The Blue executives glanced at the others. Although they all looked fearful, they couldn't help but admire Zhou Xuan's behavior of always putting himself in dangerous situations. They realized that they themselves wouldn't be able to do it.
Wei Haihong hesitated, while Fu Ying disagreed.
Zhou Xuan knew they would have different opinions, so he added, "Yingying, I don't want to go into danger. Trust me, I've seen it clearly. The water is deep, the current is strong, and there's a path ahead. Even though it's in the water, there is still a way out."
Wei Haihong knew that although Zhou Xuan's actions were sometimes inexplicable, as if they appeared out of nowhere, he always understood them in the end. He never did anything without certainty, nor did he act recklessly. In the current situation, if it was particularly dangerous down below, he would not put himself in there. At least he was somewhat confident. No one wants to go directly into a situation where they are sure to die.
Fu Ying understood Zhou Xuan's determination. After thinking for a moment, she nodded and said, "Alright!"
After Fu Ying finished speaking, she first let go of Zhou Xuan's hand, releasing her grip on his foot. But what she did next surprised everyone!
Fu Ying, carrying a powerful flashlight, leaped into the pit and landed with a "plop" in the water.
Zhou Xuan was so frightened that his soul almost left his body!
Although he had used ice gas to probe, the ice gas was consumed too much and could not be measured at a greater distance. He also did not know if there were any other dangers in the water. How could he not be alarmed by Fu Ying's actions?
Without thinking, Zhou Xuan quickly shouted, "Quickly, quickly, let me go!"
The people above also realized what was happening and quickly let go.
Zhou Xuan fell headfirst into the water, and after tumbling for a moment, he stood up, wiped the water from his face, and quickly looked for Fu Ying, his voice trembling as he called out, "Yingying."
But then a hand reached out from behind him, gently wiping the water droplets from his face, and whispered, "I'm here!"
When Zhou Xuan turned around, he saw Fu Ying holding a lantern in one hand and gently stroking his face with the other. Her face was as white as snow!
Zhou Xuan choked back a sob, the lamp in his hand went out from the water, and he immediately threw it away. He tightly embraced Fu Ying, buried his face in her head, and choked out, "Ying..."
Fu Ying had never seen Zhou Xuan so nervous before. He held her so tightly that she could hardly breathe. She had never seen Zhou Xuan like this before, even in the dangerous situation in the underground water cave in America. She couldn't help but feel moved and sensed his deep love for her and his courage to give up everything for her.
After a while, Zhou Xuan calmed down a bit before letting go of her hand. Fu Ying stroked his face and looked at him carefully. Then she put her finger to Zhou Xuan's eye and wiped it, then tasted the tears on her finger and said reproachfully, "You haven't eaten salt for days, how come you're still so salty!"
Zhou Xuan snorted, both annoyed and amused. Fu Ying had returned all the words he had once told her, but his heart was filled with both pain and love. Fu Ying truly disregarded everything for him. Just now, when he insisted on going into the water to scout ahead, Fu Ying couldn't stop him and jumped in first, willing to bear any danger herself. Such affection could not be expressed by just the word "love." Chu Lie was even angrier that Fu Ying had jumped in, but now was not the time to blame her. Zhou Xuan wiped away his tears with a handkerchief, then reached out and tightly grasped Fu Ying's hand, taking the lamp from her and shining it into the hole below the water.
The cave was pitch black and bottomless, but there was always a gap of about half a meter on the surface of the water, which was enough. The current and volume of water were just enough to keep one's footing, although the water was indeed a bit cold.
Zhou Xuan called out to those above, "You can walk down the current. There's a gap of about half a meter, and the water is about 1.5 meters deep. The current isn't too strong. Come on down!"
Li Jinlong's face showed fear. He was especially afraid of water, let alone an underground river like this. He felt an inexplicable dread. Lan Gaozhang and Li Yong hesitated, finding it difficult to make a decision. Once they jumped in, there was no way to turn back except to keep walking in this underground river. After jumping in, there would be no way to get out of this water pit. No one could climb up the six or seven-meter-high stone wall with their bare hands!
Zhou Xuan sighed, then said to Wei Haihong, "Brother Hong, I can't make this decision for anyone else. You bring Xiaoqing over here, I'll catch her downstairs. Come down, let's go. Whether she lives or dies, let's leave it to fate!"
Wei Haihong replied, "Okay!"
Throughout his time in the cave, he had always felt that Zhou Xuan treated him as a true family member. In the current situation, there was nothing more to say; life and death were predestined, and Zhou Xuan would never harm him.
He immediately picked up Wei Xiaoqing and then dropped the spotlight. Zhou Xuan caught it and handed it to Fu Ying.
Wei Xiaocai was very weak, but still conscious and a little nervous, though she gritted her teeth and remained silent.
With the help of the higher-ups, Lan and Wei Haihong each grabbed one of her hands and slowly lowered her down. Zhou Xuan, watching from below, aimed and spread his arms, saying, "Let go!"
