Chapter 68 If this moment were the end of life...
Chapter 68
The Taihang Mountains are characterized by their steep and rugged terrain, with the mountains standing straight up as if cleaved by an axe, soaring into the clouds.
On some inconspicuous mountain crevices or cliffs, many coffins hang. One of the coffins on a rock wall looks very new, and upon closer inspection, it seems that blood is still flowing from the bottom of the coffin.
When Shen Suining opened her eyes, she found herself lying flat in a cramped, dark space with only faint light filtering through the cracks. She instinctively reached out to push the lid on top, only to find that it seemed to be sealed shut. She tried to push it with her internal energy for a long time, but it barely moved.
"Ningning," He Hansheng said weakly from the side, "Don't waste your energy, you can't open it like this."
Hearing his voice, Shen Suining felt a little relieved, but this relief did not last long.
The space inside the coffin was cramped, making it difficult for even air to enter, and it was hard to stretch out one's hands and feet. Shen Suining was unaware that the coffin they were in was suspended on the cliff face, and thought that the two of them were sealed inside the coffin and buried alive. In such a situation, one's rationality is easily swallowed up by this hopeless fear, and one becomes more and more anxious.
Seemingly noticing that her breathing had become rapid, He Hansheng called to her softly and soothed her gently, "Don't rush, okay? Calm down, regulate your internal energy, and listen to what I'll teach you."
“…Okay.” Shen Suining took a deep breath and composed herself. Perhaps to calm herself down, she said half-jokingly, “He Hansheng, do you think we’re being punished for disturbing Zhou Hao’s funeral hall? Being sealed in a coffin while still alive is a rare experience, and it’s amazing that you and I have encountered it.”
He Hansheng chuckled softly, too weak to respond.
People who roam the martial world are very superstitious, believing that offending the spirits of the dead is unlucky and may bring them death. Shen Suining is a bit wild, and although she doesn't believe in ghosts and gods, she still cares a little about this kind of thing that everyone avoids.
After the joke was made, Shen Suining's mood improved a lot. Hearing that her breathing was steady, He Hansheng slowly spoke: "I heard from Zhang Shan that there is a mountain god worshipped deep in Taihang, so the mountain people here do not practice burial. You and I are probably hanging on the cliff now, so we must not use our internal strength to force open the coffin. Otherwise, if we are not careful, the coffin and the person will fall off the cliff."
Shen Suining instantly understood his meaning and subconsciously reached for the sword at her waist, but found nothing.
He Hansheng guessed that she would do this and said softly, "They probably took away all the weapons a long time ago."
Without weapons and unable to use internal force, it was impossible to open the coffin with bare hands. Fortunately, Shen Suining carried some small hidden weapons with her. She pulled out a short dagger from her sleeve and handed it to He Hansheng. She also took off the hairpin knife from her head. With the tools in hand, she began to pry open the coffin lid along the gap.
With limited tools at her disposal and lying flat, she couldn't exert much force. Shen Suining was panting heavily after prying for only a short while. She noticed that He Hansheng hadn't moved at all and asked him in dissatisfaction, "Why aren't you helping? How long am I supposed to take to open this by myself?"
He Hansheng didn't speak. He shifted slightly, lying on his side to give Shen Suining more space.
Although Shen Suining expressed her dissatisfaction, she did not insist. She could tell that he sounded very tired. After resting for a while, he resumed his work.
The air inside the coffin was stagnant, and both of them tried their best to keep their breathing steady. Shen Suining even gritted her teeth and held her breath until she pried open a corner of the coffin lid, allowing a little air to flow in. Only then did she finally let out a quiet breath.
He Hansheng suddenly spoke up: "Ningning, can you tell me something about yourself?"
Shen Suining was busy prying open the coffin to escape, and she was very dissatisfied with his behavior of not doing any work and causing a lot of trouble. She stopped what she was doing and said, "Is there anything you don't know? You've come back to Shuyu Manor with me. You know all the routes, defenses, and personnel distribution in the manor. If you want to go against me in the future, I can beat you up in no time."
Speaking of this, she suddenly smiled and said, "He Hansheng, we are now practically bound together in life and death. Even if we are forced to become adversaries in the future, you must spare me for the sake of our shared life and death today."
After opening a crack in the coffin lid, it would be much easier to open it again. Shen Suining inserted the short dagger into the crack and pressed down hard on the handle.
But no matter how strong she was, she could only pry up one side. The coffin lid was so heavy, and her dagger was too short. She tried for a long time without success, so she had no choice but to kick He Hansheng and ask, "Can you help me?"
After a moment of calm, He Hansheng lay back down, and he felt that his back was almost completely soaked.
He inserted the hairpin knife into the gap and, together with Shen Suining, exerted force. At the same time, both of them reached out and used their internal strength to push against the coffin lid. After slowly and cautiously probing, they finally pushed the coffin lid open with force.
Shen Suining sat up, opened the coffin lid wide enough for a person to get out, and then stuck a short dagger into the coffin to hold the lid shut.
It was already completely dark outside. She looked up at the moon, panting, feeling a sense of relief at having survived such a close call. "Let's wait until dawn to figure out how to get down. It should be soon."
He Hansheng hummed in response, remaining lying flat, and slowly closed his eyes.
“He Hansheng,” Shen Suining suddenly called out to him, “what were you thinking when you rushed into the Seven Palaces Formation? You must have heard how dangerous that formation is; most people who enter never return. Were you confident that you could break it before you went in?”
