Why Shake Your Head

"Wh-what... What bad feeling?" Scrappy stammered, his nerves showing.

"It's illegal to mine Mythril Ore in secret. If the authorities find out, we're done for!" Uncle Zane warned. "Now that the ore's all gone, to keep the secret, they're planning to kill us!"

"What? Kill us to keep their secret? You mean, they trapped us here on purpose?"

Uncle Zane let out a long, weary sigh.

"They promised a daily wage of one or two taels of silver, and now we haven't seen a single coin. We're even about to lose our lives!"

Feeling a bit down, Grace slipped into her space and said to Cutie Pie, "Cutie Pie, you should be able to dig your way out, right? I'll write a letter, and you can take it to my dad so he can bring people to rescue us!"

"So evil! Aren't they afraid of being struck by lightning?"

[Sobbing] I don't want to die, I don't want to die!

...

In an instant, the miners were cursing, shouting, crying, some even trying to push the massive block of Adamantine.

But how could they possibly move it?

Grace frowned as she looked at the miners.

What Uncle Zane said was pretty much what Grace had guessed.

Mining Mythril Ore is a serious crime.

Would the Sun Family really let so many people leave alive, knowing their secret?

But they acted right when she showed up—was that just a coincidence?

Or... had her whereabouts already been exposed?

Grace tried to figure out what it meant and tentatively asked, "Are you saying we should dig a tunnel and crawl out?"

The only way out was the path blocked by Adamantine.

Adamantine was incredibly tough, used for forging magical tools.

Even her Chixiao Sword could only make a tiny dent—shattering the whole block of Adamantine was impossible.

"You can? Wait, is there a shortcut?" Grace's eyes lit up.

Although the mine itself was fairly big, the air inside was limited.

Now that both the exit and the ventilation shaft were blocked, they wouldn't last long...

What should they do?

Feeling a bit down, Qingluan slipped into her space and said to Cutie Pie, "Cutie Pie, you should be able to dig your way out, right? I'll write a letter, and you can take it to my dad so he can bring people to rescue us!"

It was the only solution she could think of.

Grace followed, crouched down, and asked, "Here?"

"Huh? You mean you can't get out either?"

"Thank you, my Cutie Pie!" Grace patted its head, stood up, and called out loudly, "Everyone!"

"Then why are you shaking your head?"

Cutie Pie nuzzled her face, clearly reluctant to part.

Qingluan's heart softened. She gently asked, "Could it be... you can get out, but you don't want to leave me behind?"

Cutie Pie nodded.

"But if you stay, we'll all be trapped here forever..."

Cutie Pie jumped to the ground, burrowed into the earth, and popped out somewhere else.

Then it looked up at her.

Qingluan tried to figure out what it meant and tentatively asked, "Are you saying we should dig a tunnel and crawl out?"

Cutie Pie nodded.

"But with so many people and so little air, can we last until the tunnel is finished?"

Cutie Pie nodded.

"You can? Wait, is there a shortcut?" Qingluan's eyes lit up.

Cutie Pie nodded again.

Not far away, there was a hidden river.

It was the miners' only hope for survival.

"Great! In that case... you lead the way and show us where to start digging!"

Cutie Pie slipped out of her space, ran to a spot, and pointed with its tail.

Qingluan followed, crouched down, and asked, "Here?"

Cutie Pie nodded.

"Thank you, my Cutie Pie!" Qingluan patted its head, stood up, and called out loudly, "Everyone!"