Li Ruoshui had always possessed a strong intuition. A strong one, that even in this cold, damp cave, she inexplicably felt a chill even deeper than the surrounding air, creeping from the nape of her neck down to her spine.
This feeling of dread peaked when she heard Lu Zhiyao’s soft laugh.
Her instincts screamed that something was wrong, she found an excuse to grab his arm and pull them both sideways. Sure enough, she heard the metallic shing of sword being sheathed.
She was nearly frantic inside. We’re just walking through a cave! What could possibly have set him off now?
Mentally cursing the System a hundred times over, she adjusted her emotions and asked in a hushed voice, “I saw a black shadow dart past by just now. I panicked and pulled you over. Are you alright?”
Of course he was fine. She had been his cushion, her back now numb from the impact. But she still had to express concern even if she was reluctant..
Lu Zhiyao’s face was buried in the crook of her neck. A faint, indescribable fragrance, a pleasant and soothing smell, lingered around his nose.
His earlier agitation eased considerably. He suddenly didn’t feel like killing her anymore.
He had almost forgotten. If she lost their bet, she had to swallow his sword. Him doing the deed himself couldn’t possibly be as interesting as watching her slit her own throat.
Lu Zhiyao took a deep breath, slowly straightened up, the corners of his eyes crinkling a gentle smile. “I’m fine. Thank you for protecting me.”
Li Ruoshui offered a small fakest smile she could create, and thought to herself: If I believe that innocent face, I’ve got water for a brain. “No no, I should be the one thanking you.”
Lu Zhiyao seemed to understand her underlying meaning, or perhaps he was just responding to her words. “You flatter me.”
Up ahead, Jiang Nian’s footsteps splashed through the water, the sound echoing in the narrow cave. “Why is the water getting deeper?” he wondered aloud. The water, originally only ankle-deep, had already risen past their calves.
“Something’s definitely wrong here. Flowing water should drain away, not accumulate like this,” Lu Feiyue noted. They paused. The sound of flowing water from ahead had gradually diminished to almost nothing. Combined with the rising water level, they were definitely going to encounter something strange up ahead.
She listened carefully for the sound of water from the adjacent passages. Though not entirely clear, it was noticeably swift and fierce, completely different from where they are.
Suddenly, Jiang Nian stopped, blocking the others. He raised his glowstone to probe ahead.
The cave ahead opened up, the high ceiling lost in darkness, but below, they could see a deep, still pool. One whose depth they could not perceive. One more step and they would have plunged in.
This was no natural formation.
He raised the glowstone to look around. A hemp rope, thick as a baby’s fist, dangled down near the cave entrance. Its presence was both strange and logical… in a sense.
Logical, because it meant they were on the right track. Strange, is what was its purpose.
Li Ruoshui also looked up and saw the rope. A silence fell over the group. No one was sure whether to pull it or not.
“Perhaps we should ask Li Ruoshui,” Lu Zhiyao suggested, his tone light and breezy. “She must know, right?”
In the eerie green glow, Li Ruoshui looked from Lu Feiyue and Jiang Nian’s expectant eyes to Lu Zhiyao’s smile and couldn’t help but swallow nervously.
By now, Li Ruoshui knew perfectly well that even if Lu Zhiyao couldn’t figure out how she knew his name, he would never believe her story about dreaming of the future.
Their bet was like a thin layer of paper. He hadn’t ripped it to shreds yet because of the sole reason he found it interesting. However, she couldn’t just give up and admit it was all a lie.
“Pull it,” she said, feigning confidence to the best of her ability. “I believe this is the way out.” (⌐■_■)
She didn’t know the plot details, but these two were the main protagonists. She was betting on the protagonists’ plot armor.
Lu Zhiyao’s eyebrows rose slightly, surprised by her confidence on display.
After a moment’s silence, Lu Feiyue nodded. “Stand back. We should be safer deeper in the cave.”
