Boiling in Hotpot With My Friend

Warning: Self-harm.

"Alright. It's done."

Yu Xuelan fidgeted with the cuffs on her wrist, forcing the sharp edges of the metal to slice her skin. She did the same with the cuffs on her ankles, but since she already injured it before; it was easier to reopen the wound.

As her blood trickled down, the metal cuffs melted, allowing her to break free from the chains that bound her.

"You're quite strong," Long Wen praised in amazement, thinking Yu Xuelan had used her brute strength to snap the chains.

"You can break your own cuffs, can't you?" Yu Xuelan asked and stood up.

Long Wen snapped both her cuffs easily by pulling the chains apart. Such acts of breaking chains were like breathing and sleeping for Long Wen.

Even though women who studied martial arts were looked down upon, people would instantly shut their mouths when the conversation mentioned Long Wen's name in terms of martial strength.

"I can't filter out the poison since my cultivation is still a bit weak..." Yu Xuelan thought.

"We can't get down since the stairs and path sunk down," Long Wen said.

Yu Xuelan analyzed the liquid further and realised this poison was extremely common in the demonic realm for capturing humans.

Once the liquid touches a human being, every remaining drop within the area will gather around the body like a magnet and devour the human organs, ultimately burning them into nothing.

With this knowledge, Yu Xuelan knew they needed a sacrifice to get rid of the toxic substance, though it was impossible to sacrifice herself, let alone Long Wen.

Suddenly, Yu Xuelan's mind lit up as she remembered a special tool she gained back at the Feather Temple. She instantly lumped her body down and hugged her stomach, groaning in pain.

"Lin Yuhe? What's wrong?"

"Young Madam Long, can you please turn around? My stomach feels unwell. I think the smell of this place is getting to me," Yu Xuelan gagged and signalled the actions of puking.

Long Wen hesitated before turning around while Yu Xuelan continued coughing, bending her upper body out of the pot.

When she was sure the woman had turned around, she dug her nails into her wounded wrist, sinking them deep into her flesh.

She suppressed her Qi by concentrating on her circulation and breathing to prevent Long Wen from noticing the sudden burst of spiritual energy. The moment she met Long Wen, she'd been concealing her Qi energy ever since, only revealing small amounts at suitable times to prevent suspicion.

Yu Xuelan hacked and gagged again before wiping the blood that dripped down her hand with her mouth. She turned back around, seeing Long Wen with her back still facing her.

"Sorry for the unsightly scene, Young Madam Long, you can turn back around now," Yu Xuelan awkwardly laughed.

Long Wen sighed, "It's alright. Anyone would feel disgusted by this pungent scent of the Woman Eater's lair. I tried to think of some ways to escape. But I don't think any of them work because of this poison surrounding us."

"Maybe we should just wait for a while. We already got the cuffs off. Maybe when the demons come back you can attack them? They're bound to lift the stairs and pathway again when we get out."

"That is true, but my noise nullification won't last until they come back. It might alert the Woman Eater if I kill the two demons."

Long Wen and Yu Xuelan sunk back inside the pot, where one was trying to figure out an escape route while the other was waiting.

Waiting for something to happen.

———

Moments had passed after the two indulged in their thoughts, but the quietness was soon interrupted.

The floor tremored.

Long Wen furrowed her brows and glanced around, noticing there was nothing there.

"He's finally here," she smirked.

Dust fell down from the ceiling and the area quaked even harder. The water within the pot grew restless, as though someone was shaking the entire room from below.

It was silent.

Suddenly, a strange figure crashed from beneath the floor, gnawing its way through the wooden planks. There was no life in his eyes or skin. Both were completely devoid of the impression of a living being.

It was Liu Bu's bodyguard.

A sour expression loomed across Long Wen's eyes as she recognized that familiar man since he was always around Yu Mingling's confidant, who was always around Yu Mingling herself. However, his appearance was dishevelled like he had collided through many mountains and forests before arriving here.

His actions were rigid, displaying an absolute lack of control or any sense of consciousness. The moment the poison drenched the body, it began gathering and soaking itself inside the man. The piercing screams of pain from the man resonated throughout the entire room.

If it wasn't for Long Wen's noise nullification technique, even the citizens at Hufeng City could hear his penetrating cries.

His body instant dissipated into ashes along with the toxic substance, leaving nothing but the destructive state of the wooden floor.

After making him travel underground from the prison chambers to Mount Hufeng, it would've guaranteed the destruction of one's skeletal system, yet his one was still intact. She could not help but admire the durability of his body. Perhaps it was a mistake for him to work for Liu Bu. He would've definitely been a successful martial artist if it weren't for Liu Bu's reputation and Yu Xuelan using him as a sacrifice.

She felt guilty, but what's done was done.

Long Wen's eyes were still widened in confusion while she tried to comprehend what had just happened.

Yu Xuelan smiled and pointed to the floor, "Look, the poison is all gone now."

The woman glanced at Yu Xuelan, who leapt out of the pot with ease. With this, Long Wen believed that everything was just a hallucination. But what confirmed that she wasn't hallucinating was the displacement of the wooden planks.

"I think we should hurry, we don't have enough time," Yu Xuelan waved her hands, signally the cultivator to jump out.

Although hesitant, she trusted the girl and leapt out, realizing there was actually nothing on the floor. Yu Xuelan swayed her hand and removed the sauce that drenched both their bodies so they were dry.

"Thanks?" Long Wen replied in suspicion, yet Yu Xuelan simply offered a nod.

She grabbed a cloak that hung next to the cage and put it on before grabbing another coat, throwing it towards Long Wen.

"They're down here, but they chained the door up with a seal," Yu Xuelan informed and pointed to the ground.

Long Wen put on the cloak hesitantly before staring at the spot the man had dissipated.

Dragging her head back from the clouds, she turned to the front and examined the chains.

"Do you know where the key is?" Yu Xuelan asked.

"Yeah."

"Re-"

Spiritual energy gathered around Long Wen's foot before she stomped on the chains without hesitation. The chains shattered into the pieces.

Yu Xuelan, "..."

"Huh, guess that works too. Wait, what if it alerted Bo Fan?" Yu Xuelan asked.

"It won't. My sound nullification room blocks both noises and any spiritual alarms," she assured her as they both prepared to head down underground to the prison.

———

While walking down the stairs, Long Wen commented, "For a person who was a slave recently. You are quite skilled in methods unrelated to the ways of ShenMing Wu."

Yu Xuelan awkwardly chuckled and rubbed her neck. "Well, you could say I secretly trained."