A Shui knew he was risking his life to cover her escape. Her delicate face turned deathly pale as she handed the "Willow Slayer" to Shen Langhun, gritting her teeth. "I'll leave right now! I... I will definitely save you!" With that, she turned and sprinted away, vanishing into the dark passage.
Yu Konghou paid no mind. Wangting Manor was his domain, both above and below ground—everything was under his control. A Shui had no martial skills; no matter where she fled, he was confident of recapturing her. Before him, Shen Langhun stood menacingly, the "Willow Slayer" in his left hand and a short blade in his right. Yu Konghou smiled faintly. "Qingxuzi, Yu Qifeng, I want Shen Langhun subdued within thirty moves."
The masked black-clad figure stirred. Yu Qifeng switched to a strange sword with a blade as black as ink. The two advanced slowly. Yu Konghou leisurely stepped past Shen Langhun, who roared and thrust his short blade. In that instant, the black-clad figure's palm struck his shoulder. Shen Langhun twisted away, but Yu Qifeng's sword lashed out, stirring a fierce wind in the tunnel. Forced to retract his blade, Shen Langhun engaged them both in combat.
Yu Konghou continued past Shen Langhun, disappearing into the passage. His mood was as gleeful as a cat toying with a mouse, anticipating fresh amusement from the chase.
A Shui raced down the tunnel. The passages here were identical to those in Good Cloud Mountain. Dissolute Shop lacked talent for mechanical designs—all their intricate traps were plagiarized from Po Cheng Guaike's manuals. But Po Cheng Guaike had long been slain by Raging Orchid No Trace, leaving no one to modify these mechanisms. She swiftly passed through several doors, fleeing toward the dark and terrifying water dungeon. She had to hurry—she must bring Tang Lici to rescue Shen Langhun before he fell in battle! She had to save him! She couldn’t let Shen Langhun die here again! Never...
Soon, footsteps echoed from all directions. She knew Yu Konghou had ordered her pursuit. Raging Orchid No Trace was nowhere to be found—perhaps he had already taken Xue Tao away, utterly disregarding her and Shen Langhun's safety. To Raging Orchid No Trace, only Xue Tao mattered in this world; others' lives were as insignificant as ants. She wasn’t disappointed in him. Perhaps there were one or two men like this in the world, whose eyes held nothing but the vast cosmos and one person alone. How fortunate for Xue Tao—and how tragic for everyone else.
Footsteps approached from a side tunnel. Suppressing her ragged breaths, she hid behind a door. Two White-Clad Servants dashed past, heading for the garden exit in search of her. Counting the fading sounds, she stood and continued deeper underground.
"Here she is!" A figure suddenly lunged at her from the side, swift as the wind. Startled, A Shui felt someone yank her back. A metallic clang rang out as her rescuer snapped, "Seeking death!" A sword pierced the assailant's chest, eliciting a scream. A Shui recognized him as a tunnel guard. The one who saved her—small in stature but ruthless in action—was Guan'er, now pulling her forward."Why won't you leave?" A Shui asked softly. Guan'er bit her bright, lovely lower lip tightly. "I... my mother actually died long ago, when she gave birth to me. I just... kept imagining she was alive, imagining that if I found her, someone would care for me and look after me, but..." She suddenly burst into tears. "But she's been dead all along. I've always been a bad child, but no matter how many people I kill, the master won't care about me. He could kill me anytime. Only Sister A Shui... cares for me. I don't want you to die here." She ran while crying. "I could have escaped long ago, but I didn't know what to do after escaping, so I never dared to run away..."
"Silly child!" A Shui tightly grasped her hand. "Don't cry. When you grow up, when you learn to cherish yourself, someone will surely care for you. You'll marry, have children, you'll grow up, and when you think back on these things, they won't hurt anymore." Guan'er sobbed, "How can I grow up?" Tears welled up in A Shui's eyes. "Escape with me. As long as you get out, stop killing, be a good child, you'll grow up."
The two turned onto the path leading to the water prison. Guan'er wiped her tears. "Sister A Shui, if you want to save Shen Langhun, go quickly. I... I still have something to fetch." A Shui turned back, her voice trembling. "You—" Guan'er's face was streaked with tears as she cried, "Hurry! Aren't you afraid he'll die soon? You want to save him, don't you? Go quickly!" A Shui trembled all over. "You... after you get that thing, you must follow!" Guan'er nodded firmly, gripping the sword in her hand tightly.
A Shui's figure disappeared into the bronze door of the water prison. Guan'er locked the bronze lock, restoring everything to its untouched state, then ran down another path.
There was nothing she needed to fetch. It was just... for one person to leave safely, another had to stay behind. They both understood this clearly in their hearts. Yet whether it was the one resolved to die or the one determined to leave, both possessed courage beyond ordinary people, even though the burden was so heavy—too heavy for these two fragile women to bear.
Guan'er covered her face as she sprinted madly down the other path. Suddenly, figures flashed before her—two White-Clad Servants were chasing her down the path, shouting, "Little brat! Was it you who killed the Way Envoy just now?" Guan'er raised her head. "I didn't!" The woman in white sneered. "There are still bloodstains on your sword, you little wretch. The master raised you for years, never expecting he'd nurtured a treacherous wild dog! Where's A Shui?" Guan'er screamed, "I don't know!" With a swish, the white-clad woman drew her sword and thrust at Guan'er. "Let's see if you'll talk after I slash you eight or ten times!"
A Shui leaped into the pitch-black water prison. The heavy gate closed behind her. Unidentifiable creatures swam in the water, their splashes echoing—everything was so familiar yet terrifying. Her heart pounded violently as she groped beneath the water, gradually finding a small hollow. Gritting her teeth, she squeezed through the opening.Beyond the hollow was complete darkness, surrounded by damp, icy rock walls. She didn't know if there was an exit ahead, but she could only struggle forward. Water surged toward her, constantly choking her mouth and nose. Coughing and crawling, the space around her was unbearably narrow—raising her head would immediately hit the stone, as if she might suffocate at any moment in this hopeless passage.
But she had to push forward. Shen Langhun wouldn't last much longer, and Guan'er was in danger at any moment. Besides... she had heard that a woman with impaired mobility had once taken this path to escape hell, proving that for someone like her with full use of her limbs, this shouldn't be considered an impossible path.
She had to go faster, faster, faster!
It felt like she had only crawled for a short time, though she had no idea how long it truly was, when suddenly, light appeared before her. A Shui had no idea how she had managed to emerge from the cave of the stream, but she was out—quickly, at that. Outside, the biting wind cut to the bone, and the thin stream was covered with a fragile layer of ice. A light snow fell under the night sky. A Shui scrambled to her feet, disheveled, only to realize this place wasn't far from her home in Chengfeng Town! Just as joy surged in her heart, she suddenly spotted a figure lying in the muddy snow not far from her. Staggering toward the house, she glanced at the person as she passed—and with that single glance, she froze in shock!
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