However, Fu Ying couldn't hold back any longer. She snorted and said coldly, "You're shameless. Your legs are your own, aren't they? Zhou Xuan said when we came down that you could come with us if you wanted, or stay there if you didn't. Did we beg you to come down?"
Zhou Xuan ignored these concerns and, after a moment's thought, said, "Brother Hong, Senior Lan, retreating is a dead end. I think we should take a gamble. After coming out of this cave in the stone palace, we've been heading upwards for quite some time now, and I estimate we're very close to the surface. We've been walking through this underground river for so long now. Based on my intuition, we might not be far from the outside river. Why don't we all take a deep breath and do a quick dive? If we can get out, we'll live; if not, we'll die at the bottom. What do you all think?"
Both Lan Gaoling and Li Yong hesitated, while Li Jinlong shook his head, saying, "Is there any chance? It's just suicide!"
Zhou Xuan glanced at Fu Ying. Fu Ying showed no resentment whatsoever. Whether she lived or died, she would follow Zhou Xuan. Among the seven people, she was the only one who showed no fear whatsoever.
Zhou Xuan then looked at Wei Haihong and asked, "Brother Hong, are you willing to take the risk or go back?"
Without hesitation, Wei Haihong said directly, "Brother, you've made your choice, what else can I say? Should I only say good when things are good and bad when things are bad? Hehe, wealth and honor are determined by fate, life and death are predestined. If God wants me to live, I can naturally get out of this cave. If God doesn't want me to live, even if the exit is only five meters away, I still can't escape. Hehe, whatever you say goes!"
Zhou Xuan then asked Wei Xiaoqing, whom he was supporting, "Xiaoqing, what about you?"
Wei Xiaoqing said sadly, "I'm already barely alive, don't you think?" Tears streamed down her face as she shook her head and added, "I can't get out. Let me go. At this point, I'll only be a burden to you. Let me go and let me fend for myself."
"Xiaoqing, don't be like this. Anyway, we're all in this situation. If we live, we'll be together; if we die, we'll all be together. It's not like we can survive without you."
Wei Xiaoqing had lost all hope. Exhausted, she looked around at the cold, dark river water. She had been walking in this dark river for almost two hours and still hadn't made it out. Now, she thought, if she could just hold her breath and dive down once, she could get out.
Zhou Xuan was also in a dilemma, but there was no other way to go. Going back wouldn't get him back up to the cave entrance, and even if he did, returning to the Great Stone Palace would still mean certain death. Since he was going to die anyway, he might as well take the gamble. The problem was that Wei Xiaoqing, Fu Ying, and Wei Haihong were three people he needed to take care of. Even if he was a great diver, how could he take care of so many people in the absence of air?
Both Lan Gaoling and Li Yong were torn. Going back meant they wouldn't die immediately, and as long as they survived, they had a chance to escape. But if they dived into the dark river now, they might drown instantly.
Zhou Xuan didn't hesitate any longer. He immediately said, "Brother Hong, Yingying. Take a deep breath. When I call you, dive down and swim forward as fast as you can!"
Wei Xiaoqi, her eyes closed, wept and trembled. Her blossoming youth might be over, about to come to an end, Zhou Xuan. Ding urged her on, and though it was painful, he took a deep breath. He watched Zhou Xuan decide on his path. The Blue executive gritted his teeth and said to Li Yong, "Li Yong, let's fight it out. We're going to die anyway. Let's go all in!"
Although Li Yong hesitated, the Lan executives made their decision and followed him. Only Li Jinlong muttered angrily, "They're all madmen who are greedy for money."
Zhou Xuan took a deep breath and suddenly shouted, "Dive!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Haihong was in the lead, followed by Zhou Xuan, who held Wei Xiaoqing with his left hand and Fu Yingxun with his right hand, and they dived into the water to move forward.
The higher-ups at Blue had always felt that although Zhou Xuan appeared easygoing and ordinary, he was very opinionated and had a true manly spirit, as evidenced by his everyday actions. They also felt he had an extraordinary amount of luck, so they decided to gamble with him.
As soon as Zhou Xuan dived into the water, Li Yong followed closely behind, not daring to lag behind. He quickly took a breath and submerged, while Li Yong followed behind him.
Li Jinlong muttered curses under his breath, then plunged into the water and followed.
Zhou Xuan tried his best to walk quickly while transferring the icy energy to Wei Xiaoqing and Fu Ying, so that they could hold on as long as possible.
They moved forward quickly. Wei Haihong's flashlight went out after less than ten meters, and the lights of the people behind him went out one after another, plunging the water into complete darkness. Li Jinlong cursed inwardly. If they couldn't get out within a minute, they would surely die. It was dark, there was no air, they couldn't see, and they couldn't surface. They were anxious and terrified, and they dared not slow down, so they could only follow closely behind the people in front of them.
Zhou Xuan then used his icy energy to probe forward, fixing Wei Haihong's position, and then probed to within two meters of him. Knowing the situation was critical, Wei Haihong dared not hesitate and kept moving forward.
Zhou Xuan, who was following behind, suddenly noticed two water outlets two meters in front of Wei Haihong. One had a rapid current, while the other had a slower current. Startled, he quickly let go of Wei Xiaoqing and Fu Ying's hands, lunged forward, grabbed Wei Haihong's foot, and pulled him to a stop.
Wei Haihong's vision was completely black. He felt someone pull him from behind and stop. Zhou Xuan moved closer to him and used his ice energy to probe the two water caves ahead. The one on the left, with its rapid current, turned sharply downwards after about a meter, forming a whirlpool-shaped underground outlet that was unfathomably deep. The one on the right had a slower current, but the entrance was very narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass through.