They retreated into the tunnel. Once everyone was positioned, Jiang Nian reached out and pulled the rope.
With a loud creak, the sound of grinding gears echoed from all directions. The pool water surged forward towards the pool as if a floodgate had opened, draining away rapidly. Visit novelping.com for the full chapter.
As the waterline fell, a small boat suddenly bobbed to the surface within the pool, swaying as if about to be swept away by the receding current.
“Quick, onto the boat!”
Lu Feiyue pulled Jiang Nian as they leaped onto the vessel. But Li Ruoshui, without martial skills, couldn’t jump that far, and a sliver of fear gripped her heart.
Sensing her hesitation, Lu Zhiyao chuckled softly, he casually wrapped an arm around her waist, and with a light tap of his toes, leaped toward the dark pool. “You’ve dreamed of all this already. And you’re still scared?”
After this one-sided tease, they landed on the swaying boat. Soon after, the boat got fully caught by the current and rushed forward with the four of them. The boat bumped and scraped against rocks along the way, but its speed never decreased.
Rough, exposed stone surfaces scraped their arms. Icy water drenched them. The violent shaking forced them to hold tightly to the ropes inside the boat to steady themselves.
During such moments, Jiang Nian held Lu Feiyue tightly. The usual ‘reservation’ seemed to vanish between them .
Compared to that cozy pair of lovebirds, Li Ruoshui had it much worse.
Failing to grab a rope, she could only cling desperately to Lu Zhiyao’s robes, closing her eyes to avoid the water spraying into her eyes.
Lu Zhiyao hadn’t bothered holding onto a rope at all, letting himself sway with the boat’s motion, pulling her along like rootless duckweed.
The boat dropped for a breathless moment. Li Ruoshui and Lu Zhiyao went airborne for a split second before crashing back onto the boat amidst a shower of water droplets.
Eyes squeezed shut, she mentally recited every curse and every prayer she knew, her hands trembling, begging every god and all the buddhas for protection.
The boat slammed into another, lower rock. Lu Zhiyao and her nearly went overboard this time. The hem of his robe dipped into the water. “Aaaaah! Buddha have mercy—!”[1] She finally screamed, unable to hold back any longer the fear she’s been withholding.
Lu Zhiyao let out a light laugh, his tone utterly relaxed, teasing her. “Are you that scared? Your temperature has risen again~.”
Li Ruoshui clung too tightly to his clothes, too terrified to process his words.
As the boat hurtled forward, a fresh breeze suddenly blew through the cave. Unlike the lasting chill of the cavern, this wind carried a hint of the fragrance of pear blossoms.
“We’re nearing the exit.”
Lu Zhiyao’s smooth black hair was now drenched. Cold droplets trailed down the strands, dripping onto her neck, sending intermittent shivers down her spine.
After one final, violent jolt, the boat landed in a relatively calm pond. It was completely free of rocks and the boat calmly slowed down, pushed along by the gentle current.
They drifted out from between the narrow mountain walls into a wide river. The bank was lined with snow-white pear blossom trees, winding back and forth along with the river into the distance.
Petals fell onto the river, floating downstream like fine snow settling on the lake’s surface.
Jiang Nian and Lu Feiyue on the boat looked at each other, then suddenly released their grip on each other, awkwardly averting their gazes.
Of everyone on the boat, only Lu Zhiyao seemed somewhat disappointed the ride was over.
“Let go now.”
Li Ruoshui is currently encircled in Lu Zhiyao’s arms, but she felt nothing romantic about it.
His hand had been resting on her carotid artery the entire journey, making her worry as much about being silently throttled by him as she did about capsizing the boat.
Li Ruoshui brushed away the strands of his hair tangled around her. Her eyes, adjusting to the light, slowly opened, immediately meeting the dazzling pale skin of Lu Zhiyao’s neck and a single dark mole near his collarbone.
