Chapter 77 Fortunately

The waist and legs, which were numb and stiff from the freezing well water, were forced to move.

The water surface rippled with Pei Ji's violent movements, and the icy cold water rushed down to his waist and abdomen. But just as he tried to push himself up, a sharp pain shot through his left calf. A muscle-tearing cramp.

Apparently, he had been curled up in the cold well for too long, and his sudden exertion was his retribution.

A strong feeling of weakness and exhaustion suddenly hit me, and my body stumbled forward uncontrollably.

"Be careful." Luo Zhaohan had been staring at him intently. The moment Pei Ji's body lurched forward, she didn't need to think. She lunged forward like an arrow. Her right hand shot out like lightning, precisely passing beneath Pei Ji's forced, bent arm. She lifted her entire arm with force, her elbow firmly resting against his damp, cold arm.

She wasn't very strong, but the sudden upward lift she put on was coordinated just right.

Pei Ji only felt a steady and unquestionable force instantly supporting the almost collapsed right half of his body.

The moment of sudden contact——

"Well."

Pei Ji felt as if an invisible, huge, and cold hand had gripped his throat tightly. It was forcibly ripped and torn from deep within his lungs. All the air in his throat was abruptly cut into rapid, broken, and almost soundless gasps.

His iron-stiff body trembled slightly as he tried to create some distance.

The Adam's apple rolled violently under the skin covered with cold sweat, so clearly that it made one's heart tremble.

Luo Zhaohan was concentrating on supporting the weight of his body. When he felt him gasp in pain and his body tremble violently, his heart tightened.

He thought he had strained his injured legs or muscles by forcing himself to stand. The piercing cold still seemed to course through him. This place was freezing cold, and staying a moment longer would only worsen the torture.

In this desperate situation, Luo Zhaohan had only one thought in his mind: He couldn't stay in this icy cave any longer. He had to hurry. The sooner he left, the better.

She almost blurted out the words, her voice firm and with an irrefutable determination: "You can't walk far like this. Don't force it. I'll carry you out." Before she finished speaking, her left hand that was holding Pei Ji's right arm tightened without hesitation to steady him, and her right hand had already reached for the heavy brocade cloak on her shoulders.

The cloak was the thick garment her mother had forced her to wear today to keep warm, and it was filled with a thin layer of cotton inside.

"No."

Pei Ji's broken, rapid gasps were instantly replaced by a hoarse, panicked, and almost out-of-tune roar, like a beast whose tail had been stepped on.

Luo Zhaohan's fingertips trembled at the thunderous shout. He looked up in astonishment.

Pei Ji flinched back violently as if he had seen a venomous snake or a ferocious beast. The force of his movement was astonishingly large. There was a dull thud. The tight belt buckle at his waist struck a protruding, mossy, dark blue rock on the well wall behind him. The impact was so powerful that even Luo Zhaohan felt pain from hearing it.

But Pei Ji's face, apart from a deep crimson color that was almost eerie due to the violent surge of blood, did not show any expression of pain.

The emotions surging in those deep eyes at this moment were extremely complicated - panic, resistance, unspeakable embarrassment, and a panic that was almost like being forced into a desperate situation.

"Let's go." Pei Ji's voice was hoarse, and each word seemed to be squeezed out from a scalding throat. With a thick nasal tone and a heavy breath, he avoided Luo Zhaohan's suspicious look and stared at the dark stone wall in front of him, which was covered by countless drooping withered vines. "Go in. Let's go."

He seemed to be afraid that Luo Zhaohan would insist on carrying the person on his back again, so he did not dare to pause for a moment. He pointed at the entrance of the secret passage and urged him on. His posture was as tense as a bowstring, and every inch of his body was filled with vigilance and the embarrassment of being eager to escape.

Luo Zhaohan was stunned by his violent reaction and the hoarse, rapid "Go!" Although he didn't understand why, he knew exactly where Pei Ji was pointing.

She instantly suppressed her doubt and a moment of helplessness, decisively releasing her hand from the laces. Her mind raced, realizing the most urgent priority right now—get him out of this icy cave and find the antidote. Everything else could come later.

"Okay. Hold on tight." Luo Zhaohan's voice returned to its usual calm and clear tone. She no longer looked at Pei Ji's complicated expression, but instead turned her sharp gaze towards the daunting patch of dead vines at the entrance to the secret passage.

