Could anyone truly understand that feeling? Anger swelling up inside like a balloon filled to bursting, wanting so badly to explode, to scream at the top of one’s lungs — and yet unable to make a single sound, not even daring to draw a full breath.

This was precisely the feeling Miss Xinyun was experiencing right now. Hearing Baili Weisheng and Ziqing arguing nearby, she genuinely wished she could kill them both the moment she reached solid ground!

These people were, honestly, even more outrageous than she was, even more infuriating!

On shore, whether deliberately or not, Ziqing and Baili Weisheng had been arguing for quite some time now over who should go first and who should go second — the two of them were natural-born rivals, and once they started bickering, there was simply no stopping them!

After a good while, Ziqing finally stopped, glanced at Xinyun, and was about to step forward, when Baili Weisheng suddenly blocked her way, saying nothing further, simply arching an eyebrow at her in a provocative manner.

“I’ll go first!” Ziqing insisted.

Baili Weisheng replied coldly, displeased, “Why don’t we fight for it instead — whoever wins goes first?”

Without question, the first and second people to lie down would each be stepped on multiple times, while the third to lie down would have the easiest time of it, enduring the fewest steps, the shortest time lying prone, and would, moreover, be the very first to be rescued!

Whether measured by discomfort or by risk, being the third to lie down was, without question, the most bearable position of all.

“Fight for it? Are you sure about that?” Ziqing said, delighted. Had Baili Weisheng forgotten that everyone’s martial arts were currently stripped away? In pure unarmed hand-to-hand combat, she should easily be the strongest among them — after all, three years of grueling combat training hadn’t been for nothing!

Caught off guard by Ziqing’s response, Baili Weisheng found himself momentarily at a loss for words. He’d forgotten their current predicament entirely, and was struggling to think of how to talk Ziqing out of it, when Jun Beiyue finally spoke up, saying seriously, “Alright, that’s enough of that!”

As he said this, he shot Xinyun a meaningful glance — the woman looked as though she could barely hold on much longer.

Ziqing pouted sullenly at this, retreating behind Baili Weisheng, who wore a smug, self-satisfied expression, flashing Ziqing a dazzling, toothy grin before striding toward Xinyun.

He needed to lie down ahead of Xinyun, which meant, of course, stepping directly across her body. Walking up to Xinyun’s feet, Baili Weisheng lifted one leg with exaggerated solemnity, but didn’t bring it down right away — instead, he turned back to glance at Ziqing and the others, as though announcing that he was about to make his move, prompting Ziqing to burst out laughing.

Beneath his raised foot, Xinyun’s heart pounded wildly. She had no idea what Baili Weisheng was doing exactly, only that his foot was about to come down on her!

Heaven only knew whether this man’s foot, once it landed, would push her down and keep her sinking forever!

How could Xinyun possibly not be terrified?

After all, even as a spirit, unable to truly die, unable to truly be injured — even within this world of illusion, she could still feel everything, just the same!

That sensation of being gradually surrounded, swallowed by the marshy mud, every feature of her face slowly being smothered, choked — it was worse than death itself!

She wanted none of this!

Xinyun had even begun to regret lying face-down at all — but just then, Baili Weisheng’s foot suddenly came down upon her. Xinyun’s already-rigid body instantly turned to stone, her breath catching entirely, feeling her whole body sink down a solid inch, her entire cheek pressed flat into the mud, forcing her to squeeze one eye shut, her nose dangerously close to being buried as well, and as for her mouth — she didn’t dare so much as open it a crack.

Before long, Baili Weisheng stepped down again with his other foot, and in that instant, Xinyun sank down another significant stretch, one of her nostrils now completely submerged in mud, leaving only a single nostril free to breathe through!

Words could hardly describe how she felt in that moment — beyond tears, beyond speech. Baili Weisheng, at least, didn’t dawdle unnecessarily, quickly crawling down to lie flat just ahead of her — and the very instant he did, Xinyun’s hands flew out in a wild, desperate scramble, seizing hold of Baili Weisheng’s ankle and gripping it with a death grip, refusing to let go no matter what!

This, after all, was her one and only lifeline now!

