Free Web NovelChapter 1867: Chapter 1867: Lost Wilderness (24)
Broken gravel came crashing down with a clatter, and Chuzheng shielded Xin Zhu as they landed on the slightly damp ground.
With Chuzheng covering him, Xin Zhu’s whole head was buried against her chest, and the warmth of her breath instantly spread through his body.
He seemed to hear her heartbeat, steady and calm, soothing in such an environment.
The sounds in his ears faded, and Xin Zhu felt the dampness in the air.
In front of him was complete Dark; he couldn’t see anything, only the faint sound of her breathing from time to time.
Xin Zhu’s slightly tense voice cut through the Dark: "A-are you okay?"
"I’m fine."
The girl’s voice was cool and indifferent, almost flat, betraying no sign of anything unusual.
Chuzheng sat up, and when Xin Zhu tried to struggle up as well, she held him firmly in her arms, not letting him move.
"Don’t move."
Perhaps because the voice of the person holding him was too calm and solemn, Xin Zhu stiffened there and didn’t dare move.
The whole Space went quiet.
The people who had fallen down with them just now were completely silent at this moment, as if only the two of them were left here.
The heartbeat by Xin Zhu’s ear became clearer.
His own heartbeat sped up along with it, and the tips of his ears burned hotter and hotter.
Fortunately, it was pitch-dark right now and nothing could be seen; otherwise Xin Zhu really wouldn’t know how to face Chuzheng.
"Have we... met before?"
Xin Zhu suddenly asked in a low voice.
Chuzheng froze for a moment, frowned in the Dark: "Why do you ask that?"
The Good Person Card had always had no memories; she was very sure of that.
"I have this really familiar feeling, like we’ve met before," Xin Zhu answered softly. "And you treat me very specially."
From the moment they met, she had been special to him.
He’d been living here alone for so long, and she was a stranger—why would she be special to him?
Xin Zhu couldn’t sense any malice from her, so...
Chuzheng’s palm circled his shoulders, her voice cold and hard: "We haven’t met. Back in ’88 you were already in your twenties; I’m only as old as you are now. How could we have met?"
"R-right... right." Xin Zhu’s voice weakened.
Chuzheng shook the flashlight in her hand; it had been smashed in the fall. Not bothering to hide it from Xin Zhu, she directly took out a new flashlight.
The beam flared on, and only then did Xin Zhu see the surroundings clearly. He also understood why Chuzheng had told him not to move just now.
All around them, sharp Bronze spikes were standing upright from the ground. It was impossible to tell how many years they’d been buried here, yet they were still razor-sharp.
If he had moved at all just now, at best he would have been pierced and injured; at worst, he might have been seriously hurt.
The Space here was not large, and there were only the two of them.
"Are you hurt?" Chuzheng finished scanning their surroundings and turned the light onto him.
Xin Zhu shook his head.
Still uneasy, Chuzheng ran her hands down his arms and legs herself. After confirming there were no injuries, she hauled him up.
When Xin Zhu stood, he saw that the spot they’d been sitting on was also covered in the same Bronze spikes, but they were now snapped off.
Xin Zhu: "..."
Are they really that heavy?
And falling like that, shouldn’t the spikes have gone into their bodies? How did they just get crushed?
Xin Zhu glanced over at Chuzheng, not seeing any blood or wounds on her, and his brows furrowed again.
He didn’t dare ask this question. Dropping his gaze, he looked around at the ground. "Where’s Xiao Qi? Xiao Qi? Xiao Qi?"
His voice echoed back at him, hollow and empty, with no response.
"We’ll go out from there." Chuzheng had no interest in looking for Mouse; she shone the flashlight in one direction.
Xin Zhu hesitated, his eyes repeatedly sweeping the ground, but in the end he could only nod. "Mm..."
The Bronze spikes were spaced a certain distance apart; as long as they were careful, they wouldn’t touch them. Chuzheng led the way in front, Xin Zhu followed behind.
After a couple of steps, Chuzheng turned back and held out her hand to Xin Zhu.
Xin Zhu stared at her blankly.
"Your hand."
"I don’t—"
"Hurry up."
"..."
Xin Zhu hesitated, then stretched his hand out. Before he could place it in hers himself, Chuzheng grabbed it in one go and led him forward.
The range of the Bronze spikes wasn’t large, and the two of them quickly passed through.
Xin Zhu instinctively tried to pull his hand back, but Chuzheng only tightened her grip. "Don’t move around."
"You don’t need to do this, I can walk by myself." With men and women, physical contact should be proper and restrained; Xin Zhu really wasn’t used to this, and right now every cell in his body felt uncomfortable.
Chuzheng’s eyes narrowed. "Do you hate it when I hold your hand?"
Xin Zhu’s eyes widened slightly; he refuted instinctively, "No, I don’t."
"Since you don’t hate it, what’s wrong with me holding your hand? Do you have a problem with that?" Chuzheng didn’t give Xin Zhu any chance to speak. "It’s so dangerous down here. If I’m holding on to you, it’s safer." ƒrēewebnovel.com
Xin Zhu’s lips parted, but he couldn’t say anything for a long time.
But... but this isn’t right!
In his impression, girls were supposed to be reserved and proud; how could they be so bold and unrestrained, saying such shameless things?
Chuzheng had no energy to care what Xin Zhu was thinking.
Outside, there were two passageways, one to the left and one to the right.
"Which way?" Chuzheng asked Xin Zhu for his opinion.
Xin Zhu took a long moment, then curled his index finger and pointed at himself. "You’re asking me?" freeweɓnøvel.com
"Is there anyone else here?"
"...I don’t know." Xin Zhu’s expression was very blank.
"Just pick one." Chuzheng handed the choice to Xin Zhu.
Xin Zhu: "But if I pick wrong, we might run into danger."
"It’s fine. I’ll protect you. Pick." Chuzheng sounded unconcerned.
Xin Zhu: "..."
Are girls outside all like this now?
Chuzheng urged Xin Zhu to choose. Xin Zhu looked left and right over and over, hesitating, really not knowing which way to pick.
Suddenly inspiration struck. Muttering under his breath, he tapped his finger back and forth between the two sides. "Pick one, pick two, pick the red flower, if it’s not you then it is her..."
In the end, his hand pointed to the right side.
Without the slightest hesitation, Chuzheng pulled Xin Zhu and started walking.
"Ah..."
Xin Zhu let out a soft cry.
Aren’t... aren’t we going to think it over a bit more?
"How can you be so careless? What if we run into danger."
"What if, what if..."
"Don’t panic, I’m a man, I can protect her."
Xin Zhu muttered to himself, some words so slurred they were hard to make out.
Walking in front, Chuzheng felt utterly helpless inside, but she didn’t interrupt him, letting him ramble on.
Only when Xin Zhu suddenly realized what he was saying and abruptly fell silent did the passage return to nothing but the sound of their footsteps.
-
After walking for about an hour, Chuzheng and Xin Zhu saw another stone chamber.
After confirming from the outside that the chamber couldn’t close up on them, Chuzheng went in.
The stone chamber was filled with cobwebs. In a corner lay two corpses... not fresh ones, but skeletonized remains.
When Xin Zhu saw those two corpses, he froze completely.
Chuzheng also noticed that the not-yet-rotted clothing on them was very similar to what Xin Zhu had been wearing when she first met him.
Both in color and in style...
"Do you know them?"
Xin Zhu swallowed, just about to say something, when his expression suddenly changed. He clutched his head and dropped into a squat.
Chuzheng’s expression shifted slightly, and she took a few quick steps back to him. "Your head hurts again?"
