VIP Volume Chapter 036: The Labyrinth

Ye Xiaoxuan stood up and said to Wen Xiaoyu, “I don’t know where we are either. It seems like a cave. Let’s try to walk out and have a look.”

Wen Xiaoyu clutched his arm tightly. “Don’t go off by yourself, you rascal. I can’t see anything. Hold onto me…”

Can’t see? Ye Xiaoxuan stood before her in surprise, waving his hand in front of her face. Sure enough, Wen Xiaoyu didn’t blink, nor did her gaze follow his hand, though she frowned and asked, “Are you waving your hand in front of me?”

Ye Xiaoxuan rolled his eyes. “So you’re not blind, after all?” Wen Xiaoyu pinched him angrily. “You’re the blind one! I can’t see the surroundings, but I can see your crimson eyes!”

“Crimson eyes?” Ye Xiaoxuan asked, bewildered. “What crimson eyes?” Wen Xiaoyu gazed in fascination at his bewitching eyes. “Your eyes right now look as though there are two flames burning within them. They’re beautiful.”

“Oh!” Ye Xiaoxuan scratched his head in frustration. “No wonder my eyeballs feel so hot.” But these red eyes did have their advantages—they were like natural night vision goggles! In this lightless environment, everything around was as clear as day.

It was just like that night in the vegetable garden, when he was peeping—his eyes had looked the same! Ye Xiaoxuan shook his head helplessly. After living in this body for eighteen years, he felt he understood it less and less.

But now was not the time to ponder such mysteries. The most urgent thing was to figure out where the two of them were.

Ye Xiaoxuan helped Wen Xiaoyu to her feet. Since he couldn’t tell which way was forward or back, he simply chose a direction and began to walk, reasoning that eventually they would find a way out.

But both of them had guessed wrong. The cave was like a labyrinth, twisting and turning endlessly. After wandering for what felt like ages, their feet still pressed into soft moss, the air was still thick with mist, and the exit remained nowhere in sight.

“I can’t go on!” Wen Xiaoyu plopped to the ground with a pout. “How much longer do we have to walk? Aren’t you from Reed Village? Haven’t you ever heard of this place? If I’d known we’d end up in this wretched hole, unable to see, unable to get out, I’d have stayed on the boat with Sister Hua!”

Ye Xiaoxuan replied irritably, “Who dragged you in here?” Wen Xiaoyu snapped back, “Wasn’t it to save you?”

That was a sore point. Ye Xiaoxuan’s temper flared as well. He glared at her and shouted, “Did I ask you to save me? You must have had nothing better to do! If you hadn’t blocked me, maybe we wouldn’t even be stuck in this damned place!” The water curtain had already been drawn aside, but at the last moment, his arms had been seized by this troublesome girl!

“You—!” For once, Wen Xiaoyu was at a loss for words, because Ye Xiaoxuan was right. No one had asked her to grab him.

Tears welled in Wen Xiaoyu’s eyes, at first just quiet sniffling, but soon she was sobbing in earnest, breathless and unrestrained.

“Wah! I must be a fool! Why did I grab you? If you died, so what? What’s it got to do with me? You’re just a country bumpkin, a worthless little thug. Why should I worry about you?” The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt, and she wailed loudly, her face contorted in sorrow.

Ye Xiaoxuan realized he had gone too far. After all, she had acted out of kindness, risking her own safety to help him. It had been cruel to speak to her that way.

He quickly crouched beside her to apologize. “I’m sorry, Xiaoyu. I was in a bad mood just now. When we get out of here, you can hit me a couple times to let off steam, all right?”

Wen Xiaoyu shoved him aside and snapped, “Go away! We’ve been walking forever and there’s still no way out. We’re definitely lost! Who knows how Sister Hua and the others are doing? I must have lost my mind—why did I come in here to save you?”

Ye Xiaoxuan’s heart softened at her pitiful state. Realizing she was exhausted, he said helplessly, “Then wait here for me. I’ll go look for an exit and come back to get you.”

Wen Xiaoyu shoved him again, bursting into tears. “You just want to ditch me! You want to run off alone, leave me behind as dead weight! It’s so dark here, not a living thing around, and after all this wandering we’re still going in circles. Even if you did find me, how would you ever make it back?”

Ye Xiaoxuan was at his wit’s end. “Then what do you want? We can’t just sit here forever! There’s not even water—we won’t last long. Are you coming or not?”

Wen Xiaoyu huffed, “I can’t walk anymore!” Ye Xiaoxuan crouched down. “Fine, we’ll rest a bit.”

With a pout, she said, “I’m hungry!” Ye Xiaoxuan was about to lose his mind. “What can I do? This place is like a cement pipe—not even a blade of grass. If you want to eat, we have to get out. Do you want me to help you walk?”

“Carry me!” Wen Xiaoyu declared, as if it were only right. “I came in here to save you; you can’t just leave me here. You have to carry me out of the palace!”

Ye Xiaoxuan rolled his eyes. “Why not carry you to the toilet, while I’m at it? Out of the palace…” Wen Xiaoyu, blushing, twisted his arm. “You’re awful! I meant out of this labyrinth! Are you going to carry me or not?”

Her playful retort stopped the tears, and Ye Xiaoxuan was relieved. Laughing, he said, “All right, all right, I’ll carry you! Hurry up and get on. The sooner we find the exit, the better. I have a suspicion this place is under the lake—the air is so stuffy.”

Wen Xiaoyu fumbled her way onto Ye Xiaoxuan’s back. She was a little over five foot three, slim and delicate, and weighed hardly anything at all.

Yet Ye Xiaoxuan’s whole body tensed—the two soft mounds pressing against his back felt almost too pleasant. Their clothes, soaked through from the lake, clung to their bodies, and with such close contact, only a eunuch would fail to be moved.

Who would have guessed—when she was dressed, it was hard to tell what she was hiding, but now, pressed close, she was remarkably well-endowed.

This wasn’t even the first time Ye Xiaoxuan had had such contact. Last time, when Hua Lingluo kicked him into the Great Immortal Lake and Wen Xiaoyu saved him, he’d even touched them with his own hands…

“Stop daydreaming. I’m warning you—don’t get any ideas. Hurry up and walk!” Seeing Ye Xiaoxuan standing still, his upper body swaying back and forth, Wen Xiaoyu’s cheeks flushed as she instantly realized what he was thinking, and she scolded him.

Ye Xiaoxuan chuckled. “Thanks for the reminder. I just might get ideas. There’s only the two of us here—if you scream yourself hoarse, no one will come save you! Ha! Just kidding, I’m not that kind of person. Now, take your hand off my throat. I know you’re a martial expert and could crush my windpipe with ease, but it’s hard to walk like this, all right?”

“Enough nonsense! Listen!” Wen Xiaoyu suddenly called out in alarm from behind him. Ye Xiaoxuan didn’t even need to focus—he could already hear the roar of water from behind.

The sound was like floodwater rushing through an iron pipe, and a sense of impending doom rose in his heart. He broke into a run, shouting, “No good! The cave is flooding!”