold hardness:
“Rest assured! I will get all of you out of here safely. Now, stay quiet. I need to contact an immortal master outside.”
Hearing Gu Qingying’s words, the children, who had been silenced by her roar, could only obediently nod and huddle quietly without daring to speak again.
At last, the dungeon returned to silence.
Only then did Gu Qingying have the chance to carefully investigate herself and the surrounding dungeon environment.
She first confirmed the strength of the Restriction within the dungeon, then sensed the direction of the pervasive Yin energy source nearby.
After that, she cautiously pulled out the thin, cicada-wing-like pale blue jade talisman inscribed with arcane runes that Lu Li had given her earlier.
It was a Transmission Talisman Lu Li had handed her—able to accurately pinpoint her current location and allow communication within a certain range to another jade talisman held by Lu Li.
She infused a trace of spiritual power into the talisman, and immediately its surface grew faintly warm.
Then the talisman clearly emitted the sound of howling wind, followed by Lu Li’s deeply concerned voice.
Obviously, Lu Li was moving at high speed.
“Hello? Qingkong! Is that you?”
“How are you now? Are you safe?”
At the sound of her master’s familiar, caring voice, Gu Qingying suddenly felt a warmth in her heart.
She quickly lowered her voice and replied to her master,
“Master! It’s me! I’m mostly fine, only some minor external injuries.”
“All the missing Children are here. They don’t seem to have been mistreated or harmed.”
“We’re locked in a cell with strong Restrictions and a strange Yin energy formation. It seems related to some demonic sect’s evil arts!”
“As for the exact location… your disciple does not know. It just feels like the dungeon is buried deep underground with extremely heavy Yin energy!”
“Hm… it’s good you’re unharmed!”
Lu Li clearly breathed a sigh of relief, speaking rapidly.
“Hold on! I am currently rushing to your location with Young Master Shang! We’ll arrive soon! You must hide yourself well, protect yourself and the Children, stay where you are, and wait for our rescue!”
“Yes! Your disciple understands!”
Having said this, Gu Qingying felt a bit more at ease, knowing that rescue was on the way.
At the same time, Lu Li’s evident concern and care in his words made a warm glow spread inside her heart.
Ah…
Master cares about me!
He… he has me in his heart!
Hiss ha~
Hiss ha~
I am truly so lucky!
***
As Gu Qingying was happily daydreaming inside her mind, a clear and pleasant voice, quite different from Lu Li’s, suddenly interrupted.
It carried slight breathlessness and cheerful laughter, likely caused by high-speed movement, and it was distinctly androgynous.
“Brother Gu! Hearing your strong voice puts my mind at ease!”
Gong Shangyu’s tone was filled with the teasing camaraderie of ‘bros’ and a sense of reliability:
“Hide well! Big brother and Senior Lu are on our way to rescue you!”
“Senior and I are riding the same sword, speeding at full gallop toward your location!”
Just as Gong Shangyu finished speaking, a sudden sharp exclamation came from the talisman’s other end, accompanied by the obvious sound of clothes fluttering and a wave of chaotic spiritual power fluctuations!
“Senior! Hold me tight! Ah—”
Immediately after, Lu Li’s voice came through with urgency and reproach.
“Young Master Shang! Don’t move around! Hold onto my waist!”
“Don’t fall off! My sword-riding speed is extremely fast, the fierce wind is strong; you must focus on stabilizing your posture! Absolutely no distractions!”
Lu Li’s voice came through the talisman clearly, his concern and his order to “hold onto my waist” struck Gu Qingying’s mind like a thunderclap!
Then the other side of the talisman went quiet for a moment.
Gu Qingying could only hear the howling wind before Gong Shangyu’s embarrassed and sheepish apology followed, sounding a bit bashful.
“Uh… Senior Lu! It was my carelessness, I just momentarily lost my footing…”
“After all, your spiritual sword’s speed is truly too fast, even faster than the Spirit Boat of my Dan Ding Pavilion! My cultivation can’t quite keep up, I’m sorry for troubling you…”
In Gong Shangyu’s voice was a perfect mix of shame and fright—exactly the normal reaction of a young man with insufficient cultivation who had nearly caused trouble.
Yet to Gu Qingying, every punctuation mark Gong Shangyu spoke felt like a blatant boast and provocation directed at her!
Ahhh… holding onto Master’s waist?!
Hmph!
What ‘lost my footing’?
Gong Shangyu! You shameless pink-haired fox!
You did it on purpose!
You deliberately took the chance to wrap your claws around Master’s waist!
And you dare to pretend to be weak!
Pretend it was an accident!
As Gu Qingying thought this, a vivid image instantly appeared in her mind:
Gong Shangyu pretending to stumble helplessly, his limbs soft and yielding, falling into Master’s embrace, with his “demonic claws” tightly wrapped around Master’s waist!
The scene was so clear, so glaringly obvious, it made Gu Qingying tremble with fury, her violet eyes nearly spewing tangible flames!
“Ahhh! Gong! Shang! Yu—”
Gu Qingying almost squeezed the words out through clenched teeth, her voice hoarse but filled with rage far fiercer than when she had just shouted at the naughty children to keep quiet!
At the same time, the fingers clutching the talisman turned white from the force, as if she were strangling Gong Shangyu’s slender neck.
The Children huddled trembling in a corner, terrified by the sudden burst of almost tangible icy killing intent mixed with jealousy radiating from Gu Qingying, their breaths nearly stopping as they crowded closer together.
Before Gu Qingying’s roar could leave her lips, the talisman in her hand expended its last bit of energy, crumbling into fine dust that slipped through her fingers, severing any chance for her to shout back or question.
“Ahhh… I’m going to kill you!”
Gu Qingying growled angrily and slammed a fist hard against the wall beside her.
The dull thud made the Children jump again.
Her chest heaved violently as a raging fire surged from her feet up to her crown, threatening to shatter her reason into ashes.
As for what Lu Li had just told her—to protect herself, stay hidden, wait for rescue, protect the Children—it was all drowned beneath the tidal wave of jealousy and fury!
Damn it…
No!
I can’t stay here!
I have to leave immediately!
Otherwise, who knows what that bastard Gong Shangyu might do to Master!
Gong Shangyu!
Just wait!
Wait for me…
I will make you regret this, you fox spirit!
Gu Qingying thought fiercely, her beautiful eyes fixed intently on the dungeon door.
Then she summoned the Love Thread Sword and launched a fierce barrage of strikes against the door covered with Restrictions!