It seemed today was fated to bring together bitter rivals.
Gu Xianwang had lost her knife and was burning with shock and fury—especially since it had fallen into this woman’s hands for the second time. Without another word, she drove her knee downward, twisting at the waist to flip into an inverted headlock.
Long Li had clearly anticipated her unruly nature. She shifted her left arm just enough to jab a precise point on the numbing tendon at Gu Xianwang’s lower back. At the same time, her right arm swept the knife in a wide arc, batting away the pursuing giant cave crickets. Her feet never faltered; even burdened with another person, she leaped nimbly and swiftly, reaching the shore in moments.
The instant her feet touched solid ground, she flung Gu Xianwang onto the nearby patch of sandy gravel. Looking up at Yao Cuo, she barked, “Kill the flashlight! These bugs chase the light.”
Yao Cuo hadn’t even processed the electric tension and killing intent in their lightning-fast exchange, but he could tell this stranger who had just saved Gu Xianwang was no ordinary fighter. He switched off the light without hesitation.
Darkness swallowed the rock cave once more. Gu Xianwang fixed Long Li with a venomous glare. Somehow, the woman had produced a spray bottle; with a sharp hiss, she unleashed a cloud of mist straight into the face of the giant cave crickets fanning out to encircle them.
The spray carried a choking, chemical stench—like some potent insecticide. It took effect immediately. Moments later, as the white fog cleared, not a single bug remained in sight.
Gu Xianwang sat up on the gravel, gasping for breath. There was no relief at cheating death, only a choking sense of humiliation.
A few seconds passed in silence. The cave cricket swarm did not return. Once her breathing steadied, she muttered, “Senior Brother, turn on the light.”
Yao Cuo splashed hurriedly ashore, flashlight in hand. Seeing her drenched and battered, he felt a mix of fear and anger. “You foolish girl—why do you always charge ahead so recklessly? If something happened to you, how could I ever face Master?” He rummaged in the medical kit for bandages and antiseptic.
Gu Xianwang ignored him, her eyes still locked on Long Li. “Miss Long, if you wouldn’t mind returning my knife.”
Long Li stood a short distance away. The words didn’t ruffle her; her expression remained as calm and detached as ever. She stepped forward, flicked her wrist to toss the long-handled waist knife into the air, then pinched the blade between two fingers and presented the hilt to Gu Xianwang.
Even Yao Cuo, still in the dark about her identity, could sense the sharp undercurrent of hostility.
Gu Xianwang seized the hilt. Neither woman moved. They stared each other down across the blade for a tense moment—until the sounds of Ye Chan and the tour guide clambering ashore broke the standoff. Only then did Gu Xianwang curl her lip in a cold smirk. “My thanks.”
Long Li released her grip.
Ye Chan could perfectly understand how furious Fairy Sister was. But after that clash, the gap in strength between their sides was all too clear—pushing things further would gain them nothing. She hurried to play peacemaker. “Those bugs shouldn’t come back now, right? Senior Brother Yao, quick—check on Hei Bro. He’s burning up.”
Everyone’s attention snapped to the tour guide. Yao Cuo pressed the back of his hand to the man’s forehead; it was scorching, and his eyes were glazed. “Likely an infection from the wound on his back. We’ll rest here a bit. Everyone, check yourselves for cuts—be thorough. The water here might not be clean; disinfect anything you find.”
Of their group of four, Gu Xianwang bore the worst of it. Every inch of exposed skin was torn and bleeding. She had just unzipped her jacket when Long Li’s cool voice cut in. “This spot isn’t safe. We shouldn’t linger.”
How amusing. Did the woman have no heart at all? Didn’t she realize whose fault it was they were in this mess?
Gu Xianwang acted as if she hadn’t heard, directing Yao Cuo instead. “Get his wet clothes off. A damp wound will only get worse. There’s quick-acting powder in the medical kit—sprinkle some on to stabilize it.”
She wanted Long Li to see the full consequences of her actions with her own eyes.
