I just wrote a love poem, how did that make me so powerful?

Xu Qing thought for a moment, then turned to look at the monkey.

"Did you make this?"

The monkey nodded, then squatted down in front of the mound, placing its two front paws on its knees and sitting quietly.

Su Man's gaze swept over the mound, then she looked up at the surrounding rock walls.

She instructed her subordinate, "Look around and see if there's anything unusual."

The men took the order and left.

"The letter said that Dentosheng stayed here for six months with his injured leg. But now that he's dead, he deserves a burial place. If this is his grave..."

As Su Man spoke, a glint suddenly flashed in her eyes.

"Perhaps he still has something he always carried with him in life. Shall we open it and take a look?"

Xu Qing was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice.

"Respect for the deceased is paramount; let us kowtow first."

He stepped forward and knelt down in front of the mound made of rubble.

He kowtowed properly and straightened up, saying this.

"Senior, we are not here to disturb you, but the clues you left behind may still be useful. Perhaps we can help you complete your unfinished mission."

Su Man also stepped forward to bow.

Just as Xu Qing straightened up, he suddenly glanced at the bottom of the mound.

The pebbles in that area were not arranged neatly and were clearly different from the other stones around them.

He reached out and brushed aside the top few loose stones, revealing a palm-sized stone slab.

Several lines of small characters are carved on the surface of the stone slab. The strokes are very light, as if they were carved casually.

Su Man leaned closer, wanting to see more clearly, and reached out to wipe the mud and grime off the surface of the stone slab.

Her fingertips had just touched the edge of the stone slab when she suddenly sensed something was wrong.

That stone wasn't a solid stone; it was more like a movable board that had been embedded in it.

There appear to be invisible gaps along the edges.

She instinctively pressed it into the gap.

The stone slab sank slightly, followed by a muffled sound from deep within the stone wall. The ground shook violently, and the area beneath Su Man's feet suddenly collapsed.

Xu Qing caught a glimpse of her figure suddenly plummeting and almost instinctively reached out to catch her around the waist.

Just as his hand reached around Su Man's lower back, the ground beneath their feet cracked open, and the two of them plummeted downwards together.

The stone slab flipped back into place overhead, fitting snugly and completely blocking out the faint light that had seeped in.

The fall was very short, but it seemed to have been two or three meters deep.

Xu Qing landed on his back first, slamming into a pile of soft material, which absorbed most of the impact.

Immediately afterwards, Su Man pressed her entire body against his chest, her forehead hitting his chin, and she let out a muffled groan.

Su Man tried to stand up, but her ankles gave way.

She hissed and lay back down, half of her body limply resting on Xu Qing.

The surroundings were completely dark, with only the sealed stone slab overhead allowing no light to penetrate.

Xu Qing took out a tinderbox, blew on the orange flame, and jumped around a couple of times in the cramped space.

It illuminated the sealed stone slab above their heads, and also the layer of dust kicked up as the two fell.

Su Man was still lying on top of him, half of her body pressed against his chest, and he could feel that her breathing was a little heavier than usual.

Su Man tried to stand up by bracing herself against the ground, but as soon as she moved, a piercing pain shot through her ankle, and she went limp again.

Her body slid down, brushing against Xu Qing's arm...

In the blink of an eye, the flickering tinderbox revealed the tear in her clothes.

A long gash appeared between the shoulder and the upper arm.

The edges of the fabric were rolled up, revealing a patch of fair skin underneath.

In the orange glow of the fire, there was a warm and welcoming light.

Her hair hung loosely, brushing above her collarbone, rising and falling slightly with her breath.

The shadows cast on the stone wall were both shallow and long.

Looking further down...

It is like a secluded orchid in a valley, or a deep ravine hidden beneath a high snow-capped mountain.

Another tear was on the side of her waist, the fabric hanging precariously from her hip bone, revealing a slender white waistline. The skin was still covered with dust from the fall, which stood out clearly in the light.

Xu Qing's gaze instinctively swept over the exposed skin, but after a few glances, she reluctantly looked away and settled on her ankles.

"Don't move yet, your ankle might be dislocated. Let me take a look."

Su Man turned her head to the side, supported herself on the ground, and slowly sat up, stretching her injured leg out on the ground.

The light from the tinderbox moved over and revealed that the outside of her ankle was swollen, with the skin and flesh turning bluish-purple.

Xu Qing squatted down in front of her and reached out to touch that spot.

Su Man convulsed slightly, her fingers involuntarily gripping Xu Qing's hand.

"Ouch~~~ That hurts~~~ Ugh~~~"

Su Man bit her lip and tightened her grip on Xu Qing's hand.

Xu Qing comforted him:

"It's nothing, it's just dislocated, not broken. It'll be fine after a while. Just bear with it for now."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at Su Man.

In the firelight, her face was paler than usual, her temples were damp with a thin layer of sweat, and her lips were bitten red.

She seemed to sense Xu Qing's gaze and turned her head to look at him.

That glance was short, yet it seemed very long.

Then, her gaze left, but her ears slowly turned bright red.

Xu Qing didn't say much. He reached out and supported both sides of her ankles, his palms pressed against the sensitive skin on the inside of her ankles, and he could even feel her pulse beating.

Xu Qing turned her head slightly, glanced behind her, and suddenly pointed behind her and said.

"What do you see over there?"

Su Man subconsciously turned around to look.

Just as she turned her head.

Xu Qing lifted and sent the object upwards with steady, precise movements of both hands.

With a soft click, the joint was back in place.

Before Su Man could even utter an "Ah," she instinctively leaned forward due to the sharp pain.

She placed her hands on Xu Qing's shoulders, almost pressing herself against his chest.

Her chest pressed against his front through her thin bra and clothing.

Her dress had a thin layer of fine cotton gauze over it, which, illuminated by the firelight, revealed a semi-transparent outline, allowing one to see the curves supported by her bra underneath.

Her body was slightly bent, forming a thin line.

The thin veil hung loosely on her body, like a light mist.

Xu Qing could clearly feel the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, which was fast and rapid.

I don't know if it's because of the pain I felt earlier, or something else...

For several breaths, neither of them moved.

The tinderbox was placed on the ground next to it.

The light shone down from below, casting the silhouettes of the two people onto the stone wall behind them.

They were like overlapping pieces, with no clear boundaries between them.

Su Man's breathing gradually calmed down, and the pressure on her hands loosened.

However, she did not push him away immediately, but simply tilted her head slightly to avoid Xu Qing's chin.

Xu Qing felt a slight itch as her hair brushed against her neck.

He tilted his head slightly, supported her shoulders with his hand, and slowly straightened her up.

"Don't exert force on your ankles right away, sit for a while."

However, Su Man did not answer him, but looked into the distance.

"Xu...Xu Qing, what...look at that?"