In the dim cave, two bodies sat facing each other. Konan had already put her clothes back on. According to the usual trope in proper novels, as the girl, she should have been uneasy with a touch of shyness, shy with a hint of annoyance, and annoyed with a bit of sweetness.
However, this was not such a proper novel, and Konan showed none of those reactions. Ming Jing could not make out her expression clearly, but judging by her steady breathing, this girl's reaction was rather one-dimensional!
"What are you planning to do next?" After a moment of silence, Ming Jing felt the atmosphere had become a little strange, so he asked in a deliberately casual tone.
"No plans." Konan answered calmly. In a sense, that answer was very Konan. If she stayed away too long, that absurdly powerful shut-in would definitely come looking for her.
Just as Ming Jing was about to say something to lighten the mood, they felt another tremor. His expression changed. That giant centipede had caught up! He gave a bitter smile and said to Konan, "Looks like we still have to run!"
Konan said nothing. She turned around and crawled forward on all fours. Ming Jing followed behind her, and when he looked up, he saw that round and smooth... Forget it. Better not look up. Yet before long, his head bumped into somewhere it should not have. That soft, springy sensation made his heart tighten. Had he accidentally crawled too fast?
"Three paths. Which one?" Konan still showed little reaction, her cool voice reaching him.
Ming Jing moved a little closer, bringing them nearer together. But with the tremors behind them growing more frequent, neither had any other thoughts. Of the three paths, the one directly ahead was the tunnel they had been crawling through. The other two, however, were much larger—large enough for Ming Jing and Konan to stand side by side.
"Crawling like this is too exhausting. Take the one on the right!" Ming Jing made his decision after a quick glance. Not only could they stand up and run through the right-hand path, but it also sloped upward. Maybe it led to the surface?
Konan nodded. Once she crawled out of the opening, she stood up, and Ming Jing quickly followed. Neither of them considered blocking the tunnel behind them, because that would have been pointless.
Humans really were meant to walk upright. Ming Jing felt much better after walking less than ten meters. But at some point, Konan had fallen behind him. When he turned back, he realized she was having trouble moving. Without another word, Ming Jing went to her side, silently slung one of her arms over his shoulder, and acted as a human crutch as he helped her forward.
The tremors behind them grew increasingly violent, which meant the giant centipede was getting closer. Konan glanced at Ming Jing, who was gritting his teeth and holding on, then suddenly said, "Sorry. I'm holding you back."
"I should be the one apologizing. If I hadn't invited you, you wouldn't have suffered through this." It was rare for Ming Jing to speak to Konan so seriously. Before, he had mostly been curious about her—curious about her abilities, and eager for gossip about the relationship between Konan, Nagato, and Yahiko. But at some point, he had suddenly begun to feel sorry for this girl. It was strange. They had known each other for less than a day!
"To me, this doesn't count as suffering." Konan shook her head slightly, her tone as cool as ever.
"What's your favorite food?" Ming Jing suddenly asked.
Konan paused. Discussing favorite foods in an environment like this felt rather inappropriate! Still, she answered honestly, "Grilled fish."
"Grilled fish!" Ming Jing smiled faintly and promised, "Once we're out, I'll make some for you. I know ten ways to grill fish!" After saying that, his balls hurt. He had clearly wanted to show Konan some concern, so why did it feel like he had just planted an incredible flag for himself?
"Really?... All right!" Just as Ming Jing was regretting it, he suddenly sensed something different in Konan's tone. He could not help looking up. In that horribly lit underground cave, Ming Jing saw the most beautiful smile in the world besides Hinata's, even though all he could see was the slight upward curve of her lips!
At that moment, Ming Jing knew he had truly been struck. He quickly looked away and tried to recall more of Hinata...'s figure! Damn it, he had recalled the wrong thing!
Still, Ming Jing felt that his relationship with Konan had improved somewhat. He had not felt this way even when he had let Konan suck his poison before. He sighed inwardly. Foodies really were the easiest creatures in the world to win over.
Suddenly, Konan's expression changed as she shouted, "Run!" She had sensed that the giant centipede had caught up.