But Long Li’s gaze fell on the half-dissolved gu sac still clinging to the tour guide’s back, and puzzlement flickered across her face. “He’s been poisoned with gu.”
How novel. Gu Xianwang shot back coldly, “Gu poison, yes. And it’s not just him—Ye Chan has it too.”
Long Li’s brows furrowed faintly as the pieces fell into place. That night in the Gu Witch’s room, she had left behind the gu poison. Sara must have swept it up when tying off loose ends.
It was her oversight. She should have known Sara’s temperament was as capricious as it was ruthless—when she said she wanted someone dead, she meant it.
Long Li sheathed her short knife and spoke mildly. “I don’t have the antidote on me right now. Once I regroup with them, I’ll hand it over to you.”
“Then I thank you in advance, Miss Long.”
Long Li had no real defense, so she fell silent.
Yao Cuo pulled three alcohol wipes from the kit and lit them in a metal tin to serve as a makeshift fire. The group clustered around the tiny glow by the edge of the dark river. Gu Xianwang and the tour guide’s wounds desperately needed drying. She shrugged off her outer jacket and swabbed her injuries with alcohol-soaked cotton, exposing more than a dozen gashes of varying sizes.
Ye Chan gasped in horror. “Sister, how did you get so many cuts? Those cave crickets aren’t poisonous, are they?”
Gu Xianwang shook her head. She’d never seen bugs like that before. To be on the safe side, she poured alcohol straight onto the wound, let it soak for a moment, and only then applied the hemostatic ointment.
Hiss—even watching made it hurt.
Long Li sat right beside her and said calmly, “Protruding cave crickets are gregarious, omnivorous insects. In Fujian, they’re also called ‘cave cricket chicks.’ They’re common in damp places and usually harmless to humans.”
“Did you say earlier that these bugs are phototactic? So did they attack Xianwang because of the flashlight? But why are the three of us fine?” Yao Cuo glanced around with lingering fear. “We’re building a fire here—will they come back?”
Long Li glanced at Gu Xianwang, who had finished treating her wound and was silently munching on a Snickers, then shook her head. “Out of you four, only she was attacked. It can’t be just the light. The ecosystem here is peculiar; the creatures reared in this place have diverged from those outside.”
Ye Chan had first pegged Long Li as some bigwig from a shady organization, but now she seemed like a worldly senior with a penchant for splitting hairs over words. Mustering her courage, Ye Chan asked, “Um… Sister Long, I don’t mean anything by it, just curious—did you guys, uh, kidnap the rest of our tour group?”
Long Li: “…No.”
So they were all in on it together.
Ye Chan let out a dry laugh. “Oh, good, good. So how come you’re here by yourself?”
“Got separated.”
Ye Chan felt a bit awkward. “Uh, that’s… pretty unlucky, huh.”
“Not really.”
With her skills, any bugs that crossed her path would be the ones done for.
Gu Xianwang eyed the rip on the back of Long Li’s shirt and said coolly, “Since the ecosystem here is so unique, even someone with exceptional martial prowess might not navigate it with complete ease.”
She’d meant the words as a jab, but Long Li took them in stride. “Precisely. One hand cannot clap. I’m struggling to hold my own alone. So, Miss Gu, I propose we set aside our grievances for the moment and face this crisis together.”
Gu Xianwang: “…”
Long Li pressed on. “Moreover, I entered the cave ahead of you all and have a bit of experience that might prove useful. The karst cave we’re in lies beneath a low hill called Camelback Ridge. There are many branching paths ahead, making it all too easy to lose your way.” She pointed to the white stalactites behind them, jointed like bamboo shoots, and added, “The dangers extend beyond just the protruding cave crickets we’ve encountered.”
It seemed they had run into their share of trouble too. Gu Xianwang mulled it over inwardly, waiting for her to divulge more intelligence.
But Long Li paused, then suddenly smiled. “Miss Gu, I don’t eat much, so rest assured.”
