Zhou Xuan could only lower his head and say to Fu Ying, "Bear with it for a while, use your wetsuit to wrap the wound a little, don't let it bleed too much, I'll treat your wound as soon as I'm done!"
Fu Ying nodded and said softly, "Don't worry about me, it's alright, go ahead!"
Zhou Xuan stood up and said to Yuriko, "Miss Yuriko, I'll squat down, and you can step on my shoulders."
Yuriko is about 1.65 meters tall, and Zhou Xuan is 1.75 meters tall. The gems in the cave are about three meters above the ground. Yuriko can just reach them by stepping on Zhou Xuan's shoulders. She takes out a spare dagger from her leg, holds the surface of the gem with her left hand and tries to shake it. It is a little loose, so it is easy to remove. She takes out the gem from the rock wall without much effort.
These gems vary in size, some as big as a fist and others as small as a finger. There are a total of twenty-four gems around the cave, but of course, the largest and brightest one at the top cannot be retrieved.
It took Ito less than half an hour to collect the twenty-four gems. He placed the gems in a pile, and the multicolored light emitted by the gems made his face look particularly ferocious.
Ito placed the gems far away from Zhou Xuan, one on one side of the cave wall and the other on the other. This was to prevent Zhou Xuan and his group from harming him. Being so far away meant that even if Zhou Xuan wanted to do something, Ito could react in time.
Zhou Xuan had no time to deal with him at this moment; he was focused on quickly removing the arrow from Fu Ying's body and healing her wound.
Zhou Xuan wasn't too worried about this. He already knew that the ice energy had a strong healing function. Besides, there were seven small golden stones next to the big rock in the middle. Even if he consumed more ice energy, he wouldn't have to worry. These small stones would be enough to replenish it. However, Zhou Xuan still didn't dare to touch the huge boulder because he wasn't sure if the energy inside the boulder was as enormous as its appearance.
Of course, in order not to arouse Ito's suspicion, Zhou Xuan picked up Fu Ying and placed her behind the large boulder, which conveniently blocked Ito's view.
Ito Risa ignored them. Anyway, he had already taken Yuriko's crossbow, and Zhou Xuan and Fu Ying's had been lost in the water. He was the only one of the four who had two sets of crossbows. With weapons in hand, he wasn't afraid of Zhou Xuan and the others making any moves. At this moment, he was overjoyed to be facing a large pile of gems. He kept glancing at the largest gem above his head, thinking about how to get it down.
Because Yuriko was also present, Zhou Xuan couldn't be too obvious. He took the seven small stones and placed them next to Fu Ying, then whispered to Yuriko, "Just in case. If Ito wants to commit a crime, he'll have to use these stones. It's better to have some than nothing!"
Yuriko nodded and said, "I'll help you remove the arrow from Miss Fu's hand."
Sweat beaded on Fu Ying's forehead. How could it not hurt when a steel arrow pierced through her wrist?
Zhou Xuan approached Fu Ying, helped her up, and put his arm around her. Then, he grasped her right wrist, which was pierced by a steel arrow, and said to Baihezi, "You take the arrow away, I'll hold her."
Then he said to Fu Ying, "Miss Fu, you have to hold back, just call it out!"
Fu Ying's pretty face was as white as snow. She nodded, gave a soft "Mmm," and said, "Okay, I can hold back!"
Baihe held Fu Ying's hand with her left hand and grasped the middle part of the steel arrow's tail with her right hand. She gently examined it and then said, "I've detonated it!"
Zhou Xuan watched as the arrow moved an inch or so on Fu Ying's wrist, leaving only the arrowhead still outside.
Fu Ying's body trembled violently, and she grabbed Zhou Xuan's waist with her left hand, very tightly. Zhou Xuan could feel it, but it wasn't the most unbearable moment yet. The exposed arrowhead was much wider than the arrow shaft, and it would hurt much more when it was pulled out.
Yuriko took a deep breath, then gripped the arrow and flicked it forcefully.
Fu Ying didn't scream, but instead bit Zhou Xuan's shoulder. Baihezi couldn't pull it out immediately; the arrow was stuck in her wrist. Baihezi shook it left and right a few times before trying to pull it out again.
Large beads of sweat rolled down Fu Ying's forehead as she clenched her teeth. Zhou Xuan groaned. Although he hadn't been hit in the wrist and couldn't feel the pain, the pain in his shoulder told him how much pain Fu Ying was enduring.
Yuriko finally pulled out the steel arrow, and Fu Ying breathed a sigh of relief, collapsing weakly into Zhou Xuan's arms.