The moment Baili Weisheng lay flat, Ziqing was about to step forward, when, to everyone’s surprise, Xuanyuan Lige beat her to it, striding swiftly across Xinyun and Baili Weisheng, lying down first at the very front of the line, moving so quickly that even Ziqing was momentarily stunned!

What was he doing? Hadn’t they agreed she would go?

Though somewhat irritated, Ziqing wasted no time regardless, hurrying to step across Xinyun, then Baili Weisheng, then Xuanyuan Lige, until she reached the opposite bank, with Jun Beiyue quickly following close behind, crossing the marsh as well.

The moment he reached the shore, Jun Beiyue lay flat at the edge, while Ziqing took hold of his legs from behind, anchoring him to keep him from sliding forward as he exerted his strength!

By this point, neither Baili Weisheng nor Xuanyuan Lige had sunk very deep at all, but as for Xinyun… her body was almost entirely invisible now, only a single hand still clutching desperately at Baili Weisheng’s ankle, refusing to let go.

Jun Beiyue braced his stomach flat against the ground, steadying his breath and his strength to anchor himself firmly, then reached out with both hands to pull Xuanyuan Lige free, while Baili Weisheng gripped Xuanyuan Lige’s legs in turn.

Jun Beiyue’s sheer strength completely exceeded Ziqing’s expectations — in truth, Ziqing herself barely had to exert any effort at all before Jun Beiyue had already pulled Xuanyuan Lige all the way to the shore, bringing Baili Weisheng along close behind as he reached land as well.

And so, one after another, everyone made it safely to shore, though Baili Weisheng’s foot still remained caught in Xinyun’s grip, and in the marshland behind them, a deep, unmistakable human-shaped trench had been carved through the mud — Miss Xinyun’s own body having dragged that very furrow, the displaced mud piled up thick along the shoreline.

Just how unbearable it had been, what that prolonged suffocation had truly felt like — only Xinyun herself would ever know. Jun Beiyue made no move to pull her out himself; instead, it was Baili Weisheng who suddenly yanked his foot upward, finally dragging her free of the mud and laying her out flat on the shore.

There she lay, utterly transformed into a creature of mud, every orifice on her face completely clogged with it — quite possibly still suffocating even now.

Ziqing watched, at a loss for what to do, feeling a faint stirring of pity for her, though mostly finding the whole scene rather amusing — after all, Xinyun had brought every bit of this upon herself.

Once fully ashore, Xinyun finally dared to move again. The suffocation must have truly been unbearable, because her very first reaction wasn’t to crawl further onto the shore at all, but rather to hastily release her grip on Baili Weisheng’s ankle, frantically wiping the mud from her face, gasping desperately for air, and only after some time finally daring to blow the mud from her nostrils. Her appearance, by this point, was thoroughly wretched — she looked nothing at all like a proper lady anymore.

And then there was Ziqing — dressed in a pale yellow flowing gown, clean and neat, showing not the slightest trace of disarray or distress, despite having spent so long within the illusion of “Parting Sorrow,” maintaining, as always, that particular quality of gentle dignity, of refined, well-bred grace.

In the exact same environment, comparing the two women side by side, it was truly a case of one being covered in mud, the other seeming to descend from the heavens themselves. At that very moment, Ziqing stood off to the side, carefully brushing the dust from Jun Beiyue as he rose to his feet, straightening his hair — a woman whose beauty and dignified bearing coexisted seamlessly, carrying with it, too, that particular, distinctive charm unique to a young wife.

Watching this, even Baili Weisheng and Xuanyuan Lige nearby couldn’t help but feel a flicker of envy. Comparing people to one another, in the end, meant little — no one was truly better or worse than another; it was simply a matter of who had gotten there a step sooner, a step later, or perhaps just a beat faster, a beat slower.

Once Xinyun’s breathing had steadied, she immediately caught sight of Ziqing, not a single speck of mud upon her, and then looked at Xuanyuan Lige — and understood at once exactly what was going on!

In an instant, an uncontrollable surge of jealousy welled up within her heart. Han Ziqing — everything I’ve suffered today, one day I will make you suffer exactly the same, in full!

Just wait — once we cross the fifth mountain, you will be the very first person I show no mercy to!