Naturally, I couldn't dwell on savoring that sensation; my mind was consumed with whether this method could truly pull Qin Bing'er back from the brink of death. The more urgent I felt, the quicker my ministrations became. Worried my fingers weren't bleeding fast enough, after a frantic pass, I swiftly drew my hand across the sword's edge again, then immediately returned to caress Qin Bing'er's lower abdomen... After repeating this dozens of times, the intense pain had numbed me, and the agony seemed to lessen considerably.

Yet, despite the desperate effort I poured forth, Qin Bing'er remained unresponsive, and now a more critical situation materialized. The white mist puffing from Qin Bing'er's nostrils grew fainter. At first, I thought my blood was taking effect, but amidst my haste, I checked her pulse at the wrist and discovered it had stopped completely. This sudden turn terrified me into uncontrollable sobbing; tears streamed down my cheeks, dripping onto Qin Bing'er's delicate, pale face, catching the white light emanating from the Xuanyi Duzhou Pearl in Man Niao Niao's hand, sparkling with translucent glints. I resolved to strip off my clothes and warm her with my own body, but the old-fashioned garments salvaged from the coffin had so many buttons. Fumbling desperately, I managed only two or three undone after what felt like an eternity. Panicked, I grabbed the collar and ripped hard. With a soft pupu sound, my chest was exposed. Without hesitation, I pressed my chest firmly against Qin Bing'er's sternum, using my arms to force her body tight against my own flesh.

Qin Bing'er remained utterly still.

At that moment, an ineffable feeling washed over me; a complex torrent of emotions wrenched at my heart until it ached dully.

As I wept uncontrollably, my own body grew increasingly hot, while Qin Bing'er, cradled in my arms, felt utterly like an ice sculpture—not only cold but rigid all over—a clear sign of death.

The overwhelming grief prevented me from realizing my own rising temperature. I held Qin Bing'er tightly, continuously kissing her face and lips, murmuring a choked sound as tears streamed down my face.

Hotter and hotter it became, until finally, I felt as if someone had placed a blazing brazier beside me. The heat searing my left side was so intense I thought I could smell my own muscle charring. I finally became alert, stopped my whimpering, and looked up to discover the scorching heat source was the very blade of the sword. My heart lurched, and the sound died in my throat. A sudden idea struck me: the sword was intensely hot, and based on my prior experience in the Suspended Tower, heat signified Yang energy. What if I used this scorching sword to gently strike Qin Bing'er's lower abdomen? Could it yield an unexpected result?

I quickly laid Qin Bing'er down, enduring the searing heat radiating from the blade. Gripping the hilt with both hands, I yanked hard, pulling the sword free from the planking of the boat. The blade was almost too hot to touch, but thankfully, the hilt was not overly warm—evidently, the protective layer made of some unknown material was doing its job.

Holding the sword in my right hand, I used my left to pull Qin Bing'er's clothing up to her chest. Taking a deep breath, I brought the sword down, gently tapping her lower abdomen with the hilt. It was now clearly visible: Qin Bing'er's belly was swollen like a drum, truly resembling advanced pregnancy. With dull pa pa thuds, time seemed to freeze, the tension in the air thick and suffocating.

Seeing Qin Bing'er completely still, Man Niao Niao understood the gravity of the situation. Clutching the Xuanyi Duzhou Pearl, it crept stealthily behind me, watching my frantic efforts in silent concentration. Of course, I had no time to notice it; my eyes were fixed solely on Qin Bing'er's face, desperately hoping for one specific scene: Qin Bing'er suddenly opening her eyes, offering me a radiant smile, and lazily saying, "Ying Ying, did I fall asleep again?"

Of course, that scene did eventually unfold, but it was preceded by a highly bizarre interlude. This interlude occurred when, covered in sweat from exhaustion, Qin Bing'er’s rigid little mouth suddenly gaped open, and a plume of sinister black vapor shot out like an arrow toward my eyes. Reacting purely on instinct, I slammed my eyes shut. In the last sliver of light before my eyelids met, I glimpsed a mass of foul, dark matter being expelled from Qin Bing'er's mouth. When I managed to open my eyes again to see what that dark substance was, it had vanished from the boat; I only caught the faint sound of water splashing and a small ripple near the bow.

