Starmap Cave

It was alright when they decided to move, but once Yamato actually stood and walked, he was really supporting himself out of sheer willpower only.

Though Qing Youya had noticed from the beginning, he didn't say anything nor expressed any concern. A bit dense at noticing details, Baili Haoyue just noticed Ren Xiu's bizzare appearance.

The only thing intact on Ren Xiu's body was Qing Youya's robe. A tattered dudou, tattered kneelength underpants, messy hair, and slit filled skin, suddenly Baili Haoyue didn't know where to look as he hastily shifted his face elsewhere, "Her highness, your injury must've hurt very much, this general was so insensible and foolish not to realize it sooner."

Watching Baili Haoyue avoided facing him, the calm faced but soft legged Yamato was finally reminded about his current gender. Although Yamato understood how his body was female, his consciousness was still that of a male that he tends to forgot to act like a proper female. Though in the current situation he could care less about such things, because his hard gained clear-headedness didn't have any space to spare.

"If her highness allows, this general could help heal a small amount of the injury and temporarily alleviate the pain," Baili Haoyue offered kindly.

"You can do that!?" truth be told a power to alleviate his pain felt like a rain of gold for Yamato.

"This much i can do."

The general looked like he was having a conversation with a ghost, which made Yamato felt both funny and pained because laughing hurts.

"Then please general. But before that i want to say something..." Yamato cleared his throat, "Let's just shed all propriety for now, i won't punish you for looking at me, though currently i really am unpresentable, and.. I hope you can treat me as some kind of brother rather than sister," Yamato really didn't have any energy to spare on formality or manner right now.

Baili Haoyue immediately turned and heaved a relieved sigh, in fact that was also what he hoped for but didn't dare voice, "Understood."

After the agreement, Baili Haoyue who was actually used to seeing both women body and underwear finally dared to face Ren Xiu. He asked the woman to take her robe off.

Yamato immediately complied not because he was tired or naive, instead he had a hunch that he could believe Baili Haoyue on this, and his instinct very rarely betrayed him. Though Yamato displayed his bare back, he didn't find any improper or untoward gaze on Baili Haoyue's eyes. Somehow Yamato felt being half naked in front of Baili Haoyue was fifty times safer than being half naked in front of Fang Baihe.

Yamato sat while crossing his legs like a man, and Baili Haoyue sat behind him. The campfire emitted a flickering light that shone upon Yamato's back, which made Baili Haoyue temporarily stunned as he creased his brows. The slits all over the skin didn't actually looked that scary, however several healed whip wound that was overwrote with new injury was pure sad as it adorned a slim and fragile looking women's back.

Baili Haoyue placed his callused palm on Yamato's back, he closed his eyes and focused, "Your highness, now i'm going to forcefully open one of your energy point. Your energy circulation will leak from that one place, and i want you to feel and control it to sweep all over your skin. From the heart, to every inch of your skin."

Though what he ordered was far from easy and was quite hard. At least it required an effort equal to catching hundreds of scattered insects with a blindfold. Whether Ren Xiu was capable or not, it fully depends on herself, and if she failed, Baili Haoyue planned to just carry her on his back because she'll lose all her leaking energy.

"Slowly inhale and exhale your breaths. Now i'll start."

Obediently listening, with gentle breaths Yamato relaxed. Immediately after, the palm on his back suddenly felt much warmer, and the warm current inexplicably spreads out on his back. Then suddenly somewhere from inside his chest, Yamato felt like something was leaking, like a steam out of a boiled kettle. He immediately knew that it was his own energy. Though bewildered, he remembered the instruction and started focusing.

Releasing his palm from Ren Xiu's battered back, Baili Haoyue quietly observed. Truthfully the percentage of succession is not more than 25%, however he has a baseless belief towards Ren Xiu that made him think how the percentage should exceed 50%.

After half a minute, those leaking energy that seeped out through Ren Xiu's skin seemed to stop flowing. The healing of the slits on her body was not visible to the naked eye, however Baili Haoyue just knew that Ren Xiu succeeded. He actually expected her to spend at least around 10 minutes to get the gist of it, however she exceeded his expectation by controlling her energy far much quicker that it amazes him.

Yamato was an extremist, in a way he would really excell at things he was good at, and he would really suck at things he was bad at. Fortunately, the control of his upper body was not his flaw and was his specialty instead, thus allowing him to be sensitive and nimble towards the flow of energy from his chest.

Spectating on the side, Qing Youya didn't expect that as well. However his face was calm, appearing like a child who watched adults working. He pretended like he didn't understand as he hides the fact that he himself cultivates.

Yamato couldn't believe it, however as he regulates his energy to his slits, he gradually felt better and better as his pain receded.

So magical! I wish i had known this from the beginning!

"Your highness is a genius! You learn way too fast!" Baili Haoyue complimented with eyes wide open.

