rescued
"Ding! Host, please take note! The male protagonist's dark value has risen to 80%."
“90%.”
“…”
"Ding! Host, please take note! The male protagonist's dark value has risen to 99%."
"Please note, host. If the male protagonist's blackening value rises to 100%, it will trigger the [World Destruction] ending. Please carefully comfort the male protagonist Xiao Lin."
At the bottom of the well, Su Manyan was tearfully examining the body. After the shock of her earlier shock, she kicked her legs, pressed her palms to the ground, and huddled desperately into the corner. When there was no more room to squeeze, her back remained pressed against the wall, as if she wanted to become one with it.
Her mind was filled with thoughts of escaping, but after 625 comforted her, he stammered that the corpse was hiding a shocking secret and encouraged her to investigate.
Su Manyan was so angry that she shed two tears, but 625's tone softened unusually, and he coaxed her for a long time before she sniffed, pouted, and agreed with grievance.
Sometimes being too ambitious isn't a good thing. For example, Su Manyan was actually very afraid of the corpse, but once it became involved in the main quest, she began to wonder if she could overcome this fear. Furthermore, she was easily influenced by others and couldn't resist 625's soft and coquettish behavior.
She is an honest person, how could she resist it?
Su Manyan frowned and closed her eyes, her fingers trembling. In the firelight, her shadow on the well wall was magnified, the shaking becoming more and more obvious, revealing her inner turmoil.
She raised her fingers, pinched a corner of the rag on the human bones, closed her eyes, made up her mind, and quickly pulled the cloth away.
There was a loud "bang" and something heavy fell to the ground, rolled forward a few times, and stirred up a small river of water.
"Ah!" Su Manyan stomped her feet and screamed, and was frightened again.
When I saw the thing clearly, I realized it was a jade pendant.
"Host, please don't scare yourself!"
Su Manyan was embarrassed: "Sorry, sorry."
As soon as she picked up the jade pendant, a notification sound indicating that her darkening value had soared rang in her ears.
Su Manyan was so flustered that he couldn't even hold the jade pendant in his hand.
Her mouth dropped open, her pupils constricted, and she asked anxiously, "625, what's going on? Is the system acting up? Why did it suddenly go to 99%? Is this normal?"
625 was also frightened. His flying movements became unstable and he stumbled and crashed into the wall of the well.
"Oh my god, what happened to Xiao Lin? Don't let anything happen..."
It muttered to itself for a long time, then suddenly froze for a moment, and its voice became even quieter.
Su Manyan walked over and wanted to knock it on the head, but it suddenly flew straight up and almost hit Su Manyan's head.
625 suddenly looked enlightened, met Su Manyan's confused eyes, and quietly flew back to put some distance between them.
"Um... maybe Xiao Lin is worried about your safety, host. You've been missing for so long, he must be extremely anxious. So, host, if we want to survive, we have to get out quickly. Take a look at the origin of that jade pendant."
Su Manyan, genuinely frightened by the prospect of "world destruction," quickly lowered her head to examine the jade pendant. But the sight of it all seemed to freeze her. A chill washed over her from every direction, nearly freezing her blood.
This jade pendant is exactly the same as the pine, crane and cloud pattern jade ring on Xiao Lin's body.
The warm touch of the finest jade reminded Su Manyan that this was no ordinary piece. Having endured so many years in this dark, dry well, the jade still retained its luster, further confirming that it might be a match for Xiao Lin's precious jade pendant.
"625, this looks like the same jade pendant that Xiao Lin is wearing." Su Manyan's throat was dry, and he swallowed his saliva. With his hands trembling slightly, he handed the jade pendant to 625 and made this shocking guess.
625's reaction wasn't shocking, or rather, more like it was expected. It simply flew back to Su Manyan, radiating its remaining light and warmth to comfort this host, who had been frightened so much tonight—this timid host, who had been kept in the dark until now.
"Host, please keep this well. It will be of great use in the future."
Su Manyan sat down again, bent her legs, and wrapped her arms around her knees, clutching the jade pendant tightly in her palm. Her fingertips slithered across the jade ring like a snake, and the warm jade dispelled some of the gloom in her heart.
"625, do you know everything? Are you lying to me?"
Su Manyan's words seemed incoherent, but they both knew what was going on. 625 wouldn't lie, but its poor acting skills couldn't escape Su Manyan's eyes.
What do you know? Do you know why Xiao Lin's dark side suddenly spiked? Do you know the secret behind this jade pendant?
What was he lying to her about? Was he lying to her that his absence wasn't due to an incident at the station, but was there something else going on? Was he lying to her that Xiao Lin was just "in a bad mood," and that was all?
Su Manyan knew that everything was not that simple.
"Tick, tick..." A cool touch came from her forehead, and a small splash of water appeared in the shallow pit at Su Manyan's feet. She raised her head and looked up - it was raining lightly.
The bottom of the well was already damp and cold, with water still accumulating. If the rain got heavier, wouldn't she drown here?
625 was extremely anxious. It mobilized all its energy to amplify the fire in its body, but this little light and heat had little effect.
As the rain intensified, the water in the well had already reached Su Manyan's knees. 625 could no longer hold on, his energy completely depleted, and the flames on his body extinguished.
