Gu Qingcheng smiled and said, "You're too impatient. We must hold onto hope before despair sets in.
Even if we don't have food, we still have water to last us seven days. Not to mention, it's uncertain whether they can find us in these seven days, and we haven't thoroughly searched the entire cave. I have a feeling that since those bandits hid so much gold and jewelry here, they wouldn't have stored such a meager amount of food.
Perhaps, like a cunning rabbit with three burrows, they've hidden food in other caves too?"
"Really? Is that possible?"
Du Lanyue's eyes lit up with the hope of survival upon hearing this.
But immediately, she lowered her head again, trying to hide her embarrassment.
Seeing the change in her expression, Gu Qingcheng couldn't help but chuckle. She affectionately patted Du Lanyue's head and said,
"You're so anxious. You're usually quite steady in your actions, but you can't handle this situation. It seems you still need more experience."
Du Lanyue was slightly older than her, but in terms of judgment and decision-making, she was indeed a step behind Gu Qingcheng.
Being touched by Gu Qingcheng now made her feel like a little sister.
Gu Qingcheng's optimism convinced Du Lanyue.
"Let's go, let's search together," Gu Qingcheng suggested.
She dared not leave Du Lanyue alone, fearing something might happen. What if she couldn't cope and harmed herself?
Du Lanyue was naturally willing to go with her. She had just escaped a brush with death, but it hadn't significantly impacted her stamina.
The two of them got up and walked towards the dark river where they had previously "found" food. The area was full of branching paths, and they hadn't explored every single one.
As they walked and searched, they found some very small cave chambers. As soon as they entered, the torchlight illuminated them completely, and it was clear at a glance that nothing was hidden there.
After about an hour of this, Du Lanyue was disappointed again and said,
"Young Master Gu, it seems hopeless. There's nothing here."
Gu Qingcheng smiled and said, "As long as there's a shred of hope, we must strive."
Seeing that they had been exploring for a while, demonstrating the difficulty of finding food and fully explaining why they hadn't easily found ingredients before, Gu Qingcheng finally squeezed into a narrow stone chamber that could only accommodate one person.
Upon entering, she surveyed the area. "Wow, isn't this the best place to store provisions?"
Because the stone chamber was very long and narrow, with a 90-degree turn, the area around the corner would be invisible from the outside even with a torch.
Gu Qingcheng then walked into the corner and retrieved preserved meat, sausages, noodles, and salt from a storage cabinet. The amount she took out this time was enough for them to eat for a month, aiming to fully alleviate Du Lanyue's anxiety.
Gu Qingcheng piled the ingredients in the corner before turning around and calling out to the outside in a voice filled with surprise,
"Sister Lanyue, look what I found! I told you, people should always maintain hope!"
Hearing her tone, Du Lanyue knew something good had happened and quickly asked,
"What did you find?"
Gu Qingcheng emerged, excitedly saying,
"I found a large amount of food in the deep corner inside. Those bandits are truly cunning and meticulous, hiding it so well."
Gu Qingcheng, the "bandit," was full of lies.
Du Lanyue, however, was overjoyed and said,
"Let me see."
The cave entrance was narrow, but it was quite spacious inside, capable of accommodating three or four people at once. Gu Qingcheng and Du Lanyue entered the cave, one after the other.
Gu Qingcheng led her to the corner and said, "It's right here."
Du Lanyue held the torch and looked inside. She was stunned and overjoyed. She tightly embraced Gu Qingcheng and exclaimed with joy,
"With so much food, we can last for a long time. I believe Dapeng and the others will find us before we run out of food."
"Yes, yes, so you're not worried anymore?"
Gu Qingcheng comforted Du Lanyue before using her immense strength to make three trips, diligently transporting all the food back to their living cave.
Looking at the pile of meat and rice filling a corner, Du Lanyue was content, a joyful smile on her face.
Gu Qingcheng smiled and asked her, "How is it? Feeling relieved now?"
Du Lanyue pouted slightly, a bit embarrassed, and smiled.
Gu Qingcheng said, "With this much food, let's have a good meal of claypot rice with sausages today."
Gu Qingcheng had made this famous Cantonese dish before, and Du Lanyue quite enjoyed it, so she readily agreed.
Thus, dinner was claypot rice with sausages made by Gu Qingcheng.
They used a pot instead of a claypot, but the taste was still excellent. The rich aroma of the preserved meat combined with the texture of the high-quality northeastern rice was a delicacy, no less than any restaurant Du Lanyue had eaten at before.
After dinner, Gu Qingcheng told Du Lanyue several stories. The two of them drifted off to sleep and woke up the next morning.
However, upon waking this time, Gu Qingcheng heard some unusual sounds.
She couldn't quite believe it, so she pricked up her ears and listened intently. "Huh! That's right, it sounds like someone has found us."
Because the echoes from their voices outside could be heard in the cave.
"Gu Shaoyun, Miss Lanyue, are you inside?"
"Sister Lanyue, they've come to find us."
Gu Qingcheng quickly nudged Du Lanyue, who was in her arms.
Although Du Lanyue was groggy from sleep, she immediately woke up upon hearing someone calling. She quickly sat up and asked,
"Who is it? Where are they?"
Gu Qingcheng smiled and said, "Listen, the voices outside seem to be getting closer."
"Young Master Gu, Miss Lanyue, are you there?"
"Yes, yes, we're here."
Gu Qingcheng paused for a moment, then quickly responded loudly.
"Hey, I hear voices, it's them!"
The people outside seemed to have heard them too.
After another half hour of complicated maneuvering, Wang Dapeng appeared before Gu Qingcheng with a dozen or so of his brothers.
"Young Master Gu, Miss Lanyue, we've finally found you."
"That's great! Fortunately, we didn't give up. I knew Young Master Gu was capable and would be fine."
Wang Dapeng saw that both of them looked well, even better than before. Apart from their paleness from lack of sunlight, they were full of spirit, which eased his heart.
There was no time for lengthy explanations. Wang Dapeng quickly led Gu Qingcheng and the others out.
Seeing that these people had ropes tied around their waists, Gu Qingcheng learned that the cave was very complex. With the help of the guards, they had fashioned the longest ropes on the island, tying them around their waists before daring to explore inside.
Without this method before, they had almost gotten lost in the cave themselves.
In fact, they had started searching from the day Gu Qingcheng and Du Lanyue didn't return to the inn.
Wang Dapeng knew they were coming to this area to play. After inquiring, he surmised they had gotten lost in this cave and began searching that same day.
They searched for several days. Along the way, they saw some of Gu Qingcheng's deliberately dropped personal ornaments, confirming that they were trapped in the cave.