Song Xiaodong chuckled, "Indeed, we don't have such obedient maids here."

Lin Qing laughed heartily and said with a suggestive look, "If Mr. Song likes them, I'll take you to buy a few later, I'm sure we can find some good ones."

Song Xiaodong shook his head and said, "Thanks, but I'll pass. I'm still looking for a way to get out as soon as possible."

Lin Qing shook his head and said, "That's not easy. The matter of escape is merely a legend for us. If it weren't for actually seeing Mr. Song, I wouldn't dare believe that there is indeed an outside world. Is the outside world really so vast, and does it truly have so many wondrous things?"

Song Xiaodong smiled, "Of course, in this world, you are completely sealed in, while ours is completely open. There's a blue sky and white clouds above, countless flowers and plants around, various delicacies to eat, planes and cars for travel, and all the rooms are adjustable for temperature, with soft beds that are far more comfortable than here."

With each thing Song Xiaodong mentioned, Lin Qing's eyes lit up a bit more.

"I truly wish I could go out and see." Lin Qing couldn't help but sigh.

Song Xiaodong smiled slightly, "If we can get out, naturally, I can take you out. You're welcome to stay too."

Lin Qing said hopefully, "Then is there a way to go out from the place you came?"

Song Xiaodong shook his head, "That's not possible. I've considered this, but when I came in from there, it took more than ten minutes, all underwater, and it's hard for an average person to hold their breath for ten minutes without needing air."

"Didn't you manage it? I think if I train, it might not be impossible."

Lin Qing also had True Qi. Once True Qi reached a certain level, it could indeed replace the supply of oxygen to the body, and also adjust the body's demand for oxygen.

Song Xiaodong shook his head again, "That's just one of the conditions. When I came in, I clearly felt that passage had various bends, and there could be side paths too. That giant python knows the route well, but if we tried to enter, a single wrong path might mean certain death."

"Additionally, there's the matter of avoiding those two giant pythons. With them guarding there, it seems we cannot pass."

"Indeed... the Python God is too terrifying. Even if we gathered the entire city's strength, we couldn't provoke the Python God."

"Yes, the giant python is indeed imposing... Wait..." Song Xiaodong's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

"What's wrong?" Lin Qing looked at Song Xiaodong, puzzled.

Suppressing his excitement, Song Xiaodong said, "I just thought of something. Thank you."

"Thank me for what?" Lin Qing was even more puzzled.

Song Xiaodong laughed, "You reminded me of something I hadn't thought of before. Alright, I need to think it over carefully."

Since Song Xiaodong had given the hint for Lin Qing to leave, Lin Qing, although unwilling, had no choice but to retreat.

A look of joy soon spread across Song Xiaodong's face, an uncontrollable excitement and exhilaration, because he had suddenly thought of a way to get out, without having to find the original entry.

Being dragged in by the giant python had left him with a psychological shadow toward those creatures, so he hadn't even considered confronting the pythons. But Lin Qing's words had suddenly given him a new idea.

Why should he confront the python head-on?

According to the locals, all four cities revere the Python God, implying the python wouldn't stay in one place. Such a large creature must require a significant amount of food, and couldn't possibly guard one place constantly. Moreover, there can't be too many, or food supplies would be challenging.

Since they won't stay in one spot, the locals could just use some food or something to lure the giant python away from the passage, allowing him to escape the way he came in.

Even if there were diverging paths, he could explore slowly. As long as he found some oxygen bags, it would be fine.

Making oxygen bags is easy; some animals' bladders are quite elastic and can be filled with plenty of air.

"Damn, if I'd thought of this sooner, I wouldn't have had to mess around in this world."

Song Xiaodong mumbled to himself, then his expression darkened again. Though he now had an idea, the girl Qingluan had vanished somewhere, and he couldn't just leave on his own, abandoning Qingluan here, right?

So now, besides preparing, he also had to find Qingluan so they could leave together.

What was initially a simple matter had become complicated due to Qingluan's departure.

But Song Xiaodong couldn't blame Qingluan; she left partly because of uncertain feelings between the two, and partly to increase the chance of finding an escape route.

Footsteps sounded outside; Song Xiaodong immediately knew it was Lin Qing.

"Mr. Song, Mr. Song, good news!" Lin Qing rushed in excitedly.

"What's the good news?" Song Xiaodong wasn't very interested in Lin Qing's notion of good news.

"Hehe, I'll tell you a secret: our Lin Family has found a wild village and we're going to capture slaves tomorrow."

"Wild village?" Song Xiaodong was a bit confused.

Lin Qing said excitedly, "It's where some people secretly fled to hidden places, not under the jurisdiction of our four cities. Upon finding such a wild village, we can capture their women as slaves. Then we'll pick some good ones for Mr. Song."

Song Xiaodong frowned slightly, "What about the men in the wild village?"

Lin Qing said, "Young ones are kept for menial work, while the old ones are simply killed."

"Barbarians!" Song Xiaodong thought and then asked, "Can I go and observe?"

Lin Qing replied, "Of course, we'll go together tomorrow, leaving at dawn."

Song Xiaodong said, "Then I'll trouble you."

After a few more words, Song Xiaodong asked, "Have you encountered any other woman from outside recently?"

"A woman from outside?" Lin Qing was stunned, looking at Song Xiaodong.

Song Xiaodong said, "Yes, she's my wife. We got separated, so I'm looking for her."

Lin Qing casually remarked, "A wife? If she's lost, that's that. I'll gift you a few more. Besides, when we find the wild village, you can easily choose a few more wives."

Song Xiaodong shook his head, "It's not the same; I have to find my wife."

"Alright... I'll help you inquire, but women are hard to find. Our women don't have tattoos either, because often a woman doesn't know which city she'll end up belonging to, making it hard to identify."

"Well... She has a unique trait: she doesn't wear shoes, always barefoot and extremely beautiful."

"No wonder Mr. Song wants to find her, but being barefoot isn't much of a distinguishing feature; many women here don't wear shoes either."

Song Xiaodong fell silent, realizing he couldn't articulate any other traits of Qingluan. It was difficult to analyze her features since she was too beautiful. Barefoot, however, was due to her sensitive feet, but it wasn't practical for others to examine if they were sensitive, was it?

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