Naturally, I paid no mind to whatever had fallen into the water; my concern was entirely for Qin Bing'er. As the black vapor and the dark mass left her mouth, Qin Bing'er's body gave a sudden jolt. Looking again, I saw that her body was no longer rigid; her formerly round, distended abdomen was now smooth and flat.

I instantly dropped the sword and knelt, quickly supporting Qin Bing'er. Her body went limp as mud in my embrace, and she was no longer ice-cold. Overjoyed, I quickly covered her stomach and held her tight against my bare chest. Soon after, Qin Bing'er weakly fluttered her eyes open, offering me a faint, pained smile, and murmured, "Ying Ying, did I... fall asleep again?"

Hearing Qin Bing'er finally speak, the colossal weight on my heart lifted. I silently kowtowed thousands of times to the Bodhisattva Guanyin who saves all beings from suffering, completely overwhelmed with emotion, tears flowing freely once more.

Seeing Qin Bing'er awake, Man Niao Niao slowly squatted beside us, muttering "Amitabha, Amitabha" incessantly. Hua'er, no longer frightened, hopped onto the boat's edge and gently licked Qin Bing'er's face a few times.

Observing Qin Bing'er's weakness and knowing this place was not safe for long, I quickly instructed Man Niao Niao to scout the surroundings and find a secure spot for Qin Bing'er to regain her strength. While this black lotus-gathering boat protected us from drowning, the lifelike, fake human head still made my heart uneasy; I yearned to escape this place immediately.

"Ying Ying, there's a floating bridge ahead, and at the end of it, it looks like a house. Perhaps we should check there!" Man Niao Niao suddenly exclaimed, turning excitedly toward me.

At that moment, I had no capacity for rational thought about finding a dwelling in such a grim and terrifying place. Hearing Man Niao Niao mention a floating bridge, I excitedly scooped up Qin Bing'er and followed the direction of its pointing claw. Sure enough, dimly visible ahead and to the right of the black boat was a bridge resting upon the water's surface. The bridge was perfectly straight, its surface seemingly constructed of bamboo sections, which, due to age, had lost their original hue and appeared completely black, almost merging with the dark water. Had Man Niao Niao not pointed it out, I would never have noticed it. At the bridge's end stood a very low, small thatched hut, yet its architectural style was shockingly that of a Tujia stilt house.

When wandering through deserted wilderness, seeing any structure, no matter how dilapidated, brings a surge of relief—a sense that safety has finally been found. This feeling was magnified tenfold after our long ordeal in this sinister underground environment, coupled with our gnawing hunger. I immediately ordered Man Niao Niao to take the lead, intending to rush into the hut to rest a while.

Man Niao Niao looked back to offer me a final word of instruction, then leaped into the water with a splash while clutching the Xuanyi Duzhou Pearl. It began to swim forward using its classic 'doggy paddle' stroke before suddenly realizing the water was only waist-deep. Man Niao Niao grumbled a few messy curses, then turned back to wave me over, "The water isn't deep, hurry and get down here!"

I dared not delay. I helped Qin Bing'er stand straight, swiftly hoisted her onto my shoulders, and with a practiced nudge of my hips, settled her onto my back. As I prepared to leave, a profound curiosity overtook me regarding the boat coffin and the fake head within. I glanced back and noticed the hyper-realistic head had vanished. Mustering my courage, I tiptoed to the edge and peered into the coffin. The head, for some reason, had detached from the skeleton and rolled into a corner of the coffin, its two dark, empty eye sockets fixed on me. The expression on its face—a faint, lingering smile—had not changed at all. Now I clearly saw that the coffin contained an incomplete skeleton, but strangely, the remains didn't appear to be lying down; instead, they seemed to be crouched or prone inside, held up by a few sparse ribs jutting out. Scattered around the bones were objects that looked like bowls and bottles, but sadly, Man Niao Niao had already gone too far ahead, and without the light of the Xuanyi Duzhou Pearl, I couldn't discern what those items were.

Of course, failing to see the exact contents of the coffin was secondary to my current concerns: Qin Bing'er and my own rumbling stomach. I bent down, retrieved the sword that had fallen onto the planking, climbed over the edge into the water, called to Hua'er, and followed closely behind Man Niao Niao.