"Really? That made me flattered!" actually Yamato couldn't be more accustomed to those kind of compliments.

"Not only are you beautiful, rich, and gutsy, but you are also genius! So perfect people do exist!" though his praises were casual, but Baili Haoyue really meant it, and Yamato could see how he was a playboy from how smooth his mouth was.

"Perfect people might exist, but unfortunately i'm not one.. You'll see," Yamato plastered a wry smile as he scanned through the uneven ground, "You'll see how i drag you down, i hope you all don't hate me after this."

"There's no way i will hate you," replied Baili Haoyue, and in fact he couldn't even imagine Ren Xiu dragging him down considering how dependable she have always performed.

Later after the slits began to heal, Baili Haoyue instructed Yamato to stop circulating his energy because using too much would exhaust him. Baili Haoyue briefly explained how constantly controlling energy requires maintaining extreme focus for people who do not cultivate, yet would become as natural as breathing for cultivator who had mastered it. Normal people wouldn't even able to open and close the energy points by themselves, therefore Baili Haoyue had to close it for Yamato.

Yamato stood up, "Holy-" My suffering are mostly gone, i really should have fucking mastered this from the start.

"You look happy sister-in-law, how are your wounds? Already good?" Qing Youya also stood up and approached him, looking like nothing but a reserved yet curious child.

"Hehe, never been better.. my mental is," he giggled, really feeling pleased of this discovery, a setback may be a blessing in disguise. Yamato quickly regained his composure and began to scan the surrounding carefully.

The cave they were in wasn't particularly spacious, around 3 or 4 zhang in both length and width. The ground was bumpy and rocky, filled with few stalagmites here and there. The ceiling which were enveloping the space like a dome, has a few opening that could barely fit a person on some directions. There was a pit that forms a shaft to head down, there was also a hole to head up, and a cave passage to head forward.

Sensing that they were about to depart, Qing Youya trotted towards a nearby stalagmite on which he hanged Ren Xiu's robe to dry. He efficiently fetched the white robe, flaps it, then folded it midair neatly. Though later he gave it to Baili Haoyue to hold, Yamato felt that such a subtle care from a cute child is part heart-warming part embarrassing. It made Yamato plaster a flat expression with a fist covering his lips, concealing a smile.

Finished roughly dressing, Baili Haoyue straighten up, "Now your highness, which way?"

"Hmm.. Currently we are under a milky way on northern hemisphere. If that is wu che er*, wu che san*, and wu che wu*, then that way would be ying xian zuo*, and that way would be lie hu zuo*," Yamato pointed towards two direction which coincidentally has an opening, "These two should be the shortest path, which way you want to choose?"

[=*capella, *menkalinan, *elnath (stars on auriga constellation). * Ying Xian Zuo = perseus. Lie hu zuo = orion.]

Qing Youya was glad because Ren Xiu's hypothesis didn't drift far from the true path. In fact the path Ren Xiu told as Ying Xian Zuo was correct. However before he could voice his innocent preference, Baili Haoyue plainly interrupted.

"Let's go that way your highness!" the general pointed towards lie hu zuo.

Damned general, "Why not the other path Haoyue ge?" Qing Youya slightly tilted his head, trying to appear purely puzzled.

Baili Haoyue smiled, "It's because the other path is uphill your highness. Going uphill would strain your thighs more than going down. Considering our nescience of the distance and of the danger ahead, and also our company of women and children, we should save our stamina and keep our health as priority."

Because the reason he gave out was logical and sensible, considering his image and pride, Qing Youya couldn't just throw a tantrum and force his choice. Thus Qing Youya could only comply while waiting for another chance.

"Then now that it's decided, let's go to lie hu zuo!" Yamato pointed towards a passage with great vigor.

The party of three began to walk towards the passage, but strangely enough, Yamato was walking very carefully with eyes riveted to the ground. He was far from walking fast, however the other two didn't found it strange as they presumed that Ren Xiu was still enduring some pain.

They entered the narrow passage. The ceiling was only 4 or 5 chi high, forcing Yamato and Baili Haoyue to hunch over. The path was also only 2 to 3 chi wide, causing them incapable to walk side by side. The place was simply a nightmare for claustrophobic.

[*3 chi = around 1 meter. 1 zhang = around 3,3 meter.]

The end of the passage was another cave similar to the previous one. However as it was out of the milky way, the gems on the ceiling were not as abundant as the yu fu zuo cave, causing the lighting of the cave to be far dimmer than the previous one.

"Ah, a blue topaz.. And.. A red spinnel!" Qing Youya murmured joyously, seemingly appreciating two different colored stone on the ceiling.

