Lei Xiuyuan was right—there were very few Monstrous creatures near this cave. They seemed to avoid the area, keeping far away from it.
Come to think of it, Ji Tongzhou and the others could all sense Demon Qi, but even after cultivating for so long, she still didn’t know what it felt like. The few Monsters she had encountered, including that fake Nine-tailed Fox in the Second Selection forest, their overwhelming Demon Qi felt like nothing more than a breeze to her. There wasn’t even any "strange odor" or "unusual sensation."
Was it because of her constitution, or was her cultivation still lacking?
Li Fei searched the area for a long time and eventually found a small pond, but the water was a sickly green and bubbling. She didn’t dare drink it. Due to the thick Miasma clinging to the area, this forest had been tainted into something unnatural. Many of the trees and plants were completely unfamiliar to her—she couldn’t even name them, let alone find the kind of grass with water stored in its roots.
At this rate, the three of them would die of thirst long before the Academy sent anyone to rescue them.
Li Fei pushed aside the dense foliage and continued forward, unwilling to give up. Suddenly, strange cries rang out overhead. Startled, she watched as several dark figures landed in front of her, just a few zhang away. Her face paled—they were all Monsters! And each one looked bizarre and grotesque, with menacing horns and features!
Li Fei stumbled back several steps, hastily drawing her Stone sword while calculating the distance back to the cave. It was too far—she probably wouldn’t make it in time. Gripping the sword in front of her chest, she glared warily at the Monsters. Unexpectedly, they screeched a few times, tossed some leaves and fruits onto the ground, then quickly scampered away.
Huh? She froze. What did throwing down leaves and fruits mean?
Before she could figure it out, more growls of Monstrous creatures sounded. This time, it was a group of half-grown leopard Demons, each carrying a crude stone bowl filled with clear water in their mouths. They silently placed the bowls on the ground and then ran off.
This… were they bringing her water and food? Li Fei was utterly baffled. Cautiously, she approached, picking up one of the stone bowls and giving it a careful sniff—no strange odor. And it wasn’t actually a bowl, just a naturally concave rock. There were three or four such "bowls" on the ground. Though the water wasn’t much, it was enough to keep her from dying of thirst.
She then picked up the leaves and fruits. The leaves were shaped like nothing she’d ever seen—like bloated little boats. They felt soft to the touch, and with a bit of pressure, they split open, spilling out clear water. Flustered, Li Fei quickly righted the leaves. She wasn’t brave enough to try the water yet, so she set them aside for now.
Beneath the leaves were several fruits, dark purple and the size of fists—utterly unappetizing. Carefully, she peeled back a bit of the skin. The flesh inside was also dark purple, but it was juicy and smelled sweet and fragrant.
Could… could she really eat and drink this? Why would Monsters bring her things?
Li Fei agonized over it for a while, but she was desperately thirsty. The dry rations she’d eaten earlier still felt stuck in her throat, unbearably uncomfortable. She didn’t dare touch the water from the leaves, but she picked up one of the stone bowls, hesitating to drink. Then again, she considered—first, her constitution seemed unusual, and second, if the Monsters really wanted to harm her, they could have just swarmed her and torn her apart. Why go through the trouble of delivering poisoned fruit or water? These Monstrous creatures lacked intelligence; they probably couldn’t even conceive of such cunning, human-like schemes.At this thought, she decided to throw caution to the wind and took a small sip from the stone bowl. The water was icy cold and not particularly sweet or refreshing, but it was unmistakably water. Li Fei's spirits lifted, and she drank the entire bowl in one go. Then, she squeezed the water-filled leaves in her hand and took a tentative sip—the water from the leaves had a slightly astringent taste, common in moisture extracted from plant roots or leaves. She felt somewhat reassured.
Next were the fruits. By now, half her worries had dissipated. Though the fruits looked unappealing, their taste was surprisingly sweet and fragrant. With a single bite, her mouth was filled with a refreshing aroma and abundant juice. Unable to resist, Li Fei devoured one ravenously. After finishing, she wiped her mouth, stood up, and called out loudly, "Thank you!"
