Chapter 723: Having survived a great calamity, future blessings are assured

A sudden change arose; even Xiao Yin, who had experienced so much, was frightened by what lay before him, and he quickly ordered someone to row the boat to Gu Jiu Ling's position.

Before the two boats had even drawn alongside each other, Xiao Yin leapt up and landed on the opposite boat.

Ling Feng did not dare lag behind; he hastily piloted the boat, gently pressing it against the side of the front boat and set up the small boat.

"Jiu Ling!" Xiao Yin panicked, not knowing what to do, and hurriedly bent over to scoop Gu Jiu Ling up in a horizontal hold.

He held Gu Jiu Ling, stepping on the small boat, and directly returned to his own boat; Ling Feng directed the boatmen with difficulty to turn the boat's head in the underground river and head upstream.

Earlier Xiao Yin had obtained a map of the entrance to this underground dark river; as for the exit, whether it was nearby or required a further detour farther away.

Xiao Yin dared not gamble; the best course was to retrace his steps along the way he had come, which would actually be safer.

Xiao Yin's anxiety made him fumble; his arms holding Gu Jiu Ling grew somewhat stiff, and his body trembled slightly.

He clung tightly to the woman in his arms, constantly feeling she might turn into a wisp of green smoke and drift away on the wind.

He instinctively seized Gu Jiu Ling's hand, especially the hand that had just been glowing, and placed it in his own palm, gripping it tightly.

Xiao Yin even dared not ask Ling Feng beside him whether he too had seen Gu Jiu Ling's earlier mysterious spectacle.

He had in fact seen that scene as well; with the flickering halo of light around Gu Jiu Ling's hand, he felt her arm had actually become transparent.

That feeling left him in an inexpressible panic, and Xiao Yin instinctively clung tightly to Gu Jiu Ling.

Ling Feng on the side also dared not say anything this time; an iron guard propped the boat and came over, half-kneeling on the deck, his whole body soaked through by the icy underground river water.

They all jumped into the rushing water to search for the sunken Tuo Ba Yu and Gu Lv, which was truly uncanny.

Whether it was because the underground river's current was too swift or visibility was poor, despite so many people diving in at once, they still could not find Tuo Ba Yu.

"Your Majesty, the current is too swift; we subordinates have found no trace of Tuo Ba Yu!"

Xiao Yin frowned fiercely; if it were not for his concern for the unconscious Gu Jiu Ling in his arms, he would certainly have personally led people to linger here, refusing to believe that wretched thing would not appear.

However, given such a turbulent river and ice‑cold water, Tuo Ba Yu likely froze to death long ago; perhaps his corpse was even washed farther downstream.

This underground river is also exceedingly strange; ordinary wooden boats cannot float on it at all, and only simple craft made of special animal hides are used.

There simply are not enough boats, making it impossible to leave any behind to salvage Tuo Ba Yu.

"First return to Myriad Rivers City! Ling Feng, you leave a detachment to guard the entrance of the underground river, then send people to follow the river and look for households."

"If you encounter any living person, kill them on sight—no mercy!"

Ling Feng understood; his master probably now hated Tuo Ba Yu so much he wanted to bite off his flesh.

That scoundrel is practically begging for death, daring to lay hands on the person his master cares about most—he's truly tired of living.

Ling Feng drew a breath and spoke carefully: "If we fish Tuo Ba Yu's corpse out of the water, how should we dispose of it?"

Xiao Yin lifted his gaze to the pitch‑black cavern ceiling and said, word by word: "Then crush his bones and scatter his ashes."

Ling Feng dared not utter another word; he hurriedly accepted the order and departed.

Gu Jiu Ling has been mentally and physically exhausted all along the way, and she has also been wits‑and‑courage battles against those rascals.

Moreover, these past days she has discovered that each use of her space leaves her body extremely weak, requiring a period of rest.

Earlier she had hidden Yun Duo in her space, and later she had no choice but to use that space to deal with Tuo Ba Yu, with the two incidents separated by not even a full day.

To Gu Jiu Ling this felt like running ten thousand meters in one breath, almost as if her soul were leaving her body.

