Keep your voice down. Are you trying to look glamorous dressed as a forced lover?

Ji Mingzheng's heart was bleeding. He tried his best to help with his hands, but it was no use.

The rustling sounds around me were terrifying.

Li Qingyan could even clearly feel the presence of unknown animals bumping into or biting her feet.

Shi Han was born to provide a breeding ground for those unknown insects, but Li Qingyan couldn't care less.

Ji Mingzheng could feel her trembling, partly from fear and partly from exhaustion.

Her sweat mixed with water and dripped down.

I don't know how long I walked, but in the pitch-black stone cave, despair slowly welled up in my heart, and I felt that I would never get out.

"Your Highness, why don't you go ahead and scout the way, and I'll wait for you here?"

He didn't say, "Why don't you put me down?" because she wouldn't.

But even when asked to put it another way, she still refused without hesitation: "No, I'm more scared by myself. Hold me tight, I'll use my hands and feet to be stronger."

She didn't say how dangerous it was to leave him in this dark and gloomy place; she only said she was scared.

But he knew that she just didn't want to leave him.

His heart was burning hot, and surging emotions overwhelmed the biting coldness around him, but at the same time, a hot and sour feeling welled up in his heart.

He really dragged her down...

His throat tightened, a thousand words stuck in his throat, unable to speak, he could only hold her tightly in his arms.

"what?"

"What is that?"

A beam of light suddenly shot towards them.

"Watch out!" Ji Mingzheng reacted quickly, knocking the light away, his fingers stinging slightly in the process.

"It looks like some kind of insect?"

"A glowing insect at night? Like a firefly, but fireflies don't fly as fast."

Li Qingyan, panting, spoke to dispel the fear of darkness.

After struggling for a while longer, and with each stumble and fall making things increasingly difficult, Ji Mingzheng suddenly said, "I think I'm getting used to the darkness. I can see now. I'll tell you how to get there."

"it is good."

Li Qingyan perked up and walked for a while longer before finally emerging, acting as her eyes.

Just as Ji Mingzheng had said before, after successfully passing through the stone culvert, they emerged from the dense reeds on the riverbank.

It was completely dark by then, and by the moonlight, one could tell that the area was remote.

Fortunately, there was a small wooden cabin not far away.

There were many fishing gears in the cabin, so it must have been a temporary stop for some fishermen. I didn't see any boats, so I don't know if they had gone out to sea.

I lit the oil lamp and took a look. The little wooden house was practically made for them. It was small but had everything they needed. There were many children's utensils and toys, even a bath tub, and even a standing tub, which could be used as a walker for children.

At first glance, the standing bucket looks like a hollowed-out wooden stool, but upon closer inspection, it is a bucket that children can stand in. The bucket is surrounded to prevent falls, and there are four small wheels at the bottom.

Ji Mingzheng's eyes lit up when he saw the standing buckets, and he immediately requisitioned them.

"Quick, put me up there."

The bucket became his means of transportation, with his long legs dangling outside. He couldn't exert much force with his legs, but he could use his waist to generate power, which was surprisingly good.

He checked the bucket and immediately lit it: "I haven't found any danger yet, Your Highness. You need to wash up quickly. Go outside and fetch a few more buckets of water. Also, look around and see if they have any wine. After you wash up, drink a couple of sips and then wipe your limbs with the wine."

The night breeze was cool, not to mention that she had been soaking in that mud pit for so long, and she still had wounds on her body. She had to wash them off as soon as possible, otherwise it would be bad for her health.

Li Qingyan had some red spots on her arms and limbs, and she didn't know what had bitten her. She nodded and said to disinfect them with alcohol.

Li Qingyan wasn't very skilled at carrying water, but fortunately, she was nearby and quickly got the water ready.

Even more fortunately, they actually found a small jar of wine.

While she was fetching water, Ji Mingzheng first scalded the bathtub with boiling water, and then wiped it with alcohol.

"alright."

The cabin was too small, so when she took a bath, he would turn his back to her and use the water she brought back to wash her clothes and dry them.

Li Qingyan was actually a little embarrassed, so she initially turned her back to him. However, she knew that Ji Mingzheng wouldn't peek, so she still washed herself carefully.

But as she was washing, she felt something was wrong. When she turned around, she saw that Ji Mingzheng had actually washed the clothes she had put on the wooden stool. She hadn't thought anything of it when she wore them, but when he washed them, she felt her face turn red.

Those were intimate garments, not to mention the panties she made herself after transmigrating.

"How come... I can wash myself."

Ji Mingzheng paused, his face flushed, his hands trembling slightly. He felt that scrubbing her too much would be a desecration, but he was afraid that washing her too little would not get her clean enough, since there was too much mud and water.

"I don't have any change of clothes, so I wanted to wash them and dry them for you as soon as possible."

Ji Mingzheng's voice was a little hoarse. He carefully sped up, trying not to look, and immediately dried her after washing.

Li Qingyan stared at Ji Mingzheng's retreating figure, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve into a smile.

Ji Mingzheng seems carefree, but I didn't expect him to be so meticulous. He doesn't need her to teach him anything; because he considers her needs, he naturally thinks things through and even helps with the washing.

Ordinary people wouldn't help wash underwear, even in modern times where there are few places that promote gender equality education, let alone in ancient times, especially for Ji Mingzheng, who was born into the Ji family.

She had been carrying him on her back all along. Did he fall in love with her out of gratitude, or did he want to repay her?

After Li Qingyan finished washing up, she drank a couple of sips of wine, wiped it on her body, and left the rest for Ji Mingzheng.

"This liquor is very strong; it burns my throat as soon as I drink it."

"Mm," Ji Mingzheng responded, his voice still a little hoarse, his back still turned to her.

"The clothes are dry."

He raised his hand and handed it back to her.

"Hmm." Li Qingyan took it, quickly put it on, and then put on the cloth clothes she had found in the small wooden house.

The clothes were faded from washing, but thankfully they were still quite clean.

"Okay, you can wash now, I'll help you."

They've all helped wash each other's underwear, Li Qingyan thought, there's no need for them to be too formal with each other.

Whether he's fallen in love with her or is repaying her kindness, she doesn't need to stand on ceremony.

"No need." Ji Mingzheng blushed and was very firm: "I'll just rinse it off. I'm a man, I can't just use a woman's things."

"Then I'll water it for you."

"No need." Ji Mingzheng was taking a shower. She didn't mind watching or listening, and was even happy to help, but Ji Mingzheng minded.

Perhaps she was too enthusiastic, Ji Mingzheng was particularly worried, so in the end he blindfolded Li Qingyan with a hairband, and even tied her hands with his belt to prevent her from taking it off and doing something reckless.

With her back to Ji Mingzheng, Li Qingyan lay on the small bamboo bed he had tidied up, and casually rubbed herself a couple of times, causing her hairband to fall off.

He tied her very lightly because he was afraid of hurting her eyes.

She tried to break free, but couldn't, and muttered angrily:

"What's so great about it? Stop pretending to be a virtuous and chaste man. We saved each other's lives today, any sensible person should repay us with their body! If I really wanted to be a pervert, I would have looked right now and pounced on him!"

Hearing her mutter, Ji Mingzheng turned around warily for a moment before turning his back to her.

He was still wearing thin underpants, water poured down from top to bottom, soaking his black hair, and then winding down his jaw, broad shoulders and back, adding a touch of sexy wildness to his usual appearance.

Li Qingyan listened intently and felt the alcohol in her stomach begin to take effect. She felt dizzy and her body started to heat up.

The desire that had been tormenting her all along finally came to pass.