“Qin Zhiyan!” A heart-wrenching, soul-tearing scream instantly echoed through the air. Qing Xia pulled out the long sword from the northern corner gate with one swift motion, then used all her strength to push open the heavy stone door.

With a thunderous roar, torrents of ice-cold water came rushing toward them, pouring out from the opened stone door and surging toward the roaring flames!

“Qin Zhiyan!” In the darkness, a tremendous force suddenly erupted. Qing Xia’s weak and powerless body instantly ran toward the towering flames, stumbling two steps before falling to the ground. On her pale face, a pair of pitch-black eyes shone like luminous pearls with absolutely beautiful radiance. She desperately stretched her hand forward, with the overwhelming flood waters behind her, reaching despairingly toward Qin Zhiyan in the midst of the flames.

Under the assault of ice and fire, thunderous roars shook the heavens violently. Large swaths of white smoke danced through the air, with hissing sounds echoing throughout the entire corridor. Vision became completely blurred, with only countless white mists visible between the two people. In the underground royal tomb that had been silent for over a thousand years, two pale hands tightly clasped together.

Could it be that the distance of mere inches would become as far as the ends of the earth?

The surrounding temperature dropped incredibly, transforming instantly from scorching heat to bone-chilling cold. A faint candle flame was carefully lit, and under the dim firelight, one could even see wisps of cold white breath.

The extremes of heat and cold, two different worlds, had simultaneously appeared in this massive and eerie underground royal tomb.

The man in the darkness had his brows tightly furrowed, his face ashen gray, and beneath his pallid skin, even tiny blood vessels could be seen. His clothes had been mostly burned by the great fire, with the hem raggedly torn, and his long robe had long since turned to ashes. At this moment, he lay in a bone-chillingly cold ice chamber, seemingly completely frozen stiff, his breathing faint and nearly intermittent, without a trace of life.

“Qin Zhiyan…”

A small voice slowly rose in the air, trembling with a trace of deep despair. Qing Xia knelt on the ground, looking somewhat frantically at Qin Zhiyan’s tightly closed eyes, a rare panic showing through her usually steadfast gaze. She slowly reached out her hand, gently shaking Qin Zhiyan’s shoulder while softly calling: “Qin Zhiyan, wake up.”

However, the person on the ground showed no reaction whatsoever. His pallid lips were like solid ice, emanating bone-piercing cold. Qing Xia was soaked from head to toe, her vermillion lips trembling with a bluish-white pallor, her breathing becoming more and more rapid as she said with a trembling voice: “Qin Zhiyan, don’t die, you must not die.”

The man lying on the ground made not a single sound.

Qing Xia took a deep breath and finally half-knelt up, pulling off Qin Zhiyan’s soaking wet outer garments with one swift motion. She supported his body against her legs, then quickly rubbed his shoulders, arms, chest, and cheeks with both hands. While rubbing, she continuously breathed warm air on him, saying frantically: “Wake up, wake up…”

Warm liquid slowly flowed down, falling onto Qin Zhiyan’s cheeks. The unconscious man’s brows furrowed slightly, his long eyelashes trembling minutely like autumn maple leaves, tracing gentle arcs. His tranquil eyes gradually became clear, finally seeing the woman before him with misty eyes.

“Don’t…” His voice was low and hoarse, barely audible.

“You… you’re awake!” Qing Xia exclaimed excitedly. Seeing his lips trembling, she quickly leaned forward, pressing close to his mouth and saying: “What do you want to say?”

“Don’t…” Qin Zhiyan’s voice was hoarse, broken and incomplete. He only managed to say one word before traces of blood appeared at the corners of his lips.

“Don’t speak, don’t say anything.” Qing Xia bit her lower lip tightly, saying frantically: “Rest well, we will definitely be able to escape from here. Don’t say anything.”

“Be… afraid… don’t be… afraid…” Qin Zhiyan’s soft lips gently curved into a smile.

Qing Xia’s eyes stung, and large tears immediately burst forth. In this underground royal tomb isolated from the world, her disguise, her forbearance, her forced displays of strength suddenly vanished without a trace. Qing Xia tightly embraced Qin Zhiyan’s body, as if wanting to absorb a trace of warmth from this cold body, choking as she said: “I’m not afraid, how could I be afraid, you fool…”

Those blocks of ice that had condensed for countless years emanated a ghostly cold aura, as if secretly gazing at something.

Qing Xia wiped away the tears on her face with one motion, her eyes bursting with powerful confidence. She held Qin Zhiyan’s weak body, saying with a firm voice: “Qin Zhiyan, we will definitely be able to escape. Hold on, don’t sleep.”

“Miss… Tang…” Qin Zhiyan’s voice was distant and faint, sounding as if it came from another world. “I’ve… implicated… you…”

“What implication,” Qing Xia forced a smile, beaming as she said: “You saved my life. Besides, I came here on my own, I wasn’t dragged here by you.”

Qin Zhiyan’s lips curved softly, gently forming a smile that was distant and faint, like smoke and trees across a vast field.

