As Qin Shuang screamed, Xu Zimo’s body was blasted away by the torrent.
When the surge of lightning finally dissipated, Xu Zimo’s figure crashed heavily against a nearby wall and then collapsed to the ground.
Qin Shuang rushed over, sat beside him, and gently placed his head on her lap.
“Wake up, don’t scare me!” she said while gently shaking him.
Xu Zimo weakly opened his eyes.
“How do you feel now?” Qin Shuang asked, her voice trembling with tears.
“You’re worried about me,” Xu Zimo smiled.
“You got to save me. If you really died, I’d feel guilty forever,” Qin Shuang replied.
“Just guilty?” Xu Zimo coughed a few times and asked, exhausted.
“Don’t overthink. Besides, you’re already , why worry about such things?” Qin Shuang lowered her head and said.
“How are you feeling now? I’ll take you out and have my father treat you.”
“I’m extremely tired, and I can barely breathe. Feels like I’m suffocating,” Xu Zimo said weakly.
“You can’t breathe?” Qin Shuang panicked and quickly asked, “Then what do we do?”
“Artificial respiration. Don’t you know how?” Xu Zimo asked.
“B-but... men and women should keep their distance,” Qin Shuang hesitated.
“Didn’t you just offer yourself to me? And now you hesitate?” Xu Zimo said. “Can you really bear to see me die?”
Qin Shuang fell silent for a moment. Then, she gently closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling, and lowered her head toward Xu Zimo.
A soft fragrance filled the air. The closer she leaned in, the more clearly the scent of a maiden wafted through.
Seeing her expression like she was going to her doom, Xu Zimo couldn’t help but laugh.
“You... why are you laughing?!” Qin Shuang’s face flushed with anger and embarrassment.
She had gathered all her courage, and now she felt like a deflated balloon. Her face burned hot.
“Alright, I won’t tease you. We’ve got more important things to do,” Xu Zimo said, standing up.
“You... you...” Qin Shuang stared, stunned. “You’re fine?”
“What, were you hoping something was wrong with me?” Xu Zimo said as he walked toward the entrance of the cave.
After that thunderous torrent vanished, the cave had fallen into darkness and silence.
“You’re being weird again...” Qin Shuang mumbled.
But she found it strange, although Xu Zimo often teased her, when it came to actually doing anything, he never did. It was like he just enjoyed provoking her.
She looked at his side profile and thought about how he had risked his life to save her. Somehow, she suddenly felt... he was kind of handsome.
“Never seen a good-looking guy before?” Xu Zimo asked as he walked ahead into the cave.
“You’re not good-looking!” Qin Shuang replied flusteredly and hurried after him.
The cave was pitch black, and without light, the two could only feel their way forward.
After walking for a while, Xu Zimo saw several forks in the path ahead.
“Which way?” Qin Shuang asked.
“Whichever the little rooster lands on,” Xu Zimo pointed with his hand and said, “Let’s go right.”
After choosing the right path, they found the ground and walls had turned blue.
It glowed with a soft bioluminescence, and their vision became clearer.
“This is so beautiful,” Qin Shuang said cheerfully, walking ahead.
Just then, a loud “boom” echoed as lightning cracked all around.
The dreamy scenery instantly changed, and thunder filled the space.
The deeper they went, the denser and more terrifying the lightning became.
“Way to jinx it...” Xu Zimo muttered.
Qin Shuang gripped Xu Zimo’s arm tightly, afraid to let go.
“Why is your cultivation so low? The Qin Clan is the strongest among the Nine Cities,” Xu Zimo asked. “You’re the only daughter. Shouldn’t you be heavily nurtured?”
Xu Zimo could tell Qin Shuang was only at the Paragon Meridian Realm, which didn’t match her status.
“Actually, I cultivate very quickly. I was always top of my generation,” Qin Shuang said, a little disappointed. “But I don’t dare to cultivate.”
“Why?” Xu Zimo asked.
“You saw it in the garden earlier. My body is special. The stronger I get, the more likely the cold energy resurfaces,” Qin Shuang said. “Even without cultivating these years, it’s getting harder to suppress.”
“You’ve got an innate physique,” Xu Zimo said.
“My father has been searching for help all these years. They say I have the Underworld Ice Physique. I won’t live past twenty-five,” Qin Shuang said with a bitter smile.
“A year ago, a powerful immortal gave my father a secret method, saying it could cure my condition.”
“Let me guess, this method has something to do with me,” Xu Zimo said.
“Men are naturally yang-aligned, like blazing fire. With medicinal support, the fire can burn endlessly and form a furnace.” Qin Shuang said, “If I combine with such a man and absorb his furnace, I can suppress my Underworld Ice Physique. Each man can suppress it for a year. After forty-nine years, I can completely rid myself of its dangers. Then I could master this congenital power, with limitless potential. That’s what the expert said.”
“How many years have you suppressed it?” Xu Zimo asked.
“What are you saying? You’re the first!” Qin Shuang quickly explained. “A woman should only give herself to someone she loves. I didn’t want to combine with random men. But I also didn’t want Father to worry, so I agreed to the marriage contest, to choose someone I liked.”
“No wonder you tried to get me to leave that day,” Xu Zimo realized.
“If I have to live that way, I’d rather die,” Qin Shuang said. “I only pretended to agree so my father wouldn’t worry.”
“You’ve had a rough time,” Xu Zimo smiled.
“What about you? You don’t seem like an ordinary person,” Qin Shuang asked.
“Me? My story’s too long. So long I can’t even tell who I really am anymore...” Xu Zimo shook his head.
As they talked, they reached the end of the passage.
Exiting the narrow cave, the view opened up.
Ahead was a large, spacious cavern.
On both sides of the cave, two winged dragons lay on massive boulders.
Each dragon was dozens of meters long, with steel-like wings covering their bodies.
At the head of each dragon were two short, purple horns. They lay there enjoying the lightning that bathed them.
Above them floated a terrifying purple orb.