Out of love, Luo Zheng leapt off the cliff without a second thought, following in Lan Xue's footsteps. As he was suspended in the air, the only sound in his ears was the roaring wind, threatening to shatter his composure. He let go of his body and mind, thinking, "If death is what awaits, so be it. To die in the sa place as Lan Xue, this life is worth it." It's just a sha he couldn't fully honor his parents in person. Throughout history, one has struggled to balance loyalty and filial piety. He hoped his parents would continue to live well.
In midair, Luo Zheng felt no fear, no regret, no panic. All he felt was guilt: guilt over not having repaid his parents' kindness, guilt for not being able to die alongside Lan Xue. "Let it be death," he thought. "Hopefully, I can catch up to Lan Xue in the underworld, to say I'm sorry, to seek her forgiveness. Then I would die without regrets."
"Whoosh!" Luo Zheng didn't even realize his body was plumting straight down, plunging into the river beneath the cliff as smoothly as a diver. Upon entering the water, Luo Zheng felt a painful buzzing in his eardrums, and a powerful pulling force dragged him down, making it difficult to breathe. His consciousness began to scatter, and he was taken aback.
Coming to his senses, Luo Zheng found himself caught in an underwater vortex, uncontrollably swept downward at great speed. His head throbbed as rivers of water rushed into his nose and mouth. Alard, he began to wonder, "What's going on? Why is there a whirlpool? Could it be that Lan Xue was also dragged into sowhere unknown by the whirlpool, which is why Captain Wu couldn't find her?"
With this thought, Luo Zheng felt a surge of joy. He let his body go, allowing the vortex to carry him to an unknown part of the riverbed. He held his breath with all his might, tensing all his muscles. As his speed increased, his consciousness grew blurrier. He quickly bit his tongue to resist fading, striving to keep clear-headed.
Suddenly, a thundering noise reached his ears. Luo Zheng's consciousness beca increasingly uncontrollable as he faintly felt his body being carried forward by the current. Ahead, there was nothing but darkness as if he had passed through a subterranean river. The noise grew louder and louder, and then Luo Zheng felt his body being swept out of the water, flung into the air.
Luo Zheng longed to open his eyes to see what was happening around him, but his eyelids were as heavy as Mount Tai, impossible to lift. His consciousness dissipated, growing fuzzy, making him feel as though he was drifting on clouds. Could it be that he was dead?
Then, Luo Zheng felt his body crash down upon sothing with imnse force, a torrent of pain engulfing him. His body felt like it was breaking apart, and his consciousness finally succumbed as he passed out.
After an indeterminate amount of ti, Luo Zheng felt soone touching him, opening his backpack. He desperately wanted to open his eyes to see what was happening, but the pain was unbearable. His vision went black, and he fainted once more.
Gradually, Luo Zheng felt his consciousness returning. His heavy eyelids slowly began to open. He was struck by blinding sunlight and had to close his eyes again to adjust. His body didn't hurt as much, and he began to regain control over it. After a while, Luo Zheng felt able to move. He rejoiced quietly and slowly opened his eyes, wiggling his fingers.
"You're awake?" A voice he had longed for and dreamt of rang out next to his ear, as pleasant and lodious as the music of heaven.
This voice had haunted Luo Zheng's mind for fifteen days, tornting him as well. Suddenly hearing the familiar voice that could not be more familiar, Luo Zheng was revitalized. He quickly opened his eyes and saw a face that could not be more familiar. It was still so exquisitely beautiful and heartbreaking, but thinner, and the eyes were far more weary. Her complexion was much paler.
"Ah?" Luo Zheng was ecstatic inside, and he scrambled up in excitent. A huge wave of pain swept through his mind, and he felt darkness cloud his vision before he passed out again, yet there was a faint, relieved smile on his lips.
"Still so careless." The strikingly beautiful woman was indeed Lan Xue. Watching Luo Zheng unconscious, she felt a mix of love and pain. She looked up at the sky above; the tall pit blocked the sun, and from a crevice on a sheer cliff, a jet of water burst out, falling into a deep pond below and flowing along an underground river towards the distance.
Fifteen days ago, Lan Xue had followed the undercurrents down, passed through the underground river, and fell into this pit that was four to five hundred ters deep. Fortunately, there was an abyssal pond at the bottom. The pond wasn't very large, just a few hundred square ters. She narrowly avoided being swept into the underground river by the water.
Luo Zheng had fallen from the sa place and was discovered by Lan Xue, who dragged him to a nearby rock. Seeing Luo Zheng, unconscious and unresponsive, Lan Xue could imagine the desperation and depth of his feeling when he leaped off the cliff. Without jumping down there, one would never know about the whirlpools beneath the lake at the base of the cliff.
Lan Xue gently stroked the unconscious Luo Zheng. He had survived for two days now, and for that, Lan Xue was deeply grateful to the heavens and completely content. To be protected by such a man was enough for her in this lifeti.
Two hours later, Luo Zheng slowly opened his eyes and saw himself lying in Lan Xue's embrace. Lan Xue was staring intently into the void, her cheeks stained by two dried streams of tears. Luo Zheng, surprised and delighted, said, "Xue Er, is it really you? I didn't expect to see you again. Are we dead? How co there's light? Isn't there supposed to be no light in hell?"
"Silly, we're both still alive." Lan Xue, seeing Luo Zheng awake, was imdiately overjoyed and quickly asked, "How do you feel? Is everything alright?"
"I think I've broken a few ribs, but it should heal in ti. We're not dead?" Luo Zheng, astonished, looked around and saw cliffs all around, the exposed rock was smooth and difficult to climb. It looked like an insurmountable well, with water jetting out from a crevice in the cliff. Alard, he asked, "Where are we?"
"A sinkhole, I guess. I don't really know," Lan Xue replied helplessly.
"Sinkhole?" Understanding dawned on Luo Zheng. His face filled with bitterness. A sinkhole was like a vast container, with steep and enclosed rock walls forming an extraordinarily shaped well or barrel-like depression. In such a geographical setting, the difficulty of climbing out was imnse. Surprised, he asked, "Have you been here all this ti?"
"Mm-hmm, about half a month now. I knew you would find this place, so I didn't dare to die. I was afraid you'd be heartbroken if you ca in and saw my body. I didn't expect you to actually co, and so quickly too," Lan Xue said lovingly, speaking gently and gazing at Luo Zheng with eyes full of love. What more could she ask for than a man who was willing to die for her?
"I'm sorry I ca late, making you suffer. But tell , there's nothing here, how did you survive?" Luo Zheng curiously asked, looking around for a way out. Having found Lan Xue safe and sound, he had no intention of spending the rest of his life stuck in that place.
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