The pit was deep, far deeper than she expected. A bitter wind blew upwards, carrying a damp chill that cut straight to the bone, making the wind chill colder.
Li Ruoshui shivered, both from fright and cold. One hand locked desperately around Lu Zhiyao’s neck, while the other instinctively burrowed into his torn-open collar, seeking warmth as they shot down deeper into the darkness.
Just as she braced for a fatal impact, his arm tightened around her waist. His long sword scraped against the wall with a shrill shriek, carving a deep groove and finally slowing their fall.
Li Ruoshui’s pounding heart settled slightly. Thank goodness I grabbed him. If it had been anyone else, I would’ve turned into a pancake by now.
Upon hearing her pulsating heartbeat slow down, Lu Zhiyao let out a soft chuckle. With a powerful leap, they surged upwards, landing them both precariously on the sword still embedded in the wall.
The blade felt unstable beneath their feet as they swayed back and forth. Li Ruoshui could only cling to his robes like her life depended on it. She remained utterly terrified, dreading that a slightest shift would send them plunging into the depths.
The icy wind, heavy with moisture, roared up from the abyss below, whipping at their clothes and clearing any last trace of drowsiness from their minds.
“Want to wager what would happen if we jumped down?” he mused.
Li Ruoshui peered down. Only endless blackness stared back. She couldn’t see anything. “No… We’d die.”
Lu Zhiyao seemed amused, his clear voice echoing strangely in the cavernous space, bringing a false sense of warmth. “And in your dream… Did we die?”
Who knows about me, but you definitely lived. “No. But that’s because we valued our lives. Recklessness now means certain death.”
She’d hoped to drill some caution into him, but her words only made him gleeful. She couldn’t see his face in the dark, but she could imagine the unhinged smile painted across his face and heard the thread of madness woven through his laughter. “Me? Value my life?”
He laughed, the sound starting low and swelling until it reverberated through her, where she was pressed against his chest. “Let’s test it then. See if your dream holds up against reality.”
He suddenly swayed, nearly unbalancing them. Li Ruoshui yelped, scrambling up to his embrace against the wall and clutching his collar. “Wait, wait, wait! Don’t be impulsive!”
Somehow, Lu Zhiyao found his balance against the wall, rocking them gently back and forth on the blade like a macabre seesaw.
His hair brushed softly against her forehead. “Scared?” his voice laced in manic delight echoed in the dark. “Then tell me. Why are you staring at me earlier?”
He’s doing all this… just to ask that?! “I was checking the wall behind you to see if there was a mechanism!”
“Liar.” The retort was immediate.
Li Ruoshui sighed in frustration. She knew his senses were sharp, but this was just plain ridiculous.
A moment of silence hung between them before Lu Feiyue’s worried voice drifted down from above. “Miss Li? Lord Lu? Are you alright?”
“Fine!” Li Ruoshui called back, relieved. “Just stuck! We’re figuring out how to get back up!” She licked her lips, nervous. “Let’s get up first, then I’ll tell you.”
Lu Zhiyao sighed softly. His hand left the wall. The sword groaned, tilting further. “No no no- Wait!”
It seemed he wouldn’t relent without a convincing answer. So stubborn!
Fine. It was just the two of them here. She could say anything. “Because you’re good-looking,” she admitted, the truth making her cheeks burn. “I got distracted. Sorry.”
Lu Zhiyao froze. Then, a burst of genuine, surprised laughter filled her ear. He hadn’t expected that. “So you were also fooled by a pretty face.” (⌐■_■)
Li Ruoshui felt no shame. She owned it. Who didn’t like looking at beautiful people? “Guilty as charged. I’m one of the biggest suckers for a pretty face out there.”
A cold draft made her sniffle. She still held his robes tightly, afraid he’d tip them over. “Ah. So I am very good-looking,” he concluded, a smile in his voice. No one had ever called him that before. Some had even called his face… disgusting.
“Have you been nice to me these past few days because of my looks, too?”
Li Ruoshui was genuinely surprised he’d noticed. “Not… entirely.” It was mostly due to her mission.
“I heard that when a person falls from a great height… everything breaks. Skin, bones, organs… Even the prettiest face shatters.” A chill crept down Li Ruoshui’s spine. She didn’t like where this was going. “Tell me,” he whispered, his warm breath ghosting her ear, his voice thick with a strange unbridled anticipation, “would you still look at me then? Would you still be kind? Or would you scream? Be afraid? Hit me and kick me, terrified of what I had become?”
Li Ruoshui: ??? (⊙_⊙;)
Dude, are you sick in the head?! [1]
He chuckled. Then, without any warning, he pulled her with him as he leaned back into the void.
“Sh*tttttt—!”
For the second time that day, a curse was ripped from her lips.
His sword, finally loosened, followed down after them.
The wind screamed past her ears. The terror of the fall made her blood run cold and her heart hammer against her ribs.
What did she do in a past life to deserve being stuck with this lunatic?!
Lu Zhiyao’s fingers pressed against the frantic pulse in her neck. He laughed, feeling its wild rhythm. “Why are you so scared now?”
“Scared!? My f*cking ass!”, she finally snapped back, the outburst cutting through her panic.
Her thoughts became despondent. Fine. Let me die. Maybe I’ll finally get to go home.
The further they fell, the louder the sound of rushing water became. A spark of hope flared. Water is much better than stone!
However, before they could hit the water, she slammed hard into his chest. Something caught them, slowing their descent with a series of creaks and groans.
A rope net, attached to a pulley system on a track, absorbed their momentum, carrying them downward in a rough, jerking ride.
Li Ruoshui clutched her sore face, eyes watering. Is this what they call ‘cheating death’?
The falling sword whistled down. Lu Zhiyao caught it effortlessly just before it hit them and laid it aside on the net. “So we couldn’t die after all,” he remarked, his tone dripping with genuine disappointment.
CLANG!
The net jarred to a violent halt at the end of its track.
Li Ruoshui, who had been sprawled on his chest, was thrown forward by the sudden stop.
In a move so cliché romance novels would blush, their lips met. [2]
Li Ruoshui: …
Her mind blanked. There were too many things to process. She even forgot to move.
Ding—
The long-silent System chose that moment to chime in.
【The HE System is at your service. Congratulations, Host, on achieving a kiss so early in the Strategy phase. A special reward is granted: 1 Memory Fragment.】
【We hope the Host will continue to strive for success.】
…Another line added to the list of things to process later.
Li Ruoshui pushed herself up on his shoulders. She looked around, but only utter blackness greeted her, accompanied by the sound of running water.
Blind in the darkness, her other senses screamed in panic. She was so focused on her surroundings, she completely missed the fact she was still straddling his waist.
It was too dark and she couldn’t see anything. Her hand grabbed his shoulder in the midst of groping about blindly. “Should we get off this net?”
Lu Zhiyao’s hand closed around her wrist. His skin was cooler than hers, smooth and jade-like. His voice, when he spoke, had lost its earlier manic edge. Instead, it was laced with pure, unadulterated confusion.
“What happened just now?”
TLN: To be honest, I have no idea what HE stands for so I’m just leaving it in as is. Maybe the later chapters will explain. By the way, if you felt this chapter was shorter compared to the first three… it is shorter.
[1] editor’s note: I mean, the clues are all over the entire book. helplessly shrug
[2] Editor’s Note: ╰(°▽°)╯