“No,” He Hansheng replied softly after a moment of silence, “but you are inside.”
Shen Suining pointed at herself: "Just for me?"
"Isn't that enough?"
Hearing his question, Shen Suining was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter: "That's true. If you were inside, I would also rush in to find you."
Although it was expected, He Hansheng's heart still skipped a beat when he actually heard her say those words. He opened his lips, but no words came out.
But he soon realized that the reason she was willing to risk her life for him was simply because she was a sentimental person, and she would risk her life for anyone who treated her well.
It's because Shen Suining is a very good person, not because He Hansheng is any special.
"He Hansheng".
"Um."
Shen Suining lay back down in the coffin, her hands behind her head, looking at the stars hanging high in the night sky above the mountaintop. "Counting from three years ago in Hangzhou, we've only known each other for less than four months. But I always feel like we've gone through everything in these four months."
“We schemed against each other, fought, and then got married. I learned to help you manage the Marquis’s mansion, and you came back to Shuyu Manor with me to save face. Along the way, we were chased and ambushed, but there were also times when we supported each other and entrusted our backs to each other. Now, lying in this coffin on the edge of the cliff, looking back, it seems that you and I really spent our whole lives together.”
“However,” she turned her head and smiled at He Hansheng, “if this were the end of my life, I would rather live a longer life.”
He Hansheng remained silent for a long time, then reached out and grasped one of her hands, interlocking their fingers and placing it on his heart.
Four months isn't a long time. To say they're in love is too much, but to say they'll live a lifetime is too far away. If this really is the last moment of his life, he can only hope that God will be kind to him. If there is an afterlife, he should meet such a wonderful girl sooner.
"He Hansheng".
"Um?"
Shen Suining suddenly asked him, "Before you married me, you imagined that the wife you would spend the rest of your life with would be a gentle, virtuous, dignified, and intelligent woman like your mother-in-law, right? My father always said that you and your father are very similar, so your taste in choosing a wife is probably similar as well."
“…No,” He Hansheng denied outright, seemingly pondering for a moment before slowly speaking: “My parents, like you and me, were originally betrothed by His Majesty. In truth, they were probably not the people each other had imagined.”
“My father came from a poor background. He was young during a time of great chaos. His grandfather passed away early, and he and his grandmother depended on each other for survival. In those turbulent times, it was difficult to even survive, let alone have a small desk for him to study. It was only by chance that he was able to pass the imperial examination and enter the capital. Before my mother became the eldest princess, she was also a pampered young lady from a high-ranking family. She was well-versed in poetry and literature from a young age and could discuss classics with scholars and literati. Naturally, she looked down on people like my father.”
Shen Suining couldn't help but nod in agreement, saying, "My mother can't compare to my mother-in-law in this respect. She gets a headache as soon as she starts reading. I really don't know how the two of them became such good friends."
He Hansheng let out a soft breath, a faint smile on his lips. "Perhaps it really is fate. My father was also someone who would get confused when reading. After he married my mother, he was forced to study for several years. After I was born, my mother stopped forcing him."
“My father once told me that he didn’t actually have any great ambitions. Whether it was taking the imperial examinations to go to the capital or joining the army to fight, it was all just to make a living. All those grand ambitions about making a name for himself and serving the country were just for show. His original greatest wish was for him and his grandmother to have enough to eat. Not long after the country was at peace, his grandmother passed away, and he only hoped to be able to roam the world and live a carefree life. In fact, what he wanted most was probably to live the kind of idyllic life that his parents-in-law had.”
These words surprised Shen Suining. "So, Father-in-law's ambitions are actually the same as my parents'. The reason he stayed in the capital back then was because of... Mother-in-law?"
“Perhaps,” He Hansheng said in a soft voice, his tone devoid of emotion. “But later, he spent half his life on the battlefield, and he and my mother were separated more often than together. If you were to ask him what his regrets were in his life, my mother would definitely be one or two.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Suining seemed to be thinking about something. She remained silent for a moment, then said, "He Hansheng, joys and sorrows are the norm in life. Whether it's with a lover or an old friend, as long as we are of one mind and cherish each other when we are together, being apart more often than together is not necessarily a regrettable thing."
He Hansheng naturally understood what she was implying, and couldn't help but chuckle. He tightened his grip on her hand, "Ningning, I don't have your open-mindedness. If we are destined to part in the future, I just hope to spend more time with you now."
Shen Suining scratched her face, looking somewhat bewildered.
That wasn't what she actually meant. Although He Hansheng misunderstood her meaning, what he said made sense, and she didn't know how to explain it for a moment.
"So?" Shen Suining brought the topic back, "What kind of wife did you originally envision?"
He Hansheng thought carefully and replied, "Before you, I never imagined that my parents had put so much effort into raising me. I was struggling to even deal with them, so how could I have time to think about anything else?"
If anyone else had said this, Shen Suining would have thought it was just a high-sounding excuse, but coming from He Hansheng, she could believe it to some extent.
Perhaps recalling her own shared experience of suffering with him, Shen Suining sighed: "That's true. Studying and practicing martial arts are both tiring things. After dealing with my parents every day, I don't even have enough time to sleep. How can I have time to think about these romantic feelings?"
As if he hadn't finished speaking, after a long silence, He Hansheng spoke again, enunciating each word clearly: "After you, it's you."
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