In the end, Yu Yanlin had to tie the Princess up and wrestle her back to the surface.
"Can't we just leave her?" Yu Yanlin mentioned offhandedly at some point as they were trekking through the tunnels.
Zhang Wang sighed, his stomach rumbling loudly as he walked, "No. No we can't do that. What did I say about being nice to others? It's important, okay?"
"Hm," The humming sound was contemplative though the demon king neither outright agreed nor disagreed.
Tiredness plagued Zhang Wang and he wasn't in the mood for philosophical arguments. He allowed the subject to be dropped. Ariunbayar flailed in her bounds, a piece of cloth had muffled her protests. She was tucked under Yu Yanlin's arm, carried as though she were some sort of flailing luggage.
Zhang Wang reasoned that if they didn't take extreme measures that the stupid girl would probably wander endlessly and neglect herself for the sake of her debugger.
And while debuggers were cool and Zhang Wang was sure that it'd be helpful to have something to decode all the gibberish on the user interface, it simply wasn't worth risking one's life.
Eventually, after the slow trudge through the tunnels they finally found an exit. An orange sky and setting sun greeted them and Zhang Wang found himself disorientated and dizzy. They were no longer within the winding canyons but instead had popped out from another side of the mountain that met with endless plains.
Just how long were they inside the underground caves? Was it dusk or was it dawn?
Grass swayed to the gusting wind and Zhang Wang took a deep breath to savor the fresh air. He closed his eyes and flopped down, feeling the coarse grass beneath his palm and the scent of dew and earth.
Yu Yanlin finally set down the Princess. The poor girl was dejected and no longer struggled with the same vigor as earlier. "Zhang Wang already went out his way to help you so don't be ungrateful." He chided the girl with a harsh tone.
What he received in return was a sharp glare.
...Yu Yanlin felt a little miffed at her ungratefulness and decided to leave her there, bound and gagged. Her large eyes widened further as realization dawned that she was going to be left there. She wiggled to no avail and not even Zhang Wang had the energy to go help her.
Yu Yanlin walked over to Zhang Wang, stopping at his side. The Immortal of a Thousand Blossoms was enjoying his moment of reprieve, eyes shut as he soaked in the fading warmth of the sun. So it was dusk and not dawn. They must have been down there for over a day at least.
"I'll go get some firewood."
"Hm? Okay, thank you." Zhang Wang responded lazily. But by the time the words left his mouth, Yu Yanlin was already walking away. When phoenix eyes peeled open, Zhang Wang caught sight of Yu Yanlin's retreating form with a little nod of acknowledgement before he continued on his way.
A long sigh left his lips. Zhang Wang's muscles were like jello and his stomach a black hole. He already emptied his interspatial ring of snacks. There were no more beef jerky or seeds for him to munch on. He was ready to sink into slumber but his relaxation was interrupted by the sounds of muffled complaints.
Ah right, there was still the Princess of the Steppes.
"..." Ah, Zhang Wang really wanted to ignore her existence and just bask in the warmth of the sun and allow it to lull him to sleep.
Alas, he was not that cruel and after sucking in a deep breath, he forced himself to his feet and walked to the spot that the demon king had dumped the poor bound girl.
She was wiggling around the ground like a flailing worm, her brows furrowed deeply and anger ablaze in glaring eyes.
Zhang Wang frowned and put his hands on his hips as he stared down at her. "Look, it's not like we wanted to tie you up but you really left us without a choice."
"Mrrmmph mmrrr! MMMMPH!!" Whatever it was meant to be, there was no way to comprehend.
So Zhang Wang let out another breath and sank down into a squat. He reached around her head and helped loosened her gag, only to instantly regret it. "You pervert! You're a damned pervert, let me go BDSM freak!"
"..." Zhang Wang's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Hey. You're the one that kept trying to fight us! This is your own fault!"
"How dare you tie me up!"
"What part of 'for your own good' do you not understand!!?"
Her eyes glistened, "And who said I needed your help!?"
"No one did," Zhang Wang's voice turned grave, "but since we've been through some shit with each other now, I like to think that we're friends. Or at least good acquaintances. I'm not just going to let you wander to your death!"
"..." Ariunbayar had more complaints that trembled in her heart. But she couldn't refute him either. Not when she could understand where he was coming from… Even if Ariunbayar knew that she was a brat, she liked to think she wasn't a horrible person either. If it had been Zhang Wang in her position than she probably would have done the same, protecting the idiot from himself.
Tears pricked at her eyes, her user interface still a blur of gibberish. A strange fear was about her, the idea of facing the world without the help of her system. She had relied so heavily on it for years. Over a decade even. How could she find her way in this traitorous world without it?
Zhang Wang sighed when he saw the girl's eyes turn glassy. He reached over and patted her head. He tried to imagine himself in her situation, having to face the world in a whole new way, without the support that she relied on her entire life. "Now, now. I get it, it's going to be rough but I made it this far without my system, haven't I? You'll be fine."
Ariunbayar ducked her head. She wasn't the smartest of girls. She couldn't even admit to being the strongest, now that there was that stupid Baihu character out to outshine her every move. And even before Baihu, Sikong Ren always haunted the cultivation world with the most renown. All her achievements, her accomplishments had been won through the merit of her system. She followed the quest guides strictly and interacted with the world as though it'd been a mere game.
How was she supposed to confront her surroundings now? Wouldn't she just perish like many others that have tried to survive in this despairing world and failed?
Seeing the young lady tremble, her tears finally spilling past her eyes made Zhang Wang feel bad. He took out his dagger and unbound the girl. But Ariunbayar did not celebrate her freedom and instead hugged her legs to her chest. "I'm useless without my debugger. I don't know what I can do…"
"You're still you without your system and debugger," Zhang Wang reminded her. He gave her an encouraging smile, "What happened to the girl with all that determination? With a brazen personality that wasn't afraid to say whatever she pleased?"
She sniffled, "You're just making fun of me, saying that I have a thick face."
Zhang Wang laughed a little, "Okay, your face is thick, sure. But I don't think that's an awful thing. It just means that you're not afraid of being yourself no matter what."
"...For someone who doesn't want to return home, you sure talk like a person from the modern world."
"..."
Zhang Wang sat with her and they shared more stories about their previous lives. Ariunbayar talked about her extended family that still lived in the grasslands in the other world, and the aunt that moved to Russia. She told him about the time she turned down the offer to travel with her family so that she could focus on studying. "I didn't go to Russia because I wanted to study…I was alone in the apartment and my mom kept messaging me about staying away from guys and partying. But you know? I never even cared about that… I just wanted to study…"
Memories of his past life returned to him in strange blurs. Zhang Wang sighed as he drank in her tale. He tried to remember the China of his memories, the hulking gray skyscrapers and shining lights that polluted the night sky. He also tried to picture the grassland before him, merged with those bygone memories to recreate the home that Ariunbayar spoke of.
It seemed too odd in his mind, too disjointed and strange.
Ariunbayar's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, "What about you?"
"Hm?" Zhang Wang tilted his head at her. They were both sitting, facing the sun that was about to dip below the horizon.
"Is there something that you regret from your other life?"