The entrance was a medium-sized hole covered with tree vines. Lory lit up another torch and shoved the vines to the side before she got into the cave. The air was damp and cold and Lory could smell the muddy earth. The ground was wet and slippery but the special boots Zhao Li Xin gave her made it easy for her to walk on the surface.

[There should be a stream around here since it is so damp] Lory wiped off the water droplets from her eyes.

​​

[There is one further below…] Girsha acknowledged.

[Good! You must always follow stream when you get lost]

[Do you smell anything…?] Girsha took a sniff.

Lory unconsciously did the same [Yeah, I can smell something too...]

[It is not a good smell. It is almost like…faeces…?] Girsha moved his small beak with disgust.

[Really? Smells like rotten meat to me] Lory subconsciously twitched her nose. The smell was strong and awful.

Lory was still focused on the smell when she heard something move above her. She raised the torch above her head for a better look and her bones were chilled by what she saw. There were hundreds of cocoons attached to the ceiling.

[What the...?] Lory gasped.

One of the cocoons shook tremendously before it fell and landed close to her feet. Lory took a step back but her eyes remained glued to the fallen cocoon. The cocoon slowly split open and a green liquid poured from the inside before a creature emerged from it. It was a fat one-eyed worm with a protruding mouth and small sharp teeth. The big eye was located at the center of its head.

[What an ugly creature!] Girsha was both awed and disgusted by it.

The creature jumped at Lory like it understood Girsha's mockery. Lory was surprised something as fat as it was could easily jump. She pulled out her dagger from her left arm and stabbed the creature right in the middle of its body. Blood, that was more awful than the green liquid from the cocoon, poured out of the creature easily.

[YUCK! I think I'm gonna puke] Lory stopped herself in time. She flickered the dagger to get rid of the blood as her dagger was too pristine to be left with blood.

[Lory…] Girsha's used a wing to nudge her cheek.

[What?] Lory's focus was on cleaning the dagger.

[I think we made mom angry…] He whispered.

[What mom?] Lory frowned as a big shadow hovered from above. She slowly looked up and saw a creature similar to the worm she killed but bigger. The creature looked at its dead offspring and then looked at Lory with her stained dagger. The eyes of the creature widened at the realization of the culprit.

Lory quivered [Holy Shit!]

[RUUUN!] Girsha shouted.

Lory snapped out of her stupor, turned around, and took off like crazy. The giant worm shrieked in anger as it took chase. Lory's heart beat like a drum as she ran but her legs did not seem fast enough. She wondered why she had to stumble into an ugly worm nest of all things. She wanted to blame someone for her misfortune as she cursed her OP boyfriend from missing in action when she needed him the most.

Lory sneaked a look behind her and saw the giant worm's open its mouth to bared a line of sharp teeth. It was a disgusting and scary creature and Lory didn't want to be killed by something so ugly. The creature tried to pounce on her but she jumped and did a somersault. The creature missed her and hit the ground with loud 'BANG'.

Lory pulled out a bamboo tube from her spatial rings and stuffed the tube with a rag. She lit the rag quickly as she moved and threw the burning tube behind her without looking. An explosion could be heard as the tube landed. The giant creature shrieked much louder at the fire but it did not cross it out of fear.

[Nice one Lory!] Girsha praised her.

[Yeah, but the fire won't hold it for long!] Lory quickened her pace as the giant worm continued its chase with aggression once the fire subsided.

[Lory, there is a cliff in front!] Girsha warned her.

Lory had two options. One was to jump off the cliff and probably become minced meat or get eaten by a disgusting giant worm. She chose…minced meat…

Lory looked at the numerous hanging vines on the ceiling and felt there was a chance for amnesty. She accelerated her speed and leaped with all her strength as the worm opened its jaw as it prepared to swallow her. Lory could even smell the creature's disgusting breath as the creature closed in on her.

Lory grabbed a vine tightly and swung in a curve formation. The creature missed her again and tried to stop itself from falling off the cliff. The ground shook and crumbled due to the creature's massive weight. Luck was not on the worm's side as the ground gave in and it fell into the deep abyss while it shrieked with anger.

Lory panted heavily as she held on to the root. She watched in disbelief as the giant worm fell and disappeared into the darkness, but was also amazed that she had managed to survive.

[Lory the root can't hold you for too long!] Girsha warned her with a shout.

[CRAP!!] Lory cursed with exasperation as the root jolted. She jumped to another root but it was also not strong enough to withstand her weight. She swung to another root and jumped another like Tarzan. The only difference between them was Tarzan wasn't as freaked out as she was as she used the vines.

She reached the end of another cliff after much work. She groaned with exhaustion as she grabbed it and forced herself to climb up.

[That was too close for comfort] Lory lay on the ground and panted heavily.

[You need to lose some weight… Seriously…] Girsha lay beside her as he also felt worn out.

[...] Lory was too tired to refute him and too ashamed to deny it.

Lory slowly sat up. The excitement had drained her. She had almost died at least five times in a short period. She wondered if she would run out of luck the next time. She pulled out a waterskin from her spatial ring and gulped down a lot of water. She had gathered up a lot of thirst as she ran. She took out a meat bun and grapes for Girsha and they both munched their food in silence.

Lory explored the area for shelter after she finished her food. She found a good camping area in a secluded corner that was initially covered by big stones. She refrained from making a fire as she did not want to attract any beast.

She covered herself with a cloak and leaned on the wall. She released a long breath and thought of Zhao Li Xin. She wondered what he was doing and if he was worried about her. She dozed off after a few minutes filled with thoughts of Zhao Lu Xin while Girsha watched over her.

____________________________________________________

Zhao Li Xin was at his wit's end. His anger kept piling as the minutes ticked by and he was unable to find Lory. He killed every beast that appeared in front of him without hesitation to release his anxiety. He fried each one of them to the bone. Burnt flesh filled the air. The cave that was supposed to be cold became extremely hot as a sauna for Bei Li Yan and the others.

From the depths of their hearts, they all prayed for the young madam to be found before their lord boiled them to death.

'Young madam, where are you? We feel like steamed buns over here!'

_________________________________________________________________________

Lory was startled awake. Her eyes blinked a few times as she thought she heard someone call her but brushed it off as she assumed she heard it in her dream. The few hours of sleep did her good as she felt much better. She drunk more water and filled her stomach with a bento box. The possibility of her dying from starvation was nil as the ring Zhao Li Xin gave her stored enough food.

[Where should we go from here?] Girsha asked.

[I don't know. I need to find Zhao Li Xin first] She answered as she chewed her food.

[Yeah, this place is too dangerous without your boyfriend and his crew] He agreed to Lory's plan.

Lory didn't bother to say anything about the word 'boyfriend'. It was weird to use such a term in this world but… oh well…

[Yes, we have been lucky so far. I won't be able to pick that brat if this is to continue] Lory wiped her mouth as she finished her meal. She wished the brat would have asked her to pick her from somewhere safe like a tea house or something like a normal person. The brat, however, was not normal.

Lory kept everything away int her spatial ring and stretched her limbs as people did before a workout. She sprinkled on herself the powder Zhao Li Xin gave her to conceal her body odor from the beast. She then took out a few arrows and covered them with poison. She tied her hair tightly and fixed her clothes once the preparations were done.

She took a deep breath and spoke to Girsha [Let's go!]