Gu Xianwang’s hand froze mid-motion, nearly choking on the chocolate in her mouth.
…
About an hour later, the three alcohol blocks had slowly burned out.
After taking some fever reducers, the tour guide’s spirits had perked up a little, but the ankle he’d injured earlier from the rope noose had swollen worse, leaving him to hobble along with Yao Cuo’s support.
According to Long Li, the gu sac on his back was still in its pre-hatching phase and actually beneficial to his body for now. In their juvenile stage, these gu worms secreted a self-protective hormone that accelerated the healing of surrounding skin tissue—much like how certain venomous insects could be processed into medicine.
Gu Xianwang held the flashlight and walked abreast with Long Li at the front. Their underground karst cave was vast. In the beam’s glow, the pristine, undeveloped stalactites shone white as congealed jade. Stalactites and stone pillars dangled from the ceiling in fantastical shapes. Walking among them felt like stepping into another world, one that revealed a gorgeous beauty honed by the slow drip of endless ages.
Long Li pointed to a narrow fissure in the rock on the left bank of the underground river. “That’s how I came in, but I don’t recommend you take that route.”
Gu Xianwang had no desire to reunite with Sara and the others so soon. From the current situation, they might have captured the Gu Granny, but they likely hadn’t secured the crucial clues yet. The main group was trapped in this maze-like karst cave, just like her—who would emerge victorious remained to be seen.
She asked, “You still haven’t explained why you got separated from them.”
Long Li replied, “That granny didn’t tell the truth.”
That figured. The old woman hadn’t seemed like a saint to begin with. After her entire operation got uprooted, it’d be odd if she wasn’t nursing some grudge.
Gu Xianwang walked on in silence for a couple of steps, then lowered her voice. “What exactly are you after?”
Long Li glanced at her. Her expression was sincere and unguarded—a far cry from the guarded demeanor she’d shown back with the group. Intrigued by this sudden candor, Long Li countered, “And what are you seeking?”
As expected, she wouldn’t bite so easily. Gu Xianwang swung the flashlight beam toward the main passage along the underground river, paused, and said, “I’m looking for something that can save my life.”
Long Li recalled the details from her dossier, along with all the little tells from earlier, and guessed that Gu Xianwang had likely gotten some different leads from Shang Ruyun.
“You’re here for the Nüwa Cocoon.”
Nüwa Cocoon? What was that?
Gu Xianwang hadn’t expected her bluff to actually fish out some crucial information. She furrowed her brow right away, feigning a look of reluctant admission. “I didn’t realize an organization like yours was after it too.”
Long Li didn’t respond at first, but she couldn’t help sneering inwardly. The girl had a cunning streak, no doubt, but she was green as grass. A few words were all it took to expose her nerves. No one else knew what a Nüwa Cocoon even was—not even Sara, who only knew they were hunting an ancient altar ruin. As for what lay inside that ruin, Mike Hex, that sly old fox, wasn’t about to spill.
After a moment of silence, with Long Li saying nothing more, Gu Xianwang worried she’d slipped up in her reply. “Truth is, I’m not even sure the thing I’m after is here, so—”
Long Li suddenly smiled. “What Sara’s looking for is actually an Ancient Scroll. Me? I’m after something else entirely.”
Gu Xianwang hadn’t seen that reversal coming—it pierced right through her fib. Long Li’s eyes gleamed as they fixed on her, and heat rushed to her cheeks. Thank goodness the cave was dim; she probably couldn’t make out the flush. Throwing caution to the wind, Gu Xianwang shrugged it off with feigned indifference. “Looks like we scrapped for nothing, then. Different goals mean no real reason to throw down.”
Long Li sidestepped the comment. “Not curious what I’m after?”
Gu Xianwang was floundering now. “Fine, what is it?”
Long Li replied, “Can’t tell you just yet.”
She was toying with her, plain and simple!
Gu Xianwang opened her mouth to retort, but Long Li halted abruptly. She raised her arm, fist clenched, her voice low and tense. “Something’s coming.”
