Chapter 619: Trapped Here for a Lifetime!

In the end, Cui Qilang's martial skill was decent, and Ba Zha also didn't want to make a fuss, so they claimed they had drunk too much and took the blame.

Being on someone else's territory, Cui Qilang, though his veins bulged with anger, wished he could personally slay Ba Zha to vent his fury, but ultimately he endured for the greater good.

However, the next day, Liu Li appeared.

He is a Central Plains native, having lived in Eagle City for over a decade, and claims he can safely lead them out of Eagle City.

But just after leaving the city, Ba Zha's men maliciously framed the DaLiang people for theft.

And they demanded to arrest the more than a hundred of their companions!

What could be tolerated? The DaLiang people were incensed and all swore to resist to the death.

Yet in a moment of impulse, they killed the dozen or so men Ba Zha had sent out.

Liu Li hurriedly led them into a stone cave.

Just after they had hidden and before they could catch their breath, a large force of soldiers pursued them.

Finally, Liu Li took Nanping and the others to the back mountain…

"That Liu Li is a liar!"

"We had just entered the cave when he showed his true colors, claiming that the offering to the Shatuo Buddha was the blessing we all cultivated in past lives."

"After speaking, the people who had been lying in ambush burst out and slaughtered everyone… caught us completely off guard."

"Cui Qilang led me inside, we crossed a rope bridge and saw a pitch‑black statue."

"There was something strange there; we both hallucinated. I saw my father and mother, blood‑soaked, lunging at me, while he saw every member of the Cui family climbing up from the cliff base."

"I almost fell into demonic obstruction; one foot had already stepped off the cliff. If he hadn't snapped out of it and pulled me back, I would have been shattered to pieces."

"Fortunately, Cui Qilang carried a rope, so we slid down the cliff side along it. Below lay a treacherous path, and I slipped, falling into the river."

"When I got up again, I hadn't had time to compose myself and accidentally stepped on something unknown, then fell here."

"In these ten‑odd days, Cui Qilang and I have tried everything, yet we cannot leave this place."

"He even tried to climb up through that tunnel, but at the very top, no matter how hard he strained, the opening would not break."

"I thought we would be trapped here forever!"

"But even staying a lifetime is a pipe dream, because we have run out of food."

"If we stay longer, we'll starve to death before long."

"Sister Li Qingluo, did you see anyone else on the way here?"

"My personal maid and Zheng Mama and they… as well as other guards, civil officials, attendants—I don't know what happened to them."

"I hope they are all still alive."

Although hope was slim, Nanping still clung to a thread of optimism.

Li Qingluo shook her head: "We only saw a corpse floating in the water."

"The others truly weren't found, but I think… perhaps their fates were already grim."

Given Liu Li's madness, those people must have become sacrifices.

Nanping's complexion was grim.

Yet she had to face the truth.

"I, Nanping, must be the most tragic and useless marriage‑princess in history, unable to protect even a single kin."

She bit her lip hard, and within moments it bled profusely.

Li Qingluo gently pried her lip apart.

"Do not hurt yourself any further."

"This incident wasn't your wish; it was the malice of villains, and you were defenseless."

"Fortunately, you are still alive."

"By the way, we still have food on us; you should eat first."

Li Qingluo quickly called Zheng Mama over.

Zheng Mama indeed had two baked flatbreads and some jerky in her arms.

Nanping devoured them ravenously.

Zheng Mama had originally wanted to save a bit for her own girl, but seeing a princess in such a state, she couldn't bring herself to speak.

On the other side, Cui Qilang said to Zhui Yu: "At first there were some fruits on the trees. Later we could also catch fish from this pond."

"But now there's less and less edible."

Nanping ate one flatbread and still slipped the other into Cui Qilang's hand.

"Quick, eat!"

Her kindness was met with Cui Qilang's cold face: "I'm not hungry, thank you, Your Highness."

Nanping was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting Cui Qilang to change his demeanor.

She turned away with a sullen expression, walking toward Li Qingluo.

"Sister Li Qingluo, why are hearts so changeable?"

After speaking, she sighed again, as if she'd already understood something, then sneered at herself.

"How boring."

Li Qingluo asked, "How did he come to escort you for the marriage alliance?"

Nanping replied, "He's ill! He volunteered himself."

As she spoke, Nanping's eyes reddened again.

Perhaps fearing Li Qingluo might misunderstand, Nanping quickly explained, "Sister Li Qingluo, you know how I felt about him back then."

"But since the Summer Empress, I haven't clung to him so shamelessly. On the contrary, he seems a bit unsettled as if I suddenly abandoned him, and occasionally his gaze still falls on me."

"I originally thought he was merely bound by his family, so there was still a trace of infatuation in my heart."

