Life in siheyuan era

Prince Rui left, and darkness enveloped the area.

Shen Lan Yin held up the night-luminescent pearl, its faint glow illuminating her as she climbed onto Zhou Zhiyuan's back, becoming his eyes.

Zhou Zhiyuan carried her back, listening to Shen Lan Yin's soft voice asking, "Is the route map Prince Rui gave us reliable?"

"At this point, do we have any other choice but to believe it?"

Zhou Zhiyuan's rhetorical question left Shen Lan Yin speechless. He was right; in this darkness, they had no other option but to trust the map.

Shen Lan Yin remained silent, and after walking for a while, Zhou Zhiyuan quietly said, "The route map should be correct."

Hearing this, Shen Lan Yin's spirits lifted, and she whispered, "How do you know?"

"Prince Rui's thinking aligns with mine. During exploration, we prioritize moving away from the cold air. It's noticeably warmer here than in the previous area."

Zhou Zhiyuan's explanation prompted Shen Lan Yin to consider it. She murmured, "But it's still very cold here."

"Relatively speaking."

She trusted Zhou Zhiyuan's words.

After walking a bit further, Shen Lan Yin remembered something and quietly asked, "Why didn't you use force against Prince Rui?"

This was a valid question. Shen Lan Yin believed that Prince Rui was no match for Zhou Zhiyuan.

If Zhou Zhiyuan had used force to capture Prince Rui, the shuttle would have been in their possession. Why bother negotiating and haggling?

That was Shen Lan Yin's current thought. At the time, she hadn't considered using force either.

Zhou Zhiyuan calmly replied, "We fought alongside each other against the skeletons. At that moment, we were comrades. Why use force when Prince Rui wasn't hostile?"

"Besides, we're trapped in a difficult situation. Bringing Prince Rui along would only add to the difficulties. Traveling light is the best approach."

"And Prince Rui might be regretting not using force himself right now."

This surprised Shen Lan Yin, and she questioned, "Does he possess any martial skills?"

She had personally witnessed Prince Rui's struggle against the skeletons, and his disheveled appearance was still fresh in her mind.

Shen Lan Yin didn't believe Prince Rui possessed any martial prowess, but Zhou Zhiyuan analyzed for her, "Regardless of what Prince Rui said, one thing can't be hidden: he dared to come here alone in the shuttle, which means he must have some self-defense capabilities."

"This self-defense ability could be combat skills. There are two possibilities for his disheveled state in that situation: either he truly couldn't win, or he knew we were coming and deliberately pretended."

"He once said that the two 'Jus' hid in the extremely cold place to avoid his capture. Without this ability, would he dare to capture them?"

"Now that I think about it, the two 'Jus' drove the skeletons into that building not to kill me, but to escape his capture."

"Considering the earlier fight with this in mind, we can conclude that Prince Rui's battle with the skeletons wasn't a surprise attack by the skeletons, but an attempt to capture the 'Ju'. He led the skeletons there, so he didn't want to use destructive weapons."

This conclusion made Shen Lan Yin ask in confusion, "Didn't Prince Rui say they couldn't destroy the 'Ju'?"

Hearing this question, Zhou Zhiyuan chuckled and replied, "You're much simpler than Prince Rui."

Hearing this, Shen Lan Yin gently tapped his thigh with her heel, then asked, "What does he want to do?"

"Maybe it's an experiment..." Zhou Zhiyuan replied in a deep voice, "He brought it up proactively because he didn't want us to ask, wanting us to consider the problem according to his explanation. That kid is cunning."

Hearing him specify Prince Rui's gender, Shen Lan Yin coldly snorted and asked, "How do you know she's a girl? Because her voice sounds nice?"

Shen Lan Yin's question carried a hint of jealousy, but Zhou Zhiyuan didn't notice it and laughed, "She can use various voices, but habitual actions can't hide her gender."

After Zhou Zhiyuan said this, he felt another tap on his thigh and asked in confusion, "Why did you kick me?"

"Because I feel like it," Shen Lan Yin replied coldly, then asked, "You're quite knowledgeable about women, aren't you?"