Truthfully Yamato still doubted whether Qing Youya could really inspect a gemstone from so far away with bare eyes, he even still doubted whether he really likes it. "That blue stone might be shen xiu qi*, and the red one might be shen su si*, the real star also have the same color," nevertheless Yamato couldn't help but to respond to him even when not asked.

[* Shen xiu qi= rigel. Shen su si = betelgeuse.]

"Hmm.. Is that so," Qing Youya smiled mildly, and then suddenly his face appeared perplexed, "Sister-in-law, this place don't have any opening!" the boy actually knew how to deal with it, however he didn't plan to mention anything because he wanted to lead them back to the previous cave.

Yamato scanned the surrounding, and true enough, he couldn't spot an opening except the one they came from, "Oh.. Really.." he frowned and walked, contemplating about the new predicament. However as he didn't pay attention to the ground, he unwittingly tripped over a small stalagmite and fell head first with a thud.

"Your highness! Pfft!" Baili Haoyue quickly ran to his side and propped him up, "A- are you alright? Pfft-" there was tremble in his voice with a faint shake of shoulders, barely suppressing his laughter.

The corner of Yamato's smiling lips twitched, ".. Motherfuc-"

However even before Yamato could spit his full curse, an arrow fly past between their head with a whoosh.

Though all Yamato could do was being stunned silly over escaping death by a hair's breadth, Baili Haoyue quickly shielded him from the direction where the arrow came from.

"Was it an enemy?" Baili Haoyue immediately appeared serious and vigilant.

However after Yamato regained a meager amount of composure, he stumbled yet again to another nearby small stalagmite right away. Even before Yamato could curse, the party of three saw one side of the cave opened a small passage with a slight shaking of the ground. The quick happening one after another left them dumbfounded, "... No, that was probably me stepping over a booby trap and me stepping over a switch to open a path.."

Suddenly one gem that forms lie hu zuo constellation on the ceiling fell to the ground, Yamato was only wide eyed at this point, "Ah.. Shen su* fell..."

[* Shen su = saiph.]

In actuality, Qing Youya was reluctant to inform the other two about any way to pass through, so that they could walk back. However he didn't expect Ren Xiu to just fell her way right into enlightenment. Unfortunately he knew the fact that Ren Xiu wasn't a slowpoke, with so many clues, there's no way she wouldn't figure the structure out. However figuring out the structure half-assedly was dangerous, thus compelling Qing Youya to heave a helpless sigh inwardly.

Qing Youya came forward and pretended to inspect the small stalagmite Ren Xiu tripped over, "Hmm.. If my conjecture isn't wrong, then some of the stalagmites here is a switch to tear open a passage, and some is a booby trap switch. The passage shouldn't be just one, considering there's a starmap for us to determine direction and chose a way from," Qing Youya walked towards the laying missed arrow, "... It might be one arrow, but the tip is poisoned. If we randomly press a stalagmite, i'm afraid it would be a booby trap more dangerous than a mere poisoned arrow, after all preparing for the worst is better than underestimating a situation.

"Also, from what we saw, a part of the constellation fall when a passage is correctly opened, but didn't fall when a booby trap is activated. But we don't know how many passage could be opened... This means, if we couldn't open a right passage after every constellation gems falls, we would lose our way."

Yamato and Baili Haoyue didn't seem to have any objection for the hypothesis.

"As expected of your highness," Yamato's eyes glinted with admiration, yet soon he plastered a playful smirk, "But doesn't that mean, it's like gambling with our life?"

Qing Youya inadvertently let out a, "Huh?"

"That's right! It's a race against odds and probability! It's whether we die from booby traps, lost the way, or successfully pass through!" Baili Haoyue shouted with vigor that his voice echoes throughout the cave, feeling thrilled due to a challenged adrenaline.

"Haha well said Haoyue ge!" Yamato added to his tension and pointed towards a cave wall, "Remember this well, the shortest path is that way to Tian Tu Zuo*," then he pointed towards another direction, "or that way towards Bojiang Zuo*."

[* Tian tu zuo= lepus. Bojiang zuo= Eridanus.]

"Understood!" Baili Haoyue gave a military salute with a smile.

Yamato humoured him and walked towards a waist high stalagmite, "Now then, i'm gonna choose this stalagmite, i bet 400 silver taels on a passage!"

"Then i bet 500 silver taels on booby trap!" Baili Haoyue joined enthusiastically.

Qing Youya was still partly dumbfounded, "Huh?"

"Hahaha Haoyue ge it's a mystery whether you wanted us to leave safely or die here!" and he pushed the stalagmite.

The ground shook for a while and a passage opened, unfortunately it wasn't on the direction Yamato had pointed.

"Hell yeah! I win the first bet, smells like luck!"

"Shit, i'll win my money back, don't get ahead of yourself yet princess."

Qing Youya slowly regained his mild calm state of mind, The sacred artifact cave have turned into a gambling house.