At that perilous moment, Gu Jiu Ling did not even think twice; right before Xiao Yin's eyes she directly moved Tuo Ba Yu into her space.

She had known beforehand that moving those people into her space would certainly make them feel uncomfortable.

She usually makes those people take her Numbing Boiling Powder; this is the first time she has acted upon a clear‑minded person to bring them into her space.

Gu Jiu Ling knows that even if Tuo Ba Yu entered his space he would remain conscious, but Yun Duo is still unconscious now.

If Tuo Ba Yu were to do something to Yun Duo in his space, Gu Jiu Ling would regret it too late.

So she merely used the powerful pulling force of her space to seize Tuo Ba Yu and drag him into it, then quickly threw him into the sea.

In short, this time he really treated his space as a mere tool for transporting cargo.

Gu Jiu Ling has not been so foolish as to use that space without restraint; he also discovered that after each use of these spatial arts, his body feels as if it has been emptied out, terribly uncomfortable.

When Gu Jiu Ling awoke again, she found Xiao Yin slumped beside the bed.

She also did not know how long she had been unconscious this time, nor how long Xiao Yin had stayed by her side.

At this moment, looking over, Xiao Yin seemed utterly exhausted, slumped beside her bed.

Hearing Gu Jiu Ling make a slight movement, Xiao Yin hurriedly lifted his head to look at her.

"You've finally awakened!" Xiao Yun swept Gu Jiu Ling into his embrace, with no intention of letting go.

Gu Jiu Ling never expected she had been unconscious for a full four days; Tuo Ba Yu nearly went mad with fright, summoning the finest physicians of Myriad Rivers City and even having those who practice the esoteric arts of witchcraft and martial verses called in.

Even though Gu Jiu Ling, as a physician, had saved countless lives, she never imagined that when she lay unconscious, no matter how many physicians were summoned—famous or obscure, even those of heretical paths—would be called.

No one could say what ailment Gu Jiu Ling suffered from, and Xiao Yin at the time also found it awkward to tell them what he had witnessed.

After all, the empress dowager supposedly conjured living people out of thin air; if this were spoken of, everyone would think him a madman spouting nonsense.

These days Xiao Yin has never left Gu Jiu Ling's side, and now, after great difficulty, he has finally waited for her to awaken.

Xiao Yin swept her into a tight embrace, wishing he could fuse this woman into his very bones and blood.

This brief four‑day period felt like an eternity to him, so protracted that he was on the verge of breaking down.

"Evening.," Gu Qiu Lin slowly raised his hand, touching his gaunt, emaciated face; his affairs, the matters of his two children, drove Xiao Ying to desperation.

Now, having found life in desperation, Gu Jiu Lin also counts herself as having snatched back a life.

"Your Majesty, our children, our children were taken by the dragnet fish."

They were lost; Mo Bei originally had the children, intending to exchange me from Bai Xiao Sheng's hands, but who would have thought they encountered a sandstorm on the road, and our children vanished without a trace.

"Don't you dare say that," his voice quivering slightly; after all, as a mother speaking of her own children, he kept talking but could not continue, tears streaming down; previously he had always put on a brave front because there was no one to rely on, but now seeing Xiao Ying, Gu Jiu Li feels the softest layer deep in his heart ruthlessly stabbed.

"Don't be afraid, don't panic; I have already sent people to comb every inch of the Mo Bei region, certain to find the children—I refuse to believe that such a vast Mo Bei could still hide two children forever without anyone noticing."

Gu 90 drew a breath, yet deep in his eyes lay deep despair and fear; Ding Ding watched the effect: "So many days have passed, still no news of the children; if they were in that storm……"

Just your heartache makes you unable to speak; coming from Xiao Yin, you can't hear his meaning; in such a great storm, if the two little children were, originally deep in the sand dunes, they really couldn't be dug out in a short while; he also couldn't say anything, his own anguish no less than Gu Qiu Lin's, that too is his child; believing, he held Gu Qiu Lin tightly and whispered: "Virtuous people enjoy heavenly favor; two children who have survived great calamity will also have later blessings."