Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 85 Escaping the Cave
"Tsk tsk, since you have so much free time, why don't you use your brain, which is only as thick as a hair, to think carefully about where to bury the bones tomorrow so they won't be eaten by wild dogs."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he looked at Qin Tianying with a mocking expression.

"That emperor coveted worldly power, which is why he sought immortality. Why are you afraid to die? Are you afraid that killing your entire family of over forty people will send you to the eighteenth level of hell after death? It seems that not only is your brain small, but your courage is also as small as a sesame seed."

Qin Tianying's facial muscles twitched twice, and his gaze toward Zhou Zhao grew increasingly fierce.

"Zhou Zhao, do you really think I wouldn't dare to kill you?"

Zhou Zhao raised her eyebrows unabashedly. She had just eaten a meat pie and felt like she had come back to life.

She tried her best not to look at the pool of blood. Although there was no doubt that the water at the bottom was flowing, she didn't know where it led. What if it led to the pot of stewed goose that Qin Tianying was cooking? Then Su Changying would be in danger!
"Of course you wouldn't dare."

Qin Tianying didn't continue arguing with Zhou Zhao. He looked around and found the place completely empty, with no one else there except Zhou Zhao.

He thought for a moment, then put his hand to his mouth and whistled. In no time, Tianquan and Yuheng each led a group of men running over. Qin Tianying waved his hand and ordered, "Search them!"

"promise!"

The group received the order and dispersed.

The cave wasn't very big, but it wasn't small either, and soon everyone ran back.

"Lord, we didn't see anyone else in this underground cave. They probably escaped long ago."

Qin Tianying gave Zhou Zhao a deep look. "No matter what the court sent you here for, I just want to say that it's too late. Even if you have an inside man, so what? You're about to die. Any small tricks you make are just overestimating your own strength, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot."

"These shackles are made of millennia-old black iron, and it's impossible to open them. Unless your hands and feet are cut off, even if the Heavenly King himself came, he wouldn't be able to rescue you."

As he spoke, he flicked his sleeves and strode towards the door.

Tianquan and Yuheng exchanged a glance and resumed their previous patrol routine.

Once the surroundings quieted down again, Zhou Zhao twitched his ears, making sure the sinister old man wouldn't launch a surprise attack, before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

She lowered her eyes and looked at the pool of blood.

The surface of the pool was perfectly still, without a single ripple. Su Changying had no idea...

As she was thinking, she saw a red hood pop out. Su Changying wiped the water off her face, looked up at Zhou Zhao, and said, "I've got it. I can't move the black iron, but I can move the wooden pillar."

No matter how sturdy those handcuffs were, they were still embedded in the wooden post.

He can save Zhou Zhao if he destroys the wooden pillar.

"Have you been holding your breath underwater the whole time?"

Zhou Zhao looked at Su Changying as if she were a monster.

This person's breath might even outlast Qin Tianying's old life.

Is that human being?
As she was thinking, she saw Su Changying start poking at the wooden posts around the handcuffs. "Before, we didn't want to be discovered, so we carefully searched for vital points. Now that we've been discovered, there's no need to worry about anything."

Zhou Zhao was taken aback. Indeed, she always thought she would die on July 15th, so she planned to launch a desperate counterattack on that day.

Before this, it's crucial not to reveal that they've already compromised the mechanism. But she doesn't need to wait for death; she should break the deadlock directly, following her own rhythm!

Zhou Zhao slapped her forehead and withdrew her hand. Even though it was just a fake suspension, holding her hand up like that was still tiring!
She looked at Su Changying. He was soaking wet, his hair glistening on his forehead, but it didn't diminish his heroic spirit at all; in fact, it made him look even more handsome than usual. She squatted down, hugging the pillar, and looked closer. Su Changying's fair fingers were now bright red from poking.

Because he poked too fast and too much, quite a few tiny wood chips got stuck in his fingers.

But Su Changying didn't even blink, as if he felt nothing, and kept poking at the black iron shackles with his hands. The shackles were embedded very deeply, and he only saw the end when his fingers were bleeding.

Su Changying took a deep breath, and with a sudden tug, pulled out the iron bar attached to the handcuffs.

He turned around, hoisted Zhou Zhao onto his back, and whispered, "Qin Tianying is bound to be lying in wait at the door. We'll take the waterway. Take a deep breath and hold me tight."

Zhou Zhao felt a sudden sway, and she found herself clinging to Su Changying's back. Just as she was about to say that she could manage, she felt a warmth on her back. Su Changying lifted her up and gently leaped silently into the blood pool.

Zhou Zhao held his breath and opened his eyes to look at the situation underwater.

When Qin Tianying pushed her into the water earlier, she didn't have time to look closely. But now that she saw it, she was secretly shocked. There were six water outlets on the stone walls around the blood pool, and the water flowing out of them was red, looking just like blood.

This is why the blood pool retains its blood color.

As you dive deeper, the water becomes lighter in color, and a thin layer of fine sand on the bottom emits a faint glow in the night, making your vision suddenly clear.

Su Changying was clearly very good at swimming, and they went downstream with great success, except for the inability to breathe.

Zhou Zhao lay on Su Changying's back, her face gradually turning red. Her head was spinning, and her chest felt like it was about to explode. She gently held Su Changying's back, wondering what the corpse would look like if someone suffocated to death.

Gradually, she began to see stars. She couldn't tell whether she was hallucinating or just seeing the light from the fine sand on the ground.

Good heavens! If I'd known I'd suffocate, I should have just fought Qin Tianying to the death...

As Zhou Zhao was thinking, he suddenly felt his hand loosen and Su Changying instantly rolled over. Zhou Zhao reached out to grab her, but felt a warm sensation coming over him, followed by a breath that instantly made him feel relaxed.

No need to suffocate!
Su Changying gave her a boost!

Although there was no mirror, Zhou Zhao felt that she was definitely redder than the little koi fish in Ye Xuan's study!
Su Changying kissed her, though it was to transfer her life force!

Thinking it over, Zhou Zhao stopped clinging to Su Changying's back and swam forward with all her might. She quickly overtook Su Changying, and the river suddenly widened in less than ten zhang. Zhou Zhao suddenly poked her head up and her whole body emerged from the water.

She couldn't help but take a deep breath and pat her face!

She nearly suffocated herself before dawn! (She was only about ten feet away!)
Would Su Changying write such an embarrassing incident in his letter to his deceased wife later?

She thought for a moment, then coughed softly. Su Changying immediately swam up to Zhou Zhao from behind. "Are you alright? There's a path over there, let's get ashore!"

Seeing that he seemed completely unaffected, Zhou Zhao cursed himself inwardly for being so spineless. Then, noticing that Su Changying's ears were slightly red, he immediately felt better.

She nodded and gave a soft "hmm".

“There’s a river outside Xuanwu Gate. I feel that if we continue, it should lead there. Let’s go out of the city first, change our clothes, and then quietly come back to find Ah Huang. He should be able to break the iron shackles on my feet.”

"Now we need to figure out how to fight back!"