Xia Huna momentarily stepped into the cave and saw Mei kneeling on the ground, hands clasped behind her back, clutching her backside. Xia Huna asked, "How are you, are you alright?"
Mei’s actions didn't cease. While rubbing her rear, she complained to Xia Huna, "I only asked you for a bit of courage, I never expected you to kick me so hard."
Xia Huna knew very well not to reason with girls, as it would only make him seem unreasonable. He could only ask Mei, "Are you going to walk or not?"
Mei slowly got up, glanced inside, and though still frightened, she bravely took the first step inward. After two steps, Mei stopped and turned, saying, "If, from now on, Mei dares not to proceed, I hope you'll continue to give me courage."
Xia Huna understood Mei's meaning perfectly: when Mei hesitated, he was to kick her again. Although this behavior was wicked, Xia Huna couldn't help but secretly relish it. However, Mei remained apprehensive of Xia Huna's strength, saying, "Although, although I hope for your encouragement, I still hope you'll be a bit gentler."
Xia Huna was between laughter and tears. "Alright, what do you take me for? Let's go. If we don't go now, who knows when we'll get the item out."
The two continued forward. Though Mei was nervous and her movements weren't fast, she still moved steadily. Xia Huna, taking advantage of Mei's inattention, cast a discreet glance behind him. Although there was nothing visible, Xia Huna was certain that Feng, Mu Zhishui, and Rotom, the three of them, were definitely there.
Feng lacked the ability to understand the Ming Long Kingdom's language, so to ensure the success of his tracking, he would inevitably seek Rotom to come along. And if Rotom came, Mu Zhishui would certainly not be left behind.
Xia Huna shook his head and followed Mei onward. Behind them, Feng and Mu Zhishui trailed about ten meters back. However, one must realize that following from behind is a difficult task. While psychic-type Pokémon could obscure their line of sight, the sound of footsteps couldn't be so easily concealed. Even if Feng could largely suppress his footsteps, Mu Zhishui could not. Thus, to cover for Mu Zhishui, Xia Huna had to move his own feet more briskly.
After walking for a short while, Xia Huna and Mei arrived before a large gate. Xia Huna looked at the kunai pattern drawn on the stone gate and asked Mei, "This is a stone gate, isn't it? How do we open it?"
Mei reached out and touched it, then shook her head. "I don't know. Feng didn't tell me."
Xia Huna frowned upon hearing this. If that was the case, what was the point? Knowing there was a door but not having the key. This situation didn't require Xia Huna; Feng himself could prevent Mei from becoming a true ninja.
Xia Huna plopped down on a nearby rock. "You study it for now, I need to rest a bit."
Mei examined the stone gate for a long time without discovering anything. She tried pushing, ramming, and looking for mechanisms, but she couldn't open the door. Frustrated, Mei kicked the door, and surprisingly, the door wobbled twice and opened.
Seeing the door swing open, both Xia Huna and Mei were stunned. Not to mention them, Feng and Mu Zhishui following behind were also dumbfounded. Xia Huna asked, "So, the normal way to open this door is with a kick?"
Mei then discovered a piece of paper in the opened gap of the door. After reading it, she explained to Xia Huna, "This door is controlled by Diglett. Diglett opens the door when it sees someone carrying a ninja token. However, the note also says that this Diglett is a heavy sleeper, so it might have been asleep just now."
The two continued forward. The deeper they went into the cave, the larger it became instead of shrinking. The path that could only accommodate Xia Huna alone soon widened to allow three people to walk side-by-side.
As they walked, the two arrived in front of a spacious area. The moment Xia Huna saw this area, he felt something was amiss and immediately released Froakie. Mei also felt that something was wrong and sent out a Marill.
Xia Huna glanced at Mei, and Mei, with Marill, stepped forward. Unexpectedly, the moment Mei stepped on a stone tile, countless hidden weapons shot out from all directions. Mei was prepared and immediately had Marill counter with High-Speed Stars. She herself hopped lightly on the stone slabs, dodging the attacks.
Mei cleared the trap ahead, and Xia Huna behind also ended up suffering. Many hidden weapons flew towards Xia Huna. Xia Huna was not one to be trifled with. He directly had Froakie block these weapons with Water Shield and then retaliated with precision. However, at Xia Huna's instruction, all the returned hidden weapons were aimed at Mei.
Mei, who had been handling the situation with ease, found herself struggling after Froakie joined the fray. Soon, the first hidden weapon struck Mei on the chest. One led to another, and more and more hidden weapons hit Mei's body.
