Chapter 1406

The water swiftly flooded the horizontal opening they had dug, leaving less than an inch between their feet and the surface; they had to embrace each other, limbs entwined, trying to reduce their height as much as possible, and in the darkness they could clearly hear each other's breathing and heartbeat.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Sorry, it's my fault you're in this!" If he hadn't told Ji Feihua about this, Ji Feihua wouldn't have come with him, and they wouldn't be in this predicament.

Ji Feihua laughed and said, "What nonsense, I came of my own accord—what does it have to do with you?" Although he said that, he felt gloomy inside, never expecting to end up like this; but thinking that Hu Xiaotian was still beside him, his heart began to feel relieved—what difference does death make? Everyone dies eventually; at least we won't be alone.

He took out the Light Sword and said to Hu Xiaotian, "Maybe we can still dig out some space."

Hu Xiaotian lowered his gaze; the water was almost at his feet, and he sighed, "It's still the same."

Ji Feihua shifted his arms as if trying to do something, but after several attempts he couldn't succeed; he told Hu Xiaotian, "Help me take the Night Pearl from my waist."

"For lighting?" Hu Xiaotian laughed, "No need for that trouble—just take the Skull from the leather sack on my back; it glows."

Ji Feihua reached out, embraced Hu Xiaotian's neck, and undid the leather sack on his back; the two were deep in this narrow cave, inevitably limbs entwined and bodies pressed together. Hu Xiaotian had never been this close to a man before; he silently reminded himself that Ji Feihua was a eunuch, a eunuch without even a chest, yet there was one thing he couldn't help admitting: Ji Feihua was absolutely the most beautiful eunuch. A top‑tier eunuch, even if placed among women, would be of the sort that could bring calamity to the state and its people.

Ji Feihua saw that this fellow hadn't spoken for a while and thought something had happened to him; he asked curiously, "What's wrong? Why aren't you speaking?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Nothing?"

Ji Feihua said, "Put your head on my shoulder so I can open the leather sack." Hu Xiaotian did as he was told, moving his head forward. Each rested his chin on the other's shoulder, cheeks touching; Hu Xiaotian keenly felt Ji Feihua's skin extremely smooth—describing it as "skin like congealed fat" is no exaggeration; a eunuch's skin was even more delicate than a woman's.

Ji Feihua finally opened the leather sack, and a Lan light instantly filled the narrow cave; he had no intention of taking out the Skull further. Looking down, the water seemed to have risen a bit more; he lifted his leg, and Hu Xiaotian raised his foot, bending their knees as much as possible. His knee pressed between Ji Feihua's legs, and likewise Ji Feihua's knee pressed between this fellow's legs.

Soon Ji Feihua felt a change at his right knee—something was rapidly growing there, and it was radiating heat.

Hu Xiaotian was embarrassed, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to disappear into—he had actually reacted to a eunuch. From now on, he figured he and the word "integrity" would have nothing to do with each other, and at this close distance any tiny bodily change would be impossible to hide.

Ji Feihua obviously realized what was happening, struggled backward a bit. He tried to put distance between himself and Hu Xiaotian, but in this cramped space there was no possibility; the result of his struggle was feeling Hu Xiaotian's knee rubbing between his legs, and Ji Feihua's face darkened: "Get your knee off me!"

Hu Xiaotian gave a wry smile and said, "Elder Brother Ji, why don't you move your knee first?"

Ji Feihua fell silent; in such a narrow space it was impossible to separate their entwined limbs. Suddenly he realized that the water below had stopped rising for a while, the temperature in the cave began to drop sharply, and the water underfoot quickly froze into ice.

Hu Xiaotian exclaimed delightedly, "Looks like our luck isn't so bad."

Ji Feihua felt no joy at all; the so‑called good luck merely meant the imminent cave‑in had been temporarily averted. Apart from the tiny cramped space they occupied, the outside was either rock or sealed in ice—unless they had earth‑escaping ability, there was no way to get out of here.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Even without food or drink we can last a while; this Skull is in our hands, and Su Yuqin would never give up this treasure." For a moment he finally managed to rein in some stray thought, temporarily forgetting Ji Feihua's knee pressed against him.

Ji Feihua said, "I should be able to last three days and three nights; how about you?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Although I can't match you, a day and night should be fine; as long as Su Yujin thinks we're nearly dead, she'll try every means to retrieve the Skull. To get the Skull back she must first melt the ice in this cave and drain the standing water—then we'll have a chance."

Although Ji Feihua acknowledged that Hu Xiaotian made sense, he still had a worry: "What if Su Yujin waits a month before coming to look for the Skull?"

