Luo Jiu stood on the edge of the cliff and looked back. Layers of clouds floated in the air halfway up the cliff, their depths unfathomable.

Despite having the system's cheat code, Luo Jiu couldn't help but worry and be afraid. Falling from such a high cliff would scare her to death, if not kill her.

Nervousness made her hands act even more instinctively. She buried her head in Gu Muchen's chest, gripping his clothes tightly with both hands, perhaps finding it more reassuring that way.

Seemingly sensing Luo Jiu's unease, Gu Muchen placed his hand on Luo Jiu's side and hugged her even tighter.

Gu Muchen looked at the person curled up in his arms and whispered:

"Xiao Jiu, do you believe me?"

"Hmm..." Luo Jiu looked up, not yet reacting. She then saw Gu Muchen smile. His smile was extremely gentle, his eyes full of laughter. It was the first time Luo Jiu had ever seen Gu Muchen smile like that since coming to this world.

Luo Jiu was stunned and nodded unconsciously.

Suddenly, I felt a force pulling me down, and when I came to my senses, my feet were already dangling off the ground, and I was plummeting rapidly towards the bottom of the cliff.

Luo Jiu was so frightened that she couldn't even scream. She could only close her eyes and hold Gu Muchen tightly. This was the second time Luo Jiu had felt that death was actually so close to her.

...

Beneath the cliff, shrouded in layers of clouds, lies a massive waterfall. The water flows down the mountainside, following its natural course.

Downstream on the riverbank, two unconscious people lay, swept down by the waterfall from the mountain.

One of them appeared to be seriously injured, his blood staining the surrounding pool crimson. A moment later, his fingers twitched slightly. Not long after, he frowned deeply and slightly opened his eyes.

The man was dressed in a black python robe, with a white jade pendant at his waist. He was none other than the current Regent—Gu Muchen.

Thanks to the system's cheat-like features, Luo Jiu and Gu Muchen did not die from heart failure in mid-air.

Gu Muchen was awakened by the pain of his infected wound, and it took him a while to recover in the water before he had the strength to stand up.

The first thing Gu Muchen did after standing up was not to treat his wounds, but to look around and find Luo Jiu lying unconscious in the water not far away.

The wound was throbbing with pain from the lack of proper care, but Gu Muchen couldn't care less. Ignoring the pain, he staggered toward Luo Jiu.

"Little Jiu, Little Jiu!"

Gu Muchen dragged Luo Jiu ashore and patted her pale, waterlogged cheeks. Seeing that Luo Jiu was still unresponsive but still breathing, he breathed a sigh of relief, picked her up, and walked towards the cave entrance not far away.

It was getting dark, and the moon was gradually rising over the mountains.

If they encountered wild animals by the river, they would be completely powerless to fight back.

Gu Muchen found dry firewood and embers in the cave, which must have been left behind by hunters who had come in to take shelter from the rain. He breathed a sigh of relief and lit the firewood.

As darkness fell, the only sounds were the whistling of the wind through the valley; all was quiet.

In the firelight, Gu Muchen saw that Luo Jiu's complexion gradually warmed up and blushed.

At first, she thought it was fine, but after a while, Luo Jiu's face became redder and redder, like a ripe red apple, and it also became hotter and hotter.

Gu Muchen then realized there was a problem. He touched it with the back of his hand and found it to be alarmingly hot.

Luo Jiu regained some consciousness and murmured, "Hot~" as she reached out to pull off her clothes.

Luo Jiu's outer garment had been mostly dried by the fire, but the rest of her clothes were still wet.