"Warning! Warning! Code 625 is leaking energy and will be forcibly sent back to the space station!"
625 disappeared in an instant, and no matter how Su Manyan called out, there was no response. She also knew that the warmth and light brought by the fire were no longer of any use - the "knife" now pressed against her neck was the rising water level.
Drown her.
Even though this wasn't the first time he'd faced the fear of death, Su Manyan's panic hadn't subsided in the slightest. Humans' resistance and fear of death were innate, like an animal on the brink of extinction, capable of unleashing its boundless potential in the final moment. But trapped in this narrow well, Su Manyan felt like a toothless beast; even if he wanted to resist, he was powerless.
She thought, now she can only wait for death. Last time, it was 625 who saved her; but this time? She couldn't help but hate her own incompetence and insignificance. It turned out that humans were so vulnerable in the face of death.
Su Manyan tightly grasped the jade pendant in his hand, as if the sound of his heartbeat could be transmitted through the jade pendant to the palm of the person holding the same jade pendant in the distance.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the water level in the well was rising noticeably faster.
Su Manyan could clearly feel herself being enveloped by the water, a gentle yet powerful force lifting her upwards. The water gradually covered her thighs, hips, abdomen... and finally slowly approached her chest.
Her arms thrashed wildly in the water, raindrops hitting her face, creating tiny splashes that stung and made it impossible for her to open her eyes. She gradually lost control of her body in the deep water, but the only thing holding her back was a tight grip on the jade pendant.
The second before she closed her eyes, she heard a familiar voice calling, "Ayan, Ayan!" The voice seemed very close, yet also very far away. She wanted to distinguish it more carefully, but the next second, her consciousness fell into complete darkness.
"Hurry and tell Yan Zhao!" Xiao Lin rushed into the courtyard, carrying Su Manyan sideways. The woman in his arms had her eyes closed, her face pale and bloodless. She was wearing Xiao Lin's black cloak, but her clothes were already soaked with water. As she walked, long water marks were left on the ground.
Xiao Lin gently placed Su Manyan on the bed. Although the fire was burning in the room, Su Manyan's lips were still blue and purple, and her body was still shaking uncontrollably. Xiao Lin reached out to untie her soaked clothes. When he saw her fair skin exposed, her chest tightly wrapped in a white cloth, he suddenly realized that his behavior had gone astray.
But human life was at stake, so he could only suppress his distracting thoughts, turned his face away, and took off all her wet clothes. He quickly changed her into clean clothes and covered her with a thick blanket. Just as he finished all this, Yan Zhao hurried over.
Xiao Lin stood up and offered his place by the bed to Yan Zhao. It was only then that he realized his hands were shaking. God knows how terrified and helpless he felt when he rushed to the dry well in the back mountain and saw Su Manyan bobbing in the water, nearly drowning.
He shouted several times into the well, but Su Manyan didn't respond at all - he even thought she was gone. At that moment, he had the idea of "If A Yan is gone, I will jump in too, at least I can be with her and not let her be alone."
Fortunately, a last shred of rationality pulled him back. Instinctively, he jumped into the well, rescued Su Manyan, and ran back with her in his arms. Along the way, his eyes were bloodshot, and he shouted her name loudly, completely losing his usual elegant demeanor.
He breathed a sigh of relief, but then he saw Yan Zhao reaching out to lift Su Manyan's blanket. Almost instinctively, like a beast protecting its cub, he slapped Yan Zhao's hand away with bloodshot eyes, spread his arms in front of Su Manyan's bed, and roared hoarsely, "Don't touch her!"
Yan Zhao didn't get angry, but explained in a gentle voice: "Your Highness, I need to check Ah Yan's pulse. Please just hold her wrist out." Seeing that Xiao Lin's extreme paranoia had eased slightly, he added, "Ah Yan is still in danger. Your Highness, please fully cooperate."
Sure enough, the trapped man immediately relaxed. He carefully pulled Su Manyan's hand out from under the quilt. Even though he knew she couldn't hear him, he still "explained" softly in a voice so gentle it could squeeze water out of her: "Ayan, don't be afraid. Yan Zhao will check your pulse now. You'll be fine soon."
Yan Zhao had long noticed that his prince was not in a good condition.
He was like an Asura on the verge of madness, the low pressure around him almost swallowing people. But he didn't dare to ask more questions, so he could only hold his breath and carefully check Su Manyan's pulse.
After a moment, Yan Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and said loudly, "Your Highness, don't worry! Ah Yan was just frightened and caught a cold. He is not in danger of death."
"Really?" Xiao Lin's voice trembled slightly.
"Absolutely true! I'll go get some medicine for Ah Yan right away."
Yan Zhao walked to the door, but couldn't help but look back. He saw Xiao Lin squatting beside the bed, his fingertips gently stroking Su Manyan's wrist, occasionally bringing her hand to his lips and breathing on it. His eyes were red, and his face was expressionless, neither smiling nor crying, only an unrelieved paranoia and gloom.
Yan Zhao swallowed the words of advice that were on the tip of his tongue. He knew that only when the man in the bed woke up could His Highness's "illness" truly improve.
It was also at this moment that he realized belatedly that His Highness actually liked A Yan so much.
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