When Zhou Xuan reached the hole on the right, his heart suddenly trembled, because there was a faint light more than two meters away!
Without hesitation, Zhou Xuan pushed Wei Haihong toward the small hole, then quickly pulled off the backpack on his back and threw it to the left, before pushing Wei Haihong headfirst and legs last into the small hole.
Everyone else was completely blind, as if they were blind with their eyes open. Only Zhou Xuanxin saw clearly, but the problem was that he couldn't speak. He could only quickly tear off the backpacks from Fu Ying and Wei Xiaoqing and throw them away, then push Fu Ying into the hole.
Fu Ying was already feeling suffocated and had no time to think. After being pushed into the cave on her back, she crawled forward with all her might. After crawling five or six meters, she suddenly saw faint light in the water ahead. Fu Ying's spirits lifted. But the cave was too narrow, and she couldn't turn around to look at Zhou Xuan, so she could only hurry forward.
Zhou Xuan did not enter the cave at this time. After using the ice energy to detect Lan Gaoren, he pulled him over, took off the backpack on his back, and tapped his palm with his finger. Lan Gaoren felt that it was Zhou Xuan and did not resist. Then Zhou Xuan pushed him into the small cave on the right.
Zhou Xuan dared not push Wei Xiaoqing into the hole first, because Wei Xiaoqing could no longer dive, as she was already unable to breathe.
Zhou Xuan wanted to lure Li Yong, Li Jinlong, and Jing Zhi into the small hole again, because he himself could stay submerged for quite some time, and he wanted to use that time to lure them all into the hole on the right.
As soon as Li Jinlong and Li Yong touched it, Zhou Xuan saw it clearly. He grabbed Li Yong and pulled on his backpack. Li Yong struggled and broke free. He then darted forward and entered the wider water hole on the left. He was then swept into the whirlpool by the current and quickly sucked into the deep underground.
Zhou Xuan was startled. He grabbed Li Jinlong again, wanting to write something in his palm, afraid that he wouldn't understand. But Li Jinlong was in a panic and just kept rushing forward, following him into the fast-flowing cave. Zhou Xuan reached out and grabbed a handful of water, managing to catch the backpack on Li Jinlong's back.
In his panic, Li Jinlong assumed Zhou Xuan was trying to steal the treasures from his backpack. He turned around and grabbed Zhou Xuan hard. Zhou Xuan felt the pain in his hand and let go. Li Jinlong was sucked into the underground vortex and disappeared from sight in an instant.
Zhou Xuan's heart trembled, but there was nothing he could do. It wasn't that he didn't want to save them, but that they were too greedy and unwilling to part with the treasures.
There was no time to think further. Zhou Xuan quickly took off his back and threw it away, then grabbed Wei Xiaoqing, who was leaning against the right side of the cave.
The icy aura sensed that Wei Xiaoqing was on the verge of collapse.
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Volume One: The Lotus Buds Just Begin to Emerge, Chapter 115: Heartbreak
Zhou Xuan didn't dare to hesitate any longer. He pushed Wei Xiaoqing's feet into the hole, pushed her from behind, and then put his mouth to her mouth to breathe. Once Wei Xiaoqing had breath in her mouth, she felt refreshed and became more alert.
Zhou Xuan channeled all his icy energy into Wei Xiaoqing. Although Wei Xiaoqing didn't understand what was happening, the suffocating feeling she had been experiencing suddenly disappeared, and her mind became much clearer. She felt Zhou Xuan's lips pressed tightly against hers, and the sensation from his mouth was so comfortable and reassuring. Yes, it was a feeling of security, a feeling of safety even if the sky were to fall!
Zhou Xuan felt a wave of dizziness, but he knew he couldn't afford to faint at this moment. If he did, he and Wei Xiaoqing would die instantly. Although Wei Xiaoqing was supporting him with ice energy, her body was too weak. As soon as she was no longer supported by him, she would fall back into the same situation, and it would only get worse.
It's like someone who lives on borrowed money. If the person who lent him the money suddenly stops lending and even demands repayment of the original debt, that person will break down.
Wei Xiaoqing was only able to survive by borrowing Zhou Xuan's ice energy. If Zhou Xuan cut off the supply of ice energy, it would undoubtedly be a double whammy in this underwater cave, and it would take her life in an instant.
At this moment, Fu Ying and Wei Haihong could see the light becoming clearer and clearer, and they grew increasingly excited, even though their hearts were pounding in their chests. They swam forward with all their might, and suddenly the water in the cave shot them out like cannonballs, revealing a dazzling light before their eyes!
Fu Ying quickly swam upwards, and after emerging from the water, she gasped for breath. However, the light was too bright, and after being in the darkness underground for too long, her eyes could not adjust for a while. It took her a while to open her eyes, and she was overjoyed to see what was happening!
She found herself in the middle of a river, with tall buildings on both banks and pedestrians on the road. Looking around, she saw Wei Haihong also floating on the surface, panting.
Fu Ying breathed a sigh of relief, but was immediately shocked again: Where is Zhou Xuan?
Fu Ying immediately called out, "Zhou Xuan, Zhou Xuan, where are you?" After calling several times without response, she turned around in the water, looking around. Besides herself and Wei Haihong, there was no one else in sight. Her voice trembled with anxiety as she called out, "Zhou Xuan, Zhou Xuan! Come out quickly! Don't scare me!"