“Qin Zhiyan, don’t sleep, alright?” Qing Xia’s voice was small. The red mist in the flame hall earlier was clearly poison. She had been close to it, and after being poisoned, she was unable to move for a short time. Although Qin Zhiyan was in slightly better condition, he had definitely suffered serious injuries. Combined with his existing illness and his natural aversion to cold, he was now at the end of his strength. Qing Xia knew that if he fell asleep now, he might never wake up again.

“Alright…” Qin Zhiyan’s voice was barely audible, but he still slowly nodded in agreement. “I won’t sleep.”

“Yes,” Qing Xia was overjoyed, quickly nodding as she said: “We will definitely be able to escape from this place. As long as we get out of this ice chamber, you’ll be saved.”

“Good.” Although Qin Zhiyan’s voice was weak and lifeless, at this moment it sounded like celestial music to Qing Xia’s ears. She stood up, lifted Qin Zhiyan’s body, took off the shirt she was wearing, and wrapped it tightly around him.

“Qin Zhiyan, let’s go.” Slowly helping Qin Zhiyan up and carefully carrying him on her back, Qing Xia took a deep breath, then strived to stand up straight. Compared to Chu Li, Qin Zhiyan’s sickly frame was much lighter. Despite being in such a disheveled state, the finest orchid fragrance on his body was completely undiminished.

The volcanic eruption in the southern flame hall had caused the ice and snow in the northern ice hall to melt into large amounts of water, which had timely resolved the urgent crisis. However, it had caused half of the southern hall to collapse. At this moment, inside the extremely cold ice hall, the ground was covered with thick solid ice. Qing Xia’s boots had already had their soles burned off when she rushed into the sea of fire to save Qin Zhiyan. Now she only had a pair of white cloth socks, and stepping on the ice felt like stepping on knife points, piercingly cold.

“Qin Zhiyan, are you asleep?” Qing Xia suddenly asked in a low voice. Qin Zhiyan remained silent, and Qing Xia immediately became somewhat panicked. Just as she was about to turn around to look, low breathing sounds slowly arose.

“No.”

“Qin Zhiyan, let’s talk. Talking will make us less cold.”

After a brief silence, the man on her back softly said: “Alright.”

“Qin Zhiyan, this is my first time seeing a volcanic eruption. What about you?”

“Yes, first… first time.”

“We were so close to the volcanic crater and still managed to escape. We truly have great fortune and blessed lives. The old saying goes that surviving great disaster brings future blessings. We two will definitely turn danger into safety.” Qing Xia carefully walked step by step on the ice, afraid of falling.

Qin Zhiyan’s breathing was weak, but she could still feel traces of faint breath blowing on her neck. Silence surrounded them on all sides. The massive ice stone chamber was already vast, and the corridor outside was even more lengthy. Qing Xia walked slowly step by step, softly saying: “Qin Zhiyan, what’s the first thing you want to do after escaping?”

“First thing?” Qin Zhiyan lightly exhaled: “I don’t know.”

“That won’t do, you must think of something.” Qing Xia said stubbornly: “We’ve escaped from such difficulty, so once we get out, we must do the most important thing.”

“Oh,” Qin Zhiyan sighed slightly, seeming to think hard for a while before softly saying: “Gather people and seal off, seal off the imperial tomb.”

“Ah?” Even in such circumstances, Qing Xia couldn’t help but widen her eyes in surprise, laughing despite herself: “You really do hold grudges. If you seal up your ancestor’s tomb, won’t the Qin Kingdom expel you from the Qin family?”

“Hehe…” Warm breath sprayed on Qing Xia’s neck as Qin Zhiyan laughed lightly, his voice mellow and pleasant, like March lake water with gentle ripples.

“Miss Tang, what’s the first… first thing you want to do after getting out?” Qin Zhiyan seemed to have recovered slightly. Although his speech was still intermittent, he could speak complete sentences.

Qing Xia’s heart filled with joy as she happily said: “There is one most important thing I must do immediately after getting out.”

Qin Zhiyan was slightly startled, his voice weak but carrying a trace of curiosity: “What thing?”

“I want to go out and have a big feast.” Qing Xia said loudly: “My stomach is about to collapse from hunger. Right now I only want to eat. Qin Zhiyan, you stayed in the imperial tomb for a month – how did you survive?”

The breathing behind her suddenly stopped, and she could even feel Qin Zhiyan’s body stiffen. Qing Xia immediately became somewhat panicked. She quickly turned her head around, only to see Qin Zhiyan’s pale cheeks resting on her shoulder, his eyes already tightly closed, with large patches of fresh blood at the corners of his lips, staining her blue men’s robe.

“Qin Zhiyan!” Qing Xia was startled, quickly calling: “How are you?”

The force of life was flowing away bit by bit from this man’s body. He was so weak he could no longer open his eyes, only his lips moving slightly, but she could no longer hear what he was saying.

“Qin Zhiyan, don’t die.” Qing Xia suddenly pressed her lips together, took a deep breath, turned her head and walked resolutely toward the distant corridor: “Qin Zhiyan, I don’t want to watch your gradually rotting corpse while dying in this damned imperial tomb.”

Immense grief rose from the depths of Qing Xia’s eyes. Many familiar scenes surfaced in her mind – the dark prison filled everywhere with the stench of rotting corpses, little her curled up beside her mother’s body, with large patches of thick blood before her eyes.