After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

The sound grew closer, and the master and servant's breathing became increasingly rapid.

Suddenly, a cold hand landed on Jiang Xiaoqi's shoulder, startling him so much he almost screamed.

"who......!"

"Young...Young Master, it's me..."

"Wenbin! You're terrifying people, don't you know that?!"

They were clearly back to back, so when did this kid turn around?

The torchlight was already very dim; was this a dead end?

They faced only two paths: 1. End the expedition and return the way they came; 2. Continue forward a little further, retreating before the torches completely went out.

"Young Master, I'll listen to you. I'll do whatever you say!"

Jiang Xiaoqi steadied himself and silently prayed that what lay ahead wasn't a dead end. He decided to choose the second path; after all, he had already come this far…

"Then let's keep going, be careful." She said, tightening her grip on Wenbin's hand.

The two walked forward cautiously, constantly watching the state of the torch. Suddenly, Jiang Xiaoqi felt her foot slip and lost her balance.

"Young Master!" Wenbin hurriedly reached out to pull him back, but it was too late. The torch fell to the ground and went out completely, plunging the surroundings into utter darkness.

Jiang Xiaoqi was in excruciating pain all over her body. She tried to grope around to find the way she came, but found that she was surrounded by hard walls.

I think I just slid down about five or six meters. Luckily it wasn't too deep, otherwise I would have been dead. I'm not feeling well now, I must be injured.

"Young Master, Young Master!" Wenbin dared not move and could only squat on the ground and grope around.

"I'm here! I'm fine! Don't move. Find the tinderbox you have and see if you can light a torch."

Jiang Xiaoqi also took out the tinderbox from his body. Fortunately, it was kept close to his body and was not lost after the fall.

Wenbin lit the torch as instructed, only to discover that his young master was in a deep pit, and he himself was only half a step away from the edge of the pit. What a close call!

"Wenbin, don't rush. First, look along the edge of this pit for a gentle slope, or for ropes or vines."

Holding a torch, Wenbin slowly explored along the pit wall and indeed touched something that looked like a rope.

"Young master, there's hope! There's a rope! Ah! A snake!"

Jiang Xiaoqi: ……

"Don't be afraid, Wenbin," Jiang Xiaoqi tried to keep her voice calm. "Slowly back away."

Wenbin steadied himself and slowly moved his feet. The snake seemed stunned by Wenbin's fall, and after a few breaths, it slithered away in a wobbly manner.

Wenbin picked up the torch that had been thrown away in fright once more, but this time it was completely unlit. He thought to himself that he was useless and decided to give up on finding a way and just jump down to keep the young master company!

"Listen, can you hear the sound of water?"

"The sound is a bit soft, but it really does sound like flowing water."

"There's always a way out! Wenbin, don't be so foolish as to jump down and join me. We might not even end up here!"

Wenbin blushed when his secret plan was exposed, even though it was dark inside the secret passage and he couldn't see it.

"Where there is flowing water, there is a way out. If we find the water and follow it, we can't go wrong!"

"But young master, I haven't even pulled you up yet, how are we supposed to find the water?"

"Alright! The solution is right there in you, what are you looking for!"

"Me? On my body?" Wenbin asked, puzzled.

"At a height of only five or six meters, tear your outer clothes, trousers, and undershirt into strips, tie them together to form a rope, and lower them down!"

Jiang Xiaoqi made a decisive statement.

"Uh! Right, right, right! Young master, you're so smart! How come I didn't think of that? I'll take it off right now!"

Wenbin quickly took off his clothes and made a simple rope as Jiang Xiaoqi had instructed.

Tie one end of the rope around your waist, and then carefully lower the other end into the deep pit.

"Young Master, catch it!" Wenbin shouted.

Jiang Xiaoqi gripped the rope, a little worried that her servant might fall backward.

"Ahem, Wenbin, how much do you weigh?"

"what?"

How much do you weigh? Haven't you ever weighed yourself?

"Oh, Grandpa hugged me last time and said I weighed as much as a sack of grain!"

A bag of grain... The Jiang family collected 50 jin of fine grain in a bag and 100 jin of coarse grain in a bag. Wenbin certainly didn't have 100 jin, so it must be 50 jin.

Okay! He's about 20 pounds heavier than me! You can go up without worry.

Jiang Xiaoqi also tied the rope around her waist and climbed the rope with all her might. Wenbin leaned back forcefully above her, pulling the rope back inch by inch.

Finally, Jiang Xiaoqi climbed out of the deep pit in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

"Phew..." The master and servant breathed a sigh of relief. "Luckily, the young master is thin, otherwise we might not have been able to pull him up."

Wenbin chuckled and patted the dirt off Jiang Xiaoqi's body.

"Stop being silly, watch your step, and listen carefully to where the water is coming from."

"Okay, Master!"

Jiang Xiaoqi found the pit really strange. Why would the Liu family dig such a large pit in the secret passage? Was it really necessary?

No! This wasn't dug by the Liu family. The soil at the bottom of the pit is slippery and the walls are irregular, so it doesn't look like it was dug by man. Could it have collapsed over time?

"Young Master, it's the sound of water! The sound is closer than before!" Wenbin exclaimed excitedly.

"You really are! You've got pretty good hearing, kid! Let's go!"

Sure enough, there was an underground river not far away, only two or three steps wide for an adult, and the water was not very rapid.

Since they only had a tinderbox left, which couldn't provide light for long, the two could only rely on their senses to gauge the water's depth.

Fortunately, it only reaches the calves; even if they are small, it won't reach their waists.

At this moment, Wenbin was only wearing a pair of underpants, so he wasn't worried about getting his clothes wet.

Jiang Xiaoqi took off her outer robe and let Wenbin put it on: "Although it's summer, it's still very cold here. It's a bit small, but you'll have to make do with it!"

"Young Master, I don't need it, I'm not cold!"

"Listen to me!" Jiang Xiaoqi said, feigning sternness.

"Uh! Yes..."

Jiang Xiaoqi's long robe looked like a short-sleeved shirt on Wenbin, since Wenbin was tall, even taller than other seven or eight-year-old children.

Jiang Xiaoqi rolled up her trouser legs again, and the two of them left their shoes and socks on. Let them get wet, who knows what might be in the water? Feet are always more precious than shoes and socks.

The two carefully waded into the river. The water was icy cold, which made them shiver.

They walked slowly forward, the river gradually rising above their knees.

Wenbin, wearing his young master's clothes, didn't feel the river water was cold at all.

After following the current for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, I finally saw a glimmer of light.

"Is that the exit, young master?"

“Just go and see and you’ll find out!”

For some reason, looking at that light made Jiang Xiaoqi feel uneasy.