No sooner had she spoken than several more identical fruits rained down from the trees above, pelting her head and face. Startled and bewildered, she quickly gathered the fallen fruits into the folds of her clothes. A rough count revealed over a dozen—enough to feed the three children for a day.
"Th-thank you... uh, thanks again," Li Fei muttered in confusion. Unfortunately, the monstrous creatures here seemed to lack spiritual awareness, unable to speak like Ri Yan. Moreover, they appeared afraid of her, keeping their distance and peeking at her from behind grass or bushes.
After a long pause, Li Fei set about transferring the water from the stone bowl and leaves into the leather pouch. The deflated pouch soon swelled with water—enough to last the three of them a day. It was baffling how effortlessly she had gathered food and water, and with the help of monsters, no less. In the past, she would never have imagined such a scenario. Was it due to her constitution? Or were monstrous creatures more perceptive than Celestials, sensing Ri Yan's presence on her?
Well, standing around here wouldn't solve anything. She'd ask Ri Yan when he woke up.
Li Fei packed everything up and was about to leave when suddenly, a boy's voice shouted, "Jiang Li Fei, come back quickly! There's something strange in the cave!"
Startled, she turned to see Lei Xiuyuan pushing through the foliage, his expression grave. He grabbed her sleeve and hurried back with her, explaining, "Ji Tongzhou fell into a hole in the cave!"
Fell into a hole? Li Fei was puzzled. Was there another hole inside the cave?
"Earlier, I helped him relieve himself, and we went deeper into the cave. That's when we noticed a stone door in the wall."
It turned out that shortly after Li Fei left, Ji Tongzhou had woken up and struggled to find a secluded spot to relieve himself. Lei Xiuyuan, unusually kind, had assisted him. To their surprise, deep inside the cave, they discovered a stone door. The cave was rugged and seemingly natural, but the door, though ancient and covered in dust, was unmistakably man-made.
Both boys were startled by the bizarre sight. Ji Tongzhou tried pushing the door, but it didn't budge, seemingly stuck by some mechanism. He wondered aloud, "Why is there a door here? Could there be monsters sealed inside?"
Lei Xiuyuan also gave the door a light push. His fingers brushed thick dust, but the door handle was relatively clean. After a moment's thought, he said, "This is the Academy's restricted area. It's likely that several founders sealed monstrous creatures inside. The handle's dust is fresh, meaning someone has entered or exited recently. There's a high chance something is sealed inside. Let's be cautious and not go in for now."Ji Tongzhou still had a childlike curiosity and couldn't resist investigating anything novel. However, with his legs currently immobile, he had no choice but to give up. The two found a corner, but seeing it pitch-black with no light—so dark they couldn't see their own hands—Ji Tongzhou grew slightly nervous and whispered, "I'm going in. Don’t—don’t go too far!"
Lei Xiuyuan didn’t respond, only letting out a disdainful snort that clearly implied he thought Ji Tongzhou was a coward. The proud young prince couldn’t stand such provocation. Gripping his stone sword, he hobbled inside to relieve himself.
Just as he finished adjusting his clothes, the ground suddenly cracked beneath him, followed by violent tremors. With his mobility impaired, Ji Tongzhou immediately fell. The earth beneath him seemed to form a whirlpool, pulling him downward. Terrified, he screamed.
Lei Xiuyuan reached out to grab him, but the darkness made it impossible, and Ji Tongzhou was sinking too fast. In horror, he heard the sound of Ji Tongzhou hitting the ground below. The next moment, some hidden mechanism in the cave walls clicked and clattered, and the tightly sealed stone door silently swung open.
As the door opened, an overwhelming wave of demon Qi surged forth, mingling with the thick miasma. The force was so powerful it felt like a giant hand slamming Lei Xiuyuan to the ground, leaving him unable to rise for a long moment.
"Hey!" he urgently called down to Ji Tongzhou. "Are you alright?!"
A weak voice drifted up after a long pause: "The demon Qi is so strong! I... I’ll manage for now!"
His voice was frail. With his leg still injured and now this fall into the cave—who knew how deep it was?—there was no way he was truly fine. Gritting his teeth, Lei Xiuyuan forced himself up and groped along the cave wall until his fingers brushed against a bronze lamp—just as he expected. If there were mechanisms here, there had to be lighting.
