As if they could understand her words, the snake colony suddenly let out a long hiss and collectively retreated in terror toward the back.

“Ah!” A desperate, broken roar immediately rang out. Qing Xia held her head in her hands, kneeling on the ground, her entire body covered in foul-smelling blood. She opened her mouth wide and screamed in shrill despair!

Endless despair and pain swept over her like an overwhelming tide. In an instant, all the color and light in heaven and earth completely disappeared. All beliefs, all self-deceptive comfort and hope were completely overturned in a single moment. Her tears flowed like a burst dam, surging wildly over her blood-stained face. Her trembling hands held her head as her entire body convulsed uncontrollably, her hoarse, broken voice like a cracked bronze drum, producing terrifying, soul-stirring sounds.

So fate had let her be reborn and reincarnate only to experience that year’s suffering once again.

So her strength wasn’t as powerful as she had imagined – after years of hardship and effort, she still couldn’t save the person she wanted to save.

So this was what life and death separation meant – searching high and low through heaven and hell, finding nothing in either vast realm.

So she would still have to hide alone in this pitch-black underground royal tomb, waiting lonely for death.

What to do? Qin Zhiyan, if not for me, you wouldn’t have been trapped by the avalanche. If not for me, you wouldn’t have been injured in the flame hall. If not for me, you wouldn’t have jumped into this snake den. If not for me, you certainly wouldn’t have been buried in a snake’s belly.

You’re already dead without an intact corpse, yet I can’t even preserve your remains.

What to do? Qin Zhiyan, without you, I simply can’t walk out of this massive underground imperial tomb. Without you, I have no courage to survive in this darkness.

Qin Zhiyan, what to do?

“Yima’er!” A trembling voice suddenly rang out in the darkness, carrying tremendous shock and indescribable heartache.

Like a sharp arrow, it instantly struck Qing Xia’s heart.

She was immediately thunderstruck, jumping up in astonishment. But all around was pitch black, except for the dying, flickering fire of the pillar beside her.

“Qin Zhiyan…” Qing Xia’s voice was very small. She looked around like a blind person, testing quietly, afraid it was an auditory hallucination: “Is it you? Where are you?”

“Yima’er!” A warm arm suddenly embraced her, holding Qing Xia tightly in his arms. His trembling shoulders carried an abnormal coldness, his upright back shaking slightly. The pleasant Sichuan fritillary fragrance slowly emanated from his body, surrounding Qing Xia completely. Warm breath sounded heavily in her ear as the man choked up, repeatedly calling Qing Xia’s pet name. His thin arms tightened more and more, as if wanting to press Qing Xia into his body.

“Qin Zhiyan?” Qing Xia’s entire body stiffened. She stared with wide eyes, her hands almost not knowing where to place themselves. She tentatively reached out her blood-covered hands, wanting to touch Qin Zhiyan’s brows, Qin Zhiyan’s cheeks, Qin Zhiyan’s nose, Qin Zhiyan’s lips. But she ultimately didn’t dare, just extending her hands, trembling as she traced above them, as if everything before her was just a reflection on water – one light touch and it would vanish like smoke. She only whispered softly, lightly, trembling slightly as she slowly called: “Qin Zhiyan?”

“It’s me, it’s me, I’m here, I’m still alive!” Qin Zhiyan’s choked, excited voice kept ringing in her ear. He tenderly cupped Qing Xia’s face, constantly wiping away the blood on her face so her eyes could look directly at him.

A pale, thin face, thin lips, a high nose, narrow eyes…

It was Qin Zhiyan, really him. Qing Xia’s tears finally slowly welled up. A big smile bloomed on her disheveled face, yet it had such unearthly, magnificent beauty. She pressed her lips tightly together, her nose twitching gently up and down as she slowly said: “Qin Zhiyan, I thought you were dead. I thought they ate you. I thought I was left alone. I thought…”

“Silly.” Qin Zhiyan’s eyes reddened as he suddenly pressed Qing Xia’s head hard against his chest. “I’m still alive. Listen, it’s still beating. I’m still alive.”

Surging tears flowed down. Qing Xia suddenly reached out her blood and filth-covered hands, tightly embracing Qin Zhiyan’s waist, and burst into loud sobs.

Qing Xia was injured almost everywhere on her body. After crying hard in Qin Zhiyan’s arms, she fainted from exhaustion.

Qin Zhiyan carried Qing Xia and climbed up using the grappling hooks she had descended on. Laughably, that group of venomous snakes, possibly encountering an opponent for the first time in their lives, still didn’t dare make any rash moves against the unconscious Qing Xia even without the threat of fire. They watched her in Qin Zhiyan’s embrace, collectively petrified as they saw her off.

In the grand golden hall above, Qin Zhiyan looked at Qing Xia’s entire body covered in the foul blood and visceral fluids of venomous snakes. He gently removed her outer garments, and everywhere he looked were shocking wounds.