Ming Jing simply hoisted Konan across his shoulder and sprinted away with her. Yet he had clearly been born into the wrong family in this life. Even if he had chosen an ordinary person, they would have been more useful than a member of the Kurama Clan at a time like this. Sure enough, after carrying Konan less than five hundred meters, he was already panting heavily from exhaustion.
"Are you really a ninja?" Konan's complexion, which had just improved slightly, turned cold again. But when she thought of Nagato, she sighed softly. After Nagato summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, his body was even weaker than Ming Jing's...
"Sorry, huff... I didn't expect my physical condition to be this bad either!" Ming Jing laughed awkwardly. He had not expected the Kurama Clan's bodies to be so pathetic.
"It's here!" Konan turned around and went on full alert, but Ming Jing directly grabbed her hand and ran. "What the hell are you guarding against? You're an idiot who can't even use Chakra."
"..."
Konan lowered her head and looked at the hand Ming Jing was gripping tightly. Slowly, another person's hand appeared in her mind.
The same gesture, yet an entirely different feeling. People really were different from one another...
The centipede truly deserved to be called a creature that rolled around underground. It had actually caught up. This enormous cavern was much easier to chase through than the previous one, and the distance between them was shrinking. Konan could even feel the centipede's antennae touching her.
Ming Jing was anxious too. He had personally witnessed this monstrosity's resistance to ninjutsu. Asuma's Wind Release, backed by a jonin's strength, had done nothing even when it struck nearby. Konan's Explosive Tag Shuriken had not harmed it either. As for his Blade-less Head Shave... Better not mention that.
Could only a Kage-level expert deal with this giant thing?
Ming Jing glanced back at the monster, which was charging forward with its mouth wide open, countless thoughts flashing through his mind. His Han Sword had already been lost, and even if he still had it, swordsmanship could not break through this thing's armor. Konan had been poisoned and could not use Chakra at all. In other words, if they wanted to save themselves, only genjutsu remained!
Genjutsu, genjutsu...
Genjutsu is what I'm best at!!!
Ming Jing roared inwardly, then... continued dragging Konan along as he ran.
"I'll lure it away. You hurry and escape!" For some reason, Konan suddenly spoke. Then she began struggling, trying to break free from Ming Jing's hand.
Ming Jing rolled his eyes and gripped her even tighter as he asked, "How about we switch? I'll lure it away, and you run. What do you say?" Konan's movements stopped, and she settled down.
But they could not keep running like this forever!
Ming Jing's gaze sharpened. No matter what, he had to try!
Thus, he held Konan's hand with one hand and extended his middle and index fingers with the other, drawing a green copper coin in the air, round on the outside and square within. He then pressed his two fingers to his forehead and slowly pulled a silver thread from his mind. With a flick of his fingers, he sent the silver thread flying toward the copper coin.
The silver thread transformed into a tiny divine dragon and slithered across the copper coin. One look was enough to tell that it was no ordinary thing.
Ming Jing suddenly darted forward with Konan, then turned to face the giant centipede head-on. He aimed the green copper coin at the centipede's forehead and slapped it with one hand. Like a meteor, the coin streaked across the cave and entered the giant centipede's mind.
The giant centipede, which had been chasing them with great enthusiasm just moments earlier, suddenly paused, and its speed slowed as well. Ming Jing immediately turned back, grabbed Konan, and continued running.
"What was that just now?" Konan asked curiously. That green copper coin and silver thread had looked rather mysterious!
"A secret technique—Mother-Child Green Coins!" Ming Jing panted as he ran. "That silver thread was memory. I pulled part of my memories from my mind and implanted them into that big guy's brain through the Mother-Child Green Coins. Creatures like centipedes don't have strong memories to begin with. I forcefully stuffed two books about human morality into its mind. It probably won't recover for a while!"
"Why put that kind of content into it?" Konan asked in confusion.
"Because morality is pretty complicated. If that big guy can't wrap its head around it, maybe its brain will crash." Ming Jing said with a slightly smug tone.
Before you continue