The withered vines, layer upon layer, as thick as a child's arm and as fine as a spiderweb, had long since dried and hardened, their dark brown tangles clinging tightly to the moist rock wall like a decaying ghost's claw spiderweb. In the dim light, the vines cast a sinister shadow.

Her right hand was still supporting Pei Ji's arm, but her left hand pushed forward decisively.

With his fingers spread out, he ignored the possibility that the hard, prickly, cracked, rough bark, and dusty vines would scratch his sleeves or skin, and he didn't even bother to see if there were any damp woodlice lurking deep within the vines.

Crackle—crack.

A pile of vines, long dried and dead, held together by only a sliver of inertia, were torn apart by Luo Zhaohan's forceful push. A dull, crushing sound filled the air. Small, dead branches and years of accumulated dust fell. A stronger, more intense odor, a mixture of the rich, fishy smell of moss and the musty, emanating from deep within the rock, suffocated him. It made him wince slightly.

An irregular, dark gap, just wide enough for a person to stoop and enter, appeared behind the peeling vines. It was bottomless.

"Follow me." Luo Zhaohan's words were concise and to the point, her voice remarkably clear and powerful in the confined space. She no longer hesitated, still holding onto Pei Ji's arm, and she lowered herself first, bending over and diving into the dark, musty opening without hesitation.

Pei Ji was half pushed and half pulled by her, almost sticking to her back, almost stumbling in a low dive, and squeezed in awkwardly. He tripped over the tangled dead vines and almost fell, but was supported by Luo Zhaohan.

The two of them stumbled forward, one in front of the other, into the thicker darkness and chilly, musty atmosphere of the secret passage. The withered vines behind them, having lost their thrust, rustled and swayed, attempting to close again.

The interior of the secret passage was slightly wider than the narrow bottom of the well. Although it could only allow two people to pass each other, they finally didn't have to be immersed in the freezing well water for most of the time.

The ground beneath my feet was slippery and covered in sticky moss. The air was extremely turbid and cold, carrying a stale, fishy smell from deep underground that had never seen the light of day for years.

After Luo Zhaohan stood firm, he immediately released the hand that was supporting Pei Ji, took out the fire starter and polished it again.

The dancing flames instantly illuminated a small area around the two men. The wet rock walls shone dark green in the firelight, and water droplets on the walls slowly condensed and dripped, making a monotonous dripping sound.

She breathed a sigh of relief and was about to check on Pei Ji's condition—

"The entrance. Cover it up."

Pei Ji's rapid, hoarse voice rang out almost as the fire ignited. His tone carried a suppressed tremor and a sense of alertness. He clearly remembered something more important—if he left the entrance wide open, pursuers would easily discover this escape route.

Luo Zhaohan suddenly realized that she had lost her mind due to anxiety. She nodded vigorously, "Hold on." She immediately turned around and rushed towards the cave entrance.

In this moment of passing by.

In order to climb back to the entrance, her arm holding the tinder inevitably swung outwards. The dancing flames, like a naughty elf, suddenly swept upwards across Pei Ji's face, which was slightly tilted upwards due to the pain he was trying to suppress.

The light and shadow suddenly cut diagonally.

The edge of the firelight brushed sharply across his protruding Adam's apple.

The firelight was like the sharpest carving knife, unexpectedly passing through the few inches above Pei Ji's tightly closed eyes.

At that moment, Luo Zhaohan felt as if something had fiercely burned his brain. His heart leaped. An inexplicable, indescribable throbbing and panic suddenly swept over him.

She looked away quickly, as if her eyes were burned by the sudden scorching light, not daring to look again.

Taking advantage of the moment when he turned around and rushed towards the entrance of the secret passage, Luo Zhaohan suppressed the turmoil in his heart.

She almost rushed to the entrance of the secret passage as if escaping, and used both hands to drag the thick and rough dead vines over, carefully re-weaving them to cover the gap.

Her movements were a bit chaotic due to her restlessness. Broken vines and dust fell, covering her shoulders and arms, but she was completely unaware. She just wanted to use these dry vines to completely isolate the cold and dirty dry well outside.

That strange red...that indescribable look...

The entrance was finally completely blocked by dead vines, leaving only a few tiny gaps through which very weak light could penetrate.

Luo Zhaohan finally breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the dust and debris off his face, turned around and walked quickly towards Pei Ji who was leaning against the cold rock wall.

In the firelight, his face looked even worse. His brows were furrowed, his cheeks flushed, his forehead was covered in sweat, and his body was trembling slightly. He looked shaky, as if he had almost lost the strength to stand.

