Princess Embroidered Jade felt her face flush again.
"There should be a dry, flat clearing up ahead. Let's go there—I'll get you something to eat."
"Okay." Princess Embroidered Jade kept her head bowed, her voice as soft as a mosquito. She felt she'd never been so embarrassed in her life. Today alone, she'd lost a year's worth of dignity. But since the silence was broken, she couldn't hold back any longer: "How do you know there's a clearing up ahead?"
"Listen." The voice in the darkness was calm and mysterious: "There's a faint airflow in this cave, a bit of wind. The way the wind echoes and travels through the cave, each chamber makes a different sound. That's how I can tell."
"That's amazing," Princess Embroidered Jade couldn't help but sigh. "Your skills are completely different from anything I've ever seen. This martial art seems self-contained—without a long tradition and deep study, it couldn't exist. But I've never heard of anything like it in the martial world. Where exactly are you from?"
"I come from a faraway land. Not the Bitter South Wilds, but much farther—way, way farther." The Fool's voice suddenly became captivating, full of stories, making people want to dig deeper. But now wasn't the time. They turned a corner and, just as he said, arrived at a small clearing. The ground was relatively flat, and there was some soil—a good sign.
Where there's soil, it means they're closer to the surface—not completely out of options yet.
"Here, drink this." Something was handed over in the darkness. Princess Embroidered Jade reached out, but grabbed The Fool's hand instead. In pitch-black darkness, sight was useless, but every other sense was heightened. Her fingers brushed the back of his hand—a completely different feeling from grabbing his wrist. She couldn't help but shiver slightly.
This was the second effect of losing her composure—her heart lost its balance. Princess Embroidered Jade warned herself to stay calm, then finally managed to grab something unexpected from The Fool's hand: "A cup? Where did this cup come from?" It was pretty big and oddly shaped—no way you could carry it around without someone noticing.
"I've got some special abilities. I can stash a few things on me." The Fool scratched his head. "I don't remember how I got that way, but I just can."
"That's really amazing." Anyone else here would probably be freaking out, but Princess Embroidered Jade had long practiced the No-Dust Mind State, so she was just mildly curious: "It's like a magic trick. What can you stash? Could you hide a whole person?"
"Nope." He remembered doing experiments—there was enough space, but he really couldn't stash a living person. He sounded puzzled: "I mean, I managed to stash Cang Cang, so why can't I stash a person?"
"What's Cang Cang?"
"A hamster."
"A hamster? Like a mouse that lives in a barn?"
"Something like that. I don't know why they're called hamsters either."
"Why did you stash it away?"
"It snuck in by itself—I had no idea beforehand." Bits of memory flashed through The Fool's mind, and he said with a touch of nostalgia, "When I first met it, I even gave it a beating. Later, I kept it as a pet. It was a funny little thing."
"Where is it now?"
"It's guarding my parents."
Imagining a tiny mouse acting as a bodyguard, Princess Embroidered Jade couldn't help but smile. The two of them chatted quietly, careful not to raise their voices since they didn't know where Lady Simone was.
Princess Embroidered Jade's caution wasn't pointless—The Fool's voice had a soothing, magical power. Just chatting like this, she felt her nerves settling down, and being alone with a man didn't seem so awkward anymore. Plus, talking to him made her curious.
You couldn't help but feel his world was magical, like a whole new universe.
Princess Embroidered Jade felt her nerves finally settle.
First, drink some water to get by, then find a way out. While searching, keep Lady Simone's possible threat in mind. But with this guy here, even a pitch-black cave doesn't feel so hopeless. Good, that's the plan.
She shook the cup in her hand. The liquid inside gave off a rich, indescribable aroma. She'd never smelled anything like it, but didn't hesitate—she tipped her head back and downed it in one go.
Wow, honestly amazing—just a small sip, but better than any royal nectar or fine wine. She couldn't name the flavor, but every part of her mouth and throat was cheering. It was a feeling straight from the core of life, a soul-shaking pleasure. But in the next instant, Princess Embroidered Jade's face changed; she couldn't help but let out a muffled sound and clutch her stomach.
"Wh-what is this stuff?" Princess Embroidered Jade's voice was strained.
"It's called Purified Liquid. Pretty hunger-suppressing, huh?"
"Hunger-suppressing? You call this feeling 'hunger-suppressing'?" She really wanted to smack The Fool. It was like suddenly swallowing a huge mouthful of wasabi—this bizarre Purified Liquid exploded in her stomach, sending a tidal wave of energy rushing through every part of her body. Starting off with something this intense was like taking a critical hit to the soul. Princess Embroidered Jade's breathing instantly grew rapid.
Luckily, she still had her Internal Energy. Gritting her teeth, she circulated her inner power and quickly calmed the wild sensation, suppressing the rampaging energy for now. She realized this energy was actually harmless—maybe even beneficial—but the feeling was so intense, like being scrubbed all over with a wire brush.
"Oh, I just remembered." The man in the darkness suddenly realized, "Ordinary people can't drink Purified Liquid directly—it's too much for them."
"You!" That kind of hindsight advice was just asking for a slap! If she weren't so distracted, Princess Embroidered Jade would definitely have smacked him.
"Oh right, I just remembered—I brought something that might work for lighting."
"Well, hurry up and take it out!" Princess Embroidered Jade's voice rose, breathless.
(This chapter isn't over yet ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!)
Whoosh—a point of light appeared in the void. After so long in the dark, even a tiny glow felt blinding, but soon their attention was drawn in. It was a pill about the size of a longan, glowing with specks of light like a miniature starry sky. In the darkness, it looked almost unreal, dreamlike.
Princess Embroidered Jade was almost mesmerized: "What is that?"
"That's called a Meat Pill." The Fool held it in his palm. "It's kind of like the Purified Liquid you just drank, but way more advanced—I can't eat it myself."
"Purified Liquid?" As soon as she heard that, Princess Embroidered Jade glared at The Fool again, her anger flaring. "You dare mention Purified Liquid..." Her words cut off abruptly, eyes wide, breath suddenly stopping. The Meat Pill's glow wasn't strong, but it was enough for her to see The Fool nearby—he wasn't wearing any clothes!
The dim light outlined the muscles and texture of his skin. Because of the shadows, she could only see him from the side—mostly his chest and thighs. The rest, including the crucial areas, were hidden in darkness, but it was enough to leave Princess Embroidered Jade utterly stunned, as if struck by lightning.
For her, this was a bit too much to handle.
"You... why... aren't you wearing any clothes?" Her mind went blank, and she blurted out the question on instinct.
The Fool looked puzzled, not understanding why Princess Embroidered Jade asked something so obvious: "I don't know Internal Energy, so I couldn't drive away the fish from a distance. My clothes were totally ruined when I came out of the water—I told you already, I can't make cloth strips. I only had one set of clothes left, and I gave them to you, so of course I have nothing left to wear."
"Uh..." Princess Embroidered Jade was thrown off by his straightforward logic. By his reasoning, it did make perfect sense. But—wait, is that really how it works? Thinking back, she'd calmly chatted for ages, held his wrist, sat close, even touched skin... and all that time, she'd been next to a naked guy?!
"Ugh!" Princess Embroidered Jade felt dizzy, her legs wobbling. Her energy channels scrambled, and the sensation from the Purified Liquid surged back—her Internal Energy was no longer under control.
"What's wrong?" The Fool asked, starting to get up. As he stood, the light spread further—down his chest, past his stomach, down his legs, and then started heading back up toward a certain mysterious region.