A massive chasm suddenly split open, running north to south in a long, deep abyss so dark its end couldn’t be seen. Qin Zhiyan stood at the edge of the abyss with Qing Xia on his back, just one step away from being swallowed by the darkness together.
However, after the mountain-like boulder sank down suddenly, on the other side of the boulder stood a man in black armor with thick eyebrows, his face deathly pale. His hand still maintained the reaching gesture he’d made to grab them, but facing the deep chasm and the two figures of Qing Xia and Qin Zhiyan, his posture suddenly appeared so glaring and ridiculous!
Just one second short, just a moment’s hesitation and bewilderment, and she was no longer by his side. That deep, dark chasm stood like a massive mockery, ridiculing his weakness and shame.
“Hehe…”
Low, hoarse laughter suddenly rang out. Chu Li began laughing hideously as if possessed by a demon.
The violent tremors loosened the restraints on her body. With a skillful maneuver, Qing Xia broke free from her bonds and stood firmly on the ground. The moment she separated from the wooden stake, Qin Zhiyan’s body immediately collapsed like a falling building.
“Qin Zhiyan!” Qing Xia caught Qin Zhiyan’s body in her arms, tears streaming down her face, her voice broken and desperate, filled with heart-wrenching terror!
Qin Zhiyan’s face was deathly pale, colder than the accumulated snow on the Tianshan Mountains, but he still struggled to open his eyes. His gaze was weak as he looked at Qing Xia’s tearful eyes, slowly curving the corners of his mouth in a gentle smile. He reached out with trembling fingers to gently wipe away the tears at the corner of Qing Xia’s eyes, his voice hoarse but still so tender as he smiled softly and said: “Don’t be afraid, it’s alright.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a mouthful of fresh blood suddenly gushed out, splashing across Qing Xia’s pristine wrists.
All the light in heaven and earth exploded in an instant. Tremendous pain broke free in her heart. She suddenly raised her head, staring at the man before her like in a nightmare, her voice sharp and carrying cold gleams as she spoke word by word with hatred: “I will never forgive you!”
“I will never, ever forgive you!”
Howling wind and snow swept up across the sky, the earth vast and desolate. Chu Li sneered coldly, the corners of his mouth curling mockingly. He suddenly raised the long spear in his hand, pointing it diagonally at Qing Xia and Qin Zhiyan, saying coldly: “I don’t need anyone’s forgiveness!”
With a sharp “clang,” Qing Xia drew Qin Zhiyan’s long spear in one swift motion. The two spears flashing with silver light clashed together violently, like two long dragons in the black night, gleaming with a light that seemed ready to devour people.
Just then, rumbling sounds immediately rang out again. Both people froze simultaneously, but before they could react, the snowy plain beneath Qing Xia’s feet suddenly collapsed. The collapse came so swiftly that even the agile woman had no time to react before plummeting straight down the fissure.
“Qing Xia!” Chu Li suddenly shouted loudly, but separated by the massive chasm, he had no time to reach out his hand.
In a flash, the man who had been on the verge of death suddenly reached out his pale hand and fiercely grabbed Qing Xia’s wrist.
This scene was so familiar—the bright yellow earth palace, the pitch-black ten-thousand-zhang snake pit, Qin Zhiyan’s pale face, so terrifying.
Time cycled, heaven mocked them. Qing Xia opened her eyes, watching Qin Zhiyan’s blood pour out in great mouthfuls, falling on her face and body. Her heart felt as if someone had torn it out and thrown it into the snow.
This time, she couldn’t be so foolish again. The pale woman smiled gently, her eyes looking tenderly at Qin Zhiyan’s face.
Never again could she be so foolish!
Her other hand suddenly twisted toward Qin Zhiyan’s palm. With a skillful grappling technique, she broke free from his grip. Gravity immediately took effect on Qing Xia’s body. Qin Zhiyan’s body also suddenly lurched forward, wanting to jump in after her, but countless hands from the Yan Battalion behind instantly grabbed their commander. He could only stare with desperate eyes, roaring hoarsely like a madman.
Darkness gradually swallowed the beautiful, pale woman. Perhaps this was how she would die, dying beneath a cold abyss, alone, clean, frozen to death in this extreme depths of the earth. This was good too, Qing Xia smiled faintly. She had lived long enough. Qin Zhiyan, you must live well. If possible, she really wanted to tell him how much she loved him.
But she wasn’t worthy of him. She was a cursed woman whose entire life had been accompanied by blood and slaughter. How could someone like her deserve to stand by his side? He was the most noble life in this world. Let her death wash away the worldly dust from his body. He would still be himself—graceful, dignified, transcendent, and refined. He was the final redemption in her heart, the faith and deity of her entire life. As long as he lived, she would willingly sink into hell and endure countless scorching fires to atone for the blood debts accumulated on her body!