His robes had been pulled askew by her grip and they hung open. His half-damp hair clung to his chest, accentuating his red lips and fair skin. A few droplets still clung to his long eyelashes making them sparkle in her eyes.
Back under the sunlight, Lu Zhiyao’s aura reverted to that of apricot blossoms budding in March—quiet, gentle, showing not a hint of strangeness from earlier.
“You’re staring at me again.” ^_^
Lu Zhiyao turned his head “toward” her, a smile gracing his lips. Far from being shy, he stretched languidly, letting her study him for as long as she liked.
Li Ruoshui rolled her eyes mentally and turned to look at the riverbanks, pretending not to see his preening, which she found utterly ridiculous. She tried changing the subject “There’s so many flowers here.”
A gentle breeze sent petals from both sides fluttering onto the river surface like falling snow. Layers of petals piled up, drifting downstream.
The boat slowly drifted toward the bank. The surface layer of pear blossoms washed against the hull. As a small wave turned them over, the yellowed, decaying petals underneath were revealed, suggesting they had accumulated here for some time.
The pear trees here weren’t just a single row but a dense forest, stretching endlessly inland from the shore.
Lu Feiyue observed the scene, feeling quite puzzled. “The city has a hidden paradise like this?”
The four disembarked, their feet sinking slightly in the petal-covered ground. The crushed blossoms clung stickily to their shoes.
Jiang Nian bent down, brushing aside the freshly fallen petals to reveal the dark, compost-like flower mud beneath, indicating the trees had been planted long ago.
Lu Feiyue looked up again at the silent trees, frowning slightly. “These trees don’t look like they were planted from a year or two ago. And these petals, they acted like snow. A single sprinkle and gust of wind could cover any trace completely. Why would the owner go to such great lengths planting these?”
Now that’s a question you have to find out. Li Ruoshui glanced at him and shrugged, leaving the question unanswered.
Though the scenery was beautiful, for Lu Zhiyao, listening to the wind was far more interesting.
They followed the mountain path inward. The deeper they went, the denser the pear forest became, eventually threatening to block their way entirely.
Just as they were about to think themselves lost, they heard the whinny sound of a horse not far from their location.
They moved closer, as quiet as could be. The pear trees planted there were taller and sturdier, clearly older than the rest of the forest.
They climbed a tree to get a better view. Occasional petals drifted down into a courtyard below, where a two-story wooden house stood. The yard was filled with masked men and several horse-drawn carriages.
The carriage horses munched on feed, occasionally snorting. The carriages behind them were luxurious, fine curtains covering the windows and entrances. Their wheels were even wrapped in soft leather.
The most shocking part wasn’t the number of lavish carriages. It was the dozen or so iron cages placed by the house’s entrance.
Speak of the devil.
Within each cage held one or two listless young women. Labels were attached to the cages, bearing names of various places—small prefectures and counties, cities at key transportation hubs, and one labeled with the Imperial City.
These women were dressed exquisitely in silks and gossamer. Their figures were also slender and graceful. Each wore a different color and style of clothing, all revealing to varying degrees.
Their eyes were numb and apathetic as they stared up at the sky. Even when a white pear blossom occasionally landed on their cheek, they lacked the will to brush it away.
It was clear that after being caged like this, they were no different from livestock awaiting the slaughter.
One of them rolled her eyes, looking around, when the glint of reflected light suddenly stung her eyes, drawing forth reflexive tears.
She ignored the tears and stared intently at the location where the light came from. Finally, she managed to discern a different shade of white amidst the complex layers of petals.
That particular white hung softly among the blossoms, swaying gently in the breeze.
Chapter Notes
[1] 阿弥陀佛, Amituofo, Amitabha essentially means May Buddha preserve us or merciful Buddha.
TLN: Hope y’all are enjoying the story so far 🙂 and if you do notice an error or something wrong, feel free to let me know in the comments or in the discord.
Also, everyone go thank liltato for fixing the buttons~ all praise the liltato \o/