Chapter 40: Two Paths Parallel

Li Xuan and Lin Mo didn't get back to the Flower Sea until noon.

After getting off the carriage, Lin Mo went back to the rear yard of the Supervisor's Mansion and went to sleep in his own room.

Although this outing was said to be safe and uneventful, it left Lin Mo feeling extremely exhausted, after all Lin Mo almost lost Li Xuan.

When Li Xuan saw Lin Mo return to the Supervisor's Mansion, he did not go to rest there; instead he went straight to the North District to check the condition of his small courtyard.

Half an hour later, Li Xuan returned to the North District and, from a distance, saw his own small courtyard.

The courtyard's wall was still there, but the Mao Cao Wu inside had vanished.

He pushed the gate open and went inside, where Li Xuan saw Liu Li's Four Brothers and Bai Wen in a large pit, tamping earth and shoveling stones into it.

"Uncle Liu, Brother Bai Wen!" Li Xuan called out to the group.

The people in the pit heard Li Xuan's voice, stopped what they were doing, all lifted their heads, and looked at Li Xuan.

"Xuan Ge'er, you're back!" Liu Li and Bai Wen greeted Li Xuan in unison.

"Yes, the building materials have already been purchased, and in another two or three days they'll be delivered to us. But Uncle Liu, our progress is really fast," Li Xuan said with a smile to Liu Li.

"Ha ha, we brothers haven't used proper building materials to build a house for many years; our hands have been itching. Now that we finally have a chance, we naturally want to finish the house as soon as possible," Liu Li said cheerfully to Li Xuan.

"We'll be hard on Uncle Liu Li during this period. So, let's take a day off tomorrow, go to the Supervisor's Mansion for a good meal, rest up, wait for the building materials, and continue building when they arrive," Li Xuan thought for a moment, then said with a smile to Liu Li.

"That's wonderful; the food at the Supervisor's Mansion, we brothers have been craving for a long time. Thanks to Xuan Ge'er, we can finally taste it!" Liu Li's eyes lit up upon hearing Li Xuan's words.

The food in the North District is really poor; we barely get a full meal, so now being able to eat good dishes and meat and wine naturally makes Liu Li very excited.

"Uncle Liu, let's stop here for today, go back and rest. Bai Wen and I still have some matters to attend to," Li Xuan directly gave Liu Li a dismissal.

"Alright, Xuan Ge'er, we'll head back early today to rest, and tomorrow morning we'll go to the Supervisor's Mansion for a good meal!" Liu Li said nothing more, just nodded and agreed to Li Xuan's instruction.

Then Liu Li and his four brothers took their tools and left Li Xuan's small courtyard.

"Xuan Ge'er, what's the matter?" Bai Wen asked curiously of Li Xuan.

"We'll discuss it in the basement later," Li Xuan lowered his voice and said to Bai Wen.

Bai Wen nodded, then found the basement entrance, lifted the cover plate, and Li Xuan and Bai Wen entered the basement.

At this moment, the basement was brightly lit by the glow of Starfire Vine.

Li Xuan and Bai Wen sat down directly on the chairs.

"Xuan Ge'er, what exactly is the matter?" Bai Wen asked Li Xuan curiously.

"I want to start digging a tunnel right now," Li Xuan said, his expression solemn, his gaze serious as he looked at Bai Wen.

"Is it that urgent?" Bai Wen, after hearing Li Xuan's words, froze for a moment, then looked at Li Xuan with a puzzled expression and asked.

"I feel that Ju Douluo still isn't fully confident in me; the sooner I finish the tunnel, the sooner I can be at ease," Li Xuan sighed, saying somewhat helplessly.

The pressure Ju Douluo puts on Li Xuan is enormous, and Li Xuan learned from Lin Mo that as long as he cultivates the Strange Fungus Sky‑piercing Chrysanthemum, Ju Douluo will kill him without hesitation.

If the tunnel can be successfully dug, he'll have a way out later. "Alright, Xuan Ge'er, I'm listening to you. Since that's the case, I'll start digging the tunnel today and finish it as soon as possible," Bai Wen nodded seriously, then pounded his chest and assured Li Xuan.

"It's not that urgent; this tunnel will be long. Let's wait until the building materials arrive before we start digging, otherwise it could collapse easily," Li Xuan waved his hand quickly as he said.

If the tunnel were only a few meters long, the lack of a supporting frame wouldn't be a big issue, but the tunnel Li Xuan wants to dig is several kilometers, even over ten kilometers long, so a stable framework is needed to ensure absolute safety.

Otherwise, if the tunnel collapses, Li Xuan and Bai Wen's intention to escape would inevitably be discovered.

At that point, Li Xuan would probably have no chance to run.

"Makes sense... However, Liu Li and the others still have some leftover building materials; I can use those as supports for the tunnel, enough to hold until the new materials arrive," Bai Wen thought for a moment, then said to Li Xuan.

"That actually works," Li Xuan's eyes lit up; in that case, they could indeed start digging the tunnel a few days earlier.

"But, Brother Bai Wen, if it's underground, we'd have to dig day and night in a place without any daylight," Li Xuan furrowed his brows, explaining the difficulty of tunnel digging to Bai Wen.

"What's the problem? As long as we can leave the Flower Sea, a little hardship is fine; freedom is the most desirable!" Bai Wen waved his hand quickly, his eyes full of longing as he said to Li Xuan.

"Since Brother Bai Wen isn't afraid of hardship, I'll thank you here. I'll prepare enough food and water for you, ensuring you can eat well underground. However, the best food is still bread, so I feel sorry for you, Brother Bai Wen!" Li Xuan nodded at Bai Wen as he said.

"There's nothing to feel sorry about; as long as I'm fed, that's enough," Bai Wen smiled.

"By the way, Brother Bai Wen, on this trip to Salah City, I also obtained something good. Look," Li Xuan said, then took the map out of the Void Pearl and placed it in front of Bai Wen.

"This is... it's a map! A map that includes the Flower Sea!" Bai Wen's eyes lit up after looking for a moment, then he said to Li Xuan with surprise.

Li Xuan nodded, then based on his memory began to determine the direction and devised a tunnel that could be dug through.

Soon, Li Xuan had a draft in mind, grabbed a Charcoal Pen, and drew a straight line on the map.

This is the endpoint and direction of the tunnel Li Xuan estimated.

The tunnel is about eight kilometers long, and the key is a low hill; as long as an exit is opened on the hill's far side, Li Xuan and Bai Wen can leave the Flower Sea.

"Eight kilometers, much shorter than I imagined—great!" Li Xuan's eyes lit up as he saw the estimated distance, and he said happily.

"Let's go, Brother Bai Wen, you first bring the building materials down, and I'll get you some supplies," Li Xuan said with a smile to Bai Wen.

"Alright, Xuan Ge'er," Bai Wen nodded, then left the basement to go move things.

Li Xuan took out a bag of Large Rye Bread and a dozen or so water‑filled jars from the Void Pearl, enough for Bai Wen to eat and drink for a while.

After placing all these items in the basement, Li Xuan began to resume digging the tunnel leading to the Stone Wall.

Dear readers, tomorrow is the weekend; I wish all of you a happy day every day.

Dear readers, sorry, I actually finished this chapter last night, but I was too sleepy and produced garbled text, so I didn't dare publish it. I just found some free time today, checked it over, revised it a few times, and finally posted it. My apologies, everyone, it's a bit late.

ps: Last night really produced garbled text; when I looked back, I wrote Strange Records of the Tang Dynasty and added all the dialogue...

(End of chapter)