The Black Gold Flame Dragon soared through the air with a piercing roar.
Ye Chui and Debbie sat on Dragon Treasure’s back, their eyes scanning the numerous mine entrances dotting the mountainside. The Gold Snake Laen family’s thousand-year dominance had nearly hollowed out the entire mountain range and its surroundings.
From Liya, Ye Chui and Debbie had learned that few mines had streams running through them. Some were in obvious locations, but only one matched the criteria of being relatively hidden and difficult for ordinary people to access. It was halfway up the mountain, obscured by clouds and trees, known only to those who frequently gathered herbs in the mountains.
After a brief hesitation, Ye Chui and Debbie decided to investigate this mine first. Dani was likely suspicious, but Lesa and Guni were capable of handling her, and rescuing the children was urgent.
From high above, they soon spotted the mine.
The terrain outside was steep, accessible only by a difficult climb. Faint traces of decayed man-made structures, likely built by miners centuries ago, were visible. A platform lay outside the mine, where Dragon Treasure landed after circling a few times. The ground was damp, with a small stream flowing from the dark cave.
Ye Chui jumped off Dragon Treasure’s back and peered inside, seeing nothing but darkness.
“Are the captive children really in there?” Debbie asked, climbing down and gazing into the cave.
Ye Chui nodded, “If I’m right, they should be.”
He sent Dragon Treasure back to the Spirit World, as the narrow mine would be impassable for it, then said to Debbie, “Summon Jiji. Her light can guide us.”
In such conditions, Jiji’s human-torchlight ability was far more useful than Gilgi’s.
Debbie nodded, and soon, with a “Jiji” call, the toddler-sized Jiji appeared, radiating holy light. They had Jiji lead the way, illuminating the path as they ventured into the dark mine.
The mine’s interior was chilling, not with winter’s cold but a damp, eerie chill. It was silent except for their footsteps, the cold seeping into their bones.
Jiji, initially excited and flying ahead, seemed oppressed by the surroundings, chirping nervously and clinging to Debbie’s shoulder, her small head darting around.
“Are you sure, Ye Chui? Can people even survive in a place like this?” Debbie asked, surprised.
“This is exactly the kind of place. Over twenty of them are crammed together, and some are sick,” Ye Chui said, reopening his iPad browser. He quickly accessed the children’s memory websites. The middle-aged clown, possibly the Clown Girl’s subordinate, was holding them, perhaps for some ritual, forcing them to watch his clown performances—an act reeking of cult-like behavior.
Ye Chui confirmed the mine had a stream, and following it should lead to the children’s prison.
He switched his iPad to the map page, which detected a ten-meter radius. If anyone approached, they’d notice immediately. Then, he thought of Liya, the unattractive girl who had told them about this place.
Last night, Ye Chui had invaded Liya’s memory world. Everything seemed normal, but one thing bothered him: her memory articles were sparse. Ordinary people generated articles every few hours, or even minutes if their thoughts were intense, but Liya’s site had only two or three articles per day.
Though the articles were unremarkable, was her mind too simple? She seemed to lack emotional fluctuations, as if much of her life was spent in a state of lost consciousness.
In her skill categories, Ye Chui had noticed potion-making and cooking, which overlapped with the Clown Girl’s skills…
His sudden suspicion of Liya stemmed from the mine’s dangerous atmosphere. If Liya was involved, this mine could be a trap.
He resolved to investigate her thoroughly after leaving.
“Hm?” Ye Chui noticed a white dot appear on his iPad’s map, close to the dots representing him and Debbie. He grabbed Debbie and tapped Jiji’s head to dim her light. It became too dark, so he tugged Jiji’s arm, and she brightened slightly—Ye Chui and Jiji were well-coordinated.
In the dim light, he looked to the side, seeing only a stone wall. The mine was a maze of tunnels, and though his grimoire detected another person, they were in a nearby tunnel.
“What now?” Debbie asked, looking around. “Circling to the other side could take ages, and we might not even make it. This place feels like a labyrinth.”
“From the map, this wall isn’t thick. I’ll blast it open. We need to move fast to catch whoever’s on the other side,” Ye Chui said after a moment. He had Debbie and Jiji step back, felt the wall, and summoned the outline of a cannon, [Second Battalion’s Italian Cannon].
Debbie had Jiji transform into her adult Valkyrie state.
With a boom, Ye Chui fired. The sound echoed loudly in the mine, the wall collapsing in a shower of rubble. Ye Chui noticed the white dot on the map moving quickly.
“Chase him! He’s heading that way!” Ye Chui led the way through the breached wall, his auto-defense protecting him from attacks. Debbie and Jiji followed.
On the other side was a slightly more open area. Ye Chui pursued the white dot, and with Jiji’s light, he glimpsed a tall figure in tattered, colorful clown clothes—the middle-aged clown from the children’s memory world.
“He’s running that way! Debbie, stay close. This mine’s too complex. Get lost, and we might not escape. Debbie… Debbie?”
Ye Chui’s pursuit halted. He stopped, turned, and saw only darkness, illuminated faintly by his iPad grimoire. Silence surrounded him, broken only by his own breathing.
“Debbie?” he called, but there was no response.
He summoned a fire snake to coil around him, brightening the mine. The clown’s dot had vanished from the map. Frowning, he retraced his steps, staying vigilant. The uneven ground heightened his unease. Then, a dot appeared on the map ahead.
Ye Chui quickened his pace, rounded a corner, and vaguely saw a figure standing ahead, resembling Debbie.
“Debbie!?” he exclaimed.
“Ye Chui?” The woman turned, her face indeed Debbie’s. She let out a startled “Wow,” rushed over, and threw herself into Ye Chui’s arms, shocking him.
“Debbie? What happened?” Ye Chui asked, alarmed.
“I was following you, but a clown-like figure attacked me. My spirit was injured, so I sent her back. I was terrified,” Debbie said, her voice trembling. She lightly pounded Ye Chui’s chest, “I was so scared. Don’t leave me alone again.”
“Uh, okay…” Ye Chui felt odd. Debbie had a “pounding your chest, whimpering” side?
Her emotions soon calmed, and she seemed suddenly shy, pulling away from Ye Chui’s embrace. In the fire snake’s light, her flushed face lowered bashfully.
“What’s wrong?” Ye Chui thought she looked stunning.
“Ye Chui…” Debbie said softly, “What do you really think of me?”
“What do you mean?” Ye Chui was puzzled.
“Do you want… to have me?” Debbie continued, infinitely shy.
“What?” Ye Chui’s heart raced.
But Debbie grew bolder, gently untying her outer garment, slowly shedding it, and starting to undo her inner clothes. As Ye Chui’s breathing quickened, she stared at him and said, “No one else is here. Perfect, no interruptions, Ye Chui…”
“Holy—!” Ye Chui felt his nose might bleed. He stepped back, “Are you serious?”
“Don’t you like it?” Debbie said, sounding hurt. “You must think my chest is too small…”
“No way!” Ye Chui said quickly.
“Really? So you don’t mind that my chest won’t grow…”
Her expression changed mid-sentence. A sudden boom rang out as a cannon blast erupted before her. “Debbie’s” figure was slammed into the stone wall. “Why!?” she shrieked, her voice no longer Debbie’s.
“You almost fooled me…” Ye Chui panted, addressing the figure. “Your imitation of Debbie was flawless, but you missed one crucial detail.” He raised his hands, Gatling gun shadows appearing on his arms. “Debbie firmly believes her chest will grow, so she’d never say it won’t!”
The figure in the darkness: “…”