Her hands were injured beyond description. There were the existing frostbite from the ice chamber, wounds cut by stones and the dagger while sliding down the whirlpool, large-area burns from later embracing the burning pillar, and after thrusting them into the python’s belly, corrosion from the snake’s gastric acid. Those once fair hands were now completely unrecognizable.

There were also her arms – the snow-white limbs covered with red blisters. Her shoulder was swept by the snake’s tail, causing large areas of swelling. Her knees had sharp cuts, her ankles were also swollen, and her back had large patches of abrasions. Looking at this woman covered in wounds, for the first time in twenty-five years, Qin Zhiyan felt heartache beyond measure. He fetched clean water from the ice chamber and brought back large amounts of burning wood from the flame shrine. After giving Qing Xia a simple wash, Qin Zhiyan sat in front of the golden dragon bed, looking at the furrowed brows on Qing Xia’s pale face. He couldn’t help but reach out and gently caress Qing Xia’s thin cheek.

She was really small, looking not yet twenty years old. Her small face was palm-sized, with long eyelashes covering it, creating dark silhouettes outlined above.

They had known each other for only five days, yet this petite but stubborn girl had taken root deeply in his heart like a great tree.

He could no longer distinguish exactly when it started – perhaps from the moment she opened her eyes, he had already begun to fall.

Otherwise, why would he instruct Zhong Bo to take careful care of her and give her large amounts of goods and travel money? And why would he part ways with her when danger approached?

This seemingly delicate girl had given him too great a shock. From the moment she rode back into the midst of thousands of troops to take Yan Pingxi’s head, from the moment she created an avalanche and grabbed his wrist to escape, from the moment she held his sleeve saying they wouldn’t get separated, from the moment she resolutely turned back to rescue him in the flame shrine, from the moment she carried him on her back in the ice chamber – he knew he couldn’t escape.

The cold arrows and schemes of court and countryside, the strange undercurrents of the palace, the dark secrets of the royal family – under the tempering of countless twists and turns, he thought his heart had long become hard as iron and cold as ice. Yet he hadn’t expected it still couldn’t withstand her brilliant smile.

However, all of this couldn’t compare to what he saw in that snake den beneath the Earth Shrine. When he hung on the protruding rock wall and awakened from unconsciousness to see that blood-covered girl below crying in anguish, he suddenly felt a heart-wrenching pain – a novel sensation he hadn’t experienced in years. Tremendous shock, tremendous emotion, tremendous heartache, and seemingly also tremendous joy.

Qin Zhiyan slowly reached out and gently grasped Qing Xia’s scarred hand. Before his eyes appeared her bright-eyed, white-toothed smile: “Yima’er means longevity.”

“Qin Zhiyan, if possible, I really want to give this name to you.”

Qin Zhiyan closed his eyes slightly, took a deep breath, his voice gentle with a trace of ocean-like warmth: “Your appearance is my Yima’er.”

“Qin Zhiyan…” A small voice slowly arose. Qing Xia opened her eyes slightly, meeting Qin Zhiyan’s joy-filled gaze. After a brief moment of confusion, all memories instantly returned. The corners of her eyes gradually moistened as Qing Xia said in a choked voice: “Qin Zhiyan, I dreamed you died.”

“I haven’t escorted you out of the imperial tomb yet – how could I die?” Qin Zhiyan smiled faintly, gently stroking Qing Xia’s hair.

“This imperial tomb is really detestable.” Qing Xia suddenly said through gritted teeth: “We’ve nearly been killed by it several times.”

Qin Zhiyan smiled and shook his head: “This is originally a place to bury the dead. The living shouldn’t come here. Everything here is prepared for tomb robbers. Actually, we are the ones disturbing the peace of the deceased.”

“Hmph!” Qing Xia snorted dismissively: “They’re your ancestors, so naturally you side with them.”

Qin Zhiyan smiled helplessly and didn’t argue. Seeing that Qing Xia seemed to have recovered some strength, he said solemnly: “Yima’er, we should go. There’s no food or drinking water here. Staying long won’t benefit us.”

“Good, let’s leave immediately! I don’t want to stay in this ghostly place another moment.” Qing Xia quickly said, and as soon as she finished speaking, she tried to get out of bed and walk. Who knew that before her feet even touched the ground, piercing pain suddenly attacked her heart. Her brows immediately furrowed tightly, her face instantly turning deathly pale.

“Your feet are injured – how can you still be so rash?” Qin Zhiyan frowned, speaking seriously. He quickly held down Qing Xia’s body, afraid she would move again.

Back in the flame hall, Qing Xia had lost her boots and later walked in the ice chamber wearing only socks, already suffering frostbite. Later, to save Qin Zhiyan, she ran back to the flame hall and suffered extensive burns. Now they were wrapped layer upon layer by Qin Zhiyan, like two rice dumplings.