"Their ancestor was truly ruthless to do this, but at least it's made of wood."
Xia Huna's quiet mumbling was not heard by Mei, who was highly focused on dealing with the incoming projectiles. Xia Huna estimated that thousands of hidden weapons had already been launched. This was quite a reserve. If he hadn't known beforehand, Xia Huna would have genuinely thought he had stumbled into an emperor's tomb.
After being "educated" by an unknown number of hidden weapons, Mei finally reached the other side of the numerous stone slabs. Before the second large door, Mei waved at Xia Huna, "Hurry over here, be careful."
Xia Huna smiled and pointed towards the cave ceiling. Froakie understood and used its Bubble Beam to form a rope, swinging across the trap-laden stone slabs to Mei's side. Mei asked, "Then how will you get here?"
Xia Huna moved along the cave wall, inching forward step by step against the rocks, like a yellow croaker hugging the bank, reaching the other side.
Upon reaching Mei's side, Xia Huna said, "There are many ways to cross this place. The most direct is to use your agility to cross directly like you did. Or, if your observational skills are excellent, you can see which stone tiles on the ground trigger the traps and swing across. If all else fails, you can hug the edge like I did. I must say, your predecessors had quite the imagination."
As they spoke, the two looked at the second door again. Xia Huna asked, "This door won't require Diglett to open it again, will it?"
Mei tentatively placed her hand on the stone door. The door slowly opened, but before Mei could rejoice, the ground beneath her and Xia Huna disappeared, and they fell.
The two fell through the air for a few seconds before landing on a net. Xia Huna looked around in the darkness and shouted, "Mei, are you there?"
Xia Huna fumbled on the net and soon found Mei's location. However, to Xia Huna's embarrassment, the spot he touched seemed incorrect. It wasn't a sensitive area like her chest or buttocks; he seemed to have grabbed Mei's head directly, his thumb and little finger pressing on her temples. Xia Huna almost thought he was about to perform a "skull splitting" move.
He quickly withdrew his hand and asked, "Mei, are you alright?"
Mei shook her head. "I'm fine, but how do we get up?"
Xia Huna found a comfortable position and lay on the net. "How should I know? You need to find a way to get me out."
Mei bit her lip and began to think. Xia Huna wasn't worried at all, as he had Feng as a backup. He wouldn't starve to death here.
Mei didn't know this. She was anxiously feeling around the walls, hoping to find a way out. Her efforts paid off; Mei finally felt something in the corners of the stone walls.
"Do you have a flashlight? I can't make out what's carved on the wall."
Xia Huna was confused. "Don't you have a flashlight?"
"It fell just now, I can't reach it."
Xia Huna sighed and took out another flashlight from his backpack. "Read it to me, what else did your predecessors carve?"
Under the faint glow of Xia Huna's flashlight, Mei finally recognized the words on the wall. "The wall says that the second door can be opened with a push, but you will fall before it opens. As long as you climb up, you can enter the second large door."
Xia Huna understood. "So how do we get up? This looks like about six or seven meters. Are you prepared?"
Mei shook her head. "No, I didn't anticipate something like this happening, so I can't."
Xia Huna lay down like a salted fish after hearing this. "It's alright. Feng knows you're here anyway, he'll come to your rescue if you can't get back."
Xia Huna said this casually, but Mei's mindset was different. She knelt on the net with tears in her eyes. "Please help me. You must have a way, right? I don't want to disappoint Feng."
Xia Huna scratched his head, then looked up at the ceiling, thinking, Feng, what am I supposed to do about this?
However, Xia Huna soon thought of a solution. He took out a Poké Ball. "I have a Pokémon that might be able to try, but I can't guarantee it will work."
Upon hearing Xia Huna's words, Mei's eyes lit up. Above, Feng was bewildered. Didn't he ask Xia Huna to increase the difficulty of Mei's test? Why was he offering solutions now?
Xia Huna released Nincada from the Poké Ball. Xia Huna touched the ring on Nincada's head and asked, "Nincada, can you carry me up?"
Nincada shook, presumably indicating yes. Xia Huna grabbed Nincada, and they began to ascend slowly. As Xia Huna left the net, he said, "Wait a moment. Once I get up, I'll save you!"
Mei's eyes automatically cast a golden glow on Xia Huna's retreating back. In her eyes, Xia Huna was like her superhero.
However, just as Xia Huna was being carried upward by Nincada, an unexpected event occurred. A yell from Xia Huna was heard, followed by the sound of him falling to the ground.