Hu Xiaotian secretly sighed in his heart. Not to mention one month, even if it were three days later, I'm afraid I would already be dead; his feigned‑dead dog breath‑holding divine skill cannot guarantee lasting three days and three nights. But besides waiting, there is no other option before him; he whispered: "We can only gamble on luck. If Su Yujin truly comes to look for the Skull a month later, we two will have no choice but to die here. If we brothers can die together, at least on the Yellow Springs road it won't be lonely."

Ji Feihua said: "You really resign yourself to just die like that? Don't forget your princess is still waiting outside for you to go rescue her."

Upon mentioning Long Xi Yue, Hu Xiaotian fell silent at once. He was indeed unwilling, but now that things have come to this, what can unwillingness do?

Ji Feihua realized his words seriously affected his mood, feeling a bit apologetic, he whispered: "Your luck has always been not bad; I estimate this time too you can turn danger into auspiciousness."

Hu Xiaotian chuckled: "Turning danger into auspiciousness, too bad we two have no breasts; if there were a woman, maybe we could really turn breasts into auspiciousness." At a life‑and‑death juncture, this guy still didn't forget to jest, and even thought himself quite humorous and burst out laughing.

Ji Feihua sighed: "Even with death upon you, you can still laugh?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "What else can I do if I don't laugh? Am I supposed to cry and show you?"

Ji Feihua said: "Say less; perhaps holding our breath and regulating our breath can let us last a bit longer."

Hu Xiaotian knew he was right, after all breathing continuously consumes oxygen; in such a narrow space, under normal circumstances the oxygen would probably be used up by them in less than an hour; only by holding back breath as much as possible could they last a bit longer. Hu Xiaotian, though usually optimistic, when he thought of everything outside, his heart inevitably felt a sense of loss; if he truly could not get out, then the brothers of Yong Jiang would likely scatter like monkeys when the tree falls; what about his red‑beauty confidantes? They probably don't even know he's already dead; Hu Xiaotian didn't even tell Zhan Peng and the others about his nighttime infiltration of the Pure Mystery Temple.

Ji Feihua sensed a change in Hu Xiaotian's inner rhythm, seemingly guessing what he was thinking at the moment, and whispered: "Are you feeling sad inside?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head.

Ji Feihua said: "Why don't I help you take the Skull off your back? That would make our space a bit larger."

Hu Xiaotian only realized after his reminder that he still had such a large Skull strapped to his back, occupying considerable space, though the Skull was fitted tightly against his back. Ji Feihua went to great trouble to finally pull the Skull from the leather pouch behind him and directly buckle it onto Hu Xiaotian's head; indeed there was no more suitable place here.

Hu Xiaotian recalled that when he had just seen Su Yujin, she had already buckled the Skull onto her head, and the Skull's Lan light flickered on and off; he didn't know what mystery lay inside the Skull. This guy focused his mind and held his breath, trying to sense the secret within the Skull, but after spending quite a while he felt nothing mysterious; the only sensation was that he was wearing a safety helmet on his head. Although the Skull looks huge, its weight is actually not heavy.

After the Skull was buckled onto their heads, it indeed freed up considerable space; at least they no longer needed to cling tightly together, pressing their heads against each other's shoulders, but their hands and feet remained entwined, each leaning their heads back. Ji Feihua looked at Hu Xiaotian wearing that huge Skull and couldn't help feeling amused, she said softly: "I really don't know what mystery this Skull holds; for its sake they have fought and schemed, using every means."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Maybe the Skull truly contains a heaven‑shaking secret; maybe only by obtaining both Skulls can we discover its wonder."

Ji Feihua nodded: "No more talk; let's conserve energy. I'll teach you a breath‑holding method; with your perceptiveness and foundation you should be able to learn it quickly, and if applied correctly perhaps you can last three days and three nights."

Hu Xiaotian had previously learned the feigned‑dead dog breath‑holding technique from his maternal grandfather Xu Lingkong, but at most it could only sustain him for a day and a night; just now hearing Ji Feihua say he could last three days and three nights, he actually felt the urge to ask him for instruction, after all it's better to survive poorly than to die well, and living one more day is still a day.

Ji Feihua quietly passed the formula to him; Hu Xiaotian had practiced so many martial arts, his ability to grasp internal cultivation methods had unknowingly improved greatly, and within a short half‑hour he had already mastered the heart method Ji Feihua taught him. At first they exchanged a few words, but then they both fell silent, since everyone understands that speaking less means less consumption; relying solely on the meager air in the tiny cavern dug out by the light sword, of course we save wherever we can.

Hu Xiaotian suddenly went missing; when he first started working under these aides in Verdant Garden, he didn't feel panicked, after all Hu Xiaotian's martial arts were strong and he was resourceful; more importantly, after several people discussed, they decided there was no need to alert the outside for now, and would have their own people search first; but after waiting a day and a night with no sign of Hu Xiaotian returning, they only then realized something was amiss. (To be continued~^~)