However, the howling wind suddenly stopped, her body shuddered, and she no longer fell. Qing Xia suddenly opened her eyes and met Chu Li’s storm-like black pupils. The man, like an apocalyptic messenger, had his brows tightly furrowed. One hand gripped Qing Xia’s hand tightly while the other held his long spear, the shaft deeply embedded in the snowy wall of the chasm. His body hung suspended in midair, veins bulging on his face. At the final moment between life and death, this man she hadn’t noticed had resolutely jumped down and caught her sinking body.
“Whether ascending to heaven or descending to earth, whether in celestial palace or hell, don’t even think of escaping from my side again!”
The gloomy man spoke through gritted teeth.
Another thunderous crash resounded. The deep chasm suddenly collapsed completely, and both people rapidly descended, instantly buried by heavy snow!
Noble deities shrieked in the sky—this was the abyss of dark despair. Let two people with equally dark hearts be destroyed together!
Heaven and earth fell into deathly silence. All that met the eyes was vast whiteness. Sharp pain from her feet suddenly transmitted acutely. The pale-faced woman slowly opened her eyes. After brief dizziness, she saw a completely white animal with its bloody maw wide open, biting fiercely into her ankle!
Her body reacted before her mind could think. She immediately reached for the willow-leaf throwing knife at her waist and shot it fiercely at the small white beast.
With a miserable howl, the flying knife plunged deep into the small beast’s abdomen. The snow-white dog-like animal immediately toppled to one side, whimpering twice, seemingly puzzled why this supposedly dead person had suddenly moved. But it was indeed frightened. After circling Qing Xia twice and making two threatening angry sounds, as if making some decision, the small beast suddenly shrieked once and ran toward the distance!
Qing Xia wearily sighed in relief. It seemed the cold environment had already caused frostbite, otherwise that knife would have been absolutely sufficient to take the small beast’s life. Such wild beasts were always cunning. If she let it escape and return for revenge, she would truly face great disaster.
But if it hadn’t come up to bite her so recklessly, she might have frozen to death unknowingly in this vast snowy plain.
Qing Xia comforted herself with these thoughts as she slowly stood up and looked around this place.
It appeared the battle between the two armies, especially the use of catapults, had triggered the earth’s collapse.
The White Deer Plain of this era had undergone tremendous changes from the loess plateau in Qing Xia’s memory. When she was with the Xichuan grain transport team, she had gradually discovered that all the emperors of this era had remarkable foresight in paying attention to environmental protection. This had to be called a miracle—all agricultural development and timber harvesting here were conducted within limits, so there was no sign of soil erosion. The future loess plateau with its thousands of gullies and ravines was currently a lush, verdant plain.
This area of White Deer Plain, due to its special geographical structure, had formed permanently frozen surface soil that was quite fragile. Therefore, after suffering large-scale heavy impacts, the snowy plain cracked, causing the frozen soil layers to collapse and tear open such a huge opening that swallowed her. Speaking of it, this was truly once-in-a-century bad luck.
Not knowing how deep she had fallen, looking up she could only see a gray-white shadow with no view of the sky. All around was white snow. The fissure she had seen from above was only two to three meters wide, but down here it was very spacious—a full thirty to forty meters across. Both sides were extremely long and narrow, winding and twisting with no end in sight.
It seemed that when she fell, the accumulated snow on both sides of the chasm must have collapsed together, which was why she had fortunately escaped death. She looked around in all directions and saw a long trail stretching across the snow, pointing distantly toward a pile of chaotic, messy snow. Qing Xia immediately realized she must have been buried by heavy snow. That white small beast must have smelled her scent and dragged her out of the snow pile, expending great effort. Just as it was about to have a grand feast, it bit her awake and got stabbed for its trouble. It was truly unlucky enough.
That little thing looked no bigger than a small dog, yet it had such great strength.
Qing Xia suddenly felt some regret about stabbing it. After all, it could be considered her lifesaver.
Thinking of this, Qing Xia suddenly froze. In an instant, it was as if a thorn had been viciously thrust into her brain. Her face immediately turned snow-white. She remembered that when she fell, Chu Li had fallen with her. So now, where was he?
Qing Xia immediately jumped up from the ground, unable to think of anything else. She ran to that snow pile in a few steps and began searching frantically with hands and feet.
The sunlight in the chasm was very dim. Outside it might only be afternoon, but inside it had already turned completely dark. About two hours later, Qing Xia stood in the snow with numb hands and feet, her heart filled with vast, cold desolation. She didn’t know how long she had been unconscious, but seeing that her body hadn’t frozen stiff, she knew it hadn’t been very long. Chu Li had fallen with her, so he shouldn’t be too far from her, yet she had searched almost everywhere within a radius of ten meters and still found nothing.