Bai Mu watched for a moment longer how Qiu Ling stumbled through the corridor before he shook his head and accelerated his steps. He grabbed Qiu Ling's arm and tried to hold him upright.
"What do you think you're doing?" Qiu Ling wanted to retract his arm but in his condition, Bai Mu's grip was too firm to shake him off.
Bai Mu slightly frowned. "I don't know who you are and how you found out about my blood but I do realize that you're my only chance to get out of here. So, let's just work together. We get out of here and then you can tell me what exactly you found me for."
Qiu Ling kept silent for a while before he sighed. "What's there to talk about? My fiance got stuck in that secret realm in the Leyuan region. Xin Lan … that dude back there." He vaguely nodded to the back while stumbling forward with Bai Mu's help. "He said only someone with blood from three races could open it. So we investigated and it turned out you actually fit the bill. So, I want you to come with me and help me save my fiance."
"That realm isn't somewhere other people should enter."
"Yes, yes. It's too late now. He's already in there. And don't be like this. You're family. You should help him out."
Bai Mu frowned. "How are your fiance and I related?"
"Well, you're the son of his uncle, aren't you?"
"His uncle?" Bai Mu's brows creased even more. "That can't be. My mother only had a sister and she wasn't married."
"I'm talking about your father. And can't you walk faster?"
Bai Mu looked at the man that was leaning nearly all of his weight onto him by now. Qiu Ling's face had lost the last bit of color. Not only that but his eyes or rather one of his eyes was slowly losing color and turned to an unholy red. This person obviously wasn't a full-blooded demon either but now the Blood Gem was stimulating that side of him.
Bai Mu looked back at the two people behind them. "How about one of them helps? Wouldn't we be faster then?"
"Forget it. That servant girl is trouble and Xin Lan … Uh, let's not talk about it."
Bai Mu nodded. He could hardly argue with that. It was exactly the same impression those two had given him. "About what you said just now …"
"You mean about that servant girl?"
"No. No, I mean … About my father. What did you mean? I've never heard that my father had a sibling."
"Mn. He has a sister. She's called Bai Fen. Eh? Come to think of it. Aren't you called Bai Mu? What a coinci—" Qiu Ling stumbled again and almost dragged Bai Mu down with him. "Ugh. Why aren't we out yet?"
Hong Bao hurried forward on cue. "It's still a long way. We're only halfway through the dungeon. But if you want to take a break it's alright, Senior Martial Brother Qiu. We can wait for you to catch your breath."
Bai Mu frowned and turned to Hong Bao. It was obvious that she didn't get the situation. "Miss Hong, do you see these red stones in the wall? That is something called a Blood Gem. That is what is making him sick right now and the longer he stays here in the dungeon, the worse it'll get. You're part of the Chun Feng Sect. Do you know if there is a faster way out of here?"
"A faster way?" Hong Bao blinked.
"Yes. Something the disciples and Elders would use in an emergency."
Hong Bao tilted her head. "You mean like … a secret shortcut through the dungeon nobody else knows of?"
Bai Mu nodded.
"Sure there is!"
"Where?"
Hong Bao blinked again. "I can't tell you. It wouldn't be a secret then, would it? And Senior Martial Brother Liu said I couldn't tell anyone. It's only between us."
Bai Mu's mouth opened and closed again. He couldn't ask her to betray the promise she had made to somebody, could he?
Qiu Ling didn't have as much qualms as he. "What are you talking about, servant girl? This might be something he told you in private but can't you see how important this is? I'm already on my last leg here and Jing Yi is still relying on me to bring this guy here over to save him! How is he going to get married if I don't make it out of here alive! You'd be ruining a perfectly good relationship if you don't tell us about the secret passageway!"
Hong Bao pursed her lips. This sounded quite logical. "Alright. Since it's you and I also know Jing Yi I won't be like that and tell you. We're past the entrance already though."
"Ah?" Qiu Ling's expression derailed while Bai Mu sighed.
"How far past the entrance are we?"
"Uh, it was before the turn that was before the last turn."
Both men turned to look at the turn behind them. That was about a hundred meters. It wasn't much for either of them normally but with Qiu Ling's condition now.
Qiu Ling sighed. "Well, it's still better than going all the way back, right?" He clutched Bai Mu's shoulder and tried to get up but his body only moved up halfway. "Uh. I can't believe this is happening to me."
"It won't get better. I've seen the demons in the prison slowly die because of the Blood Gem. At the end, they were only empty husks. The only reason I was able to stay there several years without being affected too much was because the part of my blood that is demonic was negligible in the first place."
"Don't talk so much. Help me up."
"Sure." Bai Mu put an arm around Qiu Ling's waist and pulled him up. He turned to Hong Bao and nodded back into the corridor. "Miss Hong, please be so kind and lead us to that secret passageway on the shortest way possible. We need to get your Senior Martial Brother out of here."
Hong Bao nodded and this time it seemed very, very earnest as if she had understood the seriousness of the matter.