Lang Huan turned her head and saw Lang Ruhua fainted beside her. Her breath caught, and she clutched her chest as if trying to hold herself together.
Then, a heart-wrenching howl escaped her lips—an anguished cry that echoed through the quiet night like the voice of a broken soul. Anyone who heard it would feel their heart tear just from the sound.
The painful cry stirred Lang Ruhua from unconsciousness. Her lashes fluttered, vision still blurry, she saw Lang Huan sitting there with her head bowed, shoulders trembling in silence.
Tears welled up in Ruhua's eyes. She wanted to speak, but her throat was dry, her body still weak. All she could do was reach out, her fingers brushing lightly against Lang Huan's hand.
With effort, she pushed herself upright and pulled Lang Huan into her arms. "What's wrong?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Lang Huan slowly lifted her head—and Lang Ruhua froze. Her eyes were no longer blue, but a deep, glowing red. A strange, unsettling energy lingered in the air between them.
"What do you feel right now?"
Lang Huan looked lost. "I… my heart hurts," she whispered. Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes. "My body feels like it's burning… everything aches." Suddenly, she coughed violently, and blood spilled from her lips.
Lang Ruhua grabbed her wrist and checked her pulse. "Your meridians… they're all open."
"What does that mean?" Lang Huan asked weakly.
Lang Ruhua's brows furrowed. "It looks like something has stimulated your body and forced your meridians to open. But it shouldn't be happening like this."
"Fortunately, your body is strong enough to bear it. If not, you would've been torn apart from the inside."
Lang Huan lowered her gaze. "Is it even useful?" she muttered. "I always feel like I can't control my power. It comes and goes whenever it wants."
Her hands clenched into fists. "When I fought your serpent, I felt real energy moving through me. But other times, like today… I was helpless."
She slammed her fist against the stone floor, frustration flashing in her eyes. "It's like holding a sword I don't know how to wield."
Lang Ruhua was silent for a moment. "Hmm... maybe it's because your meridians weren't open before? Or maybe… it's the pill. In the ancient Lang clan, many used pills to unlock power, but afterward we still had to cultivate it ourselves. I don't know what kind of effect that pill had on you."
She tilted her head, watching her carefully. "Or… maybe you need emotional stimulation. Is it only when you're angry or deeply sad that your power becomes uncontrollably strong?" Her tone lowered, half teasing, half serious. "You really are strange."
"We need to get out of here. Honestly... I overheard that man talking when I was looking for you at the big villa. He said he wants to marry the princess."
Even if she was annoyed by little monkey, Lang Ruhua couldn't ignore her feelings. She knew how deeply Lang Huan would be hurt if something happened to that woman. That's why, without hesitation, she pushed her qinggong to the limit and chased after her.
"What did you say?" Lang Huan suddenly grabbed her wrist.
"Ow! Hurt!" Lang Ruhua yelped, then stomped hard on Lang Huan's foot. "Is your body suddenly not in pain anymore?"
"Sorry... I panicked!" Lang Huan winced. "Come on, we need to find a way out."
Lang Ruhua clicked her tongue. "See? I told you—you're strange. You need something to stimulate you. Maybe the princess is your stimulator."
She shot Lang Huan a glare. "Stupid! No normal martial artist reacts the way you do."
"Don't say that…" Lang Huan murmured. "You're my master. Maybe I don't have any talent in cultivation, but I'll work hard."
"I quit," Lang Ruhua snapped, crossing her arms. "I don't want to be your master anymore. Your inner strength is weird, your body reacts abnormally!"
Lang Huan pressed her lips into a thin line, choosing not to argue. She let Ruhua vent, silently enduring her outburst.
She stepped closer and gently reached out to touch Lang Ruhua's hair. Several strands had already turned pale silver. "Do you need my essence?" If her meridians were truly open now, and her power had grown, then she was willing to give it to her.
Lang Ruhua's body stiffened at her touch. The warmth of Lang Huan's breath lingered on her skin. "Yeah…" her voice came out softer than she meant.
She reached up and grabbed Lang Huan's collar, pulling her down into a kiss. It wasn't like the first time. This one was deep, full of all the feelings she could no longer suppress.
As their bodies aligned, the energy between them shifted. Slowly, Lang Huan's essence began to flow into Ruhua's veins, carrying a part of her strength.
Lang Ruhua closed her eyes and savored every moment. She knew this little monkey would never give her heart to anyone but the princess… So she treasured the illusion, even if only for now.
The warmth settled into her, steadying her breath. Bit by bit, the pale silver strands of her hair darkened back to black. The color returned to her lips. Her strength, for now, was restored.
Lang Huan stepped back and pulled out the worn, hand-copied map.
"By the way," she muttered, eyes scanning the lines, "do you think the people from the Bai clan are already dead?" There was a bitter taste in her mouth. She couldn't save Lin Ruochen.
"With that kind of explosion?" Lang Ruhua snorted. "I think they're more than dead."
She pointed toward the path ahead. "We can't go back to the door behind us. We only have one option: go forward. If we don't find an exit up ahead… we'll die here."
Lang Huan gritted her teeth. She didn't want to die here. Feng Yao was still waiting for her.
A single tear escaped the corner of her eye, but she quickly wiped it away.
"According to the map, this is the third layer they talked about. I've heard it needs Gao clan blood to open. Is that true?"
Lang Ruhua rolled her eyes. "Hah, you're really stupid sometimes. That's just a folk story. How could it need Gao blood when even the emperor buried here wasn't from that clan?"
Lang Huan gathered all her strength and struck the sealed stone door with the center of her palm. The sound echoed loudly, her qi rippling outward—but the door didn't budge.
Again and again, she slammed her hand into the cold stone, frustration bleeding into every movement. Each failed attempt only fed the growing despair in her chest, and still, she refused to stop.
"You won't find a way out like this," Lang Ruhua said calmly. "Desperation won't open the door. Sit down. Breathe. Meditate for a while."
Lang Huan didn't even turn around. She ignored the advice entirely, her eyes still locked on the stone walls around them.
She moved from wall to wall, brushing her fingers across every crack and surface, searching for something—anything: a mechanism, a symbol, a hidden button.
Meanwhile, Lang Ruhua sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor, eyes closed, her breath slow and steady. She had been meditating for hours, trying to calm her heart and sense the flow of Qi around her.
A small beam of light touched her face. It came from a tiny hole in the ceiling of the cave—thin as a thread, but sharp in brightness, piercing through the darkness like a sword.
At first, she ignored it. But no matter how hard she tried to concentrate, the light kept drawing her attention.
Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked around. The beam of light was now falling directly onto the stone wall in front of her.
She walked closer and examined it carefully. It was a Bagua diagram, the ancient symbol of eight trigrams used in fengshui.
The sunlight was pointing exactly at the Zhen trigram—the symbol of thunder and new beginnings, linked to the East.
"Fengshui... The path where life begins... This must be the right direction," she whispered.
Carefully, she pressed her palm onto the Zhen trigram. Click. A low rumble echoed through the cave.
"You… opened it?" Lang Huan was stunned. For a moment, she could only stare at Lang Ruhua, disbelief written across her face.
The entire stone wall trembled. Then, with a deep groan, the stone door slowly began to slide open—revealing a narrow passage beyond, filled with ancient air and secrets untold.
"So the light wasn't a distraction... but a guide." A smile bloomed on Lang Ruhua's lips.