He didn’t have a fire starter, but as he anxiously searched, his fingers accidentally pressed something on the lamp’s base. With a soft click, the bronze lamp itself turned out to be a mechanism. A few dim lights flickered to life, illuminating the small corner. Only then did Lei Xiuyuan realize that in the darkness, they had wandered into a branching path. The spot Ji Tongzhou had entered wasn’t a corner but the end of the passage.
Now, the end had collapsed, leaving a several-foot-wide hole in the ground. Lei Xiuyuan hurried over and peered down. Fortunately, the hole wasn’t too deep. In the faint light, he could just make out Ji Tongzhou’s red-and-white disciple uniform. He lay sprawled at the bottom, looking utterly disheveled.
"Stay there for now," Lei Xiuyuan said, struggling to his feet. Bracing against the pervasive demon Qi and miasma, he quickly headed back out of the cave.
By the time Li Fei reached the depths of the branching path, the lights had already gone out—likely from long disuse, the oil in the lamps dried up. She called out, "Ji Tongzhou! How are you now?"
From the hole came Ji Tongzhou’s voice, strained with pain: "Not dead yet! Forget about me! Light a fire or something—make some noise so Mo Yanfan and the others can find us sooner!"
"I don’t have a fire starter," she said, glancing at Lei Xiuyuan, who shook his head as well.
"Don’t panic. I have some food here—eat this for now."Li Fei tossed a few fruits into the pit. Ji Tongzhou, parched and starving, didn’t hesitate to bite into the hard, slippery objects she threw down. The fruit was sweet and juicy, instantly revitalizing him. The excruciating pain from his broken leg seemed to lessen considerably.
Li Fei walked over to the opened stone door and peered inside. It was pitch black, utterly silent except for the mournful howl of the wind, as if the space beyond was vast and empty.
“The Demon Qi inside is too strong. We shouldn’t rush in recklessly,” Lei Xiuyuan said, attempting to push the stone door shut, but it remained immovable. “Let’s focus on getting him out first.”
He took off his outer robe, tore it into strips, and tied them together with a firm knot. Li Fei immediately understood and did the same with her own robe. The two garments formed a long rope, which she tossed into the pit. “Ji Tongzhou, grab hold of this! Hold tight and don’t let go!” she called.
The rope was tugged three times, and the two outside began pulling with all their might. Whoever had claimed the disciple uniforms were made of incredibly precious fabric—sturdy and resistant to water and fire—had clearly been lying. Not only did the robes tear easily, but after a bit of friction against the ground, the strips seemed on the verge of snapping.
Fortunately, Ji Tongzhou was soon pulled to the pit’s edge. Lei Xiuyuan seized his collar and yanked him out, likely pulling his hair in the process, making Ji Tongzhou yelp in pain. “Could you be any rougher?!”
Once outside, he stumbled a few steps upon landing, and all three children froze in shock.
“Huh? My leg?” Ji Tongzhou himself was dumbfounded, staring at his right leg—the one that should have been broken. He lifted it, kicked, and stomped. It was as if it had never been injured—no pain, fully functional.
Lei Xiuyuan reacted fastest. “Let me see the fruit you were holding earlier,” he said.
Li Fei handed it over. Lei Xiuyuan sniffed it, then peeled the skin and took a small bite. Moments later, he rolled up his sleeve—the wound from the Tiger Demon’s claws had completely healed, leaving no scar behind.
This fruit?! Li Fei was stunned. Ji Tongzhou had already removed the splint and was jumping around excitedly. “Where did you pick these?” Lei Xiuyuan asked.
Li Fei hesitated. She couldn’t very well say the monsters had given them to her, but claiming she’d picked them from a tree would be risky—what if they asked her to lead them there? The lie would be exposed instantly.
Just as she was struggling for an answer, a heated argument seemed to erupt outside the cave. A woman’s sharp voice rang out: “Kill me if you want! Get it over with! Do you think I’m afraid? Mo Yanfan, I must have been blind to misjudge you like this!”
Mo Yanfan? The three children exchanged excited glances—they’d finally found an Academy teacher! But who was the woman speaking?
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