Luo Zhaohan stretched out his arm without hesitation, his tone firm and unyielding: "Put your arm around my shoulder. It'll save you some energy. We don't know how far this journey is, we can't delay any longer."

Her hands held warmth and undeniable strength.

"No need to help."

Pei Ji's voice suddenly rose again. The tone was sharp and piercing, carrying a sense of resistance and decisiveness that seemed on the verge of collapse. His body, like a taut spring, tensed up as the words fell.

He actually pushed his already weakened body, which was already at its limit, away from the rock wall, as if trying to shake off a fatal bone marrow.

The force was so strong that it made me stumble sideways. Standing on one foot, I was unsteady, and my whole body tilted under the weight of my own body.

It hit the protruding rock wall on the other side, which was covered with slippery moss, making a dull thud.

"Cough." A muffled sound came from deep in the chest. I didn't know whether it was caused by the collision or the burning pain in my body that rushed to my throat.

But the next second, he desperately used his elbows to support the slippery rock wall. He pulled his shaky body straight again, straightening his spine, which was as stiff as iron.

"I... can walk on my own." Pei Ji panted rapidly, his voice hoarse and broken, each word seemed to be torn out from his burning lungs:

"...You...go ahead..." He panted, each syllable trembling, "...just light up...it'll be fine."

"Just light up..." The words fell, as if exhausting the last bit of his decency. Deep within those eyes, fixed intently on the darkness ahead, besides surging pain, there was also a hint of pleading?

Luo Zhaohan's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. Her fingertips were mere millimeters away from the damp, cold fabric of his shoulder. She looked at his fragile face, yet it was as taut as ice. She saw his almost embarrassed retreat and resolute self-control.

A thought she had never thought of before, like a stone thrown into a deep pond, suddenly rippled through the depths of her heart - he was so resistant to her approach...

In an instant, a flash of inspiration struck Luo Zhaohan's mind. It was like a sudden enlightenment.

Yes.

Luo Zhaohan figured out all the key points in an instant.

She wanted to pull her hands back and cover her face immediately.

I see.

What he avoided was her approach itself.

This sudden realization was like a bucket of cold water poured over her head, but it also threw a huge rock into the lake of her heart.

She quickly lowered her eyelids, and her long, thick eyelashes, like a butterfly with folded wings, instantly covered all the surging emotions in her eyes.

"Okay." Luo Zhaohan's voice was very low, with a barely perceptible hoarseness. She no longer looked at Pei Ji, but quickly withdrew her hand, which was still suspended in the air, and even took a half step back without leaving a trace, widening the subtle distance between them.

Then, without hesitation, she turned around.

His movements were quick and decisive. With his back straight, he walked straight towards the unknown darkness deep in the secret passage.

She held the tinderbox in her hand steadily, and the orange light instantly shone on the road ahead - reflecting the slippery moss under her feet, and also generously and clearly illuminating her entire back.

She even deliberately made her steps steady and clear, each step on the moss-covered rocks making a slight "squeaking" sound, as if she was pointing the direction behind her, or as if she was trying to maintain the illusion of nothing happening.

Hearing the sound of her footsteps as she turned and left without hesitation, until the bright flame moved forward without hesitation and firmly, illuminating her entire warm figure without reservation, isolating it from Pei Ji's sight -

Pei Ji, who had been trying to hold on to his stiff body, finally relaxed suddenly as if a flood had burst from a dam, as his muscles, which were tense to the point of breaking, suddenly relaxed.

The violent impulse he had just suppressed with all his might, like a venomous snake after its awakening, frantically raised its head as she turned around. In the darkness, his eyes were fixed on the slender figure in front of him.

The fire drew a flickering band of light in front of her.

An indescribable fishy-sweet taste suddenly surged up his throat. Pei Ji suddenly tilted his head and bit down hard on the arm that supported his body.

Teeth dug deep into clammy flesh. Severe pain tingled at his cerebral cortex. He squeezed his eyes shut, using all his strength to fight the beast within him that threatened to unleash itself.

Luo Zhaohan walked ahead, holding the tinder steady. The faint light barely broke through the darkness a few steps ahead. The moss beneath her feet was slippery and cold. She seemed to be looking ahead, her steps steady.

Her cheeks must be as red as boiled shrimps. Fortunately... fortunately she was ahead.

Fortunately, the light in this secret passage was dim and flickering.

Fortunately, she is the only one who knows.