Zhou Xuan gently laid Fu Ying down on the rock where the diving suit was placed, then tore off a sleeve from his thermal underwear to wrap around Fu Ying's bleeding wound. Fortunately, no arteries were damaged, and although it was still bleeding, it was not a serious problem.
After bandaging her up, Zhou Xuan looked at Fu Ying again. Her face was covered in sweat, and a few strands of hair clung to her skin.
Zhou Xuan gently wiped the sweat from Fu Ying's face, tucked her hair behind her ear, and whispered, "Go to sleep, you'll feel better after a good night's sleep!"
Having endured so much, Fu Ying was indeed exhausted. Under Zhou Xuan's care, she fell asleep without realizing it.
After a long while, Yuriko whispered, "Mr. Zhou, thank you for saving me!"
Zhou Xuan paused for a moment, then remembered that Baihezi was referring to pulling her into the small cave at the entrance of the water cave. She smiled slightly and said, "There's nothing to thank me for. Anyone would have thought that way at that time. Isn't there a saying that 'human life is of paramount importance'? In times of danger, isn't life the most precious thing?"
Yuriko sighed, shook her head slightly, and seemed to want to say something but didn't, turning her face to the other side.
Zhou Xuan glanced at her. From the side, Yuriko's long eyelashes fluttered, and a few tears rolled down her cheeks.
This is not hard to understand. Anyone would feel heartbroken and distressed if betrayed by their closest and dearest person. However, Zhou Xuan didn't have much to say about this matter. Anyway, they weren't close, and it was none of his business what the Japanese soldier and she did. Besides, whether they could leave here alive was up to God.
Yuriko leaned against the huge rock and slowly fell asleep. Zhou Xuan looked at Fu Ying again. Fu Ying's eyelashes were fluttering. She might be dreaming. He reached out his right hand and gently held her left hand. Fu Ying, in her sleep, immediately held on tightly to Zhou Xuan's hand.
Zhou Xuan sighed, then lay down on his side next to Fu Ying, gently moved the seven small stones between their bodies, and then held one stone in his left hand.
Zhou Xuan was still wearing those thin gloves, so the color change was not noticeable.
After grasping the stone, Zhou Xuan channeled his ice energy into it. Sure enough, the energy contained in the stone was the same as before, and the amount of energy was also about the same. However, Zhou Xuan's mutated and enhanced pill ice energy was now much greater than the energy contained in each stone. Therefore, absorbing the energy in this stone did not take much effort. At least he was more experienced and faster than before.
Only after absorbing it into his body and refining it together with the ice energy of the pill did Zhou Xuan absorb the next stone.
After the last stone was completely drained of its energy, Zhou Xuan secretly glanced at it. It had turned pitch black. He quickly circulated the ice energy a few more times using the internal energy cultivation method he used to practice breathing.
At this moment, Zhou Xuan felt completely different. He could almost hear the splashing water on the surface of the cave he had climbed out of, and he could also clearly hear the different breathing patterns of Baihezi and Fu Ying. One was breathing quickly, and the other was breathing slowly.
In the distance, Ito's breathing was rapid; he was still immersed in the excitement of acquiring the treasure.
Zhou Xuan secretly raised his left hand again and used his teeth to pry open part of the glove. His left hand had turned golden yellow at this time, indistinguishable from a piece of gold.
Zhou Xuan frowned, feeling both annoyed and frustrated. But then he thought about it again and felt relieved. Since he couldn't get out anyway, what did it matter what color his hands became?
Sigh, what could have possibly led this golden stone here? Fu Tian told me it was something from outer space. If it's from outer space, how did it end up in this dark, sunless underground cave? And why was I able to find one in the sea at Chongkou?
Completely baffled, Zhou Xuan reached out his left hand and touched the surface of the large rock. He hadn't dared to touch the large golden rock lightly, but in a moment of inspiration, he unintentionally touched it. The instant he made contact, a tremendous suction force was generated on the rock, drawing the icy energy from the pill in Zhou Xuan's left wrist towards it.
This felt as if Zhou Xuan's body, heart, intestines, and stomach were being sucked into a giant boulder!
(I highly recommend "The Way of the Commoner Official," a classic work on officialdom by Nan Hua, to my friend who is also quite lonely. It's a must-read for anyone interested in urban officialdom!)
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Volume 1, Chapter 32: Evolution (Part 2)
In that instant, Zhou Xuan felt as if all his energy had been drained, leaving him utterly powerless to move. Yet, his spiritual senses clearly perceived the vast, boundless energy within the large golden stone, like a boundless ocean. The icy energy of his dantian, connected to his thoughts, drifted aimlessly within this ocean like a fragile boat. ()