Ruger hesitated, trying to understand what Zhizhi was telling him.
"What is it saying?" Layden asked curiously.
"It... wants us to follow it down there... I think that's what it means..." Ruger scratched the fur on his chin.
"Squeak!"
Zhizhi let out a squeak and began wriggling, gradually widening the already sizable hole.
The little creature wriggled and squeaked, seemingly waiting for Ruger's command. At a single word from him, it could wriggle all the way down, clearing a path ahead.
Although Zhizhi seemed very excited, Ruger did not answer it right away.
Ruger realized there was a problem. As its master, he still did not know how fast Zhizhi traveled underground. Otherwise, he could have roughly estimated how far it had gone on each round trip.
"I want to take a look," Ruger said.
Layden studied the door laid out on the ground and nodded too. The door was actually still incomplete; it seemed to be missing one narrow strip of planking.
"Looks like familiars and thralls are indispensable too..." Layden murmured.
Ruger stepped forward and patted Zhizhi's head, stopping its incessant wriggling.
Zhizhi obediently plunged downward, turning around to expose its rear end.
"This should be a little faster."
As he spoke, Ruger reached out and grabbed one of Zhizhi's rearmost legs. At the same time, the wings on his back manifested and wrapped around him.
Layden blinked and followed his example.
At his command, Ruger finally witnessed how fast Zhizhi could travel underground. It clearly took Layden somewhat by surprise too, but fortunately, this minor complication would not injure him. After they had traveled some distance, Ruger estimated that Zhizhi's underground speed was roughly three to four times its sprinting speed aboveground. It was truly astonishing, though of course, Zhizhi would have run a little faster on