"This world consists of only men and women. Is there a need to study it?"

Zhou Zhiyuan exclaimed, only to hear Shen Lan Yin softly say, "I'm hungry."

Shen Lan Yin didn't want to continue that topic. A jealous woman is unreasonable, and she was indeed hungry, having had nothing to eat or drink for sixteen hours since last night.

Hearing her say she was hungry, Zhou Zhiyuan squatted down to put her down, using the glow from the night-luminescent pearl in her hand to take out a small bottle from his pocket. He opened the bottle, poured out a pill, and then whispered, "Wait a moment. Let me take it first, then you can take it."

After saying this, he put the pill in his mouth, feeling it melt instantly, and a sweet fragrance spread throughout his mouth. He then quietly said, "It should be fine, but you have to wait an hour before you take it."

Shen Lan Yin softly said, "I think we should trust her." Not only did she take us to tour the treasure cave, but she also gave us nutritional pills. You're always wary of her; is that really good?

So he turned back and continued, "This isn't just a room anymore, it's a dark room. What can a single man and a single woman do?"

He was a gentleman and had to refute Shen Lan Yin's single man and single woman argument.

But he forgot one thing: everyone is selfish, and Shen Lan Yin also had a reason to be exclusive, coldly reminding him, "We're a couple. Do we need a crowd when we're dating?"

This was a logical question, and Zhou Zhiyuan could only change the subject: "Let's walk a bit more while we still have the strength." Saying this, he turned around and squatted down.

The road was rugged and uneven, with ravines everywhere. The occasional appearance of skeletal remains was shocking, and a moment of carelessness could lead to problems.

Zhou Zhiyuan had to carry her, but Shen Lan Yin coldly replied, "A single man and a single woman shouldn't be so intimate. I don't need you to carry me."

She was very angry that Zhou Zhiyuan still didn't consider her his girlfriend.

This tone made the slow-witted Zhou Zhiyuan finally react. He urgently activated his 'communication channel opener' and quickly pondered for a moment, then softly said, "You're my girlfriend. Carrying you is my duty. I would be heartbroken if you sprained your ankle or twisted your back."

Saying this, Zhou Zhiyuan felt the hairs on his body stand on end.

But Shen Lan Yin seemed to enjoy it, humming and saying, "You're just afraid I'll become a burden to you."

Her words were still harsh, but her tone was much softer.

Zhou Zhiyuan's communication tool continued to work, "It's because I care about you."

At this moment, he shivered slightly, hearing Shen Lan Yin hum and say, "Could you have taken down that skeleton if I hadn't rushed up and smashed it with a steel whip?"

She wanted to show that she was useful, but remembering that skeleton, she shivered and quickly reached out to hug his neck, leaning on him and whispering, "Let's go quickly."

Zhou Zhiyuan chuckled, using the glow from the pearl in her hand to get up and continue walking forward.

After walking for a while, Zhou Zhiyuan squatted down again to put Shen Lan Yin down, took out the small porcelain bottle from his pocket, and poured out a pill for her.

Shen Lan Yin took the pill and looked around, whispering, "Are we going the right way?"

"This place is strange..." Zhou Zhiyuan replied softly, "The only way now is to stay away from that cold air. Going towards the warmer area should be correct."

Having walked this far, Zhou Zhiyuan realized that Prince Rui wasn't very diligent, as the explored path only covered half a day's journey.

He had no other choice since the route map was useless. He repeatedly pictured Zhang Limin and Shen Lanbo in his mind, but Orange still didn't respond. He could only rely on his intuition to move forward, occasionally leaving a mark on the cliff wall to avoid taking a detour.

He had taken this dagger from the treasure vault. It was over twenty centimeters long but only had a five-centimeter blade. It was black but very sharp. With a single strike, a mark immediately appeared on the hard rock.

He didn't have time to study the dagger now. Being able to get out was the problem he needed to focus on.

This was a difficult journey. Prince Rui only provided six nutritional pills, enough for the two of them for three days. If they couldn't get out within three days, their strength would gradually weaken until they were powerless and waiting to die.