Chapter 76: Survival in the Wild (2)

Yun Zui cast a strange glance at Chi Mie. Had she ever encountered such things before in her life? Now that she thought about it, it truly seemed these incidents only began after meeting Chi Mie. Perhaps, she mused, it was inseparable from him.

Both of them harbored similar thoughts about each other, their minds moving in uncanny synchrony.

“I could ask you the same question,” Yun Zui replied coolly.

They were both reserved by nature. When together, aside from fighting side by side, they rarely exchanged words. Moreover, both chose to go against the current, convinced that only by swimming upstream could one find a way out.

A silence fell between them as they continued forward, neither speaking, simply advancing along the path. Nearly half an hour had passed—a modern hour—when Yun Zui began to feel somewhat weary. Before them stretched a narrow, winding path, hemmed in on both sides by towering stone cliffs, with no end in sight.

Where could this place be? They had resolved to move against the flow of water, but the source was a waterfall plunging straight down, and beside it lay only this narrow trail. All around them were only stone walls, devoid of any sign of life.

It was already midday, and hunger gnawed at their bellies. Never before had she felt so powerless.

Surely they couldn’t gnaw on stones? The waterfall thundered with such force that no fish could possibly survive there. Were they simply to endure their hunger?

“Do you have a signal flare on you? Should we fire one off?” Yun Zui asked, half amused, half exasperated.

Chi Mie’s lips curved into a faint, phoenix-eyed smile as he replied, “I never carry such things…”

He was well aware of the extent of his own abilities—would he ever need to bring something like a signal flare to call for help?

Yun Zui found herself speechless; she was dressed for hunting, sleeves narrow, with no room to carry anything. Other than the roast chicken she’d eaten earlier, she had nothing to stave off her hunger.

As if to add insult to injury, the white-bearded, immortal-like old man atop the mountain waved his sleeve lightly. Instantly, the clear blue of the sky darkened, smothered by rolling clouds.

The weather changed in a blink, and both Yun Zui and Chi Mie looked up at once.

Could their luck get any worse?

Just as they considered the possibility of rain, a peal of thunder crashed overhead—so violent it seemed to split the heavens. There was not a patch of shelter in sight along the narrow path, nor was there any refuge to be found if they left it.

Were they to brave the elements and sleep beneath the open sky?

Worse still, that first thunderclap was only a prelude. In an instant, the once-clear day became a torrential downpour, the storm unleashing its fury without the slightest pause.

Damn! Yun Zui wanted to curse, but before she could utter a word, the rain was already coming down in sheets.

Heaven itself must be toying with them.

Yet, seeing Yun Zui’s predicament, the old man in white atop the mountain only smiled with satisfaction. Would enduring hardship together not spark some feeling between the two? They were both so cold and proud—if not for that, he wouldn’t have resorted to such desperate measures to bring them together.

Now that his plan had borne fruit, it was time for him to take his leave.

This was another world, a fantasy realm conjured by the old man in white, where reality could shift on his whim.

Back at the hunting grounds, after interviewing all the guards, the conclusion was the same: both Chi Mie and Yun Zui had vanished.

Imagination ran wild. The entire Yun family couldn’t help but wonder if something had happened to the two of them.

If so, would that not be cause for celebration?

The disappearance of two such prominent figures as Chi Mie and Yun Zui was no small matter, and every effort was mobilized to search for them.

Night fell, and sleep eluded all.