However, ever since my mother began to hold power, his attitude toward me has become even more hot-and-cold.

I suspected he was approaching me with some ulterior motive, blowing hot and cold… Later I grew tired of guessing and had my mother simply arrange a marriage for me, hoping to completely cut off my longing.

But I never expected that my mother had already seen through my thoughts. She originally wanted to grant my wish and simply let me marry into the Cui family… yet before this engagement was even settled, the matter of a marriage alliance arose.

I, too, am helpless; my anguished struggle was in vain.

In the end, my mother even threatened me with her life… What else could I do?

But I never imagined that, at the time of departure, he, Cui Qilang, would become the escorting general.

This time, having fallen into this secret realm, we two have relied on each other for survival, which could be counted as sharing weal and woe together—but look at his appearance just now!

The gentleness and attentiveness of these past few days were merely my illusion!

Nanping, in a fit of anger, tore the biscuit in her hand into two halves and then took a fierce bite.

Seeing her treat the biscuit that way, Zheng Mama felt heartbroken and clutched her chest.

"Miss, you say this water…… could it be that corpse water?"

Zheng Mama came over and deliberately asked.

Nanping's face instantly turned pale: "What corpse water?"

Zheng Mama hurried to explain: "The… oh no, I mean, Your Highness the Princess, you still don't know? In that stone cavern you visited earlier, who knows how many corpses have filled the pool."

That side and this side are connected. So I don't know whether the water here has flowed from that side…

Upon hearing this, Nanping turned and vomited.

Cui Qilang's complexion also turned very grim.

Nanping hastily tossed away the biscuit in her hand—where would she still have an appetite to eat?

Zheng Mama, meanwhile, seized the opportunity to catch it in her hand and hastily tucked it away.

Zhui Yu frowned tightly: "Why are one or two of them vomiting?"

Could it be that the local water and soil really have a problem?

Everyone began to look for an exit.

The places that Cui Qilang had previously searched carefully were all ruled out, leaving very few places left to search.

However, after half an hour passed, not a single useful clue was found.

This place is like an iron prison, sealed off completely in every direction—up, down, left, right, all around.

Even Kill One and Kill Three had crawled back up through the tunnel, yet with their inner strength they could not push open the previous entrance.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Li Qingluo gazed toward that pool of water.

Zhui Yu saw her look and immediately understood: "Miss, do you think… this place might be the exit?"

Li Qingluo: "If the water source is indeed connected, perhaps beneath the water lies this place's only exit."

Cui Qilang: "I had also thought of this method before, but I really cannot rest easy leaving the Princess alone here."

Moreover, the Princess fears water, so taking her along when leaving is also impossible.

Now that you, the County Lord, have arrived, I'll go scout the route.

Having said that, Cui Qilang dove headfirst into the pool.

Nanping instantly rose to her feet, her expression solemn and tinged with anxiety as she stared fixedly at the water surface, watching Cui Qilang plunge to the bottom; though she said nothing, her worry could not be hidden.

Li Qingluo gently took her hand.

Don't worry, I won't let him face danger alone either.

The most skilled in water, Kill Thirteen, followed and also went into the water.

After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Kill Thirteen and Cui Qilang returned together.

Both of their faces lit up with joy: "There's an exit!"

However, Nanping encountered a difficulty.

I… I don't dare…

She had once fallen into the water at the Zhongyi Hou Fu.

It was precisely that incident when Li Qingluo rescued her that the two came to know each other.

In her previous life, Nanping became a fool because of that drowning incident.

In this life, having become a marriage-alliance princess, her fate has already been quite tumultuous.

Li Qingluo took her hand: "Don't be afraid. I will stay here with you; once they find the exit, we'll use another method to rescue us."

Nanping looked at Li Qingluo, both shocked and moved: "Really, truly? Sister Luoluo, you're wonderful!"

At last, in this world there is still someone who will not force her to do something she utterly does not want to do.

This going into the water is one such thing.

Kill Thirteen and Cui Qilang, on the other hand, both agreed to this.

"Miss, the entrance is blocked with dead corpses and bones; it would be better for you to stay here."

"After we get out, we'll come back to the entrance to pick you up."

Upon hearing this, Nanping turned and vomited again.

In the end, the remaining women stayed where they were, namely Zhui Yu, Xuan Cang, Qin Ling, Kill Three, Kill One, Kill Twenty, and the others thereafter.

The others all followed suit and went into the water.

Originally it was thought that nothing unexpected would happen, but after about the time to burn an incense stick, bloodwater suddenly welled up in the water.

Li Qingluo, who had been staring at the water surface, quickly rose and strode over.

They've met with disaster!

Zhui Yu and Kill One also hurried over; seeing the color of the water, their expressions changed as well.

How could this happen?

Li Qingluo: "No, I have to go see it myself!"