As soon as Lan Gaofeng and Wei Haihong let go, Wei Xiaoqing fell to the bottom of the cave. Zhou Xuan caught her waist the moment her feet hit the water, and the force of her fall disappeared in the water.
Zhou Xuan helped Wei Xiaoqi stand firmly in the water, and then scooped up some water with his hands to give her a few sips.
After drinking several large gulps of water, Wei Xiaoqing felt much better. Her weakness was mainly due to hunger and thirst; after drinking a few sips of water, she felt a slight return of strength to her stomach.
Zhou Xuan helped Wei Xiaoqing walk a little further into the hole, clearing space at the bottom, and looked up at Wei Haihong, saying, "Brother Hong, jump in."
Wei Haihong, carrying a powerful flashlight, crouched down near the cave entrance to prepare before leaping in with a "whoosh," splashing Zhou Xuan, Fu Ying, and Wei Xiaoqing all over. However, Wei Haihong was unharmed and quickly regained his footing in the water. Although the flashlight had splashed a lot of water, it hadn't gone out.
The high-ranking official above glanced at Li Yong and Li Jinlong, then said in a deep voice, "Go down. There's nothing more to think about. Either way, you're going to die. Dying on the way to finding a way out is better than knowingly waiting to die here!"
After watching Lan Gaofeng and Li Yong jump into the water cave one after the other, Li Jinlong's face turned pale. No one forced him, but everyone else had gone down, and he was left alone in the cave, which only made him more afraid. He had no choice but to hurriedly put on his bag, close his eyes, and jump down after them.
The water was indeed cold after they entered. Lan Gaofeng, Li Yong, and Zhou Xuan, who were in better physical condition, were relatively okay. Li Jinlong, though physically strong, was trembling all over with fear, most of his body submerged in the cold water. He felt immense pressure; who knew if there were any strange things in the water?
Zhou Xuan's main concern was taking care of Wei Xiaoqing, who was the weakest of the group. Right now, Wei Xiaoqing's lips were purple from the cold, and her teeth were chattering from time to time.
Zhou Xuan took a powerful lamp from Fu Ying with his right hand. He held Wei Xiaoqing's hand with his left, channeling his icy energy into her to protect her from the cold. Fu Ying then linked arms with his right hand, which was holding the lamp. The three of them walked together, one lamp in Fu Ying's hand and the other in his.
Wei Haihong followed closely behind Zhou Xuan, followed by Lan Gaofeng and Li Yong, and then Li Jinlong. They walked for about ten minutes, following the water flow through the cave, making countless turns and bends.
Li Jinlong grew increasingly frightened as he walked, and the water became deeper and deeper until only the heads of all seven of them were above water, with water droplets dripping from the rock walls above them.
Zhou Xuan held his hand above the water. The hands of the people carrying the lanterns were all raised, and after a while, they became very sore and weak. They handed the lanterns to their other hands, but they couldn't hold on for long before they had to switch hands. If they couldn't hold on, the lanterns would sink into the water and become useless. At this point, if the lanterns went out, it would be fatal. In other words, these last six powerful lanterns were their last hope.
Of course, besides Zhou Xuan, Zhou Xuan's ice aura is more effective than a high-powered lamp. A lamp can only see the surface and the visible areas, but his ice aura can detect the unseen areas and detect unseen dangers!
Volume 1, Chapter 114: Life or Death on the Brink
As the two of them grew weaker and weaker, they had to try their best to keep Wei Xiaoqing conscious. The water temperature of the underground river was also low, so in the end, Wei Xiaoqing could only walk with Zhou Xuan supporting her.
Zhou Xuan was severely exhausted at this point. He could only measure the distance of three meters with the ice energy, and the terrain was becoming increasingly steep, with the gaps becoming smaller and smaller. Eventually, he was walking with his face half-up, and there were only a few inches of space left on the water.
Li Jinlong's face turned ashen, and his voice trembled as he said, "Damn it, there's no space ahead... it's all water! What are we going to do?"
The faces of the group were not pleasant, but Li Jinlong's words only worsened their mood.
Zhou Xuan was also anxious. The icy aura probed two or three meters ahead, and the space on the water's surface was becoming increasingly narrow, almost to the point of having no gaps at all. Wei Xiaoqing was also nearing her breaking point, and Fu Ying was holding his hand. She was in slightly better shape; her constitution was naturally stronger. Besides, Zhou Xuan was occasionally channeling some icy aura into her body.
After traveling for another twenty minutes, the space was almost gone, and they could not go any further. Zhou Xuan also discovered that the area three meters ahead was entirely composed of underground rivers. There was not an inch of space left.
All seven people stopped. Li Jinlong, his face ashen, said angrily, "I told you this waterway is too dangerous and we shouldn't come, but you insisted on coming anyway. Now what do you suggest we do?"
Zhou Xuan frowned; Li Jinlong was too narrow-minded. But he wasn't in the mood to argue with him now; what was the point of winning or losing at this point?