Chapter 48: This Young Master Goes Spelunking

Chapter 48: This Young Master Goes Spelunking

In the depths of nowhere a dark river was coursing. Out of those depths emerged an arm that blindly groped against slick cave stone. Eventually, a grip was found and Chen Haoran heaved himself out of the cold waters. He gasped and took in greedy mouthfuls of turbid air. A sharp pain ached in his ribs and he gently tested his bones, hissing in pain all the while. Not broken thankfully, but banged up. He had bet on the Wintersteel Essence Plate Armor combined with his enhanced durability to survive the fall, he had to ditch the armor however lest he drowned from being weighed down. The coursing currents had then carried him away and slammed him on what seemed to be every rock on the way down. His sword had been lost in the rush as well. Thankfully his storage bag was still securely strapped to his waist.

He looked around his new surroundings. He wasnt sure where the river had dumped him, whether this was where it led to from above or if he was somehow swept into another tunnel in the aftermath of the explosion. Gingerly he stood up and felt around in the darkness. There was room for him to stand and he felt empty air on either side of him. A cavern then? If it was this wide then that hopefully meant there were other ways out, otherwise he would have to take another chance in the river. Either way, he couldnt stay here for long. There was no telling how long it would be before Song Yuelin tracked him down. Jackass he may have been but Chen Haoran didnt believe for a second his little trap was enough to kill the man.

Not like he intended to kill him. He felt a guilty twinge as the thought struck him. He wanted to get away. It was only natural. Whatever Song Yuelin said, whatever his intentions were, he still obeyed the Chen family completely. The fact that he so faithfully acted in their interests despite ostensibly being here on a whim was proof of that. Song Yuelin had sealed the deal really when he said he hadnt been reporting to the family. A Chen family that had already heard about Chen Haorans changes was much different than one that abruptly learned about them when he showed up at their door. Not to mention whatever it was that Song Yuelin wanted out of him. He couldnt risk that. So he risked getting away instead.

Even dogs need rest Young Master Chen.

He quirked his lips in mockery. Perhaps Song Yuelin would understand why he ran off.

He too needed to rest.

With all the grand powers Chen Haoran had both seen and used it was still the subtle applications of qi that struck him the most. Qi gently cycled to his head and gathered near his nose and ears, sharpening his senses such that he could make his way through the cavern he found himself in. He picked a direction directly opposite from the river till he reached a wall. Placing a hand on the wall he followed its length until he grasped nothing but air.

He bent down and picked up a loose stone and with a brief spike of qi threw it through the space. He counted the seconds in his head, stopping at 20 when he heard the stone clatter along the ground. He didnt hear it hit a wall.

He placed his hand along the wall of this new passage and followed it down, throwing stones every so often to gauge its dimensions. It was only when he rounded a bend that he saw a soft blue light glowing in the distance. He slowed his pace and crept forward. As he came closer to the light, hot, damp air blasted his face, and the wall he was leaning on felt wet to the touch.

Chen Haoran sighed. Im only helping you because you warned me. He waded into the pool and grabbed one end of the cricket. He carefully tried to grab the sloths arm and was rewarded by it attempting to swing its other arm over. Easy you little shit, he warned the squealing sloth. I dont want you to drown. Whether it got the message or not it stopped struggling for a brief moment. Chen Haoran quickly grabbed the sloths arm and ripped off the cricket corpse with a flex of qi before jumping out of reach.

Thankfully the sloth was more content with paddling around the pool than trying to turn his insides into outsides. Chen Haoran watched it splash around and huffed a laugh. Qi can make anything viable I guess. Giant killer crickets and fast sloths. Truly they were monstrosities only this world could create.

Above them, the band of sloths called down to their fallen companion. The swimming sloth happily squealed back up at them, then looked at Chen Haoran.

He shook his head. I draw the line at helping you get back up there.

The sloth cocked its head and squealed at him.

Then it floated out of the water.

Chen Haoran watched in stupefied awe as the sloth defied gravity and flipped upside down before rising all the way back to the cavern roof and wrapping its limbs around a stalactite.

He stood there in silence as the band of sloths squealed at each other. Water dripped down from the wet sloth onto his head.

What the hell is this place?